Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is not owned by me, but by Hiromi Arakawa. I only own my OC!

Chapter 6: Fullmetal Heart

"Good morning, Second Lieutenant Ross," a groggy voice spoke up, sleepily optimistic as she walked past a not-so-tired Lieutenant Ross—who looked amused at the alchemist's drowsiness.

"Morning to you, Melissa," she commented back. "You're up early."

'You're starting to sound like Roy," Melissa shot back, annoyed. "and here I was thinking I wasn't in East City anymore."

Maria laughed. "I know you're tired because you're not giving two craps," she said, crossing over to the young alchemist and giving her a hug. "and I know why you're here, too."

"And that is?" Melissa dryly looked to the soldier, expecting an answer.

Ross looked smug as she replied, dishing out a rare smirk. "Finishing up with your patients so you can go on your journey with the Elric brothers."

"DAMN IT ROSS, WHO TOLD YOU?!"

"I'm too tired for this crap..." the alchemist muttered distastefully as she opened up the door, revealing a sleeping Edward – and a very awake Alphonse.

"Alphonse, right?" Melissa asks, looking at the suit of armor questionably.

He nods, putting a finger to his lips as he looks at his older brother cautiously. He must be a pain in the ass to wake up, then, she noted.

"Well, since your brother isn't up..." she whispers, locking eyes with Alphonse. "I'll be back to check his wounds when he's up, okay?" nods were exchanged, making the brunette sigh in relief.

"Thanks, Alphonse. I'll come by with his breakfast within the hour." and with that, she left, instead walking into another room with another patient, flipping through pages in her clipboard.

Knock, knock.

"Alphonse? Is Edward up?" Melissa asks, slightly opening the door to peek her eyes in. Sure enough, the blonde was up, and she seemed to have interrupted something while she had been at it.

"I'm up!" Edward shouts, looking at the brunette as she lets herself in with a tray. "What's that, anyway?"

"Your breakfast," she responds nonchalantly, walking over and handing over the tray to the brother. "and the more you eat, the faster you can leave."

Ed looks over the tray, grabbing a fork and munching on some eggs. "Yeah, yeah. I can heal fast usually, anyway."

"The doctor—Miss Melissa is right though, big brother," Alphonse interjects, watching his brother.

Ed continuously eats, the duo beside him seemingly silent. At least, for the most part...

"Ugh... so you're here again, you bastard!?" Ed shouts, annoyed at the carton of milk in front of him. "Aw, man, what's the big deal about milk anyways? I'm not drinking it and that's final!"

"Well, someone's having a cow about drinking milk," Melissa muttered. Alphonse seemingly heard her and gave her a nod in response, noticing the interaction between Edward Elric - and milk.

"Do me a favor, Al, and drink it for me," Ed says, though pausing at this remark apologetically while he continues. "Oh... but I guess you can't since you have that body..."

Dejectfully, Alphonse responds. "Big brother, you still have most of your real body – you need to take care of it. Just drink it." ...oh, the shit is about to hit the fan-

"I won't drink what I don't like! And besides, I'm not gonna die just because I don't drink milk!

"I know it doesn't seem like it, but I am growing. But everyone keeps calling me small! You know, Al..." Ed comments, taking a large bite of his bread and swallowing before he continues on. "You're lucky you have a big body."

Alphonse stood up suddenly. "I never asked for this damn body!" he snapped.

All the while the door to the hospital room had opened, revealing a now-awake Winry in shock.

At this, Ed looked heartbroken. "I... I'm sorry, Al. You're right. It's my fault this happened. That's why I want to get you back to normal as soon as possible."

"Is there really any guarantee we can get our original bodies back?" Alphonse asked, sounding like a kicked puppy.

"I'll get you back to normal. You've just gotta believe me!"

"Believe you?!" Melissa flinched at Al's tone before he continued, a mix of fury and pain intertwining in his words. "What am I supposed to believe in this empty shell of a body?!

"According to alchemic theory, human beings are comprised of a physical body, mind, and soul! Memories are nothing but data, when you think about it. It should be possible to artificially construct them."

At this, two alchemists in the room paled. One spoke. "What are you saying, Al...?"

"You told me once," Alphonse started, growing louder and more panicked with each word. "that there was something you were too afraid to tell me. Maybe what you wanted to tell me was that my soul and my memories are fake and that they were created artificially."

