Nyahahahaha update from Korea! Whoo!
So yeah, I'm not in the mood to go through and italicize everything, so if you see something that looks like [i then that means it's still copied and pasted from the forum that I copied and pasted this from. Meaning that code doesn't work on and meaning I'll have to go through and edit it again sometime, but right now I'm on my sister's computer and I get the feeling she wants to go to bed, so yeah, not much time.
And I have an annoying cough that doesn't want to go away. I'd strangle my lungs but then I'd probably die.
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Ed sat on the bed, his arms folded across his chest, and quietly watched as a blonde haired doctor came into the room with Dr. House. The doctor introduced himself as Dr. Chase and sat next to Ed while House went to the other side of the room and pulled out his DS. Ed watched him curiously for a moment before Chase spoke up.
"We need you to answer a few questions, all right?"
"Fine."
"It says on your records that your mother is dead. How did she die?"
Ed paused for a minute before giving an answer. "She was sick."
"Do you remember what she had exactly?"
"The plague."
House and Chase exchanged glances. Chase turned back to Ed. "What about your father?"
Ed raised an eyebrow. "Why do you need to know about that bastard?"
"We're trying to figure out if this is something that came from your parents."
"Well, I haven't seen him since I was about four."
"Where is he?"
"How the hell should I know? He just walked out the door one morning and I've never heard anything about him since. We don't even know if he's alive or dead."
"But did you ever hear about him having health problems?"
"No."
"How about you? Is there something that isn't on your record?"
"I doubt it."
"You lost your arm and leg when you were eleven, correct?"
Ed nodded. "You have a weird accent."
"That's because he's from England," House commented from his side of the room.
"Australia," Chase shot back.
"Close enough."
"They're on opposite ends of the world!"
"No they're not."
Ed didn't know what they were talking about, but he had a feeling that House was trying to piss Chase off. After a minute, Chase turned to Ed. "Okay, isn't Australia pretty far away from England?"
Ed shrugged. "I don't know."
"What are you asking him for?" House asked. "He's Amestrian. He doesn't know anything about our world."
"I know that you guys have a lousy president right now," Ed replied. "Or at least that's what I've heard."
House stood up and made his way over to Ed's bed. "Well, your leader isn't so great himself, now is he? Now then, let's talk about something a little more cheerful. How are you feeling right now?"
"Tired."
"Wow, an insomniac who feels tired. I'm in shock. Chase, you finish up here and meet me in my office."
"Yes, sir," Chase replied sarcastically as House left the room. Then he sat down again. "Okay, this might be hard for you to answer, but how did you lose your arm and leg?"
Ed stiffened. "An accident. Why does it matter?"
"Because there's a slight chance that you might have gotten an infection that hasn't affected you until now. Can you go into detail?"
"It happened at our old house, and my brother brought me to our neighbor's for help. They make automail and such."
"Edward, you didn't answer the question."
"Yes I did."
"No, you only answered part of it. We need to know exactly how you lost your arm and leg in order to be able to make a diagnosis."
Ed stared straight ahead for a while in silence. "It was a failed transmutation."
Chase made a note on his clipboard and stood up. "All right, that's all I need to know for the moment. Try to get some sleep now, okay? You need it."
As Chase left the room, Ed lay back on his bed and closed his eyes. He lay there for ten minutes before opening his eyes again. He let out a sigh of aggravation. Even though he was exhausted, his body wasn't letting him sleep.
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"So, the kid lost his arm and leg in a failed transmutation, and went on to get automail and join the military. And now, four years later, he's having problems, most likely from his fancy new limbs." House looked at his team. "Any ideas?"
"It could be an allergic reaction," Cameron said. "It doesn't explain all the symptoms, though."
"No, and we checked him for anything that would cause him to lose weight the way he has been, so we have at least one mystery on our hands," Foreman added.
"Maybe it's more than one thing," Chase suggested. "We don't know of anything that would explain all the symptoms, but a combination of two or three different things-"
"But the odds of him getting two diseases [iand[/i developing an allergy to his automail are pretty slim," Cameron interrupted. It was at that moment that House figured something out.
"But our patient was in a remote village whose inhabitants are much less advanced than the rest of the country, and Amestris isn't a technological wonderland as it is."
"You're saying he got sick there?"
"It makes sense, doesn't it? He went down there, got into a fight in which people attacked him with [ivery[/i dirty knives, and he got infected. Less than a week later, he begins showing symptoms of these infections and now he's here."
"But the timing…"
"Have you looked at his medical records? This kid has terrible luck, and allergies never develop at convenient times."
"So what do we do?"
House thought about it for a minute. "First thing's first. We'll take the kid's arm and leg off and see if it does anything."
"But we can't get rid of the metal that's directly connected to his body!"
