Author's Note: Two parts to this one. Enjoy! And can anyone guess the pop culture reference in the title? I'll give you a clue: google the title of this with 'Annette' and see what comes up. :)

April 23rd, 1951

Alphonse leaned back in his chair at the dining room table and stretched. There was nothing better than a relaxing evening at home with the family. "That was great, as always," he complimented Elicia's cooking as she picked up the empty serving dishes. Thank goodness there hadn't been dessert though. He was pleasantly full as it was.

Elicia smiled. "I'm always glad to know my skills are still appreciated," she chuckled. "Did you get enough?"

"More than," Al replied with a laugh.

"That was good, Mom," Will agreed, nodding. Of course, Will still seemed to be shooting up, and was in the middle of another growth spurt, so Al wasn't surprised.

"I hope you saved room," Elicia grinned at him. "Your daughter has a surprise for you."

"Strawberry tarts!" Alyse set the plate proudly down on the table in front of him. "I know they're one of your favorites, so I wanted to try making them myself." His daughter beamed at him, her bright green eyes sparkling hopefully.

What could he say? Al looked hopelessly down at the plate for a moment, then smiled. "They look fantastic." They did, and he knew she was waiting for his approval specifically. Al picked up one of them, grateful she had made tarts, and not something larger! He took a bite. "Delicious," he said after he had swallowed. He meant it of course. Alyse had fairly recently decided that baking was one of her favorite hobbies, though she had always enjoyed it. She had Gracia's natural talent for it as well.

Alyse's smile grew even brighter. "I'm glad you like them, Daddy."

Will snagged one of them off the plate then, taking it down in a couple of bites. "Mmm, those are good!"

"Which means they won't last long," Elicia chuckled.

"That's fine," Alyse replied. "I can always make more." She hugged Al around the neck. "I need to go finish my report for tomorrow," she said before heading upstairs to her room.

"That reminds me," Will groaned, standing as well. "I've got Composition and Literature homework." He eyed the tarts then grabbed a couple more before he also headed for the stairs.

When Alyse was gone, Al looked at the tray of tarts staring up at him and couldn't help but groan softly.

"Is something wrong?" Elicia asked with a note of concern in her voice.

Al looked up at her, shrugged, and smiled. "Next time, warn me if we're having dessert."

"Didn't leave room?" Elicia smirked.

"I filled up on vegetables," Al admitted. "It seemed safer."

"Safer?" Elicia gave him a bemused look as she picked up the tray of tarts. "These are perfectly good. I had one earlier."

"Too good," Al chuckled, clarifying as he stood up to help her finish clearing the table. "It's hard to be good when there's something that tempting around."

"Something more tempting than me," Elicia teased him? "What's the harm in a little dessert?"

Al kissed her cheek. "More harm than there is in you," he countered with a grin. "Unless you're the one secretly taking in the waist on my uniforms." They had been a little snug when he got back from Xing and after being out sick, and with all the stress around HQ lately he was having a little more trouble taking that few pounds off than he liked. Alyse's newfound love of baking was not helping the issue!

"You could always join Edward and Breda on Saturday mornings instead of just working out with Edward in the afternoons," Elicia seemed to enjoy teasing him on this particular subject. "Though really, Al, I think you're over-reacting."

"Better over than under," Al countered as he went into the kitchen and started in on the dishes. "Unless you're telling me you prefer Breda's build to mine." He could tease back.
Elicia sidled up beside him, slipping her arm around his waist and snuggling against his shoulder, interrupting any attempts at dish washing. "That's not even funny," she smirked. "I'm just saying that just because the cats have decided you're a comfortable place to sleep doesn't mean you need to be concerned."

"Ha ha, very funny," Al sighed, but a smile broke out on his face anyway. Of course, Elicia always had that effect on him. No, it wasn't anything to be particularly concerned about, but it was definitely annoying. "Just warn me if Alyse has any more surprises planned in the near future alright? I don't want to hurt her feelings." Elicia's reply was cut off by the phone ringing in the other room. "I'll get it," Al slipped out of her arms and went into the living room. "Hello?"

"Hey, umm…is Alyse there?" The voice on the other side of the line was definitely male and definitely adolescent; or at least, in the middle of puberty. It was also rather casual.

"May I ask who's calling?" Al immediately scowled.

"It's Mart," the young man's voice came back.

Mart. Al had certainly not heard Alyse mention any guy named Mart. "And how old are you Mart?"

"Seventeen," The voice on the other end of the line was definitely concerned, as well he should be.. "Hey, are you her older brother?" he asked suspiciously.

"This is Major General Elric," Al replied sharply into the phone. "Try calling back in four years, Mart." With that, he hung up the phone. That was the fifth call in the past couple of weeks. It was like there had been a news bulletin put out somewhere that Alyse had turned fourteen, and suddenly boys were calling! Al didn't like it one bit.

"Honey, are you all right?" Elicia poked her head out of the kitchen, frowning. "You sound angry."

"Just irritated," Al replied, swallowing his anger and calming down within a few moments. "She's just a kid."

"Not much more than you were at fourteen," Elicia rolled her eyes as she joined him. "Honestly, you're almost as bad as the stories Mom used to tell me about Daddy. "And how are you going to handle it when Alyse finally gets married?"

Al felt his eyes bug a little at the thought. "Isn't it a little early to be talking about that?" he asked. He was most definitely not ready for his little girl to be that grown up!

"As funny as it sounds to be telling you this, you really need to relax," Elicia shook her head, though she was clearly amused. Her expression softened. "I know things have been tense lately, but the worst of it seems to be over."

"I hope so," Al gathered her into a hug. So much had happened in a short time that it was still a little overwhelming. He just hoped that everything continued to calm down so that life could get back to something resembling normal. Or at least, as normal as life around Central ever got.

April 24th, 1951

The next morning dawned sunny and promising. Alphonse had a busy work schedule that involved several morning meetings, late morning classes, and a couple of sparring sessions after lunch with Matthias Wood and then Ed after that. He was looking forward to teaching, and to the afternoon training session.

But first, there was paperwork! His first morning meeting involved heading up to Breda's office with the usual stack of files and forms. "Good morning," Al smiled at now-Major Franz Heimler as he spotted the younger man just inside the door, working away.

Franz's head jerked up as if he'd been caught a little by surprise, and he pushed his glasses up his nose. "Good morning, General," he smiled, looking slightly relieved, that Al couldn't help but wonder why. "Can I help you?"

Al nodded and held out most of the stack. "I'm afraid I've got plenty more for you this morning. Other than that I'm supposed to meet with Breda. Is he available?"

"He should be kicking the Assemblymen he's meeting with out of there any minute," Feury commented from his own desk with a chuckle. "They have complaints about the new budget."

"They always have complaints about the budget," Al pointed out with a laugh, though he stifled it just as the door to Breda's inner office opened, and two of the older Assemblymen strode out, looking only slightly mollified, and left the offices entirely.

