"Wow, this is nice…"

"Will this be enough room for you to work out of?"

"Sure. What exactly do you want me to do again?"

Roy rolled his eyes. "I want you to make the reverse serum for Edward."

Beje made a face at him and looked around.

"I told you that those black marketers stole my research. I have no idea how to make a reverse formula without it."

"Well you made the formula before."

"Through experimentation and lots of data to work with." He growled. "I told you the truth in that Edward knocked the last batch that I had with me out of my hand. When the men came into my home and started to steal my research, I was literally in the middle of giving the serum to him. When the door busted open, he hit my hand and I lost the serum."

"So… it could still be in your house?"

"I don't know. I just remember losing it. I was trying to keep everything from getting into the wrong hands as well as Edward not being taken (lot of good that did) and poor Alphonse."

Roy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Look, I got you out of there because I need you to help me get Edward back to normal, physically and mentally. I can work on the mental stuff later but he needs to be back at his regular size."

"I think you have that backwards, Colonel." Beje said with a side glance.

"That may be true but unfortunately one helps the other. If I can at least get him looking normal then I can work on the mental issues later."

Beje sighed. "I give up."

"If I go to that house, will I find a serum? What are the chances?"

"Probably about 20%. I'm pretty certain those guys came back and trashed the place and/or burned it to the ground. So the only way to get it elsewhere is to find my notes and bring them back to me."

Roy didn't say anything and left Beje by himself in the room. He looked around and grinned, going to the couch.

"I think he likes me."

"Where are we going?" Edward asked Riza as she walked with him through the streets.

"We're going to the park. Maes has a daughter that's about your age and wanted to know if you would like to play with her at the park."

"What's a park?"

"It's a place to have fun."

Edward shrugged, not really understanding, but any place that was fun seemed alright. They crossed the street and colorful bars came into view. Edward grinned, knowing that this had to be the park. He pulled away from Riza and ran ahead of her. He finally got to the monkey bars and started climbing them.

"He seems energetic today." Maes said as Elicia clung to his leg.

"Yeah… Hello, Elicia." Riza said, waving to the young girl.

She waved back as Edward came back.

"I climbed all the way to the top!"

"You did? That quick?"

Edward grinned and turned to see Elicia. They locked eyes for a moment but Edward ignored her and ran back to the bars. Riza made a face at that as Maes laughed and bent down to Elicia's level. He kissed her cheek and hugged her.

"Daw, is my widdle girl shy?"

"The kids don't like me, Daddy."

"Of course they do. You just have to play with them. Why don't you go play with Edward?"

"Who's he?"

"The little boy that just came up there."

Elicia looked at the bars to find Edward and spotted his golden hair immediately. She looked at his arms and legs and then at her father.

"He's made out of silver and gold! Is he 'spensive?"

Maes laughed. "No, sweetie. He has what's called automail because he lost his arm and leg. But none of the other kids want to play with him either. See?"

She watched as someone tried to climb the bars next to Edward. When he turned to look at them and wave, every one of the kids ran away, afraid of his robot hand. Elicia made a face as Edward seemed unfazed by the ordeal.

"Go see if he wants to play with you."

Elicia scooted away and towards the playground.

Maes sighed. "Finally. I love her to death but goodness does she cling a lot."

"Reminds me of her father…" Riza said softly.

Maes made a face and gestured for her to sit on the bench.

Maes leaned back and then looked up.

"I've gotten a good lead on the ones who may have sold Edward in Xing."

"That's good. The Colonel said that he got Copplestone out of jail?"

"We got him out for this case mostly but technically he's on house arrest. He can't go anywhere but he has plenty of space to do whatever Roy's trying to get him to do."

"Turn him back to normal, I'm sure."

"Do you think he'll be able to get Edward back to normal? I mean, it seems like we've been trying forever and it just isn't going well."

"Well… Think about it, Maes, it's been a year since he's been captured and brainwashed and lost. It'll take a long time for him to get back to normal. I think the Colonel is just trying new ways of doing it."

"But is changing his physical appearance going to make a difference?"

"I think he's hoping that changing his appearance will trigger something from when he was captured. I honestly don't know what he's doing anymore, Maes."

"Couldn't doing this cause him to revert more into himself and never get out of this? What if he breaks entirely?"

"That's what I'm afraid of but that's why the Colonel said he needed Copplestone to make his serum so that it wouldn't be so traumatizing."

"Daddy! Daddy!" Elicia yelled, running back over to Maes.

"What is it, sweetie?"

"Edward fell!"

Riza stood up quickly. "What?!"

She ran over to where the other kids were looking at something on the ground and moved the children out of the way. Edward was on the ground, his head lolled to the side and was not moving. Riza fell to her knees in the grass and reached for Edward's body. She pulled him to her and turned to Maes, fear in her eyes.

"Call the ambulance and call the Colonel."

He nodded and ran off as Riza held Edward close to her, praying he would be alright.

Roy slammed open the doors of the hospital and ran down the hallway, going to the elevator. He pressed the button repeatedly, wanting the doors to open. They finally did and he rushed in, doing the same with the buttons inside. The ride couldn't have been long enough as it felt like hours went by before he got to the second floor of the hospital. He seemed to leap out of the elevator before it even stopped and ran down the hallway where he saw Riza outside of a room. Upon hearing him running down the hallway, Riza looked up and met him before he jerked open the door.

