Title: Soothing the Bloody Night
Author: Arisprite
Summary: Barring learning of her parents death, it was the worst night Winry had experienced in her young life. Immediately post the Elric's failed transmutation, Winry uses her beginning skills to help treat and soothe both the brothers' trauma, while barely holding on herself.
Warning and Author's Notes: Quite graphic description of Ed's wounds and treatment. Probably the most graphic thing I've ever written. I am not a doctor, and though I do work in a doctor's office, the medical practices in this fic are not meant to be instructional, nor are likely entirely correct. They are the result of the most in depth of research as I can manage, and talking to a police officer about traumatic wounds. Also, though I try to set most of the technology in the correct time period (early 1900s) the medical practices I gave some more leeway, given the existence of automail. Therefore, this is more akin to modern practice than historical.
It was a quiet evening inside. Granny was mending. Winry was tinkering with a little metal mechanism that would maybe (if it was good enough) be a part of someone's elbow, when the door crashed open, and the noise of the storm outside flooded the main room. Winry didn't look at the door first; she remembered looking at Granny and seeing her drop her needle, fear rushing over her features, before her professional mask dropped back into place. Only then did Winry look at the doorway, to see a gigantic metal figure leaning into the opening. In its arms was a broken body, blood already dripping on the floor. It took a moment to recognize it as Edward.
Both Pinako and Winry scrambled up from their seats at the table, and stared open mouthed at the door. Winry's mind was racing, urging her to leap forward and save Ed from the terrible person who did this to him, telling her to help him, but her body couldn't move.
Then, the whimpering, tiny voice emerged from the armor, and Winry stiffened in recognition.
"Please...help him. He's going to bleed to death!"
Pinako still hadn't moved, but Winry couldn't stop herself from saying it.
"Al?"
Granny gave an audible gasp, and somehow a bit of it became clear. Al, in an unrecognizable metal suit that should have been too big for him, was begging them to help Ed. Ed who had been injured badly, and was bleeding on to the floor and why was she still standing there?
She and Granny both dove forward, towards the shaking, keening boy in the arms of the suit of armor. When she got closer, she saw the makeshift bandages tied tightly around where his arm and leg should have been. Blood was soaked through them, as well as all over his clothes, and the armor.
Alphonse, for there was no mistaking that voice, when with the strange echo from inside the armor, was crying and hitching breaths, babbling apologies and explanations that neither of them could listen to. Ed was heaving and cringing, in obvious agonizing pain.
"Granny!" Winry shouted, reaching out to place her hands against the bandages around the stump of the leg. Granny already had her hands on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry-" Al was stammering, while Ed cried out at their touch.
"Alphonse, be quiet, and lay your brother on the bed in the clinic!" Pinako snapped. Al gulped, and moved carefully, while Winry and Granny followed, trying to keep pressure on the wounds. The house was mostly automail clinic, and there was a set of beds in the front room laid out for recovering patients. It wasn't as fully equipped as the surgery in the back, nor as sterile, but it would have to do.
Winry let go of the leg, and tore off the made up sheets, laying out a plastic pad, and quickly wiping it off with a strong smelling antiseptic. She knew the procedures by heart-she'd memorized it all after her parents had died. And an infection because they were careless would be horrible.
"Don't-" Ed muttered, his first words since they'd seen him. He cut himself off with a strong wince as Al laid him down on the bed, crying out again. "Ahh, don't, no...Al!"
Once Edward was down, he cringed into himself, trying to curl up against the pain, but Pinako stepped forward and pushed him flat.
"Winry!" Pinako snapped her fingers, jolting Winry from where she'd stood, frozen. "Help me, we have to stop the bleeding."
Al stumbled back as Winry jumped forward, his steps making an odd hollow sound. He backed up into the corner of the room, curling small as his large body could, and Winry had a fleeting thought that she should go hug him. But, there wasn't time, not when Ed was still in danger.
