A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this so far! Also thank you to those who reviewed the final chapter of "The Inspection". I'm glad you are enjoying this and I hope all who are reading enjoy the second chapter.

Chapter 2

Riza walked calmly out of the office, or at least that was how it would appear to a casual observer. However beneath her cool exterior, she was seething. She couldn't remember the last time someone had made her so angry. It was times like these when it really hit her that the fraternisation laws were created for a reason. Emotions tended to get in the way of rational thinking, but she had been sure that the two of them were perfectly capable of keeping their profession and romantic lives separate. Obviously she had been wrong.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye." She turned and saluted as Hughes ran towards her. He ignored the gesture and continued to speak

"Did Roy get the files on the serial killer that I sent to your offices?" he asked.

"Yes Sir" came the response. Hughes frowned, sensing something was amiss from the way she spoke. He decided that there was most likely only one cause for her hostile attitude.

"What did he do now?" Hughes groaned. Riza looked back at the Lieutenant Colonel, slightly unnerved at his uncanny ability to read people.

"It's nothing Sir, at least nothing that should be discussed right now." She replied and with that she saluted and continued to make her way down the corridor. Hughes grimaced as he watched her go. Do I have to sort out everything between those two? He thought to himself.

"And not only did the town have nothing, nothing that could help us, but the train got held up on the way back so that we were stuck in the middle of nowhere for almost a week, which is completely YOUR FAULT!"

"Brother, that was just bad luck; the Colonel had nothing to do with it." Alphonse whispered as Edward finished his ten minute rant. At the comment Edward's face darkened.

"There is no such thing as bad luck where he's concerned." He replied, jabbing his thumb in Mustang's direction. Roy smirked.

"While you seem to believe that I exist solely to sabotage all your plans Fullmetal, I'm afraid I have more important things to do than that. You are simply one small part of a much greater pic..." before Roy could continue, two things happened. Edward's face turned a violent shade of red and Alphonse had to latch on to him in order to prevent him from leaping across the desk towards the Colonel. Simultaneously the door flew open.

"Lieutenant Colonel!" Alphonse exclaimed brightly while still holding a squirming Edward.

"Hughes, can't you see I'm in the middle of a meeting?" Mustang asked, although he wasn't really that bothered about the interruption. Hughes smiled down at the two young alchemists.

"Hey Ed, Al, how are you guys doing?" Deciding that Edward was probably not going to pounce on anyone, Alphonse let go of his younger brother before replying.

"We're fine thank you." Hughes nodded before turning his attention back to Roy.

"What did you do this time?" He stated. Roy looked taken aback.

"I haven't done anything." He said defensively.

"Oh really? Then why is your First Lieutenant walking around as if she is going to shoot the next person who crosses her?" He stated, raising his eyebrow questioningly. Roy paled slightly at this, something that did not go unnoticed by a certain young alchemist.

"Oooh so Mustang's having girl problems now is he?" Ed asked, not even bothering to hide his glee. Mustang snapped his head towards him.

"Get out of my office Fullmetal. We'll finish this later" He snarled. Ed grinned, sufficiently happy to have annoyed his superior. He mock saluted at Mustang before walking out of the door, Alphonse shooting an apologetic glance at the adults before following his brother out. Hughes kept his gaze on Mustang for a moment before repeating his question. Roy sighed.

"I didn't want her to see the pictures of the serial killer. That's all." He muttered. Hughes blinked at him.

"That's all? That's all! Roy, are you completely stupid or did you hit your head this morning? I don't think there is anything worse you could have done." Roy sighed heavily, dropping his gaze.

"I know I insulted her but I just wanted to protect her." He muttered. Hughes took this opportunity to occupy the seat on the other side of Roy's desk.

"I don't think she would appreciate that as a good reason either. She probably thought that you were saying she was an incapable officer or something." Seeing Mustang's dismayed expression, he continued

"I know you weren't saying that, it's just probably what she made of it. She's not like all the other women you usual date Roy; she doesn't want you to stop her from seeing the bad things of the world. I'm almost certain she's seen things like those photo's before." Hughes explained gently. Roy met his friend's gaze.

"I know she doesn't need me to protect her from the world. But it doesn't stop me from wanting to anyway." He replied sadly. Hughes sighed.

"Well... there is one thing you could do to make it up to her." He began. Mustang perked up slightly at this statement.

"What?" He asked eagerly.

