Author's note: To answer the guest reviewer's question on chapter one, no Roy did not know Edward was a girl, that's why he referred to him as male until halfway through. I will update this every Friday (if I can). If you like this, make sure to go read my RoyxFem!Ed one shot as well :3 Enjoy!

Roy wasn't sure how long he'd been running in the rain, Edward in his arms, but he knew he couldn't go much further, his legs burning from the strain of the extra weight the two Auto-mail limbs added. If he was being painfully honest, the only thing that kept his legs moving at all was the thought of never being called a bastard by the noisy little spitfire he had in his arms.

A sharp hiss escaped his lips as he slowed down to climb over the trunk of a falling tree, while trying to keep Edward from moving too much, not wanting to worsen her wound. His feet hit the ground with a thud, the force almost bringing him to his knees, but he forced himself to recover, pushing himself forward, the image of Edward bursting through his office door, the way she always did on the days he needed it most, in his mind.

He couldn't help but smile to himself, remembering her face the day before, when he had told her about their mission, and the fact that Al couldn't come along. Of course, she insulted and swore at him, even trying to sneak Al along, but he eventually convinced her that they would only be gone the day, and Al needed therapy after recovering his body. She had reluctantly agreed, but she stomped her feet in the same cute way she always did. He would never admit it to anyone, but he really did think it was cute. Now that he knew Fullmetal was really a girl, it made him less ashamed of it.

And now he might never see her stomp her feet again.

Shaking the thought out of his head, Roy ducked under a low hanging branch, urging his already exhausted legs to move faster. His one hand had a constant hold of her wrist, keeping track of her pulse, his own beating in his ears loudly. Three beats belonging to his own heart, the fourth joined by a weak thud of hers. Thud, Thud, Thud, Thud. Thud, Thud, Thud, Thud.

Roy focused on their heartbeats instead of the burning pain shooting into his spine. He knew if he gave up now, he would hate himself forever for letting her die. They had to be close to the Town. They would have a way to save her. They had to save her.

Thud, Thud, Thud, Thud.

Thud, Thud, Thud, Thud.

Thud, Thud, Thud, Thud.

Roy stopped short, his eyes darting to the girl in his arms, his fingers tightening around her wrist.

Thud, Thud, Thud, Thud.

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes, focusing on the fourth beat, refusing to believe what his mind was telling him.

Thud. One, his own.

Thud. Two, his own, again.

Thud. Three. He cleared his mind, focusing on the next one, willing it to be there.

Thud. A single heartbeat in his own chest, alone. Edward's heartbeat was gone.

Roy's eyes flew open, his mind reeling. They had to be close. "Stay with me Edward." His voice was raw, almost unrecognizable. With a renewed urgency he pushed himself forward again, his legs moving against their will, faster and faster. Roy couldn't help but notice the limp body in his arms, what little strength it had had before, completely gone. "You're not allowed to die on me!" He hissed at her, his eyes scanning the horizon as he ran. "You're not allowed to give up!"

A wave of relief washed over him like an ocean when he spotted the faint glow of light in the distance. A few moments later he stood in the middle of a small Town, his onyx eyes darting around frantically, trying to figure out whom to ask for help. And there was no time to waste. Edward had been dead in his arm for a few minutes now.

"Are you alright, son?"

Roy jumped around at the sound, his eyes scanning the old man slowly. He could only think of one word. One single word, out of all the words in the world, and he breathed it out, like he had been holding it in this whole time.

"Help…"

Roy sat in the corner of a small house, his one leg spread out in front of him, the other supporting his elbow, mind still spinning. The last thing he could remember after laying Ed down on a blanket was her pale face. Roy clenched his fists, closing his eyes, as her face entered his vision. As much as he wanted to deny it, he knew better than most what it meant to be that pale, having seen it himself so many times. But he would never have imagined it happening to Edward Elric, the boy, no, girl, that he had recruited into the military himself.

There was no-one else to blame but himself. If he hadn't gone to Resembool all those years ago, Edward would probably still be alive. Even though that meant that he would never have known her, but right now, in that very moment, never having met her was better than him being the cause of her body lying lifeless just a few feet from where he sat. What was he going to tell Al? That he had failed to protect his sister, even after promising him that she'd be back the next day? Would Al cry, or would he blame Roy for his sister's death? Whatever Al did do, he would accept it, and much more. There were no delusions in his mind about it. He had let Edward Elric die in his arms.

Movement could be heard in the room they had her body. Why they were still so busy was beyond him. Once a person was dead, they stayed that way. No amount of shuffling feet could change that, as much as his heart wished it could. He couldn't take it any more, just sitting there, while her body lay lifeless in the next room. If he didn't get out of the house fast, he would surely suffocate on his guilt. And he couldn't do that until he had faced whatever Al was going to throw at him.

