The shrill sound of the phone pulled Roy for his thoughts as he sat at his desk doing-ahem...ignoring- his paperwork. He cleared his voice before picking up the line and answering with his normal office greeting, "Colonel Roy Mustang speaking"
A tentative gasp voiced through the speaker before a small, echoed voice broke the line, "Colonel"
"Alphonse?" Roy asked, sure he recognized the voice as the younger of the Elric brothers.
"Sir, I don't mean to bother you…" He began, his voice insecure and obviously wary. "You were the first person I could think of"
"What is it, Alphonse?" He asked, looking back to the files on his desk as if the glance could make them disappear.
"It's brother," Alphonse started, "he's sick"
The words caught Roy's attention. Edward was sick? That's preposterous! Edward didn't get sick.
"I'm sure it's just a cold" Roy began, knowing that Alphonse was one to be overprotective of his brother.
"It's not, sir. He's throwing up and coughing like crazy. I think he has a fever too, but I can't tell."
"How long has this been going on?" Roy asked, starting to feel his own worry for the boy welling up inside of him.
"It started Monday afternoon, just after his appointment with you"
"Monday?!" Roy startled. It was already Thursday morning. That'd mean he'd been with the symptoms for almost three days. "Why haven't you taken him to a hospital?"
"I tried, he refused to go and locked himself in his room last night. I thought he'd open the door by now, but he hasn't. I can hear him wheezing from behind the door."
"I'll be right over" Roy assured before slamming the phone on the receiver and grabbing for his jacket, gloves, and keys.
He headed out the door only to be stopped by Hawkeye. She raised her eyebrows at him and he ignored her, leaving the room and heading for his car. He was quick to drive to the dorm building not even two miles away. Once there, he got out and headed to the boys room, getting the room number from the receptionist at the front.
Roy knocked on the door as he reached the room. It didn't take longer than ten seconds for Alphonse to open the door.
"Colonel" he greeted, "thank you for coming"
Roy nodded and stepped inside. The dorms hadn't changed in all these years. It was still the basic one bed one bath apartment with an old sofa and small kitchenette. His eyes immediately caught sight of the bedroom door to the left. Al hadn't lied when he said it was locked.
"Fullmetal." Roy called, his voice stern as he knocked on the wooden surface, "Open up or I'll alchemically open it"
A wheezing cough was heard before the quiet, muffled words, "...I think...made a mistake"
"Fullmetal?"
"I can't...get up" Edward panted.
Roy sighed before taking the chalk from his pocket and drawing on the door. It might've been weird to any bystander that he would carry chalk around with him but, as an alchemist, it made perfect sense to him. The lock unlatched as he pressed his hands to the circle and Roy opened the door.
"Edward?" Roy called, peeking through the doorway. As soon as the boy came into view, Roy was hit with the severity of the situation. The room stunk. Vomit and infection spread aromas after being trapped and confined to one stop for so long. On the bed, a small lump of blankets shook and gasped for breath.
One tentative step at a time, Roy made his way to the pile, pulling back the blankets.
Roy hadn't known what to expect to see when he had gotten there. From Alphonse's description, he might expect beads of perspiration on his forehead, maybe a bucket of vomit nearby. However, the beet red, panting and trembling form of the boy was not what he anticipated.
"Oh, gosh, Ed" Roy assessed the situation before realizing the half a dozen blanket covering the boys form was not helping his fever in the slightest. He pulled back half the blankets and Ed whined slightly, his face morphing to a grimace.
"It's too…cold" Edward panted, lazily reaching out to pull the blankets back onto him.
"Ed, you need to a doctor" Roy pulled the blanket completely off of him and out of his reach.
"N-no...you can fix me"
"This isn't something I can fix and it's obviously not fixing itself" He replied, laying a hand on the boy's forehead. He had to be at least 103 f. if not higher.
Edward hesitated a moment before responding, "...I know."
