They All Lived Story 5: Restless

by LadyWordsmith

Recovered from injuries sustained in the Drachman Border Dispute, Edward is eager to get back to action. Along with Alphonse, he is offered the chance to head a program teaching alchemy the way it 'should' be practiced. Are they up to the challenge?

Part 5 - Restless

March 27, 1927 (Earth: 1933)

Location: Central, Amestris

"Yaaargh, I feel like such a lump!" Ed growled as he stood up from the couch, stretched, and walked to the bank of windows across the back of the living room, looking outside. The late afternoon sunlight graced him with a warm glow, casting his shadow onto the hardwood floor.

Winry looked over from where she had been walking Sara across the back of the room, hoping the baby would fall asleep. "Better to take doctors orders than re-injure something," she replied, admiring the view. Ed without a shirt was always a pleasing view, from any angle.

"Yeah yeah, I know," he sighed. "I just hate doing nothing. I'm getting out of shape, and I'm constantly starving."

Winry couldn't keep in a small snort, and a smirk. "Ed, you're always hungry, and you've never been able to sit still for long. Why don't you find something to do? Or learn to be patient. You're almost completely healed." She looked at Ed's silhouette and, frankly, couldn't see what he was complaining about. 'Out of shape' for Ed was obviously not the same definition anyone else used, that was for certain! He'd always been small and lean. What Winry had never been able to figure out was what he did with all the food he consumed; he'd always seemed like a near-bottomless pit. Really, less so now, but it took a lot of energy to heal up, and he'd been injured worse than even he had wanted to admit in his duel with the 'Ice Alchemist,' and beaten down in combat for months before that.

Ed turned his head over his shoulder to glare back at her, though Winry could tell his heart wasn't in it. "When did you turn into the voice of reason?"

"Since losing my temper and yelling at you will get us nothing except a wailing baby," Winry replied smugly.

Ed's glower cracked into a smile. Sara had that effect on him. He turned back around. "Here, can I have her?"

Winry looked down at the almost-two month old in her arms. Sara was blinking sleepily. "Sure. She's not asleep yet." She handed her over as Ed eagerly took her into his arms. Sara settled down into them just as willingly. Winry noticed Ed relax, just a little bit. Every time he held Sara, he still tensed a little, as if waiting for her to cry or reject him. But, as Winry had predicted, Sara had adjusted quickly to the fact that 'Daddy' had two kinds of arms, and seemed to ignore the auto-mail unless it was cold. Winry kissed Ed on the cheek. "Thanks. Maybe now I can get supper started. Don't want to keep guests waiting when they arrive."

"Guests?" Ed looked up at her suspiciously.

Winry smiled, feeling a little smug. It was nice to manage to surprise him once in a while. "Yes. I'm sick of you moping around the house, so I thought I'd invite a few friends over for dinner."

"How many is a few?" Ed asked.

"You'll see," Winry laughed as she headed for the kitchen. "Though I expect your help getting this stuff ready once she's down for her nap," she added, grinning over her shoulder. "I'm not the maid."

Ed smirked back at her. "You sure? You've got the body for it."

Winry stopped, and felt a slight flush on her neck as she spun back around to face him. "Oh really?" She wasn't sure she was mad, but she was curious, despite appreciating the compliment; odd as it was.

Ed's smug look told Winry she'd given him the reaction he was expecting. Great. "Absolutely."

And...she couldn't be offended. Not with the look in Ed's eyes. No matter how Winry felt which, she admitted, was more than a little biased as she mentally groused to herself sometimes about sore, heavy breasts, the stretched skin and other changes that were all part of having a baby - things that would go away or fade with time - Ed didn't see her that way. Or maybe he just liked it. He was weird like that. Not that she was going to complain. She rolled her eyes, grinned at him, and kept walking. "You're just saying that." She knew he wasn't, but she could play this game too.

"No," she heard Ed's footsteps as he followed her into the kitchen. "I mean it." He came up beside her as she pulled out vegetables, fresh fish, and considered their spice cabinet.

Winry smiled, turned, and leaned in, her chest brushing his arm. "You sure you're not just saying that cause they're off limits?" she smirked. At least, they were until they stopped being sore! Which, she suspected, would be a while, though she hoped that it would be before Sara was weaned! She watched Ed swallow visibly, and knew she'd made her point. Laughing she turned back to her work. "I thought so."

"You're a cruel woman, Winry," Ed commented, his voice sounding more than a little tight.

Winry shrugged and started seasoning the fish. "Only because I care." She glanced over. "I think you can put Sara down now. She's already asleep."

Ed looked down, and smiled. "I'll be right back." He vanished out of the kitchen and Winry heard his feet on the stairs as he went up to put Sara in her crib. He had very distinct footsteps when he wasn't wearing boots; she had noticed it with all the wooden floors in the house; the distinct heavier ring of his left foot, though it was muffled a little most of the time by socks.

Winry started chopping vegetables, humming as she worked. It was nice to be home. They had been back in Central for nearly a month and a half, as soon as the doctors at Fort Briggs had declared Ed fit for travel; not much else, but enough to get home. It had been nice to bring Ed and Sara home to the new house. Winry had gotten the whole place set up in Ed's absence, though she had waited on some decorating decisions for his input. After all, it was his home too.

She just wished he didn't seem to feel like it was more of a prison. Well, maybe she was overstating the case there, but after being mostly home-bound for over a month he was, naturally, pretty restless. He'd never been patient, or one to sit still, but it frustrated her that he didn't seem to be all that interested in doing much else. He spent a lot of time reading, and spending time with Sara, but those seemed to be his main two activities, when he wasn't pushing the limits of what the doctors were letting him do anyway.

When she had discussed her concerned with Riza, she had gotten some good insights. War changed people, she knew, and Ed had seen things that, while Winry understood the realities in an intellectual way, even going up to Briggs she hadn't fully experienced. She hadn't been on the battlefield; she hadn't dodged fire to save others, or been under heavy fire. There were atrocities she didn't ever want to see, decisions she had been glad she would never have to make. Still, much as Ed had never been the type, it was a position he had stepped into. Riza assured her that Edward would be all right, that he was just going to have to process and deal with all of those things. It was part of the healing after war as much as the physical, and often much more difficult.

Alphonse seemed all right; but he and Ed were very different in how they dealt with things. She knew Al was hurting too, but Al had managed to avoid a lot of the worst of it.

So Winry worried, but said little, and did her best to be patient. Ed would be able to get back to regular duties, and activity level, soon, and then he would be less frustrated.

Winry at least had the option of escaping to work. She'd take Sara with her too most of the time. It was amazing how much she could get done between baby feedings, and with Elicia helping around the shop and with Sara, they got plenty done. Winry suspected that Ed was jealous of her freedom right now, much as she wished he would just relax and enjoy the time he had off after months on duty in a war zone!

He did, she thought, get satisfaction out of the fact that the war was, for all purposes, over. His costly little duel had made the point, and scared a lot of Drachmans on all levels. Negotiations were now going quite reasonably. Or that's what Winry heard whenever she and Riza talked, which was fairly regularly. They had always gotten along, and had become good friends over the years. She was also Winry's window into the inner workings of the military.

The war was ending; Ed was even more of a legend and hero now. The story of his 'death-defying duel' with the Ice Alchemist had swept the news, growing bigger even than it had really been in so many instances, especially when it spread by word of mouth! Winry had heard it the other day on a radio in a shop, and couldn't help considering how much the story had grown from the version that Ed and Al had told her - and their stories matched perfectly!

At that point, people often forgot that he was a General, something Winry suspected Ed approved of. It was always a tale of the 'great Fullmetal Alchemist' at that point, except on official news broadcasts, where both titles were mentioned.

It was weird, sometimes. When they were all kids, unless Ed mentioned who he was almost no one recognized him, though his name was relatively well known. After the truth about the homunculi came out, at least the military had revered him, especially the State Alchemists and, Winry had found out, a lot of non-regulated alchemists. Al was recognized as his brother - having apparently 'given up' wearing armor; almost no one truly the wiser to some of the details of what had happened.

But now... Ed was recognized. Not that he wasn't always fairly distinct, Winry privately thought. After all, how many good looking short guys went around with an auto-mail arm and leg with Ed's coloration? The golden eyes were rare enough at that. The Fullmetal Alchemist was a hero, his brother one as well, though Ed seemed to be reaching epic status. Winry had liked being 'Winry Rockbell, the beautiful, talented young auto-mail designer" prodigy and successful in business in her own right. Being 'Winry Elric' was another story entirely.

Not that she could really say she minded. As long as all those adoring women kept their hands off Ed! She was sure Ed would think her jealousy silly if he knew, but she didn't mind the attention until it came to swarms of ladies - old and young - wanted to see 'Edward Elric' with stars in their eyes. A few would have been after more she was sure. Fortunately, she trusted Ed; fortunate for him, and any floozy who dared to try her luck!

Winry was now glad for Ed's general obliviousness in regards to women. She had him, end of story! She smirked to herself as she deftly chopped a line of carrots and added them to the growing bowl of vegetables.

Winry hoped that tonight's dinner would cheer him up. She'd even be happy to see some of his ego show up if it meant even a few hours of the 'real' Ed. He wasn't entirely there lately, and it worried her.

Ed loved to watch Sara sleep. Well, really, he loved to watch Sara do anything. His daughter was an absolute delight, a bright spot in his life. Okay, so she wasn't really old enough to do much that was annoying yet -at least not on purpose- but he could deal with walking her in the middle of the night, and changing diapers. Any moment with her was well spent.

When Sara was awake, she gurgled, wiggled, cried, and spent lots of time trying to focus her blue eyes on the things around her. She tried to grab things too. When she was asleep, she just looked angelic. Her hair, a thick fast-growing down, was darker than Winry's, almost exactly the same color as his. Her eyes were the color of Winry's and Ed hoped they wouldn't change as she got older.

When he watched her, Ed couldn't help but wonder if this was how his mother had felt, watching him sleep; or if his father had ever felt this wonderment; this awe. The peace of a sleeping innocent life was something special; the love he felt for his little girl and the urge to protect her were at times totally overwhelming; even, he thought, perhaps beyond his need and drive to protect Winry, or Al. Not that he loved them any less, or Sara more, but because his wife and brother could take care of themselves on their own most of the time; Sara couldn't. So this was fatherhood.

And yet Ed knew he couldn't stay home and protect her forever. He was too practical, and too self-aware, to think so. He hadn't really adjusted to being 'home,' even now. He had been fairly constantly on the go, traveling, learning, fighting, practicing, from the time his mother had died and he and Al had become Izumi's students. There hadn't been a 'home' to return to, aside from Winry and Aunt Pinako. Where-ever he and Al were was 'home' because they were together. Then in Europe, they were truly drifters, always moving from one clue to the next, one adventure and near disaster to the next. "Settling" wasn't something he was used to. He had only just begun to adjust to the fact that he was married, with a child on the way, and had just bought a house when he'd been off and running again, out to the front to prevent and minimize war!

He just wasn't good at being in one place for long periods anymore. A month or more of forced inactivity, and his feet itched to be moving; he craved something to occupy his body and mind; to keep him truly busy. He was trying; delving into the Central library's alchemy books and reading as much as he could get his hands on to work on new techniques, and study some of the older ones; widening his breadth of knowledge if nothing else; but that only lasted so long before it couldn't entirely keep his attention.

Ed didn't have much of a physical outlet for his energy either. He'd been strictly limited while his arm, ribs, and other injuries healed up, and the exercises he was allowed and encouraged to do were hardly enough compared to a good sparring match with Al! Ed was completely fed up with being jumpy, ready to go, and yet held back. Winry was great; understanding about the whole thing, but he knew he wasn't fooling her while he pretended to be patient with the situation. He lost his cool about it too often. She was a good listener though. He hadn't appreciated that enough when he was younger.

Ed just hoped Winry hadn't figured out how he felt about being back; he didn't want to hurt her feelings while he got himself figured out. He scowled as his stomach growled audibly, and Sara stirred in her sleep at the sound. Winry was right about one thing; he'd always had a voracious appetite and a high metabolism, but lately it seemed worse than usual. It was, he knew, because of how much energy it took to heal the human body. That, more than anything, brought home to him the full extent of his injuries; he was always hungry this past month. It was no wonder the doctors were making him take it easy. Winry, being the child of two doctors, wasn't about to let him disobey those orders either.

That, combined with the limits on activity, orders to rest, and even strictures on diet to encourage healing -though those were simple enough to follow since they didn't touch a lot of foods he really enjoyed - was more than enough to drive him crazy!

"Ed?" From downstairs, he could hear Winry when she called, but not loudly enough to be likely to wake Sara. "I still need your help down here."

Right, dinner. Ed could make a few guesses as to who she might have invited. Given the amount of ingredients, it might be all of them. "Sleep well, sweetie," he gently caressed Sara's cheek with one finger, then slipped quietly out of the room.

By the time dinner was about finished, guests started arriving. Ed wasn't surprised at all to see Al show up first, followed only minutes later by Elicia and Gracia. It was the first time they had hosted a real 'gathering' in their new home, and Ed couldn't help but be cheered by the thought of an evening not spent reading, napping, or bored out of his skull. Ed got drinks, grinned, and was generally happy to see people.

But that wasn't everyone. Sciezka and Vato arrived next with their son – that was a paid Ed had never imagined getting together! – followed, much more to Ed's surprise, by Roy and Riza!

"You invited the President over for dinner?" Ed whispered to Winry in the kitchen during a private moment, accentuating Roy's title to avoid exclaiming 'you invited ROY for dinner?'

"No," Winry sniffed, and glared. "I invited one of my best friends and her husband, Roy, to a private gathering. He's not 'the President' in our house." Then she was back out in the other room.

Ed followed her back out, and settled onto the couch, drink in hand. Sciezka and Gracia were talking at one end of the living room - about a book apparently - while Al and Elicia played with Sara, who had just had another feeding and was content to be cuddled by her Uncle and 'Auntie.' Vato was talking with Riza. Which left Ed sitting near Roy. Great. This was going to be an interesting evening. Fortunately, he was saved from small talk within a few minutes by Winry coming out of the kitchen again and announcing the dinner was ready.

Dinner was delicious. But then, Ed had discovered that Winry had turned into a fabulous cook in the years he'd been gone. She insisted she learned a lot of it from Gracia, and picked up the rest 'here and there.' Where-ever it was, Ed had trouble turning down anything she made now. He did his best not to wolf down the meal - something he'd been doing a lot lately. Without guests around, he hadn't bothered with 'polite' eating when he was starved! But by the end, there had been enough food available that even he was full. Stuffed really.

After dinner they adjourned for the 'fun' part of the evening; casual conversation. Ed hoped that it would be interesting; he really did need something to break the doldrums! Maybe he could get a better idea of what was going on in 'the office' as well.

"I'm surprised you want to do this, Riza," Winry chuckled as she and Riza went upstairs. "It's not pretty."

Riza nodded as they entered Sara's room. "I think I can handle it."

Winry set Sara down on her changing table. "Then the enemy is all yours."

Riza rolled her eyes, but stepped up to the 'challenge.'

Winry stepped back out of the way and just watched. It was almost amusing the military precision with which the older woman changed Sara's diaper. Not cold, just...efficient, yet smiling and cooing softly the whole time. "You want one, don't you?"

"Am I that obvious?" Riza glanced back over her shoulder before turning back to Sara and buttoning her little gown back up. She scooped Sara up in her arms, smiling with a tenderness that no one who only ever saw her on duty would believe.

Winry smiled. "Completely."

Riza smiled back. "It'd be nice, while there's still time. It just never seems to be the right time." She held Sara out to give her back, though there was regret on her face, and in her tone.

Winry stepped up, cradling her daughter. "There's never a right time," she said. "Or at least, if there is, there's no way to plan for it, Riza. I mean, look what happened to us? Everything was quiet enough when I got pregnant." They couldn't really have predicted it would happen during a war! Though Ed would probably insist it was 'just his luck.' "If you want to have a family, do it. That is, if that's what you both want."

Riza shrugged a little. "Roy says he wants children," she replied. "But he gets so wrapped up in work that a lot of the time he forgets about anything else. Fortunately," she smirked a little. "We work together. I'd pity any woman without the personality and position to avoid getting pushed behind her husband."

Winry wasn't sure she'd have put it quite that way, but she had to admit, she'd never felt pushed out of the picture by Ed's publicity. Her own abilities and identity were well enough established without him. "He always plays things so cool..."

Riza nodded. "But he's got a good heart inside. Soft one too...if you know where to hit," she grinned. "Thanks, Winry. We've talked about this, some, but it's never come to any kind of decision."

Winry grinned. "You're welcome. Though you know, usually these things aren't 'decided.' They just tend to... happen."

Riza's own smile broadened in comprehension. "Yes, they do, don't they?"

