Two Paths:

The steam blew out of the smoke stack like a giant sigh from the metal beast. The conductor signaled the train's complete stop, allowing the passengers aboard to flow out onto the platform. A few travelers got off; their bags forgotten as they rushed towards their waiting loved ones. Before long the platform was empty again, save for the railroad conductor, the station attendant and a couple off to the side. They had a schedule to keep, but the conductor politely pretended to do a quick maintenance check to give the familiar couple just a little more time.

"And you'll call me if anything should happen to your automail?" The blond-haired girl asked anxiously.

Ed swallowed the lump in his throat; goodbyes were right up there with attaching automail. It was uncomfortable to watch her struggle to hold back tears. Winry was strong but she couldn't fool him, this was killing her. Feeling sort of awkward he rocked back on his heels. "Yeah, sure thing Win."

The past few months in Resembool had made him feel so normal and to be honest, happy. Helping with chores around the house, running errands with Winry and eating his favorite pie once and awhile had made him forget those agonizing years he spent chasing after the unknown. It was an adjustment but without alchemy he had felt normal for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime.

A gust of wind picked up, drawing out a few strands of Winry's hair over her face. His hand automatically reached towards her, gently tucking them behind her ear. The softness of Winry's pale skin pulled him closer, his fingertips lingering on her face. What was the reason he was leaving again? He heard the ominous 'All aboard!' and knew their time had run out. He wanted to ask her to come, but the selfish thought had no room to linger. Instead he looked longingly at her pretty blue eyes and wondered how on earth he was going to let this moment pass him by.

"You better go." She said sadly.

"I'll miss you." He offered in return for that look in her eyes. There wasn't much else he could give to her with such a limited amount of time.

Tears threatened in his oldest friends' eyes. "You could stay, if only for a little longer?" Winry asked him breathlessly.

It was the letters from his brother that had initially cast the first shadows of doubt in his head. The tales of mischief and adventure he didn't quite fathom through just words on a piece of paper. It felt so disappointing to write back and see his most adventurous day had been trying to help give Den a bath. The nagging indecision in his mind had been eating away at him. He couldn't stay.

The train whistle sounded loudly and Edward glanced nervously over his shoulder, the next train didn't depart until the following day. "Winry…"

"Edward, I'm asking you to stay." Her voice hitched on the last word.

A desperate part of him held onto her words with reverence, as if they might really help him to stay. Ed knew what would happen if he got on the train. Once he arrived in Central, he would take on his new position within the military and there would be no going back. There were no brakes on this train, it was all go from here. This new life in Central, this career he had chosen with the military, it was too late to turn back now.

"I've already stayed too long."

Ignoring the furious butterflies in his stomach he embraced the girl who really resembled more of a woman. Winry meant something to him, but he wasn't sure exactly what to do with that and while there was a spark he had a more pressing call to answer. He didn't want the promised day to have been the peak of his life, there had to be another adventure, another mission he had yet to accomplish.

Winry whispered into his neck as her hands gripped him tighter. "I'll miss you."

Edward felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her, but that was selfish and a promise he just couldn't keep. Instead he boarded the train; his body cold as he watched Winry's outline fade from his sight. By choosing this path he was effectively turning his back on another.

"Still here Fullmetal?" A voice echoed from the hallway. The state alchemist title might no longer be his, but the nickname had stuck.

Ed picked his head up long enough to give the Fuhrer a shrug. "I need to finish this stack before I go." He replied mechanically, a learned behavior he resented a little.

Headquarters were particularly empty today, but that was no surprise. After all, today was the Promised Day. After the defeat of the homunculi ten years ago they had begun to celebrate the promised day as a national holiday to pay respects to all those who had lost their lives under the hands of Bradley's regime that had finally come to an end.

"Figured you'd catch a train to Resembool by now." Roy commented as if he were fishing for some savory morsel to torment him with.

The idea had come to mind, but he had pushed it away. His brother was traveling the world off on a nomads journey for something even he didn't fully understand anymore. Granny had passed a year after his own father. All that was left in that small farming town was a what if. "Nah, Al is still traveling, no point in me going all that way for nothing."

Roy had that knowing look on his face that irritated Ed to no end. "Nothing huh? Thought there was more to it than that."

That was an entirely different story, one that would never have a happy ending, for him at least. Last he had heard she was dating a doctor who had moved out to the country to start his own practice. He might have had his chance ten years ago, but the minute he left it seemed doomed that he would never return. "She's got her world, I have mine." There wasn't anything between them anymore, no family, no friendship and no…well the last part would stay locked away in the back of his mind.

