In here I present to you the other side of this story and let you know the most important players in this drama.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters.

Chapter 2

Edward Elric woke with a great yawn and a stretch. It had been a long night the previous evening and in some way he wasn't exactly ready to go back to work. He had inevitably hit a dead end without the info on the fiber he had found, which meant that he was going to probably work overtime today if there was any shot at them running down on The Chopper. That fact alone made him want to stay in bed. His hand went to his left side but found nothing there. Turning over, a bright ray of sun hit his eyes and he groaned. After adjusting to the sun coming in the window, Ed looked to the alarm clock on the side of the bed. It wasn't too late, but unless he moved it there was no chance to getting in to work on time. That was something he just couldn't allow. With another yawn, Ed flipped himself out of bed and walked over to the closet, getting changed before trudging his way downstairs.

The smells of something delicious wafted to his nose from the kitchen and a light smile graced his face as he finished buttoning up his shirt. As he got closer to the kitchen he heard the sizzling of the frying pan and knew that, at the very least, he wouldn't have to scrounge up breakfast. A quick peak into the kitchen saw his wife standing over the stove, her back turned to him. After a small grin at her backside, he turned away towards the living room, turning on the TV for a moment to see if there was any news. Watching the screen for a moment, the bulletin on the bottom of the screen stated that they were looking for the serial killer nicknamed "The Chopper" but other than that, there was nothing of note. With a small frown he turned away and entered the kitchen.

"Smells good. What is it?" Ed asked, tentatively sniffing the air to draw in all of the alluring smell.

"Pancakes. I've been up making them for a while," his wife responded, turning around to flash her bright smile on him.

"Made with water, right?"

"No, Ed, I made them with milk," she responded darkly and Ed quirked an eyebrow in her direction. "Of course I made them with water, dummy." To emphasize her point she slammed a plate of them right in front of Ed as he sat at the table. Ed held his hands up in defense but said nothing on the subject.

"Just thought I'd ask," he told her as he grabbed a fork and knife and dug in. His wife sat down at the chair opposite him, letting her blonde hair fall down.

"Honestly, Ed, milk makes them taste a lot better, and they'd give you more energy for the day."

"Fanks but no fanks. I'm good."

"Don't be a pig. Just eat your food." He knew better than to argue with her and continued to eat in hastened silence. It was a comfortable silence that Ed had gotten used to over the mornings with his wife. "You should probably have a check-up soon."

"Oh?" Ed remarked, spearing a pancake with his fork, "Why does that sound like it's just an excuse to get into my pants?"

"I think I've already been there," she replied with a smirk, causing Ed's face to flush, although he laughed loudly enough to cover it up. With a quick, and slightly agitated, movement he grabbed the last piece of his breakfast and finished it off, wiping his mouth afterwards.

"Thanks, Winry, you're the best," Ed told her as he stood up to take his dish to the sink. Winry gave him a solemn nod, though there seemed to be something off about it. Ed pushed the thought from his mind as he dumped his plate. Winry cleared her throat behind him.

"Hey, Ed, can we talk?" she asked him and Ed could only look at her curiously.

"How about when I get home from work? I'm gonna be late if I don't move it." He added a laugh to the end of his statement and saw Winry's shoulders sag following it. The laugh faded away and he walked over to Winry, concerned. "Hey, if you need to talk now, I'm sure my boss'll understand."

"No, no, it's all right, Ed. Besides, we should talk when you've got time and I've got to get the shop open. We'll talk later." She smiled at him before reaching up and giving him a peck on the cheek. "Get going."

With a roll of his eyes at his wife's pushiness, Ed turned away and grabbed his bag near the door, heading into the garage. As usual the garage was cluttered with tools of every kind, though the path to his car was gratefully clear. Settling into his car, he strapped himself in and started with his usual daily routine. As he backed out, his eyes found his wife's worktable and he frowned. Something was concerning Winry, and for all of Ed's self-proclaimed brainpower, he couldn't put his finger down on it. All things considered however, he hadn't been around much lately; only on the weekends. It was only after deciding that a commute to Central wasn't worth the strain it put on their marriage that Ed figured he'd ask for a transfer. He got lucky.

