June 13th, 1967

Alyse tried to calm the fluttering in her stomach as she got home and headed inside. It was just nerves, for now, but that didn't make her feel any easier. It had only taken a quick stop by the clinic earlier to confirm her suspicions. How is Cal going to react when he finds out I'm pregnant?

Despite that concern, she was excited too. She liked kids, and Cal had gotten much more comfortable with Michio and Minxia over the past couple of years. But they hadn't pinpointed when they wanted to start having a family of their own. The conversation still made Cal jumpy… and now well… accidents happened.

Cal wasn't home yet. Alyse wasn't sure if she should be relieved or more nervous. She would have to wait to tell him; and how best to do so? She didn't want to spring it on him, but there didn't seem to be a subtle way of bringing it up.

She pondered the options as she got out of her dress suit and put on something more comfortable; cream knit pants and a comfy blue three-quarter sleeved top with a swooped neck. It seemed unreal that her skirt's fitted waistline should feel uncomfortable when she didn't show at all; but the area had gotten as sensitive as it did before she menstruated, and that wasn't happening anytime soon.

Alyse fed the cats, and then started on dinner. The least she could do was offer Cal a good meal before telling him about his impending fatherhood, right? They had the makings for a small roast, with asparagus, green onions, and carrots, so Alyse prepared the meat and sliced up the vegetables. Seasoned and in the oven, she had just finished cleaning up when she heard the door open and Cal come in.

"I'm home!" Cal called out cheerfully. It must have been a good day.

"In the kitchen," she replied, sticking her head out. Yep, Cal was grinning. "Did you have a good day at work?"

"Sure did," he chuckled as he swept her up and kissed her. "I got to spend the whole day handling sparring classes. Mmmm…." He stepped back, his arms still around her. "Something smells amazing."

Alyse smiled. "That's dinner."

"Well, it could've been you," Cal pointed out playfully. "It's going to take a while to cook, right? Why don't we… slip upstairs for a bit?"

Given how sensitive she felt, and the news on her mind, that was one of the last things Alyse wanted to do. "Maybe in a bit," she replied, trying not to sound abrupt. She rested her hands on his chest.

His grin slipped. "Was your day rough? I'm sorry, I didn't even ask."

"No, it's not that," Alyse assured him. "Well, not really. It was busy. I had four clients want to do venue walkthroughs so I was on my feet all day, and I pretty much missed lunch."

"You shouldn't do that," Cal scolded gently. "You don't need to get any thinner."

"Oh, that won't be a problem," Alyse sighed under her breath.

"What?" Cal looked at her quizzically.

Alyse looked up into those soft, gray eyes. "I dropped by the clinic today over lunch break to see why I've been feeling a little odd, and… we're having a baby."

Cal's expression tightened, while his grip loosened in shock. "Wow, I," he chuckled nervously and shook himself, "I didn't see that coming. So ah… when?"

"Late January," Alyse informed him.

"Oh, good," he smiled again, but it was a weak, wan expression. He had broken out in a nervous sweat. "So it's not tomorrow or anything."

"Do I look due tomorrow?" Alyse asked.

"What… no!" he swallowed. "No I meant… oh heck, listen to me," he seemed to regain control, "Panicking already. Are you doing okay?"

Alyse watched carefully, grateful he was pretty easy to read when he got ruffled. "Tired, sore, but otherwise pretty normal," she replied. "You know me," she smiled tenderly. "I like kids. I'm kind of excited but… I know this is a surprise. Are you okay?" She was much more concerned with her husband's mental state in regards to becoming a parent. It was no longer a hypothetical.

"I will be, when I come out of shock," Cal said after a moment. Then he hugged her again, very gently. "I don't think I'd be any less terrified if we waited another year, or even ten, and I want you to be happy. If you're excited, then I don't have to feel guilty about knocking you up."

Alyse chuckled, shaking her head. Thank goodness. He was taking it better than she had expected he would. "A word of advice; don't phrase it that way when we get around to telling my parents?"

June 25th, 1967

Maes was nervous as he got out of the car in front of his mother's house. He was grateful they had agreed not to all meet up at the train station. He preferred private greetings; at least, he thought he did now. Really, he was afraid his son would spurn him in public.

Elena paid the cab driver, then came around to his side and slipped her arm through his. "Relax, my love," she smiled; lovely as always in a fitted green dress-suit. "Coming home is a joyous occasion."

