Disclaimer - I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. That honor belongs to Hiromu Arakawa

Chapter Nine - Return to Resembool

Nick had just returned from a mission to the East and after his horrible fight with a group of alchemists out there he found that his right arm could barely move. Having been warned not to engage in combat Nick was slightly worried about how his superior would react to the news. Havoc had sent one of his military lackeys to pick the boy up at the train station and Nick walked over to the uniformed officer, a slight look of apprehension in his golden eyes.

"Welcome back Fullmetal sir." The lackey stood at attention and gave Nick a snappy salute. "Come with me and I'll take you directly to Central HQ."

Nick nodded and followed the soldier away from the platform and over to a military car that was parked along the sidewalk. After a brief car ride Nick arrived back at Central HQ. He thanked the lackey for the ride and then made his way to Colonel Havoc's office. When he arrived at his superior's inner sanctum the boy knocked lightly on the door a couple of times and then opened it.

"Welcome back Chief." Col. Havoc glanced casually up at the kid as he spoke and he did a double take when he saw the state the boy was in. His clothes were torn and his right arm hung limp at his side. "What the hell happened to you?"

"A fight," Nick replied shortly.

"I expressly told you not to fight them. You were just supposed to investigate what was going on in the laboratory and then report your findings back to me."

"I tried that approach," Nick said dryly. "However the alchemists had other ideas."

"Your arm's broken," Col. Havoc said, pointing toward the automail appendage.

"Your powers of observation are amazing." The boy's voice was laced with sarcasm and he glared at his superior as he threw himself into a chair in front of Havoc's desk.

"So tell me," Col. Havoc said, choosing to ignore the boy's blatant insolence. "Other than the fight was your mission successful?"

Nick nodded. "The alchemists were definitely attempting to create a Philosopher's Stone. They told me as much when they discovered that I was a State Alchemist but I don't think they'll be doing any more research for awhile. Their lab was destroyed during our fight plus they went and got themselves arrested."

"Well it seems that you being discovered wasn't all bad."

Nick rolled his eyes, happy that his superior was able to find the bright side in his getting beaten up.

"You should probably take some time off and head to Resembool so that you can get your arm repaired."

Nick shook his head, not at all liking the prospect of facing his mother and telling her that he'd been involved in a fight in which his auto-mail had sustained fairly significant damage. He shivered at the very thoughts of what her reaction would be. He'd rather face the alchemists who'd tried to kill him a thousand times over rather than face his mom when she found out what had happened. "That won't be necessary," the boy said hastily, holding up the one arm that he could still move freely. "It's not that bad." He wriggled his fingers slowly and with great effort. "See? I can still use it."

"Okay then chief. Let's see you use it in battle."

"Heh heh." Nick laughed nervously, knowing that such a feat would be impossible with his arm in it's present condition..

Suddenly a third voice abruptly joined the conversation. "You have to return to Resembool and get your arm repaired. You're no good to anyone with your arm in it's current state."

Nick turned his head and gazed over his shoulder. He saw the Fuhrer standing in the doorway, looking smug as usual. "No, that's okay. I'd really rather not."

"This isn't a request Fullmetal," the Fuhrer said, glaring angrily at the boy. "It's an order. Unless of course you'd prefer to be court-martialed for disobeying orders."

"Damn," Nick swore. He knew that the order forced him to go home and yet he still wanted to live so his brain worked at a furious pace, attempting to form a plan. "I know," he said suddenly, an idea coming to him. "I'll bet I can slip into Resembool and have Granny Pinako fix my arm. Then I can leave again and my parents will never know."

"Oh yea that'll work," Col. Havoc said with a grin. "Since you did such a fine job of sneaking into Central and all."

Nick whirled on Col. Havoc, his golden eyes flashing fire. "Hey, I had no trouble sneaking into Central. Mom and Dad didn't know I was here until YOU called them. So don't you even start on me."

Col. Havoc glared at the boy, who had a valid point that he was choosing to ignore. "Be gone with you. And don't come back until you're useful again."

Nick turned and headed toward the door.

"Wait," the Fuhrer said, halting the boy's retreat.

"What now?" Nick asked, his voice filled with frustration as he turned back to face his two superiors.