During Ed's six month tenure in Central, he had become known as one of the best Forensics specialists on the force, next only to Basque Gran, a man who Ed felt he had learned plenty from. This fame, as he often liked to think of it, had earned him a place in the eyes of Commissioner Bradley. And Bradley was a smart man, albeit intimidating, and knew how to handle his people. He was the kind of leader that knew how to keep his subordinates working to the best of their abilities. When Ed submitted his form for transfer, it caught Bradley's eyes and he spoke to the young Forensics specialist himself. Ed might've felt like he was about to fall over but the Commissioner was jovial and approved easily saying, "East could use a good man like you, Elric. Say hello to your lovely wife for me." And that was that.

Thinking on his reasons for transfer, his thoughts shifted back on to his lovely wife and an unusual smile lit up his face. Winry truly was one of the greatest things in his life. It helped, of course, that he had known the young woman since they were old enough to walk. But Winry had been there through the hardest times of his life. She had helped comfort him when his mother died and, with a rush of pride, had helped him stand again. Granted, their stubborn personalities made the two of them like mismatched magnets, oftentimes pushing away but pulling towards each other just enough. Really their relationship started changing when Ed had turned fifteen and made plans to go to college. He promised Winry to keep in contact and they then spent the longest time apart from each other in their entire lives. By sixteen, they'd had enough. Ed swallowed his pride, asking her on a proper date. Two years later they married in their home town of Resembool when Ed got his job down at South PD. Winry had spent a year down there before moving back. That was when the fights started, usually ending with Winry hitting Ed over the head with a wrench.

Thankfully, Winry's grandmother intervened, told them they were both being stupid, and a plan was worked out for Ed's commute. He was lucky the "Ice Queen" of North PD understood (as long as he tripled his workload). Until a month ago, when Ed decided enough was enough and asked for the transfer. Scoffing to himself, he reasoned that might've been the reason he didn't know what was bothering her. But then again, he wasn't going to waste his work hours worrying over a woman that could clearly take care of herself in his absence. Feeling satisfied with his conclusions, he pulled into the police department lot and prepared himself for work, feeling surprised that he had driven the full half hour without batting an eye.

Another yawn escaped him as he locked his car down and proceeded into the police department, flashing his badge to the officer at the entrance. With a grimace he passed the coffee machine and mentally berated himself for not telling Winry about it. As he went down the steps to the lab he cast his glance back and saw the same dark haired detective he had met the day previously; Roy Mustang, if he remembered correctly. Personally, he wasn't sure what to think of the man, and didn't really care about it as the detective vanished from sight and Ed entered the lab.

"Hey guys, I'm here!" Ed called out to the other three occupants of the lab. The oldest of them raised a quick hand in greeting but said nothing, instead focusing on his work. The other two acknowledged him with their voices.

"Hey Ed."

"Ponytail." Ed chuckled at that as he hung his jacket on the coat rack, grateful at the nickname actually. Only a few years ago, that very same nickname might've been "Shorty" or "Runt". Of course, if one had been referring to his hair, it probably would have just been "Braid". Either way, it didn't really matter to him as long as people weren't taking jabs at his height.

"Morning to you guys too, Heinkel, Darius," Ed responded. He didn't know any of them that well but the two younger men (when compared to their boss) were likeable enough and were probably one of the most skilled crime lab technicians Ed himself had met. With a small smile on his face, Ed turned to his desk only to be faced with a veritable deluge of papers. "Okay, I know that wasn't there yesterday."

"Sorry, Edward," spoke the last occupant of the room as he straightened up, mumbling something like "Damn this back".

"Doctor Marcoh, you put all this here?"