First things first. Cut off the shirt, and shorts. Scrub hands, gloves on, and get more bandages for the wounds. Pressure for fifteen minutes at least. If it bleeds through, don't remove it, just place more gauze over the top. Elevate the wounds, stop the bleeding, watch for shock. It was all procedure.
Except, this wasn't a calmly done amputation, or excision. The regular assistant wasn't here to take Winry's inexperienced place, and the patient wasn't laying flaccid on the bed, medicated out of the pain. This wasn't just another patient either. This was Edward, recoiling and quivering, conscious enough to stare with wide eyes at the ceiling as they tried to keep him still.
They had him laying down flat, with both the whole leg, and the stump of the other one elevated on pillows. Winry was hunched by the thigh, pressing her whole body weight against the wound to slow the bleeding. Pinako was at the shoulder, and had stuffed almost a whole roll of gauze into the gaping hole that used to be his arm. Winry was trying to stop her arms from shaking, to stop from hearing Ed's panting and cringing, or Al crying in the corner, trying not to feel the edge of femur under the bandages, because if she lost her stomach she'd have to scrub her hands again, and then there would be no one to hold the pressure.
After fifteen minutes, Pinako eased back from the arm, revealing bright red inside of the bandage. Winry's stomach churned at the sight, but whatever Granny saw seemed to satisfy her, for she nodded at Winry to ease back. Winry peeled the edge away from the wound, and saw that the bleeding had slowed to a slow ooze. She coughed around a gag. It looked so horrible! Circles of pink flesh and white bone. And what was coming would be so much worse.
"Ed…" She whispered, her throat thick. Her eyes, dry until now, filled her eyes. She didn't know how this had happened. She didn't even know how this could happen, but Ed was in so much pain, and it would only increase before it got better. "How-" Winry sobbed, and Ed reached out his bloodstained left hand-his only one left- as if to comfort her, before he floated it back down to the top of his thigh, scrunching in his boxers.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Ed cried, looking at the ceiling, shaking, his eyes wide with pain and fear, "I'm so sorry!"
Pinako looked towards Winry.
"Get an IV kit. We need to start replacing fluids, and I'm sure he'd like some pain medication."
Edward gave a wet gasp, aware enough to know that, yes he'd very much like pain medication. Winry ran into the surgery to grab all the rest of the supplies they'd need.
The surgery (where they really should have been doing this) was located behind the kitchen, in what used to be a cold locker for meat and cheeses. Her parents had lined it with easily cleaned laminate, and created a hospital environment with storage space along the walls. The first cabinet had everything Edward needed: IV tubing, monitors for his blood pressure and heart rate, disinfectant, scrubs and cloths, astringent, pain medication and antibiotics, as well as lots and lots of bandages.
Winry grabbed a cartful, and took it all back to the front room.
Granny was looking grimly at the boy on the bed. Alphonse still hadn't moved.
"Well, Ed. The bleeding's stopped, but you're not going to like this next part." Winry knew Granny was trying to talk to Ed like normal, but her voice was trembling a little. Edward swallowed, and tried to breathe; probably thinking that he hadn't like any of the parts so far, how could this possibly get worse?
"We have to clean the wounds, Ed." Winry whispered, her eyes filling again. "We have to get any dirt or germs out of them, and it's going to hurt a lot!"
Edward had had scrapes and cuts cleaned, and he knew that the cleaning always hurt more. He knew, for his eyes widened more, and tears of fear ran down the side of his face.
"Please, no. No, it hurts… no…"
Edward's breathing picked up again, and Winry flinched at a sharp look from Pinako. There was no call to be telling an already panicking boy that something was going to hurt a lot more than it already does. Winry took a deep breath, and brought the box over to Granny.
"I know it hurts, bean sprout." Pinako said, rubbing her ungloved wrist against Edward's cheek. "First we're going to get you feeling a little better." Pinako said, smoothing over her mistake. Ed sucked in a breath, and let Pinako take his left arm. She quickly inserted the IV needle and set up the drip with a small dose of morphine, and saline. She then hooked up the other machines, and set them on the cart Winry had brought them out on.
