Title: Phantom
Fandom: FMA Brotherhood
Rating: T
Characters: Ed, Al, Winry, Roy
Authoress Ramblings: The locations are included for no adequately explored reason other than to provide scene breaks, and because it's habit from my W13 stuff. Also, there is RoyxEd in here somewhere, but it can be taken as parental RoyxEd if you dislike yaoi. I wrote it vague like that on purpose. On that note, formal address (Fullmetal, Colonel) in the Roy's Office scenes is because they're at work, so no complaints about that. Oh and Ed is 10 in the Resembool scene.
Edit: September 7th 2011, made some minor error fixes
Resembool
It started shortly after the surgery, nearly unbearable pain, radiating from his right fingers, up his arm. His automail fingers clenched the sheet tightly, shredding it.
"Ed? Are you okay?" Winry's voice cut through the haze of pain.
"I-I'm fine…"
Winry looked like she didn't believe it.
"Are you in pain?"
Ed nodded. "D-don't tell A-Al, he already f-feels guilty…"
Winry nodded, sadly.
Roy's Office
Ed's distinctive footsteps echoed through the office. Those familiar with it could hear the limp in Ed's gait. The door didn't get kicked in, or slammed open. When it opened, Ed leaned on the doorframe. Every eye in the office locked on him.
"Are you alright?" Ed ignored Hawkeye, and slowly made his way to Roy's desk, flopping in a chair once he got there.
"Fullmetal, are you alright?" Roy could see the pain etched on Ed's face, the taunt that he'd been planning had died on his tongue.
"I'm fine." Ed's voice was laced with pain.
"Take the next few days off."
Ed looked up at Roy, who dismissed the others in the office to lunch.
"Can I stay with you?"
"Of course, but I would like to know what's wrong."
"I'm in pain, duh." Ed had seen the flash of sympathy and knew Roy had held back a taunt. He wouldn't say it, but he was glad Roy had, he wasn't in the mood for it.
"Why?"
Ed sighed and rolled his shoulder.
"Don't tell Al…"
Northern Amestris
Ed shivered. His automail was slowly freezing, and it was making the phantom pain worse. He was in route to Fort Briggs; he was assigned a mission there. At least this time he had cold weather automail. The truck that had picked him up had crashed, and the soldier who had picked him up hadn't caught on that Ed had automail. The two were making abysmal time. Standard Fort Briggs procedure said that a search party would be organized within ten minutes after someone went missing. Someone could freeze to death in that amount of time. Ed sat on a rock, stretching his automail limbs, attempting, futilely, to shake off the pain. Al would kill him if he found out that Ed had been hiding this from him…
Fort Briggs Sick Bay
Ed's eyes blinked open to the sterile lights. The pain had overwhelmed him, and he'd passed out, just outside the fort. His escort had apparently gotten him inside.
"Welcome back, how are you feeling?"
Ed looked for the source of the voice, finding the doctor near his head.
"I'm fine."
"You passed out less than 20 minutes ago, and you have a mild case of frostbite."
Great…Al and Roy were going to kill him.
"The pain is normal…"
"Pain?"
Ed nodded and explained.
"Phantom Limb Syndrome. Does your brother know?"
Ed shook his head. "No, and I have no intention of him ever finding out."
Central
Ed went down, hard, on the concrete. His left knee had buckled, and his left arm held his right.
"Brother!"
"I'm fine, Al." Ed grinned through the pain.
"No you're not!"
"It must've been something in my automail, if it happens again, I'll let you know."
"Fine." Al didn't buy his brother's claim. Winry always double checked her work, and even triple checked it, nothing in Ed's leg would break like that, nor would he be able to walk. Al resolved to ask the Colonel if Ed was acting strangely.
Roy's Office
"Colonel, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
The office was empty, except for Roy and Al.
"Has Brother been acting strange?"
"Strange how?" Roy had a concerned look on his face.
"He seems to be in a lot of pain lately."
Roy sighed, he'd known this was going to happen. Ed couldn't keep things like this from Al very long.
"Ed didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to feel guilty."
"About?"
"Ed has Phantom Limb Syndrome. It causes him pain in his missing limbs."
"How long has Brother been hiding this from me?"
Roy shrugged, "He only told me because I made him."
"What else did he tell you?"
Roy sighed again, Ed was going to be pissed. The blond Alchemist had told him that during some attacks it took more than one dose of painkillers just to move, sometimes more than two (1). He never outright complained, and Roy hadn't noticed one particularly bad attack that had Ed taking a few days off work.
Al nodded, and left, intending to talk to Ed about this.
"Al, I didn't tell you anything."
Ed and Al's Place
"Brother? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
From Al's vantage point in the doorway, he could only see Ed's normal foot over the top of the couch, and his automail arm over the couch arm.
"Why didn't you tell me about being in pain?"
Ed started and swore in pain.
"Damnnit! Who told you?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Who told you?"
This continued for several minutes, in which Al came around the couch to glare at his brother, the best he could, and Ed rose to his feet, attempting to glare back.
"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel guilty; it's not your fault." Ed ground out, falling back onto the couch.
"Are you okay?"
"No."
"Can I do anything?"
"No."
Al sat on the floor near his brother's head.
"I didn't want to worry you."
Ending Notes:
(1) Multiple Doses of Painkillers: I'm saying he either takes some form of Aspirin and some form of Ibuprofen or he waits the recommended time between doses…or both…
(1.5) It is not RECOMMENDED that you take Aspirin and Ibuprofen together. Ibuprofen is best administered 8 hours BEFORE or 30-120 minutes AFTER Aspirin.
(2) Phantom Limb Syndrome: Yes it exists, and is even canonically implied (at least in Brotherhood) that Ed suffers, at least mildly, from it. Ed makes a remark about having pain in his automail. (Don't quote me!) It can be treated with painkillers, and can get as bad as described, but not always.