Mustang led them through the tunnel at a quick pace. Elysia was anxious her body wasn't responding they way she would have liked. She felt slow and sluggish but she pressed on. She was too close to collapse from exhaustion now before seeing Edward after being apart for so long.
They turned a bend when Mustang came to a stop, along with Lin and Havoc. They were greeted enthusiastically by Brigadier General Miles, a man Elysia had always liked. He was always very cordial when she would come to Briggs along with Edward on various occasions.
"Good to see everyone looking well, though tired," he said after saluting Mustang and shaking hands with Lin, Havoc and Al, then smiling at Elysia and Richard. "I'm sure you all know General Elric has been waiting patiently for you."
"I'm sure he has," Al snorted sarcastically, moving past Miles. "I guess I should let him out now."
Al went down the tunnel a few feet then stopped and picked up the iron transmutation circle. "Miles," and he tossed the circle to the half Ishbalan, "have someone take this back to Briggs," he instructed. "Give it to a welder to heat it then bend it in half. That will break the circle so the alchemists in Briggs won't be rendered helpless."
Miles handed the iron circle to a Sergeant who had been close and overheard the instructions. He saluted and quickly took off down the tunnel. Al stood before the small opening where Edward was trapped. "Ed?" His brother didn't answer. "I'm going to let you out now. Hey, Ed!"
He looked through the dark opening but didn't see or hear anything. Elysia came up to stand next to him. "He's in there?"
"Yeah," Al said looking confused. "Ed, answer me. Elysia is here." But he didn't.
Al tried to use alchemy hoping the Sergeant was far enough away. Nothing. He waited a bit longer and he noticed out of the corner of his eye, Mustang, Havoc and Lin take a few steps back. Elysia - along with Al - was the only brave one as she stood behind him waiting impatiently. He tried again. It worked and the wall melted away.
Al expected Edward to come rushing out but he didn't. Al took a cautious step forward and peeked in. Suddenly he was grabbed by the arm and yanked in. He spun in a circle until he came crashing into the wall next to the opening.
"Maybe I should leave you in here now! See how you like being left alone in the dark to worry!" Edward yelled pulling his fist back ready to hit Al. He heard them coming but instead of the joy he should have felt he just grew angry and humiliated for being trapped. He had a lot of pent up aggression from being left alone for too long.
"This really isn't the time for this," Al said exasperated, his headache increasing tenfold and hoping he could talk Edward out of hitting him. But he didn't have the energy and patience and figured it was best to get the beating over with quickly.
"I told you I'd beat the shit out of you when you returned, I intend to honor that promise..."
"Edward, let him go!"
He was too angry and hurt to fully recognize Elysia's angry voice or to feel her arms wrap around him, pulling him away from Al. Elysia knew she should have expected him to be upset but still... "Al was hurt back there..."
"He was?" Edward looked concerned for a split second as he examined Al quickly. But his concern didn't last long. "Good, that's what he gets for doing what I should have been doing. Apparently he wasn't hurt enough if he was able to drag his ass back."
"Please, don't hit him," Elysia pleaded, her tone soft and gentle.
Of course Elysia could get him to do anything. All his anger melted away immediately and he turned, smothering Elysia, relieved to feel her familiar form close to him once again. He was usually mindful of his automail but his relief seeing her again in one piece made him forget. But Elysia felt she could endure since it meant she was back with Edward. Her arms wrapped around him and held him tight as she buried her face in his shirt. Edward felt the wetness of her tears through the thin fabric and drew back to look into her green eyes. He wiped her tears away with his fingers too overcome with relief and joy to say anything. Since he couldn't talk he pulled her forward for a kiss instead. She answered him just as eagerly her hands going to each side of his face to keep him close.
"Elysia," he said needing to look at her to make sure she was truly there and that he hadn't gone crazy being alone in the dark with his thoughts for so long. "Are you okay?" Elysia could only nod, too emotional to say anything more at the moment. "I'm so..." he began then stopped and took her hands in his. "What happened to your hands?!" He exclaimed noticing the bandages that were loosely wrapped around them.
"It's nothing," she said shrugging. They were bandaged after they left the truck to trek through the valley. Al had noticed her hands were red and blistered. Havoc had brought along a simple first aid kit and smothered her hands with burn ointment and wrapped them up. Her hands still hurt but it didn't bother her much so she didn't make a big deal out of it. "I picked up the only thing I could find to hit Kimbley with and it was a bit hot..."
"You hit Kimbley!"
"Well, yeah, he had a hold of..." but before she could finish explaining Edward pulled her close again.
Elysia didn't seem to care but he did. She needed her hands to paint. He thought she'd been through too much to realize it and that hurt Edward more than anything. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this..."
Elysia released an exasperated sigh but she couldn't help smiling at his foolishness. "What is it with you Elrics and always feeling the need to apologize for everything?!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh never mind, I'll explain later," and to keep him from arguing she reached up to kiss him again. "My hands will heal," she told him with certainty, looking him in the eye as she pressed her forehead against his and tried to get a smile from him. He reluctantly smiled back but it didn't erase the guilt he was feeling. There were times when he could be unreadable but now he was an open book. Elysia settled for the half ass smile knowing it was the best she would get for now.