"No, Alphonse..." Melissa choked out quietly, so painfully quiet that only she could hear herself. "No..."

"Well, big brother?!" At Al's outburst, Ed didn't look heartbroken – he wasn't scared – no, he was totally and utterly done. The words Alphonse was announcing to him each were single-handedly the most physical blow anyone could have ever dealt.

"Isn't it possible that Winry, Granny, Melissa, and everyone else is lying to me?! So, "big brother", what do you have to say to that!?"

The only response was Edward, slamming his fists down on the table in frustration. Melissa, in shock, dropped her clipboard from the sound, eyes darting over to the injured brother with caution.

Silence ensued before Edward began speaking, his words painstakingly slow, and full of guilt. "You were... keeping all that bottled up this whole time?" he looked down at the tray he had slammed his hands into, reading it as if it was some sort of alchemical savior.

"I see..." was all he said, a small distraught smile on his face as he got up, not once looking ahead as he left the room in silence, leaving behind a pondering Alphonse, a worried Melissa, and a freaked out Winry.

"Ed!" Winry called, hoping to catch her friend as he left the room, but to no avail.

"I'll go after him," Melissa spoke, quickly chasing after him.

She bolted out the door just as she heard Winry scream, a wrench colliding with a suit of armor. "You... you IDIOT!"

"What are you doing?!" she could hear Alphonse exclaim, merely faint as she chased after her patient, worry filling her system.

The last place Melissa hadn't looked was right in front of her. The roof.

Pushing open the door, she walked out to a sight – Edward Elric, and a nice breath of fresh air.

"Hey, A-" Ed had turned around, calling out to an Alphonse that was very much not present as the two alchemists looked at each other, one in worry and the other in disbelief.

"Hey, Ed..." she started softly, peering at the alchemist as she drifted off, observantly watching his body language.

His posture seemed to be anxious, worried, and a little... a little relieved? Regardless of that last fact, Melissa patiently waited for Ed – because the look on his face made her falter.

He beckoned her over with a finger as he sat down on the roof, seemingly waiting for her to join him. Reluctantly, she did, looking up at his expression with watchfulness.

"When I was getting my automail surgery," he began, pain in his tone at the memory. "I told myself that it was my fault that Al had gotten stuck in that body he now has."

"...It's my fault that Al got stuck in that body. He can't eat, he can't sleep...he can't even feel pain. He probably blames me for what happened!" Ed gripped his sheets, eyes shut in a mix of pain, regret, and knowledge that he thought he knew, realizing of that alone was far worse than any automail surgery.

"You know he doesn't!" Winry exclaimed, a mix of worry and astonishment in her tone.

"Al isn't the type of guy to blame you for that," Granny Pinako added, her voice soft. "Why don't you just ask him?"

"I'm afraid..." he muttered out, quietly and breathy at the realization. "I'm too afraid to tell him..."

"That's why I have to get him back to normal as soon as possible."

No words were spoken between the two alchemists as Melissa took in the information, her face paling. "That's not what he thinks, Ed. Not at all..."

"What he just said pretty much confirms it," he affirmed, slouching down to look at his hands with reluctance.

"Even though you know it's not true?" he perked up now, looking at Melissa with confusion written in his eyes. "You two are brothers. It's okay to have an inner quarrel every now and then. I'm sure this is a one-time occurrence."

"How do you know that?" Ed defended, locking golden eyes with blue ones as she answered.

"Because I know, Ed," she said, drifting off. "and I think you know it too."

Looking between the eyes had always been a saying Melissa never understood – until now. She could see everything beneath the golden hues of the male beside her – desperation, guilt, a twinge of appreciation – but most of all, understanding.

"Yeah," he admitted, standing up now with more confidence. "I think I did know it too."

"I'm glad, then," she replied slyly, standing up alongside the teen as she heard the door to the roof open. It must be Alphonse, she realized with a smile as she made her way to the door.

She had a jump in her step, moving along to an invisible beat that only she counted along to as she nodded to Alphonse with a bright smile on her face, remembering the last words the two had spoken before the two siblings caught up with each other.

"Hey, doc..." Ed had started, looking at Melissa curiously. "if I spar in my condition, will my wounds reopen?"

A slight shake of her head as her response was all Ed needed as he grinned, looking out at the view the hospital's roof provided once more with a newfound confidence. "I'll finally win this time, then."

