I know I missed a week, I'm sorry! I had my final exam for my hardest module this year. It was a horrid test! So I've been busy studying. I forgot to pre-warn you on the last chapter. Now this is out a little early partly to make up for the lost week and partly because I'm going to the London MCM expo tomorrow! I'm quite excited.

Anyway, please read and enjoy!

Chapter Four: Mother

The car ride was tense. Izumi was driving, Roy sitting in the passenger seat next to her still holding a wad of tissues to his nose. Al sat in the back with Ed.

"What the hell happened?" Izumi asked in her no nonsense tone of voice.

"That bastard burnt me," Ed snapped.

"Not on purpose," Roy countered somewhat nasally through the bloody tissue, "I think you broke my nose, why'd you use your right arm?"

"Because you burnt my left you dumbass,"

"Roy don't say a word," Izumi said angrily, "Ed how did you get burned?"

"We were sparring, this genius thought it'd be a great idea to trap me in a ring of fire, my sleeve caught alight."

"Roy do you agree with the story?" Izumi asked him, Roy nodded slowly, wincing when it caused him to press too hard on his injured nose.

"You two know you aren't meant to use alchemy in a spar when I'm not there. When I get you two home you'll be sorry you ever learnt alchemy." Both Ed and Roy paled at her words, even Al, who wasn't being threatened, felt nervous.

Izumi pulled in to the car park at the hospital and gave the boys a stern look that told them to 'behave or else'. After what felt like forever waiting both Ed and Roy were called up to see nurses. Izumi accompanied Ed, so Al followed Roy.

A young blonde nurses entered the curtained off section they were in.

"Roy Mustang? Hello, I'm Julie, let's have a look at you then," she said cheerfully. She carefully cleaned away dried blood and was rather pleased to note his nose had stopped bleeding. "Well you'll be glad to know your nose isn't broken. However, it is bruised and will probably be tender for a couple of days; you'll probably have a black eye as well." As she finished speaking the curtain opened to admit Izumi.

"Hello I'm his legal guardian, Izumi Curtis," she introduced herself to the nurse. Quickly the nurse repeated her prognosis and told Izumi he could leave.

Just then a crash was heard followed shortly after by a shout.

"No way!" Al, Roy and Izumi all froze for a second recognising the voice. As one they all dashed towards Ed.

A doctor checked Ed's arm and proclaimed the burns weren't very bad. "They'll probably heal up with little or no scarring; you should thank whoever put the fire out so quickly." Ed just snorted in reply. "I'll get a nurse to clean and dress the wound," the doctor finished before taking his leave.

"I'm going to check on Roy," Izumi said leaving Ed alone. A nurse walked in with a tray.
She had a kind face and Ed felt instantly comforted by her. She looked up at him with a smile. As she looked at him her smile faded, her features taking on a look of shock.

"E...Edward?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Ed replied trying to puzzle out her reaction.

"My son, my Edward?" the nurse said dropping the tray, it landed with a clatter but she ignored it, instead staring at the teenager that looked so much like his father.

"W-what?" Ed stammered, trying to make sense of what this woman was saying. He couldn't be her son, he just couldn't.

"Edward," the nurse repeated again, this time she moved forward. She stepped over the fallen tray, not taking her eyes off Edward, she held her arms out as if she were going to wrap them around him.

"No way," Ed shouted sliding off the opposite side of the bed. "Don't touch me," he shouted again, anger filling his voice. Trisha stopped, pulling her arms close to her, cradling her chest. She looked hurt, like she was about to cry but Ed wasn't going to feel sorry.

"Don't look like that you abandoned me to die."

"No, no I didn't. I don't know what happened, I tried to find you I swear. You're my son, I love you."

"Love me?" The curtain was torn back by Izumi as Edward spoke. "If you loved me then why the hell was I left to die by the side of a railway after losing two limbs?" Ed held up his automail fist to illustrate his point.

Tears started to properly fall from Trisha's eyes as she looked at the metal gleaming under the hospital lights. She watched as a woman she didn't know put her arms around her eldest son. He seemed to instantly calm at her touch and words and the sight made Trisha's heart break. Arms suddenly wrapped around her and she was guided to turn around and sit on the vacated bed.

