I had a couple of people asking who the president was since Roy's the fuhrer/why there are both - at the end of the series they were reforming the government so it was no longer a military state, thus the introduction of a president. Roy is in charge of the military at this point, so he's fuhrer (and as far as I'm concerned he likes the title so never changed it. It was always his goal to be fuhrer, after all). Hope that clears things up a little.

Almost a week after Father's return, Roy's headache showed no signs of fading. It pulsed behind his eyes as he read over another report that said there had been no sign of Father in any of the districts, not even a single civilian report of a sighting. No-one had been killed by him, no unusual alchemic activity had been detected, and the Gate hadn't shown itself at all. If there weren't other witnesses, Roy would have begun to believe he had imagined the entire incident. Even Alphonse was considering ending his leave and going back to his studies until something happened.

The papers and old reports of Father from years ago were all pinned to the wall of the office he kept in his house – rebuilt entirely from when Bradley was in charge – and they flickered with the dull glow of the gas lamps. As he glanced out the window, he could see double the amount of usual guards – some now lingering around the area the Gate had appeared rather than by the estate entrances and walls like they usually did. Havoc was among them tonight, but Roy couldn't see him. He probably wouldn't see him either, unless something happened – since being promoted to security officer Havoc had taken to observing from shadows where he could keep an eye on a bigger area, instead of putting himself in the middle of everything. Initially Roy had approved that tactic, but now there was some unease in his gut that was increased by his inability to see his friend. Across the courtyard in an alcove, a flame sparked into existence before being replaced a moment later with the tiny ember-glow of a cigarette. There he is.

Roy nodded to himself as he tugged the curtains shut and headed towards the bedroom. Riza was already in there, though sitting up and reading. Since Father's reappearance they had both taken to sleeping fully-clothed, only removing their jackets, holsters, and over-shirts in case anything happened and they needed to leave quickly. Neither could stand wearing boots to bed, but the first – and last – time Roy had tried to remove them since Father had come back, Riza had immediately reeled off a list of possible scenarios Roy could be late to prevent because he had to stop and put his shoes on.

As he climbed into bed, Riza rearranged her pillows so she could lie down and put her book on the bedside table.

"What is it?" she asked.

"What's what?"

"What's up?"

"Nothing."

Riza raised an eyebrow.

"Just a bit uneasy. The longer he goes without making a move, the more chance there is that he'll do it soon. And we've got no idea what he's planning."

"We didn't fully know what he doing last time until a few days before."

"We still knew something. Not only are we down on people, we're down on information. I've got no intel and I'm lacking the two core people who would know what to do with it if we had it."

"Alphonse has his own worth, too. You keep forgetting that we couldn't have won without him."

"I swore I'd never put him in that position again. If I'm going to keep to that promise, that means planning to be down three of the best people we had last time."

"It's good of you to try, but you know as well as I do that he'll be involved if he wants to be. And I think he's already made his decision clear. He's an adult, Roy. As much as you'd like to, you can't protect him now."

"I don't like it."

"I know. But if you try and force him to do anything, I will end you."

"Why are you so terrifying?"

"It's the only way to keep you out of trouble."

Roy smiled and rolled over to kiss Riza's neck. "Turn out the light," he murmured.

"Do it yourself, sir."

"Oh, come on. We're not just going to be celibate until we stop him, are we?"

"Yes."

"A man can only go so long without it."

"That's why you have two hands and a morning shower." Riza rolled over and switched the lamp off. "Good night."

"I hate Father…"

(-)

"Wake up, you moron!"

Roy woke with a start when a button on the jacket Riza had just hurled at him smacked into the corner of his eye. He rolled straight out of bed and grabbed his gloves and jacket, not entirely sure why they were awake when it was still dark outside until the whole house shuddered enough to topple the pile of books in the corner of the room.

"Shit."

They were sprinting down the stairs less than ten seconds later. The wind outside was so strong that it took both of them to open the front door and keep it open long enough for them both to get through before it slammed shut again. In the middle of the courtyard, exactly where it had opened before, loomed the gate, surrounded by swirling debris and bright blue bolts of alchemy. Most of the men were shielding themselves from the wind; the only one approaching the gate was Havoc, running over with his gun aimed at something inside. Beneath his feet the ground broke and rose up, sending him tumbling backwards as the gate faded enough for Roy to make out a hooded figure heading for the courtyard exit.

As soon as the wind died down enough Roy raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The figure turned and lifted his own hand, halting the flames and putting them out in one quick motion. He almost seemed to hesitate before turning and sprinting from the courtyard. He was fast, but there was a definite limp in his step.

"You get Havoc." Roy ran after the stranger, but by the time he made it out and could see into the street he was gone.

Lights were flickering on in the nearby residential buildings and Roy could see a few curtains opening and people peering out, silhouetted against the windows as they tried to see what was happening.

"Sorry I didn't get him, Boss." Havoc was walking over with Hawkeye, rubbing and rolling his shoulder. Blood was pearling on his cheek from a graze and his lip was split.

"You okay?"

"More or less. I'll be a bit sore in the morning, but it's better than being dead. Everyone else backed off when the wind picked up, so I'm pretty sure no-one got hurt."

"Take one of the spare beds in the house. Riza, get Breda in here to take over – and tell him to come in plain clothes. I don't want anyone walking about in uniform when he could still be nearby."

"Got it."

"So, are you regretting being Fuhrer yet?" Havoc asked as they walked back towards the building.

"Please. It's just getting interesting."