"Rather unfairly," she comments sarcastically with a smile as she began walking away with a quick roll of her eyes.

"It doesn't matter!" he still grinned, though a little irked at the comment. "I'm still gonna beat Al."

"Ed..." Alphonse calls, looking after the blonde with confusion.

"Now that I think about it," the brother begins, answering the unanswered question. "my body feels kind of out of shape because we haven't sparred in awhile." Ed announced, facing the view of the hospital with his hands on his hips confidently.

"What are you talking about? Your wounds aren't even healed yet..." the younger brother protested, approaching his older brother in alarm.

"WHoa!" Alphonse squeaks out as he dodges a blow, barely grazing against the foot Edward had thrust out at him in surprise.

Ed's fists are circling around his head, eyes full of determination as he reads Alphonse, who is very much not understanding anything.

"Wh... what?! Wait!" he squeaks out once more as Ed launches himself once again, landing two uppercuts on Alphonse, one grazing his chest and the other on his upper body, near his neck.

"Hold on a sec, big brother!"

Ed, not even knocking Al out of his stupor, ignores his brother's pleas as he runs up to the dryer hanging on the roof of dry clothing, snatching a long cloth and approaching Alphonse.

Long story short, not a few seconds later, Alphonse is blinded by said cloth that was seemingly strategically chucked at his face from a very short sibling.

Alphonse, caught off guard, has no chance to respond to a counter-attack as Ed slams his legs, crashing steel on concrete ground in no time at all.

Sensibly, to finish what he had started, the eldest brother sumo slams the younger one, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Ed stands proudly, exhaustion painted on his face. "I win!"

He chuckles, however, crouching down to his brother as he reminisces. "Heh heh... That's the first time I ever beat Al."

"You cheated..." the suit of armor protested against the sheet he was enveloped in, swishing around his arms frantically to see any light the sky above provided him with, not a blank white void fulfilled by a blanket.

"A win is a win!" Ed protested triumphantly as he slowly relaxes along with Alphonse, the two back to a steady beat.

That is the two of them at their finest... working together, and finding ways to reopen back what was seemingly impossible or hard to manage. Finding and working through challenges together, not alone.

"So..." Ed started, holding up a piece of paper with a portrait on it. "I don't remember anything that happened after this guy kicked me."

"Human souls trapped in artificial bodies, used as guards..." Armstrong debated with concern, placing his hand on his chin to think.

"'Human sacrifice'... allowing you to live," Melissa whispered softly, her face pale.

"An individual named Envy," Armstrong brought up. "Meanwhile, we have Doctor Marcoh creating a stone for use in the Eastern civil war..."

"The ouro-boros tattoo," Maes starts, looking at the drawing in thought.

"What concerns me, though," Melissa whispers, looking at the last image with distress as she continues, louder. "is the transmutation circle for the Philosopher's Stone."

"There are too many mysteries for this to simply be an experiment to produce the stone," Armstrong comments, looking at the image Melissa had with furrowed brows.

"And the laboratory is a dead end because it's been reduced to rubble." Maes thinks about this pondering, meeting eyes with his daughter who—if not, looked more confused than he did.

"Hm..."

"I hope I'm not interrupting?" a new, inquistive voice speaks up at the door, making Melissa jump.

Turning around to see who it was, she pales—the Fuhrer?

Immediately she salutes along with her father and Major Armstrong, "Fuhrer President King Bradley!"

"At ease, gentlemen," he replies, waving a hand in dismissal. "and lady. There's no need to make a fuss."

"Yes, sir..." Armstrong speaks up, alert.

"Mr. President, what brings you here?" Maes, inquisitive as ever, asks in concern.

"What brings me here?" the president meekly smiles, walking over to Melissa's patient and handing him a melon. "Why, to visit him, of course! Do you like melons?" he asks Ed, while placing the melon in his hands.

"Uh... thanks," Ed replies absentmindedly, albeit confused.

"I hear you've been doing quite a bit of snooping into military command, Major Armstrong," Bradley off-shoots, making Melissa and Armstrong flinch.

"Huh!?" Armstrong exclaims, unnerved. "That is... I mean... How did you...?"

"Don't underestimate my information network, Armstrong. And you, Edward Elric..." said boy tensed, looking at the Fuhrer with a tight look on his face.

