Everyone walked into that room with different emotions. Alphonse was a nervous wreck, Winry was concerned but irate, Roy was sympathetic but work-distracted, and Riza maintained a steady, comforting presence. However, upon seeing Ed lying on that bed, in the middle of a transparent plastic cube, everyone's individual worries washed away, replaced with a unifying sense of distress.

"How close can we get?" Al asked the doctor, quietly, though Ed was plainly awake—staring at them, in fact. "Can…can he hear us?"

"You can go all the way up to the containment facility; it's completely sealed, so it's safe. And yes, the glass is not soundproof, so he will be able to hear you perfectly well. Though I wouldn't expect any response just yet; as I have mentioned, his throat is rather…raw." With that, the doctor bustled away to some monitors.

Together, the four of them approached the cube. Just a few feet away, Alphonse lost his patience and ran forward, pressing both palms to the glass. "Oh Brother."

Inside, Edward waved back, pointing to his neck apologetically. Al shook his head. "No, I know, it's okay. How are you feeling?"

Before he could get a response of some sort from his brother, Winry came up beside him, frowning. "Look what kind of mess you've gotten yourself into now, Ed," she sighed. "If I wasn't stuck out here I'd hit you upside the head."

Even Riza frowned at that comment, and she had remained politely distanced from the affair until then. "Winry," the older woman reprimanded, "is now really the time?"

"Oh, he knows I mean it with affection," Winry replied, exasperated. Roy just caught, out of the corner of his eye, a glimpse of Ed rolling his own. Affection, right. Regardless of whose fault this was (and Roy had no doubt that it was Edward's, he did have a way of drawing in trouble for himself), now wasn't the time to be berating him.

"Fuck your affection!" Alphonse snapped. Inside Ed started to laugh—big mistake. Roy winced for him, as he lied back against the cushions, fists clenched and eyes shut tight against the pain. The faint beeping from his heart monitor increased its tempo, and from across the room the doctor looked up to make sure nothing was seriously wrong. Immediately abashed, Al apologized quickly, "Look, I'm sorry, okay? But while your brand of violent caring is all fine and dandy when nothing serious is wrong, it's not funny when Brother's hurt this badly!"

A muscle in Winry's jaw clenched, but she turned away from Alphonse in surrender. Satisfied, he looked back towards Edward, whose eyes were once again open and watching the spectacle they were making outside the cube. "So, Brother, how are you?"

By way of response, Ed rolled his eyes again and gestured around him at the various machines and IVs that he was attached to, a movement that said very clearly: "How do you think I am?" He then pointed at Roy and Riza, tilting his head to the side questioningly. What are they doing here?

"Believe it or not, Ed, we were concerned about you when we heard what had happened," Roy answered the unspoken query dryly. "We came to see how you're doing."

"You're going to be all right, Ed," Riza added. Her words were perhaps the most important, and everyone else felt a little idiotic for not mentioning that before. Making sure Edward knew he was going to be fine and that they were there for him was the first thing they should have done.

Inside the cube, Edward nodded, mouthing the words, "Always am." Winry snorted, a tiny I told you so, but she was ignored. Following Riza's example, Alphonse began to relay what little they knew about the treatment of the Red Viper to Ed, trying to show how confident he was that his brother would be alright...despite the fact that Al was still clearly nervous about those 70-30 odds.

As Alphonse spoke, Roy took a good long look at Edward. He looked frail, and his skin was blotchy with a red rash of sorts. His normally bright golden eyes were also glazed with fever, and he kept the blankets tight to his body. Everything about the scene struck Roy as being obscenely wrong. He'd seen Ed injured before, but Roy hadn't witnessed this degree of fragility since he had gone to offer the Elric brothers a job with the State Alchemists. It bothered him. Edward was supposed to be full of life, especially now that the Promised Day was over. Roy had imagined that if he ever saw Ed again, the younger man would have been laughing and boisterous, not unable to speak and bedridden.

Wandering away from the stilted conversation the two brothers were still in the midst of, Roy headed towards the doctor. "Excuse me, but I have a question."

The man didn't bother to look up from his instruments, merely grunting permission for him to continue. Suppressing his annoyance, Roy went on, "Provided that everything goes well, how long will he have to be in here?"

"Hmm…well, he'll have to be in containment for at least three weeks before we can be sure he's not contagious any longer. After that, maybe a few days of bed rest before he is released from the hospital. Mind, that's if this antibiotic we've started him on turns out to work. We may need to try another variation, which would me he would be staying under quarantine for four to six weeks."