"I can't let you go back to Resembool alone in your condition," the Fuhrer said. "I'll have one of my men accompany you, to make sure that nothing happens to you while you're vulnerable."

Nick glared at the Fuhrer. "Don't bother. I can take care of myself. I don't need a baby-sitter."

"Oh yea?" the Fuhrer said, suddenly having flashbacks from Ed's days in the military. "And what exactly will you do if one of the many people you've pissed off during your stint in the military decides to come and seek revenge?"

"That's simple," Nick said, a smug expression appearing on his face. "I'll kick their ass."

"Uh huh," the Fuhrer said, sounding less than convinced. "You do realize they'll be kicking back, right?"

Nick stared defiantly at his superior. "I can handle anything that comes up."

Mustang shook his head. "Your arm is barely functioning and therefore you can't transmute quickly. If you try to fight, you'll lose miserably. I'm assigning you an escort. End of discussion."

"Dammit," Nick swore.

The Fuhrer left the office, only to return a few minutes later followed by a tall, brown haired man dressed in a military uniform. "Fullmetal, this is Second Lieutenant Jason Griffon. Lieutenant Griffon, this is Nick Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. You'll be accompanying him to his home town of Resembool, so that he can get his auto-mail repaired."

The Lieutenant saluted the Fuhrer. "Yes sir." Then he turned to Nick and gave another snappy salute. "I shall fulfill my duty and protect you with my life. You have my word on that and I'm ready to leave whenever you are Fullmetal sir."

"Is this guy for real?" Nick thought to himself as he waved off the Lieutenant's salute. "Don't do that."

"Yes sir," Lt. Griffon said.

Nick groaned and turned to face the Fuhrer. "Mustang, do I have to take this guy?"

The Fuhrer glared at the boy. "Yes. Now leave."

"Dammit all," Nick said, growling under his breath in frustration.

"You're both dismissed."

Lt. Griffon saluted the two officers and then turned and followed Nick out of the room. Nick walked down the hall a short distance and then stopped and turned to face his unwanted escort.

"Listen Lieutenant," Nick said in a whisper. "I really don't need an escort for this trip. After all I'm just going to my little dinky hometown so if you wanna make yourself scarce for the next few days I won't tell anyone and you can have a little vacation, with pay and everything. What do you say?"

"Sorry sir," Lt. Griffon said, shaking his head. "But that would be disobeying a direct order from the Fuhrer. I'd face court-martial if I were caught. Besides if something were to happen to you I'd never forgive myself."

"Why?" Nick asked, confused. "You don't even know me. We just met five minutes ago."

"True," Lt. Griffon conceded. "But I'm an adult and you're a child. Adults are responsible for the safety of children and I'd feel guilty for the rest of my life if I neglected my duty and allowed something to happen to you."

"Damn," Nick said under his breath. "I had to get the honorable one. Anyone else would have jumped at the opportunity to have a couple of days off with pay but no, not this guy." He turned to face Lt. Griffon. "Fine. If you insist on tagging along I guess I can't stop you. Just make sure you stay out of my way."

Lt. Griffon saluted. "Yes sir, Fullmetal sir."

Nick rolled his eyes. "You don't make any sense at all, you know that?"

Lt. Griffon was confused. "How so sir?"

"You start off calling me 'sir' and then you lecture me about the fact that I'm only a child and you're an adult and adults are responsible for children. And then, once your lecture is over, you revert back to the respectful lower ranking officer. What's up with that?"

Lt. Griffon shrugged.

Nick left Central HQ, followed closely behind by his bodyguard, and the two of them walked the short distance to the Hughes' house. Nick knocked on the door and stepped aside. The door soon opened and Elicia glared at Nick.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to knock Nicholas? This is your home now and as long as it is you may come and go as you please. You have a key."

"I'm sorry Elicia," Nick apologized as he and his escort entered the house. "I just don't feel comfortable walking into your house unannounced. I feel like I'm breaking and entering or something."

Elicia sighed. "You're gonna have to get over that Nick."

"I know."

"So tell me," Elicia said, eyeing the man dressed in royal blue who stood a few feet behind Nick. "Who's your new friend?"

