Warning! Spoilers for book 10 in this chapter.

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"Boss? You need a smoke?" Havoc offered his own and Roy glared at him.

"What I need, First Lieutenant Havoc, is to take all of those retarded officers who decide to vacation out East out and SHOOT them. Perhaps Major Hawkeye would be up to the job?"

"Not now, Sir." Riza snapped. Despite uncountable past failures to reach the group of Lieutenants that had gone hiking in the East mountain range by radio, she and Fuery were still working on it. The eight officers had no been gone three weeks, two past their original vacation time. Roy had been assigned the task of locating them because of his supposed knowledge of the geography of the East. Roy actually knew next to nothing a bout the single mountain range and had refused to go in and search until he had backup. Which was taking a long time to get its poop in a group. In the meantime, Roy was working the phone, trying to get in touch with the restaurants and hotels the officers might have stayed at, Riza and Kain were trying radio signals, Falman was researching the area and Jean and Heymans were trying to convince someone to convince someone to find out who had been assigned to put together the backup troops so they could find that person and see if the troops would be ready before or after they all grew old and died. Havoc was on his lunch break right now though.

"I know you're angry, Boss, but are you sure nothing else is bothering you? I mean, you're a lot more on edge than you were yesterday."

Falman nodded silently in agreement from where he was sitting, taking notes. Roy sat down with a thump.

"You all deserve to know...I know I'm not the only one who wondered where FullMetal had gone."

A deadly silence fell over the room, the suspense thick in the air.

"He's living in a rental on 5th Avenue in sector 17 by the lake...Havoc, you especially might want to drop by." Roy ignored Jean's confused look and picked up the phone.

"Hello?...Yes this is General Mustang speaking-..."

Ed frowned at his hand. Not a single match and Al had already put down all four of the 8's, 3's, 5's, 6's and 10's.

"Do you have a 2?" He asked.

"Go fish!" Al loved this stupid game. Ed wasn't so sure. He drew a 7. Well he needed that but he was still missing one. They both looked up when someone started knocking on the door and Al rose to open it. He jumped backward onto his butt in alarm.

"SURPRISE!!!" Jean and Breda were the loudest with Kain, Riza and Falman joining in behind them. Al blinked and stood up. Ed blinked.

"Hey, Chief. Boss said we'd find you here." Jean rolled his wheelchair in through the door, Breda giving him a little extra push. Ed stared. He couldn't help it.

"Second Lieutenant Havoc...What happened?" Al whispered.

"It's First Lieutenant now. All that 'push me to the top' crap the General spouts really doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot. When he gets promoted, he generally drags the rest of us with him." Havoc grinned. "As for what happened...Let's just say I think I'm going to give up dating women."

Ed and Al shared confused frowns.

"So, what happened to you?" Kain asked. "And who's your friend?"

"Al."

"...Huh?"

"Alphonse. He decided to quit his armor-wearing hobby." Ed referred to an old joke that earned a few appreciative chuckles before Breda offered his hand to Al who shook it politely.

"Welcome back, Kid."

Al smiled and Ed smiled seeing Al so happy at having his hands shaken and being whacked on the shoulder and fussed over by everyone.

"Really though, how did you two pull it off?" Falman sat down on the couch at Ed's feet. Ed struggled and sat up, Al quickly putting a pillow behind him.

"Let's just say I think I'm going to stop trying to transmute human beings now. And hanging out with military dogs." He put on an obnoxious tone and turned his nose up at the people crowding the dingy living room. Riza started laughing with Jean and Falman, while Breda pretended to be offended. Then Riza stopped laughing abruptly. Jean looked up at her slightly shocked face.

"Major?"

"That's why. General Mustang...You're both paralyzed."

Jean stared at Ed who met his gaze, everyone else looking on to see how Jean would react. Not only to finding someone else in the same situation, but to Mustang's assumption that it would be important somehow to the First Lieutenant.

"You're...right." He told Riza in slight amazement. "So...You transmuted your limbs and now they're paralyzed."

Ed nodded, his expression guarded and unreadable.

Al tried to break the tension by asking if anyone wanted any cranberry juice. Kain and Jean accepted, Riza requesting some water. Ed and Jean broke their stare, avoiding each other's eyes until Riza announced they should all go home and get a good night's sleep so they would all be awake and ready for paperwork the next morning. With many groans and moans and whines, they all began to head for the door, each saying goodbye and congratulations to Al and Ed.

Jean was last and just before he headed out, he caught Ed's gaze once more.

"Um...Who's your physical therapist?"

Ed blushed and looked down in an irritated, fidgety manner.

"I think his name is...Dahn Yao. Xinganese guy."

"I have him too. ...See you later." Jean nodded and smiled and wheeled his way through the door Riza was holding for him.

Ed was quiet for the rest of the evening, thinking deeply on the events since he and Al had traveled to Sing until the past few days when he'd suddenly gotten in touch with...With who? Roy's subordinates? Acquaintances? Friends?

Jean on the other hand was restless, unable to sleep. Roy had known. Had seen how alone and cut off Jean had been feeling lately. That's why he'd said that... Or maybe he just thought someone in the office would finally have something truly in common with the boy.

Jean rolled onto his side with some difficulty and shook his head. Roy wasn't that cruel. Or maybe he didn't think he was being cruel and only Jean thought it was being cruel to tell an invalid officer to go visit another because then someone might finally have something in common with the latter-But no, Roy had probably noticed how Jean no longer interacted with people the way he used to...Right?

And what did Edward think of all of this? Jean hoped he didn't think Roy had sent him over to Ed's house simply because they were both paralyzed. But then again, who knew what Ed was ever thinking? It was true Mustang's subordinates, between the five of them, had some things in common with the tiny alchemist, but somehow those things were always a little tweaked with Ed so that it didn't really seem like a thing you had in common. Take being in the military, for example. It was usually the first thing that came to mind on the list of what one had in common with Edward.

But Ed was in it for himself, practically outright refused to follow orders or go on assignments and had always planned on getting out as soon as he possibly could. Whereas Roy's subordinates had all sacrificed so much for, always followed order (or at least promised to) and planned to stay not only until Roy was Fuhrer but until they were all ready to retire.

"Retire..." Jean suddenly sighed and smiled, contented by the thought of the lucky hand he'd been dealt. If it weren't for Roy and Dr. Knox, he'd be picking up phones for his family's General Goods Shop right now.

He rolled over again and closed his eyes, letting his mind finally settle.

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Typed to: Chumbawamba 's I Get Knocked Down