Silently, Roy got up, his legs protesting vigorously, but he ignored the pain as he stepped out into the morning air. Just how long he had been sat in that house was beyond him. The faint outlines of sunrise peaked through the clouds, the rain having finally stopped. Silently he cursed the skies for not mourning Edward's loss. The sky had been drowning the world since last night, and when it finally had a reason to, it had stopped. The irony made Roy fill with a burning rage.

There was nowhere for him to go, so when his body went limp against the wall of the house, Roy let it, not really caring anymore. He sat there until his mind was numb from the pain of the loss, and then he sat some more, wishing that he had something to drown his pain in. So when the man spoke to him, he didn't hear his voice. Roy didn't know how many times the man had tried to get his attention, but when he finally looked at him after being poked several times, the man had a annoyed look on his face. Moving lips told him that he was talking, though his ears wasn't hearing any sound other than his heart beating in slow rhythms.

Again, the man let out what Roy believed to be a sigh of exasperation, before disappearing into the house. A moment later Roy was on his feet, a familiar red coat in his hands that could only belong to one person. His eyes shifted to the man slowly.

"Got your attention now, son? Good. Can you come inside?'

Roy didn't say a word, but decided to nod his head, following the man a moment later. Clutching the red coat against his chest, Roy watched as the man entered the room they had her body in. Perhaps they wanted to show him that she was, in fact, dead, and reassure him that they had done everything they could to save her.

Swallowing hard – god, he was not ready for this – Roy entered the room. It took his eyes a minute to adjust to the brightness of the room, before he could make out her shape in the bed. Her hair framed her face so perfectly, the braid having come undone sometime during the night, that her features made him question how he had never noticed Fullmetal was a girl before.

It suddenly became very hard to breathe, her lifeless body so close to him, her coat against his chest, that he felt like he was suffocating. The look on his face must have alerted the man next to him, as he was suddenly forced into a chair. It was all he could do to hear the voice above his beating heart.

"Are you alright, son? What you having a panic attack for?" The man said as he handed Roy a paper bag, urging him to breathe into it, which he did, slowing his breathing enough for his focus to return. "Better? Good. Now, as I was saying, we'll get you set up with a room this afternoon, but the lady will have to stay here for a few days before she can be moved."

"Why would you need her here? Isn't she going to start decomposing?" The bag was in front of his mouth again, the mere thought of her body disappearing sending him into another attack. Never has he had a reaction this bad to someone's death before. Then again, he thought bitterly, usually he'd be drunk by now.

"What are you talking about, son. She's not dead."

What kind of a cruel joke was this? Roy lifted his hand to his face, his fingers ready to snap. "Old man, you might not know me, but right now is not the time to lie to me. I will incinerate you on the spot!" Roy could feel his fingers move, the instinct almost too much to control, when a sigh pulled his attention to the bed. His heart stopped as he focused on her face, waiting for something – anything – to move.

Edward's chest moved slowly, up and down.

Instinctively he yanked his glove off, Roy's hand reaching out, resting on her cheek, his thumb on her lips as his eyes closed, waiting. Sure enough, his finger warmed up as she exhaled slowly.

"How can this be?"

"You got her here just in time, son. We restarted her heart soon after you lay her down, and she's stable now. But like I said, she's going to have to stay here for a while, alright, son?"

He had no words. For once, the great Roy Mustang had no words. He simply stood there, staring at Ed, as his whole being radiated with happiness and relief, a single thought going through his mind.

He was going to hear her call him a bastard again.

How was that even possible? Roy shoved his hands in his pockets, a frown on his face as he walked back to where Ed was staying. It had been two days since they arrived in this town, and he had thought it wise to try and contact Central. His plan backfired though, when he found out that there wasn't a single phone in this town. None.

When he inquired about it, the only replies he got were shrugs. It was like the entire town just didn't care that they had no way to communicate with the outside world. And that meant there was no way for him to let his team know that they were alive. Roy nodded in greeting as a woman passed him, a smile spread across her face. He entered the house without knocking, closing the door behind himself before entering her room.

Edward looked better, her normal skin tone having returned yesterday. The wound was healing nicely as well, the man Fu, had ensured Roy that morning. Apparently the wound had been treated quickly enough so no major damage would occur. The only thing that he had to worry about now, was whether Ed would wake up herself or not.

According to Fu, there are some risks to the brain after being dead for a certain amount of time, and Ed had fallen into that category. Roy didn't know what to expect, and that unnerved him. Taking his usual seat next to her bed, he watched as her chest moved with each breath, the motion calming his frazzled nerves slightly. What was he going to do? There was no doubt in his mind that his subordinates were looking for them. Since they were here in this town, however, he knew they'd find nothing, and that would worry them. By now, he thought bitterly, Al was probably carving his tombstone.