Nick was instantly irritated again. "I have to go back to Resembool to get some repairs done to my auto-mail and Mustang insisted that I bring along this guy. He thinks I need protection."

"I hate to say it and I know it's going to make you angry but Fuhrer Mustang has a point," Elicia said.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!!!"

"Sorry," Elicia said quickly, not having realized that her comment would upset the boy that much. "But you can't perform alchemy quickly without the use of your right arm so you are vulnerable."

"Uhhh," Nick said, exasperated. "Let's just get this nightmare over with." He turned to face his escort. "You can stay here while I go upstairs and pack my things. I don't think I'll be attacked in my bedroom."

Lt. Griffon nodded.

"Come with me Lieutenant," Elicia said. "I'll show you into the sitting room."

Lt. Griffon nodded and he followed her into the sitting room, leaving Nick at the base of the stairs, looking irate. The boy growled as he watched his unwanted escort follow Elicia out of the room.

"This is just great."

Nick took the steps two at a time and then quickly walked down the hall to the room that was temporarily his. He opened the door, entered the room, and closed the door behind himself.

"I can't believe this," Nick grumbled as he walked across the room. "I have all the luck."

Nick sat down on the edge of the bed and debated simply climbing out the window and taking off without his unwanted escort. "Not a bad idea," Nick thought to himself.

And so, his course of action decided upon, Nick went to work. He removed the sheets from the bed and quickly tied them together, fashioning a rope which he then tied to the end of the bed. Then Nick thrust open the window and lowered his homemade rope. Once the rope was hanging out of the window Nick tested its sturdiness and when he was sure that it would support his weight he climbed up into the window sill and began his descent.

His auto-mail wasn't in perfect working order but it functioned well enough for Nick to be able to climb down the rope. The sheets weren't ideal for his mission and the rope had ended up a few feet too short but when he reached the end Nick simply jumped the remaining distance. The boy landed nimbly and then jogged off toward the train station, where with any luck he'd be able to catch a train back to Resembool before his unwanted escort discovered that he'd been left behind.

"Mustang's not gonna be happy about this," Nick thought to himself as he reached the train station. "But, oh well. I'll face that when the time comes. I tried to tell him that I don't need a baby-sitter. It's not my fault he wouldn't listen to me."

Nick walked up to the ticket booth. "Excuse me sir. Can you tell me when the next train to Resembool is leaving?"

"You're in luck son," the man said. "There's a train bound for Resembool leaving in fifteen minutes."

"YES!" Nick inwardly exclaimed. To the man he said, "That's nice. I'd like one ticket please."

Nick paid for his ticket and then sat down to wait for the train.

Meanwhile, back at the Hughes' residence, Lt. Griffon and Elicia sat on a couch in the sitting room awaiting Nick's return. It had been nearly fifteen minutes since Nick climbed the stairs to his room and Elicia was beginning to wonder what was taking Nick so long, since he didn't have that many possessions to pack, but she chose to keep her mouth closed since Nick's escort didn;t seem at all concerned.

While the Lieutenant made small talk Elicia kept her eyes glued to the stair case, where she kept hoping she'd see a glum looking Nick descend at any moment. "Come on Nick; please don't have done anything stupid."

Fifteen minutes passed, while Nick sat at the train station and surveyed passing people, on the lookout for Lt. Griffon and the boy couldn't believe his luck when he heard the boarding call for the train to Resembool. His plan was actually going to work. That had to be a first.

"I don't believe it," Nick thought to himself. "I've actually given that guy the slip. Sometimes I even amaze myself."

Nick grabbed his things and boarded the train. He made his way to the back of the railcar and sat down. He glanced out the window, still slightly paranoid that his unwanted companion might show up but his fears were alleviated when the train's whistle blew and the train began to pull away from the station.

"What's taking that boy so long?" Lt. Griffon asked, after half an hour of forced small talk with Elicia.

Elicia shrugged. "I don't know. I'll go up and check on him."

"I'll come too," Lt. Griffon said.

"Oh boy," Elicia thought to herself as she and the lieutenant began the walk up the stairs. "Here it comes." Elicia had no proof that Nick had done anything but she had known the boy long enough to know that it was a distinct possibility.