"So," Ed asked Roy. "What do you think they're talking about up there?"

Roy shrugged. "Either about using us as breeding stock, or plotting to take over the world."

Ed snorted, sipping his drink. "Somehow I think they already control the latter. They own us already, don't they?"

Roy smirked. "That they do."

"So you've been busy while we've been gone," Al smiled at Elicia as he sat on the floor, one knee up, the other leg straight, leaning against the wall. Elicia sat cross-legged, leaning against the edge of one of the couches across from him.

She nodded. "It's been fantastic! I've been getting to do a lot around the workshop. I can fix a lot of auto-mail completely unsupervised now, and I've been working on some designs too!"

"That's great," Al smiled. He always enjoyed talking to Elicia. She was up-beat, but smart too, so their conversations weren't what he would have expected typical of a teenage girl. It was more like talking with Winry, or other girls he liked to talk to.

Elicia nodded, her two pony-tails bobbing with her energy. "Mom let me have a sleep over for my birthday this year too! I had a bunch of friends over from school. Though I wish you and Winry and Ed could have been there."

Al smiled. They would have been so out of place at a party full of teenage girls! "Well we were sorry to miss it. How's school?" School; that was something Al actually missed. He and Ed had been a little too busy for a lot of their younger years to keep attending. Not that it seemed to have stunted their education much. They were both too inclined toward research and having a large base of knowledge. Life had supplied what they needed, and the world had been their classroom.

"Pretty good," Elicia sighed, leaning forward so her elbows rested on her legs, chin in her hands. "But some of it's so easy it's boring! I mean, composition is a bit of a challenge sometimes, but that's more because my teacher and I don't always agree." She stuck her tongue out. "Math and "science" are far too easy. I'm bounds ahead of most of the class in those. Especially when I can learn more working on auto-mail. I would have loved to have seen the engineers up at Fort Briggs. They make some amazing things up there!" Her tone was almost dreamy. She was almost definitely turning into as much of a gear-head as Winry. Al found it amusing. Still, he supposed it was better than Elicia's brief period when she was younger where she had wanted to become an alchemist. Al knew Gracia had been much happier when Elicia started spending time in Winry's workshop instead. Al couldn't really disagree with that. It was a lot safer than the lives of any alchemists he knew!

"Maybe you'll get a chance to visit up there when things settle down along the border," Al smiled.

"Oh I'd love that," Elicia beamed, green eyes dancing at the very idea. "Winry's told me all about working up there. She showed me some of what she's learned about cold-weather auto-mail too. It's incredible."

"Are you planning to go into auto-mail professionally too?" Al asked, curious.

"I'd like to," Elicia nodded. "At least, I think so. There's not much else that really interests me right now. Well, besides alchemy," she admitted. "But I'm pretty sure Mom would have kittens if I wanted to be an alchemist. I mean, I understand the concepts well enough."

"You've been studying alchemy?" Al lowered his voice a little so their conversation wouldn't carry over the others in the room. Fortunately, Winry and Riza had come back downstairs after putting Sara to sleep, and there was a lot of chatter from the four women at the other end of the room. Vato, Roy, and Ed all seemed to be conversing as well.

"Only reading," Elicia assured him. "I was curious. After all, you and Ed have been doing it since you were little kids. I don't know if I have any talent for it. After all, Daddy wasn't an alchemist, and Mom certainly isn't. There aren't any in our family. But I wanted to see what it was all about, you know? What it was really supposed to be, not what it turned into while Bradley was in charge."

"So, what do you think?" Al asked cautiously.

Elicia shrugged. "I think it didn't look all that difficult; at least, not the basics. It's kind of like what we've learned in class. To make something, you have to have something to make it out of, and you can convert it from one into another if you understand the composition. Only, without alchemy, it's too difficult to really make a lot of the changes. There's too much energy involved." She went on a little longer, talking about what would be involved in making some of the changes, and Al listened, a little dumbfounded. He knew what she was talking about, even if she didn't. Chemistry. What she was talking about was the more developed, scientific version that he had studied some in Europe; what had allowed Hauskisson to create his uranium bomb in the first place. She really did understand it. "Al?"

He blinked, and grinned. "Sorry. I got distracted. You've got a really good grasp of it, actually."

Elicia's smile brightened at the compliment. "Thanks! I've been wondering but, you know, there wasn't really anyone I could tell. You're not going to tell my Mom are you?" she asked, suddenly a little more reserved.

Al shook his head. "No, I won't. Not if you're just reading about it anyway. Honestly, if Ed and I had known how easy it was to subvert alchemy, and some of what could be done with it aside from what we'd learned as kids, we probably would have left it completely alone." Well, maybe; at least anything more dangerous than what they had played with as children. "Used properly, it's a great tool. But it's also a very seductive weapon. It's easy to try and do things with an ability just because you can. Experimenting on something that won't hurt anybody is one thing. Alchemy's too potentially destructive if used maliciously, or even in ignorance. Ed and I were lucky we didn't do something to ourselves sooner." Though committing the ultimate sin in alchemy had been quite a way to start!

"Yeah, I figured," Elicia sighed. "But it's got to be worth it for some people, or you wouldn't keep using it, nor would Uncle Roy, or any of the other 'good' alchemists."

"Someone has to keep the others under control," Al sighed, then smiled. "Fortunately, we seem to be on the winning side."

"She's so precocious, sometimes I'm just not sure what to do," Gracia said. "If she wasn't at your place most of the time, Winry, I'm sure I'd worry constantly about what she was up to."

Winry smiled. "Relax, Gracia. Elicia's a smart, mature young woman."

"That's what I worry about," Gracia replied with a small self-aware laugh. "The boys her age are mostly harmless, and she doesn't care for them anyway. It's the ones that are more 'mature' that I worry about." The ones who did know how to play games with good girls were the ones that she knew were more likely to be a real problem.

"Have you talked to her about it?" Sciezka asked. Her and Vato's son, Rischard, had fallen asleep on her lap. Apparently he didn't find the party all that exciting without other kids to play with.

"I've tried," Gracia sighed. "She's sure she'll be able to tell if someone's trying to mess with her, but she's used to dealing with fifteen year old boys, and none clever enough to be subtle. I've warned her."

"Then there's not much more you can do," Riza replied matter-of-factly. "Either she listens or she doesn't. You can just keep repeating it. Eventually, it sinks in, or she learns her lesson the hard way."

Gracia winced. It was true, but it was hard to hear. "I'm hoping she won't have to."

"We all hope that," Winry agreed. "But dealing with men is often one thing that's only predictable in hindsight."

There was a small, collective sigh from all four women. Wasn't that the truth?

Ed stepped out on the front porch, leaning against the railing with his drink in hand as he watched the sun going down over the backyard fence. He heard Al's familiar footsteps as his brother came up to stand beside him.

Al looked at him. "Ed, you're not..."

Ed looked down at the dark liquid in his glass, and shook his head. "Nah. It's grape juice, promise." Drinking was one of those things strictly limited while he was healing up. Not that he minded much. He'd had his share up at Briggs, and despite the mess his head was still in some days, it was a relief and reassurance to know it hadn't turned into a dependency. War did nothing to encourage being civilized.

"Good," Al sipped from his own glass, and grinned. "You're a pretty pathetic drunk."

Ed snorted. "You make me sound like I have no self control," he said, taking a drink.

Al shrugged. "You're not as impulsive as you used to be."

"Thanks for the endorsement."

"Ed, are you all right?" Well, Al sure didn't beat around the bush, did he? Ed sighed. His brother looked concerned, which usually meant he'd already figured out the answer, at least in part. "You've only got about a week left before they declare you healed and fit for duty right?"

Ed nodded. "Thankfully." Though even a week seemed an eternity right now.

"Something's bothering you."

Ed sighed. Still, it might be good to get some of his frustrations unloaded, and he didn't want to dump on Winry. "It's been, awkward, Al. Damn it; I had to sleep on the couch for the first two weeks because I could barely manage the stairs." He drained the glass. "Sometimes, it feels like I'm living in someone else's life. I look at Winry with Sara, and sometimes it dawns on me 'This is the girl who used to hit me over the head with a wrench, get totally unhinged if I didn't want to drink my milk, and called me a bean.' It's like there's this disjointed gap somewhere in my head between being then and now. And yes, I know why," he glanced at Al - forestalling any attempts at unnecessary psychoanalysis - then back out at the yard, the details of bushes and trees vanishing in the quickly gathering dusk. "It's just that once in a while that part of me can't believe what's happened. I'm married to Winry, we have the most adorable little girl, and we have our own place. I've got all the respect and acclaim I wanted when I was sixteen. I should be happy." He let that last thought drop into silence.

Al leaned on the rail beside him, sipping his own drink; iced tea. "Sounds like you're depressed to me," he said finally, cautiously. He knew Ed didn't much like being analyzed most of the time; probably partially because Al was usually right. All right, Ed had to admit that when it came to him, Al was always right. "Our lives have been pretty weird, Ed. Dealing with all of that can take years; it takes adjustment. And there's few things more disjointing than being far away, without contact for a long period, then returning to the place you grew up. In our case, perhaps doubly so given the rather drastic differences." His mouth quirked into an ironic smirk. "I'm sure if someone laid out our lives since childhood in front of any psychologists back in Europe, they'd be amazed we aren't both completely unstable."

Ed considered that. "Why?" he asked, taking the bait.

"Our Dad 'running out' when we were kids; watching Mom die, Teacher's rather 'dramatic' teaching methods, being alchemists at all, given the world differences, our obsession with a supposed myth, having to deal with homunculi and all the violence; what happened to Nina; you joining the military at twelve and your height complex."

"Hey!" There wasn't a whole lot of anger behind his exclamation. He wasn't as short as he used to be, and he'd learned to live with the fact he would never be particularly tall. As long as someone wasn't outright insulting him, he was pretty much okay with it.

"Just being honest," Al smiled. "They'd have questioned your lack of interest in girls when we were teenagers too."

"I liked girls." Ed protested.

"Which is why you never noticed Winry falling in love with you," Al said. "Of course, makes perfect sense. I mean you never really admitted an interest." The irony dripped in his voice.

"You know you're not exactly normal either," Ed replied. Humph.

"I'd noticed," Al replied. "But either way, that's a lot to deal with, especially for kids. Our childhoods stopped overnight. We were too focused on fixing our mistakes to worry about childish things most of the time, even though that's what we were. Most people can't handle that much stress. In fact, it's unusual for people who've seen war, and violence, who've had traumatic events, not to have problems; nightmares, flashbacks, unusual levels of stress."

"Do you?" Ed realized it wasn't something he'd ever really asked. Ed had them, but the old ones had gone when he dealt with the issues, replaced by more recent events. He had learned to live with the fact that some of the things he had seen and done would never sit well on his conscience.

"Sometimes," Al replied, nodding. "Fewer now than I used to. I used to have nightmares about Yock Island, until we found out it was just Mason in a costume. I still have dreams sometimes about the gate, and being a suit of armor. Though I admit, with my abilities," he smiled. "That's not nearly as bad." Being able to temporarily put his soul into other objects probably made his 'attachment' to a human body different from most people. "I remember girls we met on trips that I had no chance with because I didn't have a real body, and Nina… and seeing you die." The last was said much more softly.

Ed couldn't help but feel the old guilt, even though he knew it was only tying Al to that suit of armor that had kept him from being lost for good. "I'm sorry, Al."

Al rolled his eyes. "That's another problem of yours, Brother. You seem to like being heaped in guilt. I've told you before, I never hated you for it, even when we argued. I was a confused kid, and very few people ever treated me like one except the ones who knew me. It was a tough time, but I had a couple of years without all of that to adjust and learn and grow up a little. That time was entirely thanks to you."

That was right. Al had lost those memories, and hadn't gotten them back until he had returned through the Gate with Ed back to the other side. He'd had time to hear the stories, without the immediate memories, and learn his alchemical abilities without fear. "And I didn't. Is that the difference between us?"

"I think so," Al nodded. "I mean. I had that time to heal, to mature enough to handle things. I was so glad to get my memories back, but I'd been prepared for them. Izumi, and Winry, and Rose, and others, all told me what was in them. They wanted to make sure I knew why you weren't there, and everything we had done together." He was smiling. "For you, it never stopped. You were trying to get home, trying to save two worlds, going on with 'life as usual.' You never took a break. After a while, it could be pretty overwhelming."

"I'll say." Al's words made sense. Ed shook his head. "I just can't help but wonder, is this how it started."

"How what started?"

"Why Dad was able to leave," Ed said what had been bothering him the most aloud.

That seemed to give Al pause; a rare thing these days. "You said Dad said he left because he was ashamed to let us know the truth about himself, and Dante."

Ed nodded. "Yeah, I know why he left. But how was he 'able' to if he loved us so much? It wasn't something I ever wanted to ask him. But was it something like this? That fear of disappointing the ones you love most? Restlessness; trying to stop and settle down and be 'normal' after so long on the move?"

"Stop," Al scowled at him. "You're not Dad, Ed. But this is exactly what I'm talking about. You're worrying and stressing yourself out over things you might, possibly, in the slimmest chance conceivably do in the future. You may be an insensitive clod every once in a while, but you'd never willingly walk out on anyone you care about. You haven't before."

That was true enough. "But how do I stop? How do I get past this?" He needed to find a way, or he would not only drive himself crazy, he would hurt people without wanting to.

Al shrugged, though he wasn't scowling now. "You could talk to someone. I know the military has councilors for this very reason. I'm surprised they haven't dragged you in kicking and screaming honestly."

"I'm not sure I can talk to someone I don't know about this stuff," Ed sighed. The very idea appalled him. "You're a different story."

"You can't get away from me," Al smirked.

"That too." The sun was almost down, the sunset fading to beautiful pastels as the midnight blue dropped in from above.

"You know, even now, sometimes I'm still jealous of you."

"Of me?" Ed turned his head sharply. "Why?" He couldn't imagine a reason, given everything Al had just said about him.

Al chuckled at his expression. "All I wanted when we were younger was to feel brave, to have my way. I didn't want to be you, but being the bigger brother would have been nice."

"You were taller than me before you were ten," Ed pointed out.

"You know what I mean," Al rolled his eyes. "After; I'd have been thrilled to have any body back, even with auto-mail. But more, all I dreamed about was having a home again; a house to come home to, and someone to come home to, to be a real family again. Resembool was close, but you always seemed to be in a hurry to go elsewhere. Home wasn't complete without you. Not then, and not after you gave up everything to bring me back. You've got all that now."

Ed couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, given his earlier admission in the conversation. "Al, I..."

"If you're going to apologize or try and make me feel better, stop there," Al grinned. "Our lives are the way they are. I'm happy with mine. It's been weird, but I'm stronger for it."

Ed smiled a little. "I can tell."

Al looked pleased at the compliment. "Seriously though, Ed, you can't keep this kind of stuff bottled up forever. I'm amazed you haven't given yourself ulcers or something yet." He finished his tea. "You should talk to Winry about this. You're not sparing her feelings if it's something that could tear you both apart later. After all, who are you supposed to go to for support if not your own wife?"

Who indeed. No secrets; he'd promised. Ed had thought that meant about what he was doing, where he was going, how they'd handle those things together. He was just beginning to realize how deep that promise really went. She was too observant not to have noticed he wasn't telling her everything too. "Thanks, Al."

"What for?"

"For not telling me I just need to lighten up, learn to relax, and be grateful for what I have."

Al grinned. "Well, that too. But that's not nearly as useful advice with you. You never take it."

Ed stuck his tongue out at him. "Thanks anyway." If nothing else, it had given him a lot to think about, and a lot of perspective. Talking with Al tended to do that. He would probably be mulling over the answers for days, but eventually they would lead to an answer he could live with.

"You're welcome, Brother."

Ed fiddled with the glass in his hands. "So," he said, changing the subject. "In this great life of yours, are there any beautiful women I don't know about yet?"

Al rolled his eyes. "You mean that aren't taken?"

"Yeah, that would be the kind. You don't seem to have any trouble attracting them, or being attracted to them," he added smugly.

"Incorrigible," Al sighed. "No one special," he admitted, though he didn't sound too upset about it. "Friends, yes, but no one where it's really, you know, hit me."

"Like a wrench to the skull?" Ed asked wryly.

Al grinned. "Exactly. There have been a couple of girls that are fun to go out to dinner with, but nothing really special."

"At least you have choices," Ed replied. "I think I lucked out. Most girls don't like short guys."

"Well, we always knew Winry was kind of strange," Al teased.

Ed nodded, more amused than anything else. "You can say that again."

The sun was down, and aside from the light coming from the house behind them, it was dark outside. The neighborhood was peaceful, other than the sound of a dog barking off in the distance.

"Everyone seems to be having fun," Al commented. "We should do this more often."