The readings weren't that good. Ed was already shocky, which wasn't surprising given how much blood he had to have lost. But, now that they had stopped the bleeding, they could get him stabilized.
Edward hadn't felt the pain medication yet, but Granny was moving forward, setting up the cleaning supplies. Winry followed after, even though she'd like to wait until Ed relaxed a little, she honestly knew it wouldn't make much of a difference. The pain of the cleaning would cut through the small dose they'd given him.
Winry helped lay out the supplies: alcohol, astringent, hot water, scrub brushes and cloths, and more gauze. Torture instruments. Pinako started pulled the soft restraints from the edges of the bed, clasping them around Ed's remaining arm and leg. This alarmed him, and he started tossing his head around.
"Hey, what are you doing? Where's Al? Al!" Panic was starting to set in, added to the confusion from the drugs, and Pinako sped up her movements. Winry pressed her hands against Ed's chest, trying to keep him still.
"Calm down, Ed. Al's just right over there, just shush, shh…"
Al was cringing back into the corner, as if he were afraid to come near. Yesterday, Winry would have been sure that in a time like this, Al would be right by Ed's side, but Alphonse was terrified too, and obviously couldn't move. Whatever happened had been just as traumatizing for Al.
"Al! Give him back, give my brother back!" Ed suddenly screamed, and Al clapped his gloved hands over the helmet's ear holes with a metallic clang.
"Ed, shh, shh!" Winry was chanting, pressing him down harder, while Granny finished laying out the last of the supplies, and then came over to Ed. She gave him a firm slap to the cheek, which shocked him out of his panic.
"Hush up, Ed. We haven't even done the hard part." She snapped. Edward gasped, wide eyed, and then turned his head to the other side, avoiding any of their eyes. "Al, get over here and help hold him down!"
Al squeaked, and moved over, clumsy in armor that had to be too big and came to the side of the bed where Ed was facing. When the metal breastplate was in line with Ed's eyes, Ed's whole body shuddered. His left fingers moved sideways under the wrist restraints, reaching for his little brother.
"Al, Al, I'm so sorry, 's all my fault, Al. I'm so sorry…" Tears choked his voice. Alphonse brushed Ed's fingers with the leather gauntlets, before moving to carefully grip his left shoulder.
"It's okay, brother. It's okay." Al said in a tiny voice. Ed shook his head; he knew how painfully not okay this all was. Winry brushed tears from her face with her wrist.
Pinako broke into the conversation, pointing at Edward's left hip, above the amputated leg.
"Al, put your other hand there, and hold him. He's going to squirm."
Edward turned his head back to Pinako, opening his mouth to protest the use of the word 'squirm', and Granny used that moment to stuff a bite guard into his mouth. His noise of protest turned into confusion, and he glared up at Granny.
"It'll stop you from biting your tongue. Now, brace yourself, Ed. This isn't going to feel good." Granny said, grimly dropping her usual brusqueness. She handed Winry the bottle of disinfectant, and picked up the scrub brush. She placed a tray under the thigh, and propped it up on a foam brace. This part needed two people at least at each wound, so poor Ed would have to go through it twice; on the leg, and then again on the shoulder. The tray would catch the blood, dirty water and disinfectant and debris that would come from each wound. Meanwhile, Granny would scrub at the tissue to be sure nothing was lurking in the crevices. It was going to hurt so bad.
Winry trembled when Granny gestured for her to start. She took a breath, glanced at Ed, and poured the first round of disinfectant. Edward's whole body arched like he'd been struck by lightning. He grunted around the mouthpiece, and bucked. Al gasped, and hurried to hold him firmer, while Winry poured steadily. Pinako cleaned every centimeter of Ed's leg, and Winry watched pink liquid and bits of other stuff drain into the basin.
"Ngghhhh!" Ed's eyes were scrunched tight, and his hips and left thigh shifted under Al's hands. Pinako was still methodically scrubbing, when Winry switched to pour warm water over the wound. The already too red tissue of Ed's muscles and nerves were oozing blood and fluids again. Meanwhile Edward was straining against Al's hands, tears flowing and strangled screams escaping from behind the mouthpiece. Winry wished she had a hand free to wipe Ed's face, or comfort him somehow, but they all were holding something. The whole thing seemed to take hours, but finally they were done with the leg.