"What are we going to do, Fullmetal?" He asked her unconscious body, sighing as he sat back in his chair, his legs spreading out as his spine slipped towards the floor, his neck stretched out as his head hang back. Roy didn't expect the blonde to respond, but he continued anyway, the silence driving him mad. "No doubt I'll be dead the moment Hawkeye gets a hold of me. Not to mention your brother."

Roy lifted his bare hand to his nose, massaging the bridge of it in an attempt to relieve the tension that was forming, threatening to turn into a headache. "I'm going to have to find a way to get a message to them soon. Strange thing is I haven't seen a single vehicle either. Not one. Isn't that weird, Fullmetal?"

Roy sighed, sitting up after another moment of silence, his gaze falling on her face. Resting his elbows on his knees, he held his chin up in his hands, his eyes closed. As his mind wandered, he slowly fell asleep, the sound of Edward's steady breathing soothing him like a lullaby.

"Where the hell am I?!"

Roy woke with a start, his eyes darting around the room looking for what woke him. The voice was so familiar, yet it came as a shock to him to hear it, as Edward hung out of her bed, fighting with Fu as she tried to get up, a disgruntled Fu complaining about her opening her wounds. Roy couldn't help himself, a low laugh escaping his lips as he watched them argue, the sight so comforting and familiar, it warmed his heart.

The sound was enough to alert Ed of his presence, making her throw a glare in his direction, a growl escaping her lips.

"What the hell, Mustang. Where are we?"

"We're about twenty minutes from Fenief, in the town called Rayerk" Roy answered, his usual commanding tone in his voice.

"Young miss, please lay down."

"What the hell are we doing here?" Edward demanded, ignoring Fu as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"I brought you here after you got shot, Shorty"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SUPER ULTRA SHORT BEAN THAT CANT SEE OVER…"

"Lay down!" Fu shoved her down, making her winch before finishing her rant. Roy couldn't stop himself; he shot a death glare at Fu, his fingers twitching involuntarily.

"You should take it easy, Fullmetal. Your wound still needs time to heal." Roy put his hand up as she started to protest, interrupting her. "That's an order. Stay in that bed and recover."

Roy couldn't help but smile as she whispered the one word he missed hearing the most.

"Now, miss, I need you to follow my finger." Fu said as he held his finger in front of Ed's face. An amused smirk crossed Roy's lips as Ed's face went red; finally registering that Fu was calling her miss.

"I-I'm not a g-girl!" Ed stuttered, trying his best to sound offended but failing terribly, making Roy rumble with laughter. "What the hell are you laughing at, Bastard?!"

Roy ignored her question as he laughed, responding instead with a question of his own. "How long have you been in denial, Fullmetal?"

The blush that spread across her cheeks made her look amazingly cute, Roy couldn't help but think, as Ed glared at him, a half-panicked, half embarrassed look on her face.

"Follow my finger." Fu instructed again, and Ed complied silently, doing as the old man asked. After a few tests he left the room, content that she was, in fact, alright. Roy watched with an amused smile on his face as Ed stared at the wall, her arms still crossed across her chest, a pout on her lips.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted him, her voice uncharacteristically soft, startling him slightly. "So now you know… that I'm a girl, I mean. What are you going to do to me?" When he didn't answer, she quickly continued. "I'm still the same Edward, even if I am female, and I'll work twice as hard to prove it! Just… just don't kick me out of the military… It's the only life I know."

He couldn't believe his ears. Did she really think he thought less of her because she was born a woman, or that he would have her thrown out of the military, especially after everything she had done for Amestris? He couldn't help but laugh; the idiocy of the whole thing too much to take.

His laugh seemed to snap her back to her old self, as she growled at him, her voice low, almost dangerous. "What the hell are you laughing at?!"

"At you, Shorty. I'm not going to do anything to you. It doesn't matter if you're male or female." He watched as her scowl turned into a confused look, before he continued thoughtfully. "On second though, I might make you fill in the paperwork when we get back to Central. Gender change isn't exactly common, and I really don't care for the paperwork that it probably entails." Nodding to himself, he smiled. "Yes, I think I'll do that."

"Like hell am I doing your job, you lazy bastard!" she yelled, bringing another smile to his already beaming face.

Edward stared at her stitches, her mouth hanging open as she did so. To her surprise, the scar wasn't as large as she had thought it would be, and the stitching was neatly done as well. Her gaze moved to the woman as she cleaned around the wound, before applying an ointment and a clean bandage.

"I don't understand." She didn't like admitting when she was stumped, but this had her really confused. "I've seen scars from bullet wounds, and this looks nothing like one."