Roy bit his lip, rubbing his fingers together and causing sparks to fly out from his gloves, a nervous habit. That wasn't what he had wanted to hear. With a nod of thanks, he walked back over to the cube. Ignoring Winry's curious stare, he leaned in and whispered in Lieutenant Hawkeye's ear. "When we get out of here, I need you to do a few things for me. Cancel our train back home tomorrow, and see if you can't get us rooms in Al's hotel. Also, I'll need you to call back East and let the rest of the team know that I won't be back for at least three weeks. You, of course, can return at your discretion."

One of the many things he loved about having Riza at his side was her loyalty. Unless she had good cause to, she never questioned his orders, so despite how strange it must seem for Roy to spontaneously decide to prolong their trip, she said nothing, merely nodding to affirm her understanding. Roy straightened, assured that everything was taken care of, and turned his attention back to Alphonse and Ed.

Al was in the middle of apologizing. "Ah, sorry, I've been monopolizing you, Brother. I'm just worried, is all, but I'm sure everyone else wants a chance to talk to you as well." Ed shrugged, and Alphonse laughed. "Of course they do. Roy?"

As he was about to step forward, though to be honest he had no idea what he was going to say, Winry cut him off. She glared at him, icy, and declared, "Actually, as his fiancée, I'd like to have minute to talk to Ed, if that's alright with you. Alone," she added as an afterthought.

Fiancée? Roy had known they were engaged, but after so long without them getting married, he'd assumed they broke it off. Apparently he was wrong.

"Winry," Riza began, but she was stopped by another withering look. Roy and Al may have argued, but Ed was shooing them away, shaking his head. It's not worth it.

"Let us know when you're done, then," Roy said, turning and heading back to the waiting room.


Winry waited until Riza and Al had both disappeared through the waiting room door as well, and shut it to boot, before she turned to Edward. "I'm angry, you know."

Though Ed couldn't speak, he was a master at letting you know exactly how he felt with his eyes alone. Their burning gaze, at the moment, was sarcastic. Really? I had no idea. But he had more to say; Edward pointed at himself, and then held up two fingers. Me too.

Her already bubbling temper just about boiled over. "I didn't do anything, Ed! You have no reason to be mad at me."

Despite the pain it must have been causing him, Edward was frantically shaking his head. He pointed at his chest, eyes pleading with Winry to get it. It took her a second, but then it clicked. Oh. Ed was mad at himself.

Well, that was reasonable.

Resting her forehead on the glass, Winry sighed, her hot anger melting away into something cooler. More dismal. "You just put yourself in danger too much, Ed. You don't even think about it. As long as there's adventure, you go, and the second I try to reason with you, to take it as a challenge. I know you knew the vaccinations were a good idea, but because I told you so, you didn't get them."

Looking up to see his response, Winry found that Edward was struggling. Eventually, he mouthed his response, exaggerating the words to make them easier to understand. "I don't like being told what to do."

"Even when what you're told is right?" Winry shook her head. "You're ridiculous.

Ed shrugged, as if to say, "Yeah, but what am I supposed to do about that?" or "No helping it." And while it was nice that he could admit he was being an idiot, it wasn't enough. She needed him to change.

A rapping on the glass startled her. Edward's gaze was now soft, understanding. I don't blame you for being upset.

"Thank you," Winry whispered. "Everyone else is so angry with me for being mad you got yourself into this…even if you do act like a dumbass, at least you understand."

Edward, lying across the cube from her, reached out to place his hand on the side of glass closest to him. Winry walked around, even though from that angle his face was obscured by the heart monitor, and placed her hand alongside his. It was just her imagination, she knew, but it seemed as though she could feel some of Ed's warmth seeping through the barrier between them. It made her sad; if being with Edward was always like this, she'd never leave his side. But he was frustrating and difficult more often than not, and that was hard to handle.

Pulling away, Winry walked back around to where she could see Ed. "I'm going to go now, okay? But I'm staying in town, and I'll visit you again. Maybe tomorrow. No later than the day after." As soon as he nodded, she spun around and walked out.


Winry strode into the waiting room, pausing only to announce, "I'm heading out, now. I told him I'd visit later so…just call me if anything serious happens, okay?"

While they all nodded, Roy couldn't help but be skeptical inwardly. If she was his fiancée, shouldn't she be staying with him pretty much always? Then again, judging from the look on her face, their little conversation had left her with anything but a good taste in her mouth. Hmm. He rose, readying to go back in and talk with Ed. Lieutenant Hawkeye stood as well, though she motioned to the opposite door. "If it's alright with you, I'm going to go get everything settled. Since we're staying, I'll have a longer visit with Ed tomorrow."