"You're searching for the Philosopher's Stone, are you not?"

"!"

"Hey, Dad..." Melissa shakily comments, leaning toward said man in nervousness. "that..."

Suddenly warm arms envelop the teen, Maes giving the girl a hug with a small frown. "I know," was all he said, still frowning at what was just discussed.

"Huh?" a new voice speaks up, hand on the door handle, looking at the room around her – full of stupored soldiers and alchemists, alike. "What's wrong with you guys?" Winry asks, concerned. "Even the two people outside are acting weird."

"Oh, nothing..." Ed breaks the silence, commented offhandedly, though still shaken. "Just a storm passed through."

"What are you talking about...?" she mutters, though quickly dismisses the subject, instead pulling out a white envelope. "I bought those train tickets you wanted."

"Oh... thanks!" Ed exclaims.

"Must you rush?" Armstrong seemingly recomposes himself, asking the blonde alchemist with a look. "Your wounds haven't completely healed yet."

"I can't stay in a place that smells like disinfectant forever! I'm leaving tomorrow."

Tomorrow?! At this Melissa freezes up, awkwardly mentioning, "Hey... Edward, Alphonse?"

"Hm?" Ed asks, both he and Alphonse looking at the girl as she darts her eyes around, nervously thinking of what to say. Maes meets her eyes with a small smile, and immediately she relaxes.

"You guys are leaving tomorrow... Can I come with?" this was clearly not the question Ed had been looking to hear, his head turned to the side in confusion./

"Huh?"

"That sounds like a great idea!" Alphonse speaks up, happily. "And we wouldn't need to check big brother's wounds every once in awhile! What do you think, brother?"

"I...uh..." Ed, still thinking, paused at his brother's statement before slowly grinning. "Yeah, sure! You can come with. We'll need all the help we can get to get our original bodies back."

Maes, smiling, brings up a question. "Where are you guys going this time? Dublith?"

"Where's that?" Winry looks at the black-haired man, confused.

"Uh..." Alphonse re-directs Winry's attention, a map ever so clearly in his hand as he points out Dublith for his childhood friend. "It's right around here, in the middle of the southern region."

"WHAAAAAAA!?" the mechanic exclaims, exuberant for what – nobody knew. "Look, here! Right before Dublith!" she excitedly points her finger a few inches west from said town.

"Rush Valley?" Al asks inquisitively. "Is there something there?"

"Rush Valley, the auto-mail engineers' mecha!" Winry exclaims, twirling around in a mix of glee and joy. "I've always wanted to go there!"

Suddenly, as if realizing, the mechanic flaps her arms obnoxiously. "Take me! Take me! Take me! You'd better take me!"

"Go there by yourself!" Ed huffed, annoyed.

"Who's gonna pay for my travel expenses?!" she exclaims, getting pushy at the blonde.

Ed looked pissed. "Are you trying to mooch off me!?"

"And besides!" she huffed, looking at Ed with a pout on her face. "Why're you taking Melissa with you and not me!"

"Hm?" said girl looked disturbed, looking at Winry with a frown. "Did I do something?"

"We're taking Melissa with us because she's a doctor! She can help us and-" Ed pauses, seeing Alphonse about to interject.

"What's the harm? It is on the way."

"I... urgh..." Ed grabbed his head, shaking it in irritation. "Fine! All right, you can come along."

"Yippee!" the mechanic exclaims, throwing her hands up in glee. "I was planning to go right back to Resembool, but this is worth a change of plans! I'm gonna call Granny!" and with that, excited Winry busts outs the door in search of a phone booth.

"She sure is energetic..." Alphonse speaks, on-edge.

"Yeah... that's for sure." Melissa chuckled, looking at her Dad. "Hey, Dad, I might as well call home to say my byes to Elicia."

Nods were exchanged between the family as Melissa smiles and waves, quickly before slipping out of the room as well.

"Yup, my daughter would sure make someone a great wife. Not as great as my wife, of course..." Maes comments, a straight playboy look on his face as he looks after his daughter as she left.

"Don't tell me that!" Ed yelled, annoyed but also equally as flustered. "And quit bragging!"

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! This week was kinda late because my schedule was hectic, though sometime next week we should expect to see tears! Of joy or sorrow, you'll have to find out ;)

Thanks for reading as always, and I hope to see you all next chapter.

alinalee