When they were gone, Breda was standing at the door of his office looking annoyed. At least until he spotted Al; then his face split into a smile. "Finally! Someone I don't have to yell at."

Al smirked and went into Breda's office. "Work as usual?" he asked sympathetically.

Breda sighed and shrugged. "Work as usual. Have a seat. Get comfortable," he waved at one of the black leather sofas and went over to the small bar, pouring himself a glass of water. "Want a drink?" he offered, holding up the pitcher.

"Yes please," Al agreed easily. He noticed that Breda was moving a little stiffly this morning. Of course, that wasn't too unusual of late. "Ed work you over last night?"

"Your brother is a sadist," Breda gave a short, sharp laugh, but he was smiling when he turned around and sat down across from Al, setting the glasses of water down on the table between them. "Once a week was bad enough. Going to two is almost murder!"

"You could always join our students for some extra practice," Al couldn't help teasing. The new alchemists in the classes training up before the State Alchemy Exam were currently dealing with conditioning under Armstrong, and working out four to five days a week before getting into the real combat training. This was the slower time of the season for Ed and Al, who enjoying training them up from the beginning to make sure they got it right, but weren't necessary for the basic conditioning, and so they had finally had to delegate some of that to other alchemists in order to keep up with their other duties. Al knew that drove Ed nuts, since his brother would probably have been happy to run their students into the ground with several hour training sessions daily!

"No thank you," Breda smirked. "I'd like to live to see the kids out of school at least!"

"Well it must be doing some good," Al pointed out, picking up the glass and drinking from it. The first couple of weeks Breda had been obviously sore for days at a time.

"Oh it is," Breda agreed. "It's effective, if brutal. I'll just be happy to stop feeling like my limbs are going to fall off the next day." He shrugged then, and his expression shifted as he got down to business. "You've got the reports?"

"Yes, sir," Al nodded, handing over the paperwork he'd been finishing up the last few days. It was paperwork that had been Roy's to handle until his rather extensive sick leave. "It's all finished. It would have been done sooner but, well, apparently Doctors orders was no work at home, and Riza wouldn't even let me ask Roy a single question about it." Not that he could blame her for that, but it would have saved them some time deciphering Roy's personal way of keeping his own notes!

"Excellent. Perhaps those windbags in the Assembly will stop bothering me about the budget for funding State Alchemists when they get a look at these statistics," Breda flipped through the paperwork briefly. "One less thing for them to give me indigestion about."

"Anything official from Roy?" Al asked, touching on what he knew was a sensitive subject; it was for all of them.

Breda nodded, setting the papers down on his lap. "Yeah. We had dinner at their place last night actually. Riza invited Nancy and me and the kids over. Mustang finally agreed to it. The paperwork should be up here for my approval this afternoon." There was definite regret, but also a note of relief in Breda's voice. Al understood completely. No one wanted to see any more of their friends suffer more than they needed to, and Roy's retiring was definitely in his best interest at this point.

"That's good to know," Al replied. "Ed said the University was interested in having him guest lecture on military history and the Ishbal Rebellion when he was ready." Though even Al knew that was months away at least. After the night Ed had intervened a few weeks back, Riza had insisted that Roy actually talk to the councilors at the military hospital, and he would still be taking it easy for a while.

"I wouldn't mind sitting in on that lecture," Breda commented with amusement. "Sounds like a good idea actually."

They talked for a few more minutes, and then wrapped up business and Al headed back downstairs. On his way out, Al noticed that Franz still looked more stressed out than usual. Actually, now that he thought about it, the man hadn't been particularly cheerful lately when Al had seen him, and he wondered if there was something wrong. Not that his thoughts dwelt on the problems of the younger officer for long. Al had plenty to keep him busy with the rest of the morning classes. Al loved teaching the classes that covered the ethics of alchemy, especially early on when they were correcting the common misconceptions, and the students responded eagerly to his questions with insights that were sometimes right, and sometimes wrong. Everyone learned a lot though, and it made Al feel good to know that no matter how many of them failed, as many as possible would have gotten a good foundation in what was and was not a proper use of alchemy.

His sparring session with Matthias after lunch went well too. Al was finally feeling as if he'd completely gotten over the set back of being out sick for a week, and taking it easy for a while afterwards, and he was feeling satisfactorily warmed up by the time Ed joined him on the sparring mats later that afternoon.

"Ready to get your ass kicked?" Ed asked with a grin as he stretched out before hand.

"Are you?" Al countered, chuckling. "I seem to recall winning our last fight."

"Only because the grass was wet and I slipped," Ed had a quick come-back ready. "That won't happen in here."

Indeed, Ed didn't have any trouble keeping his footing as they sparred. They had been fighting regularly, usually in the afternoons on the weekends after Ed worked with Breda. So even though their styles had changed a little thanks to some of the new tricks they had picked up in Xing, the fighting was still pretty evenly matched. It never took long for one or the other to come up with a good counter to any new move the other brother might come up with. Al was glad he'd fought Matthias first though, because the warm up gave him a little bit of an edge that he had to admit he needed lately. Al won the first two matches, but then Ed won two, Al the next, and Ed the last two, putting Ed out one ahead, with both of them fighting full out until they were both panting at the end.

Both Ed and Al would probably have just collapsed on the mats when it was done if it weren't for the fact that, as was usually the case when making use of the gym's fighting set-up, there were enough other people in the room that they had an audience. So Ed and Al retired to the locker rooms before dropping down onto a bench with large cups of water. "Where did you learn that grappling maneuver?" Al asked after draining and refilling his cup once. Ed had pulled one that Al wasn't sure he'd ever seen. It was certainly not Ed's usual style, though it had been surprisingly effective.

"It's amazing what tricks an old dog knows," Ed grinned. "Breda's got a few moves of his own; nothing new, but some of the older stuff that no one uses anymore because everyone knows it…and so now no one does."

Well that made sense. "So you're saying your new student's not the only one getting anything out of this," Al grinned.

Ed chuckled and drained his own cup. "Pretty much. It's not much more than a good light work for me, but it feels good to be able to help out a friend." That was, of course, the point. "Things lately seem to have been kind of a wake-up call for a lot of people."

Al nodded. First Havoc's death, and then Stevenson's of all people! It was truly bizarre not to have the old doctor around anymore. Al was sure he would still be looking for him when he went in for his own next physical. He'd been a fixture in the lives of almost everyone they associated with regularly; primary physician for a good chunk of the military, and often families too. He'd delivered all three of Ed's kids and both of Al's. "How's Ethan?" he asked. Ed's youngest had been a lot closer to Stevenson in his own way, since he had been learning from him and working with him almost every day.