"I know, it seems a lot to ask, but we're swamped," the man, Doctor Marcoh, replied with an apologetic smile. Ed scowled at that as Heinkel put a hand on Ed's shoulder.

"That, and you're new."

"Good to know."

"Just think of it as a sort of hazing ritual, if you will."

"Darius, hazing rituals are for college fraternities, not workers at the East City Police Station."

"And…when has that changed the fun of it all? Besides, at your age, you should still be in college."

"But I'm not. I'm an expert in forensics science, not some dopey little kid who can't tell the difference between a BOLO and a polo."

"Oh, we know, Ed. Welcome to adult life," Heinkel told him and Ed grimaced but said nothing more. Both of them were right of course. At South Police Department his first month or two had seen him assaulted with piles of paper. In the end he realized there were two factors behind this: he was a rookie and Chief Archer was a dick. But East PD was different; Darius, Heinkel, and Marcoh all respected him immensely, otherwise they wouldn't have let him on The Chopper case. No, the difference was funding and staff.

It made Ed's life hell.

With a resigned sigh he dropped his bag at his desk and sat down. He glared menacingly at the paper in an attempt to threaten it into doing itself. A few minutes later, Darius had the kindness to admit it was an exercise in futility as the small lab team dispersed. Noting the memo on top of his desk(which he had written himself), Ed quickly crumpled it and went to the crime lab evidence lock up, drawing out a tray with the fiber he had picked up the day previously at the crime scene.

"Doctor Marcoh, I hate to ask it but did you get a chance to take a look at this fiber last night?" Ed shouted back to his boss. A quick response issued forth.

"No, I was busy working on other cases," Marcoh told him, following with a thoughtful pause, "But the lab's open if you need it." Ed thanked him and proceeded into the room that housed the lab equipment. Seeing that one of the two microscopes were open he made his way to it, sliding the fabric under the scope. Almost the second he focused the lens he began muttering, trying to make sense of what he was looking at.

"It's not fibers from jean fabric so I doubt it's from any kind of pants. No cotton, no polyester. Damn, this thing has none of the molecular properties found in normal pieces of clothing." Ed took the thing out and felt it in his hands. It was rough and almost uncomfortable to the touch. The only solid conclusion that the young forensics specialist could make was that it belonged to something that one would not wear on their skin, but more like a cape or a shawl.

"Burlap by the looks of it," Darius observed and, for a moment, Ed didn't even realize that the hulking man was talking to him. "That fabric looks like it's made of burlap."

"Who would be weird enough to wear burlap?" Darius shrugged as if to suggest the phrase "serial killers" but Ed had to agree with the man's observation. It was burlap, and the lack of dirt suggested that it was new. Eagerly excited over the development, logic followed reason and the facts fell into place: a burlap cape purchased recently. Smirking, Ed once more put the fabric under the microscope. It was amazing how, no matter the number of times he did this, the simple fact was hat science solved a lot of cases. Knowing one simple fact allowed everything else to fall into place and map out a life. Like how there was a hair attached to it, thin and snipped. How said hair strand turned out to be synthetic, tying a connection between the two objects. And, most disturbingly, how there was a patch of blood on the fabric that Ed presumed was the victim's.

Pleased with his findings, he grabbed an evidence form, filling it out to state his findings. He practically bounced from the room, telling his co-workers he'd be back in a moment. As it was when he had left, the police station was buzzing with all manner of activity though not enough to stymie his progress. In no time at all, the golden haired man had reached the rows upon rows of detectives' desks and started searching for the charcoal-colored mop of hair. Not noticing it, he sighed heavily, intending to turn around and head straight back to the lab.

"Edward?" called the sudden voice and Ed noticed the older woman step out from behind her desk. Just as it was yesterday when they had met, the detective's hair was pulled up in the back and she looked more like she was ready to present to a board of directors at a corporation as opposed to a detective on the job.

"Oh, Detective Hawkeye," Ed responded, striding over to her.

"Riza's fine."