Winry put down the bottle of disinfectant, and lifted up the prepared bandages; first the filmy gauze that would allow the stump to drain and heal without irritation, and then the thicker bandages that would protect from foreign materials. They wouldn't stitch it- Winry knew that Pinako had made that decision. They were both thinking about automail. Even though Ed was a child still, as she was, Winry knew Pinako thought he would ask for it. If they stitched the wounds closed, they'd have to seal off the nerves and blood vessels to allow them to heal under a new layer of skin. To put Automail on after that was to reopen healed wounds, and to cut into the nerve bundles again. It would be worse than the original wounds. That was what most Automail patients went through, since it took a while for most people to save up and decide to get it. It wasn't cheap, financially or physically. Granny wanted to spare Ed that step, if possible.
Once the thigh was covered with an expertly wrapped bandage, Pinako eased it down onto the pillow again, letting it rest elevated since they'd started the bleeding again. Edward was soaked in sweat, and panting, but aware enough to know this was just a brief reprieve. Pinako and Winry moved around the bed to the right shoulder, and he tensed. Al was still right next to him, and his golden eyes found his brother, fixed on his new metal face. Edward tongued out the mouthpiece, letting it fall, spit soaked, on his chest.
"Al?" Edward asked, his voice hoarse, trembling.
"Brother, I'm here." Winry didn't know how a metal body could tremble, but Al was rattling with fear. "I'm so sorry!"
"It's all my fault, Al." Edward whispered. "Not yours."
Winry picked up the other bottle of disinfectant, and held it, waiting with more tears wobbling in her eyes. Edward turned his head to her and Pinako, and shook with a light sob. His face was so pale, and eyes so large that he looked five again.
"Do it." He said, voice high. "Just do it. I deserve this."
The last part was barely whispered, but they all heard it, huddled around his bed as they were. Winry nearly dropped the bottle with a startled sound, but Al was the one who cried out.
"No, brother!" He shook his head. "We did this together! It's not your fault!" The metal voice was tiny, sobs still shaking it. Ed's face collapsed, and he keened, biting his lip.
"Al-"
"Boys! Now is not the time." Granny, ready with the brush, stepped in and lightly smacked Edward on the head. Not even enough to jar him, but enough to bring his eyes to hers. "We'll deal with that later. Are you ready, Ed?"
Shaking, he nodded, and Al placed his hands across his chest, holding the right collar bone down to the bed. Winry replaced the mouthguard, and helped Granny prop Ed up a little, to allow for the dirty liquids to run off into another basin.
The wound at the shoulder was worse than the thigh. Winry hadn't seen it up close yet, but as she moved closer she again had to fight down her dinner. Wrist to her mouth, she leaned close, taking her position, and held the bottle of disinfectant with one hand. There was so much more surface area on the shoulder than the leg. It was like the arm had been torn off right at the socket. The wound wasn't bleeding anymore, but it just looked wrong. Ed was missing whole parts of himself, and though she'd seen plenty of amputees, this was Edward.
"Grandma!" She whimpered, when Pinako gestured her to start pouring. "Grandma, I can't!" She admitted, and then bit down hard on her lips. Tears were flowing but she had to stop it, because Ed was picking up on her fear and anguish at causing such torture to her best friend. He was restlessly moving his head, searching out the sound of her voice to his right.
"Win-?" He questioned, muffled with the thing in his mouth, but fear plain in his voice.
"Winry, get a hold of yourself. We're not done." Pinako said, not harshly but in a tone that still made her snap to attention. Granny was right, she couldn't prolong Ed's agony.
"I'm sorry, Ed." She murmured, and watched him tense up seconds before the second bottle of liquid ran over his shoulder.