"He's doing all right," Ed replied. "He moped around some the first few days, but he's taking it pretty well considering. He composed a novella to send off to Lia the other day," he chuckled. So, Ethan was still in close contact with his best friend; that was good. "But he's determined to follow Stevenson's advice about school and getting into University so he can get through medical school and get the training he can't get just working in the hospital." Ed stood up and refilled his cup from the water cooler in the corner. "I don't know how he'll fit regular schooling back into his schedule with everything else, but we had a word with the high school and as long as he can pass the tests in the classes, they're willing to let him move mostly at his own pace."

Al chuckled. "He'll eat most of those classes up in half the time it takes them to cover them in school."

"Some," Ed agreed. "But not all of them. Ethan would probably be happy to run off to University now if he thought they'd let him in, but there are things he doesn't know that they'll require first."

Al nodded. "Will's getting a little frustrated with that right now." His son was studious, but there was at least one subject that did not come as naturally to him as everything else, and he got irritated. Lately, it was the section in his Composition and Literature class on Drachman literature. The translations weren't phenomenal, and he knew his son found the texts dull and a pain to have to analyze and write about for class. "Though Alyse and Ethan will be in the same year in school." There was a good chance of them ending up in the same classes. It was a little unnerving to think of his daughter as starting at the upper school levels.

"That might help," Ed smiled. "Ethan doesn't like to show off too much, but he's getting a little cocky. Maybe having someone else around with the brains to keep him on his toes in class will be good for him."

"Cocky? I can't imagine where he gets that from," Al teased, smirking, "Spending all his time with you and Sara. How's she doing anyway?" he asked. She had been living back at Ed's for a few weeks now, but her concussion was gone and her leg was almost entirely healed up.

"Moved back into her apartment yesterday," Ed stretched his back, which popped audibly, then started changing back into regular clothes. "She's still using the crutches, but Doctor Gray said she should just take it easy on the leg for a few more days. Other than that, she should be in sometime this week to see about getting back to work. Though I expect that will be mostly in-office duties for a while longer." From Ed's tone, he was glad for it. Sara had almost been another loss, save for having Ed's luck and her brother's alchemy skills to help her out. "But that's better than nothing. She's been going more than a little stir-crazy."

"Like father," Al quipped, changing back into his uniform after toweling off. It would have been nice to talk with his brother all afternoon, but he still had some real work to do before he left for the day. "She just wants things to get back to normal as much as the rest of us do."

Ed nodded his agreement. "Isn't that the truth?"

By the time Alphonse left HQ that evening, the day had turned from sunny to darkly overcast and spitting rain. He pulled his coat up close around himself just like most of the others heading out the doors and started to walk toward his car.

All around Al people were heading out in the usual fashion, either hurrying for cars and home, or walking back towards apartments or the NCO quarters in small groups. Some of them headed straight for the bar. It was in the midst of the end-of-day press that Al spotted a familiar form moving through the crowd alone, looking dejected, though Al could not have said why he was sure of the dejection other than the sense he'd gotten earlier that something was wrong. It was on instinct, a whim perhaps, but he decided to follow Franz Heimler, who was heading away from his quarters. It was easy to keep up with him too; he wasn't moving very fast.

Franz headed for the bar just down the street and ducked inside. Just in time too. As soon as Al came even with the building, the rain started dumping down. That decided it! Al followed Franz's example and hurried inside out of the rain. The place was pretty full this evening. Apparently a lot of the younger officers and enlisted had the same idea. Al looked around, and spotted Franz sitting at the bar next to what appeared to be one of the only empty seats. Al slipped easily through the crowd. Those who recognized him moved out of the way, or waved a friendly hello now that they were off duty. Few people were intimidated by Al, despite his rank. He was just too easy going, at least compared to Ed.

Al settled down on the stool at the bar next to Franz's and ordered a soda. The bartender was used to the fact that Al rarely ordered anything alcoholic in here and didn't argue. He glanced over at Franz, who was leaning forward, forearms and elbows on the bar, staring down into a beer that he didn't look like he'd touched yet. "I wasn't aware beer was so thought provoking," Al commented, a light joke to get the other man's attention.

Franz jerked slightly and looked up; eyes wide until he saw who it was, then he relaxed. "Sorry, Sir. Just thinking." He picked up the beer and drank.

Al decided to do what he would do with Ed, and just cut straight to the chase. "You've seemed tense lately," he commented as the bartender brought him his soda. "Is something bothering you?"

Franz took his time answering, and Al was sure he was trying to decide if this was something he wanted to discuss with a superior officer, off duty or not. Finally though he set down the drink and shrugged. "You could say that. More like someone or, something about someone, I guess."

"Well now that's specific," Al chuckled softly, the sarcasm mild. "Though I'd place my bet that it's about Sara."

Franz flinched, and Al knew he'd hit on the right answer. "Yeah. I… hell," he snorted softly. "Why not talk to you about it. I mean, you know her." He actually looked up from the bar and his drink and looked at Al. "I just don't know what to do."

Al had long been aware that Sara was more than a little interested in Franz and that they were very close friends. "It would help if I knew the question," Al pointed out.

"I was well… warned," Franz scowled slightly, "That I'd better make up my mind about Sara soon."

"Warned?" That didn't sound like Sara. Then Al realized just what Franz meant, and he almost groaned out loud. "Ed?"

Franz nodded, picking up his drink again. He didn't look angry just frustrated. "He pretty much told me to date her or drop her," he said before taking a drink.

Oh Edward. Al shook his head, irritated at his brother for getting involved. "He can be kind of overprotective."

Franz sighed and shook his head. "The problem is he's right," he said, surprising Al even further. "I mean, I think I always kind of knew Sara had a crush on me, but she was just a kid when we met. I didn't think anything of it when she never made a move later or said anything. I don't have that excuse anymore, and we both kind of promised that if we were ever ready, if there was a good time we'd try it." There was doubt in his voice though, and perhaps a hint of panic.

"So you're…not interested?" Al hazarded another guess.

"That would be easier," Franz replied with a mirthless smirk. "Somewhere in all this I fell for her as hard as she fell for me."

So where was the problem? In Al's experience, that was the way these things were supposed to work. Of course, he'd had concerns when he and Elicia got together because of the age difference, so there had to be something else complicating matters. "So why don't you tell her?"

"I'm afraid," Franz admitted softly. "Stupid as that sounds given how much time we spend together. I've been on the receiving end of a badly-ended relationship before, and if we try and it doesn't work, I could end up breaking her heart anyway. I'd rather die than do that to her."

Al could understand that sentiment. "From an outside standpoint," he offered an opinion, "it doesn't look like there's a decision to be made. You already treat her like she's yours, and she's already placed a claim on you as far as the other girls around HQ are concerned." Observing the social circles around him came in useful at times.

"I know," Franz ran one hand through his hair. "And it's not fair to Sara to drag this out."