Edward wrapped his arms around Elysia again. As she stood there listening to his heartbeat she suddenly she felt ashamed for hogging Edward all to her self.
"You know what," she said coaxing Edward to loosen his hold and took a step back. "There's someone here who you should have met a long time ago."
Edward stiffened and his eyes widened. He looked at her nervously, like he was guilty of something. Elysia smiled at him reassuringly. "I know you didn't know anything about Richard and Al told us on the way back that... his mother," she couldn't say her name but hurried on before it was noticed, "came and told you after I was..." she closed her eyes thinking how awful it was for Edward to discover his wife was missing then to have someone from his past come back to reveal they had a son together. Edward could handle professional stress masterfully but when it came to his personal life... not so well. "Oh Edward, what you must have been going through..." She hugged him again.
"It's nothing compared to what you and Richard must have gone through," he said quietly.
"Do you want to meet him?" She asked looking up at Edward. He nodded eagerly but immediately looked scared, like he'd betrayed her somehow and he gave her an apologetic look and opened his mouth but she stopped him from speaking by lightly touching his lips. "It's okay to want to see your son."
"Are you..." he began but Elysia interrupted.
"We'll talk some more later," she said looking him in the eye again to make him see it was alright. He seemed to finally understand and nodded.
She reluctantly stepped aside and Edward, just as reluctantly, let her go. She studied his face but she couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling as he watched her. Either he had managed to gain some control over his emotions or he was just too confused and conflicted he didn't know how he should look or act; Elysia couldn't be sure. Before she left the chamber with Al, who had been momentarily forgotten, Edward stopped them.
"Al," he said quietly.
"Yes?"
"Are you alright?" He asked with sincerity.
"I'm fine." Al said with a wide smile.
"Good," Edward said, smiling back at his brother. "I'm sorry for overreacting."
"I expected worse actually. I was sure you'd follow through with beating the shit out of me," Al smirked.
"It's guaranteed if you do anything like that again," Edward said hugging his brother.
Al hugged Edward back. "We'll give you a few minutes alone with Richard then we have to talk."
"About what?" Edward asked looking into his brother's eyes, slightly taken aback by Al's seriousness.
"Don't worry about it now," Al soothed but his eyes betrayed everything. Edward felt his stomach tighten. He had an idea what they would be talking about later.
"Okay," Edward agreed, thinking it best to take one thing at a time. But before Elysia and Al left he stopped them. "What if he doesn't...?" But whatever else he wanted to say died on his lips as he stared past Elysia and Al.
Standing at the opening was Richard.
Elysia and Al turned around to see Richard. Nobody said anything for a full minute. Finally Al reached for Elysia's arm and carefully led her past Richard. As Elysia left she began to feel like she didn't exist to Edward at that moment. She tried to ignore the feeling of jealousy that crept upon her; especially since it was her doing in the first place. She knew she had no reason to be jealous but exhaustion and stress had a funny way of making her think irrationally. Al put his arm around her for support and they left father and son to have a chance to meet and talk alone.
Edward barely noticed when Elysia and Al left. Once he saw Richard, his son had his full attention. Everything he felt, all his worrying and anxiety, gathered in the back of his throat, choking him. He was so happy to finally see Richard, so relieved to see his son alive and well... so scared that his son might not want anything to do with him.
"Hello, Richard," he finally forced out. His voice trembled noticeably and he smiled to try and cover his nervousness. "Your mother said that you know I'm your..." He had no idea how he should go about this.
"Yes, she told me," Richard said.
Hearing his voice and that he didn't sound resentful, Edward's heart leaped for joy. He wanted to reach out to touch his son but he felt he should be cautious; as if Richard were a frightened wild animal that would bolt from any sudden movement.
But he is my son... I have every right... He took the chance and walked over to Richard slowly. When he was directly in front of his son he reached out and gently touched the side of Richard's face. He didn't flinch or pull away. Edward studied him carefully taking in every line, every color of his skin, his eyes, his hair. It was like looking in the mirror and he found it hard to hold back the tears that stung his eyes suddenly. He moved to hug his son but Richard beat him to it.
"I was scared," Richard said his voice muffled. "Mom said when I was ready I could meet you but I didn't know if you'd accept me."
"Then you know how I felt when she told me about you," Edward said smiling, resting his cheek against Richard's head, noting that his son was taller than he was at that age. "I think it's safe to assume we don't have to be scared anymore."
Richard laughed and Edward held him tighter, liking the sound of his son's voice. They parted and Edward held Richard at arms length looking him over again. "It's like looking in the mirror nineteen years ago." Then he added wistfully, "This is how I should have looked."
"What do you mean?" Richard asked as he knitted his brows, confused.
"We can talk about that later," Edward said sadly then smiled to lighten the mood a bit. "I have so many questions for you; I don't even know where to start."
Richard smiled back. "Me too."