When she and the lieutenant reached Nick's room Elicia knocked. She waited a few seconds and when there was no answer she knocked again. Again there was no answer.

"Nick? We're coming in, " Elicia called out, slowly opening the boy's bedroom door.

The room was empty.

"Oh no." Lt. Griffon had caught sight of the homemade rope that Nick had fashioned out of bed sheets and was immediately nauseous. He ran over to the window and gazed down. The lieutenant turned back to Elicia, a horrified look on his face. "I'm a dead man. Court-martial and death are all that await me when the Fuhrer finds out that I lost the State Alchemist I was supposed to be guarding."

Elicia gave the lieutenant a sympathetic look. "It'll be okay. You know where Nick's headed. Just take a separate train and meet him in Resembool. And once the two of you are reunited, don't let him out of your sight again."

Lt. Griffon nodded, his eyes filled with relief. "Thanks."

Elicia nodded.

Lt. Griffon left the room and ran down the stairs. He quickly left the Hughes' residence and made his way to the train station. Lt. Griffon walked up to the man in the ticket booth.

"Excuse me sir," Lt. Griffon said, slightly out of breath after his jog to the train station. "I'm looking for a young boy. Not very tall, dressed all in black with long blonde hair, which he wears in a single braid. Have you seen him?"

The man nodded. "Yea. He was here not too long ago. Is he in some kind of trouble with the military?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Lt. Griffon said, shaking his head. "Can you tell me where he went?"

"He took a train to Resembool," the man said, gazing down at his watch. "It left about two hours ago."

"Dammit!"

After he determined that Nick had definitely gotten on the train bound for Resembool, Lt. Griffon learned, to his great dismay, that the next passenger train bound for the small town wasn't scheduled to leave for three days.

That news devastated the military man. "You've gotta be kidding me?"

"I'm sorry Lieutenant," the man at the ticket booth said. "If you really need to get there ASAP, there's a freight train leaving in about an hour that has a scheduled stop in Resembool. It's not normally allowed but if you don't mind the conditions I'll bend the rules a little and you can ride on that train."

"Thank you so much sir," Lt. Griffon said, heaving a sigh of relief and wiping sweat from his forehead. "You probably just saved my life. I'll take passage on the freight train with gratitude."

Lt. Griffon got his ticket and took a seat on a bench to await the departure of his train. While he was waiting he thought about the young man who'd given him the slip.

"Why'd you do this to me Fullmetal? Am I really that horrible to be around?"

If Fuhrer Mustang discovered that he'd lost the State Alchemist that he'd been assigned to protect his career in the military was basically ruined. And Lt. Griffon was determined not to let that happen. He would track down the boy if it killed him.

Nick spent many, many mind numbing hours on the train and he was ready to pull his hair out by the time he arrived in his hometown of Resembool. As soon as the train came to a stop at the station Nick jumped to his feet and exited. He didn't have any luggage to get because his escape from Lt. Griffon had prevented him from packing so he was able to get off the train in record speed.

Once in his hometown Nick spent a little time debating on who he should get to repair his auto-mail. His mother was the best auto-mail engineer around but his great-grandmother would be less likely to chew him out over the fight that had caused the damage to his auto-mail.

"Dammit," Nick swore. "This is a no win situation. I'll just get Mom to fix it and deal with the emotional trauma."

His decision made, Nick set out on the road that would take him to the place where he'd grown up. He hadn't been back since his impromptu trip to Central several months ago and yet nothing seemed to have changed.

"This place is as boring as always," Nick observed as he headed toward his home.

It only took Nick about half an hour to walk from the main village of Resembool to the house where his parents and his younger sister still lived. And as he approached the house he heard the familiar barking of a dog.

Nick looked to his left and saw a huge, shaggy white dog loping toward him. "Keeva," he called out to the dog.

The dog immediately halted it's approached and stood staring at the boy.

"Hey Keeva." Nick walked toward the dog. "Still the best guard dog in all of Resembool I see."

The dog cocked its head to one side and listened to the boy's words for a few minutes before suddenly rushing the boy. The dog ran toward Nick and jumped on him. Nick had anticipated the dog's attack and when Keeva jumped he caught the dog's front paws and held them. This was a familiar game of theirs.