"We should," Ed agreed. "Maybe now things will settle down enough we'll have the chance to, if I don't lose my mind from boredom first."

Al gave him a wicked grin. "You mean you haven't been taking advantage of being home?" From his tone, Ed could tell he meant more 'taking advantage of time spent in private with Winry.'

Ed sighed. "That would be on the list of 'unapproved physical activities.'" And oh how frustrating that was!

"Ouch!" Al's expression went straight to sympathetic. "That's almost inhumane."

"Like you'd know," Ed retorted.

"So I have a good imagination," Al said. "They really know to pile on frustration don't they?"

"I certainly don't plan to get seriously injured again anytime soon," Ed snorted. "I think I'm going to get another drink. Want one?" he offered.

"Sure," Al stood up and joined him as they headed back inside. "Oh, and Ed?"

"What?" Ed turned at the doorway.

Al grinned. "Learn to relax and enjoy yourself."

"Very funny."

Ed watched the door close behind Al as his brother was the last guest out the door, then turned to Winry, putting one arm around her waist. "Thank you."

Winry leaned into his shoulder, smiling up at him. "I thought you'd enjoy that."

"I did," Ed smiled. "It was good to catch up with friends, and get a little 'outside' news. Though Roy and I were wondering what you and Riza were talking about upstairs for so long."

"Not that it's any of your business," Winry smirked. "But children."

"So we were right," Ed grinned. "You were plotting to lock us up and use us as breeding stock."

Winry rolled her eyes. "I think I've already accomplished that well enough, and I never once heard you complain."

"Well I'm complaining now," Ed replied. "But only because we can't make good use of all this private time." He turned, pulling her in against him. Stupid, annoying….doctors! "It's been months." First Winry had gotten pregnant, and irritable, then he'd been shipped off to the border, then injured; one man could only take so much!

"Mmmhmm." Winry reached up, running one finger lightly along his collar bone. It made Ed shiver; in a very excruciatingly pleasant way. "Well, maybe we can bend the rules a little."

"This from the woman who's been hounding me to be careful," Ed snorted. Was she really offering? If not, it was the cruelest trick she had ever played!

Winry's expression became coy. "I'm sure we can manage to give you a little 'stress relief' without hurting you. I'm not always violent."

Ed shrugged, and smirked. "I like a little violence."

"Yeah, well. You can handle gentle and easy or go without completely," Winry replied.

"All right," Ed laughed. "We'll do it your way." And he'd do so happily!

April 4, 1927 (Earth: 1933)

For a change, it felt good to walk into Central HQ. Finally, Edward was free and clear of the restrictions that had grated on him for weeks. He still wasn't one-hundred percent, but he had control of his own life again, and that was enough!

He wasn't here as 'General' Elric today. Not that most folks made the distinction between his titles of 'Fullmetal' and 'General' anymore. Especially not after his spectacular display of macho nationalistic bravado up on the Northern Border! Not that most folks thought of it as such. The news heralded him a hero; personally, Ed just thought himself one lucky bastard. Winry seemed to agree. Roy; well ,despite the fact Ed had been following Roy's direct orders, he wasn't sure what the President thought. All he knew was this was the first time Roy had requested his presence since his initial debriefing after the incident; when he was still in a hospital bed and Roy Mustang had come to 'him!' Politicians and diplomats had taken over things from there and, aside from occasional small talk, like the week before at his house; Ed could have not existed as far as the military was concerned outside of good press.

Either way, to emphasize that he was not here in a truly military capacity today, Ed had decided to wear his preferable 'uniform;' black pants and black shirt – nicer than he'd worn as a kid, but still not a suit - and his distinctive red coat.

"Heya, Havoc," he grinned and flicked a hand his way as he entered the office that fronted that of the President. This time, it wasn't Riza at the 'secretary's' desk. This time of day, the several desks in the room were half-filled with Mustang's personal staff; a very familiar crew.

"General," Jean Havoc snapped him a salute. Breda sat up sharply and started to do the same.

"Just Ed today," Edward smirked. "I've had enough saluting to keep me the rest of my life." It was ridiculous to have them saluting him anyway, given how far they outstripped him in experience. He would have floundered in his first few months as an officer without the patience and unpublicized assistance of all of his friends within the military. He had just felt lucky that they hadn't been more than a little jealous of his promotion. Besides, they weren't exactly Lieutenants anymore either. Breda had made Brigadier General, and Havoc was a Colonel. Not that it had changed their personalities any; not when things were relaxed.

Havoc laughed and relaxed back into his chair again. "Sure thing. Whatever you say, Ed."

Breda chuckled and kicked his feet up on his desk. "Mustang's in a meeting. Should be back anytime now. Take it easy."

Ed pulled out a chair, and dropped into it, leaning back and stretching out his legs. "Don't mind if I do. So, what's been happening anyway?" He had this sneaking suspicion he'd been kept well out of the loop on a few things – probably to aid 'relaxation' – but he'd had his fill of that!

"Havoc's got a date tonight," Breda sniggered. "For once."

"Oh really?" Ed glanced between the two. Some things never really changed. Though he'd kind of thought Havoc would have managed to find a girl by now! Apparently he had, several times, but nothing that lasted.

"Hey!" Havoc rolled his eyes. "Tracy and I've been going out for over two months I'll have you know."

"One date a month hardly cuts it."

Havoc scowled. "It's been more than that!"

Ed did his best not to laugh. "Pretty girl?" he asked, hoping to defuse the situation. Havoc was always a little sensitive about his dating life.

"Gorgeous." Yep, Jean Havoc successfully distracted. His tone turned dreamy. "She's got these beautiful cinnamon curls, eyes like almonds, lips like raspberries."

"Sounds tasty," Breda quipped. "Body like a sweet roll?"

Havoc glared at him. "You're just jealous."

Ed failed to suppress a snicker, and got the glare turned on him briefly. "Sorry," he held up a hand. "No offense, really. She sounds great. Anything I should know about that doesn't have to do with a nice pair of breasts and a good personality?"

Breda shrugged. "Negotiations are actually going somewhere. There haven't been any more open hostilities; the Border's almost too quiet; like they're afraid we'll toss our 'super-weapon' at them again," from his grin, Edward was sure the reference was to him. "Not a hint of another alchemist, certainly. Looks like you took out their only one of consequence. That or the rest won't cooperate."

"Current deal on the table allows for a return to trade within the year, assuming Drachma accepts certain limits on the size of their own Border guards, mercantile security, and gives us a really good deal on Import and Export fees," Havoc nodded, smirking. "We tried to convince Mustang there ought to be something in there about encouraging more of their women to get into the trading business… but he seemed to think that might be too distracting to the border guards for some reason."

"And not the rest of you?" Ed snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure that would be great for border security. Any chance they'll take the deal?"

"Looks like it," Breda nodded. "Surprising really, that they'd give in so fast, but all reports say they just want to get out of this before word gets out as to just what they were really up to. It would kill their trade with Aerugo and Creta as well and, let's face it; they don't have a whole lot to rely on really without that trade. It's pretty barren up there."

"Tell me about it," Ed said wryly. He knew that well enough! Not his idea of an idyllic vacation spot.

"How've you been?" Havoc asked. "I think we've seen more of your wife lately around here than you!"

Ed shrugged. "Lately, bored to tears; Somehow 'orders' to rest and relax takes all the fun out of it."

"Sure does," Havoc smirked. He and Breda'd both been there a couple of times themselves; most anyone old enough to be in the military under Bradley had. They knew the drill. "Bet you're itching for a little action."

"As long as it doesn't involve strategy, tactical planning, and dealing with a bunch of Stars who think they know more than I do," Ed grinned, looking almost feral. He 'felt' a little feral after so much time out of commission. Maybe taking on a few Generals in argument wouldn't be so bad. "Anything that involves a little alchemy, maybe a good punch up or two would do me nicely about now."

"I'll see what we can arrange."

This time, Havoc and Breda did both snap to attention.

Ed turned, and smiled casually. "Morning Mr. President."

Roy Mustang looked at him flatly for a moment then, slightly surprising, he smiled; even if it was his usual more-of-a-smirk. "Glad to see you here on time, Fullmetal."

"By my watch," Ed flipped open his watch to make the point. "You're five minutes late."

"Blame bureaucracy," Mustang replied.

"Was that a joke, Sir?" Ed grinned. He enjoyed niggling Roy, despite his higher rank. He always had. Now-a-days though, it seemed more a friendly game than rivalry; most of the time anyway. Sometimes, Ed wasn't entirely sure.

Roy's smile relaxed a little. "A sad truth," he replied. "Come on into my office, where we can talk away from curious ears and open mouths," He eyed Havoc and Breda, though he was clearly –to those that knew him anyway- teasing old comrades as well.

Ed stood and followed him inside. "So, what's this all about?" he asked when he had closed the door. He turned to face Mustang who, in another one of his slightly annoying surprises, had taken a seat perched on the front of his desk, instead of sitting behind it. So this was going to be relatively informal. Good. He preferred that. 'I take it this isn't another interrogation about Briggs."

Roy smirked. "Not at all. I thought you might like to interrogate me for a change."

"You're kidding right?" Ed asked.

"Not at all," Roy said with a shrug. "You've got to have more questions for me than I have for you at this point."

"All right," Ed contemplated that. This was a moment worth taking advantage of. He didn't want to waste it. "Tell me one thing first; why did you really send me to the border in the first place? You had to know I couldn't have stopped what was coming without blowing something up in the process or making someone mad." Two things that seemed to happen fairly regularly when he got involved; he had managed a little of both at Briggs.

Roy barked a laugh, his good eye actually bright with amusement. "A question I expected," he said. "But a good one, considering. I could have sent one of the more experienced Generals, someone who's been working at this longer, but I sent you….because you're the only one I can really trust."

"What?" Ed wasn't sure he'd heard that right! "What led you to that conclusion?"

"Experience," Roy replied, looking out the window as he spoke. "You're one of the few men I know who won't go against his own principles, not even to save his own skin. I know what orders you won't follow no matter what anyone else does, and that makes you predictable."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks. That's a compliment right?"

Roy turned his gaze back to him. "Yes, actually. In all the years I've known you, Edward, you've never give up on a cause, never betrayed an ally, and never cut corners or cheated to achieve a goal; no matter how altruistic, or selfish, that goal might be. You also don't follow orders blindly, and don't mind telling me exactly what you think, and you don't bother telling me what you think I want to hear. You don't fear me; and I'm not entirely sure how much you respect me," he smirked a little at the last. "That makes you one of the few people I can trust on a mission like that, or on most."

He meant it; every word. Ed was stunned for a moment. It was, without a doubt, the most complimentary summary of himself he had ever heard, honest as it was. Finally, he chuckled. "And here I thought all this time you were trying to get rid of me," the tone was joking though.

"Well that has crossed my mind too," Roy retorted. "But I think we'd have lost Winry's services for good, and she really is the best in the business."

"You could have just trusted Al with a mission like that."

"I could," Roy met the counter with a nod. "But the rest of the military wouldn't have fallen in line with that. Aside from your rather stellar reputation with the public, and the rank I gave you – arbitrary as that really was in several ways – Alphonse doesn't have the bite to take on that kind of task. He's more diplomatic, but he isn't the type to take deaths he has ordered as anything other than personal. Much as he would probably try and say otherwise."

That, Ed had to admit, was probably true. Much as he hated ordering men into situations where they would die, he didn't blame himself anymore for any death he hadn't personally caused, and he hadn't killed anyone, he felt, where it hadn't been justified as necessary. He had learned to deal with it. "Al handles death differently than I do."

"Than anyone who has had to kill on purpose," Roy agreed. "And face to face. You're both Alchemist enough for the job, but I suspected – no, hoped really – that putting you up there would force a confrontation with their alchemist. And I needed someone up there who was capable of handling that… directly."

Ed smirked. They had discussed during the whole scenario what he could and could not do. "Which is why you gave me carte blanche with that particular scenario. I have to admit, there was a lot even I couldn't tell my subordinates about how I was able to do that. I suspect a few are still scratching their heads as to how that didn't break orders regarding defensive alchemy only."

"And it will remain our little secret," Roy nodded, and then he sighed, and smiled. "I would have loved to have seen it. Really, I'd have loved to have taken her on myself. Ice versus Flame…"

"Would have been a pretty intense fight," Ed admitted, still grinning. "She wasn't an easy match." And Roy had sent him because he was the only other alchemist who could take her? Egotistical as it sounded, Ed was pretty sure that was exactly why Roy had sent him. Another major compliment. It was turning out to be a pretty interesting day!

"I hope not, given what we paid in medical bills getting you put back together," Roy rested his elbows on his legs, hands inter-laced.

"Thanks for that, by the way," Ed quipped, actually enjoying the conversation. "Though you should tell your hospital folks the food's lousy."

"I'll be sure to speak with them about that." Roy replied with dry sarcasm. "You certainly ate enough of it."

"Good." Ed replied flippantly. He wasn't really sure what else needed to be said at this point. The conversation had already taken turns he hadn't expected. "So… it's almost over then."

"It is," Roy nodded. "The Drachmans have been all apologies and agreement; they're lucky I'm not taking them for all they've got with this settlement treaty and new trade agreement."

"Just most of it?" Ed asked, though he thought he knew the answer.

"Just most," Roy agreed. "We don't want to aggravate them enough for them to consider retaliation in a few years because they feel cheated."

"Smart move." Ed shifted his legs to get more comfortable. He'd been in a country once where that had happened. He hoped never to repeat the experience here. "Hey, you have anything to drink around here? All this honesty's making me thirsty." Okay, so he was being a little flippant. It was the easiest way to deal with awkward situations.

Roy stood up. "Sure," he walked over to the side desk by the bookshelves that lined the wall farthest from the window. "Wouldn't mind something myself." He poured them both glasses and brought it over.

Ed took his glass and chuckled; water, of course. "Nice vintage."

"I keep the good years at home," Roy quipped as he drank from his own glass.

"Safer that way," Ed agreed. "To keep the distractions at home."

"No, she shows up here frequently," Roy replied, just as flip.

Ed laughed, head going back as he did so. "You really do have a sense of humor. So Winry wasn't pulling my chain. Maybe Riza's not crazy for liking you, old man."

Roy nearly sprayed his drink. "What?"

"What's wrong? We're not sensitive about our age are we, Mister President?" Ed sniggered. So Roy had a sensitive spot too. He'd only meant it as a little dig.

Roy frowned; then snorted. "I'm turning…" the last kind of died off in a mumble.

"What was that?" Ed was enjoying this.

Roy actually looked mildly uncomfortable. "Forty," he repeated the last word again.

Wow. "So you're not that old," Ed grinned. He could be nice too; though that explained Riza's impatience a little. She was in her mid-thirties herself, though Ed hadn't ever dared ask her exact age. They really were running out of time if they wanted kids. "Somehow you seemed so much older when I was a kid. Or maybe that was just taller."

"Probably the latter," Roy smiled. "With height comes perspective."

"I think both come with age," Ed said. "I'm not sure I wouldn't want to smack the brat I was as a teenager now either." He could admit that now. He hadn't changed a lot in some ways, but knowing now what he hadn't known then, he could have been smarter when it came to figuring out Roy's whole M.O.

"Then you'll appreciate my self restraint," Roy laughed. "You're the most challenging subordinate I've ever had."

"You still missed me." His tone was light, but Ed was curious about that too. He'd heard from Winry about Roy's self-imposed exile and stepping down from Brigadier General after Ed had 'sacrificed' himself to bring Al back. From what he had gotten out of Winry – who had heard a bit from Riza on the subject – Roy had been one of the few who didn't believe he was dead either; who was sure he'd be back. He'd said as much during that brief reunion in battle.

"We're a lot alike," Roy replied. "And, like a lot of people, I had faith you weren't so easily deterred. At heart, we're both idealists and dreamers, and damned stubborn."

"There was a time when I wouldn't have believed it of you," Ed nodded. "Except that last! Till I had an explanation shoved up in my face anyway. In your position, I can't say I wouldn't have done some of the same things."

"Good, I'll make sure to tell my therapist my anxiety about that has been completely cleared up."

Ed quirked an eyebrow. "Okay, now you're just being sarcastic."

"That's not only your prerogative," Roy replied, though it was possibly the most relaxed Ed have ever seen him. It seemed that they had moved beyond 'truce.'

Ed shrugged, and grinned over his glass. "Just don't abuse the privilege as badly as your position. Though I have to say, I'm rather disappointed. All this time back, and I haven't seen a single uniform miniskirt."

Roy rolled his eye and sipped from his glass. "Blame my wife."

"I'll be sure to relay that the next time I see her," Ed set his glass down on the table next to the chair he had taken. "Not that I haven't enjoyed the chat," he said after a moment. "I have, surprisingly enough," he added with a slightly self-depreciating grin. "But I do have one other question."