"Not too late to fix your mistakes." Mustang offered in a surprising show of optimism.

"Easier said than done." Ed fought back. He knew the bastard was living proof that mistakes can be fixed, but this one had been broken for far too long. "Any information on Kimbley?" He asked trying to provide an opportunity to change the topic. Talking about his mistakes only ever led to her, and he couldn't think about her without that terrible plunging feeling in his stomach.

A grim expression came over the Fuhrers face. Ever since the downfall of Bradley's regime there were still a few extremists lurking around. From their reconnaissance they had found evidence that tied them all together, a common thread and apparently their leader, Zolf Kimbley.

"Fuery tapped a phone line outside of Briggs, seems like their planning their move soon." His eyes narrowed, "Been hiding up in the mountains, biding his time."

Ed chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip. Lately there had been several small, scattered bits of terrorism, but that wasn't Kimbley's style. They all knew that something else was brewing behind the scenes, these little distractions would be nothing compared to whatever psychotic plot he had in mind. Blowing up parliament was only one of the threats they had come across. "There isn't so much of a question of what they are going to do, more along the lines of when."

"Listen." Roy Mustang looked rather tired and old in the dim lighting. "Go home Ed, while you still have one to go to."

"Haven't been home for a long time." He replied softly but Mustang had already left.

By the time Ed pulled himself out of his work again the clocks hand had already passed the twelve. Feeling beat he put away the remainder of his work, pulled on his long military issue trench coat before jamming his hat onto his head as he exited the room. The empty hallway engulfed him as he set out pondering what the next day's work would entail.

Living in Central had taken some getting used to; some of the city's rather unpleasant elements were now just ordinary occurrences. The sight of homeless figures lurking in the alleys was a silent reminder of the work that still needed to be done. The endless amount of human suffering that plagued their world now unsettled him in a way that made him twitchy with anxiety.

"Your sins are unforgiveable."

Ed paused, his eyes narrowing in the dark as he watched a man step towards him. The white haze in his pupils gave his blindness away as he continued to walk forward into the streetlight. He should have taken a damn taxi; Ed was too tired to put up with this crap.

"Yeah and for a small fee I can atone for my sins can I?" He replied back sarcastically, he had heard this one before.

The old man's bony finger shook as he pointed in accusation. "They are unforgivable, until you learn from them."

Either this man was a genius or a crackpot, maybe both. "Thanks for the advice." Ed muttered under his breath as he continued to walk down the street imagining the wonderful feeling of a pillow under his head. Stuffing his hands into his pockets Ed frowned as he pulled the familiar watch from his pocket. How did his old alchemist watch get in there? Staring at it Ed shook his head and kept walking.

"You will learn Edward Elric, you will learn." The voice trailed after him, as loud as if he had been standing right next to him.

Turning to look over his shoulder Ed rubbed his tired eyes. There was nothing there, nothing but an overactive imagination with a need for rest. He only briefly thought of the man who could see things without actually seeing. Overworked; that explained a good majority of this shit. Exhausted and thoroughly over the rather lackluster day, Ed thought about how nice it would be to fall into bed. Then he decided he would take a new route to and from work.

Almost home he paused outside a pub just one block from his apartment. One drink might take the edge off, right? Without another thought he walked in and parked himself on a bar stool. The drinks came easy and the lovely bartender didn't ask any questions. Just a few drinks in and already his mind grew hazy with relief.

"Can I use your phone?" Ed asked, suddenly needing to talk with someone.

She gave him an indulgent smile and pointed towards the back corner of the bar.

Dialing the number, he suddenly forgot the reason why but it was too late. Alphonse picked up, his voice exasperated. "Hello?"

Ed knew it wasn't polite to call his brother at such an hour but he needed to hear a familiar voice. "Hey Al."

"Brother, do you know what time it is?" The younger Elric asked the sound of a yawn on the other end.

"Yeah." He mumbled.

"What's wrong Ed." Alphonse sighed, any exasperating giving way to sympathy.

"Is she happy?"

"Who?" His brother asked, concern beginning to build in his voice.

Fuck the booze was getting to him. "You know who."

"Brother, its two in the morning. Can you just call me tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sorry." What was he thinking?

Hanging up he stared at the counter, it was time to go before things got bad. Not the first time but he wasn't prepared to clean up another mess. Feeling more alone than usually he paid his tab and picked up the pieces of himself and retreated.