"Is Detective Mustang around?"

"No, he's following up on a lead from yesterday. I opted to stay behind and field some calls," Hawkeye reported to him with a scoff. "This thing's a political nightmare and I figure that I'm best equipped to handle it." Ed didn't think to ask why, simply shoving the paper with his findings towards her.

"Anyway, I analyzed that fabric we found at the scene yesterday and I found," Ed cleared his throat quickly, "that it's made of burlap and there was a piece of synthetic hair on it, brown."

"A costume?"

"Could be. Either way, narrowing down a field of suspects would probably be easiest if you looked at the purchase of the burlap first."

"An astute observation. I doubt a product like this is bought very often, if at all. This will help with cross-referencing. Roy's checking on that transmission lead so I'll let him know what to look into." Hawkeye pursed her lips in thought and Ed quirked an eyebrow, waiting to see if she would say anymore. "I have to admit, Edward, you're pretty good at this, it makes me wonder why you didn't go for detective."

"At my age? They'd never let me!" Ed asserted with a smirk. "But I'm fine with it, trust me. Forensics is definitely my field."

"It was just a comment. Ignore it," Riza told him with a small smile. "So, are you here at East to stay?"

"I hope so."

"Oh, right, your wife," she remarked, sitting back down at her desk and shuffling through her papers. "What does she do?"

"She's…uh…a mechanic in Resembool," Ed informed the professional detective and she nodded in understanding. Ed shuffled his feet uncomfortably, hoping he could get out of there as soon as possible.

"Well, she must be very skilled."

"The best." A pause filled the air. "Uh, can I-"

"Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you, Edward. I'm sure you have work to do. I'll let Roy know what you found, thank you."

"Yeah, see ya." An uncomfortable wave later, Ed was padding his way back to the lab and his gargantuan pile of paperwork. He groaned quietly as he settled himself at his desk and stared at the stack of papers. If he indulged the creative side of his brain he would believe he saw sparks crackling between himself and the paper. "All right, paperwork, give me your best shot!"

It did. The paperwork itself wasn't the problem either. In the two years he had been in this field he had done enough Forensics department paperwork to have it all ingrained in his head. No, it was the legwork that came with it. On top of confirming that the evidence was in lock up or had been sent to the courthouse, Ed had to make sure that the detectives or officers who had worked the cases signed the appropriate forms. Coupled with his lack of knowledge regarding the department's personnel, he spent most of the late morning and early afternoon running around trying to find people. He ended up getting frustrated and spent his lunch hour organizing them into categories pertaining to which detectives worked the case; and the few hours after that were spent getting them signed. This led to a few more uncomfortable encounters with Detective Hawkeye and a rather tension filled one with Head Detective Mustang. The result ended up being that Ed didn't get home until the sun had started to set with a sore in his hand, muttering about the "evils of dead trees".

"Winry, I'm home!" he announced with a slight snarl, dumping his things unceremoniously the second he stepped in. There was muffled conversation that seemed to come from the living room and Ed rubbed his eyes. Either dinner was already done or Winry had just gotten home if she was watching TV. "Man, you would not believe the day I had."

"Brother?" came a younger, albeit still deep, voice. Ed looked up to see a familiar blonde-haired man at the end of the hall. A wide grin split his face and Ed ran forward. The two of them quickly enveloped each other in a hug.

"Al, you're back in the country?" he exclaimed, drawing back sharply to take a look at his younger brother. Alphonse Elric was still the very image of youth, especially when compared to his brother. Truthfully, Alphonse was known as the more handsome of the brothers and his time in Xing had done him good, tanning him substantially. It made Ed somewhat jealous (until, of course, he remembered that he was already married). Upon close observation, people would even conclude that the two brothers were like night and day.

Ed was rash; Al was thoughtful.

Ed was muscular; Al was soft.

Ed got angry and often fought randomly with Winry; Al was the epitome of chivalry in a day where it was thought dead.