"And that would be?" Roy asked.

"What I'm supposed to do now," Ed replied. "My use on the front is over, and I've given the military every possible useful detail left of what's on the other side of the gate. And I'm not really in a position to do a lot of long travel right now."

"Not without a lot of domestic violence," Roy added.

"Exactly." Winry would kill him! And while he would be glad of something to do, he didn't want to be away from either of 'his' girls.

Roy smiled. "Fortunately, I've already got another assignment where I could really use you; and Alphonse actually, if he's interested. I haven't had a chance to talk to him about it yet."

"Oh?" Ed sat forward. "What did you have in mind?"

"As you know, we've changed the way we choose State Alchemists a little," Roy explained. "What we're looking for and how it's handled."

"Right." Ed nodded, curious now. The test hadn't changed, but there was more of the informal assisted and directed study before it; more like what he had received and been given the opportunity for himself.

"Well, I'm planning the next natural expansion of that," Roy continued. "Whether they become State Alchemists or not, I'd like alchemists to have the option of more directed study with teachers. Not all talented alchemists are fortunate enough to have a good teacher walk into their town after all."

Ed nodded. He'd been so fortunate. It had hurt to find out from Al that Izumi had finally passed away when Al had told him several years ago. "So, some real 'training' before they test," he thought he understood. "Practical as well as study."

Roy nodded. "Something that prepares them more for their role as well; more like basic for the soldiers as far as a more regimented program, tougher, more challenging, but to prepare them ahead of time. Also, to understand exactly what is, and is not, appropriate use of alchemy. Recent history being rife with excellent examples."

"Tell me about it." The first several alchemists Ed had met, and many after, had often been too ego-centric or lacking in ethics; or they had fallen over time from the temptation of power, the ability to do so much that other people couldn't; to try the impossible. Even Ed and Al had made the mistake of thinking they could get away with forbidden transmutation, even if their cause hadn't been evil in intent. "So you think Al and I would be good teachers for this."

"As well as others," Roy nodded. "But the two of you especially. You're unique, and you exemplify most of the traits State Alchemists need most."

"Only most traits?" Ed smirked.

Roy shrugged. "Well I could wish you were a little more respectful to your superiors and, technically, better at following orders to the letter. But really, that's not what we're actually after here."

Ed's smirk turned to more of a conspiratorial grin. "No it's not." He had the feeling he was going to like this. "So teaching alchemists a little history, theory, practical alchemy, and ethics all rolled into one." It reminded him a lot of Izumi's way of teaching; though he wasn't planning to dump any of these folks on a deserted island for a month… unless they annoyed him!

"I take it you're interested."

"Oh yeah," Ed nodded. This was just the kind of project he could really get into! "I'll talk to Al about it this afternoon." He'd do it even if his brother didn't want to, but it sounded like something right up Al's alley as well; a chance to make a difference without violence.

Roy nodded and smiled. "Excellent. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather trust with this project. Armstrong volunteered but… well he was frightening the new recruits as it was. Letting him run the program didn't seem wise."

"Intimidating?" Though Ed couldn't imagine he was intimidating in the usual ways once they spent more than a few minutes around him.

Roy shook his head. "Enthusiasm and his usual brand of dramatic flair. He's much better left to working with someone other than raw recruits, or at least, with some supervision!"

Ed definitely agreed. "So, when do I start?"

"The beginning of next week," Roy replied. "That's when the program's kicking off. There's a lot to cover before next year's exams."

"Will you be taking more than one or two qualified alchemists after this then?" Ed asked curiously. He was sure Roy had been expecting his agreement given the stated starting date.

"That's the hope," Roy nodded. "Our ranks were pretty badly decimated under Bradley. But just because a lot of the alchemists supported by the State under him turned out to be unethical monsters or victims, doesn't mean the military should stop taking State Alchemists. It just means we need a better way of controlling the ones who might have those tendencies so they don't come out, without 'controlling' them."

"I get you." They were shorter on alchemists, and if alchemists were going to do their work 'for the people' as they should, than there weren't enough of them. Guiding those likely to fall down the wrong paths so they didn't with pre-emptive teaching was also a good idea. Izumi had, Ed felt, taught him and Alphonse well, and still they had tried to do what they were planning to do in the first place; bring back their mother.

Of course, Ed had to admit now, that if he and Al had known the truth and the details of just how and why human transmutations didn't work, and how high the price really was, they would possibly never have tried it. Or at least, the older, more mature Ed wouldn't. He wasn't sure, at eleven, that he'd had the common sense not to try it on his own anyway.

"Good. It won't be an easy task. Guiding alchemists never is and, lately, most of those coming in have been younger. Older alchemists who aren't already part of the State want nothing to do with it. I've approached some of them personally, but even those who admit the military is no longer made up of monsters aren't interested." Roy was clearly a little disappointed by this fact.

"I think I can handle them," Ed grinned. After all, at least none of them would be insisting they knew better because they were older than he was. "The younger ones I mean."
"I'm sure they won't give you much trouble," Roy nodded. "Except maybe the ones having trouble seeing you from the back."

Ed frowned. "That was a low blow."

Roy smirked. "Has to be to hit you."

"Glad to see the level of conversation around here hasn't matured in my absence," he retorted.

Roy laughed. "Glad to see you haven't entirely lost your sense of humor. Or maybe you've just found a way to control your temper."

"Or both," Ed shrugged. "Wouldn't do to have me doing permanent injury to potential State Alchemists would it?" He grinned.

"Not at all, Ed. Not at all." Roy nodded. "You'll have a week to prepare. Talk to Alphonse, and anyone else you'd like to assist you while they're here in Central. There are supplies already, but take a look and requisition anything else you think you'll need. I've convinced the Assembly that devoting resources to training up alchemists who, even if they don't go military, are less likely to be destructive is worth it. The budget isn't great this year, but it's pretty good considering. If the program goes well, then I should be able to convince the rest to increase the budget in coming years."
"Don't worry. This is one government program I definitely want to see succeed." For once, Ed was more than happy to be working for the State. This was a good way to spend his time, and he suspected that, even if she would never have admitted it, Izumi would have approved.

April 11, 1927

There were more of them than Ed had expected. Or at least, it certainly looked like more than were on the rosters, though a count had proven that every one of the alchemists in front of him was, indeed, legitimately supposed to be here. The age ranged mostly from eighteen to twenty-five, though the rosters showed a couple of seventeen year olds who would be eighteen by the time the next set of assessments came around. There were fifty of them all told.

No child prodigies in this group. That was probably good though. Ed wasn't sure he wanted to deal with another him! What was more interesting was the range of expressions on the faces in front of him; many eager, some reserved, all interested, and then there were the looks directed more at 'him' than the group of Alchemist's on the stage in general. There was interest, curiosity and, in a couple of slightly nerve-wracking cases, adoration.

The group was mostly male, unsurprisingly, but there were several young women in the class as well. Most of the adoration seemed to come from them, and he was glad Winry wasn't here to see it! Though Al was probably getting a decent share of appreciative looks.

Ed's teaching team consisted of himself, Alphonse, and Armstrong, whom he had let work with the new recruits anyway, figuring that the man would do well with some of the physical training these kids would need, and he was one of the safer kinds of weird they were going to have to learn to deal with anyway! If they couldn't handle Armstrong, they shouldn't be in the military in the first place. Ed and Al had learned a surprising amount from the man when he looked back at their own experiences.

Ed had made a point of not wearing his military uniform today. He wasn't here as General Elric, but as the Fullmetal Alchemist. Alphonse wasn't in uniform either, though his outfit looked well pressed and lined enough to pass for one without the insignia, though it was black, more like Ed's own clothes. Ed was in his slightly modified version of his favorite old outfit- unique and distinctive as it was, in black, with the red coat. There was no mistaking him for anyone else. Armstrong, unsurprisingly, was in uniform. He seemed more comfortable in it at this point.

Well, it was time to start. Ed wasn't one for making speeches – except when exchanging witty repartee with an opponent or Mustang, or when he was all fired up about some cause, but he'd gotten used to dealing with troops. One skill he had learned in trial by fire. "Good morning. Welcome to the first class of the Amestris Alchemist Training Program. For the next few months you've all agreed to a program consisting of physical and mental training culminating in the State Alchemy Exam this winter. You're all here, so you've said in your interviews, because you want to become State Alchemists. A noble goal, but one that you should not all assume you're going to achieve. I'm not saying this because I don't think you're not good enough. It's too early to judge who is and isn't right for military service, but because, for many of you, you will probably discover over the next few months that the life may or may not be for you. If it's not, that's nothing to be ashamed of. The decision to join the military is no easier for Alchemists than for anyone else. In some ways, because of what we can do, it's harder. You're all very lucky to be here now, and not a few years ago. If you don't know the history of Alchemists in the military, you will be learning a lot about it very soon. If you do, than you're several steps ahead of where some of us were when we joined."

Ed went on to give a quick outline of what the program would entail – physical training, classroom style classes in the sciences, alchemy, history, the military, and practical applications of alchemy. "The ethics of alchemy is something that will be discussed in several of these classes," he emphasized. "Above all, this is something that you must learn, and take to heart, to be a successful alchemist, State or otherwise. Remember this; the Alchemist's motto 'Be thou for the people.' Anything you do with alchemy should be to the betterment of society. Alchemy is not meant to be used selfishly, or just because you can. It's an incredible power; but that makes it dangerous, and something to be respected. Alchemy is not a toy, or a status symbol, or a great gift. It's tempting to do things just because they're possible, but that doesn't mean we should. Alchemists are not gods; we're not even close, though there's very little we can't do with alchemy. Those few things though, are forbidden for reasons we will discuss in detail at a later time. That said, safe and helpful use of alchemy is what you're here to learn; to help others and make this world better, not to destroy it or gain personal prestige. Cause if that's what you're after, you're in for a rude awakening."

"Well now," he grinned, relaxing a little. "With that dire warning out of the way, why don't we get down to business? Does anyone have any questions?"

Several hands went up at once. Well, at least they weren't shy.

"General Elric," one young man said from the front row. "How difficult is the State Exam really? I mean, you passed it at twelve didn't you?"

Great. "I did," Ed nodded. "But there were a lot of factors involved in that. My brother and I started doing Alchemy when we were little kids, before we had any idea really of what we were doing. We read the books, we understood the basics. It was only childhood innocence that kept us from doing anything really stupid." Until they were a little older anyway. "We also had serious training under an excellent teacher and months of rigorous study before hand. One other thing," He added. "We're all Alchemists here. While military rank is appropriate in formal situations, here, I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist."

The young man nodded. "Yes sir, Gen… Fullmetal Alchemist, sir."

Well, it was a start. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, sir. But, if you both studied," he looked at Alphonse. "Didn't your younger brother take the test?"

This was skirting on a lot of very fragile ground. But then, Ed and Al had discussed the possibility this would happen ahead of time. They had a plan for dealing with it. Though Ed had hoped it wouldn't be the first thing they discussed at the first public meeting!

"I did," Al said without stepping forward. "But the chances of two children being chosen were slim, and we decided Edward had the better chance. We didn't need to both be State Alchemists."

"Why did you take the Exam so young anyway?" Another man, this one further back, asked.

"We wanted to fix something that went wrong," Ed replied. "To do that, we needed more resources than we had available. But there was no reason for us both to be tied to the military to do that." He had discussed with Roy, as well, what of all that had happened could be discussed with these folks. There was a lot they needed to know, but now, years later, Ed hadn't been sure what was 'classified' by the military, and what of their private struggle was now allowed to be public. It wasn't like everyone didn't know about his auto-mail arm and leg now anyway, though most still seemed convinced that Al had just 'worn' that armor for a while, or conveniently forgotten that he ever had it.

The lack of further explanation kept them from asking 'what did you want to fix.' That was good, perhaps they had some discretion.

Another hand went up. "Will we be learning fighting techniques from you, or from the Strong Arm Alchemist?"

Ed smirked. "All of us, actually. It doesn't do you much good to fight one size of opponent; there are things smaller opponents can do that larger ones can't, and vice versa."

"Like what?"

"You'll find out." Ed was going to enjoy that part of training. A lot of these people didn't have much in the way of fighting experience according to their files.

There were several questions about alchemy, the types of things they would be covering, why they had to have physical training as well, and other things Ed had no trouble answering. A lot of what he was going to do, he was taking right out of Izumi's book. He wasn't trying to get them all to leave, of course, but he did want to weed out the ones with little alchemical ability, or who weren't 'really' interested. Anyone with serious talent and drive needed to be taught.

"Are you married?"

What?! Ed's eyes went wide. "You think that's an 'appropriate' question?" he stared at the girl who'd asked. He heard Al chuckle behind him, and Ed regained his composure. He should be flattered and move on.

"You don't know anything do you?" Another student interrupted; this one a boy right to her left. He sounded annoyed. "Don't you pay attention? His wife's Winry Elric, you know, the brilliant auto-mail engineer?"

Brilliant. Ed would have to tell Winry that one! Apparently she had fans too.

The same young man looked up at the podium. "Did you really get your auto-mail limbs during the war in the East like they say in the news?"

Ed shook his head. "No. I didn't get them in some heroic battle, or as a victim. It was a stupid, completely avoidable, childhood accident."

"Is that what you were trying to fix then, when you joined the state?" A girl in the very front asked.

That one was very perceptive. Ed would have to keep an eye on her. "Part of it," he admitted. "Anyone who wants the full story is going to have to prove you're serious enough about Alchemy to earn it though." There had to be some discretion! He looked at them all, and smirked. "Survive the first month without quitting, and ask me for the story then."

"What a day," Edward dropped onto the couch in his living room and leaned against the armrest. "That was certainly…different."

"I'll say," Alphonse sat down in the closest chair. "Though not bad. They sure had a lot of questions."

"Yeah," Ed rolled his eyes. "About us."

"It's only natural, brother," Al chuckled. "After all, we're sort of celebrities, at least as far as alchemists go."

"Yeah yeah," Ed waved a hand dismissively. "I know. And I don't mind the good press, but it's going to be interesting."

The door clicked behind them. "Hi boys," Winry smiled as she came into the house, Sara cradled in one arm and shopping bags hanging off the other. "How was your first day on the job?'"

Al smirked. "Edward has groupies."

"What?" Winry looked over at Ed, though she looked more amused than anything.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Let's just say a good part of the 'questions' portion of today was spent answering questions about us."

"Mostly you, brother," Al looked smug. "Though you handled it with excellent modesty."

"Modesty? Ed?" Winry was grinning. "I wish I could have seen that."

"Not much to see," Ed sighed. "Though," he smiled. "I have at least one student who thinks you're a brilliant engineer."

Winry's smile broadened. "Glad to see you have at least one smart one then. Can I get you boys a drink? You look exhausted. I thought today was just lecture and introductions."

"Yes please. It was," Al replied. "Though it really did turn into a bit of a grilling on Ed for a while. They're very good at asking questions that it's hard to answer without telling them all the details of what happened in Ishbal, with the Homunculi, and all that right off. Most of them aren't ready to hear that yet."

Ed nodded. "They'll need to know the truth eventually; at least the simplified version. But not yet." He smiled at Winry. "I'd love a drink, but there's something else I could use right now; my baby girl!"

Winry laughed, and deposited Sara in his lap. Ed cradled her gently in his hands. She was still too small to understand most of anything that was going on, but that didn't matter. "That's better." With her blue eyes looking up at him, Ed almost always relaxed; unless she was crying! "Daddy had an interesting day."

"Sounds like it," Winry commented as she continued into the kitchen and dropped off the groceries she'd picked up. "Well I hope they're prepared to work hard. You're going to run them ragged aren't you? Like Izumi did with you?"
"Oh absolutely," Ed grinned. "No point coddling them. The dabblers and those who really don't have the knack for it will figure it out quickly enough. Most of them anyway."

"They're all old enough to learn to handle it, or leave," Al nodded. "We can't afford to risk people repeating the mistakes of the past."

"I'll say." Winry came in with a tray of cups of steaming tea, she set it down on the coffee table before sitting down in the space left on the couch that Ed's feet didn't take up. "That was more of a mess than I ever want to see anyone deal with again; especially since it would probably end up being us!"

"Yep," Al nodded. "I'm not really interested in doing that again either!"

"If we train them up right," Ed pointed out. "We won't have to." That was what he really hoped to get out of this; and why he'd taken the job in the first place. It was going to be a very busy few months however! He hoped he and Al were up to the task.