The repeated blare of an alarm clock brought his troubled dreams to an abrupt end. Without opening his eyes, he reached out his right arm instinctively to shut off the damn thing, he didn't remember his alarm being quite this annoying. As his fingers groped for the nightstand table he was dumbfounded, it felt nothing like a table. In fact he would have staked a guess that it was probably a person.

His fingers slid down the soft skin, his brain working overtime to figure out how he had lured a woman into his bed and why he was in fact sleeping on the wrong side of the bed. Ed was accustomed to the right side, a sleeping habit he had picked up since he began to live by himself in Central. A soft moan halted his investigating hands, a blush staining his cheeks as he opened his eyes to see the bare back of a woman lying next to him. The vertebrae in her spine stuck out slightly, her silky hair pillowed around her head. Quickly retracting his hand Ed gazed in confusion at the blond mop of hair on the pillow next to his. There was one detail above all that threw him for a loop, this was not his bed and that sure as hell was no random girl.

Closing his eyes he tried to pretend he was still asleep, maybe then he could wake up for real. The same woman chuckled, the sleep still griping her as he heard her shut the alarm off and mutter something under her breath. His eyes flew open, the same scene still painted out in front of him. There was only one explanation as to why this particular woman was in his bed, he was dreaming. It was cruel but still absolutely fascinating. The woman stretched slowly, her arms rose above her head as her shoulders made a slight popping noise. The blonde cast her gaze over her shoulder, those piercing blue eyes locking on to his.

"Ed, you're staring." Her cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink that did nothing to distract him from the curve of her hips to the low dip in her back. The more he stared the more he found himself wondering if he had ever truly seen her before. Of course, he had dreamed of her from time to time, but for whatever reason this time felt real.

"You're beautiful." He practically chocked out; his voice sounded much closer to his teenage years than it should.

Her bemused smile widened. "If you think sweet talking is going to get you out of getting the kids ready for school, you're wrong."

"Kids?" That wiped the grin right off his face, he didn't like where this dream was heading. "I…we, don't have any kids." This was ridiculous; he hadn't seen Winry in years. He recognized the style of the room and even the color of the walls, he was definitely in Resembool, but how in the world did he get there? Standing up he tugged the cover with him, his dream girl might not have any problems standing naked in front of him, but he would feel much better with at least a pair of boxers.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw her laugh again, as if he were joking. "Funny Ed, but that won't work either. Today is your day to get them ready; pretending we don't have kids is not a good excuse."

She crossed the room in a few steps, leaned in and kissed him briefly on the cheek before humming happily to herself. He didn't have time to argue that it damn well was an excuse; she was already in the bathroom, the squeaky sound of a knob followed by the rushing of water.

Feeling dazed, he walked over to a dresser praying for clothes. Lucky for him it all looked to be his size though a good portion of his brain wondered why she had guy clothing in her room at all. Well that wasn't entirely true, most of his brain power was focused on why he was naked in bed with Winry and why she was acting like they were an old married couple, with kids at that. Either he needed to wake up or he needed to figure out what kind of drug the man on the street had slipped him or maybe that coy bartender.

Subconsciously he walked towards the bathroom where the door was halfway open. Placing his hand on the wooden barrier he paused. One look at her silhouette could render a guy speechless, not to mention the longing feeling in his stomach that wished this wasn't a dream.

Dressed in a rather familiar tank top and jeans he started walking down the hallway when he felt the presence of someone behind him. Spinning on his heel he half expected to see granny one more time, even though he knew she had passed.

"Daddy?"

Ed's jaw fell to the floor at the sight of the small child standing in the doorway of the next room, his hands rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

The boy seemed to realize he wasn't responding. His blue eyes, the exact shade of Winry's, widened in confusion. "Daddy?" He asked again.

"I-I'm not..." Two small arms snaked their way around his leg making him jump. "Gah!" He stared alarmingly at the beautiful little girl tugging at his pant leg. The familiar shade of amber in her eyes made his head spin.

"Can you make us pancakes?" She requested with large, pleading eyes.

Looking around he felt a kind of panic begin to surge through him. It was so surreal he just couldn't fathom any of it. The eyes of the two small children were trained on him, as if expecting him to play along with their charade. But if this was some act, if this was some kind of dream, why hadn't reality sunk it yet? He pinched his arm, but all that did was hurt.

