- Our Boys -

An FMA Challenge-fic

A/N: Oneshot. Complete. This story is part of a three-way challenge I gave to myself, Songfic Misstress, and xfacexthisx. Honestly, I don't know how Izumi would react to her birthday, but she seems like the kind of person who doesn't care ("A birthday is just another day on the calendar to me..."). Use your own imagination for the time of year in which this story takes place. Arakawa-sensei hasn't told us the character's birthdays (and according to interviews she has given, she doesn't plan to... The closest she's gotten to revealing anything is stating that Edward was born in the winter of 1899), so it's up to you. According to the FMA Perfect Guide 2 Gaiden: "Tales of a Master," Izumi was 18 in 1897, when she trained on Mount Briggs.

Special Thanks To: Nixee, for editing this for me.

Pairing(s): Current Izumi/Sig, Past Trisha/Hohenheim (:rolls eyes: duh)

Synopsis: - (Challenge Fic) - A few days prior to her 37th birthday, Izumi has a conversation with Trisha Elric regarding two very special boys.

Sig carefully laid the delicate dark-haired woman on the large soft bed. "Hold on, I'll get your medicine." He murmured more to himself then to his wife in the bed. He was sure she wasn't able to hear him, but he felt better all the same simply speaking to her.

Sig settled her comfortably in the bed, placing her head on the stack of pillows he arranged, and pulled a pale blue and gray quilt over her shoulders. Her skin was becoming cold, but he could still feel life in his touch. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and tenderly wiped the blood off her mouth and chin. He did not want to leave her side, but the shop security weighed in his mind. Determined not to leave Izumi, Sig bellowed "Mason! Go and get the doctor, it's bad this time!" He turned his attention to a large cabinet in which Izumi stored her medication. His large hands were shaking as he meted out the doses into a shot glass for Izumi.

Normally, her blood-spewing episodes didn't rattle him this badly, but then, she'd never fainted from the loss of blood before either. "Izumi, Izumi, here," he cooed as he shuffled back to the bed. He gently placed his large gruff hands under the head of the woman he loved, placing the vessel to her bloodstained lips. He was careful to make sure very little of precious fluid dribbled from her mouth as he administered the medicine.

The frail woman sputtered reflexively, coughing weakly as the liquid sloshed around her mouth and trickled down her throat. "Nnnn..." she grunted, and coughed a few more times before gagging.

Sig propped her into a sitting position and stole a glance at his trembling hands. They were so large and useful in the butcher shop, but now he felt clumsy and awkward. No matter the number of times he would help Izumi during her episodes, he could never make his movements as fluid-like as when he was in his shop. The large man closed his eyes and clenched his fists momentarily before relaxing his hands and patting her back a few times. The coughing continued until she choked, unable to draw breath in her base, instinctive impulse to keep existing. She collapsed heavily onto the bed again, lungs struggling to breathe down life-sustaining oxygen. Izumi's chest hitched a few times before becoming still.

The burly man placed his large head over her chest. Fearing the worst, he desperately searched for even the faintest sound of a beat from his wife's heart. The sound was faint, but breathing a shuddering sigh when he heard the sound of his wife's very faint heartbeat. "Don't leave me, please..." he whispered. "I love you."

Izumi came to in a void of light. Opening her eyes, she attempted to take in her surroundings. The glow that surrounded her seemed to pierce her eyes. Closing her eyes once more, she tried to feel her surroundings, the way her martial arts that had taught her teacher. Her ears were not able to pick up any sound, nor was she able to get a sense of the ambient temperature. It was like she had gone numb. Fighting back instinctive panic, she strained to sit up, but only found herself floating in place. "Where...?" She looked around trying to orient herself. The last thing she remembered was becoming very ill in her living room. Her hand shot up to her mouth at the memory. When she pulled it away, she noticed it was clean. 'Did Sig clean me up?' she wondered absently, looking around again.

"Hello," a serene voice floated over the air to her ears. The alchemist struggled to sit up, but there was nothing to push against, so she stayed in her current position.

"Who's there?" she barked, watching as a middle-aged brunette woman appeared before her, seemingly from nowhere. "Where are we?" she tried to shift away from the woman, but was still unable to move. Her eyes widened in alarm as the stranger reached out and touched her shoulder. The charcoal-eyed woman hissed at the cold sensation running across her skin. "What? Who are you?" She demanded again.