April 12 - May 16, 1927

The first month was an interesting one. As Ed had predicted, by the end of it, several of their 'students' had dropped out of the program and gone home, learning they had no real talent at alchemy at all, or discovering that they really weren't serious about it. A couple of them were actually scared by it when they got a good demonstration of just what it could do.
As Ed had promised them, it was a grueling first month. It was, in a lot of ways, like army basic training, since it incorporated a lot of the same techniques; led mostly by Armstrong, involving obstacle courses, grueling runs and marches, and hard daily workouts. On top of that were the combative classes, taught mostly by Edward and Alphonse. After one day of those sessions, the short jokes and sniggering about Ed's stature stopped completely; there wasn't a single person there who managed to lay a hand on him for more than one blow. None of them managed to 'touch' Alphonse. Of course, after nearly two months of forced rest, Ed wasn't at the top of his game, but he had no intention of telling his students how close some of them had come to being a decent fight. He'd done a lot of defensive moves that first day, though he regained stamina fast. Sparring with a third of their students in a day was definitely a workout! A lot of their training after that first day was drills, which gave him time to regain conditioning before they were good enough to be a real threat.

On top of physical training, there was a lot of theory and individual study and discussion about alchemy. Having the results of the preliminary testing done on everyone who entered the program, Ed and the others had a fairly good idea of where each individual student stood as far as raw knowledge went, and where there were definite weak spots. Almost no one knew the real story of what had gone on in the Ishballan Rebellion. While most of them could define a homunculus, none of them believed they existed. The lecture on all of that was going to be an interesting one, as Ed had promised any of the students who made it. There were weekly tests on chemistry, biology, geology, and all other related sciences, as well as to cover the history and ethics covered in discussion sessions, and the rules of alchemy. Those were very interesting discussions.

Then there were the practical classes, which started in the second week. Though the Alchemy was very simple, and meant to be harmless except when they had demonstrations of the specialties of the various State Alchemists. Most of the students were dutifully impressed! The practical classes started with basic chemical reactions and proper techniques for drawing transmutation circles (assisted on one day from an experienced local artist when it was determined that several students couldn't actually draw a proper circle). From there, it reminded Ed of his own childhood, making simple items; toys, dishes, and other little things out of provided materials. It weeded out those who got bored easily or didn't have much talent for it very quickly.

It was rigorous, physically and mentally. At the end of the first month, they were down from fifty students to thirty-three.

"So, what's for dinner?" Edward grinned as he closed the door behind him.

Winry rolled her eyes at him. "Is that all you can say lately?"

"Sorry," Ed leaned over and kissed her cheek. "But I'm famished!" It had been another very active day, but a good one.

"Good, than you can cook dinner!" Winry turned away and headed over to where Sara was stirring in the little basinet she had in the living room for that reason. It was easily portable, like one she had created that she had in the back of her auto-mail workshop as well. "I work too you know."

"Sure," Ed shrugged and headed for the kitchen, dropping his coat over the back of the couch as he went. "I don't mind. But you don't spend half your time chasing down a bunch of kids who want to kick your ass to prove they're worth something and don't want to admit to getting beaten by someone smaller than they are." He smirked at that last, opening the cupboard and inspecting its contents. He was secretly enjoying his reputation as being the surprisingly tenacious little guy no one could beat.

"True," Winry said, joining him with Sara in her arms.

Ed felt his heart melt, as usual, and he smiled. "Did you have a nice nap?" he asked Sara with a chuckle. He knew she couldn't reply, but he always talked to her like she might anyway. He reached for the cabinets.

"A nice long nap," Winry replied. "Fortunately for me. I got three orders finished this afternoon." She smiled, but she looked tired.

Ed stopped pulling things out of the cabinets and put an arm around her. "Why don't you sit down and take a break? Sara and I can handle dinner."

"Really?" The relief on her face was plain.

Ed chuckled. "Well yeah. What, I can't be sensitive and compassionate sometimes?"

Winry held out the baby. "Hey, you don't see me complaining! Thanks, Edward." She kissed him briefly before leaving the room.

Juggling Sara and cooking turned out to be interesting, but manageable… with a little alchemy! Before long, Ed had a full three course meal whipped up and on the table while Winry got a well deserved rest. Time she took for a nice long hot bath and a good book – well, auto-mail publication!

"You could at least pretend to have table manners, Edward," Winry sighed as they sat down to dinner. "Are you trying to set a bad example for our daughter?"

Ed looked up from his plate. "What?"

"You could try chewing," Winry suggested with a smirk.

"I am," Ed rolled his eyes. Okay, so he was hungry! At least he felt like he was using all that fuel for a purpose now. "Besides, Sara doesn't care about table manners."

"Yet," Winry sighed. "I'm amazed we manage to keep food in the cabinets these days."

"At least we both get paid enough to cover it," Ed teased, smiling between bites. "Besides, I have to work on evaluations to send on up the chain of command. The government wants to see progress, so I need to work on the reports."

"By yourself?"

"Alphonse, Armstrong and I have all talked and worked out a lot of it," Ed replied, though he never stopped eating. "But we each have to write an evaluation on each of the students independently with our own observations and send those along with the final." He finished off the last bite and stood. "I'll clean up, then I've got to get those finished."

"I'll clean up," Winry replied gesturing at her own plate. "I'm not finished yet!"

The plate was almost completely full. Ed shrugged and laughed. "All right then. I'll put my dishes in the sink and call it good."

A couple of hours later, Ed was hard at work, and Sara was asleep in her room upstairs, at least for a few hours. She would be up and hungry again before Ed and Winry went to bed.

"So do you have any really promising students?" Winry asked, poking her head over his shoulder curiously as he sat, writing out evaluations on the stack of students in front of him.

"A few actually," Ed gestured to the pile at his left and spread them out across the space in front of him. "While they're not all top marks on the tests, I think these have the most promise. I think of them as the three Ms. Their names just happen to all start with M," he explained, chuckling. "There's Marcus Kane. Bit of a hotshot; cocky, twenty years old."

Winry looked at the photo. "Kinda cute, for a kid." Marcus was tall, with lean muscles and short, dark, wavy hair.

Ed snickered. "Don't let him here you say that. He likes being called kid about as much as I like being called short. But he's talented, and he's got a good head on his shoulders, and enough of a conscience to keep ego from really getting in the way when it counts I think."

He gestured to the next photo. This one was the perceptive girl from the first day. Soft featured, conservatively dressed, but with intelligence in her eyes. "Miriam Golan, age nineteen. Not all that strong physically, though she's determined, and she's got quite a brain; very alert and insightful. She's definitely got a natural flare for alchemy; she can see the subtleties to what it's all about."

"This one is Matthias Wood," Ed grinned. "Your fan club." The young man, only eighteen, had sandy hair that was just a little long and a medium build. "Turns out he has an auto-mail foot. Got in an accident when he was kid up north; accidentally stepped in a bear trap."

"Ouch!" Winry winced. "Poor guy. I hope it's a decent foot!"

"Not bad," Ed commented. Of course, he'd seen it by now. "But not nearly as nice as your work," he added.

"Flatterer," Winry kissed his cheek from the side. "Good to know though."

"Yeah, he's agile, doesn't let it slow him up any," Ed went on. "He's quite the fighter; uses his head, though he gets a little overenthusiastic sometimes." Time would hopefully temper him a little. Ed didn't want to see him get hurt because he forgot to check something in his enthusiasm. "He just needs to keep focused a little more."

"And the rest?" Winry asked.

Ed looked at the rest of the piles. "A lot of good ones, a bunch of folks who will probably turn out to be mediocre at best, though they'll do well enough outside. Personally, I'm hoping we can find work for them even if it's not as State Alchemists. They have promise in other fields where a little alchemy augmenting their work could be very profitable."

"Any left who just shouldn't be there?"

A much touchier question. "A couple," Ed admitted. "They were good enough to pass the tests, but I don't like their attitudes. I'm not sure how far they can be trusted, or changed, and that always bothers me."

"How good?" Winry asked.

"One of them is one of the best fighters we have, physically," Ed pulled his file. The picture that went with it was of a tall, lean kid with short black hair and hard gray eyes. "Tobias Dietrich; But he's hard; he doesn't trust easily, he's got an ego, and he's mouthy and disrespectful."

"And who does that sound like that we both know?" Winry sounded amused.

Ed sighed. "I only wish, Winry. But he's less inclined to fight fair, and he doesn't help anyone else. He's not making any friends either; doesn't seem to want them. The rest…well there's some camaraderie with most of the ones that are still here. Except him. I think a good number of them are afraid of him."

"Well maybe you can get through to him," Winry said encouragingly, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "In the meanwhile, maybe I can get through to you."

"What do you mean?" Ed actually turned his head around, only then realizing that his wife was already in her nightgown; her really… nice… nightgown; one of his favorites for the view. It clung in all the right places. "Oh."

Winry smirked. "I was beginning to think you were blind as well as oblivious, Edward. We've both been so busy with work lately, and if it's not work, it's Sara needing our attentions but…"

"Sara's asleep," Ed set down his pen, grinning as he turned around. "And these don't really have to be finished tonight." He could get them done in the morning, or Mustang could wait!

Winry laughed. "That was just what I was hoping to hear."

May 17, 1927

Ed was doubly sore the next morning, after an extra, unexpected evening workout; though he would never have said no! He didn't think any man would have that kind of willpower if confronted with a willing Winry! Fortunately for him, he had that unique privilege.

"You okay, Ed?" Al asked quietly as he joined Ed at the front of the room.

"Yesterday's evaluative drills didn't do you in did they?" Armstrong joined them, looking concerned. "You haven't pushed yourself too hard? Not after your injuries."

Ed rolled his eyes and grinned smugly, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "You've got it all wrong. Yesterday wasn't enough so I, ah, had to find a little extracurricular workout on my own time at home."

As usual, Armstrong missed the sarcasm completely. "That's the spirit!" he clapped Ed smartly on the shoulder with one large hand.

Al was shaking hard, trying not to laugh. At least someone understood him!

Ed had actually been glad for the distraction last night. Today's lecture was the one he wasn't sure he was ready for; the one he had come to think of, ironically on purpose as, 'the truths behind the Truth." Al and Armstrong had both agreed when he mentioned it offhandedly the day before. They had both known about the line at the bottom of Marcoh's message, those years ago.

The room seemed emptier with only thirty-three remaining. It hadn't been full at fifty, but it had been much closer. Now, with them all clustered closer to the front, it seemed like a small cavern. It wasn't the lecture hall today, but the discussion room, which Ed much preferred, since it involved chairs in circles, no podium, and felt much more unofficial. There were more layers of circles at one end, away from him, Al, and Armstrong, but it was better than the other option.

"So," Ed started it off. "You've all survived the first month. Seventeen of your classmates have left, for their own reasons. Remember them well. None of them is shamed in any way for choosing to leave. Now," he went right on without preamble. "I know you've all been very patient, as there are questions we have not answered, or tread around carefully; some of which we promised answers at a later date. For you who are still here, that is today."

"There are a lot of truths that, if you wish to be State Alchemists or alchemists at all, need to be discussed in detail. For the sake of perspective, I'm going to tell you the story the way I learned it. Feel free to speak up with questions. It's a lot to absorb, especially in one day." Perspective and narrative; it was the way Edward always remembered those facts. "Which means, starting at the beginning." And he did, albeit in brief, beginning with his and Al's childhood, their father leaving, their mother's encouragement of their use of alchemy because it reminded her of their father. Her sickness and sudden death. Their determination to bring her back and time with Izumi as a teacher.

"She sounds like a beast of a teacher," one of the students commented.

Next to Ed, Al smirked. "Where do you think we learned it?"

There were several chuckles that broke the tension that had been building ever since Ed mentioned their plans to try human transmutation.

"So you went on with it even after her warnings?" One of the men asked with a furrowed brow. "What happened? Did you succeed?"

"You're getting ahead of me. Who's telling this story?" Ed countered. "I'll get there. Yes, despite Izumi's warnings, we went ahead with the transmutation. What we created though, wasn't human."

"Then what was it?" came another question.

"Well, we didn't know at the time," Ed replied. "We found out later, that it was a homunculus." Time for one of the few out-of-sequence details.

As expected, there were a number of scoffs and calls of disbelief. But several faces just looked stunned. Ed took note of who was in which groups. It told him a lot. "Yes," he went on after a moment. "A homunculus. How we found that out will come later, but trust us all when I tell you that's what happened. There's no way to recreate a human soul with alchemy."

"What about equivalent exchange?" was the next question. "What did you exchange to even create something living?"

"This," Ed kicked out his leg. "On my part."

"Then how'd you lose your arm?" came one confused question from one of the girls. "Wasn't it the same time?"

Ed nodded, eyes closing briefly. Then he looked up at them all, eyes hard. "I lost my arm saving my brother's soul. The other side took my leg, but it took his entire body. I gave my arm, and what it got us was Al's soul…bound to a suit of armor."

"Oh now you're just pulling our legs!" came another skeptical call from one in the back. "He's sitting right here!"

"Now," Al spoke up. "But if you look at pictures of us at the time, or ask anyone in the military who knew; you'll see the truth. I was, for four years, nothing but a soul and a suit of armor."

"Then how'd you get your body back?"

"So you figured out human transmutation later?"

"No!" Ed cut off the next barrage of questions with a sharp snap and a scowl. "You're getting ahead again and completely missing the point! Human transmutations are forbidden for a reason. Now shut up and listen and you'll figure out why if you haven't already."

The story continued. Pictures from that time 'were' passed around. Ed spoke of getting his auto-mail, and their trip to Central, and their experiences with the State Exam, and – a little – of their interaction with 'Colonel' Mustang. The stories seemed to amuse the students, and Al filled in a few of them. Then it got serious, as the truth of Shou Tucker's research was revealed, and their first run-ins with Scar. The ugly truth of what happened in Ishbal was covered in large part by Armstrong him self, with details added that Ed and Al had discovered separately that hadn't been known even to the soldiers in the Massacre; the hunt for the philosopher's stone, the many fakes, and the revelation of the Homunculi and Lab 5.

The story went on longer, and lunch came and went. No one complained, or fidgeted; everyone listened, most hanging on Ed's every word at that point. The truth of the Gate had them flinching, and Ed's death, told from Al's point of view, had them in tears right through Ed's 'sacrificing' himself and his memories to bring Al back to his body.

Now they were beyond the shocking, and into what had to sound fanciful. Ed gave much less detail of the 'Other Side' than he was sure they wanted, save to tell them how the energy for alchemy worked, and the horrors of war. He didn't want them even considering opening that Gate on their own. Ever. The fight with the Thule society, his brief return and Al's going back with him, and subsequent memory regain, followed by the briefest summary of their return to Amestris.

When the story was finally over, the room was silent. Ed wondered if they dared to breathe, or just feared to be the first to break the silence.

"Wow." Matthias said finally.

Ed shrugged. "That's the story. That's why Al and I can transmute without circles, why human transmutation is forbidden, why no one should try to make a philosopher's stone, and the price alchemists pay for 'playing god.'" He had spent the entire lesson with only his sleeveless black undershirt on as a top, his auto-mail arm prominently displayed. He clenched that hand now. "Alphonse and I were unbelievably lucky that he got his memories back when he followed me through; and that what I offered in equivalent exchange was enough for him to come back at all; that I ended up on the Other Side instead of stuck somewhere in the Gate."

"I'm not telling you this to give you ideas, or great entertainment. These are lessons no one should have to learn the hard way. Outside of this room, very few people know anywhere near as much as you have just been told. It's not military secrets anymore; some of it is even common knowledge if you ask the right circles. However, it is personal, and it's the truth behind all the little half-truths you've been told most of your lives. Take those lessons for what they're worth, and don't do anything stupid."

Ed stood and stretched. "Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but it's been a long day. I'm going to go get something to eat and a drink and call it a day." The clock on the wall showed it to be four in the afternoon. They really had talked all day!

For once, the class seemed subdued as they left, though there was a lot more quiet buzzing and conversation than usual as well.

Alphonse came up and put a hand on Ed's shoulder. "I think we gave them a lot to think about, Brother."

Ed nodded. "I just hope they get the point. Let's go, Al. That was a lot harder than I thought it would be." It had left Ed feeling tired; emotionally drained from reliving the entire thing; lessons he forced himself never to forget, but hated to remember every detail of. He picked up his jacket and pulled it on.

"You told it well," Al complimented him with a grin. "With only a few alterations and exaggerations."

Ed gave him a raspberry. "Please. There are still a few things about my own life I'd like to keep private. Bad enough we've given them access to enough media friendly information to make our private history news for months if they don't show discretion."

"Not that the papers would believe most of it," Al pointed out.

"Not at all," Armstrong joined them briefly. "And if they did, they are easily enough discredited. Well done, Edward Elric," he nodded. "A tale told as well as any from the Armstrong line. Storytelling is –"

"A skill passed down for generations right?" Ed grinned, feeling a little better.

Armstrong looked nonplussed, then chuckled. "Very perceptive. Now, I bid you good afternoon. Tomorrow promises to be interesting."

