February 14th, 1964

"Got a romantic rendezvous with your sweetie, soldier?"

Will turned around and grinned shamelessly at the middle-aged guy standing beside him on the train platform. He would have preferred to be in civvies for this, but all he'd had was military attire when he'd gotten notice that his unit was getting a week of leave. The first thing he had done was call Ren and let her know. They had agreed to meet up in a town halfway between North City and Central. With three days advanced warning, Will had been able to arrange to get there, and he would have four whole days with Ren and the kids before he had to go back.

He supposed the bottle of wine and bouquet of flowers were pretty dead giveaways. Though from the look in his eye, the man was clearly expecting a more torrid romance. Will grinned. "Sure do. They should be here on the next train."

Then man was, as Will hoped, caught off guard. "They?"

Will laughed, unable to keep up the charade. "My wife and children."

Understanding and a little relief dawned in the man's eyes. "I see. Well then it really is a special trip."

Will nodded. To the south, he heard the distant sounds of an approaching train. "It is." He strained to see it. He had arrived two hours ahead of them and booked a two-room suite. That way he and Ren could have a little privacy without being separated from the children.

"Well, enjoy yourself," the man nodded a little more respectfully than his earlier comment had implied, and moved on down the platform.

A minute later, the train appeared and Will couldn't take his eyes from it as it drew closer and eventually pulled to a stop in front of him. His heart pumped harder in anticipation. He hadn't seen Ren in nearly a year! Pictures were all he had of her, of Minxia, and the ones he had gotten recently of Michio. His son was three months old and Will had never held him. Today, he would remedy that.

"Daddy!" The eager screech made him turn in time to be nearly tackled off his feet by his eager daughter! "Daddy it's you!" She wrapped her arms around his legs.

Will's throat tightened as he reached down with his arms and detached Minxia from his legs, hefting her up in the air in front of him. He grinned broadly. "Drat. You've grown again, Minx!"

"Yep!" She beamed proudly. "I'm a whole three inches bigger!"

"That you are." Will pulled her close in a big bear hug. Behind her he could see Ren just behind her by a few steps now, cradling a well-blanketed bundle in her arms. A porter had two suitcases. Will smiled. He was not going to cry. Not in public anyway. "Hello, beautiful."

Ren smiled back and closed the distance. In moments the hug included the entire family. When Will finally loosened his grip, he couldn't help staring a little into the face of the baby boy in Ren's arms. Light skinned, the boy had a thin down of dark reddish-brown hair on his head and rich, dark eyes with golden flecks. If they had ever been blue it hadn't lasted long.

"He's perfect," Will breathed.

"He's Mich!" Minxia giggled. "You should hold him, Daddy! He wants to meet you."

"Of course he does," Ren agreed, smiling confidently as she held the bundle out. "Go ahead, Will." It was as if she knew that finally meeting their boy was one of the moments he had been looking forward to most on this trip.

Will ignored the people around them as he gathered up his son. The boy blinked up at him for several seconds.

"Hey there, Mich," Will finally said softly. "I know you have no idea who I am yet. I'm Daddy. I've been pretty busy doing something important, but I promise, I'll be home as soon as I can."

Michio blinked again, and burped.

Ren chuckled. "He's quite the conversationalist, isn't he?"

"He's great," Will chuckled, relaxing. They were here, they were real, and his son didn't hate him on sight. "Why don't we all go to the hotel and relax? How was the trip?"

"It was amazing!" Minxia chimed in before Ren could even open her mouth to reply. "We went so fast! And there were towns, and cars, and fields, and cows, and all sorts of things!" She kept babbling as they headed out of the station. Will took the suitcases from the porter. Those with his duffel on his shoulder were less of a burden then they would have been a year ago.

"Does she ever stop?" Will asked Ren when Minxia was still babbling excitedly when they reached the hotel.

"To eat and sleep," Ren smiled patiently. "What's wrong, Will? Not used to the chatter?"

She was teasing him he realized. "No," he admitted with a small shake of his head. "It's just mind-blowing how much she's grown. And this little guy," he nodded to Michio, back in his mother's arms. "The last time I saw you I was still getting used to the fact we were having another one, and he's here and he's already grown enough he doesn't have that new look. And you don't even look like you were pregnant."

Ren blushed slightly, her smile growing. "Flatterer. Has the war made you blind?"

"No, just starved for a little female attention," Will admitted with a grin, "And time with my family."

Ren nodded, as if that was exactly the answer she expected. "Well then, I'm sure that while we're all together we can arrange plenty of both."

"So how many did you take out today, True Soul?"

Alphonse shrugged modestly at Felix Tringham's question. "Four chimeras and two DAs, but they weren't very good." He could have beaten the two he had taken on in a two-on-one alchemical fight back when he was little more than a kid, armor or otherwise. Still, he couldn't help but feel good at the progress they were making, and the part he had played in today's victory.