Maes tried to believe that. "I know the girls missed us," he spoke quietly as the taxi driver left their bags on the curb and left. "But Roy hasn't talked to me once." My son may hate me. If he does, it's because of my own mistakes. It wasn't a panicked, frantic thought; or even one particularly ridden with guilt. Maes had made a lot of mistakes, and he was just glad he could think on them now, and analyze them without going into a spiraling pit of guilt and despair. "I guess all I can do is try, right?"

"Right," she nodded reassuringly.

The door opened before they even knocked. "Maes!" His mother enveloped him in a hug that Maes willingly returned. The familiar, safe feeling of his mother's arms. The only hug more dear to him now was his wife's. His beautiful, Elena, who had been with him through more than any man had the right to expect or even hope for.

"It's good to see you," Maes replied.

"How was the trip?" Riza asked as she stepped back to let them in.

"Long," Maes smiled. The train from the Imperial City to Central was still a long trip, no matter how fast trains could go now. "But the food was good."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Riza chuckled. "Children!" she called out once they got inside, "Your parents are here!"

"Mommy! Daddy!" Rochelle shot into the entryway and practically tackled them both, managing to wrap one arm around each of them as far as they would go. "We missed you so much!"

Maes' heart swelled and he dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around his youngest girl. She had grown so much in the long time he had been gone. "We missed you too, sweetheart," he managed to get out around a knot in his throat. "Look how beautiful you've grown."

"Daddy," she giggled.

Théa appeared in the entrance beyond her sister, looking slightly uncertain. Her eleventh birthday was coming up in just a couple of weeks, and the girl standing before him looked more mature than he remembered, though not mature enough to have hit puberty; not yet. Thank goodness. She was already too pretty for his comfort.

Hopefully, Maes opened one arm as he met his daughter's eyes. How could he have ever though her anything other than perfect?

That was all the invitation she needed. Théa almost tackled him as hard as her little sister had. "Daddy," she sniffed. "You're home."

"I'm home," he smiled as he hugged them both. "And I've missed you so much. My beautiful, darling girls…."

Elena joined them on her knees, even in her skirt, and hugged them too.

"Where's Roy?" Maes finally asked. His son hadn't even come to say hello to his mother.

"Upstairs, I think," Rochelle informed him as they all stood up again. "He was reading."

Maes sighed. He should go talk to him and, if nothing else, get the difficult part of this homecoming over with. His daughters loved and missed him. Two out of three was better than none. "I'll be back in a minute." He kissed Elena's cheek and headed for the stairs, grateful that she voiced no objection or suggestion that she should follow.

The door to the guest room was closed. Maes knocked. "Roy? We're home." He thought he heard a chair creak, but there was no other answer. "I'm coming in."

The sight on the other side of the door was reassuring and yet difficult at the same time. His thirteen-year-old son was sitting at a desk, a book open in front of him, and a notebook. It took only a second to note transmutation circles instead of homework.

Roy glanced between him and the book, and just sat there, as if expecting a fight.

Maes swallowed his pride. "I hear you're getting pretty good. What are you working on?" Through his mother, Edward Elric and Sara had sent regular reports on Roy's progress in learning alchemy. It was no surprise that his son had a natural talent for it.

Roy looked surprised for just a moment then shrugged. "You want to see?" He set a small pile of ingredients on the circle on the paper on his desk. Then he pressed his hands to it, concentrated, and Maes watched as the elements turned into a small, stuffed toy horse, plush and soft, but with a complete set of leather tack. "Well?" He looked back at him.

Maes grinned. "Nice work. You've got a good eye for detail."

"It's okay," Roy looked casual, but Maes was pretty sure his son liked the praise, no matter where it came from. "It's for Théa."

"I think she'll love it," Maes replied. His second child loved horses. For her birthday, Maes and Elena had agreed that Théa would be receiving riding lessons. Not that he was going to give that secret away before its time! "So, do you want to come downstairs and join the family for dinner?"

Roy scowled. "Are you really just going to stand there and try and act like you went away for a couple of weeks and nothing happened?" he asked sharply. "You've been gone for over a year! You think you can just show up again and expect me to treat you like my father?"

Maes had to stuff his temper down as hard as he could. "I am your father," he replied solidly. "And you're completely wrong. I don't expect things to just be like they were, Roy, because if they were, I'd still be a wreck. The last thing I ever wanted was to hurt any of you, and I've spent the past year working my ass off to get myself back together and capable of being the father I used to be, the one you kids deserve."

"And you think you've managed that?" Roy scoffed.

"I think we won't know until we try," Maes said. "But a family isn't made up of one person, Roy. There are six people left in our family, and if we don't all try to make it work, than it doesn't, only it's the fault of whoever isn't trying that means it's not working. I wasn't trying… I don't want you to make the same mistake." He paused and took a long, slow breath. "You're my son, and I love you. I'm not asking for your forgiveness. I am asking you to give me another chance."

