A/N: A guest left a review for the last two chapters that made me blush like crazy. You are too kind. I really don't know what else to say. Thank you, I'm so glad you are enjoying it.

On another note, school was driving me crazy. I'm so glad the semester is over. Sorry this took so long to update. I really have been super busy. Here we are at the end and it's much shorter than the other chapters. Please enjoy the last chapter!

Those Left Behind

"There is nothing to regret - either for those who go or for those who are left behind."

Eleanor Roosevelt

Neither Roy or Maes were able to sleep on the train. It was too warm and too many people were wandering the aisles. It made it impossible to fully relax.

"Ed is meeting us at the station." Hughes said for the tenth time. Roy nodded and stretched out his legs as far as he could. "It feels like it's been a long time since I've seen him," Hughes remarked absently.

"Three weeks." Roy clarified, staring out the window at the world passing by.

"Do you think Alphonse will be with him?"

Roy sighed through his nose. "Are you having second thoughts about inviting him along?"

"No… no. When I talked to him, he insisted on being here for it. He wanted to make sure I wasn't just going to send out a letter or something."

Roy sighed again, but made no further comment. The trip out to the small town had been long and Roy found he was eager for this whole ordeal to be over and put behind them. For all their sakes.

"I'm just not sure… Is it too much? The three of us?" Hughes wrinkled his brow in worry.

"Are you regretting inviting me along?" Roy glanced at his friend with a raised eyebrow.

"No. That's not… No." Hughes shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"I can wait for you at the station. You and Ed can go talk to the family. I don't actually need to be there."

"You came all this way just to sit in a train station?"

"No." Roy gave Maes a deadpan expression. "Hughes, make no mistake. I have no desire to speak personally to this family about their dead son. My concern for the Barringers is limited."

Hughes smiled gently and followed his friend's gaze as it shifted to the window again. Trees and little homes dotted among green fields, passed by quickly. Maes wondered if the people living there were as peaceful as their small houses seemed to be.

Edward was waiting for them on the slightly crowded platform. The three weeks of being back in Risembool had done him some good. He wasn't so pale and the stitches had been removed from his cheek. The scar that had been left behind was still prominent, but it was beginning to fade. He still carried dark circles under his eyes and Hughes wondered if the boy was having trouble sleeping. His hair had finally been trimmed more neatly and while it was much too short to tie back, it was starting to grow out again. Maes waved enthusiastically to get Ed's attention.

"Hey, Ed!" Hughes shouted over the bustle. Edward turned, looking slightly surprised, but he gave an incredibly weak smile upon seeing Maes. Both officers made their way over to the boy, while Ed stayed still and let the people flurry around him. Hughes forced a wider grin once they were both standing before him.

"You're looking well." He's lost weight. Hughes tried not to notice the way his clothes seemed to be looser. "Thanks for coming all this way."

"It's not too far from Risembool." Ed said with a shrug. "Thanks for letting me come along."

"You've lost weight." Mustang said by way of greeting. Ed blinked for a moment.

"You found some," Ed remarked. Mustang narrowed his eyes, but Hughes cut in quickly.

"We should get going. We have to catch our train back in a few hours."

Ed gave a shrug and headed out of the station. Hughes followed quickly, taking a moment to observe how Edward was carrying himself. He seemed to walk with no problems, but Hughes wondered at the range of motion for his arm. Was he still having trouble moving it? Or was it completely fixed now? Hughes really didn't know much about automail and he found that he could probably benefit from some research in the area.

"You know where you're going, Fullmetal?" Roy asked in a bored tone. Edward glanced back at them both and rolled his eyes.

"It's a small enough town. Everything's connected to the main road and everyone knows each other. Wouldn't be too hard to find it, even without the address."

"He's right. It shouldn't be too far from the main road," Hughes supplied. "You are coming along then?" Maes directed this question at Roy, who seemed to be intent on walking with them.

"I will make sure the two of you don't manage to get lost."

"I have a great sense of direction, Colonel Bastard," Ed called back over his shoulder. Roy smirked, but didn't comment.

"He looks… better," Hughes muttered quietly. Roy nodded.

"Compared to before when he was in the hospital, yes he does."

The arrival at the Barringer home was done in silence. It was a modest house, set a bit farther back from the road. The yard was small and contained only dying grass and a few bare shrubs. While not falling into disrepair, there was a gloomy air about it. It did not look inviting. They stood before its small wooden gate for a moment, not daring to speak. Mustang broke the dismal quiet first.

"I'll wait here. No sense in all of us crowding their doorstep."

Hughes gave a nod before he started up the walk with Edward following close behind.

"You all right, Ed?" Hughes asked as they reached the porch steps.

"I don't want to be here that long." Ed gave his head a toss, a quirk leftover from when his hair was long and he would reposition the braid on his back. As if realizing what he had just done, Edward frowned deeply. "Let's just get this over with."

