The first thing Ed did after his rescue was go outside.

It had been cold in that dark, wet room, too cold for his now cold-blooded body, and his cough had yet to go away. It could take months. The doctor had said, but he had ended it with, but I'm no veterinarian. Ass. Ed wasn't even half lizard. More like… 33.3% lizard.

Ed laughed to himself, even if it was less than half, he knew that any amount of lizard meant he wasn't human.

"It'll be cold, soon."

Ed tucked his bangs behind one ear and turned to face Al.

Ed also knew that the only thing keeping him from the lab was the legal fight Darius and Heinkel were helping Al with. Fighting for the right to be labeled as a human.

With a rasp, Ed answered. "Then I'll come in when it's cold."

Al sighed and sat down in the grass with him. The two brothers sitting in one of the last dying rays of the day's sunlight.

"I don't want to have to carry you inside again, brother."

Ed nearly flinched, curling his shoulders in closer. The first time he'd been allowed outside, he'd overstayed into the night, until the cold soil leeched all the heat from his body until he'd been almost unable to move. Al was probably the only reason he hadn't frozen to death that night.

Maybe he should've.

He felt Al's arm reach around his back and clasp onto his left shoulder before he was pulled into a side-hug.

With no command from his conscious brain, Ed leaned into the warm body and sighed.

He was always cold these days.

"Come inside, Ed." Al insisted, "I've lit the fireplace and the kettle's boiling. We'll have you warm in no time."

Ed held out for a moment more, taking in deep breaths of the clean, fresh air of the outside world before he nodded reluctantly and stood with Al's help.

Speaking was another thing that was rare for him these days.

When the two were inside, Al deposited Ed on the couch, the couch that had been pushed until it was a mere four feet from the fireplace.

"I'll get the tea." Al said as he helped wrap Ed up in a blanket. "Is there any specific kind you want?"

It was an obvious attempt to get Ed to speak.

But Ed only shook his head as he pulled his long tail up and wrapped it around his middle before grasping it in his only hand.

No automail. Not until his cough was gone.

Ed didn't need to see his little brother's face to see the disappointment on it. A year and a half Al was missing his big brother, only to get back a half-person. A lizard-man covered in scales and scars.

"I'll get you some chamomile." The usual. "Maybe it'll help with that cough. The usual.

Ed nodded.

When Al returned and offered him a mug, Ed took it in his scaled palm. The porcelain was hot enough to burn but Ed reveled in it, feeling the heat move up his arm and into his chest. When he took the first sip, it burned his now blue and forked tongue, but it was sweet.

Ed glanced over at Al, who had joined him on the couch.

Al gave a smile, "I put in some extra honey. I know you're not supposed to have too much, but I figured it wouldn't hurt."

Ed blinked at him.

"Thank you."

Nine words. Ed was on a roll today.

Al beamed.

"The legal workings are going well." Al said as he moved in closer. Ed wasn't sure if he was offering body heat or just glad that Ed had spoken. "Right now their argument against you is that you can't shift into a more human form, but now Darius and Heinkel are saying that they'll be showing up and working in their chimera forms until this is over."

Al was hoping for a response. Or a verbal one at least, but all Ed did was nod as he continued to drink his tea.

Al waited a few moments before he stood and turned away.

"Goodnight, brother."

Edward wanted to return the goodnight, he wanted Al to continue to sit and talk, but all he found himself doing was watch Al's bedroom door close.

Ed turned back to the fire and set his half-full mug down on the floor.

He spread the blanket over himself and he lay down on the couch and curled into a fetal position, pulling his tail up over his leg to rest by his head.

If he was lucky it would take less than an hour to warm up in the morning.

When Ed wakes the next morning, it's to quiet murmuring and absolute icy temperatures.

More accurately, room temperature, but it's still cold.

"How is he?"

That's Hawkeye. It must be her turn to come and check up on him.

"He said two sentences yesterday." Al almost sounded happy about that. Ed would try to say more today.

"Well," Al corrected, "A sentence and a fragment, but it's an improvement."

Before Riza could form a response, Ed sat up from the couch and turned to the kitchen. Al and Riza were seated at the little table in it, and Al spotted Ed immediately.

"Oh!"

Riza turned around in her seat, and gave a small smile when her eyes met Edward's.

"Good morning, Edward." She greeted him.

Ed wanted to respond. He wanted to say it back, and not stay so rudely silent. He wasn't mute. He had no excuse for the way his mouth stayed shut and his eyes drifted downwards.

Ed stood, a little shakily on the basic prosthetic leg, but he took only two steps to the backdoor before Al stopped him.

"Ed, wait. It's still cold outside, barely 60°."

Ed turned back to his couch and sat back down.

"Fire?" He asked with a cough.

"Of course." Edward heard a chair creak as Al got up and moved to the living room.

He watched sullenly as Al cleared out some of the previous fires ash, and stacked in fresh firewood.

The couch dipped next to him as Riza sat down, and he felt a hand begin to stroke it's way down through his hair.

"It'll be okay, Ed." She said in a motherly tone that he had only heard her use once or twice before. "I understand it's hard for you to speak right now, we all do. Don't feel guilty."

Ed wanted to feel relived that she understood, but he squashed it down with guilt.

She shouldn't have to be doing this.

Al shouldn't have to be taking care of his big brother.

So he just nodded.

The hand in his hair stopped, and moved to his shoulder, and gave a reassuring squeeze.

Ed tried not to let the guilt choke him, but the cough he was holding in was another thing entirely.

It started quiet enough, these fits usually did.

A couple of small coughs, barely enough to shake his shoulders, but when he tried to breathe in, it showed it's true colors.

His hand flew up to cover his mouth as he started hacking. His lungs ached with the force he couldn't control and his throat became sore. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes, and he could taste copper.

Part of him noticed Riza and Al trying to quell his cough, patting him on the back and desperately telling him to take deep breaths.

Did they think he was stupid? If he could breathe, he would!

When the cough had finally settled down to wheezing, Ed felt like he was in fog. Shapes danced in front of his eyes and he could feel the wet blood that was probably covering his chin.

A quick inspection of his hand saw bright red blood covering his palm and dripping down onto the couch.

Ed closed his eyes for a moment and felt the world swim.

"Brother?"

Ed opened his eyes back up to look into Al's concerned ones.

He pressed a wet rag against Ed's face and tried to mop up the blood.

"Water. Please."

Al nodded to someone out of Ed's view and accepted a glass of water that Ed took eagerly.

By the time he had downed half of it, the taste of blood had all but left his mouth.

He took as deep a breath as he was willing to risk, but before Ed could gulp down what remained of the water, Al took the glass, and replaced it with a large pill.

"Your medicine." Al clarified, "you need to take it whenever you cough."

Ed opened his mouth and put in the pill, but he noticed Al cringe away from his red-stained fangs.

Once the pill was gone along with the water, Ed found himself lying down on the couch with his blanket tucked in around him.

He blinked stupidly at the fire and felt someones hand card through his hair once more.

Ed let out a series of small barks. He knew they didn't sound human, but at the moment he didn't care.

"He's getting worse." Someone said.

"He'll get better." Someone else said, "He has to."