Roy left to the bathroom, pulled a clean washcloth from the cabinet and ran it under the tap. He squeezed it out before heading back to Edward and wiping his face. Sweat trailed down his face in near bucketfuls.
Eyebrows furrowed at the cold dampness of the cloth and Edward tried to hide his face in the sheets.
"Ed, stop that. I have to bring your fever down"
Edward lifted his head once more out of the blankets and Roy resumed his work.
"We need to get you to the doctor" Roy said once more, waiting for Edwards nod of approval before pulling all but one blanket and lifting him into his arms. He was heavy to say the least. The automail probably wasn't helping him much either. Roy carried the wheezing boy out of the room to see Alphonse standing dumbly near the kitchenette. The small gasp that sounded from the armor told Roy that Edward probably looked worse than the last time his brother had seen him.
"Come on, we're taking him to the hospital"
Alphonse nodded and opened the door for Roy before following after, not even bothering to lock up. Roy had been glad Edward was only half conscious otherwise the trip to the car might've been more difficult. He found it funny that the only time the boy's pride was set aside was when he was so sick he couldn't move.
The car door was quickly unlocked upon approaching and Alphonse got into the back seat. Edward was laid down beside him with his head propped against his brothers cool, metal thigh and Roy got into the front, quickly driving them to the hospital.
He pulled up in front of the emergency room before turning back to look at Alphonse. "Stay here, I'm gonna go get help"
Alphonse nodded and Roy turned off the car and hopped out, heading inside. His first thought was the main desk. The nurse sitting there looked up from her computer as he approached.
"How can I help you?" She asked.
"I have the Fullmetal alchemist in my car. He's very sick and unable to stand, do you have a wheelchair available?"
She nodded and pointed over to the wall. "Go ahead and use one of those"
He thanked her and grabbed the chair before heading back out to the car. Once there he loaded Edward onto the chair and Alphonse wheeled him inside while he parked the car. It seemed like an eternity before he finally made it back inside and in the presence of his subordinate. Alphonse sat on a chair filling out paperwork with Edward slouched in the wheelchair beside him.
The armor looked up as Roy neared, "They asked us to fill this out while they prepare a room for him."
Roy nodded and took the extended clip board. Half the questions were already filled out. Name, date of birth, place of residence, ext.. Questions like symptoms were only half filled, so far containing nausea, fever, chills, and wheezing. Roy turned towards Edward, crouching down in front of him.
"Ed? Are you awake?" Roy asked, nudging the boy's shoulder softly.
Edward's head tilted up slightly before one eye opened just a smidge. He nodded, apparently just then understanding the question.
"Do you have any other symptoms?"
He seemed to think about it for a minute before rasping out a quiet, "My chest hurts"
Roy wrote down the symptom, "Anything else?"
He shook his head after a moment, apparently unable to think of anymore symptoms.
Roy nodded and let out a deep breath before patting Edward's knee gently and taking a seat beside Alphonse. It didn't take long at all for a nurse to come back and wheel Edward to his room, saying that visitors would be allowed as soon as he had been situated.
It was the longest hour of their lives. Dwelling was never a good option, yet it seemed that was all they were able to do. The thought that whatever Edward had might be life threatening plagued Alphonse's mind and the idea he had sent the boy home after their meeting without realizing his condition taunted Roy's.
A nurse called them back just as it passed an hour of waiting.
"We've got the diagnosis. Dr. Harper will explain it to all of you once we get to his room" she explained as they got into the elevator. She took them to the third floor and into the patient's ward, stopping once they reached a room marked 318. When she opened the door, they were slightly surprised to be treated by the sound of Edward hoarsely yelling for his brother and a nurse trying to calm him down before he hurt himself or someone else.
"Brother" Al said, rushing over to Edward's bedside. It seemed the fluorescent lighting of the hospital wasn't helping at all with Edwards pale features and large bags under his eyes not to mention the size of the hospital gown seemed to swallow him whole.