This time was worse. It passed in a neverending haze, wherein Edward sweated, and writhed. Al cried and howled as much, and Winry couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face. Only Grandma stayed strong, directing Winry's fingers when she could barely see them. Ed's groans and screams drowned out everything else, and the room felt hot with tortured sweat.
Then, at last, Pinako pronounced them done. Winry fell back, and sank to the floor, and Al collapsed by the side of the bed, his helmeted head drooped. Edward was breathing far too quickly, wet with sweat, blood and tears, and tense against the bed as if he expected the pain to start up again. Grandma administered another dose of morphine (not that the last one had helped that much) and covered him with a blanket, and slowly, Ed relaxed a tiny bit into the bed.
Pinako leaned back, and took off the plastic gloves, tossing them in the trash on top of the pile of soiled bandages and rags.
"Now, Alphonse. Why don't you tell us what happened." Granny said the same way she asked who stole the last piece of cake, the way that said she already knew and was planning your punishment. The tone was much scarier now with blood on the floor and missing limbs.
Slowly, the story came out, tripping from Al's unmoving lips. Their attempt at bringing back Aunt Trisha, and the horrible events that followed. Al's armor -body- trembled, and rattled as he spoke, and Winry swallowed down bile again to realize that Alphonse would never have a body again, and Ed would be a cripple for the rest of his life, and how could this happen? How could her sweet Al be trapped behind that scary metal face, and how could Edward, who never cried even at the worst knee scrapes be cringing and heaving even in a drug induced haze?
Al was tucked as small as he could make himself, hiding his face when Granny let out a long sigh.
"You boys have certainly gotten yourselves into a load of trouble." She said, and then she took off her glasses and rubbed a spot clean that had been flecked with blood. She straightened up, and looked at Al. Alphonse glanced up, and seemed to meet her gaze with glowing eyes. "I need to go clean up your mess. If we saw the light even through that storm, then who knows who else did."
Al flinched, even though her words hadn't been sharp, and Winry lowered her head. Granny moved towards the front door, throwing on her poncho and boots. "Clean him up, and keep him calm. I shouldn't be long." She said, and then disappeared through the dark doorway. The curtains on the visible window showed the light of the lantern from the shed bouncing along the trail towards the Elric's home, before it faded.
Winry turned back to the brothers with a rush of fear. But nothing had changed, except Al had slunk (surprisingly quietly) back into the corner. Edward was finally mostly limp, the pain medications doing their job at last. Winry moved to reheat the water, and check his vitals. He was stable at least, with normal blood pressure, and an only slightly elevated heart rate. His skin was clammy, and warm, but not feverish, and he roused enough as she brushed his hair away from his forehead to track her movements.
Winry turned around as she heard the water kettle whistle, and caught sight of Al, still huddled in the corner.
"Al, are you okay?" It was a stupid question. Alphonse didn't answer, or visibly react. Winry bit her lip, but moved on. Edward's physical body needed help right now, and Al would have to wait.
She poured the hot water into a large basin with cold water mixed in, and dropped a soft wash cloth in. She checked to see if it was the proper temperature, and then brought it back into the clinic room to place by Ed's bed.
Washing and cleaning up after surgeries had been her job for a while now, and the movements were familiar to her as she stroked the cloth across Edward's forehead, and face. Lidded eyes followed her hand, opening and closing as she wiped away sweat and tears, and stipplings of blood. The warmth of the rag soothed her and Edward, she thought, as lines of pain were easing some.
She wet the cloth again, and moved on, slipping it under his neck, and around his hairline. He made a little noise of confusion at the further touches.
"It's okay, Ed. I'm just cleaning you up." He assented, and let his eyes close. Winry paused. For a moment, she'd forgotten that this wasn't just a patient. This was Edward. He lay there in front of her, her strong and short tempered childhood friend, with horrific wounds and bloodstained bandages. She couldn't imagine the trauma he'd been through. He and Al both. Would they ever be the same?
"Oh, Ed...I'm so sorry!" She whispered, pressing her wrist to her mouth again. Ed's eyelashes parted just enough to show a glimpse of gold, and he shifted his chin towards her.