Ed sighed. "You've got that right."

Winry was surprised when she heard the front door open an hour earlier than usual. Splitting her time between the workshop and working out of the house lately, she had gotten used to the new routine. But the sound of Ed's steps were unmistakable. This afternoon though, they sounded heavy. She poked her head out of the room that served as her home 'workshop' and saw him standing in the hallway, staring down at the floor. "Edward?"

Ed looked up and smiled, though it was small and he looked drained. He crossed the intervening space and reached for her. "Winry." Winry didn't resist, taking him into her arms as well. He'd warned her last night just what today's lecture would entail. He didn't need to say a word. They stood, embracing in silence for a couple of minutes. Winry waited for Ed to loosen his hold first.

"How did it go?" she asked softly, hoping that it had gone well. At least, as well as could be expected given the subject matter.
"Surprisingly well, actually," Ed replied, his tone equally quiet. "It's just painful to put myself back there again. There's so much…" he stopped, his voice wavering on the last words. Winry could tell he was trying not to cry. He always did that; stopped it up and tried to be tough, not to show he was hurting; not to let himself hurt.

"Shhh," Winry pressed one finger to his mouth. She smiled. "It's okay. You've survived it again, right? Now how about we get your mind focused on something else for a while?"

"I don't know," Ed shrugged. "I'm not sure I'm much in the mood."

Winry almost rolled her eyes. Ed! Did he really think that was what she meant every time? "Not that, silly. At least, not right now." It was a possibility not to be ruled out later. "Why don't you play with Sara for a while? She misses you during the day."

That was the right thing to say, she thought, as Ed's expression lifted. "I think I will. Is she up?" he asked as he moved past her into the living room. Winry followed.

"If she isn't she will be soon," Winry chuckled. "She'll be hungry again any time now." She leaned against the corner where the hall joined the living room, watching Ed lean carefully over the crib and look down. She could just barely hear him as he spoke softly.

"Hi sweetie," he cooed, his hand reaching down to touch her. Winry could guess it was probably to brush her cheek. He liked that. "You're awake. That's my big girl. You want to spend some time with Daddy tonight?" There was a soft gurgle in response as Ed picked Sara up and brought her to his shoulder. She liked that more these days, as she was starting to focus her eyes enough that should could make out faces. As he lifted her, Ed's eyes lit up. "She's smiling at me. I mean, really smiling."

Winry chuckled. "Yeah. She's just started doing that today." Up until now, it had been in relation to gas, or so she'd been told, and it seemed to be true. Now though, today, her daughter had started responding to stimulus with smiles; Winry's face, Sara's little white stuffed dog that Ed had transmuted for her (Ed called it Alexander), and now her Daddy.

Ed's smile widened into the grin Winry much preferred to see on his face. Seeing him upset always hurt her on the inside; it always had. "Incredible."

"Amazing how a man who can recreate whole buildings by clapping his hands together is amazed by the simple act of a baby's smile," she teased softly.

Ed looked up from Sara's face, still grinning. "Of course. You can't force a baby to smile after all."

That was true. Winry hadn't really thought of it that way before. She smiled back. "That's true. It's funny. It's so easy to 'make' people be unhappy. The one thing no one seems to be able to do, is 'force' happiness. It can be faked, individually, but it can't be forced upon others. When someone smiles because you did something, it's because they want to."

Ed's smile softened, his eyes too. It was a still, tender expression on a normally animated face. It made her want to melt, just a little. "And when they want you to smile, it's because they love you."

Winry felt her face warm. "You've got that right. So… what do you want for dinner?"

Ed shrugged, his attention going back to their baby girl. "Anything's fine."

Anything? "You sure you're all right, Ed?" If he was playing 'tough'…

But his smile hadn't faded. "I'm all right, Winry, I promise. I just need a little time. Besides, I'm the luckiest man alive."

"How do you figure that?" she asked. He always had somewhere interesting to go in these conversations.

"With everything that has happened," he replied. "I did what I promised and got Al back to normal, and every day I get to come home to the two most beautiful women alive."

"Awww, Ed." He was doing a good job of making her blush this evening! "Sometimes you're kinda sweet."

He laughed, then looked abashed as Sara whimpered at the sudden explosion of noise in her tiny ears. "Sorry, Sara. Hey, it's all right," he rocked her in his arms as he looked back up, a little sheepish. "I'd like to hope so sometimes. Given how many times you've told me I'm a jerk in my life, I figure there had to be some reason you love me…besides your obsession with auto-mail.

"Oh come on, Ed," she chuckled, winking. "You know all your best parts are natural."

She could make him blush too. And, as long as she had him distracted, he wasn't thinking about his day, and that was entirely the point.

May 20, 1927

"Aunt Pinako!" Ed smiled at the diminutive figure standing on the front porch. "What a nice surprise." What was she doing here? Not that he was displeased, but he usually knew when they were expecting guests!

"Thank you, Edward," Pinako Rockbell squinted up at him, smiling back. "You didn't think I was going to pass up the opportunity to see my great grand-daughter did you?"

"Well of course not," Ed shrugged, standing aside and holding the door. "I just didn't know you were coming."

"That's because I didn't tell you," Winry's grandmother smirked. "Or Winry for that matter. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get away. Is Winry home?"

"Not yet," Ed replied, picking up her bag and following as they both walked into the living room. He smiled. "Sara is though. Winry had to go into the shop this afternoon to see a new client."

"I see." Pinako smiled again. "And does Sara enjoy time at home with her father?"

Ed shrugged. "I like to think so. She smiles at me a lot. Here she is," he grinned as they reached the crib. Sara was awake, and looked up at them both with an absolutely adorable inquisitive stare, that was quickly replaced by a smile when she recognized Ed. She reached her little hands up toward him and Ed was more than happy to oblige, picking her up.

"She's beautiful," Pinako commented.

"Thanks. She reminds me a lot of Winry," Ed replied. Her eyes were still the same color of blue, and hadn't shown any hints of changing yet.

"I was going to say, she looks a lot like you when you were tiny," Pinako replied. She reached out a hand close enough for Sara to focus on, and the baby reacted by reaching out her little fist and bopping their hands together. "Inquisitive and unafraid."

"She is both of those," Ed chuckled, a little unsure of how to take the comment; was it a compliment to both of them?

Pinako looked around the house. "I must say, Edward, you've done well for yourself. Much as I still dislike a lot of things about the military, I can't fault your reasons, or your work."

Compliments. Definitely compliments; Ed was floored. "Thanks, Grans," he managed to keep smiling instead of looking stunned. Aunt Pinako, as they'd called her as boys, had always loved them much like sons and looked after them, but she'd been critical too, and vocal about it when necessary. Ed suspected Winry got that trait from her grandmother's side of things. "I try. I finally feel like I'm doing something really worth while with this new program."

"I hope it works out," Pinako said. "Training smarter, more careful, more responsible alchemists is definitely a service to everyone."

"Anything to keep history from repeating itself," Ed replied, feeling appropriately humbled and abashed. He knew he fit into the category of those stupid and irresponsible enough to have added to the problem in the first place. At least he'd done his best to fix things. "And to keep my family safe."

Pinako smirked. "So you've finally grown up, Edward."

And her words made him feel like such a kid again, but Ed wasn't mad. "I've just rearranged my priorities a little." The warm little bundle in his arms was evidence enough of that in his mind. "But my family has always come first, and it always will." It had just grown. He shook his head out of reverie and laughed. "So, how long do we have the pleasure of your company? We have a guest room you're welcome to of course." Pinako had never come to visit them in Central before, and Ed hadn't seen her since well before his deployment to Briggs.

"Just a few days," she replied. "I don't want to intrude, and I do have work to do when I get back to Resembool. But I wanted to see how you were all doing for myself; not just through Winry's letters."

"Glad to have you. Winry will be thrilled." Ed paused as a familiar whiff crossed his nose. "Excuse me. We've got a critical situation here," he grinned as he set Sara down and reached for the diapers and a cloth to wipe her.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Pinako smile with amusement. "So domestic. Winry has you trained well."

"Very funny," Ed chuckled as he made quick work of the offending diaper. "Diapers are nothing after the dangers I've dealt with. I don't see why some guys make such a big deal about it anyway." He picked up the baby and held her out. "You want to hold her? I need to deal with this before it gets nasty."

"Of course I want to hold her," Pinako took Sara into her arms with an air of experienced ease, despite the fact her own children and granddaughter were full grown.

"You know," Ed said when he came back a minute later. "I remember Izumi saying something similar to me once as you did earlier; about me having grown up. We had finished a battle with a couple of homunculi, and I told her then, that I'd thought I'd grown up when I'd passed the state alchemy exam, but that I'd had a long way to go." He chuckled. "Now, I think that way was still further than I could have imagined."

"I don't think we ever really stop growing up," Pinako commented, a smile on her face.

"That might be a good thing," Ed grinned. "I know now I wasn't done even at sixteen; emotionally or physically." He was very glad for physically! A couple of inches were better than nothing. He had been far from ready for any kind of romantic interest at the time either; too focused on other things, having missed out on most of the steps that brought a guy into that as an adolescent. Even as armor, Al had at least had his share of crushes. Ed had been so firmly in denial that he had any feelings for Winry, and he'd never felt anything romantic for any of the women he'd had feelings for; much as he cared about Rose, about Noa; they had been friends. He'd never even considered that it might be more. Al had made very good points in their conversations about Ed's relationships with women. He was pretty odd.

"You had a lot of other things to deal with first," Pinako replied.

"You're being awfully nice about this, Aunt Pinako," Ed commented, feeling just a little wary.

"I don't chew people out unless they're behaving like children," she replied with a sniff, and a brief sly smirk. "And I know a thing or two about dealing with hardship. Life is complicated, and it's not possible to learn about everything at once; to develop every aspect of ourselves at the same rate. Frankly, despite the dangers, at least the one thing I never had to worry about was you or Alphonse doing anything foolish that might get you into 'this' kind of trouble," she lifted her arms in a gesture that made it clear she was referring to Sara. "Not that it ever seemed like an issue to worry about with Alphonse anyway. You however…"

"Oh come on!" Ed laughed, leaning back against the wall, hands in his pockets. "You ever worried about me doing something like that?" That was ridiculous!

Pinako nodded though, dead serious. "Before your mother died, I could have seen it coming in a few years. I had sons remember," she smiled. "And even good boys have to deal with becoming men."

Ed smirked. "I'm so glad it wasn't you giving us the 'birds and the bees' speech. Somehow I think we'd have been scarred for life."

"Smart-mouthed as always. At least you'd have gotten a good no-nonsense lecture," Pinako settled down into the rocking chair, more stiffly than Ed was used to. Of course, the woman had been 'old' to Ed when he was a kid, but now that he really understood what that meant, he couldn't help but worry just a little, noticing how much older she had grown. Her mind was as sharp as ever though; he took some comfort in that. "No, you were a good boy, Edward, but such an ego and a temper at times; never the cautious one."

Ed shrugged. "You're right. Though I can say I'm pretty sure nothing would have happened. Besides," he grinned. "Even if we'd stayed in Resembool, if I'd tried anything that might get me into trouble, or had a 'moment of weakness,' Winry would have skinned me alive." She'd done enough chasing around after them and trying to keep them – okay, especially him – out of trouble in their childhoods, and later, on their journeys as they discovered the truth behind the Stone and Homunculi, he doubted it would have been different at home.

Pinako's wickedly knowing smile made him feel like blushing. "You assume, my boy, that I don't know where both of your feelings were in those days either. Proximity provides opportunity."

Yep, definitely blushing, if only slightly. Few people could make him feel like a kid again with only a few words, or a look. But then, few had been giving him those words or looks since he was little. By the time he was twelve, he'd lost that healthy childhood respect – what little he'd had – for adults. Her words reminded him of another conversation with Al, where he'd pointed out that one of the reasons Winry had likely never openly admitted how she felt – and she had all but admitted it since – was because she understood the importance of what they were doing, even if she didn't like it. "Then you could say," He countered, "That my becoming a State Alchemist had other benefits."

"I could," Pinako nodded. "But I won't."

Ed chuckled. "Stubborn old woman."

"Insolent brat."

"Wrinkled hag."

"Runt."

Ed felt a warm feeling of 'home' settle through him as they continued with their 'endearing' banter. It was just like old times!

October 15, 1927

"Hey, Fullmetal, sir?"

Ed looked up from his stretches and grinned at the student standing above him. "What is it, Matthias?" It was a chilly day, but Ed was glad of that. It meant that today's sparring matches would be more comfortable than they would in summer heat!

"I was wondering," Matthias said, looking a little embarrassed, yet sure at the same time. "I've had a question for a while."

"So ask," Ed stood and waited; his body position alert but relaxed. Six months of consistent workouts getting these guys whipped into shape and with decent fighting skills had honed his as well; back to where he'd been before the border dispute – as it was officially being referred to – with Drachma. He was looking forward to today.

"Well, I almost hate to ask but," Matthias looked around to make sure no one else could hear their conversation. "Have you been going easy on us? I mean, I know no one has managed to take you down, or your brother, or even Armstrong, but; you're all well, legends. So how is it that any of us even stand up to you in these fights?"

It was a question Ed had honestly been expecting from 'someone' for some time now. He nodded. "Congratulations, you're the first one to think to ask. It's true; I'm not going after you guys full out. Why? Because I'm not trying to do permanent damage or kill you outright. I've had to do both before. Right now that won't teach you anything. No one learns best by being trampled over and over. This is about teaching. Not that there's much to pull," he added, with a smirk. "Other than the fact none of us are using alchemy, the only things not being used on any of you are killing and crippling shots. Up to now, we're still all fighting fair most of the time; clever, but 'fair.' In a real life and death fight, there's no such thing as fair. But you need to learn how to fight without killing someone or getting killed first; before you have to deal with the utterly distasteful realities of combat."

Matthias seemed to be thinking that over. "So, when I almost landed that one shot on you in our bout when I first got here…"

Ed clapped a hand on his shoulder. "It was a good shot. But I'd just come off medical leave less than two weeks before. I was pretty badly out of condition at the time," he grinned.

At that, Matthias smiled. "I thought we were doing pretty well. So that wasn't going easy on us."

"Nope," Ed shook his head. "I was going easy on me!"

"Good to know. And today?" Matthias asked.

Ed's grin took on a wicked twist. "Anything goes except alchemy, and a maiming or killing shot." Yes indeed, it was going to be a good day. They were doing six month evaluations on the students. Over the past few months, the numbers had dwindled further, down to twenty. Still, for a first year, that was a pretty good number. Several of those who had left promised they were going to find other alchemists who could teach them to put their alchemy to good productive use, but they really weren't cut out to handle the rigors of the training, nor did they have the talent or inclination for the types of alchemy that were worked by the more powerful alchemists Ed had dealt with in his time.

Ed and Al were handling the actual fights for the evaluations; each one of their students would fight Al and Ed once each. Armstrong would be watching and playing referee.

Ed finished a final stretch and then stepped into the center of the fighting area marked out on the parade grounds. He liked fighting outdoors, even when Alchemy wasn't involved. He didn't mind the interested looks they got from the soldiers; or the audiences they often drew from folks who were off-duty or had a few extra minutes. Fighting without getting distracted was a skill they would have to learn anyway. He knew he was more imposing by their experiences fighting him than by appearance; in his usual pants and boots, though he wore a black, fitted long-sleeved shirt and his gloves, forgoing coats despite the cool weather.

"All right," he grinned, letting the feeling of slightly maniacal enjoyment show in his eyes. "I don't have to tell you that today's evaluation fights are going to be a little different from our usual training sessions. How, however, is another story. The only moves off-limits today are using alchemy, of course and any shot that will maim or kill. Know any other dirty tricks? Go ahead and pull them out. You will each fight the True Soul Alchemist and me once each. Any questions?"

"Yeah," no hand went up, but Ed knew the voice. He managed not to sigh aloud –or growl; Tobias Dietrich – who just went by Dietrich. "When are we going to get to do real fighting, with alchemy? These games are all fine and good, but when will we learn anything useful?"

Ed did his best not to let the man get under his skin, but it was hard given the kid's talents, and sheer arrogance. He shrugged. "When you pass the State Alchemy Exam. These aren't games here; this is what it takes to survive in any fight, and sufficient for the majority of fights you are ever going to be in. You can't count on having enough time to pull off an attack or defense with alchemy during a fight. So you'd better be able to back up your words and actions without it, if not you're screwed." He only too well remembered his near-death experience with Barry the Chopper. That fear had faded over the years, but the memory of the terror and surety of death remained. It had been an important lesson.

