Author's Note: Okay, I said this would be the last chapter, but it was going to be too long, so I had to cut it in half. Anyway, enjoy!

Ed sat silently on the chair. He stared at the floor sadly, as if all the answers would be revealed to him if he looked desolate enough. He wasn't even sure how he'd come to be in this strange room. The last thing he clearly remembered was crying on the roof with his brother next to him.

It had probably been Al who had moved him into this room.

His left arm was limp as the doctor took hold of his elbow and raised it up. Quickly and without fuss, he placed the needle into Ed's arm. He noticed the blond barely flinch at the prick. Suddenly, Ed looked up from the floor and gaze at him with a lost, hopeful expression.

"This... this'll find out what's wrong with me... won't it?" Ed asked in a feeble voice.

"That's right," the doctor replied, giving Ed a comforting smile.

Ed blinked and returned to staring at the floor. He had to admit, he certainly felt better since the crying episode. His head wasn't any clearer, he still had to guess everyone's identity, but something just felt better. It left him with the conclusion that he only felt better now that he knew for certain that he was in Central, had never left, and was surrounded by people he knew and who cared about him.

Yes... that certainty definitely made him feel better.

He turned to look at the figure who was sitting on the bed beside him. It was Al, obviously; Ed didn't know of any other spirit that was sealed in an armoured suit. He smiled at the helmet, a smile that quickly fell off his face.

"Al... my hand just went numb," Ed explained, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. He still felt too out of his comfort zone to put forward his usual, carefree attitude.

"It's okay, Brother," Al assured him, rubbing Ed's back gently. "That always happens when someone's taking blood, remember?"

"That's it," the doctor announced. "We're all done here."

Ed instantly took his arm back and cradled it. He didn't look particularly bothered by the exercise of drawing blood, it seemed to merely give him comfort to keep himself in as small a space as possible.

The doctor gave him a curious glance and then stood up and faced Colonel Mustang. The pair walked a short distance and, after a glance in Edward's direction to check that he wasn't trying to listen in, they discussed in hushed voices.

"This will be enough to single out what's affecting him," the doctor guaranteed.

"Good, how long until we get the results?" Mustang asked.

"Oh, a couple of days at most," the doctor replied. "Now, I would like to check over the young lady, Miss Rockbell? I understand she's been injured."

A quick intake of breath made them turn to Ed, who was suddenly looking quite pale. He was looking at the pair with shocked, pained eyes. His plea to not be responsible for harming his friend couldn't be any clearer on his face.

"It's nothing, Doctor," Mustang assured all who were listening. "It was just a tiny cut, nothing to get excited about."

"That's good to know," the doctor nodded. "However, I would like to have a look at your jaw, Colonel. A quick check-up won't be a hassle to your schedule."

With that, the doctor left the room, taking the vial of blood with him. Everyone was silent after he left. Ed returned to examining the floor, although neither Mustang nor Alphonse could see anything so intriguing.

"So, Colonel..." Ed started after a while. "What's my punishment going to be?"

"Punishment?" Mustang raised an eyebrow, not understanding where this train of thought had come from.

"I struck my superior officer," Ed explained emotionlessly. "I'm sure that's deserving of some kind of punishment."

Mustang blinked in surprise, and then broke into an understanding smile. He stepped forwards and knelt down so Ed could see him, an so he could see the young alchemist's eyes. Ever since the incident on the roof, they certainly looked clearer, even flecks of gold were once again present in those copper coloured eyes. It was a good sign to Mustang, and his smile widened slightly.

"Now, what kind of superior officer would I be if I punished my subordinates when they had been compromised?" Mustang asked.

"Comp...romised?" Ed repeated, blinking and looking straight into Mustang's cobalt eyes.

"That's right, Fullmetal," Mustang nodded. "You have been compromised ever since the raid, and are therefore not accountable for any of your actions that may otherwise be seen as insubordination."

Ed's eyes flickered from looking at one of Mustang's eyes to the other. He was trying to make sense of what the colonel had just told him, but was finding the information was having trouble sinking into his addled brain.

"The way I see it," Mustang continued when he realised that Ed was struggling. "You were in a compromised stated and the punch was out of desperation and self-defence, which I was unfortunate enough to get in the way of. You won't be punished for that, Fullmetal."

Ed blinked. The only part of Mustang's speech that Ed understood was that he wasn't going to be punished for what he'd done. He'd threatened innocent bystanders, attacked co-workers, struck his superior officer and had held a blade to his best friend. It didn't make sense that he wasn't going to be punished.

"Get some rest, Fullmetal," Mustang ordered gently. "Alphonse, would you take him to his room?"

"Sure," Al agreed. "Come on, Ed."

Edward, however, gripped the chair tightly. He looked at Al and then Mustang with a look of dread.

"I don't want to be tied down again," Ed whimpered, unable to stop fresh tears from falling down his face.

"I promise you, Edward," Mustang spoke softly, placing his hand on Ed's left. "You won't be. That bed has been removed from the room and replaced with a normal. I just want you to get some rest."

Ed stared at Mustang for a moment. He tried to find any hint of deception, any trace that something was being hidden from him. All he found was openness and honesty.

Feeling slightly better at the thought, he nodded and let go of the chair. Without another word, he followed Al out of the room and towards his appointed room.

It was raining. Ed didn't remember when it had started, but it was nice to stand and look out of the window and watch the droplets hit the glass and run down in several little streams. He couldn't remember when there had been a window in his room, but he didn't mind. It was nice to stand and watch the world get soaked, letting the twilight from dusk wash over him.