"What're you sorry for?" He murmured quietly. "This 's my fault…"
Winry sniffed, pressing back a few more tears, and wet the rag again. There was blood smeared and spattered over most of Ed's body, and she couldn't afford to get distracted. She washed his collar bone, and the right side of his chest and stomach, avoiding the bandages, and then moved past the boxers to wash his leg and foot. Later on, he'd need full baths done this way, but for now she could preserve his modesty. Heaven knew the recovery for this would involve little privacy after this point.
Winry moved to Ed's other side, switching which side of the blanket was flipped up, and washed him down on that side too. On the left, she could see bruises forming where Al had been pressing down: fingerprints far too large for anyone else. On his remaining arm, blood caked his hand and lined the edges of his fingernails, so Winry concentrated on scrubbing that out, and making sure he was clean all the way to the edge of the bandages.
She finished that side of his body, and flipped the blanket back down, before glancing down at the bowl. It was full of pinkish water, and the heat was cooling. Winry picked it up, careful not to slosh, and turned towards the kitchen.
"I'll be right back, Ed." She said, not wanting him to get alarmed at her absence. He didn't seem to be listening, but his eyes were tense, closed against the world and the reality therein. Filling it quickly, she returned to Ed's bedside.
"Sorry, Edward, but this part might hurt a little." She said, setting the bowl down on the side table. Ed's eyes half opened, his body tensing at the word 'hurt'. A soft clank came from the corner of the room, where she'd forgotten that Al was sitting. He hadn't made a sound in half and hour, not even a shift in position.
"Do you need help again?" He asked, as if reluctant for the answer. Winry remembered the bruises forming on Ed's arm from Alphonse' leather fingers holding him down. Edward went very still, and his breathing sped up, waiting for more torture.
"No, that's alright. I'm just rolling him over. It won't be that bad."
Edward opened his eyes, gold dull with pain and drugs. He searched her eyes, looking for a lie that said she was going to hurt him again. Winry would never forgive herself for being the one that hurt Ed. Al watched her as she moved the blanket to the end of the bed, causing Ed to shiver, exposed in only his boxers and bandages. Winry took hold of the plastic mat under Edward (useful for this reason and others) and gripped it tight. She done this many times before, and with people much bigger than Ed, so she shouldn't hesitate. Still, movement alone would hurt Ed, and she didn't want to hurt him anymore.
Winry took a deep breath.
"Ready, Edward?" She asked. "I'm going to slide you over, and then roll you to your left."
Ed nodded, tensed up with his left hand scrabbled against the plastic mat. Winry shifted backwards, sliding Ed to the edge of the mattress, and then rolling him quickly, careful of the IV still inserted in his left arm. Edward grunted, in pain and alarm, as Winry laid him flat on his front, and slid the pad back underneath him. Ed had gone white at the movement, and was breathing heavily again, his face turned to the side, but now his back was exposed to the air, so Winry got to work.
Once his back, and the back of his leg were washed, she bent down to look in Ed's face.
"Do you want me to roll you back over now, or wait a little bit?"
Ed was laying on his stomach, with his head turned towards his left (and only) arm. Winry wondered briefly if it was because he didn't want to look at the bandage covered stump of his arm.
"Later." He murmured, closing his eyes. Winry nodded.
"A few minutes more, then. Let me know if it gets hard to breathe."
The panic was over now, and Winry was feeling the trauma of the night. Suddenly extremely tired, she sank down in the attendant chair, which had earlier been shoved aside, and lifted her knees up. From here, she could watch Ed's face, and see Alphonse' hulking shape in the corner. She pulled her hands together, and looked at them tremble. The fear that tonight she could have lost both of them was hitting her, and she buried her face in her knees to hide the tears.
"Winry?" A small voice brought her out of it, and Winry looked up to see Alphonse' metal head turned towards her. There was no expression on the face, just a frowning faceplate. "Are you mad at me?"
Winry's eyes widened, and she dropped her legs down to turn towards the armor. Al.