Roy nodded his assent, and walked into the containment room with Alphonse hot on his heels. As he approached the glass, he tucked his hands into his pockets, finding he still had no idea what he was supposed to say. Edward raised his eyebrows and cracked a grin, teasing Roy wordlessly.

"I know, I know," he muttered, eliciting a wider smile out of the younger man. "'The normally smooth Roy Mustang, unable to form words,' right?"

Ed nodded, evidently in approval of how Roy was portraying him. Roy couldn't help his own smile, though the circumstances were, honestly, anything but a happy background. "It's just surprising to see you like this. I hadn't expected it, which is stupid, I know, but I'm kind of still in shock." Edward affected a simpering look, placing his hands over his heart, and Roy rolled his eyes. "Don't act like it's an emotional thing, you ass. I'm just saying."

A raised eyebrow and a smirk were all the response he received. Uh huh, right. You're not emotional at all, huh?

Suddenly, unreasonably, Roy was very concerned with how Alphonse was viewing this exchange. The thought made him glance back, but the younger Elric brother was turned away, pretending not to pay attention…though the corner of a smile told Roy otherwise. He'd better wrap this up before he made a complete fool of himself. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to be staying here in Central until you've made a recovery, and I think Lieutenant Hawkeye intends to do the same. I know Al's staying, but I thought you should know me and the Lieutenant will also be here for you. And before you say anything,' he amended quickly, "it's not that I'm going soft, I just look out for my men. And as far as I'm concerned, you're still one of them. So…I'll be seeing you tomorrow, alright, Ed?"

Edward only stared at him openmouthed for a few moments, before nodding slowly. Roy flashed his best smile before turning and clapping Al on the shoulder. "I trust I'll see you here tomorrow as well?"

"You know it," Alphonse affirmed. "I'll be here whenever the doctors allow it."

"Tomorrow, then. Don't listen to any lies he tells about me," Roy joked, calling the last words over his shoulder before he left. Tomorrow. And every day until Edward was out of that godforsaken "containment center."


Though his little band of visitors hadn't been there long (with Al leaving just a few minutes after Roy), Edward found himself completely exhausted once he was alone once more. He slumped back against his pillows, shivering lightly. At least he was warmer today. That was a good sign, right?

Seeing everyone together again had been shocking. This was the first time Al had come back to Amestris, and Ed had only seen Winry briefly in between trips, never mind the Colonel and the Lieutenant. It was…nice, to have them all there for him. Edward smiled. When he was younger he'd never have had a thought like that. He used to be so self-sufficient, but now he appreciated people caring about him. To an extent, at least. As he had told Winry, he still didn't like being told what to do, but he was fine with people having his back.

Winry. Ed barely suppressed a sigh in time—those, as he had found out the hard way, were rather rough on his throat. What was he going to do about her? Or, maybe more accurately, what was she going to do about him? Edward knew she was upset, and he supposed she had a right to be so…but at the same time, it wouldn't kill her to try to understand. He's spent the better part of his life focused on fixing his fuck ups. First it was training to learn alchemy to bring his and Al's mother back, and then trying to get their bodies back, and then trying to defeat Father. Only recently had Ed been able to experience what it was like to make his own path without guilt obligating him to choose a certain way. And Winy wanted to put restrictions on that…Edward was done with restrictions.

So what did that mean? Both he and Winry could be stupidly stubborn, and Ed knew he wasn't ready to change his ways just yet. He just didn't know if Winry could hold out until he decided to settle down.

Then there was Alphonse. It felt so strange to see his brother back in Amestris, but of course Edward had been happy to have Al by his side again. His visit to Xing hadn't been nearly enough to cover the ache Ed felt without Alphonse next to him. Having been reliant solely on each other for so long, being away from his brother still felt strange to Edward, and it was a great comfort for Al to come visit him now.

And Roy and Riza, that was interesting. Lieutenant Hawkeye was always great to have around; though she hadn't said much (which was typical, unless you were alone with her), Riza's presence was in itself very grounding. Just by being in the room, she gave you a sense of security. The Colonel, on the other hand…well, he was fun to mess with, at least, and that cheered Ed up immensely. But he couldn't for the life of him understand why Roy had decided that he was going to come up here, let alone stay for the duration of Edward's treatment. Maybe he, like Ed, was getting a little soft and nostalgic.

Whatever. He'd take any company he could get in this stupid fucking cube.