Before she spoke, the middle-aged brown-haired woman wrapped one arm around Izumi's shoulder and the other grasped her arm. With this help, Izumi was able to sit up. The raven-haired alchemist studied her companion, noting the large green eyes and soft chestnut hair. The woman looked familiar, but in a way Izumi wasn't able to put her finger on.

"My name is Trisha Elric, and this is..."

The braids whipped through the air as Izumi's head shot up. She suddenly remembered the face that had been hovering at the edge of her memory. 'When Alphonse was younger, he looked so much like... her...' "Trisha... Trisha... El... ric?" The alchemist whispered as she looked the apparition up and down, her eyes widening in horror. "You're their mother! You're dead! Am I dead?" Izumi gasped the last phrase.

"Not quite," Trisha continued. "This is a transitional plane between life and death. You know it as the Gate."

"What happened? Why am I here?"

Trisha looked at her feet for a moment. "You... You are on the verge of dying. The Gate is starting to open to admit your soul."

Dark eyes opened wide with shock. "I'm ready, I guess," speaking more to herself, Izumi continued, "but, at the same time, I am very afraid," gasping out the last of her thoughts.

The brunette nodded knowingly, her mouth curved with a faint smile, causing dimples to form at the corners. Her emerald eyes closed as she tilted her head to the side. Her expression stayed this way for a few seconds before the smile faded and Trisha's face became somber again. "It's your choice, but I didn't think the woman who helped my children through their adolescence was so... I don't know... I didn't think you would go so easily. You're too stubborn to die so easily," using her tone to challenge Izumi. The challenge was not in aggression, but similar to a mother's ability to spur on a discouraged child.

Izumi stared dumbfounded at the mother of her apprentices, absorbing the meaning of the other's words.

Edward Elric knocked on the door to the house connected to the rear of the butcher shop his teacher ran with her husband. It had been a couple years since they were last there, and he didn't feel right about simply walking in like he owned the place. He kept having to cover his mouth to stifle the giggles threatening to burst forth, glancing behind himself every so often to be sure Al was staying quiet too. They had a big surprise for their teacher, and couldn't wait to share.

He looked back at the building and momentarily relived the horrifying summer he spent there when he was ten. An involuntary shudder passed through him as he shook his head to clear the terror from his mind. He and Al had gone through 'the training from Hell' in this back yard, and while he was glad it was over, he found himself wanting to go back to that time.

"Come on, Al."

"I still think we should have waited a couple more days, Brother. We're early."

Edward looked back at Alphonse once more, taking in his appearance. He had restored the younger teen to flesh a couple months ago, and to his eyes, Al had never looked better. Alphonse stood slightly taller than himself, much to his chagrin, but put up with it because, taller or not, Al had a body again. That meant more to him than anything, even his height complex.

"Well, you know how she is about her birthday. So what if it's a few days away, she'll still like the surprise we have for her," Edward scoffed, staring his younger sibling down, probing the hazel eyes he had almost forgotten. His eyes traveled over Al's body one more time, taking in the creamy skin and short sandy hair. "Besides, we're in town now. Might as well get it over with."

It's true Alphonse looked younger than the sixteen years he was, but he didn't age very much at the Gate, and although approximately half the nutrients Edward had consumed went into the younger body, it seemed that no matter how much Edward had gorged himself during his adolescence, it wasn't enough. He smiled ruefully at the memory of Alphonse ribbing him over his reluctance to drink the opaque white liquid secreted from a cow's nether regions known as milk. Alphonse's voice broke his reverie, and he focused on what his brother was saying.

"... be happy for us, but still..." Alphonse glanced at Edward. His older brother had grown a few inches since the restoration, but he was still short for his age. Al knew the growing pains were hard on the older boy, considering Edward was unable to keep the screams of pain from pouring out of his mouth at night, and he knew most of the pain came from Ed's restored left leg. Unfortunately, Edward had been unable to restore his arm, but Al knew that Edward actually liked his auto-mail arm, no matter how much he grumbled.

Edward raised his right arm and pounded on the door several times. He could hear the knock echo throughout the house. He smiled, "Well, I'm sure they know we're here, now."

Alphonse scoffed. "Of course they do. You're so impatient and noisy, Brother."

The older blond sneered at his younger brother before sticking his tongue out.

"And, you're childish. As the older one, shouldn't you be setting a better example for me?"