Ed was tall; Al was taller.

"Why didn't you let us know you were coming back?" Ed said with a thump to his brother's back, leading him to the living room again.

"I did," he contested, his face drawn and confused. "Didn't you get my letter?" Ed shook his head as they sat down on the couch before Winry stormed in, tossing the day's mail on the coffee table.

"We got it today, Al," she reprimanded sharply, causing the young man to flinch. "Honestly, if you want to tell us you're coming back home soon, don't send us a letter a week before from another country. Just send us an e-mail."

"Okay, okay!" Al exclaimed, his hands held up in defense. "By the way, where's Den? I didn't see him, though I only got here a few minutes ago." Ed and Winry frowned, glancing momentarily at each other.

"Den, uh, well, he was an old dog…" Winry began and Al's eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh…I see…and Granny?" Ed snorted loudly, causing Winry to roll her eyes.

"On that note, we have better news. About a year ago, Granny went on an extended vacation to Creta," Winry informed the younger Elric brother, "although Ed likes to refer to it as 'retirement' and I'm inclined to agree. Which, by the way, we got a post card from her." Ed took the postcard from his wife and immediately blanched upon the sight of Granny Pinako in a bikini.

"That is the worst form of torture, right there." Winry looked over it and seemed to be in agreement as moments later she deposited it in the trash. "So, Al, how long are you in the country for?"

"Here to stay, actually," Al responded with a gleaming smile. "I finished my research in Xing about a month ago. I'm just finishing up the writing of my dissertation and I'll defend it at the University a few months from now."

"Well, look at you Al!" Ed said emphatically, giving his brother a few light punches. "Who'd believe that the same boy who was stuck in a suit of armor for an hour and cried like a little girl would be getting his Ph. D?"

"That was a dare and you know it, Ed! You walked away and forgot I was there," Al fumed, causing Ed to mix his chortling with guffawing. "Besides, I lost in that dare anyway."

"What kind of dare was it?" Winry asked with a humorous detachment.

"Oh, it was nothing…just brother stuff, you know," Ed told her and she frowned at him.

"Fine! Don't tell me anything! I'm used to it and I suppose I should get started on dinner," Winry announced with a huff as she left the room. Al leaned inward and asked in a light whisper:

"So she doesn't know that the dare to stay in that suit of armor was made on the condition that I would marry her and the whole time I was stuck you were putting the moves on her?"

"No. And she never will." Both the brothers pulled away and surveyed each other for a moment. "You said you just got here?"

"Yeah, we arrived here late this morning and customs was a pain. Who knew Xingese medicine could be considered a 'biological weapon'?"

"The whole country's in a tizzy with those peace talks coming up. They don't want anyone smuggling anything they shou-wait, 'we'?"

"My research team and I. Two of them are Amestrians and went home to their families, but my main assistant and I had to find a hotel to stay at."

"Stupid brother!" Ed remonstrated and Al looked at him in shock. "You're family; you don't need a hotel."

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose on you and Winry."

"The last thing you'd be doing is imposing. Besides," Ed wagged a finger at his younger sibling, "you need a better place to finish your dissertation than a hotel, right?"

"I guess so. Thanks, Ed." Al flopped back on the couch, almost relieved. "It's kinda funny, I always thought you'd be the one to get the doctorate."

"Nah, I like my line of work."

"But with a doctorate-"

"No, Al."

"-you could get all kinds of research grants-"

"I'm not doing it."

"-and you know dad would help you." Ed stood up with an audible snap that caused Al to wince.

"Don't you call him that! I'm not getting a doctorate, Al. I thought I made that clear two years ago."

"But, brother, why…"

"You know why!" Al deflated at that, figuring it safest not to continue the argument. An unpleasant hush pervaded the room, broken only by the sounds of clanking in the kitchen. Al cleared his throat.

"How-uh, how are things between you and Winry? I haven't seen you guys since the wedding…"

"They're good, I think," Ed said, sitting back in a chair. "We had some fights but, I just transferred here so…"

"You guys seem happy."

