A/N: Thank you for reivewing! If you want me to answer a review! I'm sorry but i have no idea how! and also for a question that my reviewer asked me about the father! yeah i'm sooo sorry but i can't give it up! :) it's part of the plot! :D i hope you like this chapter and sorry if there are mistakes! I was tired while writing it up! I introduced a few new character and if you have any questions feel free to ask me! :0 Please Review and Enjoy!

The sun squeezed through the cracks in the blinds. Riza lay sprawled across her bed. Her body was partially covered as she flinched at the crack of light hitting her face. After a few moments of her insistent twitching Riza opened her deep brown eyes. As soon as she opened them she gave a grumble and turned around wanting to sleep in some more. However a crash had the blonde jumping up and out of bed.

It was Tuesday morning and Riza wasn't requested to go into work till at least 3 in the afternoon. She took a quick look to her clock and seeing it was barely 7:30. She growled as she ran downstairs to see what had made that noise. The minute her barefoot touched the ground a squeal had her look around in surprise. She walked down the hallway to the kitchen where she peeked inside.

Edward was leaning backwards in a kitchen seat. He seemed to be flinching away from the animal that was on the floor eating a cookie. Riza stared at the awkward sight until Ed looked up in complete shock.

"MOM! There's- There's- this thing! He was in the cookie box?" Ed exclaimed as he climbed the chair and continued to climb the table. Riza looked around quickly as she found a pot. Her steps were careful as she dropped the heavy pot on top of the mouse. As soon as the pot hit the floor Ed cried out again.

Riza wasn't one to admire mice. If it wasn't for the innocence of her son's mind she would have grabbed a gun and shot the mouse to death. But she reminded herself of the 3 and a half year old (as Ed kept reminding her) that was currently teetering on the edge of the table.

"Edward! What are you doing up so early?" She scolded lightly. Ed looked up at his mother as he threw his arms out wide and open for her to take them. Out of reaction, she scooped Edward up. She then grabbed the box of broken cookies before dumping them in the trashcan.

"I was hungry! And I didn't want to wake mommy up! So I went looking for food." The boy stated as he sniffled softly. Riza looked at her son as she cocked an eyebrow. Edward rubbed at his eyes as he tried to put on a brave face for his mother. Riza knew Ed like the back of her hand. Ed, without the guidance of a real father, found it was his duty to protect his mother and to not worry her so much. He didn't dare cry in front of her.

Though she often scolded him for keeping it all in. Her most common saying was, "You can't let everything pile up Edward. It's okay for you to let it all out. You're only human."

Edward still refused to look weak in front of his mom. Even though he did end up crying after. "Well, since were up, why don't we go ask someone to get rid of our little visitor?" The boy's glossy golden eyes still seemed upset but the boy gave a nod. Riza dressed Edward in a red jacket with grey cargo pants as she dressed in a normal beige jacket and a long black skirt with a slit on one side of her hip.

By the time they were ready to leave Riza had trapped the mice with a bottle of milk sitting on top of the pot. Then she grabbed her purse and took Ed's hand. Edward enjoyed going out for walks. He would always comment about the different types of birds. And after Riza would tell him the names for the birds, Edward would happily chant them in order. Then he would wave to the older folk who were living on the same block as Riza. Each house was fairly large. However not one house, except for Riza's, owned a child.

Riza had been worried Ed would become anti-social at not interacting with children correctly. But Ed happily got along with anyone he came in contact with, which calmed her nerves. On the way to market square Edward released his mom's hand as he ran to their destination.

Riza sighed as she quickened her pace to keep up with her energetic child. The store was a hardware store. But the man who worked there was handy in keeping rodents away. He had once helped Riza with a raccoon in her trashcan. Edward had told Riza a fuzzy black and white dog attacked him, and Riza nearly had a heart attack when Ed had crashed and hit his head on the cement of the floor. After the initial shock the hardware man came to their rescue.

