DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I only own my own OCs and this fic itself.

One

She closed the briefcase, taking care to note the clacking sound of the lock. The briefcase had a tendency to open if it wasn't closed all the way, and if the patient files fell out, she would have to alphabetize them once more. That in itself wouldn't be much of a bother, for she knew the exact order the papers were in, but she was supposed to meet Dr. Mauro soon.

"Thank you for checking on my daughter, Miss Delilah," Mr. Larson said.

Delilah nodded without looking at him. She was mesmerized by the dust motes that rose with the warm exhalations of Milly, who was currently sleeping on the small mattress in the bedroom. Delilah's mind itched to track Mote C's trajectory, but she forced herself to stand and pick up the briefcase before following after Mr. Larson to the front door. "Milly appears to be recovering from her cold very well," she stated. She realized belatedly that she had failed once again to put emotion into her voice. Dr. Mauro was always nagging her about that.

You can't help people with that detached tone of yours, he always said. Patients won't trust you if you keep doing that.

Dr. Mauro also would mutter about how she couldn't maintain eye contact because of her lack of attention span to anything with a human face. You may pick up our lessons like they're nothing, but your social skills would make thieves more welcome at an inn than you.

At first, Delilah had been hurt by these words, but she had long since learned that these lectures were rare and well-deserved. Dr. Mauro was the kindest person she knew, and since she was in his debt, she couldn't really argue against how he chose to chastise her.

"That's good to hear," Mr. Larson said, although Delilah was too wrapped up in her thoughts to notice his words. He opened the door for her and politely ushered her out, and Delilah remembered to mutter a thank-you. She failed to catch the look of relief on his face when she left.

Delilah stepped out into the sunlight and was immediately bombarded with a sudden blast of wind. Her plain, white summer dress flapped in the wind and her long chestnut hair was blown into her face. She used her free hand to tuck the stubborn strands of hair behind her ear and walked along the road toward the center of town. She had originally planned to meet Dr. Mauro at the town square for lunch.

Along the way, she noticed an older woman feeding pigeons. Delilah stopped short to count the number of bread crumbs on the ground and then the number of pigeons that were eating. She was about to estimate how long it would be before—

"Miss Heywood? Oh—Delilah!"

The sound of her name being called snapped the girl out of her calculations, and she turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Field wave at her from the side of the street. They weren't alone, however—the two most peculiar people were beside them. The taller man was bald aside for a curl of blonde hair on his forehead, accentuated by a mustache of the same color. The short teenager was blonde as well, although his hair was a darker shade and tied back into a braid. He wore a flashy red overcoat and white gloves. On the ground beside them was a wooden crate with what appeared to be a broken suit of armor strapped down inside, presumably so that it wouldn't jostle around.

Too late, Delilah realized she was staring, and she walked over, pretending that she hadn't blundered in the first place. "Yes?" she asked in her usual detached tone.

"These people are looking for Dr. Mauro. You have the time to show them the way there, right?"

Delilah nearly didn't catch the words; the unexpected scent of sheep had distracted her. She forced herself to nod. "Of course I can. I was on my way there already." She waited for the Fields to politely leave before she once more forced her mind off the subject of sheep and turned to the travelers (at least, that's what she assumed they were, as she had never seen them before in her life). Remembering her manners, she bowed her head slightly and greeted them (though she still forgot to put much effort into her voice). "My name is Delilah Heywood. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The teenager waved a hand. "Edward Elric," he stated shortly (not because he was short, it was simply his tone of voice).

The man introduced himself with far more charisma. "And I am Major Alex Louis Armstrong, the 'Strongarm Alchemist'!" To prove his identity, he flexed the muscles of his suddenly bare arms and chest, much to the chagrin of Edward.

"Major…"

"Major Armstrong…would you mind putting your shirt back on?" the armor in the box asked, his voice echoing slightly.

Delilah blinked slowly and turned slightly to study the armor, causing said armor to jerk in nervousness. Edward also seemed startled, but the girl ignored him and leaned over to investigate the details of the helmet, noticing the red glowing eyes and the fact that someone would have had to be really small in order to hide from her sight in the broken armor. She had no idea how it was possible, but the armor appeared to be possessed by a soul—a young boy, by the sound of it. However, one question stuck out in her mind. She cocked her head and spoke in her small voice, although curiosity was prevalent in her tone.

"Are you aware that you smell like sheep?"

The armor jerked indignantly. "It's not my fault I got put in the livestock car!"

Edward ran a hand through his bangs and grinned, slightly nervously. "This is my brother, Alphonse. Uh, long story, you don't wanna hear it."

Delilah looked at the armor—Alphonse—for another moment before she straightened up and shook her head. "I would not mind hearing a story."

"Hey, aren't we supposed to go see Dr. Marcoh—er, Mauro?" Edward said hurriedly.

"Oh." This distracted Delilah from the mystery of the soul in the armor, but not necessarily from trying to figure out how long the armor-boy must have been in the livestock car in order to reek so strongly of sheep. "I was on my way to meet him for lunch. I shall take you with me, then?"