Felix gave an impressed whistle. "That's better than I did. One chimera that looked like it was half chicken and I spent the rest of it trying to chase down one of their guys who gave up on alchemy and ran!"

"That's all right," Al smiled as they walked back to base camp. "You'll get another shot at them." Slowly they were pushing the Drachmans back. Not with the speed reported from the Western front, but definitely faster than the Central. The tactics that seemed to work best for the Eastern division were sneaky, diversionary, and relied heavily on brains and on the use of the alchemists. As they pushed the Drachmans further up through the winding mountain passes, it was harder and harder for the two armies to clash in shoot matches. They couldn't form proper firing lines, and so it turned into alchemist versus alchemist more and more often as the Drachmans tried to retreat and find a new route through the mountains without giving up too much ground.

"If there are any left when we're through with them," Roy snickered as he limped up and fell into step beside Al. "That was some impressive work you've been doing lately, Al. I didn't realize how much damage you could do with wind and dust."

"It doesn't have to be flashy to be effective," Al replied, a little surprised by the compliment. Roy wasn't one for flattering others, though he enjoyed receiving it himself.

"Maybe not, but I like a little flare," Roy countered. "You know, we ought to give the pillar of fire another run sometime soon. Think of the damage we could do if it went right up the trail?"

That would be something all right. Al couldn't see how the Drachmans could get out of the way. The only major limiting factor was the limited distance the pillar could move from the alchemists controlling it before it lost potency and dwindled. "It would probably take out at least a few hundred soldiers," he nodded thoughtfully. "If we're lucky, we could time it to hit when the alchemists are at the forefront." The DAs and their chimeras was his preferred target. He was sick of alchemists committing atrocities of nature in the name of their own ambitions.

"Good point," Roy agreed. "You should bring it up at the debriefing. If we can time it right and get in position, we can hit them without any of our soldiers getting in the way."

"If we're lucky." The chances of that were slim. The closer they got, the more likely it was someone was going to get caught in friendly fire. In this case, literally. "More likely we'll be lucky to only catch a few of them." Getting close to the front was tricky enough. It was hard to strike strategically enough not to hit their own men in such limited space and with small opportunities. "It could be worse I suppose."

"It could," Roy replied with a nod, though Al thought he gave him an odd look before continuing. "Well, we'll see what we can do to minimize risks."

"Oh sure," Al agreed. It was only reasonable after all. It didn't do them any good if they killed too many of their own men in the process.

"Glad you agree." Was that another off look from Roy?

Al decided not to worry about it. "Any reason why I shouldn't?"

"No, of course not," Roy shrugged. He smiled. "Come on; let's get this meeting over with. I'm ready for a rest."

"Is that what you call the noises I hear coming from your tent at night?" Al couldn't resist the jibe. In reality, he almost never heard a thing. If he did, it was discretely quiet enough it might as well have been two rabbits in a hole half a mile away.

Felix nearly choked on a laugh, which he tried manfully to silence!

Roy was unfazed. "Of course it is, True Soul. Obviously your ears are going."

"Funny," Al quipped. "From the sounds of it, I would have said it was your knees."

That afternoon was the therapy Will had known he needed. As much as he would not have minded whisking Ren off to the bedroom right then and there, a meal and afternoon with the whole family was an absolute delight. He had forgotten what it felt like to walk through a park, push Minxia on a swing, and get ice cream on his nose eating a three-dip cone. He didn't even care that it was chilly outside. It was the most normal day he had experienced in months, and that was what made it special.

Afterwards they warmed up over a simple dinner of soup and salad in the hotel's little restaurant, then retreated to their rooms for the night. Will insisted on giving Minxia her evening bath while Ren fed Michio, and then helping bathe and change his son as well. Three bedtime stories later he tucked Minxia in to sleep, gave his sleeping baby son a smile, and slipped out of the room, leaving only a night light behind him.

"Well that was surprisingly easy," Will smiled tiredly as he entered the main bedroom. "Are they always this good?"

"Of course they are," he heard Ren comment from the bathroom. "Even if they fussed you would ask if they were always so well behaved."

"You're right," he admitted, chuckling as he walked over to the door of the bathroom. He stopped in the entrance, his breath momentarily stolen by the sight of a most beautiful, utterly unclothed, female form. He hadn't lied earlier, for having given birth three months ago, Ren looked great! All right, so he was biased – and rather fond of the changes maternity had wrought in his slender Xingese wife – but she was truly stunning. "Maybe we should start on another."

Ren looked up at the comment, startled, then laughed and stood from where she had just finished drawing a steamy bath in the tub. "I love you, William, but I refuse to spend the rest of this war pregnant too. Ask me again when we're all safely in Central."