"Scars from bullets usually look quite different, but there are many factors to take into account." Lydia, Ed recalled her calling herself earlier, explained in a tone that reminded her a lot of Hawkeye. "The distance the bullet had travelled, the care of the wound afterwards, and even if the bullet had shattered or split upon entry are some of the factors that need to be considered when looking at the scar. You see, most bullets fracture upon entry, some even shattering into tiny pieces of shrapnel. These wounds are generally more extensive, the removal of the bullet expanding it even more, and thus the scar would look different."

"So why…"

"Again, many factors play a part. Firstly, that man, Roy, was it? He had removed the bullet shortly after entry, which lessens the damage to the surrounding tissue slightly. You were also very lucky, since the bullet stayed in tact, with no fractures…" Lydia finished wrapping Ed's chest, slowly lowering her shirt over the wound again. "It didn't hurt that it was stitched really well either. Honestly, the only reason you were in the state you were in when you got here, was because he had no way of administering blood. The loss of blood was what hurt you the most."

Absentmindedly Ed ran her hand over the wound, her mind digesting everything Lydia had said, one word at a time. It felt strange knowing her commanding officer had seen her topless, but somehow she couldn't find herself feeling embarrassed about it. She understood that he had saved her life by removing the bullet, and she owed him a great debt.

Growling at the thought of owing Mustang anything, she lay back on her pillows as her eyes closed. "We'll be releasing you tomorrow, but you're not stable enough for travel yet, especially not to Central." The sound of the nurse leaving the room told Ed that she was alone, so she opened her eyes again, her mind wandering to Al. No doubt her brother was freaking out by now. Even when he was in Resembool with Winry, they made a point of calling at least once a day. The habit of knowing where the other was had been the hardest one to break, and neither of them seemed to really want it to.

Footsteps entered her room, making her glance at Brigadier General Mustang, before closing her eyes again. She knew she was going to have to thank him for everything, but she didn't fancy doing it while she was confined to one spot. He was no doubt going to tease her in some way when she did, and Ed would rather have the option of relocating herself if need be.

"How's the wound, Fullmetal?"

"Fine."

"That's good. According to the doctor you're not stable enough to travel yet, for some reason, so they set us up in a small empty house." Edward heard as he sat down in the chair next to her, and she couldn't help but realize that he had spent more time in that chair than not. "I don't quite understand, if I'm honest. I've seen men fight in wars with worse wounds than that, so surely it should have been fine to move you days ago."

It hit a nerve. To her it almost sounded like the bastard was calling her weak, and she was anything but weak. Without thinking twice, she sat up, her voice raised as she yelled. "Who the hell are you calling weak, you bastard?!"

"I didn't call you weak, Fullmetal." His voice was its usual husky calm tone, almost bored. "I said the fact that the doctors were saying you couldn't be moved was strange." Placing his chin on his folded hands, which were resting on his knees, he continued. "It's almost like they don't want us to leave, and that worries me. And to top it all off, they're letting us stay in a house. If it was a flat, maybe even a spare bedroom in another family's house, I'd understand. But it's a whole empty house, for two people who would be leaving soon. It just doesn't fit."

Edward tilted her head, her bangs hanging in her face, as she considered what he was saying. Of course, he had a valid point. The wound in her chest, while still sensitive, was nowhere near bad enough to justify not travelling. And the idea of giving two total strangers that had no intention of staying a minute longer than they had to, a house? It just sounded ridiculous. Auto-mail fingers moved through her golden hair, twisting a small piece around one finger, a habit she had when it wasn't braided.

"I had a look around town earlier…" Roy ran his gloved hand through his black hair, leaning back into the chair, before continuing. "It seems the roads to the town were never completed, which explains the lack of vehicles. We'll probably have to go through the same forest we used to get here, when we head back. Hopefully Lieutenant Hawkeye has taken over Fenief by now, so once we get there, everything will be fine." A thought crept into his mind at the mention of her name. He had been so pre-occupied with Edward that he had completely forgotten the situation they were in when he last saw his subordinates. Roy could only hope that they had made it away from the men safely. But he knew there was no point in worrying over it at that moment. Whether he liked it or not, he was in no position to help them where he was, and he couldn't very well leave Ed here to go to Fenief. So he had to play the waiting game with her.

"Do you know if they're alright, Mustang?" Her tone was harsher than she intended, so she quickly added. "Hopefully they got away in one piece."

"They're alright, Fullmetal. They are, after all, the best there is."

Edward flinched, the wound suddenly an insult to her. It would stay with her forever, a reminder that she was, in fact, the weakest out of everyone under Mustang's command. She couldn't help but smile, accepting the silent challenge to become even better, just to prove the bastard wrong, as she had done so many times before.