"Mom?" she looked up to see it was her youngest son who was holding her. She was confused, she didn't understand why he was here.

Al turned around keeping one hand on his mother's shoulder. He fixed Ed with a stern glare.

"You happy now? You're such an idiot, jumping to your own stupid conclusions to things when you don't even know the whole story."

Ed's eyes were wide as he stared at Al, the story of his missing father and brother coming to his mind. "Oh," was all Ed said as he scrubbed his face with his automail hand before slumping to the floor. Trisha wiped her eyes and waved off the other nurses and doctors who'd come to see about the commotion. "Can you get me another tray," she asked one nurse, gesturing to the items scattered on the floor. Turning round she surveyed the scene. Edward was sitting hunched over the floor, the woman crouched beside him. Alphonse had walked around the bed and was standing over the pair but an older boy had his arm held out just in front of Al.

"Alphonse, hunny maybe you should go get a coffee," she said moving over to him and rubbing his shoulder.

"Come on Al, I could do with one too let's go," the dark-haired boy said guiding him out. Trisha crouched in front of Ed.

"Your arm needs seeing too, I can get another nurse if you want?"

"No," he lifted his head to look at her. "I'm sorry, it's just... I."

"It's ok, this must be hard for you."

Ed sat on the bed and allowed Trisha to clean and dress his wound. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "Al was right. I am an idiot; I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"You were just a little child when I lost you, I can't expect you to remember what happened."

"I don't remember anything. My memories start waking up in a hospital bed and seeing Izumi," he gestured with his automail hand towards where Izumi stood. "But Al already told me what happened to his Dad and brother err... me."

"So you don't know where your father is?" Trisha asked trying to keep the hope from rising. Ed just shook his head.

"I can't tell you what happened to your husband Mrs Elric," Izumi said reading Trisha's name off her tag. "But when we found Edward he was half dead, the doctors said it was miracle he survived. Aside from the missing limbs, which we assume were caused by a train, he had bruises the suggested he'd been forcefully held." Trisha froze having finished with Ed's arm. Gently she reached over lifted his metal arm. Holding it to her face, tears fell again.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. Feeling awkward, Ed gentle pulled his hand back and used it to brush her tears away.

"I'm here, aren't I? I'm alive, it's ok."

"But this," Trisha gestured to his metal hand.

"This? It's not all bad. Without this I might never have met my girlfriend, she's my mechanic, she built this." Trisha smiled weakly at him. "So what happens now?" Ed asked.

"You come home with me until Trisha can prove she is your mother," Izumi answered Ed before turning to Trisha. "I'm sorry but I need to know you really are his mother before this can carry on, I won't see him hurt again."

"Of course, I understand, we can do a DNA test. I'm glad someone good has been looking after him."

"He's a good kid, for the most part," Izumi told Trisha before both women laughed at Ed's indignant reply.

"What's that supposed to mean."

"This is so awkward," Ed complained, slumping down in the front seat of Roy's beater.

"Well it's your fault; you should have spoken to him before now," Roy answered sounding his car horn to alert Al they were waiting.

"It was like two days ago and it wouldn't have been any less awkward."

"You keep telling yourself that Ed, I swear you can be so delusional sometimes."

"I swear you can be such an ass sometimes, sorry I mean all the time."

The pair was so busy bickering they didn't even notice Al had left the house until he opened the back door.

"Hi," he said sheepishly, clearly feeling as awkward as Ed did. He waved to his mother who was standing in the doorway. Catching the movement Ed looked towards the woman, he raised one had slowly a half smile crossing his face before Roy drove them out of site.

"How's your arm Ed," Al said after they had sat in silence for half the journey.

"Better," Ed answered. When Al realised no more conversation was coming from him he tried Roy.

"And your nose Roy?"

"Painful," Roy answered before carrying on, "and if anyone asks the story is that I got punched saving an old lady from a mugger."

"Ok...erm, why?" Al asked, latching on to the conversation.