As if things couldn't get any more confusing or terrifying there was clearly the sound of a baby beginning to cry. Feeling like a character in a horror novel, he walked cautiously towards the noise, compelled by the weird direction this was all was taking. Pushing open the last door down the hallway he stepped into what used to be granny's old room. The space had changed quite a bit; the old, traditional white, was now baby blue with soft yellow window treatments and decorated accents. The worst addition was the white crib in the center, its purpose only cementing his belief that his dreams were rising to a new level. Unable to halt his curiosity he stalked the crying noise into the crib revealing a small baby boy, his tuffs of blonde hair slightly matted to his head as his tiny fists flailed helplessly. This time he wasn't caught off guard by the amber eyes. Hell, it was like going back into time and staring right into his own eyes.

Feeling remarkably bold his muscles moved in a way that told him he had done this before. Holding the baby out at arm's length he was almost there when a whiff of what resembled a garbage dump engulfed him.

Scrunching his noise Edward eyed the saggy diaper in disgust. "You've got to be kidding me." He mused in horror. Besides the gross factor, he didn't have any idea how to change a baby's diaper and frankly he had no interest in finding out.

The baby's lower lip jutted out, his large eyes widening with tears before his entire face puckered once again and the wails began.

Feeling unbelievably small and helpless himself he tried to hold the baby as far away as was possible. For as tiny as this little guy was, he could hold the octave of an opera singer.

"Winry?" No answer, "How do you get this thing to stop crying?" He asked, his voice fringing on hysteric.

"Momma changes his diaper on the table." The small little girl stood cautiously at the door, her tiny finger pointing at the changing table in the corner of the room.

"Yeah…thanks." A part of him encouraged it and reveled in the absurdity of it. Then again maybe if he played along with all this he might end up back in bed with Winry. Now that was the part of this dream he wanted to explore. Looking back down at the miniature human he found himself staling for some kind of sign, some message this was supposed to be sending him. Waking up would sound better if he had only had more time with her. Forsaking any breathing from his nose he placed the baby on the changing table, pulling out a fresh diaper as well as a packet of wipes pushed towards him from the little girl. That's it, this wasn't so bad right?

Unfastening the Velcro like sides he pulled the front flap down and swore chocolate would never look the same. Luckily the fresh air seemed to have calmed the baby's wails for the moment.

"Ha ha!" He laughed triumphantly. His gag reflex which had been stifled at his first sign of a victory dimmed considerably when he was graced with a spray to the face.

Tight lipped he glared at the little girl who was holding back a fit of giggles. Wiping his face with a wipe he winced, why was he playing along with this dream anyways?

"Daddy, you have to open the diaper and check before leaving it open like that." Another giggle escaped her as she watched the little baby roll around a little, the contents of his diaper spreading across the table and his back.

Ok, this had turned form an intriguing dream into a full out nightmare. Just dreaming about Winry was pretty normal for him but why the hell was he being tortured with the idea of being a failing dad too?

"Daddy…you put the diaper on backwards." She admitted with a laughing smile.

Something inside him snapped as he looked into the faces of children that would never be his. "If it's so damn easy you do it!" He spat at the little girl.

The little girl's face, which appeared to be a sweet miniature of Winry's features, began to fill with tears.

"I'm sorry." She whispered in a trembling voice. Stepping closer she tried to reach out to him. "Daddy?"

There was a strange ache in his chest that made his chest constrict. Angry and confused he tried to keep it together but he was losing it. "I'm not your dad." He spoke harshly.

He watched uselessly as the girl burst into tears, the older brother running into the room not long after. Ed watched in terrible suspense as the boy looked between them before he scooped up the baby from the table and gently pushed the girl from the room. "Come on Sarah I can make you pancakes."

Sarah? As in Winry's mothers name? The world flipped and whirled around him. The look the older brother gave Ed before guiding his sister from the room made his heart pound hard in his chest. The stubborn clench of his jaw and the stern eyes were all his except for the piercing blue…that was all Winry.

Unsure of what to make of it all he bolted from the room and down the stairs. Vaguely he heard the sounds of the kids in the kitchen and the distant trickle of water from the shower but it didn't matter. He ran as fast as his feet would take him, never once stopping to look back at what could have been. Eventually he was going to wake up and miss her like he always did, but the addition of children to his list of what if's had brought him to an all-time low. Maybe the blind man had been right, he had unforgiveable sins. There was a balance in the world and he had traded the possibility of having a family for the adventures that now seemed so hollow and fruitless. There was a family waiting in that house for him but he put one foot in front of the other and waited for his journey to wake himself up.