The golden-eyed teen opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the door swinging open. The brothers raised their gazes to the large man who filled the doorway, goofy grins plastered to their faces.

"Edward, and...?" Sig raised an eyebrow questioningly as he studied the other boy on his doorstep.

The younger teen slumped his shoulders, clasping his hands in front of him. "It's me, Alphonse," he squeaked, lowering his blushing face.

Sig smiled weakly, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "So, you were finally able to do it. I'm glad."

"Yup. We're here to see Teacher, show Al off, and wish her a happy birthday. Is she in?" Edward asked.

"Boys, I'm glad to see you, but..." Sig started, his eyes downcast. "Izumi's in really bad shape right now."

"What?" Alphonse edged forward, trying to look past the butcher's sheer bulk, his smile falling from his features.

"Did she get sick again?" Edward asked quietly, his expression becoming somber.

The large man shifted his gaze. "Yes. She fainted from the loss of blood this time..."

The older blond squeezed by his mentor's spouse, eyes wide with shock and fear, and rushed though the house, brushing past the harried doctor as they entered the bedroom, sharing a look that spoke volumes: It's happening again...

"Brother..." Al whispered, his voice tinged with concern. His mind was replaying the day their mother died.

"I know..." Edward responded as he rushed to the bed, grabbing one of Izumi's hands and clasping it in his own, barely noting when Alphonse mimicked his actions with the other hand. He pressed the back of the cool hand to his forehead as he fell to his knees. "Teacher..." he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut.

Images were tumbling through the boys' minds, tripping over each other in a guilt-ridden trip down memory lane. They had heard their mother coughing every so often in their youth, but in their naiveté, they believed her when she said it was only allergies. They remembered how it felt when her grip loosened as she passed away. Luckily, Izumi had their hands in a death grip, letting them know that, unconscious or not, she was aware of the anchor she still had to life.

A young man backed his way to the door, clearly agitated by the intrusion. The man was young, in his mid-thirties, with strawberry blond hair and a light dusting of freckles below emerald eyes. He was tall, thin and nimble, and stood tall enough to be able to look over the butcher's shoulder.

"Excuse me, Mr. Curtis," the doctor cleared his throat, upset that he had been so unceremoniously pushed aside. "Who are these... children... and why are they interrupting the care I'm trying to give to your wife? I must ask you to remove them from the room."

"I won't," the butcher answered gruffly, annoyed at the patronizing tone with which the doctor had spoken.

The doctor's eyebrows shot up in response.

"Right now, the love of these boys is the best medicine Izumi can get. They stay in the room," His years as a butcher gave him an edge of unquestionable obedience from those against whom he was making his stand. Sig was not happy he needed any kind of help, especially from this pompous youngling, but he needed the doctor, and Izumi needed the boys. "You'll just have to work with them in the room. They'll understand if it means making sure she gets better." Sig turned to the teens. "Boys, you can stay, but please, move aside so that the doctor can do what he needs to do," he added, knowing that neither Al nor Ed would ever hinder care given to their beloved teacher.

Ed and Al looked up at the burly man and nodded, understanding that Sig had said the last part more for the doctor's sake than their own. Reluctantly prying their hands from their teacher's grasp, they moved to the corner of the room and huddled together as they watched the doctor care for their teacher. Al had his hands clasped in the prayer, a power he still believed in, while Ed silently hoped his brother would pray for his sake as well. Edward couldn't bring himself to pray, having turned his back on God when he was younger, so instead he wrung his hands nervously, his gaze never leaving the form on the bed.

Trisha sat, folding her legs beneath her. "I know you're hard on them, but I know you love them. Like me, you want to protect them from the world around them. We just have..." Trisha stopped, she knew they both had the boys' best interests at heart, but Izumi was just so hard on them and it did bother her. Still, like Trisha was chosen to be the boys' mother, Izumi was chosen to be boys' teacher. Determined not to discourage this delicate yet headstrong woman she continued. "We had different ways of going about it," she sighed. "What they tried to do saddens me, but I can't really blame them, either. I did leave them rather suddenly." She let her mind wander back to that time. Even after all this time, she still was not able to remember the events completely. She had the basic idea of what her boys attempted but did not fully understand what had transpired. Like so many of the experiments Hohenheim attempted, alchemy was not a talent she could fully grasp.