"Because saying Ed punched me will not go down as well with the ladies."

"Drop the plural Mustang, you want to get the attention of one girl and she is not going to fall for your bullshit, as soon as she knows I was burnt she going to realise what happened. You're such an idiot. You'll never get Riza like that," Ed informed him.

"What? What makes you think I like Riza?" Roy asked, looking over at Ed.

"Watch the damn road before you kill us all," Ed snapped, before answering Roy's question once he was watching the road again. "You are so obvious and you don't even realise it. It's actually quite funny, Roy Mustang ladies man completely hung up on his best friend and too scared to do anything about it."

"You are so full of yourself Curtis." By this time Roy had pulled into the car park and they were getting out the car. Al disappeared with a 'see you later' and Ed started to hurry off in the opposite direction. Roy locked his car and followed Ed catching him easily with his longer stride. "Wimp," he muttered as he strode past Ed.

Roy's words had their desired effect on Ed and he spent the entire first and second periods trying to work out how the conversation with his newly discovered brother would go. He practically ran out the room when the bell rang, heading for their usual spot but all through break Al never showed. By the time he entered his third class that day he was in a bad mood, thumping his satchel down on the desk in a clear warning that anyone who spoke to him would not survive. Of course Ling, as ever, was purposefully blind towards the warning and was quite happy to chatter away to Ed for the entire class. When they left Ed thumped him hard on the arm and walked off.

"You just going to let him get away with that," Ling asked the girl who'd appeared by his side.

"With all due respect young lord, you probably deserved it," she replied. Ling shrugged and smiled at her.

Lan Fan was another of the Xingnese transfer students in the academy, she was also Ling's body guard, not that anyone here knew that. Although Ling had a feeling Ed had guessed the fact.

As Ed walked down the main corridor he saw the person he was looking for. Al was talking to a girl by the lockers. When he looked closer he realised it was actually Ling's younger sister Mei he was talking too. That girl had some strange dislike for Ed and judging by the way she was looking at Al she wasn't going to appreciate him being stolen. Still what Ed had to say was much more important the some useless flirting.

Ed strode up to the pair and grabbed Al's arm.

"We need to talk," he said before dragging Al away. Al tried to struggle but once he realised Ed was holding him with his automail hand gave up, knowing he'd never break free. Finding a deserted corner of the courtyard, Ed made sure Al was cornered before releasing him.

"You're mad at me," Ed stated but Al shook his head.

"No I'm not."

"Then what's your problem?" Ed asked.

"What's yours?" Al countered, "You should be happy, you found your family again, shouldn't you be trying to get to know me and Mum? Instead you just disappear and we hear nothing from you all weekend. Mum's being all understanding because that's who she is but I don't understand Ed, I really don't." There was a pause before Ed answered.

"How long have you been waiting for me?"

"Since you left," Al answered straight away.

"I didn't know I had a brother, I have no memory of anything before I woke up in a hospital bed with two stumps. You say I found my family but you don't realise I have a family already, ok maybe I don't share my DNA with them but Izumi and Sig are my parents, I already have parents."

"and a brother," Al said sadly but Ed shook his head.

"Not in the way you think. You are my brother Al. Maybe it'll take some time to get used to that fact but you are. Roy isn't, he never has been. Yes I've lived with him for five years but he has never been like a brother too me."

"Why not?" Al asked, curious. He was seeing the situation from Ed's view and feeling like a jerk. He sat down and Ed followed suit.

"Honestly, I'm jealous of him."

"Why?"

"Because he looks like he could be their son. A little after Roy came to live with us we went out and met this old school friend of Izumi's who she hadn't seen in years. She looked at Roy and she started telling Izumi what a wonderful son she had, she looked at me and just said 'you must be his friend'. I hated him so much right then, it wasn't fair I'd been with Izumi since I was a little kid, no one ever thought I was her son. Trouble follows me round like a puppy, I don't mean to get into half the fights I do, it just happens, ever since I was a kid. I was always classed as the trouble maker in school and it must have been hard on Izumi and Sig, then Roy waltzes in and suddenly they have the perfect son. I was so scared they'd get rid of me."