"I know it's really none of my business," Al said; not that he wasn't already up to his ankles in it this evening. "But if you're worried about breaking her heart so badly, wouldn't it make more sense to try the option that at least has some chance of a happy ending?" In his mind, just deciding not to give it a try would guarantee hurt feelings no matter how nicely they both tried to play things and stay friends.

Franz paused mid-drink. After several long seconds he swallowed and chuckled. "It sounds so obvious when you say it," he shook his head. "General El- Fullmetal," he caught himself and Al smirked. "He made it sound like it'd be better to let her get over me now if I wasn't going to openly do something about our relationship. But that logic doesn't follow with your interpretation."

"Ed's logic rarely does," Al chuckled and smiled understandingly. "If you really are in love with her, and you know she's in love with you, it's always worth the risk. At least in my opinion. I'd probably be pretty lonely now if I hadn't followed that advice."

"And who told you that?" Franz asked with a bemused smile.

Al finished off his soda and smirked at the irony. "Edward."

April 25th, 1951

Even hobbling on crutches, it felt good to walk the halls of HQ. Sara had moved back into her apartment a couple of days before now that she could manage stairs and such with only lightly leaning on the crutches. They were an aide now, instead of a requirement. She had been sitting still too long; it was time to get back to being productive!

"Look who's alive," Ragnar chuckled when he saw her in the hallway. "Though not kicking much I see," he teased, dodging out of the way when Sara swung one of the crutches at his leg.

"I'm not incapable of defending myself," Sara smirked at him. "They're only to keep the Doctor happy for another week and then they're gone. Don't make me crack one into your skull." Though the threat sounded like something her mother would do, Sara certainly wasn't opposed to it.

"Now now, no need to get violent," Ragnar was still grinning though as he held open the door to Kane's office.

"Why not?" Sara asked sweetly as she went in. "This is the military!"

Marcus Kane was as busy as always, and Sara wondered if he had to wade through the papers in his office to get to his desk some mornings. He looked up at Sara when she entered and nodded, but without his usual welcoming smile. "Major," he said. "Good to have you back."

That was it? Sara was used to something a little more friendly from Kane, even if he was her superior. "Thank you, Sir," she replied, suddenly a little uncertain. "It's good to be back."

"Have a seat," Kane offered her one of the simple chairs in front of his desk. While Sara normally would have been happy to stand, she took the offer. "There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Something serious apparently. "Is it about my orders, Sir?" Sara asked.

"Actually, it is," Kane leaned back in his chair. She had rarely seen him this serious. Had something happened? Or had her Father over-reacted and asked Kane to find her something safer? Sara bristled at just the thought of something like that happening. Her father of all people wouldn't do that to her, would he? She waited to see what Kane had to say. "I've heard a lot of concerns expressed about your work," he surprised her.

"What kind of concerns?" Sara couldn't help asking.

"Serious ones." The short glare her Colonel gave her made Sara swallow nervously. He wasn't in the mood to be interrupted. "Suggestions that the missions you have been assigned are not best suited to your talents. That perhaps I've been mis-assigning you."

This couldn't be about Kane. He wasn't that petty, but what could Sara have possibly done wrong on her assignments that might reflect badly on her superior? "If someone has complaints about my work, Colonel, they should bring them to me directly," she commented briskly.

"As your commanding officer, this is about as directly to you as it's going to get," Kane replied with a shake of his head. He picked up a sheet of paper lying in front of him. "This has been going on for a while actually. In light of more recent events however, it seems only appropriate to give you the following orders. You could turn them down of course, but it will reflect on your service record."

Sara felt her mood shift from confused and irritated to downright angry at his words. That was a threat! She snatched the paper from his hand and read it quickly.

With the approval of President Heymans Breda of Amestris' military, we do hereby confer upon Sara Elric, the Twilight Alchemist, the rank of Lieutenant Colonel with….

Sara didn't get past the first line before she stopped cold, her eyes going wide as she stared at the words. She realized her mouth was slightly open, and snapped it shut. When she looked up at Kane, his familiar smug grin was plastered all over his face. "This isn't some kind of sick joke is it?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Oh it's real all right," Kane laughed. He opened one of the drawers to his desk and pulled out two small metal stars, one for each shoulder. "That is, assuming you'll agree to the promotion. It'd mean more time here at Headquarters I'm afraid." His grin actually got wider. "But we're wasting your talents sending you out on assignments almost any second or third year State Alchemist can handle. You're much more of an asset when it comes to handling other alchemists and taking more of the serious assignments that take more finesse anyway. Besides," he smirked. "Having you around means I can give you more projects around the office and you can help me beat reports out of the rag-tags we have lazing around here."

He was teasing now, it was for real, and Sara was just now slowly beginning to feel it sink in. She laughed and reached out, taking the two pins he offered. "I guess if everyone's so concerned, I can't really say no, can I?"

"Well you could," Kane smirked. "But a lot of us would look pretty stupid if you did, Elric."

"Can't have that," Sara chuckled, and pinned the stars onto her uniform next to the others: Lieutenant Colonel. Wow! "Do either of the esteemed Generals in my family know about this?"

"Not a word of it actually," Kane looked almost manically gleeful. "Mustang was the one who put it in the works originally, if that tells you how long it's been shuffling around in the paperwork. I figured they would find out eventually."

Sara laughed then. That was going to be a great moment! Her Dad and Uncle Al didn't know about this. While she was sure they would have endorsed it, it was kind of nice to know that she hadn't gotten the promotion with either of them putting words in ears. "Thanks, Kane."

"Don't thank me too much," Kane replied. "This means someone else to foist paperwork off on for me, and a lot more office work. But I could really use your help."

It meant more time at home though, time with her family, time with Franz; and Sara didn't mind that at all. "You can count on me."

"That's why you got the promotion," Kane smirked. "If I couldn't, you'd be out in the sticks as much as I could foist you off. Well," his expression returned to something mildly more professional. "That's all for now, Lieutenant Colonel."

Sara stood and saluted. "Yes, Sir!"

Sara was still feeling a little giddy a few hours later when she made her way down to the Mess Hall for lunch. She hadn't run into her father today yet, or Uncle Al, but she was looking forward to it. If not, she would make sure to tell them tonight. The person she really hoped to run into to share her news with though, was Franz. He had come to visit her after that first time, but maybe once a week. More often, he called the house, but he seemed to have been avoiding coming to her parents' place. It concerned her, but Sara wondered if that was more because it meant dealing with her father than any lack of wanting to see her. Or at least, that was her hope. Maybe her accident had convinced Franz that he shouldn't get too close to her. He'd been hurt by his last girlfriend intentionally. It was possible he didn't want to put his heart out there again. Sara hated that, but it was really just speculation on her part. They were definitely still good friends! His concern and relief were genuine.

Fortunately for Sara today continued to be a good one. Franz was already standing in line to get his lunch, and Sara managed to hobble up right behind him. "Good morning, Major," she commented crisply, startling Franz out of conversation with the guy ahead of him in line.

