It was about six in the evening, the group made it to a general store/filling station. Winry was sent in to get supplies for baby Nina and other items the group would need until they reached the house Maria had prepared. Hawkeye was filling up the van so that they could make it there.

Anastasia made her way into the phone booth with a notepad and pen in hand. Anastasia needed to call Maria to find out if there was a safe house. She was scared that if the group was out in the open then they would be in danger. The situation had to die down a little.

She dialed a phone number that Maria sent her in a recent letter. As she heard it ring, She saw the sunset on the horizon. Anastasia felt soothed by seeing the mixture of: red, orange, pink and yellow. Anastasia also noticed some stars appearing and hints of indigo.

"Hello?" Maria answered.

"Speak Drachman." Anastasia responded in her native tongue.

"Okay, okay, will do. Anyway, is everyone safe?" Maria asked in Drachman.

"Yes, the baby is safe and Edward is safe." Anastasia answered with a smile.

"Baby?" Maria asked.

"Yes, the Lieutenant who took Edward prisoner induced him. I thank God that the baby and Edward seem to be healthy." Anastasia replied.

"Yes that is good. When do you plan on getting here? Due to what you just told me, I am very worried." Maria said with a hint of anxiety in her voice.

Anastasia gave a sigh.

"Tomorrow, we have a member of Roy Mustang's core group of underlings driving. She and I are going to take shifts driving." Anastasia told her sister.

"You'll be relieved to know that I have found the old summer home our maternal grandparents owned! We can all stay here until Edward gets well." Maria said.

Anastasia's eyes grew wide with surprise. She was happy that Maria had found a safe place for them to stay, however, there was a concern.

"Maria, how do you know there aren't agents from the Amestrian government who are watching the house?" she asked.

"I haven't seen anyone suspicious. I have only been in contact with people Alphonse introduced me to." Maria answered.

"Who are these people?" Anastasia inquired.

"There's a couple that owns a butcher shop. Their names are Sig and Izumi Curtis. The latter taught Edward and Alphonse for a while after their mother died. Their employee Mason has also been helping to fix up the house. The final couple are Jonah and Samantha Horst. They gave Edward and Alphonse a place to stay before Edward was kidnapped." Maria explained.

Anastasia paused for a bit. Edward had told her about Samantha and Jonah and how they had been supportive and non judgemental. Edward hadn't mentioned the Curtises or the employee.

"Okay, before I hang up, can you give me directions to this place?" Anastasia inquired.

As Maria gave the instructions, Anastasia took out her notepad and wrote down the directions. Anastasia said goodbye and hung up the phone.

"Who were you talking to on the phone?" Winry inquired as Anastasia entered the back of the van.

Anastasia closed and locked the door behind her and placed the baby items she had purchased on the floor. Edward and Nina were both asleep.

"I was talking to my sister. She and a few others that Edward and Alphonse know are waiting at a safe house." she answered.

"Is it true that you're the youngest daughter of the ruler of Drachma? Edward told me while you were inside shopping." the blonde teenage girl asked.

"Yes I am, Edward figured it out soon after we met. He might be one of the strongest and most intelligent people I have ever met." Anastasia told her.

"Tell me Grand Duchess, why are you here?" Winry asked as she gave Anastasia a suspicious look.

From the expression Winry gave her, Anastasia inferred that the girl deeply distrusted her. This was probably due to anti-Drachman propaganda she was likely exposed to as a child. Anastasia had to get Winry to trust her; and the only way to do that was to make herself vulnerable.

"Do not refer to me as "Grand Duchess", that title does not apply to me here. From what I have seen, I think if I were to be captured by this country's government, my title given to me at birth would not apply. As for why I am here, I am here to save my younger brother Alexei. He is very sick and has been his entire life. There is no cure, and a part from myself, I truly believe I am the only person who truly cares for his well being." Anastasia explained.

"Your younger brother is sick? What's wrong with him? I'm sure you're not the only person that cares for your brother. I'm certain your parents and other members of your family must care about him also!" Alphonse replied.

"My brother has a disease known as hemophilia. What it does is that his blood does not clot. If he starts to bleed, he can't stop. Several times throughout my life I watched my brother, my precious baby brother, receive the Last Rites. He would survive, but it was so painful to see him suffer. I felt helpless because there was nothing I could do to make him better." Anastasia replied as a couple of tears fell from her eyes.

She soon composed herself and continued.

"Years ago, my parents hired a man named Rasputin. He claimed to be some kind of a magician that could perform miracles. Since I have lived in Amestris, I figured out that he had learned some sort of alchemy which gave him the ability to perform these "miracles". It was also rumored that he had learned some sort of magic. Anyway, he came into my life at age eleven. At the time he came into my life, Alexei was very ill. A few days prior, a carriage he was riding in accidentally ran over a medium sized rock. The carriage of course shook and Alexei hit the wall inside. He developed two internal hemorrhages. One was in his right shoulder and upper arm. Within a few days, these injuries became hematomas; and he developed a fever of forty degrees celsius. Alexei was in so much physical pain and my family and I thought he would die. Out of desperation, my parents allowed Rasputin to enter our home in order to save Alexei. When Rasputin arrived, he removed Alexei's shirt and drew a strange symbol on Alexei's right shoulder and upper arm. He then placed both of his hands on the symbols and a bright blue and white light appeared. Once the light disappeared, Alexei was healed. This caused my parents to instantly trust him and it ended up becoming their greatest mistake." Anastasia explained.