The boy looked stunned. This was clearly not how he had expected this discussion to go. For several seconds, Roy stood speechless. Then a single tear ran down his cheek, and he nodded. "Yeah… okay."

Maes smiled then, but he wasn't going to get away with just that. He closed the distance and enclosed his son in a hug. "I've been kicking myself about what happened ever since," he spoke softly. "You should know that. I've never regretted anything so much as my behavior last year, and everything leading up to it."

After a stiff moment of hesitation, Roy hugged him back. "That's a lot of things to regret, Dad."

"Yeah, I know." But his son was hugging him, and however much work he had to do to earn his trust back, this was already a better start than he'd hoped for. This, he did not regret.

July 2nd, 1967

"Oh Alyse! That's fantastic!"

Cal watched his mother-in-law enthusiastically embrace her daughter as the two laughed and got teary eyed. The news was dropped… somehow, Cal now felt like there was no turning back. He was suddenly glad that Will and Ren weren't over tonight with their kids; he wasn't sure he could have stood too much female gushing over the prospect. Watching Gracia join in was already almost too much.

"Congratulations, honey," Alphonse took his turn hugging his daughter before he wisely got out of the way. Cal watched, wondering what his father-in-law would have to say on the subject when Alyse wasn't around – or Elicia to make him curb his tongue. He supposed he shouldn't be worried. They got along surprisingly well. Of course, Cal had been married to Alyse for a year and a half. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything to be done about it now.

In the soft, flowing, crinkled fabric of her shirt, Alyse didn't really look pregnant yet. Of course, Cal mused, that was only because no one else saw her when they undressed for bed each night; saw the still subtle, gentle curve that had altered the usually flat plane of her stomach.

"I said… how are you?"

Cal looked up. Whoops. Alphonse had been talking to him. "Apparently absent-minded," he covered with a chuckle.

"So I see." Alphonse looked amused. "Come with me." He motioned with one hand and turned away.

Mystified, Cal glanced at the women – all gabbing excitedly – and followed Alphonse. "So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked when he found himself standing in the back yard under the slowly setting sun.

"Me?" Alphonse smiled. "I was going to water the plants. It's been a hot week."

Cal watched his father-in-law pull out the hose and begin doing just that. "So, you want some help?"

"If you like," Alphonse shrugged as he filled a watering can. "I just thought you might like to get away from the gushing. You look kind of overwhelmed."

So he was just being friendly. Cal relaxed and took the watering can, starting with the flower boxes while Alphonse took the beds. "You could say that," he agreed. "I'm still kind of getting used to the idea." They'd only known for a couple of weeks.

"It's a pretty nerve-wracking concept," Alphonse agreed. "Elicia and I wanted kids, but we really didn't expect to have Will as fast as we did." Water sprinkled over the flowering bushes. "And when Edward found out Winry was expecting Sara, he practically flipped out the first couple of months."

"Really?" Cal hadn't expected the candor – or the man's ability to almost read Cal's fears.

"Oh yeah," Alphonse laughed outright. "Any man who isn't a little worried probably isn't entirely sane either." He turned around, grinning. "Just try and relax and enjoy it okay?"

"I'm trying," Cal admitted. If Alphonse was going to be open and forthcoming, the least he could do was be honest. "And it's not as terrifying as it was before I got a chance to see other families. Mine pretty much sucked; my Dad was an abusive ass. And I've pretty much kept out of the path of fatherhood like the plague until now." No need to mention Valeria. "It's a pretty big mental shift from even wanting them to having it right in front of me and… it doesn't seem real yet."

To his credit, Alphonse didn't laugh, make a snide comment, or anything of the sort. "It doesn't for a while," he said instead. "At least, not until they really look pregnant, and the kid starts kicking. But it's real to the woman a lot earlier. Something about all that nausea, cravings, and weight gain," he chuckled. "About all we can do until then is be understanding when they burst into tears for no reason at all, or fall asleep for three hour afternoon naps when they promised to make dinner."

"Sounds like you remember it pretty well," Cal snickered.

"It's hard to forget," Alphonse nodded. "Watching Ed's kids and Will and Ren go through it again just brings it all back. If Alyse is anything like her mother, get ready for a lot of stubborn determination and tears."

"More than usual?" Cal asked, then almost bit his tongue. He didn't sound too critical did he?

Apparently not. "Definitely," said Alphonse. "More self-conscious too."

