Chapter 6: Central

Winry sighed in exhaustion as she and Sciezka took advantage of the lull between incoming wounded. "How have things been going for you?" Winry asked.

"Well, not as bad as it probably has been going for you… I haven't seen a single State Alchemist come in yet, though, so that's good."

"Roy must be keeping them away from the main fight…" Winry said, shaking her head as she closed her eyes.

Sciezka went to follow her lead, but a nurse came in. "Miss Sciezka, there are more wounded being brought in. None of them are major injuries, so the doctors don't think they'll need your services, Miss Winry."

Sciezka let out a squeak of shock as Winry patted her back.

"Don't worry, maybe they'll finally send somebody to replace you soon."

Sciezka nodded sadly as she allowed herself to be lead away by the nurse.

Winry yawned as she lay down and fell asleep.

Ross and Bloch walked around Central headquarters as part of their patrol duty.

A few soldiers deep in conversation passed them. "So the war is at a stalemate?"

"That's what I heard… I think we'll be at war for a few good years before this is ended. General Mustang isn't as great as people say he is…"

Ross shook her head in disgust. "They have no clue what they're talking about. General Mustang is trying his hardest to keep the state from falling apart."

Bloch nodded. "Yeah, well it was partially his fault that we're in this position to begin with." He let out a yelp of pain as Ross stepped on his foot.

"Don't tell me you agree with them!"

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded! General Mustang did the state a service by bringing down Pri- I mean, Fuhrer Bradley, but the way he did it left the state pretty worse for wear."

Ross sighed, knowing he had some good points. "At least we know no matter what happens we can trust him with our lives."

Bloch nodded as they resumed their patrol.

"I wonder what happened to Ed and Al's father. He just seemed to vanish and nobody's seen him since…" Ross said idly, not noticing the pained expression on Bloch's face.

Bloch still had a tendency to overreact whenever Hoenheim was mentioned, though Ross was completely in the dark as to why.

"Come on, Bloch, we should continue our patrol." She snapped as she realized how much time they had wasted standing and talking.

Bloch snapped out of his stupor. "All right, I'm coming!" He said as he followed her quickly.

Black Hayate barked happily as he played with Elicia in the Hughes' front yard.

Gracia smiled as she watched them.

"Momma, when will Miss Riza be coming back for Black Hayate?" Elicia asked as she tossed a stick for him to fetch.

"I'm sure it will be soon, dear. But until she does, we'll make sure to take good care of him for her won't we?"

Elicia nodded happily as she ran off to play with Black Hayate, who wanted her to try and catch him.

Gracia sighed as she stared up at the sky. "All of you had better come back safely…" She muttered to herself. She blinked in surprise as Winry and Sciezka came up the walkway. "I thought you two were at the hospital?"

"I finally got relieved and none of the soldiers require any automail." Sciezka explained as she half-sat, half-collapsed beside Gracia.

"You two had better get some sleep then. You can rest here if you'd like. I know it's quite a distance to your home, Sciezka, and the hotel you're staying in is even farther, Winry."

"Thanks Gracia, we'll be glad to take you up on that offer. Mostly we just came to see how you and Elicia were doing, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to rest here." Winry said as she helped Sciezka stand up again.

"Elicia, come inside and help our guests get comfortable!" Elicia squeaked happily when she realized who the guests were and ran inside with Black Hayate to help her mother.

Gracia paused with them in the doorway. "Is there any news from the front lines?" She asked worriedly.

Sciezka and Winry could do nothing but shake their heads.

"The soldiers aren't allowed to say anything about what's happening just in case the west has spies lurking around the hospital." Sciezka explained.

Gracia nodded sadly. "I worry about Roy and the others. Not knowing how they're doing only makes it worse. It doesn't help that all of Central seems to be on edge. After all the pain and suffering the state and its people have gone through these past several years, I had hoped we had seen the last of war…"

"Don't worry, no State Alchemists have come in to the hospital, so I'm sure General Mustang and the others are fine. With General Mustang in charge, you can be sure he will try to end the war as soon as he can."

Gracia nodded as she motioned for the girls to enter. "I'll have some food ready for you when you wake up."

Winry and Sciezka gleefully thanked Gracia before being led upstairs by Elicia to their rooms.