House of the Waiting Family

The seventeenth entry of the 2003 series brings the injured brothers back to their rural hometown, where Pinako and Winry take them in and set about rebuilding Edward's shattered automail. The stay becomes a quiet meditation on the past as Alphonse confronts the frightening sense that his recollections are dimming, and a hidden inscription inside Edward's silver watch exposes just how far he is willing to burn away in pursuit of their goal.

Winry greets Edward with a thrown wrench after seeing the ruined arm and armor she built, then estimates three days to forge a new limb and readjust his leg. While she works, Armstrong assures Pinako that the boys are strong enough to survive the dangers their reputation invites. Edward walks the dog Den out to Trisha's grave, and Alphonse, unable to place a girl he once knew, admits to his brother that his memories are fading. Once the painful nerve connection is finished, Winry warns that the lighter automail is also more brittle, so recklessness will break it. Edward carefully restores his brother's plating without disturbing the blood rune that anchors Alphonse's soul, and the two test the repairs by sparring with Armstrong. Later Winry pries open the alchemically sealed pocket watch and finds the etched line, Don't forget 3 Oct 10, the date Edward torched his family home to strip away any chance of retreat. Learning the private meaning behind it, she weeps for two boys who never cry for themselves, and the next morning the group heads back toward Central.

The story here draws on chapters 9 and 19 of the source manga.