"Yes, you did..." Izumi slapped a hand over her mouth, not wanting to continue, and not intending to say what she had aloud. Shooting an apologetic glance at the other woman, she lowered her hand. "But you know, I have never once heard them blame you for leaving. Edward blames his father for everything. It's sad that he chooses to be blind like that." She continued after a few seconds of silence.

"I'm glad..." green eyes shone with happiness.

"Hmmm...?"

Trisha chuckled. "I'm glad you and my sons met each other. Even in life, I believed in fate, and Hohenheim strengthened my belief. He would say to me, 'Trisha, there is no such thing as coincidence.' He also taught me that there are always new things to learn because life is a never-ending lesson."

"Yes, it is, and your boys learned a very hard lesson."

"Our boys," the older woman corrected gently, causing Izumi to gape mildly. "Yes, you're as much their mother now as I ever was. Thank you for taking care of them for me," Trisha smiled as images flooded her mind, reminding her of the time she spent with the boys. Closing her eyes, she could almost smell the wild flowers Al would bring in from the field behind the house.

Izumi folded her hands in her lap and stared at them for a few minutes before raising her head, knowing the other woman was living some memory of the boys in her mind. She did not want to take this from her, so she waited until the vacant look left Trisha's eyes. Her mouth was twisted in an embarrassed smile. "I know I'm dying, I just don't know when I'll finally pass away," She chuckled hollowly. "I feel childish for asking, but did you... Did you know you were going to die?" Izumi looked down at her hands again sheepishly. "Were you... afraid?"

Trisha blinked a couple times, thinking before answering. "I knew I was sick, but I didn't think much of it until a couple months before I died. I had a bit of a cough, but I had only thought it was severe allergies. For five years I hid my failing health from those boys. I felt I had to. They depended on me."

"Really?" Izumi responded in an attempt to keep Trisha talking. "I wonder... If you could go back and do it again, would you still keep your illness a secret?"

"I did see a doctor a couple months before I died, but we weren't able to nail down the cause of my sickness completely." Trisha smiled. "The only thing about dying I was afraid of was leaving my sons behind. I never wanted to leave them alone," Trisha spoke in almost a whisper now, "like I did." She wiped the back of her hand over her eyes, surprised that she was still capable of crying, even though she was dead. "I don't know if I would tell them. I don't think it would have made a difference. Those boys are very stubborn, and probably would have tried to use alchemy to save me anyway." Trisha stood, motioning for Izumi to stand as well. "You have to go back. They need you," the brunette gently placed translucent, yet still corporeal, hands on the other woman's shoulders.

Izumi looked aghast at the suggestion. "But, you don't understand the pain I'm constantly in. This place is nice, there's no pain here. Of course they'll all be sad if I die, but I have taught them that, even if someone dies, the sun will continue to rise and fall, as if nothing ever happened. I taught them that life still goes on after those you love leave you. I taught them how cruel the flow of the world can be, and how there is truly nothing to be done to stop the flow. However insignificant we may be, the flow of life originates with us," She looked up to see if the other woman understood her panicked babbling.

Trisha nodded, confusion lightly clouding her figures. "You gave them quite the education, it seems, and I think I understand what you're trying to say. Hohenheim would often say something similar. But, he would always have a faraway look in his eyes when he said it, like he wasn't really talking to me."

Izumi smiled weakly. "I see. Well, I guess an alchemist of his caliber would know something like that. Anyway, during the time they spent with me, I thought I had taught them this. But, perhaps they took it the wrong way, because I also said that if the world were to lose us, the flow of life would cease to exist."

"Why?" Trisha asked, genuinely curious. Hohenheim had never been so open with her about his alchemy once he realized she had no talent for the art, something that had been learned after a few failed attempts at teaching her when they had first met. "Why would the flow stop if a single person died? I don't... I don't understand..." the brunette admitted sheepishly.

The raven-haired woman absently drew circles on the ground beside her. "Because all is one, and one is all," Izumi sighed. "Maybe they took it the wrong way, thinking that they needed to bring you back to help the flow continue."

"Hmmm...I don't quite understand, but I think I get the basic meaning. One thing that I do know for sure is that you have to go back. Our boys need you," Trisha responded sternly. She knew she was being selfish, but she didn't want Edward and Alphonse to feel like they had been abandoned again.