Franz's face lit up when he saw her. "Sara! I heard you were back in today. I'm glad to see-" It was obvious when he noticed the addition to her uniform. "You've outclassed me again," he chuckled. "Congratulations."

"Just outranked," Sara corrected, though she couldn't help grinning. "So you didn't know about this either?" She had to resist the urge to squeal and hug him in public. That really wouldn't do in the middle of the Mess!

"I don't handle those files," he replied honestly. "If I had, there's no way I could have kept it a secret!"

"Good," Sara smirked a little. "I'd hate to think you were keeping secrets from me. Anyway, I'd love it if you'd celebrate with me tonight."

"Sure," Franz replied, though Sara thought she sensed a moment of hesitation. "What did you want to do?"

"Nothing fancy," Sara assured him, "Just dinner at the café maybe?" It was near her apartment, an easy hobble away on foot from there and from Headquarters, and she really liked the food. She knew Franz did too.

"I'd like that," Franz smiled and relaxed a little. Or that might have all been in Sara's imagination. She wasn't sure lately.

"Great," she grinned as they moved through the line.

"Here, let me carry that," Franz insisted on taking her tray. Sara would have argued that she could handle it, but trying to balance that while having to use crutches was very inconvenient. So she smiled and accepted his offer graciously. Sara just wished she could tell when Franz was being gallant because it was just him, and what was something she could take as a sign of how he felt one way or the other! Hopefully tonight she would be able to corner him on the subject and find out.

Sara spent the rest of the day slightly giddy too. It wasn't the congratulations she got from her friends and colleagues that made her feel good – though that was nice – but the anticipation of getting to surprise her family with the news and the satisfying feeling of a job well done.

She managed to catch her father and uncle in Edward's office just before the end of the day. They were going over the lesson schedule for the next couple of weeks as best she could tell by the conversation she interrupted.

Both men looked up at the same time. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Ed chuckled, but Sara realized in that instant that she had probably waited too long in the day to catch them. They worked with the same people she did and, while Kane wouldn't have said anything, the rumor-mill would have.

"You've already heard haven't you?" Sara asked with a sigh, but she still smiled.

"A couple of hours ago," Al admitted. "It's great news!"

Ed stood up from his seat on the couch anyway and hugged her. "Congratulations, Sara. You deserve it."

"Thanks, Dad," Sara hugged him back tightly. "Though I have to say, Kane's sense of humor is as sadistic as yours! He made it sound like I was going to get demoted or stuck behind a desk filling out supply requests for the rest of my life!"

"It might feel like that some days anyway," Ed chuckled, stepping back. "It's just one of the prices we pay for the power and the paycheck."

That's right. There was a pay raise with that promotion! Sara laughed. "I completely forgot about the pay raise."

Ed shook his head. "That's my girl. You know what, you should head home a little early and see if you can catch your Mom before she leaves the Shop."

"That's the plan," Sara grinned. She was pretty sure she could manage that. Her mother had been working late a lot lately. Things were always busy at Rockbell Auto-Mail. "I've got plans tonight, but do we want to do something this weekend, as a family?"

"Plans?" Ed gave her a speculative look then shrugged when she wasn't forthcoming. "Whatever you want; it's your promotion!"

"Great," Sara was looking forward to it. "I'd better go. See you later." She purposefully ignored the speculative looks Ed and Al shared as she headed out the door. Her personal plans were none of their business!

Franz was nervous for the rest of the afternoon even though he knew he really shouldn't be. After his talk with Alphonse Elric just last night, he had been able to come to a firm decision on what he wanted to do in regards to his friendship with Sara. It was funny how easy he felt around Major General Elric, when lately Edward made him feel like he might jump right out of his skin from the tension. Of course, the Fullmetal Alchemist was Sara's father, and that made all the difference in the world!

Unfortunately, there was a mountain of paperwork on Franz's desk when he got back from lunch that needed to be taken care of. A lot of the material was time sensitive, and he spent the entire afternoon absorbed in the tasks on his desk, moving from one to the next with only minimal breaks in order to get things finished.

Franz was the last one in the office, he thought, when he finally put the last signed form on top of the stack on his desk and sat back. He pulled off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and then cleaned the lenses before putting them back on his face. His eyes weren't the only parts of him that were tired either; he was sick of sitting in his chair! As he got up to stretch however, the door to President Breda's office opened, and Breda emerged looking a little harried and in a hurry. He spotted Franz and looked relieved almost at once. "Oh good, someone's still here! Major, I need a favor."

Not an order, but when the President asked for a favor, it was never lightly and certainly not something Franz was in a position to refuse. "Yes, Sir?"

"Assembleyman Jorhan's aide was supposed to bring a copy of the bill they're going to be haranguing me about tomorrow over here two hours ago, and they just called and said it would be here within the hour, but I got a call from home and Niam slipped in a puddle and smacked his head and it looks like it might need stitches and I really should go—"

"Go, Sir," Franz cut the older man off. Breda looked harried and more than a little concerned about his son, which Franz perfectly understood. "I'll wait here for the bill. Do you need it brought to your house or should I bring it to the hospital instead?" he smiled just slightly, hoping to relieve Breda a little bit.

"The house is fine," Breda replied with a brief snort of laughter that told Franz he had succeeded. "I don't know how long we'll be at the hospital and in this weather, well if we're not home yet just slip it in the mailbox. Thanks, Heimler." Breda vanished from the room without another word.

Franz looked up at the clock, and hoped that Jorhan's aide came by soon! Otherwise, there was no way he wouldn't be late for dinner with Sara.

Two hours late. The clock on the wall of the café read eight o'clock, and there was still no sign of Franz Heimler anywhere. Sara sat alone at her favorite table, her third soda of the evening sitting half-finished on the table, wondering what was wrong. She had used the public phone to try calling Franz at the office and his quarters. He had been in neither place and no one had picked up at all. What could possibly have come up? Sara wasn't sure whether to be worried or furious. Outside, it was spitting rain again and it was dark. One thing was clear though, Franz wasn't coming.

"Hey there, Twilight." Sara looked up from her drink and found Maes Mustang standing there, looking at her with an expression that was half-amused half-concerned. "What's the lovely Lieutenant Colonel doing all alone when she ought to be celebrating? Are you waiting for anyone?"

"No," Sara made a decision. "I'm not. I was having dinner but," she shrugged and stood up. "You want to go get something and maybe play a game of pool?" If Franz wasn't coming, she would much rather spend the evening with a friend, and Maes had stopped being a pest and a pain a while ago.

"Sure," Maes grinned, momentarily surprised but he clearly liked the idea. "I don't have any other plans. That would be fun." He helped her with her coat and crutches. Sara no longer had the cast on, fortunately, so she had opted to change into one of her favorite pairs of pants and a light weight pale-blue sweater. "You sure you weren't waiting for somebody?" he asked as they headed out the door.

"I'm sure."