"So you wanna dance huh?" Nick asked, holding the dog's paws and taking a few steps forward.

The dog barked happily and followed the boy on his hind legs.

"I'm glad to see you too." Nick released his grip on the dog's paws and patted him affectionately on the head. "But I can't support your weight so you're gonna have to get down."

"NICK!"

Nick turned toward the house when he heard the squeal of his little sister Aiya. The young girl had just walked out the front door to see what the dog was barking at and she immediately caught sight of her older brother. Her blue eyes lit up with delight and she offered Nick a welcoming smile.

"Hey Aiya," Nick called out, walking quickly toward her. When he reached the young girl she threw her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. "So are you back for good now?"

Nick gazed at his sister sadly. "Afraid not. I still have some things I have to do before I come home for good. Right now I'm just here for repairs."

"Oh," Aiya said, her face falling.

"I'm sorry Aiya," Nick said. "But I'll be home again in no time. I promise."

Lt. Griffon boarded the freight train that he was forced to take in order to reach Resembool before Nick's repairs were finished and he returned to Central. Once on board the train Lt. Griffon found a semi comfortable seat on a large crate. The lieutenant sat down and attempted to make himself comfortable, grumbling complaints the entire time. As he prepared himself for the many uncomfortable hours that he would spend on the train the lieutenant grumbled to himself.

"You can bet when I find that boy I won't let him out of my sight again. I can't believe he did this."

Still grumbling, Lt. Griffon was nearly unseated when the train lurched and began to move.

"Uhhh," Lt. Griffon said, struggling to regain his balance.

Lt. Griffon barely managed to keep from falling off his crate seat as the train picked up speed, bound for many places, among them the small village of Resembool.

"I'm coming for you Nicholas," Lt. Griffon whispered. "You may think you've won but you're wrong."

Nick and Aiya were still standing out in the yard, catching up on the goings on in each other's lives, when Winry walked outside.

"Nicholas," she gasped as she caught sight of the son she hadn't seen in several months.

"Hi Mom." Nick smiled up at his mother.

Winry smiled at her son. "So to what do we owe this pleasure? Have you decided to quit the military?"

The comment was meant as a casual joke but Winry couldn't hide the faint note of hopefulness in her voice. She would like nothing better than to have her son home for good and Nick was well aware of that fact.

"Afraid not Mom. I came home for repairs."

Winry's eyes widened. "What did you do?"

"Uh oh. Here it comes," Nick thought. He turned to face his mother and said in a placating voice, "It was just a little scuffle Mom, nothing serious."

"You're lying to me," Winry said, immediately seeing through her son's attempted deception. He was too much like his father to be able to lie to her with any skill. She could see right through him the same way she'd always been able to see through Edward's lies.

"What makes you say that?" Nick asked, inwardly amazed at her uncanny ability to see through his lies.

"Because you are your father's son," Winry replied.

"That was harsh," a third voice said, joining the conversation.

"Hey Dad," Nick said, hoping that his dad's appearance would help steer the topic of conversation away from his fight and the shape of his auto-mail.

No such luck.

"Welcome home son." Ed smiled down at his look alike son. "I couldn't help overhearing the fact that you came home for repairs. Did you have some trouble with one of your missions?"

"A little," Nick said, shrugging it off. "But it's not that big of a deal. My arm isn't even totally busted. I can still use it some."

And to demonstrate his point, Nick held up his arm and showed his limited range of motion.

Instantly shifting into auto-mail engineer mode, Winry walked down the porch steps and came to stand beside her son. She grabbed his arm and began to move it around, examining its mobility and range of motion. She abruptly released her grip on his arm. "You haven't completely ruined it, that's true, but you did a number on it. I think that I'll go ahead and completely replace it while you're here, since there's no way to know when you'll come back."

Nick nodded. "Alright. Thanks Mom."

"You're welcome," Winry said. Then her disposition abruptly changed and she held up the wrench that was in her hand, her narrowed gaze focused on her first born. "But if anything happens to this new arm you've had it. Is that understood?"