"Why would I be mad at you?" She sniffled, her tears returning a little bit. Alphonse made a little noise. Maybe it was a shrug, or alarm.
"Brother and I...we did an awful thing." He said, lifting up his arms to hug himself. Winry shook her head, aware that Ed was probably listening.
"An awful thing happened to you. I don't care what you did." She replied, and Al hung his head. A sob choked Winry's throat, as she considered the days after this point. What was going to happen? How could they go on from this terrible night? "I'm so sorry, both of you!" She put her face back in her hands, and shook.
A grunt brought her out of her turmoil, pain and frustration. Ed had his left elbow up, hand braced on the mattress. He was obviously trying to turn himself over, but the way he was doing it would involve rolling right over the open wound that was his shoulder. Winry scrambled up, scolding him already.
"What are you doing? You can't roll over that way!"
Edward looked in pain, angry and tearful, biting his lip.
"I was just trying to get on my back!" He snapped, and his chin wobbled. "I wanted to-"
Winry hurried to shush him, helping him back down to lay on his front. His back was hitching with little sobs, and he was probably due for some more pain medication given the way his body was so tense.
"It's okay, Ed. It's okay."
She rolled him over the same way she had before, and helped Ed prop his head up on a pillow, tucking blankets around him. He looked so helpless, and scared, anger making his cheeks red, and tears wobbling in his eyes. She hoped Granny came back soon, so she could give him more medicine.
"Try and go back to sleep, Edward. Granny will be home soon." She said, brushing his hair away from his forehead. He sniffed, and shook his head.
"Don' wanna sleep. Hurts…" He murmured, biting his lip again.
"I know, Ed." Winry whispered, and brushed his face again. "I know."
When Granny did come back, her face was drawn and pale. The last time she'd looked like that was when the soldier came to their house with the news about her parents. It scared her.
Pinako moved straight towards the clinic bed, and looked at Ed, and then Al by the wall with a grim face. Edward and Alphonse both dropped their gazes, guilt clear. Finally, Granny sighed and lowered her eyes as well.
"You boys have certainly made a mess of things." She said flatly. Ed and Al flinched as if she'd yelled at him.
"We're sorry, Granny," Alphonse whispered. Edward said nothing, but tears leaked from his eyes, and down his cheeks. Pinako looked on sadly. Winry felt her tears returning. She'd never seen Edward cry, not since they were babies; now she'd seen him cry and sob and scream with pain, and she hated it! Hated seeing her strong best friend so broken.
"Well, there's nothing more we can do tonight." Granny said, coming forward. "Let's get you settled."
She adjusted Edward's IV and replaced the bag of saline. Then she gave him another dose of morphine, and pulled up his blankets. Winry sat in her chair while Granny did all this, trying not to cry some more. Granny turned towards her, and her gaze softened.
"Grandma…?" She sniffled, not sure what she was asking. Would they both be alright? Would Ed live? Would they all be able to move on after this night?
Pinako drew Winry into a hug.
"You did well tonight, my dear." She said softly. "Ed's going to live, we made sure of that."
Winry nodded. For all her youth, she'd been reading medical textbooks since she was young, and she knew well that yes, Ed was likely going to live. He was young and strong, and the treatment was already helping. But, she was sure she was going to have nightmares about infections and complications -the chance that Edward could still die. But they'd done their best, and that would be enough. Right?
"Oh, child." Pinako murmured, stroking her cheek. Granny then moved her eyes to Ed, limp on the bed, and Al still huddled against the wall. "You have all seen such horrors tonight."
"I'm sorry." Al whispered. It echoed strangely. No one answered. What could they say?
"Try to sleep, all of you." Pinako said, after a long moment, pulling away from Winry. "You too, girl. I'll watch over them."
Still sniffling, Winry nodded.
"Call me if you need anything." She choked out, directing it at both Granny and Ed, but only Al nodded. Unable to hold back her tears of stress, grief and lingering fear, Winry fled. In her room, the dam burst, and she buried her sobs in her pillow.