"No, but if his side improves, then we'll know it's an allergy, and then we can do something about it."
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Ed awoke with a start. He looked around the room, trying to calm down after his nightmare. Once he had recovered, he looked at the clock. He swore. It had only been an hour since he had finally fallen asleep. [iSo much for that,[/i he thought as a familiar suit of armor came into the room. "Brother?" Al asked cautiously. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah. Hey, Al."
"Are you feeling better?"
Ed shook his head. "No, not really. When did you get here?"
"Not too long ago. Lieutenant Havoc's here, too, but he's talking to someone right now."
Ed nodded. "Hey, Al, you don't think that me being sick has anything to do with… what we did, do you?"
"No, brother. Why would you think that?"
"They said there was a chance that it could be something like that."
"Brother, it could be anything."
"I know, but…" Ed trailed off as a black man came into the room. Al stepped back and sat down.
"Did you get any sleep?" he asked as he walked up to Ed.
"Some," Ed muttered as he reached his right hand up to scratch his head. The man grabbed it and shook his head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." The man pushed his arm down onto the bed next to Ed's head and let go. "Leave it there for now, okay?"
Ed nodded.
"Who are you?" Al asked nervously.
"I'm Dr. Foreman. I'm part of Dr. House's team. How are you feeling, Edward?"
Ed reached up with his other hand to scratch his head, and was surprised to see that Foreman didn't stop him. "Not much different from earlier."
"Do you know how long you were asleep?"
"About an hour."
"Just an hour?"
Ed nodded.
Foreman sighed. "It's better than nothing, I guess. Listen, judging by the rashes on your side and the pain in your leg and shoulder, we're assuming you've developed an allergic reaction to the metal used in your automail."
"An allergic reaction?"
"That's right. That's why we want to take off your limbs. If we can be positive that nothing is touching those areas except for the parts directly connected to your body, then we can see if it really is an allergy."
Ed thought about it for a minute before relenting. He waited patiently for Foreman to take off the limbs and take them out of the room. Once he had done so, Foreman came back in and began covering the remaining metal with something. "This is just so you don't accidentally touch it. If it bothers you, we can find something else, okay?"
"Fine."
Once Foreman was done, Ed pulled his shirt back on with some effort. Luckily, he managed to get it on before Al or Foreman had the chance to offer his help. The doctor smiled and shook his head. "At least you can still do most things on your own. That's a pretty good sign."
Ed nodded and lay back on his bed before realizing something. "But is it really just that?"
Foreman shook his head. "No, but it's part of it. We're still working on the other symptoms."
Al looked from Ed to Foreman and spoke with fear in his voice. "What… what happens if it's really an allergy?"
Foreman looked away. "Then we'll have to do something about it. Metal allergies can be fatal."
"Then…"
Foreman looked questioningly at Al. "What is it?"
"This armor… it's the same as brother's arm and leg… Does that mean I won't be able to be near him again if he really is allergic?"
"You can just take that off, can't you?" Foreman asked kindly.
"No. He can't do that." Ed bluntly stated.
"Why not?"
"He… he just can't."
Foreman looked at the two. "Then no, he can't get near you without risking your life. The closest he can safely get is about how far away he is from you right now. I'm sorry."
Ed and Al watched numbly as Foreman left the room. Then Ed fell back on the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. "Damn it…"
"Brother… I'm sorry…"
"It's not your fault, Al." Ed tried to smile. "This is just another reason to get your body back, isn't it? We can work harder once I'm out of here."
Al shook his head. "But…"
"Al, don't worry about it. Everything will be fine."
Al shook his head. "Maybe it will be, but right now it doesn't feel that way."
Ed was about to question his brother's response when Al got up and left the room. Ed watched Al walk away until he couldn't see him any more. Then he lay on his side, his back to the door, and squeezed his eyes shut. [iI'm sorry, Al.[/i
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Ed was asleep when Chase went in to check on his side the next day. When he saw that it was improving, Chase sighed. Part of him had hoped that they were wrong, because he had the feeling Ed wouldn't take the news so well.
Chase was about to leave the room when he heard Ed move behind him. He turned around to see Ed lying on his back. His eyes were open, but he wasn't looking at Chase.
Chase walked back over to the bed. "Sorry, did I wake you up?"
"No." Ed was staring pointedly at the wall. Chase observed his face for a moment before coming to a realization.
"Have you been crying?"
"No."
"Then why does it look like you've been crying?" Chase asked.
Ed opened his mouth to respond, but he closed it after a moment. Chase sat down next to Ed.
"What's wrong?"
Ed was quiet.
"Where's your brother?"
"He went back to the hotel."
"Why?"
Ed was quiet for a few minutes before giving an answer. "He didn't say."