Edward calmed slightly when he saw Alphonse and the nurse took that as opportunity to administer the vaccine she had been previously trying to give him. He weakly glowered at her but held still until it was over.
"Dr. Harper will be in shortly" She explained before leaving the room and it's three occupants.
Roy took a seat along the wall across from Edward, letting out a long sigh as his muscles relaxed slightly.
"What did they do, brother?" Alphonse asked, pulling a chair from next to Roy over to the bedside and taking a seat. Not that he needed to sit, it just let him closer to his brother.
"I don't know..." He croaked nonchalantly. "Did an X-ray of some sort...and hooked me up to an IV." He shrugged his elbow to show the needle, "At some point they must've...given me acetaminophen because...I'm pretty sure my fever is down."
Alphonse nodded slightly, but it was still pretty obvious he was worried. Edward looked very sluggish and Roy wasn't sure if that was from the illness or the drugs administered to fight the illness.
Dr. Harper entered not much later. He didn't say a word as he checked a machine that was attached to a clip around Edward's finger. Apparently a heart monitor, beeping slowly and steadily. The anticipation was excruciating to wait though, but none of them were willing to break the silence and ruin the idea that everything was fine.
"Well, Mr. Elric, it seems you'll be up and about in no time" He said. Breaths, that hadn't even been recognized as being held, were let out.
"What's...wrong with me?" Edwards raw voice sounded hesitant if anything.
"Just a case of bacterial pneumonia, any longer though and it could've been more trouble." he said unconcernedly.
"What will happen?"
"We gave you a vaccine to fight it and we'll keep you here for a few days, maybe a week. I wouldn't be surprised if we have to put you on oxygen at some point."
The tenseness in Edward's shoulders visibly reduced. It was obvious he was relieved it wasn't deadly and wouldn't take long to heal up.
"Okay, thanks"
"I'll be back to check on you in a bit. You should get some rest." Dr. Harper took his leave, closing the door softly behind him.
"It's good to know its not too serious" Alphonse said gently.
"Yeah...sorry Al, looks like we'll have to wait on the stone for now"
"Don't worry, brother. Your health is our first concern"
Edward nodded slightly before laying back in the bed, careful not to move his arm much in fear of shifting the needle. It wasn't long before he was asleep and Alphonse reached over to pull the thin, yet warm hospital blanket up to his brothers chin.
"Thank you, Colonel" Alphonse said softly, "I know he wouldn't admit it, but brother would thank you too"
"I'm glad I could help." Roy replied.
Roy left the hospital later that afternoon after Edward had woken and everything seemed stable. He promised he'd visit them again and did. Edward was released from the hospital after four days with instruction to take antibiotics by mouth twice a day and to rest awhile more before going on any trips or going out to public areas a lot. Not that Edward was feeling up to going out in the open around people the way he felt and looked.
It seemed once again, Roy was pulled from his paperwork, this time by the slam of a door. He smirked slightly as he looked up to see a scowling young boy walking towards his desk.
"Are you sure you should be out and about this soon, Fullmetal? It's only been two weeks since you were released from the hospital."
"I'm fine" his voice seemed to accentuate the glare across his features.
"What can I help you with?" He asked, looking back down at the paperwork beneath his elbows.
"Nothing..." He hesitated, causing Roy to look back up at him. He was looking at his feet with his hands shoved in his pockets. If there was one specific look for Edward of humility, this was it.
He mumbled something under his breath and Roy's eyebrows furrowed, trying to hear.
"What was that?"
He mumbled again, barely louder than the last time, now looking off to the side until his eyes glanced back at Roy.
"Edward, if you don't move your lips, I can't understand what you're saying."
He took a deep breath, "I said, thanks for taking me to the , you idiot!" He yelled.
Roy looked slightly taken aback before a gentle smile broke across his face. "Of course, Edward"
Edward scowled at him before taking his leave, closing the door gently behind him. Roy didn't even notice as the smile stayed on his face most of the afternoon and into the evening.
Apparently, Alphonse was wrong.
A/N
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