"OLD MAN! WE NEED YOUR HELP!" Edward cried as he kicked the counter top. He was nowhere near reaching the top of the desk. So his habit when he visited was to assault the desk. "I hear you!" A voice said gruffly as Riza entered the shop. She quickly picked Edward up as she sat him on the counter top. To prevent him from squirming she put her hands on either side of his body and gave him a stern and scary look. Ed pouted but then turned as an older man came into view. The old man had grey hair and a long mustache which covered his mouth.

"Ah! Hello Riza! How are you and the runt doing?" He asked a smile reaching his eyes. Riza smirked as she patted Ed's hair softly to calm him down. "Were doing fine Mr. Fu. However he have a rodent problem." She said with a sigh. Ed's head bobbed up and done in acknowledgement as he began to explain.

"I woke up in the morning and grabbed a bag of cookies! But then this weird fuzzy thing tried to bite my finger! And I dropped my cookies all over the floor! Oh! And mommy trapped it!" He blabbered as Riza laughed at Fu's smile at Edward's quick ranting.

"I'll go over right away. Ling!" Fu called as the two blondes looked at the teenage boy entering the room. Riza blinked in surprise before she gave a soft smile. "It's good to see you again Ling." She commented as the teenage boy smirked slightly. His black raven hair was pulled into a sloppy ponytail. His eyes were closed due to the type of personality the boy had around him his skin was a chalky pale. He wore a white T-shirt and cargo jeans.

"Well if it isn't Edward." Ling said as he cocked his head to the side. Edward blushed faintly as he glared at Ling. Riza got the impression Edward liked Ling, but when they would finish visiting the hardware store Ed complained about Ling bothering him. Ed hated having to share Ling with his persistent girlfriend Ran-Fan.

But Ed never voiced that opinion out loud. When Riza had first moved into her home the Yao family had been the kindest in looking after Edward for her. The flower shop was only a few markets down. Most of the market place would happily care for Edward since she was so well respected.

"You stupid squinty-bastard." Ed remarked. Riza smacked Ed's leg softly shooting him a warning glance. Ed blinked and turned away his arms crossed over his chest. "I will head over to Riza's house and exterminate the mice. Ling you watch the stop with Ran-Fan." Fu ordered as he removed his work clothes. Riza smiled as she shook Fu's hand.

"Thank you so much for coming. I appreciate it." She stated. Fu nodded as Ling began to poke at Edward playfully. "Of course! You and Edward are nearly family! You looked after Ling and Ran-Fan for me when my wife died. It's only respectful to do the same." Riza's eyes widened at what the man was saying before she gave a nod.

"Of course. I would have done it either way. I need to go visit the school though so we won't be home till at least 7 in the night." Riza explained. Ling cocked an eye brow as he opened one eye and stared at Ed who was blushing and glowering at the older male.

"So you're starting school Edo-kun?" Ling asked softly. Edward gave a nod as Ling smiled. "Congratulations!" He said. Ed's face went blank as he turned away muttering a thanks. Riza picked up Edward saying another thanks before she left the hardware store. Ed frowned as he laid against his mother's shoulder.

"Ling should mind his own business! I mean why does he care if I start school!" Ed exclaimed as Riza shook her head with a sigh. "Riza!" a voice called. The blonde mother turned to see a fruit vender waving a bag around. "Shoot! I forgot I owed Mr. Middleton! Ed!" She said as she placed the blonde down beside a trashcan.

"Stay here while I run over and buy some fruits! How does that sound? Can you be a good boy for me?" she asked as the blonde looked up in surprise. Ed looked at her and nodded his head. He would do anything for him mother.

As Riza left to the stand across the street Edward stuffed his hands into his pant pockets. The market street was full with workers and on Ed's right was an older lady sweeping. She smiled at Ed as the blonde quickly rushed to give her a smile. He noticed his mom liked it when he was nicer to older people. He wasn't sure why but she was happy he talked to people, so he did it anyways. To his left, he realized a bit too late, was a group of men dressed in blue clothes.

He thought it looked funny. He never saw any one dressed like that when he went out for walks with his mother. The first one was shorter then the other two. He stood out more to Ed then the other two though. He had black shaggy hair with deep dark black eyes. His skin was a pale color which reminded Edward of Ling. On the man's left was a man with glasses. His hair was black and pulled away from his face. His chin was slightly bearded. But his eyes were a green yellow color which reminded Ed of the ice cream pop his mom would buy on really hot days.