Franz cursed silently all the way down to the café. The aide had shown up much later than he was supposed to, and by the time Franz reached Breda's house it was already almost eight. No one had been home, so he couldn't use the phone. He was running and out of breath by the time he got back over to the café near Sara's apartment, and his watch said the time was eight-thirty.

Sara wasn't there. Franz wondered why he was momentarily surprised. He couldn't have really expected Sara to wait for two and a half hours, even though it hurt that she hadn't. That was an irrational feeling. Franz continued on to Sara's apartment. She had probably gone home.

But there were no lights on upstairs. Franz went up anyway, just in case, and knocked on the door. Sara had to be furious with him! Or at least worried. He was almost never late for anything, and he'd never missed an evening or event with Sara. There was no answer after several minutes. Feeling more than a little guilty, Franz headed back to his apartment in the NCO quarters. He would explain to Sara tomorrow. She was reasonable; she would understand.

April 26th, 1951

Sara was not easily pinned down the next day, however. She had spent an enjoyable enough evening playing pool with Maes before going home, but she was still irritated. Fortunately the new rank came with some new responsibilities and she spent most of the day with Kane getting caught up on what that new work would entail, and what would not change, and then getting down to work. If she wasn't heading down to one office to track down a late report, she was halfway across HQ having a few words with the State Alchemist who had logged his leave time incorrectly a few months back and somehow gotten away with two days off he hadn't had cleared! It was paper trail work, but it needed clearing up. Kane was determined that, if nothing else, the alchemists under his command would have everything in correctly!

Admittedly, Sara could have asked someone else to do a lot of the running, especially given it was mostly spent hobbling down the hall on crutches, but Sara was getting impatient with being lame and was glad for the exercise. She really couldn't wait until she was free to resume training. She and Edward were actually planning a workout for Saturday, though Sara expected it wouldn't involve running. Still, her Dad had promised he could work up something that would have her aching all over when it was done. Sara was looking forward to it!

On her third time back in the office, one of the Lieutenants mentioned that Major Heimler had come by looking for her, but he hadn't left any paperwork, just a message that he needed to talk with her when she had the chance. Sara thanked the woman, but didn't go hunt down Franz. She didn't really want to talk to him up in Breda's offices, or anywhere else at Headquarters for that matter.

The weather did not improve her mood. The spring gloom seemed to have decided it really liked Central, and the day was once more overcast and rainy. By the time Sara headed home, it was a solid, steady rain that looked like it would last for hours. She pulled the hood up on her purple coat over her uniform and made minimal use of the crutches in order to move faster, even though it meant her leg was a little sore by the time she got back to the apartment.

Sara hung up her coat and changed out of her uniform into loose gray pants that slid easily on and off over the tight cloth bandage that was still on her leg for a little added support, and the tank top that came off the top of the pile of clean laundry happened to be dark green. She didn't particularly care what she wore lounging around her apartment. She was contemplating what to toss on the stove for dinner when there was a knock at the door.

For several long seconds Sara contemplated ignoring it. She could always pretend she wasn't home, but that wasn't really her style. It could be anyone. Apparently she waited long enough, because the follow-up knock was accompanied by a familiar "Sara, are you home?" that came through in a muffled voice. "I need to talk to you."

It would have been so easy to just leave things that way, but Sara felt immediately guilty. It was a selfish, childish urge, and Franz sounded concerned. She closed the refrigerator and went to the door. "Come in," she said simply as she opened it and held it open.

Franz was also dripping wet, and water beaded his glasses as he stepped in, taking off his coat and hanging it up next to hers, courteous as always, before he turned to her. His expression reflected the concern Sara had heard outside, but he looked sorry too, even without saying anything. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Sara closed the door and smirked wryly. "In general or with being stood up last night?" she asked, meeting his eyes without hesitation.

Franz flinched, another reaction she hadn't expected; then dove right into his explanation and apology. "I'm really sorry about that. President Breda asked me to wait for some important paperwork that was late in coming. Niam had a minor accident last night and well, the aide who was delivering the papers showed up a lot later than they said they would. Then I had to deliver the papers to Breda's house. I tried to find you after but you weren't at the restaurant or at home."

Niam! Sara had heard about it that morning. Fortunately the cut hadn't been too bad and the little boy would be fine. Sara was very fond of Charisa and Niam Breda, ever since she had first met them when they were orphaned by an avalanche up North. "Maes saw me on his way by and came in," Sara admitted, feeling immediately foolish. "So we hung out last night when you didn't show."

"I don't blame you for being mad at me," Franz sighed. "You want to do something tonight? I'd like to make it up to you."

He sounded just like an apologetic boyfriend. Sara couldn't help but feel a bittersweet twinge at that thought. "Then you can answer the question I wanted to ask you last night," she replied. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

Franz fidgeted. Franz never fidgeted! Okay, so almost never. He was not all that difficult to embarrass but this wasn't quite the same thing. "I haven't been," he replied almost immediately, "At least, not intentionally. I've been thinking a lot about our, well…our relationship."

Sara wasn't sure she liked how nervous he sounded. She wasn't used to seeing Franz this flustered. Was this the part where he let her down gently? They were better than friends in her mind, and she wasn't sure she wanted to let him finish the conversation first. "Look," she cut in, standing straight and getting up in his face. It wasn't hard; they were only a few inches apart that way. "If you're not interested, just say so right now to my face. Tell me no when I do this," and she kissed him, wrapping her arms firmly around his neck and dragging him down to her level.

Sara expected some resistance. Other than a moment's startled stiffening… there was none. Franz returned her kiss with the same heat and passion, just as she had daydreamed about for ten years. His arms went around her waist and the kiss deepened. Sara relaxed in his arms as she realized he wasn't going to pull away.

"Sara," Franz gasped when they parted for much needed air, "I'm sorry. I just… I lied the other day," he admitted softly, one hand stroking the side of her face, running through her hair, "When I said I was worried about you after the accident. The truth is…I was terrified."

"Of what?" Sara asked. She noticed he didn't let go of her, and enjoyed the little thrill that ran up her spine. If she was dreaming, she hoped she never woke up.

"Losing you," Franz held her close. "I realized just how much I rely on your being there every day, on having our time together; what you mean to me." The words were barely more than whispers. "I just… panicked. I didn't want to hurt you if we tried and…."

"And it didn't work?" Sara finished for him, smiling. She couldn't help it. "I already think we do pretty well together, don't you?"

Franz smiled back. "That's what I've been figuring out."

Sara cut to the chase and just kissed him again. Having that barrier removed was a miracle in and of itself. They stumbled backwards a few steps until they were on the couch, and Sara was quite content to lie on top of him, lost in kisses. She had no idea how long it lasted, but the emotional heat was incredible; like nothing she had ever felt, and suddenly she understood the difference between her feelings for Franz and anyone else. There was no comparison.