That hadn't even really been what Will meant to say. It had just come out without thinking. He flushed slightly, then smiled. "All right. Maybe I will." He moved into the room. "Taking a bath without me?"

"No," Ren shook her head. "I was rather hoping you would be so inclined as to join me."

"How could I say no?" Will laughed as he went to remove his shirt.

It was not a long bath, but it was enjoyable. Will couldn't remember the last time he had been able to reach that spot in the middle of his back where, despite long arms and flexibility, he could never get just the way he wanted. Nor could he recall the last time he had felt so relaxed as when, afterwards, he was treated to one of Ren's absolutely amazing back and shoulder massages as he lay on his stomach on the bed.

"You're so tense," she commented softly as she worked on a particularly knotted muscle. "And lean," she added, one hand running lightly down his back for a moment.

"Is that a complaint?" Will asked with a tired chuckle. His skin prickled pleasantly under her fingers.

"Maybe," she replied. He felt her hands slide back up to his shoulders. "I'm allowed to worry about you, aren't I?" Her lips brushed the back of his neck, then the side. He could feel the length of her body against his back. It was warm, soft.

"As if I could stop you." Will wriggled and rolled over underneath her, eliciting a squeak from Ren as she rebalanced to stay on the bed. Her long dark hair, down at the moment, tickled his nose as it framed that delicate face, smooth neck… He reached up and pulled her down against him, kissing her with the passion he had been resisting all day.

Ren did not resist. Instead, she kissed him back, hands pressed against his sides, though she did not press her chest against him as firmly as he'd expected. Will felt foolish when he remembered why. It's been too long. They would be highly sensitive right now, sore from feeding. He loosened his grip just a little, and received a brief smile for his thoughtfulness.

Will allowed himself to get fully absorbed in the sensations, his need, the overwhelming love and appreciation for his wife. For months he had been harder, more distant, focused on surviving and not letting what he was doing get to him. Perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised when the overwhelming surge of emotion and release was not merely physical. Almost immediately, as his muscles relaxed, he found himself shaking. Not from physical exertion, but the feelings that he had been forced to contain for his own sanity all this time. His face was wet.

Ren snuggled against him, her eyes wide with worry. "Will, what's wrong?"

Nothing being with you isn't fixing. Will took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Just this whole war," he replied. "I know I'm doing what I ought to be, and I don't regret my decision but it's hard. I never thought I'd kill another person and now…"

"I understand." Ren's hand came to rest on his chest, just over his heart. "You've changed, Will. I knew you would the moment you told me you wanted to do this."

He knew he had, but he had wondered how much it showed. "Does it bother you, knowing what I've been doing?"

Ren took a moment before she answered. "It bothers me how hard it is on you," she explained. "You would have gone crazy if you had stayed home though. You've got an adventurer's heart, and a very strong protective streak." Her smile returned. "You're protecting everything you care about, and as long as you're still worried about it, then I know that the parts of you I love most are still very much alive."

A weight Will hadn't realized he was carrying lifted in that moment. Relieved, he hugged her. "I love you," he whispered. "I hate being apart from you and the kids. I feel like I abandoned you when you were carrying Mich." There were things he could confess in the safe warmth of her arms that hadn't felt right on paper. He hadn't been able to express them then. Now, here, together, he could tell her the full depth of the feelings he had only hinted at in his letters. "I was so afraid he wouldn't like me, even though I know that sounds foolish. You'd all have a right to hate me for going off… but you don't, and I've never been so grateful for anything in my whole life as I am to have you, all of you."

"I love you, too," Ren reassured, returning his embrace. "Minxia does too, and Michio will know you as well as she does when this is over. I have faith that you'll come home to us, and we can put this whole awful war behind us." She smiled then. "I brought you something. I was going to wait until tomorrow, to share with the children, but perhaps you could use one now."

"One what?" Will looked at her oddly as she slipped out of bed and pulled something out of her suitcase. Just what did his wife have in mind? He got his answer a minute later as she presented him with a small container of palm-sized apple tarts. "Did you make these?"

Ren smiled, pleased by his reaction. "I did. Your mother showed me some of the finer points. Really, they aren't so different from Xingese pastries."

"My most noble lady," Will chuckled, reaching for one. They did smell delicious! "What would the Xingese court say to see you cooking Amestrian sweets?"

"They would tell me I was doing my well and proper duty as a wife." Ren stuck out her tongue playfully. Her expression turned to nervousness. "Is it good?"

"Let me take a bite first," Will chided, doing just that. In a moment he knew for certain that they were the same recipe his mother used. "Mmm…that's good," he mumbled around the last few crumbs.

"You're not just saying that?" Ren asked cautiously.

"No I'm serious! They're great." Will reached for another one. "I'm surprised you made them though. Usually you're the one scolding me."