Most of them seemed satisfied with that answer; they usually were with whatever answers they were given now. Dietrich looked annoyed, and Ed knew he wasn't finished yet. "Well of course," he replied coldly. "But we're well up to that point, and I don't see how this is a test of our real skills anyway; not without real risk involved, fighting some upstart prodigy-has-been given a commission for hero status without having to work in the ranks. You get this cushy position and run us through drills where, under proper rules, we have no hope of beating you; not under fair play and fighting a man with auto-mail enhancements."

Oh that rankled. Ed wanted to punch the kid, but he stomped, violently, on his temper. "So you think this gives me an advantage?" he pulled off his glove and rolled up his sleeve, revealing his auto-mail arm again. They had all seen it before. "Having an arm and a leg that don't hurt when you cut at them are great, sure, they don't feel anything." He flexed his hand as he spoke, looking at his arm, not at Dietrich. "They don't have skin to burn or cut; no blood to lose. But what happens when you take them out?" It was posed as a hypothetical, though he knew the answer well enough. He wanted them all to think. "It's just steel. You can bend it, break it, melt it… shatter my arm or leg into dozens of pieces. Then what? Without auto-mail," he shrugged. "I go back to being what I was when I lost my arm and leg… a cripple." He looked back up at the faces of his students, and Al and Armstrong.

His fellow alchemists looked sympathetic, but were staying out of it. Ed liked to deal with his own battles. This was his to deal with. Matthias looked knowing. With his foot, he would remember what it was like to be less than whole, even for a time. Though he had winced at Ed's harsh use of the word cripple. It was distasteful to refer to anyone that way. "You know," Ed said, with a wry smile. "On the other side of the Gate, those who are crippled are treated worse than they are here, sometimes even if it happened serving their own countries in the military; protecting their homes. Heroism lasts only as long as it's immediately on people's minds. It's a fleeting thing, and that's not what this is about." He looked at each of them individually. "Auto-mail is no more infallible than flesh and bone, and needs just as much maintenance and care." He chuckled. "Just ask my mechanic about how many times she's had to come to my rescue just to keep me moving."

There were a few good natured snickers.

"All talk," Dietrich scoffed. "I don't think you're as invincible as the rest of Amestris wants to think you are, Fullmetal," he almost spat the name. "And I'm sick of being patronized and treated like an amateur."

"All right then," Ed reached out a hand and beckoned. "Step on up, Tobias," he specifically used his first name to goad him. He knew a lot about that! "You can be first. This 'is' dirty tricks allowed after all. It's a real fight. Go for anything you like; anything at all." Dietrich was unlikely to be able to pull anything that would cause permanent damage or kill him; Ed had fought him enough. The younger man was an excellent fighter, a good bit better than anyone there save the three State Alchemists. But power and stamina weren't everything. There was a lot he didn't 'know.' Experience was the real killer here. Ed caught Al giving him a 'what are you doing' look, and just smirked back. He could handle it. Al rolled his eyes, but didn't interfere.

"You're going to regret this," Dietrich smirked, though he was clearly annoyed. He joined Ed in the 'arena' and took up a stance.

Ed didn't plan to use his auto-mail to advantage in this fight either, though he didn't say that. It would be evident enough when the fight began. He had a strategy in mind; and a few little tricks he'd picked up from a former Colonel. He shrugged, smiled, and sat down cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes.

Dietrich frowned. "Come on! Enough games. I thought this was supposed to be a fight."

"It is," Ed replied. "Attack me."

"Do I look stupid?" Dietrich growled.

"No, just scared," Ed replied, eyes still closed, though he smirked.

It worked. "I'm not afraid of you!" Dietrich snarled, lunging forward to attack.

Ed moved at the last second, falling back and bringing his real leg up so it caught Dietrich in the stomach with his knee, then he twisted to bring his other leg up and nudge him aside enough to knock Dietrich off-balance to the ground. Ed rolled fast to get the upper hand, but Dietrich rolled out and was up on his feet in seconds; furious. He rushed Ed while Ed was still getting to his feet; but missed as Ed simply side-stepped him with a quick spin and brought his left arm down on Dietrich's back.

The younger man spun and grabbed Ed's arm at the last instant, bringing them both down into a tumbling roll that ended with Ed breaking free and coming up a split second before him till they were in a standing fight again; something Dietrich was much more used to. He wasn't good on the ground with a small opponent; and Ed knew all the buttons to push and weaknesses to exploit. Dietrich only thought he knew Ed's. "Enough you pipsqueak!" Dietrich snarled, as they exchanged a flurry of blows with arms and legs.

Ed laughed in his face, feeding his reactions into how good it was going to feel to kick Dietrich's ass 'for real' this time. "Nice try, but enough of my enemies have tried that one; it's not an effective insult anymore." He had felt his temper surge, but he was much better at not giving in to it now.

Dietrich glowered. "I wasn't trying for—" He cut off as Ed slipped inside his defense and smacked him again smartly in the mid-section before getting out again. From there, things got fast and furious, but Dietrich didn't come close to laying a hand on Ed again, who went purely into defensive mode for several minutes, dodging with spins and twists and jumps and flips – all using primarily his real limbs – until Dietrich managed to get a grab on his auto-mail leg and came down hard, trying to break it. Ed grimaced as he found himself smashed indignantly into the pavement, but the leg held, and he jerked free again, twisting to bring Dietrich over him if he could…turning it into a fairly nasty wrestling match. He knew he'd really gotten Dietrich angry when the man tried to gouge an eye long enough to get Ed to call it, but his blows were getting harder, his moves more deliberate, and Ed knew he was close to pushing Dietrich to the point where he 'would' be willing to try an actual killing shot; an important moment, figuring out exactly how far he could be pushed, and if he could rein himself in, or if he had it in him to be a killer. That was something Ed needed to know; a part of the evaluation Dietrich likely hadn't considered. Winning wasn't the whole point.

Ed played the defensive game even from the ground, easily eluding most of Dietrich's moves, though they each pinned each other to the ground briefly more than once. Ed was too tricky and slight to stay caught for long though, and dodged most of the other man's serious moves. "Give it up," he warned finally. "This isn't about who is better."

That did it. Dietrich's eyes took on a new glow; one Ed had seen before. "That's all this is really about," he snapped, going for Ed's neck.

Ed slipped out, snagged Dietrich's legs on the way down and twisted, coming out from under him and getting up on top, with Dietrich's neck in a firm hold, so fast that the other man barely had time to grunt in surprise. If Ed had wanted to, he could have easily snapped Dietrich's neck from this position, and there was no way for him to get Ed off save sheer physical strength. That wasn't enough. "Call it," Ed said softly.

Dietrich was eyeing him, eyes more than a little wild, defiantly glaring.

Damn it. "Call it!" Ed hissed again. He didn't like the idea of having to explain to Mustang that he'd had to kill one of his students. That wouldn't go over well. Dietrich had to have known that, even if he tried to kill Ed, Ed wouldn't actually be trying to kill him. So either he'd miscalculated, or he'd known that Ed wouldn't and had counted on that. Still. "This is over, Dietrich." He tightened his arm a little more, and bluffed, letting his 'maniacal killer' expression come across his face as he leaned down to where Dietrich would be able to see him in his peripheral vision; their backs were to the other students and there was no audience on that side; no one else would see it. "Call it now, or I'll have fun explaining to President Mustang why I had to make an example out of you."

Dietrich continued to glare, but there was a slight tremble, the subtle difference in his expression; a hint of real fear. "Fine," he hissed. "You win."

Thank goodness. Ed dropped him and stood up, turning to look at the rest of the class, and a rather large group of military regulars who had gathered. As he dusted himself off, a loud cheer went up from the crowd, and he saw money exchanging hands. Great! Though it looked like most of them had bet on him, not against him. He offered Dietrich a hand up. The other man glared disdainfully at his hand, and staggered shakily to his feet on his own. He looked even more annoyed when Ed smiled; which Ed enjoyed immensely. "Good fight," he complimented. "The only reason you're alive right now though; is because this isn't a battlefield. In a 'real' fight, you'd have been dead in the first exchange. It's not about whose stronger, or faster, it's about experience and keeping a cool head. Lose your head, and you lose the fight, and possibly your life." A lesson he had learned the hard way, several times.

Dietrich still scowled. "You pulled three shots during the fight," he said, loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Why?"

Ed sighed, almost feeling sympathy. Almost. He shook his head. So much for a private conversation. "Because every one of them would have killed you immediately." At least he'd noticed some of that. Even though Ed had given Dietrich permission to go 'all out' that didn't mean Ed had. "And I pulled five, not three." You missed two, Tobias. How does that feel? He didn't gloat out loud; that wouldn't do. There was none of it in his voice.

That seemed to leave Dietrich, for once, with little to say. Ed hadn't had to go all out to beat him, and had pulled several shots. The fight would have been over much sooner otherwise. He swallowed, and seemed to think for several very long seconds. "Let's fight it again."

Ed shook his head. "You fight me once, you fight the True Soul Alchemist once. That's how this works. This is an evaluation, not a grudge match."

"No. It's not over," Dietrich moved with surprising speed; but Ed was faster. He dodged grab and shoved, taking Dietrich back down to the ground and pinning him again in the very same painful headlock.

"It's over," he repeated, he let go of Dietrich's head and stood up again. "Now move. You're holding up the line. There are nineteen more students waiting for their shot at me."

The rest of the fights were uneventful relatively speaking. Everyone had seen him take Dietrich down without a second thought; and knew how much Ed had held back, pulling killing blows and even avoiding using his auto-mail limbs to advantage just to make a point. None of the others, not even Marcus, were openly cocky. Everyone else took the fights seriously.

Despite the cool weather, Ed was hot by the time they finished, but not really winded; not even after twenty matches. Al looked fairly relaxed. All of their students crashed out in various stages of tired, wiping their faces and drinking as much of the supplied water as they could handle. None of them were truly exhausted though, not as badly as they had been when this started.

"Good work, everyone," Ed nodded, looking and feeling relatively satisfied. "Hit the showers and get something to eat. You've got the rest of the day off to recover," he winked at that last and was greeted, mostly, with amused chuckles. "Dismissed."

As they all headed for the showers, Ed cut Miriam off briefly. "Good go," he commented. "But you're still hesitating on the offensive."

She smiled, and then sighed. "I know, Sir. I just… I don't think I'm cut out for all this violence. I don't think I could ever kill anyone."

Ed nodded. "That's why you need to get good," he replied. "So you're good enough that you can stop people without having to."

Miriam's step hesitated just a moment, and she blinked. Ed knew the point had gotten across; she'd never thought of it that way before he was certain. She nodded. "Thank you, Sir."

"No problem, Golan," he smiled. "Don't give up, okay?"

"I won't," she smiled, then hurried to catch up with the others.

Ed went back to help pick up the big water containers and other items left by the fighting arena, like his coat. Not that he'd need it until he'd had a shower himself.

"They're really improving," Al grinned.

"They are," Ed agreed. "Though I'm worried."

"About Dietrich?" Armstrong paused beside them, and nodded. "As am I. The boy has strength, intelligence, and ability, but he lacks judgment, and I fear he is the type who will try what is forbidden or impossible, just to test them both."

"I hope today taught him a good lesson," Ed sighed. "I could have killed him easily enough. With alchemy he'd have been dead before we started."

"You'd have pulled what Mustang pulled on you," Al said.

"Exactly," Ed said. "I'd have struck first in either case; and he'd have been down in one, despite the fact he's good; he's very good; a lot better than I was when I joined the military." Older, more experienced, and with size and strength to match. "I had to see how far he could go before he'd break; that last shot, he was really going for a kill, I could see it in his eyes when he lost that ability to reason." Something he'd presented solidly for months, almost like a shield.

"So that's why you ended it," Armstrong commented.

Ed picked up his coat, satisfied the place was as clean as when they had shown up earlier and walked with Al and Armstrong back inside. "He's got the potential to be great, but letting him go on thinking that means it makes him someone will get us all in a lot of trouble later. He thinks far too highly of himself."

"So do some other alchemists," Al commented reasonably, though he was grinning at Ed. "You thought a lot of yourself when we were kids too."

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, but it's the way he goes about it that worries me, and today, especially. He's dangerous. I'm hoping a little reality can fix that. Come on," he dropped the equipment in the locker and closed it. "Let's go get something to eat."

March 14, 1928 (five months later)

Yep, life definitely had a routine now, not that Edward could say he minded. It was something he and Al hadn't really had long-term since their mother died. Not that they hadn't set themselves to habits that tended to follow regular patterns, but this was different. He went to 'work' during the day, and came home, and spent time with Winry, and played with Sara, who seemed to grow and change daily, because she did! Watching her grow and learn and discover made him see the world through different eyes, with a wonder he hadn't felt since he had spent his days running all over the green hills of Resembool.

Life was definitely good.

The night before the State Alchemy Exam, he got home early, having given his remaining students the afternoon off after that morning's review and question session. Either they knew enough now, or they didn't.

"Wow, something smells heavenly," Ed inhaled the delicious whiff of dinner as he entered the house and took off his coat, hanging it in the closet by the door and promptly putting exams and students out of his mind.

"I got a head start on dinner," Winry chuckled, her voice coming from the kitchen. "Though that means you get dishes tonight."

"You're not afraid my auto-mail will rust?" Ed teased as he joined her.

"I have faith in my designs," Winry retorted.

Sara was sitting at Winry's feet, one hand gripping the cuff of her mother's pants. A month past her first birthday, her hair was long enough now it was pulled back in a little pony-tail that stuck up and out more than anything, and her bangs escaped it regularly. She giggled and reached her hands up. "'Addy!"

Ed bent down and scooped her up. "Hey, kiddo!" he lifted her high above his head and she laughed as she came down and he pulled her into a hug. "Were you a good girl today?"

"She hid one of my wrenches," Winry replied, chuckling. "I'm just glad she didn't try to 'fix' anything!"

"Oh I'm sure you destroyed a few things when you were a baby," Ed smirked, and avoided a frying pan to the head in lieu of a wrench with a quick, "I know I did."

"Yeah, and for years afterwards," Winry shot him a grin. "How many places did you have to repair before you left towns?"

"Hey, it was all in the line of duty," Ed shrugged. "How can I help?"

"Well, if you've got a spare hand I could use some help setting the-" Winry cut off as the phone rang in the other room. "Or, you could get the phone."

Ed laughed. "I'll get it." Still carrying a smiling Sara who kept pulling at his bangs, he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Ed!" It was Alphonse, but he sounded upset; almost frantic; a rare note to his brother's tone anymore. "We have a problem."

"What is it, Al?" It didn't sound good, whatever it was.

"There's been an explosion in the class lab!"

"What?" Ed almost dropped Sara, who squealed, but laughed, clearly thinking he was joking around. "Damn it! What happened?"

"No one knows," Al replied. "It just happened! I was leaving the building, but there's smoke coming out and it was a pretty big blast! Military security and the fire department are already on it, Central police too. But there are people inside!"

"I'll be there in less than five minutes," Ed replied, hanging up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Winry asked, standing in the doorway.

Ed turned and shoved Sara into her hands. "A little trouble back at work. I'll be back soon."

"It didn't sound like a 'little' anything," Winry scowled. "It's dangerous isn't it?" She sounded annoyed more than anything else.

"Just a small explosion," Ed shrugged. "They're not sure everyone's out of the building, and there's no way to know how structurally sound things are still." The Alchemical Lab in question was fairly large, but that didn't mean much.

Winry sighed. "Well you'd better get going."

"Thanks." Ed kissed her cheek, then Sara's, and ran back out the door without bothering to grab his coat.

By the time he jumped out of the car outside the Lab, chaos had surrounded the building, and Central's fire team, police, and the military security for the building were everywhere.

Ed spotted Al standing by the vehicles. "Alphonse!" he ran up. "What's the situation?"

"People stuck on the third floor by the blast," Al replied. "No one's come out of the lab that exploded, but no one has any idea who was in there, and they haven't put water on it yet because they don't know what substances might have been used."

Ed nodded. That was good caution on their part; who knew what reaction they might get out of it. "Then it's time to find out. Come on, Al." With that, he ran towards the door of the building.

"Brother!" He heard Al's voice, then familiar footsteps running behind him. Yeah, he'd known that would happen.

There were yells from people warning them it was dangerous, but Ed just waved them away as he passed. "I noticed!" he called back, leaving them bewildered until they recognized Ed and Al, if they did.

The building's security recognized them and let them pass. After all, who wanted to get between State Alchemists, especially the Elrics, and their goal!

"Anybody here?" Ed bellowed as they hit the third floor and opened the stairway doors. Immediately, he coughed, the halls were filled with slowly-clearing smoky haze.

"Hello?" Al added his own call as he joined Ed, one sleeve over his mouth.

"Back here!" came a voice several seconds later, coughing hard; a female voice.

"That sounds like Miriam," Alphonse commented. "This way."

Ed nodded and followed, covering his own mouth and blinking rapidly. They headed towards the student lab, since that was where the voice had come from, and in a couple of minutes came upon Miriam in the hall, sitting on the floor looking rather disheveled.