"Did you two have a fight?"
"No."
"Did he say something to you?"
"No."
"Then why are you so upset?"
"I'm not upset."
"Then why were you crying?"
Ed glared at Chase, and the doctor got the feeling that Ed wouldn't say anything about it. Chase sighed and decided to change the subject. "How's your head?" he asked, gesturing to the bandage on Ed's forehead.
"Fine."
"Does it still hurt?"
"Not really." At that moment, a nurse came in with a tray of food. She set it down and left again, and Chase sat down, wanting to be sure that Ed did indeed eat all his food.
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Ed stared at the tray for a minute, wondering why Chase felt the need to accompany him. It didn't take long for him to realize that if he was losing weight, they would want to make sure he was actually eating properly. He ate silently, wishing that the bottle of opaque liquid sitting on the tray didn't exist.
As soon as he finished the rest of his lunch, Ed leaned back on his bed and folded his arms, staring pointedly across the room. There was no way in hell he was going to touch the milk. No way at all.
"Hey, aren't you going to drink your milk?" Chase asked.
"No."
"Is there something wrong with it?"
Ed rolled his eyes. "It's milk."
"You don't like milk?"
Ed sighed. [iDoes this have to happen every time I go into a hospital?[/i "No."
"Well, sorry, but you're going to have to drink it."
"Why?"
"Because you're in a hospital and you don't have a choice."
"Not gonna happen."
Chase stood up. "Do I have to force you?"
Ed narrowed his eyes. "I'd like to see you try."
Chase let out an exasperated sigh and walked out of the room. Ed watched with smug satisfaction before lying back down. He lay on his side, facing the door, and closed his eyes. He hoped to himself that he would be able sleep at least a little, but that hope was a hopeless hope that was so utterly hopeless that no hope could be found at all in the hope.
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House and his crew watched as Chase entered the room and sat down with an angry look on his face. House waited a minute before bringing up the subject at hand. "So what do we have?"
"It [iis[/i an allergic reaction."
"Then why the long face? Were you hoping I was wrong so you could have a little self-esteem boost for yourself with the knowledge that I'm a screw-up?" House asked sarcastically.
Chase glared at the table. "Edward is acting like a five-year-old. He's refusing to drink his milk and I got the feeling that he wanted to kill me for even suggesting it."
Cameron looked at Chase. "So he doesn't like milk. Big deal. We can just give him something else."
House paused. Then he stood up. "No, he needs to learn to like it. I'm going to go talk to him. You guys find out who made his automail and see if you can get them to come out here."
Ed was trying to sleep when House came into his room with some medical equipment. House was loud enough to get Ed's attention as he closed the blinds in the room. Ed sat up and looked questioningly at House.
"Hey there, Tiny Tim. How are you feeling this fine afternoon?"
"I'm not short," Ed growled. "And who the hell is Tiny Tim?"
House shook his head. "You've never heard of [uA Christmas Carol[/u? What a pity."
Ed raised an eyebrow. "I don't really care about literature."
"That's too bad. Now lie down."
"Why?"
House sighed dramatically as he took a pair of gloves from a drawer. "Because you're being a stubborn moron and not drinking your milk, and due to circumstances that would probably be too complex for your little brain to understand, I am going to have to examine your rectum. But don't worry, I'll be sure to be thorough."
Ed's eyes widened, and he scooted back on the bed. "Uh… you really don't have to…"
House dramatically snapped on his gloves. "I'm afraid I do. Unless you'd rather drink your milk like a good little boy."
"Enough with the little!" Ed snapped. "Besides, I don't see how these two are related."
"They're not," House replied, pulling out a creepy-looking tool. "But hey, what are you going to do? Colonel Mustang gave me permission to do what I have to in order to prevent your death."
Ed looked from House's face to the object in his hands, and back again. It only took a creepy grin on House's part to get Ed to give in.
"Okay, you win!" the alchemist said in a panicked voice. "I'll drink it."
"Aw, and I was looking forward to doing this," House said in a sarcastic voice. He pulled off his gloves and sat at the foot of Ed's bed. "Okay, go ahead."
Ed glared at House as he reached for the milk. House watched with a strange sense of satisfaction as he watched Ed drink. As soon as Ed was finished, House applauded.
"Wow, I'm impressed. How does it feel to be such a good boy?"
"I want to puke," Ed replied.
"Then you need to let your taste buds mature."
Ed glared at House before suddenly clutching his stomach. House felt his feelings of satisfaction disappear as Ed threw up before falling back on the bed and passing out.
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I'm also going to be in Japan in like two days. YAY FOREIGN COUNTRIES I'M SO EXCITED RANDOM JIBBERISH ETC. MULTIPLE EXCLAMATION POINTS