"How was it a mistake? Your parents found someone that could help your brother and by extension preserving your family's claim to the Drachman crown." Winry said with confusion in her voice.

"How was it a mistake? They would want Rasputin as close as possible. What then happened was Rasputin doing things that were immoral and illegal." Anastasia replied.

"What kind of things?" Winry asked.

"As far as the immorality goes, he would get drunk all of the time and he would embarrass himself and it reflected poorly on my family. He was married to one woman, yet he was having an affair with my mother and various other women in the palace. Where it gets illegal is that some women accused him of sexually assaulting them. My mother did nothing, and instead just fired them. I had always hated that my mother just fired the women instead of investigating. I was afraid to stand up to her. That ended up changing once I turned seventeen. I was walking my eight year old cousin Elizabeth back to her room one evening when we heard a struggle between a man and a woman. We went over to the source of the noise; and we saw Rasputin inappropriately touching my oldest sister Olga." Anastasia explained.

Once she finished, she hoped that the answer would satisfy Alphonse and Winry's curiosity. Mentioning what happened to her sister was hard for her to talk about.

"Surely your mother got rid of him right?" Alphonse asked.

"No, she didn't. Olga didn't want me or Elizabeth telling anyone. Elizabeth didn't listen and told mother about what happened and that I saw it. Everyone involved was called in to discuss what happened. Anyone with a heart would side with their child. Mother believed the monster. This caused my family to fall apart. My mother used to tease me about my body. I'm very top heavy which causes me to have a thicker waist. Even though I'm not overweight, my mother still teased me about my weight. The joking stopped after I stood up for Olga. As for Olga, she left the family and lives in an estate in Creta. None of my family or I have heard from her. Elizabeth is also dead. She died of Typhus, and it came out of nowhere. It was suspicious. At the reception, I asked him if he caused her death. He told me he did because she dared to undermine him. Elizabeth was a child, she was innocent, and was doing the right thing. A few days later my Uncle Ernst, Elizabeth's father, helped me escape Drachma to study medicine here in Amestris. This country has better medical schools. I decided to go into medicine in order to maybe find a cure or an effective treatment for hemophilia. This is why I am here in this country." Anastasia explained.

"Wow, I'm so sorry Doctor Rostov. I can't even imagine going through anything like that." Winry told her.

Just then, Edward began to stir.

"Brother! You're awake! How are you?" Alphonse exclaimed.

"I'm fine." Edward said sleepily.

Anastasia grabbed a water bottle out of the supply pile.

"I need you to have plenty of fluids. Can you sit up by yourself?" the doctor said.

"I think so." Edward replied as he sat up.

Anastasia opened the bottle and handed to him. Edward quickly drank all of the water. After he finished, he swallowed and placed the bottle next to him.

"When am I going to be well again? I need to get back to finding the Philosopher's Stone." Edward said.

"I want you to be resting for forty-two days. In medical school, I learned that once someone has given birth, they are at risk for various medical conditions. Some of these conditions are: Stroke, Cardiomyopathy, Heart Disease, Postpartum Preeclampsia, and Thrombotic Pulmonary Embolism. You're at the point where you're still at risk of dying. This period ends after forty-two days. Also who knows if you have some kind of infection." Anastasia answered.

"You're kidding me right?" Edward asked in response.

"No I'm not. I have spent ten years of my life to become a doctor. When I graduated, I took an oath that said that I had to apply all treatments that are required to heal those that are infirmed. Need I remind that youhave also been held captive by a monster who tried to murder you and your child. You're dehydrated, Ms. Rockbell will have to check and make sure that you haven't caught some infection." the doctor told him.

"I can't waste my time with this! I've been gone for almost a year. I need to retrain my body. I need to go back to searching for the Philosopher's Stone. Now, more than ever I need to Al's body back and I need to get my arm and leg back. Nina needs to have me with my body intact. She deserves it. She deserves the very best." Edward responded.

Anastasia gave a sigh. She understood why he was so eager to get back to what he had been working on, however, his reluctance to receive complete treatment really frustrated her.

"Brother she's right! You aren't at your best. The jobs we do for the military are dangerous. Also you know as well as I do that every time we find a lead regarding the stone we always end up in severe physical danger. I don't want to lose you Ed. You're all I have left." Alphonse told his brother.

Edward then gave a sigh and looked down at the floor.

"Okay Alphonse, I'll complete the entire treatment." he responded.

The van then stopped. Out of instinct, Anastasia made a human shield between Edward and whoever was going to open the doors. When the doors opened, Riza Hawkeye was standing there. The soldier looked tired.

"It's alright Doctor. I'm just here to tell you it's your turn to drive. I'm exhausted." the First Lieutenant explained with a yawn.

Anastasia then lowered her arms.

"My apologies lieutenant, sleep well." the Drachman woman said as she hopped out of the back of the van.

"It's alright. I understand. If any medical emergency happens, I'll have Alphonse or Winry let you know." Riza said as she pulled out a blanket and pillow.

"Very well, I'll see you all in a couple of hours. Goodnight all." Anastasia told the group as she shut the back doors.