A bead of sweat appeared on Nick's forehead. "Yes ma'am."

"Okay," Winry said, her mood lightening once more. "Come into my workshop and I'll begin work on your arm."

Nick nodded and followed his mother into her workshop. Aiya followed the two of them, afraid to let her brother out of her sight lest he disappear again. She tagged along close behind him, on his heels like a small puppy. Once inside the workshop Winry removed Nick's auto-mail arm and the boy couldn't help but wince as the nerves of his shoulder were disconnected to the mechanism of the auto-mail. "That part hasn't gotten any easier."

"I'm sorry," Winry said in an apologetic tone of voice, placing the arm on her workbench.

"It's okay," Nick said. "The memory of that pain and the pain to come when you reattach it will only serve to remind me that I have to be more careful in the future."

"That's a good way to look at it," Winry said. "Well, I have work to do so why don't you go and spend some time with your sister Nicholas. She obviously missed you."

Nick looked down at Aiya, who was standing very close to him. "Yea. I think you're right. Come on Aiya. Let's go outside and play."

"Okay Big Brother," Aiya said happily, grabbing her brother by the arm.

After spending countless hours on board the cramped and uncomfortable freight train, Lt. Griffon was delighted when he felt the train slow. That signaled his arrival in Resembool.

"It's about time," Lt. Griffon muttered to himself.

When the sound of the train's whistle signaled their arrival in Resembool, Lt. Griffon jumped to his feet and made a beeline for the exit. Once outside, Lt. Griffon stopped to contemplate his next move.

"Now," he thought to himself as he gazed around. "To find out where the kid lives."

So the lieutenant approached an older man who was standing beside the platform, watching the men who were unloading the contents from the freight train. "Excuse me sir."

"Can I help you young man?"

"I hope so," Lt. Griffon said. "I'm looking for a young man by the name of Nicholas Elric. Can you tell me where I might find him?"

"I can tell you where his family lives," the man replied. "But Nicholas left Resembool several months ago."

"Any information you can give me would be most appreciated," Lt. Griffon told the man. He was in no position to be picky and would take what he could get.

A few minutes later Lt. Griffon set out for the Elric family home, following the directions that the man had given him.

Nick and Aiya were out in front of their family's home, playing with Keeva, when the dog suddenly lost interest in the ball that Nick had been tossing to him. The dog turned its attention to the road that led to the main village and began to bark furiously.

Nick turned and gazed in the direction that Keeva's attention was focused and to his horror he saw a man in royal blue walking up the road toward them.

"Ah hell no," Nick moaned, running a hand through his golden blonde bangs.

"What is it Big Brother?" Aiya asked, confused.

"We have a visitor," Nick said moodily.

Aiya turned and she, too, saw the man walking toward them. "Who is that man?" There was a slight note of fear in the child's voice.

"It's alright Aiya," Nick said reassuringly, instantly picking up the fear in his little sister's voice. He hadn't meant to scare her and he quickly changed the tone of his voice. "He's here to see me. He's a member of the military, like me."

"Oh." The young girl's fear did not go away entirely but she trusted her older brother and stood close by his side, watching as the man in blue approached.

When Lt. Griffon reached the spot where the two kids were standing he glared at Nick. "So you thought you could give me the slip did you Fullmetal?"

"Why couldn't you have just stayed in Central? You look like hell." Nick said, noticing the lieutenant's haggard appearance. "Obviously I'm capable of taking care of myself since I made it here just fine alone. In fact I seem to have fared quite a bit better than you did. So I didn't need you."

"That may be true," Lt. Griffon said, pausing to catch his breath. "You obviously have a fair amount of luck but that's not the point. The point is, I was ordered to accompany you and make sure that you arrived in Resembool safely and without incident and then you jeopardized my career, not to mention your life, by taking off by yourself. That was very inconsiderate of you, not to mention stupid. I could face a court-martial if Fuhrer Mustang finds out what happened."

Nick gazed at Lt. Griffon, a startled look on his face. He'd known that his escape would make Mustang angry at him but he hadn't even thought about the repercussions on Lt. Griffon. The man had been ordered to keep an eye on him and then less than an hour later he'd lost him. That really could have gotten the lieutenant in a whole lot of trouble.