"Colonel-"

"What the hell happened?"

"He was playing at the park and then he fell off the bars… The doctors are examining him."

The door opened and the doctor came out, looking up.

"I'm looking for a Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

"That would be me."

"Are you the boy's guardian?"

"No, I am." Roy said, moving in front of his subordinate. "Colonel Roy Mustang. I should be on the paperwork?"

The doctor flipped a couple of pages and then nodded.

"Yes, I see that now."

"What happened? Is he alright?"

"He's fine, just a little shaken up."

"He's awake?" Riza asked.

"He's conscious but awake wouldn't really be the word. He responds to us though."

"Can I see him?"

"Sure thing. As soon as he is fully awake and after we do some further tests he'll be ready to leave the hospital. It could be today or he may have to stay the night. Although, he is saying something."

"What is he saying?"

"Uh… it's just a bunch of numbers."

Roy grabbed the doctor's shoulders. "What numbers?"

"I'm not really sure, sir. I didn't think it was important to know."

Roy rolled his eyes and opened the door to the hospital room.

Edward was lying in the bed with tubes in his flesh arm, a large bruise forming on his shoulder and one on his eye. He looked like he had been abused, not fallen off of some monkey bars. As he approached him, Edward whimpered in his sleep, his eyes scrunching. Roy went over to him and touched his face softly, smoothing out his squinted eyes with his thumb.

"You bring me more fear and heartache than anyone else, you know that, Fullmetal? If I wasn't a bachelor, I'd swear that I was your father."

He smiled softly as he rubbed his face gently. Edward whimpered again and opened his eyes into slits.

"Roy?"

Roy smiled, not falling for this again. He knew Edward didn't know him, not yet at least.

"It's the Colonel."

"Why did you leave me?"

Roy frowned. "What do you mean? I'm right here…"

"I was waiting for you and you never came. Colonel, why did you abandon me?"

Roy's eyes widened, realizing that this was not the little boy he'd been dealing with but his subordinate, the one he'd been trying to find.

"Edward?"

"Why did you abandon me?"

"I didn't abandon you! I could never abandon you…"

"You never came… I waited for so long…"

"Edward! Edward, don't leave! I'm here now! I've been here since we found you! I did rescue you!" Roy yelled, grabbing Edward's shoulders and shaking. "Please! I never abandoned you."

"You forgot me… I couldn't stay anymore… I had to hide away… You never came. I trusted you. I waited for you. 53 57-76-52 9-85-1 49 39-8-92… A-56-60-8-10-D… A-56-60-8-10-D…"

"NO!" Roy screamed, practically shaking Edward. "I'm right here! I'M RIGHT HERE!"

"Colonel!" Riza yelled, coming in and grabbing him from Edward. "What are you doing?!"

"It's Fullmetal! He's right there, he's there where I can reach him but he won't let me. He won't let me find him!"

"What are you talking about?"

Roy turned to her, his eyes wild.

"It was Fullmetal. He was there. He told me he had waited for me and that I abandoned him. He said he had to hide away… He's there, Hawkeye. He's there but he's hiding."

Riza looked at Edward, who was unconscious again and then back at her superior.

"Colonel, you're not sleeping again, are you?"

Roy glared hard at her. "This is not like it was before. I'm telling you, it was my Edward, my subordinate. Copplestone was right. I mean, I knew he was but seeing that just confirmed every suspicion I had. Edward is hiding, staying away from reality. He thinks that I abandoned him and refuses the come to grips with that. I tried to tell him it wasn't true but he wouldn't listen to me."

Riza could see that either he was hallucinating or he really did speak with the boy they were trying to get back and decided it would be better and safer to just play along with him.

"If it's really our Edward then you know how stubborn he can be. You will need to prove your words to him before he will come out."

"Which means that turning him back to his original form may be the way to go."

"Possibly… Roy, I would like to talk with you as a friend, not as a subordinate." Roy nodded. "If you really talked to our Edward and if what you say is true, then the best thing for you to do is draw him out like you have been. Forcing him out will only cause problems. You will need to get him to 'peek out' again and talk to him. You have to let him come to you, let him trust you again. What numbers did he say? The doctor said he said them."

"Translated from before, he lost faith in me and that he was abandoned." He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing heavily. "Okay… If what you say is right then maybe I should let Copplestone just do what he needs to do with him. I think he can draw Edward out the best. He can blast through this facade of a child and find my subordinate without… actually blasting through."

"I think that would be your wisest course. If Copplestone can draw him out, then you can eventually find him. But you have to go slow. We keep telling you this and you keep conveniently forgetting. If what you say is true, and Edward said he was hiding, then respect his wishes. Find him; find our Edward and make him see that you're there for him." She touched his face softly. "Bring. Him. Home."

the little devil is hiding from you roy. you gotta treat him like a kitten...

anyway, riza is right in that every time edward makes a little progress, roy tries to just grab him and pull him out or whatever. i think maybe he'll get it through his thick head that he's going to have CONVINCE edward that he's there. it's not a matter of being there anymore because he didn't save the right edward. edward is still hiding to stay sane because reality is too harsh. so... will roy do it right now?