Franz's arms went around her, pinning her against his chest, and her hands were down near his waist for lack of anywhere better to put them. They slipped easily under his shirt, and for the first time she had the pleasure of feeling the body she had only seen a few times. Franz wasn't a fighter, but he kept fit, and it was an incredible sensation. Sara's breath caught and when Franz responded affirmatively, the kisses fiercer than she had expected him capable of – her quiet, conservative friend – she decided to test the waters. Her hands moved back down the flat plain of his stomach to his waist, tugging lightly at the belt of his uniform.

Franz broke off the kiss almost immediately, but he didn't let go of her. Sara almost laughed when she saw how wide-eyed he was; as if he didn't quite believe she knew what she was doing. He knew she wasn't a virgin, but still she had surprised him. "Problem?" she asked playfully.

"I didn't come…prepared…for this eventuality," Franz admitted, but he didn't seem inclined to disagree. His voice was tight, and his body completely tensed.

"That's all right," Sara kissed Franz, enjoying the effect she had on him. "I am."

April 27th, 1951

Sometime last night, Franz had completely lost any self-control or common sense he had left. Or at least, that was the best explanation he had for finding himself lying in bed with Sara Elric passed out beside him, snuggled up against his side with her arm over his chest. He had asked, more than once, if she was sure, but she had laughed at him and he had quickly given up any attempts to dissuade her. Franz hadn't been all that unhappy when she proved determined either, though he had thought he was enough of a gentleman to at least treat the girl to dinner first!

Franz had 'been in love' before but he knew now, without doubts, that the feelings he had been worrying about and feared would not pan out into something genuine were real. He'd fallen completely for the spirited blonde who had been a cute kid when she risked her life in a war to help others and save her father.

Well, Sara certainly wasn't just a cute kid now! Franz had one arm around her shoulders, and he couldn't have been more aware of how beautiful the woman he held was. This certainly wasn't his first romantic encounter with a woman either, but he had never responded quite the same as he had last night. Franz wasn't used to losing control of himself so completely. He had been more than half-afraid that even though Sara had initiated in the first place she would regret it, but afterwards Sara had seemed more content and relaxed than he had ever seen her. He felt a little guilty for the fact that she had been interested in him for ten years, even though nothing would have come of it those first few years anyway.

There was a knock at the door.

Franz looked up and waited a few seconds. The knock came again. "Sara," he moved his arm and sat up, shaking her gently. "Someone's at the door. Were you expecting company this morning?" he half-teased. The clock in her room said it was only seven.

Hair spread out everywhere, Sara grunted, readjusted and pulled the pillow in closer when he moved. "No," she murmured, barely conscious, and then buried her face in the pillow.

The knock came again. Obviously whoever it was had a purpose for coming. "It could be important," Franz smiled down at her and then gave in and got up, dragging on his recently discarded shorts and the short sleeved undershirt that went with his uniform. He wasn't going to the door indecent! A few seconds of fumbling found his glasses on the table back out in the living room. As soon as he got close enough he could see them clearly.

Franz opened the door… and stopped dead.

Sara's father stood at the top of the stairs, his expression going from momentarily stunned to considering. "Good morning, Major," the General said neutrally.

Franz swallowed. "Good morning, Sir." He wasn't sure what else to say. He was standing in Sara's apartment in his undershirt and shorts and nothing else. Any idiot would have no trouble guessing what had gone on here last night. His face reddened as he realized far too late that half of his uniform was still strewn across the living room furniture.

The General seemed to be considering his next words carefully. Given his reputation – and that of his temper – it made Franz nervous. "Joining us for aerobics this morning, Major? Or did I miss the memo and the start time got moved?"

Damn. He didn't sound happy. Of course, he didn't sound angry either, just sarcastic and possibly irritated. Franz would have had a better idea of how to handle things if the General had just lost his temper! Was there anything he could say that wasn't going to sound bad? "Sara didn't mention any morning workout plans," he admitted honestly, silently wishing Sara had remembered scheduling something with her father! "Her leg was kind of sore last night though."

"I see." Again, Franz couldn't help thinking of Edward Elric as 'the General' at times like this. It was the only time he looked at Franz like the lower ranking officer that he was. At work, the Fullmetal Alchemist was much more laid back. Here, his presence was much sterner. "Well if the leg's sore she should be taking it easy."

There was no way for Franz to win this discussion. Of course, technically it wasn't a fight, an argument, or even a contest… but it was definitely a face-off of a different sort. This wasn't superior to subordinate, or even just man to man… it was a much more dangerous relationship being established, and Franz would be grateful to survive!

The voices in the other room finally intruded too much into her sleep, and Sara woke up, blinking blearily. She dragged on her bathrobe and headed out of her room to see who it was, pushing her long hair out of her face as she opened the door and stepped into the short hall that opened on the living area.

Her Dad and Franz were facing off like a pair of dogs. Sara only had a few moments to take in the scene in front of her before Ed turned and spotted her. The look in his eyes was oddly calm, and it worried Sara more than if he had started yelling, which was what she expected as she came suddenly completely awake. She had completely forgotten about this morning's workout! "Hi, Dad," she resisted the urge to rub her eyes. "Sorry I'm not ready yet. I'm running a little late this morning."

"I see that," Ed replied. "I hear your leg's sore. Maybe you should take it easy for the rest of the day." He turned and headed back towards the door. "Call the house if you're up for something later."

As the door closed behind her Dad, Franz leaned against the wall with one hand, looking frustrated. "Hell. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have answered the door."

"No," Sara sighed. "It's all right, Franz." She smiled at him then, chiding, "Unless you weren't figuring on admitting your feelings anywhere other than my living room."

Franz smiled then, perhaps despite himself. "I admitted them in your bedroom too."

"How could I forget," Sara chuckled. "Dad and Mom would have found out eventually anyway. Now isn't any better or worse than later in the long run." Which certainly didn't make it ideal, but at least her father hadn't shown up last night in the middle of things! "I'm not a kid. Dad can just deal."

"Well I'd kind of like it if he didn't want to remove my guts with a sword," Franz crossed the room and took her hands in his.

"Oh Dad wouldn't do that," Sara assured him, though she was only partially sure of that. At least, she knew he wouldn't actually hurt Franz. His surprising lack of temper concerned her though. "He likes you." She was sure of that much.

"Liked maybe," Franz sighed, kissing her forehead. "If my father had ever caught my sister's boyfriend in the same position with her, even after she turned eighteen, Kale would have been a dead man."

"So the fact that Dad didn't explode worries you as much as it worries me." Sara wasn't going to try and pretend that everything would be smooth going, much as she would have liked to. "He'll get used to the change eventually."

"You mean about the time I do?" Franz asked. "Not that I mind!" he added hastily, clearly worried about insulting her or saying something that might hurt her feelings.