"Still..." Izumi was torn between two desires. She wanted to stay because she had grown weary of the constant pain she lived with, but she also didn't want to leave her loved ones behind. She contemplated her options for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of each against the other. She decided both choices were incredibly selfish, and opened her mouth to speak when Trisha interrupted her.

"They have a wonderful surprise for you. You need to go back. Take good care of them for me. Tell them I love them," Trisha leaned forward and brushed ghostly lips across Izumi's forehead, before wrapping her arms around the other woman and pulling her into a hug.

The raven-haired woman felt her face glowing from a warmth that spread from her brow. Her vision began fading, and she could hear other indistinct voices. "What's going on?" she asked as she realized her choice was being taken away from her, and she was being forced to return to the land of the living.

"You're going back," Trisha answered, confirming the conclusion Izumi had come to.

Color slowly washed over the unconscious woman's face and her eyelids twitched sporadically before opening.

"Izumi? Izumi!" Sig exclaimed in hesitant joy as he rushed to the bedside, reaching out and taking hold of his wife's hand. He frowned at how cold the flesh was, and began rubbing it between his palms.

"Nnnn..." the dark-haired woman moaned in pain, prompting the young doctor to search through his bag for a needle and a vial of clear liquid. These he set aside as he pulled out a piece of gauze and a bottle of isopropyl alcohol.

"Excuse me, sir," he mumbled, placing a hand on Sig's shoulder. "I need to give her something for the pain."

Sig nodded and shuffled to the side, watching closely as the red-haired young man soaked the gauze with alcohol and rubbed the inside of Izumi's elbow.

Edward's eyes widened momentarily at the sight of the needle, but swallowed his apprehension. He knew whatever the doctor would inject into his teacher's bloodstream would help. He carefully watched as the doctor turned the vial upside down and forced the needle through the seal, before drawing back on the plunger. Ed turned his golden eyes to his brother's hazel eyes as he heard the doctor flick the needle a few times with his fingernail and the faint squirt of liquid as the doctor applied slight pressure to the plunger to make sure there were no air bubbles.

The woman's eyebrows twitched as the thin metal tube slid into the crook of her arm.

"Teacher!" The Elric brothers cried out in unison, rushing to the other side of the bed once the doctor had finished administering the pain medicine. They watched her face relax as the medicine began coursing its way through her veins.

"Bring them to me. Bring me my boys," Izumi muttered thickly through the drug-induced haze.

"Tea-" Ed started.

"-cher," Al finished.

"We're right here," the teens murmured in unison.

"We love you, Teacher," Alphonse whispered, not trusting his voice enough to speak much louder.

Edward nodded in silent agreement, a sad smile on his lips, glad that Al could at least find the courage to share their feelings verbally.

Izumi wrapped her arms around the slim shoulders, pulling the teens close, her hands working their way into their hair. Turning her head from side to side, she sloppily kissed each boy on the forehead.

The teens reached over their shoulder and took her hands in their own, squeezing gently. They carefully removed her hands from their hair, an easy task now that the pain medicine was taking effect, weakening her grip. Alphonse glanced at Sig, a question in his eyes.

Sig understood the unspoken request and nodded to the younger boy, who in turn nodded to his older brother. The boys then proceeded to crawl into the bed and lay on either side of the woman, her hands still clasped in theirs. They laid down on the large bed and watched Izumi's eyes slide shut, worried for a moment that she had slipped from their grasp, but breathing a collective sigh of relief when they say the steady rise and fall of her chest.

The doctor cleared his throat, hiding the cough behind a loose fist. "Boys, she needs her rest. It's time to leave now."

"Why should we leave her?" Edward demanded from his place on the large bed beside his sleeping teacher. He narrowed his eyes at the doctor.

"Yeah, we're not going anywhere. You can't make us leave Doctor," Alphonse, who was laying on the other side of Izumi, added.

The physician saw he was fighting a losing battle, and knew Sig was not going to move the boys. He glanced at the woman on the bed, Izumi seemed to be resting peacefully with the boys at her side. He relented his role of the seemingly all-knowing doctor to this pair of headstrong boys, but with one last plea, knowing it was in vain, "Boys, please, your loyalty to this woman is commendable, but I really must ask you to go. Mrs. Curtis needs her rest."

"We're not leaving her," the older blond repeated himself.

Alphonse nodded in agreement. "Exactly. After all, she didn't leave us."