A/N: Yay! People keep reading! Thanks for reading my insanity! Please review and let me know what I did and didn't do well. If you don't like the story, tell me what's wrong with it. If you do like it, tell me what the best parts are! Anyway, these chapters seem to keep getting longer. I couldn't bring myself to actually include any details about Pinako's death because I like her character too much. I hope you understand. Enjoy chapter 4!
Edward Elric had gone through some emotionally trying times during his short life: when his father left, after his mom died, during automail rehabilitation, and after he learned Winry was a hostage. The days after Pinako died definitely made that list. Winry had stayed surprisingly calm after Al told them, she stayed quiet and practical for a few hours. They made all of the arrangements with the funeral home, and then they walked back to the house. As soon as they got home, Winry locked herself in her room. Al, meanwhile, was still curled up in a ball on the couch. Ed walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You okay there, Al?" Ed asked softly.
"I th-think I've run out of t-tears, brother," Al said shakily.
Ed looked down at his younger brother. He hadn't seen him in such a wreck since their mother died. They really had seen Pinako as a surrogate parent. Ed blinked back his own tears and made a decision about how to help his brother.
Ed walked over to the phone and dialed Major Miles.
"This is Miles. Who is calling?" the gruff voice answered.
"Major, I need a favor. A train will be coming through Ishval later tonight. Mei Chang is aboard it. Could you pass along a message for me?"
"Of course. What's the message?"
"Tell her that our grandmother is dead, and that Al needs her support. If it's not too much trouble, send her back to Resembool on the first train tomorrow."
"Sure. Take care, Elric."
Ed hung up the phone and crawled into his bed. When he finally cried, it was silently. Eventually he drifted off to sleep.
Ed woke up when he heard a knock at the door. He shouted down, "One second!"
He quickly dressed and headed downstairs, past Winry, who was still locked in her room, and past Al, who was still passed out on the couch. He went to the door and opened it.
However, instead of seeing Mei as he expected, he instead saw Sig and Izumi Curtis standing at the door with smiles and luggage.
Ed gaped. He hadn't expected this by any means. He quickly recovered and gulped.
"Uh... Teacher! Sig! What brings you here?" Ed asked nervously, anticipating a kick to the face.
"Well look at you, Edward! You've grown taller!" Izumi said smiling.
"We heard that you lost your grandmother, and we decided to pay you a visit to cheer you up!" Sig said cheerfully.
Ed was not convinced. He still felt the threat of his teacher, but now he was wondering something. "Uh, how did you guys know about that?"
Izumi looked bored, "oh, it was a long chain of phone calls. You called some guy named Miles, he called Mustang, Mustang called Armstrong, and Armstrong told us," she looked fondly at Ed, "we're here to help you take care of your grief stricken family."
"Thanks for the offer, Teacher, but I can take care of Al and Winry well enough on my own. I don't need help. I'm fine!" he said, trying to convince himself as much as them.
Izumi sighed, "oh, you darling idiot, you haven't changed at all. If you're busy taking care of them, then you won't have time to grieve."
"And besides," Sig added, "it's not as if we're going to change our minds. We know you too well."
Ed laughed, "I can't deny that!"
Izumi and Sig came inside. They saw Al asleep on the couch, nodded to each other, and got right to work. Sig stepped into the kitchen and started making some bacon for breakfast. Izumi gently woke Al up.
Al rubbed his eyes and looked up, when he saw Izumi he gasped and dove behind the couch.
"Hey teacher, long time no see..." he said nervously.
"Oh, Al. I'm not going to hurt you. You just lost someone dear to you. I'm here to help," Izumi said comfortingly.
Al stood up. Tears welled up in his eyes and he hurled himself into Izumi's arms. She patted him comfortingly on the back.
As he watched this, Ed decided it was time to deal with Winry.
Ed knocked on her door. It was about a minute before Winry opened it. Her eyes were red from crying and her cheeks had tear trails on them.
"Hey, Winry. My teacher and her husband are here, and they're making some breakfast. You should come down and have some," Ed hated to see her like this, and just wanted to get her mind off of it.
After a few seconds, Winry nodded and they walked downstairs to where Sig was finishing the bacon and Izumi and Al were already seated at the table. Al was telling Izumi something about Xing. Ed and Winry walked over and sat down at the table.
"Oh, Al," Ed said, remembering.
"Yes, brother?"
"Mei is on her way here."
"Really?" Al asked, brightening considerably.
"Yeah, she should arrive later today."
Breakfast was quiet, and when it was over, Winry returned to her room. Ed sat at the table for a while longer, wrapped in his own thoughts.
Ed tuned out everything around him. All he could think was: it's all my fault, I saw that Granny was acting strange, I could have stopped her from going, it's all my fault...
A/N: Oh Ed, blames himself as per usual. This chapter took a while for me to get it up. Sorry. Anyways, late night writing sessions paid off again. I'll try to make the next chapter shorter. Haha. *Salutes*