"You could ask her to mar..."

"Finish that sentence and you will be a pile of ashes!" Roy interrupted, raising a gloved hand menacingly. Hughes smiled widely before standing up and heading towards the door. Just before he left, he turned and looked at Roy, who had gone back to his paperwork.

"Seriously though, nothing says I love you like a diamond engagement r..." he stopped speaking and swiftly shut Mustang's office door to avoid being hit in the face with the alchemy book that Roy had flung at him. There was a resounding crash as the book hit the door then the floor.

"Is there a problem Sir?" Hughes turned to see the rest of Mustang's team, including Hawkeye staring at him. He smiled back.

"Nope, nothing Lieutenant Hawkeye, just a difference of opinion." And with that he skipped out of the room, leaving the other five soldiers to their confusion.

The morning had past incredibly slowly in Riza's opinion. She had returned with her emotions slightly more in control and had silently continued with her work. Sensing her mood, her fellow officers had basically left her alone and kept their own conversations to a minimum. Roy had stayed in his office most of the time, and when he had emerged, she had kept her eyes averted as to not let her anger get the better of her. One by one the men slowly filed off to the cafeteria for lunch. Riza was unsure what to do. Recently she had been spending her lunch hour with Roy, but she really didn't feel like doing that today. Suddenly, a pile of folders was dropped on to her desk, making her jump slightly. Riza looked up to see Roy standing over her.

"These are all the files on the serial killer." He explained his voice low. She simply gazed at them.

"I'm going to get some lunch Lieutenant." Roy stated and with that he left the room. Riza watched him leave, completely confused and slightly hurt. She didn't understand what had made him change his mind so quickly, but she was glad he had. But she was hurt that he couldn't bring himself to talk about the incident at all. She sighed and picked up the first file and began to read. She would go and get her lunch later on. She had barely got half way through the file when she heard the sound of the door being opened. She looked up and to her utter amazement Roy was back, carrying with him two sandwiches.

"I thought you were going to lunch, Sir. Why are you back?" She asked.

"We always have lunch together." Roy replied simply, putting the sandwich on her desk. She allowed a small smile to cross her lips at the gesture. There was silence for a moment.

"I'm sorry." Roy said, "I didn't mean to make you feel inadequate." Riza looked at him before replying.

"I know you didn't mean it. But you don't need to shield me Roy, I'm not helpless."

"I know you aren't, I know that better than anyone! But it doesn't stop me from wanting to protect you." He said indignantly.

"I don't need your protection Roy, it's my job to protect you, remember?" She countered, feeling her anger rising again. Roy frowned at her. He was no good at this, he needed to word this correctly or he was just going to make this situation even worse.

"Can't we just want to protect each other? I know you don't need it, I know you can defend yourself but it doesn't stop me from wanting to take care of you. We are in a relationship Riza; it's supposed to be a two way thing." Before he could say anything more Riza stood sharply.

"Then maybe I'm the wrong person for you to be with." She snapped. She instantly regretted saying it, turning away so he couldn't see the hurt in her face. She had really messed up now. She hadn't meant for it to sound like that, but her anger had gotten the better of her. She didn't need someone to take care of her; she needed someone who understood that she was able to cope on her own. She jumped slightly as she felt Roy embrace her from behind.

"Please don't say that Riza." He whispered, "I love you. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you." Riza sighed and turned around, burying her head into his chest. This wasn't right. She knew that he didn't understand what she meant but she didn't have the energy to argue about this anymore. She sighed, suppressing her emotions and gaining control once more.

"I know. I didn't mean to say that either." She replied, her voice muffled. Roy broke away from her and gazed into her eyes. Before he could say anything further, the door burst open and Havoc ran in the room.

"Chief! Someth..." he trailed off when he noticed the positions Mustang and Hawkeye were in, his hurried look turned into a wide grin. Mustang growled slightly and let go of Riza.

"What is it Second Lieutenant?" He asked, feeling annoyed that the moment had been ruined. Havoc's grin faded and his expression turned serious.

"Edwards's just returned from town, his automail completely ruined." Mustang sighed. Great, another mess for me to clean up he thought to himself.

"But that's not all." Mustang snapped out of his thoughts.

"What is it?" Riza asked, anxiety growing in her mind.

"He says he was attacked by the serial killer. And apparently he has a message for us." Havoc replied.

A/N: Please let me know what you think with a review.