"You're right," Nick said softly, his gaze lowered to the ground. "I'm sorry."

Lt. Griffon looked surprised. He apparently hadn't expected an apology from the boy.

"So," Nick said. "Since you're here and I'm here and no one except me, you and Elicia know about what happened, you may as well continue your job."

Lt. Griffon nodded.

"Come on and I'll introduce you to my parents."

Nick led the way into the house, followed by Aiya and Lt. Griffon. The group found Ed sitting on the couch in the living room, reading a book.

"Dad, we have a guest."

Ed put down his book and looked up at his children and the military officer who accompanied them.

"Dad this is Second Lieutenant Jason Griffon," Nick said. "He was assigned to be my escort by Mustang. He just now arrived from the train station. Lt. Griffon, this is my dad Edward Elric."

"Welcome to Resembool Lt. Griffon." Ed extended his hand to the military officer.

Lt. Griffon took Ed's offered hand and shook it. "Pleased to meet you Mr. Elric."

"So you were given the unfortunate task of guarding my son huh?" Ed said with an evil grin. "You must have done something to really piss off Mustang."

Lt. Griffon did his best to hide the smile that Ed's comment brought because he knew that Nick would be pissed off if he openly laughed at what Ed had said. But it took everything he had to keep from laughing.

"DAD!!"

"What?' Ed asked in an innocent voice.

Nick growled low in his throat.

"Made you angry have I? Sorry about that." Even though he was issuing an apology to his son, Ed's voice was devoid of even a hint of remorse. And he couldn't quite banish the evil grin.

"Sure you are," Nick said, not at all convinced. "Anyway, Lt. Griffon will be staying with us until I head back to Central. Is that okay with you?"

"Doesn't bother me," Ed said. "Make yourself at home Lieutenant."

"Thank you Mr. Elric sir."

Ed nodded in the direction of Lt. Griffon.

"Come on Aiya. Let's go back outside and play with Keeva some more."

Aiya nodded her head enthusiastically, a large smile spreading across her pretty face. "Okay Big Brother. He's really happy that you're back home Nick. And so am I."

Nick smiled at his little sister. "I'm glad to be home."

As he and his sister spent the next couple of days playing with one another, Nick began to grow restless. He'd spoken the truth when he'd told Aiya that he was glad to be home but he was also anxious to get back to Central and continue his mission. Nick felt slightly guilty about his restlessness but there was nothing he could do about it. It was simply in his nature to be that way.

"I wish Mom would hurry up with my arm," Nick thought to himself as he and Aiya sat out in the yard two days after Nick's arrival in Resembool. "I need to get back to Central and continue my research."

Later that same day Winry emerged from her workshop and went in search of her two children. She found the two children and Lt. Griffon sitting beside the river that was a short distance from their house. "Nicholas," Winry said as she walked over to the spot where the three of them sat. "Your arm's ready. So you can come back to the house whenever you're ready and I'll reattach it."

Nick nodded and stood up. He'd been ready since his arrival and didn't want to wait another second.

Aiya and Lt. Griffon jumped to their feet and followed Winry and Nick back to the house.

Nick followed his mom into the living room of the house, where he proceeded to remove his black shirt. Then he sat down on a chair and waited. The boy took a few deep breaths, fully aware of what he was about to endure. Having worn auto-mail for a couple of years, he was familiar with this pain although he was fairly sure that he would never get used to it. There were just some things in life that never got any easier and this was definetely one of them.

Winry walked over to the chair where her son sat, carrying his new arm, and after making a few adjustments she attached the new appendage to her son's shoulder.

Nick bit back a scream of pain as the nerves of his shoulder attached to the auto-mail. The pain caused when his mother attached his new arm was so great that Nick nearly passed out from the sheer magnitude of it. Anticipating his son's near collapse, Ed rushed over and grabbed him as he slumped over in his chair.

"It's okay kiddo," Ed said softly, cradling the boy in his arms. "I've got you."

Ed walked over to the couch and gently lay his son down. Then he covered the boy with a light blanket.