The last man on his right had blonde hair and baby blue eyes. He had an expression as if he didn't care about anything. Ed squeezed himself closer to the trashcan as the man passed by him talking all on random levels. Ed, not really meaning to, had somehow managed to knock over the trashcan. In the process the can knocked into the man wearing glasses. This brought the attention of the other two men to his presence.

"Hey watch it kid." The blonde haired man stated as Ed looked to the black haired man in shock. He gulped as the man kneeled in front of Edward. His dark black eyes looked Ed up and down as Ed scooted into the trash can, which seemed to have been picked up by the glasses man. "What are you doing out here by yourself kid?" The older man asked the blonde swallowed and gave him a snarky comeback.

"None of your business!" At this the other two men cocked an eyebrow. No child ever thought about talking to military men like that. The black haired man's eyebrow twitched. "My name is Roy Mustang. You just spilled trash all over my friend over there." Roy mustang informed the angry blonde. Ed swallowed down his fear that had started to clench in his gut.

"Well it's not my fault! This is a market place! You need to watch where your walking!" Ed exclaimed as he crossed his arms over his chest as he glared up at the older man. Roy Mustang cocked an eyebrow as he stared down the child's body. He was about to give another retort to him until his eyes landed on the mark on the boy's neck. It was beginning to be covered by his undershirt. But mustang noticed it was a weird marking. He reached over and pulled the shirt down softly.

Edward reached out to push the man away. "What the hell are you doing?" Ed exclaimed. He learned from his mother to never let someone you don't know touch you. "What are you doing Roy?" the glasses man asked from the other side of the trashcan. The blonde quirked an eyebrow.

"This is the sign of Alchemy." He said softly. Ed gripped his tiny hands around Roy's wrist. "Let go of me before I-!"

BANG, BANG, BANG!

Roy jerked to the side releasing the boy as he stared at the perfect bullet holes in the trashcan where his head had once been. It had barely missed Ed's head. But the blonde boy did not look fazed. Roy looked behind him and gaped at the sight. A blonde 25 year old lady stood with a brown paper bag and a clean black pistol in one hand. The blonde and Glasses man had ducked out of the fire.

But now Roy was left in the open of this scary woman. Her dark amber eyes glared at Roy with so much hatred Roy's face significantly paled. "What the hell do you think you're doing to him?" She exclaimed angrily. By now some other people looked at the commotion the blonde lady was causing.

"I was just-!" she fired another shot by Roy's ear making him yelp. "You dang pedophile! How dare you try to touch him?" She screamed in anger. Roy swallowed as he tried to reason with the angry woman. He, however, was at a disadvantage. He couldn't reach for his own gun without getting her attention. And he knew she was missing on purpose to scare him. And shit she had good aim to not hit him.

Ed squirmed out of Roy's legs as he started running to the lady with the gun. Roy's mind kicked into motion as he realized he was letting the kid run off to a psycho lady.

"MOM!"

"MOM?"

Roy's group of man stood in horror as the blonde boy ran and latched onto the ladies leg. Riza Hawkeye gave a glare as she cocked her gun again. "You come anywhere near my son again." She shot another bullet off to Roy's left making him jump. "And I won't hesitate to put a bullet in your head! Do I make myself clear?" She asked. Her voice softened to an icy tone at the end. Roy nodded his head as she moved back and she lowered her gun.

"Hey wait a minute! You can't just go walking around with a gun!" The glasses man said. However he soon ducked as a few bullets went flying his way. "What was that?" Her face was completely emotionless which had the man moving back to hide behind the trashcan. He raised a hand to wave her off. "Nothing Ma'am!" Riza placed her gun back into the carrier on her thigh as she glared before she took Edward's hand. Ed glared at Roy before sticking out his tongue and bouncing up to his mother and praising her. Roy sat shocked for a few moments before he shook his head.

"How the hell did she do that?" He asked in shock.