"Is that why you two fight all the time?"

"At first yes, after that incident with Izumi's friend I got into my first fist fight with him. He didn't even fight back. Of course at the time I had no idea his Dad had beaten him." Al gasped in shock at Ed's words and Ed cringed slightly realising he'd just spilled Roy's past.

"You didn't know that did you?" he asked, in the hope that Al had heard it from someone else first but Al shook his head no.

"Just pretend you don't know. He'd spent his whole life trying to be perfect but his Dad still hit him anyway. When I went off at him he just curled up and waited for me to stop. But I didn't, I just kept going, I was yelling at him too, saying I hated him and I wished he'd never come to live with us. I was so horrible to him and he just took it without a word."

"Go away, leave us alone. We don't need you. I hate you, I hate you." Ed screamed, pounding fists in to the boy in front of him. Suddenly strong arms were lifting him away and holding him tightly. Ed struggled, pounding his fists into Sig's broad chest but it didn't work. Giving up Ed glared daggers at Roy who was now being cradled by Izumi, she brushed his hair back and gently rocked him.

"What on earth were you thinking Edward," she snapped at him. Ed scowled feeling like the whole world was turning against him. He felt Sig's grip on him loosen.

"You happy now, you win, you've stolen my family," Ed yelled at Roy who's eyes widen in surprise as he watched the blond run from the room.

Ed locked himself in the bathroom for hours. Izumi and Sig both tried to talk to him but Ed wouldn't listen, eventually they gave up and left him, knowing he'd have to come out eventually. After what felt like forever to Ed a small timid knock sounded on the door.

"I'm sorry," Roy's voice filtered through the wood. "I'm going now, bye."

By the time Ed had got the bathroom door open Roy had already disappeared into their room. Hearing the voice of his social worker downstairs he crept down to hear what was being said.

"Are you sure about this?" Jane asked.

"Yes, I never realised how badly Ed would react. I know this seems harsh and I do feel bad for Roy but I've never seen Ed go off like that before. I mean sure he's been in scraps but never like that. Roy's a good boy, someone will take him surely," Izumi replied.

"Honestly, Izumi, I don't know that anyone will. When people want to foster a child they generally look for the younger ones, a teenager boy isn't most people's ideal. You add his history to that and you've got people worrying about his mental stability. To be honest I think the boy doesn't know fun is and I'd hoped Edward would teach him and maybe he'd calm Edward down some. I didn't think he'd be so threatened by Roy."

"Yes, I guess this has showed me that Ed is still insecure, he doesn't realise we love him unconditionally as our own son. I wish we could help with Roy but I have to think of Edward first."

"I understand."

"Like I said, I'm going. I never wanted to steal your family. I'm not their son, you are." Ed whipped round as he heard Roy's voice next to him. Roy looked so sad standing there with his packed suitcase. It was pathetically small. Ed bit his lips.

"You didn't fight back, why?" Ed asked.

"Because I learnt long ago it'd be over sooner if I didn't fight back."

"Who taught you that?"

"My father, he hit me when I was bad, apparently it's wrong to do that."

"Of course it is, numbskull, when someone hits you hit them right back."

"You wanted me to hit you back?"

"Yes, that wasn't a fair fight."

"It doesn't matter, you were wrong, I lost, you won. You'd won from the start. Good bye."

"No, damn it," Ed cursed, "this is my fault." Ed darted forward and snatched Roy's suitcase from his hand.

"Hey give that back, you want my stuff now?"

"No you dimwit," Ed shouted undoing the zippers and tipping the contents onto the floor.

"Stop it," Roy cried, lunging forward to grapple the suitcase out of Ed's hands.

Izumi and Jane came out into the corridor to see what the ruckus was to find Ed and Roy having a tug of war over the suitcase, standing on the clothing that was scattered on the floor.

"What are you two boys doing?" Izumi asked, her voice firm. Startled both boys stopped, Roy dropped the suitcase and stepped back, looking down at his feet.

"Sorry," was all he said. Ed rolled his eyes at him and dropped his end of the suitcase so it fell on the pile of Roy's clothes.