Winry walked over and knelt down beside her son, whose eyes were clamped tightly closed. "I'm sorry Nicholas but the pain will lessen soon."

Nick nodded, unable to speak. His jaw was clenched tightly shut against the pain and he knew that if he unclenched it and attempted speech the trembling that he was barely managing to suppress would overwhelm him.

While Nick lay on the couch recovering, with Aiya sitting on the floor by his side, the three adults assembled in the kitchen. Winry made each of them a cup of tea and they sat around the kitchen table.

"No matter how many times I do that it never gets any easier."

Ed placed a comforting hand around his wife's shoulders.

Tears glistened in Winry's eyes. "I know it has to be done but that doesn't take away from the fact that I'm causing him pain. That's something no mother should ever have to do to her son."

Lt. Griffon's gaze shifted in the direction of the living room. "I'd heard stories but I had no idea that attaching auto-mail was so painful."

Winry nodded. "It defies description. You have to have actually experienced it for yourself in order for your explanation of the pain to even do it justice. I know it's horrible but even I don't know the full extent of it."

Lt. Griffon stared admiringly in the direction of the living room. "He's a brave young man, your son."

Winry nodded.

"And you're brave yourself ma'am," Lt. Griffon said. "Doing what you do to help your son even though it causes you great grief."

Winry looked surprised at this statement from the military officer. No one had ever called her brave for torturing her son before. She wasn't sure how to react to it.

"I realize you may not think so," Lt. Griffon said, noticing the look on her face. "But it's true."

Winry smiled slightly, grateful for the lieutenant's attempt to cheer her up. She knew that it wasn't bravery that made her do what she did. She did what she did because it was what Nicholas wanted and she would do anything for him, no matter how hard it was for her.

That was her duty as a mother.

Nick spent about half an hour recovering from the attachment of his new arm and then he sat up slowly and tested the movement of his new appendage. Although he could still feel the pain that had been caused when his nerves had connected with the mechanism, it had lessened substantially and was now much more bearable. The trembling had almost completely stopped and the pain had lessened enough for him to experiment a little and truly evaluate his new limb. He moved his fingers and then made a fist, noticing that his mom had made a few improvements to this new arm. He inwardly marveled at his mother. "You gotta hand it to her. Her work gets better every time."

Nick got to his feet and went in search of his mom, so that he could thank her. He found her, his father and his bodyguard in the kitchen.

"Feeling better?" Ed asked as the kid took a seat in a vacant chair.

"Much," Nick replied. Then he turned to his mother. "Thanks Mom. The new arm's great."

Winry smiled. "You're welcome Nick. So I suppose now you'll be heading back to your busy life in Central?"

Nick nodded. "Yea. I need to get back to my research."

"Research huh?" Winry said, a knowing look in her eyes. "Well you'd better be careful while you do this 'research', because if anything happens to that auto-mail you'll be sorry."

"Okay Mom," Nick said with a laugh.

The next day Nick and Lt. Griffon walked the short distance to the train station, accompanied by Ed, Winry and Aiya. Nick's family stood on the platform and waved as the train containing Nick and his escort pulled away.

"Take care Nicholas," Winry shouted as the train picked up speed.

Nick waved to his family until they were out of sight and then he sat down in his seat across from Lt. Griffon. He was happy to be back in commission and yet sad at the same time. Now he could continue his mission but his family was sad.

"Cheer up kid," Lt. Griffon said. "When we arrive back in Central, you'll be rid of me. Doesn't that make you happy?"

Nick laughed. "You know you're actually not that bad. I still maintain that I didn't need a baby-sitter but I'm sure there are worse people that Mustang could have stuck me with."

Lt. Griffon smiled at the rather unusual and completely unexpected compliment from the boy who, only a few days earlier, had completely disdained the sight of him.

"So," Nick said in an offhand voice. "Do you intend to tell Mustang that I gave you the slip? You could get me into a lot of trouble if you wanted to."

"I don't think so," Lt. Griffon said. "That would serve no purpose other than to get us both in a lot of trouble. I just don't see how that would be productive so I won't say anything if you don't."

Nick nodded, a new respect for this man forming.

A/N- and thus ends yet another chapter of Nick's story. Feel free to review and let me know what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.