Without waiting for an answer, Delilah turned around and walked along the road. Edward hurried to catch up with her while the Major (now fully-clothed) effortlessly picked up Alphonse's crate and followed.

"Those people said that you were Dr. Mauro's assistant," the Major stated, hesitating slightly on the name. "Are you a healing alchemist as well?"

Delilah tried to forget about the sheep smell and put a finger up to her chin. Her light blue eyes appeared blank, but she was simply remembering all of the transmutation circles that Dr. Mauro had been teaching her. "I understand the theory quite well, as he puts it. It is not hard to memorize the transmutation circles, but I have difficulty executing the act of alchemy itself. I am able to heal small cuts, but not much else. I can perform a bit of other alchemy, but nothing as impressive as Dr. Mauro."

Edward frowned. "How old are you?"

"I am unaware of my birthday, but I am about fourteen."

"I'm fourteen, too!" Alphonse exclaimed.

"Anyway," Edward said, ignoring his brother, "you said Dr. Mauro teaches you this?"

"Yes."

"What's Dr. Mauro like, Delilah?" Alphonse asked from his crate.

"He is a good man. When he came to our town he helped the people with his alchemy and became the town doctor. He even took me in off the street and cured my mental illness and gave me a job as his assistant. He even allows me to live with him."

"Mental illness?" the Major repeated.

"I was not able to speak correctly and I had difficulty functioning and learning," Delilah explained with airy ease. "My parents abandoned me. I do not remember those days very well, however. But Dr. Mauro says that as a result of his alchemy, my brain is sharper than average now. I tend to remember most things I read or am told."

A surprised look flashed across Edward's face, and then it was replaced by a challenging grin. "Oh, really? …What elements are liquid at room temperature?"

"Bromine and mercury."

"Lucky guess," he conceded. "Okay, how much salt is in the average adult?"

"Two-hundred and fifty grams."

"Brother, stop trying to make yourself sound smarter than her," Alphonse scolded.

"But I'm not—"

"Huh." Delilah spoke over Edward and stopped short. The Major nearly ran into her from behind. She looked around the town square, a small frown adorning her otherwise blank face. "Dr. Mauro should have been here already."

"We caught a glimpse of him earlier," the Major admitted. "He rushed off in a hurry, though. Maybe he went home?"

The frown remained on Delilah's face, but she admitted to herself that it was plausible that Dr. Mauro had gone home. Perhaps he had forgotten something. "I shall lead you there, then," she said before heading off toward home.

This time, Edward hung back to speak quietly to the Major. Delilah would've listened (they still were within her hearing range), but she was distracted by a stray dog at the edge of the street. She stared to drift toward it, but when it ducked down an alley, she remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. She blinked slowly, then continued to lead the group toward her home.

Before long, they ascended the steps that led to the front door of the homely abode. Delilah knocked once to announce her presence like she always did, and then opened the door.

"Dr. Mauro, there are people here to see—"

Her announcement was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. Delilah froze and Edward screamed, jumping out of the line of fire.

"What did you come here for?" Dr. Mauro demanded, his face twisted in fear as he held up his smoking gun. "Did you come to take me back? Are you using her as a hostage?"

"Please calm down, doctor," the Major said, holding up a hand.

"I'll never go back to that place! Never!"

"No, that's not it. Please listen…"

"So you came to kill me and shut me up for good?"

"Please lower your gun, sir…"

"You can't fool me!"

"I said, please calm down!" the Major shouted, throwing Alphonse and his crate at Dr. Mauro. Dr. Mauro fell backward, his gun falling to the ground with a clatter. The Major quickly picked up the gun and unloaded it while Edward scrambled over to stand Alphonse's crate upright ("Al! Hey, Al! You all right?").

"Dr. Marcoh, we only want to talk," the Major stated. "We're not here to hurt you or your assistant. We may be military, but we weren't sent here."

Delilah stared at the scene in disbelief, for once focused completely on the situation at hand. "…'Marcoh'?" she repeated in confusion. She blinked and stared at the man whom had sheltered her for years. Dr. Mauro would never shoot at anyone. Every once in a while he would seem tense, but she had never seen the man like this before. And why had the Major called him "Marcoh"?

Dr. Mauro looked up at them all for a moment before he sighed. "…I'll talk with you."

a/n: First off, this is my first FMA fic. Ever. Though I've seen both series in the past three or four weeks, I haven't read many fics in this series, and I'm not 100% familiar with this series. That being said, this series freaking rocks, and all I want to do is completely surround myself with it because it's so wonderful.

Anyway, this fic is experimental, in a way. I have no clue about the plot for this, so I sort of decided to do an OC insert, but honestly it could go any which way. The pairing will always be AlxOC, though (among EdxWin, Royai, etc.). Usually, I like to have chapters be 3k+, but I may decide to do less for this fic.

Feedback will be very, very appreciated (OC flames will not be, though). Thank you for taking the time to read this far.

-Rose