"It's not fair," Ed proclaimed loudly. Izumi raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "I was the one who was bad, why is he being punished?"

"He isn't being punished Edward, he's just going to go to a more suitable home."

"No he isn't, she said no one was going to take him."

"Edward were you eaves dropping?"

"Yes and I'm sorry I was bad, I'm sorry I thought you were replacing me but now I know you're not so it's fine right, he doesn't have to leave."

"Edward, do you really think throwing his stuff everywhere was the best way to get your point across?" Izumi asked. Ed looked down at the clothes scattered on the floor before looking rather sheepishly at Izumi.

"Sorry?" Izumi rolled her eyes at him before turning serious again.

"Edward, if Roy stays today he stays for good ok, you don't get to change your mind later."

"He stays," Ed replied firmly.

"Ok then, come on you two pick these clothes up, you've trampled all over them. Let's get them in the washing machine."

After that was done and the boys were released to go do whatever little boys do in their free time Roy caught Ed's arm.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because it wasn't fair," Ed answered simply.

"Thank you."

"I think I just annoyed him enough to make him fight back. We've been bickering ever since. Though physical violence is rare," Ed finished telling Al.

"You're so dense," Al commented, carrying on when Ed raised an eyebrow at him in question. "He's is like a brother too you." Ed just answered with a groan.

A shadow fell across the pair making Ed look up ready to tell whoever it was to get lost. He scowled when he saw Kimblee and his goons standing over the pair.

"Well well if it isn't the trash in a nice little pile. What's say we do some cleaning boys," Kimblee said.

"Well as much as I'd like to help you with your community service I have much better things to be doing," Ed told him, standing up. Al stood too.

"Oh no, you're staying for this party, Curtis." Quickly Kimblee grabbed Ed's injured arm making Ed grit his teeth as pain flared up. He tried to take a swing with his automail but one of Kimblee's friends caught it and twisted it behind him, pulling on the connection. Together they flung Ed to the floor with enough force to send him skidding across the concrete. As Al lunged forward after him a solid punch landed in his stomach making him double over. Ed barely had time to curl into a protective ball before Kimblee and one of his friends were kicking Ed. They didn't give Ed a chance to fight back.

Kimblee was laughing when his arm was grabbed from behind and he was flung backwards. He staggered but kept his balance, turning towards whoever was dumb enough to stand in his way. He narrowed his eyes at who now stood between him and Edward.

"Roy Mustang, what the hell are you doing, you're one of us."

"No I'm not, I never was. Back off Kimblee," Roy growled. He could hear Ed scramble up as Kimblee's friends moved away to flank him.

"I don't get it why are you defending him. It's obvious he's the one that gave you that black eye and you used you're alchemy to get back at him."

"That's not what happened at all, I hurt him first, by accident and I am not going to stand by and let you use my mistake against him."

"I don't need your help, Mustang," Ed mumbled.

"Oh you can shut up," Roy answered him, not taking his eyes off Kimblee.

"Three on three, that makes it a fair fight," Kimblee said.

"Since when did you play fair, besides I think you need to recount," Roy answered and smirked at the bullies as they watched Havoc, Breda, Falman, Furery, Riza and Hughes all move forwards, from where they'd been standing behind Kimblee and his goons. "Run along Zolf."

After Kimblee was gone Ed turned on Roy.

"Really didn't need you butting in."

"Sure you didn't," Roy answered grabbing him in a head lock and rubbing his head.

"What I want to know is where all the teachers are," Riza said ignoring the two boys now wrestling.

"So finally we get to meet the elusive new kid, seriously Roy should have introduced you before," Havoc said throwing his arm around Al who was inundated with questions from Roy's friends acting like nothing bad had ever happened. Al was slightly overwhelmed.

The entire flash back scene plus the bit of conversation about Ed and Roy before that kinda crept in there while I was writing. It wasn't planned at all, I hope it came out good. It is also insanely easy to forget Ed's surname is different in this story, I keep wanting to write Elric, at least he knows he is one now!

Hopefully the next chapter will be out on time next week!