Sara shook her head in amusement. "When your head finds the rest of your brain, I'm sure you'll be fine. I don't think I've ever seen you this out of sorts." It was kind of cute, though not the quiet confidence she had gotten used to. Franz had often treated her as a best friend, sometimes as if she were his sister when she needed advice more than anything else. This was a side she had glimpsed when she saw Franz with Gina, or heard a little in his tone when he talked fondly about childhood crushes: the private side that only romantic interests got to see. It was a very small part of him that she had not been allowed to experience personally until last night.

"I'm not usually this out of sorts," Franz admitted with a self-depreciating smile. "Like I said last night, this was not an eventuality I came prepared to deal with. I was just hoping you would forgive me and let me explain."

"Well if that's all," Sara teased him. "Consider yourself forgiven. But no regrets right? No second thoughts about what we did?"

"What? No," Franz shook his head with an emphatic negative. "None; if I didn't want this it wouldn't have gotten as far as a second kiss."

Sara leaned against him, reassured, and smiled as he let go of her hands and put his arms around her. "Good. Let's go back to bed."

"To sleep?" Franz asked with amusement in his voice.

Sara smirked. "Or other things. I'm flexible."

By the time Edward got home he was over his initial shock of finding Franz in the apartment. Instead of stunned, he was irritated. He parked the car and went inside. Ethan was no where to be seen. Ed figured he was still asleep or possibly already up and out the door. For a moment he couldn't remember his son's schedule for the weekend.

Winry was sitting at the table reading the paper. She was dressed for the day, and wearing the little pair of reading glasses she now wore for reading small print. There was a cup of tea on the table in front of her. She looked up after a minute. "Edward? What are you doing home already? Is Sara all right?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Ed shrugged, walking past her towards the kitchen. He might as well have breakfast.

"Then what's the problem?" Winry asked, undeterred. He heard the chair slide on the floor as she stood up and followed him.

Ed opened the refrigerator and started rooting around for something to eat. "She had company." He wasn't looking forward to telling Winry, but it looked like he wouldn't have time to work around to it. "Franz was over."

"At seven in the morning?" Winry sounded a little surprised.

Ed sighed, grabbed the eggs and some sausage, and closed the refrigerator. He turned around and met Winry's eyes squarely. "More like he got there last night." As he had anticipated, Winry's eyes went wide as she understood what he meant. Ed would have had to have been completely blind to miss the signs, like Franz's uniform all over the living room and lack of clothing. The look on the other man's face had been a dead giveaway too. "I interrupted… something. I'm pretty sure I woke them up." He didn't want to consider any more deeply what he hadn't seen for himself! The idea of anyone touching his daughter that way made him edgy and annoyed, even if she was twenty-four.

"What did you say?" Winry asked then, giving him a suspicious look.

"Nothing!" Ed insisted. "At least, nothing inappropriate. Really. I just ducked out and told her to call when she wanted to reschedule. I was too stunned to do much else." He sighed as he pulled out a skillet and dropped it on the stove, cranking up the heat. "I guess this answers the question of if the Major ever made up his mind." His stomach twisted biliously and Ed grimaced. He jumped at a sudden pressure on his back until he realized it was Winry's hands. Her fingers found the knot at the base of his neck and worked outwards.

"You told me you wanted them to stop playing around get it over with," Winry replied, surprisingly calm. "They've been all-but-dating on and off for years, Ed. Are you really surprised?"

"I wish I was," Ed replied. "At least I had hoped Heimler was more of a gentleman."

"That's only because you knew Sara liked him," Winry countered. "You couldn't care less about what the officers at Headquarters do, or who with, as long as it's discrete and not with your daughter."

"Damned straight." Ed stepped gently away from Winry's hands and cracked four eggs into the pan in quick succession. They sizzled and spit and began to turn white at once. Perhaps he wasn't being entirely fair. Heimler had never proven to be anything other than an exemplary officer and as discrete and polite as anyone could expect. He sighed. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that our opinion doesn't matter anymore," Winry replied simply, "Not that Sara doesn't value it, but that we no longer have the right to get involved. Franz has always been a very good friend to Sara, and a stabilizing force in her life. We should just be grateful she's got good taste."

"You're telling me I'm being overprotective."

"I'm telling you that you probably should have seen it coming," Winry specified. "And yes, you are. Sara's as much of a soldier as the men she works with every day. You accepted what happened with Aldon and Cassandra. You can't expect Sara to be different just because she's a girl."

At the strangest moments Winry was sensible when Ed expected her to explode. Ed flipped the eggs onto a plate and dropped the sausages into the pan. "You have a point." His reaction to Aldon's indiscretion which, honestly, had been bigger if Ed accounted for age and outcome at the time, hadn't been quite as violently emotional. And yes, it had probably been because Aldon was male. "But at least Aldon and Cassie were planning to get married."

"When they talked to us," Winry had another answer ready, as if she anticipated his arguments. At this point in their lives, she probably could. "Knowing Sara and Franz, if the subject hasn't come up yet it probably will before too long. Give them a little time to figure things out before you decide it's worth working yourself up into another ulcer for."

Ah, yeah. "It's a little frightening that you're my voice of reason, you know that," Ed turned to her with a wry smile before going over to the pantry and pulling out a can of sour cabbage.

"And apparently taste too," Winry grimaced as she watched him open the can. "I thought this was breakfast."

"What?" Ed glanced over his shoulder as he dumped the can onto the mostly cooked sausage. "I like sauerkraut."

Winry rolled her eyes. "And you complained that I ate weird things when I was pregnant."

"You craved dairy foods," Ed retorted, stirring the pan to make sure everything cooked evenly and the sauerkraut warmed.

"That reminds me," Winry smirked. "Have you been drinking milk lately?"

Ed's back stiffened slightly. "I had a glass… last week."

"Edward," his wife glowered at him.

Ed smirked back at her. "If it'll make you feel better I'll dump cheese on this too," he replied facetiously.

"Gross!" Winry backed up a couple of steps, her expression of disgust actually pretty funny.

"Then leave me alone. I'm not in the mood to get nagged today all right?" Ed turned back to the pan. "You want some?" he asked as he put the sausages and cabbage out on the plate with the eggs.

Winry shook her head. "I made muffins this morning," she gestured to the muffin pan that was missing a few. Apparently Ethan was already up and out the door.

"Great!" Ed's eyes lit up and he grabbed one, taking a bite. Mmm… cinnamon! "These are good," he mumbled around the bite as he picked up his plate

"Glad you approve." Winry looked irritated at him now though. Ed figured it was probably because of the nagging comment. "You sure eating all that before Breda gets here is a good idea?"

"I'll be fine," Ed said around another bite of muffin as he poured a glass of orange juice and headed for the table. "I've got three hours." That was plenty of time to digest, both the meal and that morning's startling revelations. He would get used to it, eventually.

"You're inhuman," Winry sighed.

Ed couldn't help smirking. "That's not what you were saying last night."