He stood there in total silence, the only sounds were the rain drops hitting the glass and his steady breathing, which would send a small mist across the window. The sound of the door handle dropping and the click of the door opening were quite loud. There were footsteps that took three steps and then stopped. A second click indicated that the door had been closed.

The silence returned. The person who'd entered didn't speak, nor did they move. Ed didn't turn around to face them. He was happy to stand at the window and watch the world be cleansed by the falling rain. After a while, his curiosity got the better of him.

"Do I know you?" he asked casually.

"I should hope so," the person replied, a female voice replied.

Further intrigued by the person, Ed turned away from the window and faced the individual. He didn't recognise her, but that didn't overly surprise him. He didn't recognise his brother or anyone in the military that he knew.

"I don't recognise you," Ed stated, inwardly hoping this woman would introduce herself.

"I know," she replied, seemingly unbothered by the fact.

"Who are you?" Ed asked bluntly, the need to know this woman becoming more pressing.

"Give it some thought," she answered. "You'll find the answer."

Ed could see that this woman wasn't going to introduce herself. He'd used the process of elimination with the rest of his visitors, and decided to use the same technique on her.

"Well..." he began, thinking about her appearance very carefully, trying to think of people he knew with similar features.

"Why don't you list what I look like? It might help you," the woman suggested.

Ed didn't answer, and frowned. He didn't like how easily this person was taking his difficulty. He didn't like how accepting she was, nor how she eagerly offering him advice on how to work out her identity.

"Well, you have brown hair, so you can't be Teacher," he commented, eliminating Izumi.

"No," the woman answered. "I don't know alchemy."

"And... you have green eyes," Ed mentioned, thinking about who he knew who had brown hair and green eyes. "Are you... Are you Sciezka?"

The woman smiled at him and shook her head, making Ed feel foolish. This reminded him of a game he, Al and Winry had played when they were children. They would pick a person that they knew and would answer questions so the others could guess who they were pretending to be.

Ed had been terrible at that game.

"Think harder," the woman encouraged. "You know who I am."

"No..." Ed answered, feeling tears coming to his eyes. "I don't know who you are."

Ed closed his eyes. He had no idea why he was crying. He didn't deny that it was frustrating that he couldn't recognise the woman in front of him, but he couldn't even think of anyone that she could be. He was certain that she was probably disappointed with him.

"I'm not disappointed," the woman assured him.

Ed's eyes flew open. She had sounded much closer than the door. And, sure enough, there she was, standing three feet away from him. Her eyes were soft and her smile was warm. She looked so friendly, it really was starting to hurt Edward that he was clueless to her identity.

"Now, now," she rebuked him gently, further closing the distance between them. "We don't need you hating yourself for not thinking of my name."

"But," Ed protested. "But I want to know who you are."

He could feel the tears begin to leak from the corners of his eyes, and he felt them roll down his cheeks. He couldn't help but feel ashamed. He knew that he had no right to the tears that were escaping from him. This woman had more right to cry than he did.

"Maybe..." the woman mused quietly, reaching out her hand. "Maybe you can't see me clearly through those teary eyes."

She ran her hand across his right eye, wiping away the tears. She then used her thumb to gently banish the tears that were falling from his left eye. Ed kept his eyes closed even when she'd removed her hand.

"I still won't recognise you," Ed warned.

"Why don't you open your eyes and tell me that?" the woman challenged kindly.

Slowly, Ed opened his eyes and looked at the woman. His eyes danced across her face, unbelieving. She couldn't be who he thought she was... she couldn't be...

"It's okay," she assured him with a smile.

"But- but you're-" Ed began until she rested two of her fingers on his lips.

"You are dreaming," she explained, removing her hand from his face. "So you will see whoever you need to see."

"But... why haven't I seen you earlier?" he asked.

"Because earlier, you've only wanted to see me. Right here, right now, you need to see me. And so, here I am," she clarified.

"Does... does this mean I'm going to be alright?" Ed asked.

"I think you already know the answer to that, Edward," she replied.

"Can you then, tell me what I already know?" Ed requested.

She didn't speak, but smiled understandingly. She reached out with her right hand and took his left wrist. She raised it so they could both see his palm. She then extended her forefinger from her left hand and lightly touched his palm. He watched dedicatedly as she traced something on his hand. There was no mark from the action, but Ed memorised it so he could use it later.

Finally, she was finished and she let go of his hand. She stepped back so he could think his next action through.

Ed looked at his hand for a moment longer and looked at her, gazing at her face as she gazed back and smiled at him. He then stepped forward. He opened his arms and wrapped them around her. As he felt her wrap her own around his shoulders, he felt like he was seven years old again, and he held her tighter.

His shoulders shook as he tried to think of something he could say, because he knew this would be the only time that he would see her. So, he said what he had told her countless times throughout the years, just before he went to sleep.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he cried. "I'm so sorry for we did, for what I did, for what I made Al do. I'm sorry I didn't look after him, like I promised you I would. I'm sorry, Mom... I'm sorry."

"Edward..." Trisha Elric cooed, stroking her son's golden head. "You know that there is nothing that I can say for what you did."

"I know," he replied. "But... I need to say it."

"I know, sweetheart. But, you will always be my big, strong man," Trisha whispered. "I need you to be strong for your brother. And when you've fulfilled your promise to him, I want you to fulfil your promise to me."

"I will, Mom," Ed promised. "I will."