Cal had noticed that one. Alyse was always careful with her appearance, but lately he thought she was much more aware of it. It almost took her longer to get dressed for looking at every angle to make sure she looked right. Probably trying to see how pregnant she looks. "Any suggestions?"

"Be kind, understanding, long-of-fuse, and prepare to duck behind something at a moment's notice if she's upset," Alphonse replied as he watered a particularly red rose. "Remember that, and I'm sure you'll be fine. At least until labor."

"Oh?" Cal wasn't sure he even wanted to think about delivery and a baby yet. Having a pregnant wife was enough!

The look on his father-in-law's face did not instill a sense of confidence. "Labor is a whole different experience."

July 18th, 1967

"Thanks for helping me fix that," Tore thanked Winry as he watched her finish the last few stitches on his uniform jacket.

"You're just lucky it blew at the seams instead of getting really ripped," Winry smiled as she bit off her thread and held it up. "Though you could have fixed it with alchemy, couldn't you?"

"Maybe," Tore replied. "I'm not so good with this kind of work. Electricity can't fix it after all." He could do other things, but his specialty wasn't even remotely close. That kind of fine-tune work wasn't his strong point. "So I'm kinda rusty on fixing these things."

"And it needs to look just right," Winry chuckled, handing it over. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you came out of the fight okay."

"Takes more than a couple of thugs to take me down," Tore grinned. In truth, it hadn't been too much of a fight, and the mission had been pretty routine. "So, where's Fullmetal tonight?" He had come over after dinner to get the jacket mended, and only because it was the first chance he'd had.

"Out picking up a few things," Winry replied as she stood up, stretched, and took off her glasses she used for reading and up-close work. "He should be home soon though."

Almost on cue, the door slammed in the hallway. "Winry, I'm home!"

Tore followed Winry out of the little sewing room and into the living room, where Ed was just sitting down and pulling off his shoes. Two bags of groceries and home supplies sat on the table.

"Well that took a bit longer than I thought it would," Winry chuckled. "Couldn't find anything?"

"Hardly," Ed scoffed. "I ran into Breda at the Supermarket."

Winry shook her head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Yeah, well he was in a pretty good mood," Ed continued his story. "More than usual. Turns out Charisa's engaged."

It was as if someone had plunged a knife in his gut. Tore stared at Ed. I didn't hear that.

"Well good for her," Winry smiled. "I'm assuming to Raul? They've been going out for quite a while."

Ed nodded. "Apparently he asked her last night. She called first thing this morning."

"When's the wedding?"

"Still up for debate, along with where," Ed replied. "I'm sure we'll hear when they find out." It was then that he noticed Tore. "Oh, hey there. What're you doing here?"

Tore tried to formulate an answer, but his tongue didn't seem to be working. "Busted a seam," he finally managed. "Needed to get it patched."

Now they were both looking at him, and he saw a bit of understanding creep into both their eyes. They think I'm upset about Charisa. Well he was, wasn't he? They hadn't dated in over six years, but that didn't make hearing it any easier.

"I helped," Winry took up where he left off. "Are you staying, Tore?"

"Yeah," Ed added. "Soon as the twins are asleep, we're gonna have some ice cream." One of the things he had apparently picked up.

"No thanks," Tore shook his head. Suddenly food sounded highly unappealing. "I should get going. I'm meeting up with some of the guys in a bit." He was sure that could be arranged on short notice if he felt like it. "Thanks again, Winry." He waved and then headed for the door.

He was already outside and halfway down the block before he realized how stupid he must have looked, and how obvious. But then, if he couldn't show his feelings in front of his family, who could he? It's not like she was mine to lose. What kind of an idiot am I? Of course she said yes to Raul. Valentino was a smooth-talking business tycoon and he hadn't even graduated yet. Or had he? Tore didn't even know if he was in the same year as Charisa at University.

Maybe it was this on top of finding out last fall that Noelle had moved on just like he'd told her she could. Now both of the girls he'd felt any deeper connection with; anything meaningful that wasn't based entirely on sex – or at all – were taken. He had no chance with either of them. He'd been able to put it past him with Noelle pretty quick. They'd had two weeks together once. She could be a friend. Charisa…

He had no idea how he was supposed to be all right with the fact that Charisa was really no longer a possibility. Still, he knew he had to; at least to put a good face on it. He wouldn't complicate her life or ruin her happiness. He wouldn't himself be that pathetic. He wouldn't be jealous or spiteful. At least… not in public. You've chosen, Charisa, and I lose. I honestly hope you've found the happiness you deserve.

Maybe by the time of the wedding, he could make himself believe that was true.