Hm. Andrew was quiet for a moment, absorbing that, trying to come up with a reply. Paul was even at a bit of a loss, having never had to deal with something like that. Ed gave it a shot, scrambling through his life's experiences to come up with something.
What if there were an Alfons who had lived while it was Ed that had died? What if he showed up, as lonely and aching for his lost love as Ed was when he discarded his disguises in the privacy of his apartment? He couldn't even imagine it. Waiting for it seemed hopeless, even though he knew of one Edward and Alfons pair that were happy together, both alive and healthy. But the wanting, that he could understand. But even so, it wouldn't be his Alfons. It'd be a new start, but it'd never be the same man he'd lived with and loved for those brief few years.
There was his only hope for an answer. "But will it be the same, luv?" He leveled his gaze at her. "The man you married and lived with and loved is gone. Nothing's bringing him back, it sounds like. Sure, you might meet an alternate, and the chemistry may be the same because of all the similarities, but it's not quite the same thing as just getting everything back. You still have to rebuild it, you just have the luck of having the groundwork already there. It's still going to be someone new. So go ahead, keep waiting, but it's not that different from moving on and waiting for someone new to come into your life. You're just looking for someone with all the same qualities, really."