The good-natured teasing made her smile. "I had the feeling you wouldn't lack for physical activity out here. So, do you feel better?"

Will considered the tarts for a moment. So simple, and foolish as he might feel, they had distracted him. Ren knew just what he needed, even when it was just a little something to take his mind off his problems. "Yeah, actually, I do."

February 17th, 1964

"Do you remember what a hot sausage tastes like?" Tore asked rhetorically as he chewed on the luke-warm lump of meat on his fork that the mess tent cooks insisted was a sausage.

"I don't think I remember what hot is," Cal admitted, snickering. He picked up his own sausage with his fingers and shoved it into his mouth, chewing hard. "But I'm pretty sure this isn't really a sausage."

"Oh quit griping." On the other side of both of them Edward Elric sat around the same fire in camp that they were eating around, trying to keep warm. "If you don't like it cook for yourself." He was doing just that, Tore noticed. Fullmetal had put his sausage on a stick and had it over the coals.

"I should have thought of that," Tore groaned as he finished swallowing his last piece.

"There's always tomorrow morning," Cal pointed out. "Well, if they even have sausage."

"Or what they call sausage," Edward pulled his back from the fire and took a bite. It steamed in the cold air. "It's better half burnt."

"Aren't you boys finished eating yet?" Lyssandra Fines asked as she strode up and stopped, looming above them with her hands on her hips. "What happened to wolfing down your food?"

"No wolf would stoop so low as to eat this stuff," Cal quipped.

Tore stifled a snicker. "We're almost finished, Emerald, ma'am."

Fines smiled. "Don't worry about it. I've got good news for you two, and the rest of the unit. We've got new orders." She held up a piece of paper that looked like a recent telegram. "Sky Fire says we're moving back to the Central front, effective immediately."

Tore blinked. That had not been news he had been expecting. Not that he was complaining! "Who's taking our place?"

"Another unit that hasn't seen as much action yet," Fines replied. "We've got the Drachmans on the run here. Apparently Rehnquist and Breda both want the best alchemists in the hot spots."

"So for a reward, we get more work and get tossed into the thick of things," Cal nodded sagely. "Sounds about right."

Fines rolled up the telegram and bopped Cal over the head with it. "Smart ass. We're leaving this afternoon, so pack your things." She looked up at Fullmetal and pulled another telegram out of her pocket. "They told me to give you this while I was at the communications post. I expect it's orders."

Tore watched Edward's eyes light up as he reached out and took it. "Hopefully the same kind," he commented, though he chuckled as he did it. Ever since coming back from North City he seemed in better spirits, or at least, in less discomfort. The forced leave had obviously been good for him. Fullmetal's eyes scanned the telegram.

"Well it's orders," he said finally. "It looks like our transfer will be a little while in coming."

"Why leave you out here?" Tore asked, surprised. Fullmetal's unit was down to three alchemists; three good ones.

"Kane says it's just until they can get another unit out here to switch out," Edward shrugged, apparently not upset at the news. "We'll be heading back the same as you in the next month or two."

"Bet you're looking forward to that," Cal grinned.

Tore knew what Cal meant, and obviously Edward did too because he chuckled. "Frankly, even a warm-ish room with a real bed would make me happy right now. If that bed includes my wife, I'll be even happier."

Right now, Tore had to admit that a bed with any warm female body – even just for the sake of cuddling up and keeping warm – would be welcome. He envied the men back home with their wives and girlfriends. Heck, right now he envied any guy who'd managed to find a willing bed partner or a professional for the night! Going back to North City; maybe Angela would be available.

"Lucky," Fines chuckled. "I wish I'd find my husband waiting. Well, I need to go tell the others. Behave gentlemen," she gave Tore and Cal a knowing look. "And I'll see you at the trucks in a few hours."

"Yes, Ma'am," Tore chorused with Cal. Then he turned back to his plate which, on top of the now eaten chewy sausage, still held some cold, somewhat slimy scrambled eggs.

Fullmetal stood and stretched. "I need to go talk to Fletcher and Finn. See you later." He turned and left as well.

Tore watched him go. He couldn't help but wonder if Edward was as relaxed about staying longer as he seemed. Probably, he decided. No matter how disappointed he was, the Fullmetal Alchemist seemed much more likely to get testy about small things. When it was something bigger that he just couldn't control, but had a reason, he seemed to deal with it just fine.

"I give up." Cal dumped what little remained of his own eggs into the fire pit. "Let's go start packing. I can't wait to get out of this ice box."

"It's not any warmer in North City," Tore pointed out, chuckling as he did the same.

"But at least we might have a chance at warmer accommodations." Cal pointed out. He stood and headed towards their tent.

Right now, they could have offered Tore millions of sens, and he would have traded every one of them for a soak in a deep, hot tub, a real meal, and a warm bed.