"You didn't need to come along to this." Hughes reached to knock sharply on the door and the sound seemed to reverberate through the small home. A moment went by and Maes thought that nobody might be home.

"I did," Edward near whispered and before Maes could say another word to him, the door opened with a loud creak.

A tall young man with brown hair and large brown eyes stood before them. The man gave Hughes' military uniform a wary look, but his expression changed when his eyes fell upon Edward. A dull flicker of recognition and then disbelief crossed his features, but he said nothing.

"Hey Sam," Ed greeted in a hushed tone. The young man crinkled his brow for a moment.

"Edward Elric," Samuel said and a slight smile lifted the corner of his mouth. "You've grown up."

Ed gave a nod and swallowed thickly. It felt too warm all of a sudden and Edward found himself quickly regretting his decision to come here today. No. He had to face this. This was the only way he would be able to sleep at night again. Sam Barringer was looking at him with mild confusion and concern now and Hughes didn't seem to know if he should speak up or not.

"Sam," Ed started, "It's about Kaleb…"

Samuel Barringer's mother had passed away five years prior and his father had only outlived her by another year. They hadn't been the same after Kaleb's body was found that day years ago. Moving away from Risembool and trying to start a new life, had not eased the suffering the family had felt.

There was no relief on Samuel's face when Hughes told him that his brother's murderer had been caught and killed during the course of the investigation. He had given the barest of details of the case and had left Edward's part out of it completely. Edward stood, straight-faced throughout the explanation and didn't say anything.

"Doesn't really change anything, does it?" Samuel asked as he leaned his head against the doorframe. "Kaleb's still dead… it's…doesn't..."

Edward bit down hard on his lip.

"But…" Samuel's eyes softened, "It's good to finally know what happened... who was responsible. I'm… glad he won't hurt anyone else. Thank you."

"I didn't want you to have to read about it in a letter," Edward suddenly blurted. "I thought you should be told… in person by someone."

"Thank you, Edward." A real smile crept onto Samuel's face and the deep sadness there retreated for a moment. "Kaleb always liked you. Talked about you all the time. He thought you were great."

Edward felt his throat close up and he wondered if he was going to suffocate from the amount of pressure he felt. He managed a nod before he turned away and started back down the steps. Maes said something to the young man that was completely lost as Edward felt a buzzing fill his ears. He didn't know how long he was walking before he felt a pair of hands grab him and force him to stop.

Something white floated into his vision… a handkerchief… Edward realized that there were familiar voices around him and they were calling his name.

"Edward, stop biting your lip." Hughes. Calm, but with that worried undertone that he had lately whenever he spoke.

"What the hell happened?" Colonel Mustang. Sounding much too irritated.

"Roy, just give him a minute. Ed, you can hear me? You're fine. It's all right." Hughes gently pressed his handkerchief to Edward's bottom lip, staunching the small trickle of blood.

"You heard what he said?" Ed choked out, tasting blood in his mouth, feeling the cloth wipe against his mouth... "I hated him so m-much." The taste of blood in his mouth… that was something he didn't want to think about. Blood dripping, soaking a cloth gag that made it so hard to breathe as dead eyes stared at him from above and he was stuck, unable to move and in pain and so scared and ashamed and-

Edward was being hugged then. The sudden closeness and restriction of his movement should have terrified him, but instead he felt a sense of familiarity. The scent of the horrible harsh soap they used to clean the military uniforms and the smell of the aftershave of a man he had allowed himself to trust even if he was sure he was going to regret it later. The murmuring of familiar assurances filled his ears. "You were a child. You're all right. You're all right."

Ed felt himself returning to the current situation. He was in a small town near Risembool. He was with Hughes and Colonel Bastard. And he was being hugged by Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes in the middle of the road.

"I am so grateful for you Edward and I am so glad that you are still here."

Edward felt his lungs finally open up. There was air again. He sighed in relief. Hughes loosened his grip on the boy enough so that he could look into his eyes.

"All right?" Maes asked. Ed gave a nod and then looked away, embarrassed at being coddled.

"We are in the middle of the street. Could we please move this over to the side?" Roy sounded so uncomfortable that Hughes laughed. Maes removed one arm from around Edward and looped it around his friend's shoulders, pulling him close to his side.

"I'm grateful for you too, Roy."

"Get off me, you idiot. We're going to miss our train if you keep carrying on like this."

Hughes steered Edward and Roy back to the side of the road, refusing to let either of them go. As he began walking toward the station, Mustang tried his best to escape and began hurling insults at his friend. Hughes laughed harder than he had in a long time.

Edward smiled.

The End

A/N: That actually did not end the way I thought it would. Originally, I had planned to spend a lot more time with the older Barringer brother, but I felt like he wanted to be left alone…

Anyway, I do have a follow up to this brewing in my mind. Actually, there are two more parts forming in my head. Let me know if anyone would be interested in reading some more like this from me.

Thank you all! Your words and encouragement have meant the world to me.

For Alex. Until we meet again.