"Miriam!" Ed crouched beside her. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, and coughed, her hair having fallen down around her face, and her face badly smudged. "I'm okay, really. I just, I twisted my ankle getting out the door of the lab and…"

"What caused the explosion?" Al asked.

Ed looked down at her ankle; feeling it gently for breaks or sprains while Al talked.

"I didn't see exactly what happened," Miriam replied, cringing slightly as Ed bent her ankle a particular way. "But Dietrich was working on something, and I heard the rush before anything else. If I hadn't been leaving anyway I…" she stopped, a tear running down her face.

"Dietrich!" Ed stood up abruptly. "It might be cracked," he said about her ankle. "But it looks all right otherwise. They can fix you up downstairs. Did Dietrich make it out?"
"I can't see how," Miriam replied, shaking slightly. "He was very focused; he ignored me completely."

"Do you know what he was working on?" Ed asked urgently.

Miriam shook her head.

"Stay here with her, Al," Ed looked at his brother. "I'll locate Dietrich." Or whatever was left of him. Ed had his suspicions as to what had happened. He made his way down the hall the rest of the way to the lab; it wasn't hard to find…it was where the smoke inside the building was thickest. Apparently the door had slammed shut – it opened inward – from the blast. When Ed opened it, he felt the air clear surprisingly quickly, and soon saw the gaping hole in the wall where the windows had blown, and worse in the corner, and the last bits of smoke evaporating.

He found Dietrich, though he almost wished he hadn't. The man had definitely realized his mistake, but an instant too late. He was lying face down, his back from scalp to ankles was fried; clothing blown off, skin flayed raw and partially incinerated by heat; an ugly alchemical reaction gone wrong. Ed grimaced and tried not to vomit as he turned him over; yep, Dietrich all right, his face frozen in a mask of pain and horror.

Clutched in his hands, was a book.

"Sorry about this, but I need to know." Ed pried it from the corpse's fingers, and looked at the page his thumb had been wedged into. It was a book Dietrich should never have had; one of the more advanced texts that even Ed implemented and experimented in only with caution; a lot of it was too unstable, still mostly hypotheses and half-formed theories; dangerous if you didn't know what you were doing; still highly risky if you did.

Ed sighed. "What were you thinking, Tobias?" he addressed the corpse by his first name. "Even I've learned that much patience." He closed the man's eyes and pocketed the little book as evidence – more for safe keeping – and stood. He looked around, and then clapped his hands together, placing them to the wall. The room glowed blue and began to shift. When he was done, there was no sign of destruction other than the glass still missing from the windows, which was all scattered on the street below. He made sure there were no exposed alchemical ingredients that might be harmful, and then headed back out into the hallway.

Al was still waiting with Miriam. "Did you find him?"

Ed nodded, and the ashen feeling inside must have showed on his face because Miriam – who didn't even like Dietrich! – blanched and started to cry. "Have you heard anyone else?"

Al shook his head. "No, but I'd like to take a look, just in case."

"Go ahead. I'll take Miriam downstairs," Ed offered. "The medics can have a look at her ankle. Sound good to you?" he smiled at the young woman.

Miriam nodded, wiping her tears on her sleeve and working to regain her composure. "Sounds great," she forced a half-smile she clearly didn't feel.

"All right then," Ed crouched and helped her to her feet. "I'm not tall enough carry you," he chuckled, "But I'm a pretty good crutch." It was amusing really; Miriam was actually just a little shorter than he was.

Slowly, they made their way outside, back to the chaos. Ed deposited Miriam in the medics' care and joined the security chief, Central police officer, and head of the Fire crew, who were conferring together. They all looked up, so to speak, as Ed joined them. He was glad they actually recognized him. That made his work easier on days like this. Ed pulled the book out of his pocket, but did not let go of it. "I'm afraid what we have here was an unfortunate accident," he said without preamble. "An inexperienced alchemist tried an experiment beyond his knowledge without permission. The room is cleared; there's nothing toxic or flammable to concern you at the moment. I left the body for a proper recovery team. The name of the deceased is Tobias Dietrich." With that, he turned and walked away, putting his hands, and the book, in his pockets.

"Wait! General Elric!" the military security chief called out.

"Fullmetal Alchemist, Sir!" the fire chief echoed him.

"What about the rest of the interior?" the police chief actually got out a useful question.

Ed waved one hand back at them. "The girl's being taken care of. Alphonse has the rest of the situation covered." He knew Al would have no trouble finishing up; not that Ed was actually leaving. He just didn't want to deal with 'officials.' Policy and procedure; geez! He strolled around the corner, then picked up the pace, coming around the block from the back, and ducked back into the building.

As he'd expected, Al had already determined the rest of the area around the blast to be empty, and had worked his way out, hitting areas that were likely to be weakened by the blast first. He had been strengthening the structure of the building as he went. "There you are," he said as Ed rejoined him. "I don't think there's anyone else here, Brother."

"Good," Ed replied, and he meant it! "Then we should get out of the way and let these guys clean up." They were good at their jobs; dealing with the aftermath of messes like this was not his strongpoint.

They exited through a side door, and Ed went to wait by the car while Alphonse gave the rescue teams a more detailed report of what he'd seen inside. Finally, he joined Ed by the car. "The building's clear, and it looks like it's not going to collapse," Al informed him.

"Then I'm going home," Ed opened the door. "Need a lift?"

"Sure," Al got in on the passenger side and buckled in. "What was Dietrich working on?" he asked as they pulled away from the building.

"This," Ed thumbed the book out of his pocket and handed it over. He didn't need to look at his brother to sense his surprise and disappointment.

"He wasn't anywhere near ready to try this," Al said sadly.

"He probably figured he'd have something for the Exam practical guaranteed to impress," Ed nodded. He was angry, but not entirely at Dietrich, just at the situation. Obviously he hadn't gotten through to the man. But was there really anything he could have done that would have dissuaded Dietrich from pulling something like this?

Al seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Who knows how long he was planning this," he commented, closing the book. "I really hoped he'd learn what we've been trying to teach them."

"Some guys just won't listen, Al," Ed shook his head slightly. "They have to do everything the hard way, even if they know they shouldn't."

"Sounds familiar," Al sighed.

Ed didn't feel the need to say anything about that. He knew what Al meant. There was, likely, nothing he and Al could have done to convince Dietrich not to try it, anymore than anyone could have said anything to convince the brothers not to try and transmute their mother.

He hoped this didn't throw off the others too much for their Exams tomorrow. A lot of their students would be upset by the news. Miriam would likely take it hardest. She was such a sweet, sensitive kid, and she had been there tonight and gotten quite a scare.

Ed pulled up outside the workshop.

Al left the book sitting on the seat of the car as he opened the door and got out. "See you tomorrow, Brother," he said. "Don't take tonight too personally, okay?"

"Personally?" Ed managed a chuckle. It helped a little, as it usually did in morbid situations. "I won't as long as you don't. I'm just not looking forward to explaining this to the students, or Mustang."

Al nodded, his expression turning more serious. Ed knew that a major set back now could jeopardize the new training system, and Al knew that as well as he did. "I'm sure he'll understand."

"But explaining to the Assembly is another matter," Ed sighed. He had been looking forward to tomorrow but now, it seemed, tomorrow wasn't going to be nearly as enjoyable as he had hoped.

March 15, 1928

Ed's worst fears turned out to be unfounded. He was in Roy's office first thing in the morning, arriving before Roy had even managed to get a hold of the official investigation report. A real feat! He and Roy had talked enough about the ongoing results and growth of all of the students over the past year, and so Roy looked no more surprised, though just as disappointed, as Ed felt. He'd taken one look at the book in question and scowled deeply, listening to Ed's explanation. They both agreed that Ed should be the one to explain to the Assembly, which was having an emergency session that very morning, while the written portion of the State Alchemy Exam was already under way.

Ed hated leaving it to Al to tell Dietrich's classmates what had happened by himself, but he'd had no choice. He found himself swept almost immediately into the Assembly meeting with no real further preparation, or even time to change into uniform. Not that he minded that. They were getting used to the fact that he was only 'General' Elric in peace time when he felt like it or there was something publicly official going on that required it. It was a long and irritating meeting, as Ed explained, several times, exactly what had happened in the lab last night, and having to correlate what he had seen with that damned investigative report. Fortunately, the facts bore out despite his having completely restored the lab to working condition – something they had complained made it hard to investigate the matter, until Ed pointed out firmly that if he hadn't, they might be spending billions in sens to rebuild the entire Lab building. Ed felt like he was on trial, and he didn't like it.

He didn't even allow himself to sweat until he stepped out of the Assembly meeting and closed the doors behind him. Damned bureaucrats and politicians. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and then headed on down the hall. The written exam would be over shortly, and once they were scored, they would move on to the interviews; something he had been asked to sit in on, because he knew their weaknesses as well as he knew their strengths.

"Good job in there," Roy Mustang commented quietly as he caught up to him and matched his stride. "They'll be chewing that over for a while."

"Was that a compliment?" Ed gave him a skeptical smirk.

"Don't let it go to your head, Fullmetal," Roy replied with a shrug. "They're convinced it was an accident, and that Dietrich acted on his own, directly counter to what you've been teaching. The outcome of the Exams today will convince them that you and the program aren't at fault. I expect," he added. "It will prove to them that this is exactly why this program is so necessary."

Fortunately for both of them, there was enough of a break between the written exams and the interviews that there was time to grab lunch – neither had eaten breakfast – before heading over. Al joined them at the lunch table, smiling.

"Good news?" Ed asked between bites.

Al nodded as he sat down across from his brother. "Very good. All but two of our students passed the written portion of the exam."

"Excellent," Roy smiled.

"All right," Ed grinned. That meant a long series of interviews, but it sure reflected well on the program, as well as on the students themselves! "How many new State Alchemists are you accepting?" he smirked at Roy.

Roy shrugged. "As many as are truly qualified." They really did need to replenish the ranks still, and with people with the right attitudes. "You ready to play hardball?"

Ed nodded. "I'm ready." In this situation, it was his job to ask the difficult questions, to get the answers they most needed to know. He hoped his students would be forgiving later; he already had a pretty good idea of just how Mustang must have felt trying to keep him and Alphonse from jumping right into the fire all those years ago! Maybe he would apologize someday. Maybe.

Miriam looked nervous as she sat in the chair in front of them. Ed felt sympathetic; after last night, having to go through all this had to be grueling for the young woman. She hated seeing anyone hurt or upset. Unfortunately, Ed also knew exactly which questions needed asking. Miriam was the fifteenth person they had interviewed this afternoon, and he'd asked the most difficult questions on each of them. He waited while Mustang began the questioning, asking the usual litany that Ed remembered. Why do you want to be a State Alchemist? What can you bring to the military that is unique? There were background questions, questions on her personal views. Ed and Roy took turns on some of them.

Finally, Ed opened his mouth for the last questions. "Last night, you were the only person to witness the alchemical accident that resulted in the death of Tobias Dietrich. Is this correct?"

Miriam's eyes went wide, she looked briefly stung, but she kept her composure and nodded shortly. "Yes, Sir."

"Tell us then. Did you do the right thing last night?"

Frankly, Ed was proud of her for not breaking down in tears; Miriam had done that a couple of times during training when things got particularly difficult. "I… don't know," she admitted. "It happened so fast, all I did was react instinctively when I heard the rush and heat of the explosion. I barely made it out the door."

"You panicked."

"Yes, Sir."

"Did you have any idea what Mister Dietrich was attempting in the lab last night?"

"No, Sir. I wasn't really paying much attention to what he was doing," Miriam admitted. "Dietrich didn't ever like anyone watching him work."

"Didn't you find this behavior suspicious?"

"Umm.., not at the time," Miriam was definitely nervous, but while she looked like she wanted to get defensive, she didn't. "He's always been that way. Very private, I mean."

"So last night a man died, and almost took out an entire State Alchemical Laboratory and you had no idea what was going on even though you were an alchemist in the same room." Roy commented, his voice dry and potentially accusatory, in that way it tended to sound without him actually making accusations.

Miriam's eyes flashed. "Yes, sir," she replied simply. "I was focusing on my work at the other end of the room. My back was to him."

"So you weren't paying attention," Ed cut back in. She was starting to respond the way he had privately hoped she would.

"With due respect, Sir," Miriam's voice wasn't wavering as much now. "No one is omniscient."

Ed had to keep himself from smiling. "Yet that's part of a State Alchemist's job; assessing the dangers around them, being alert at all times to anything that might hurt people." He didn't feel the need to add 'or the State.' Really, if the people were being protected, in his mind, that 'was' the State. "What should you have done last night?"

"I should have been more aware of my surroundings," Miriam replied stiffly. "I should have considered the possible motives of my classmate and been aware of what he was doing; what ingredients he was using."

Good, she could admit that. Now, for the last part. "Would it have made a difference in the outcome of last night?"

To her credit, Miriam paused and thought, as she always did. Ed had her considering the subtleties of a problem, and that was where she excelled when she wasn't nervous. "Maybe," she said finally. "I could have seen what he was up to and attempted to convince him to stop. I don't think he would have listened to me though. However," she added. "If I had noticed sooner, I could have possibly found one of the licensed State Alchemists in the building who had the authority to make him abandon the experiment and go home."

"So, in your estimation, who would the fault lie with in last night's tragedy?"

"There's no one person at fault in that," Miriam replied, she was still looking Ed in the eye, though she had looked at Roy a couple of times too. Apparently Ed's familiar face was preferable over the President even when Ed was the one asking the tough questions. "I should have paid more attention, but I didn't. There should have been a licensed Alchemist in the room while Dietrich was doing an experiment, but there wasn't. In the end though, I think most of it still lies with Dietrich. All of us in the training program were told the risks of trying advanced alchemy, especially with unstable materials. We had fair warning, and Dietrich chose to ignore that warning and ignore the rules. It doesn't absolve anyone else from mistakes made before or afterwards, but Dietrich made the primary one by deciding to disregard the laws."

Ed gave Roy a brief glance that said 'that's good.'

"Thank you, Miss Golan," Roy said then. "You're dismissed."

The Practical exams were reasonably impressive, though Ed was just relieved to find that there was no one who just 'happened' to be able to transmute without a circle! He and Al were the only two left alive who could do it. Out of all their students, and all those who had taken the test, only twelve had made it past the interviews. So it all came down to the practical. There was a very finely detailed statue made of stone, fireworks that exploded in sequence, in a variety of colors and shapes by Marcus, a blank bound book, an intricately woven metal ring, from Matthias a tree that grew in a matter of minutes and produced mature apples – very sweet ones Ed noted upon tasting - and Miriam's, while deceptively small and simple in appearance, was one of Ed's favorites; she managed to manipulate air and water to hold a rainbow in her hands that they could see in the sunlight.

There were others whose attempts failed, or their results were not perfect. Fortunately there were no accidents either. Ed didn't want to think what would have happened if Dietrich had tried that experiment out here with so many people in close proximity! Ed thought he possibly could have stopped it, but he didn't want to place any bets on that. Ed was also glad they didn't see anything that counted as a real weapon or talking chimeras, or anything else of that nature!

"Quit fidgeting, Brother," Al chuckled as Ed paced in the small room that constituted 'General Elric's' office. "You weren't this nervous about the results when you took the Exam!"

"When I took the exam, the only people the outcome mattered to were you and me," Ed sighed. "I didn't have a personal interest in anyone else passing."

"It still reflects on us though," Al pointed out with a shrug. "Given how many of them we taught."

"Ten of the twelve in the Practical were ours," Ed had to concede Al's point. He was surprised at how territorial he felt about their students. Maybe having Sara had made him softer! "I just wish we had some say in the final decisions." He had given his opinions to Mustang, but it was Mustang and a couple of 'less invested' state alchemists who would make the final decision.

"It's been a couple of hours," Al pointed out. "Why don't we just go see if they've made up their minds."

"Let's go," Ed grabbed his coat and was out the door without waiting for Al. That was the best suggestion he'd had all day!

"I expected you here earlier, Fullmetal," Roy actually chuckled when Ed stormed his office a few minutes later.

"Nice to know I'm still predictable," Ed stood in front of Roy's desk, with Al behind him. "So, are you going to tell me or do I have to battle you for the information?" Dead serious as his tone was, he knew Roy would get the jest.

"As fun as that would be," Roy smirked. "I think it would do a lot of damage I don't want to have to pick up." He slid a piece of paper across his desk. "Here's the final call. You're welcome to give them the news yourself."

Ed felt Al leaning over him as he picked up the sheet and read the names. Three of them he knew very well.

Miriam Golan

Marcus Kane

Orwen Leiss

Matthias Wood

Ed felt a grin spread across his face. "With pleasure!"