"What about you? Any secret girlfriends? You were quite the heartthrob at South University. Or is research taking up too much time?"

"Pretty much the latter," Al confessed, "though don't worry Ed, I spend enough time with women…well, one woman in particular."

"Oh, really? And who would that be?" Al opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the loud chime of the doorbell. Ed quirked an eyebrow curiously and stood again, ambling over to the door and opening it warily.

He blinked.

Before him was a young girl looking no more than the age of seventeen. The first thing Ed registered was her short stature, and then there was her hair style. Her skin was also differently colored than any Amestrian's which led him to believe she was foreign. However, only one thing featured prominently in his thoughts: this girl was out of place.

"Uh…can I help you?"

"Is this the Elric residence?" she asked in a slightly high pitched voice.

"Um…"

"Mei, you found it!"

"Mr. Alphonse!" The young girl, Mei, stood on her tiptoes to wave at Al who had appeared behind Ed. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Mei Chang, I'm Alphonse's research assistant."

"Mei's the girl I was telling you about. She's enrolled in the Master's program at the Xingese University of Medicine. Her research with me allowed her to finish the program," Al explained and Ed moved aside to let the girl in. Much to Ed's amusement, Mei proceeded to fiercely hug Al, who looked considerably embarrassed. "M-Mei, this is my brother Edward."

"Oh, hello Mr. Edward, Alphonse has told me lots of great things about you. Although, I thought you'd be shorter."

"Al, what've you been telling her?" Ed asked poisonously.

"I'm uh, I'm gonna check on dinner."

"No need, dinner's ready. I already had most of the stew prep-oh!" Winry stopped short upon seeing the young Xingese woman in her front hallway.

"Right, this is my sister-in-law, Winry. Winry, this is Mei."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Elric."

"Likewise…"

"All right, enough with the introductions already. I've had a long day, let's eat!" Ed said and he led the long entourage to the kitchen where they sat down. Winry mumbled something about being glad she had enough stew while Mei proceeded to ask Ed questions.

"Alphonse tells me you're in Forensics?"

"Yeah, I work for the police."

"What about you Winry?"

"Oh, I'm just a mechanic. I couldn't handle the blood and gore that Ed deals with every day."

"But you do deal with it everyday." Winry glared at him, which earned a smirk in return.

"Any big cases lately?" Al asked, spoon dipping into his stew.

"Serial killer from Central; we call him The Chopper. We've got some good leads but nothing substantial yet," Ed answered before pausing thoughtfully, his spoon sticking out of his mouth. "There's supposed to be a press conference about it in Liore tomorrow."

"What about you Mei?" Winry asked, turning the conversation away from her husband. "You're pretty young for Master's level work, aren't you?"

"Seventeen, going on eighteen a month from now."

"You speak Amestrian very well, I have to say." Mei blushed vividly at the compliment.

"I hope so. I am planning on staying here. I'll go back to Xing briefly in a few weeks for my coming-of-age ceremony with my brother but I hope to get citizenship here."

"Mei's brother is in politics so anything related to him, like Mei's coming-of-age, is important. I think he made it easy for Mei to come to Amestris," Al explained and Winry nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, the more the merrier, I always say. It gets kind of lonely with only Ed and myself here."

"You got that right," Ed consented, taking a big gulp of stew. "Welcome back, Al. I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad to be here too, Ed."

Author's Note: Obviously there was a wait but this story is a true labor of love and I want to give it the best it can get. I already have the entire plot written out and I only need write the actual story. Some flushing out of Ed and his life as well as the introduction to two very important characters. I would post more on this but if you want solid notes then visit my blog at epicocityrealities(dot)blogspot(dot)com. I may not update right away, but I promise that I should with the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed and please leave me a review, your response last chapter was astounding and I thank all of you. Let's keep it up. Dare to Be Silly.