A/N: Here's chapter four for y'all!
Chapter 4-Getting By
Roy leaned against the doorway. He was hovering at a distance over Falman and Fuery. Vato was deeply asleep as usual and Fuery sitting next to it slumped on the edge also asleep. It had been almost a week since they found Vato. A long week. He was still with them, though they weren't sure why. By all they could figure he should be dead but still he hung on. Fuery was refusing to leave his side. The kid was scared. This was worst case of brutality he'd ever seen and it had shaken him. It wasn't helping that while Vato was holding on, it was just barely. Forty pounds in two weeks. He couldn't imagine what they'd done to him to wreak such damage. Describing him as skin and bones seemed to hearty. He was so much frailer looking than that. They mushed up all the hearty fattening foods they could into the broth they were managing to get him to drink, even if it was an automatic reflex.
The shuffle of blankets drew his attention to the small cot they'd managed to find. On it lay Havoc unnaturally pale except for the flush of fever and covered in sweat. His face was pinched with pain as he stared at the wall not aware he was being watched. It was the only time he let it show how miserable and pained he felt. He wasn't doing near as well as he tried to make everyone think. He grimaced and flopped onto his back slinging an arm over his eyes. Roy scowled seeing the slowly growing stain of blood on the bandage. It shouldn't be bleeding again.
"Let me look at that" he grabbed the med kit sitting on the cot next to him.
"M'fine" he rasped shifting away to keep him from touching the wound.
"You're bleeding again we don't have a supply of blood here so just shut up and let me tend it" Havoc tried to glare but his eyes were glazed and unfocused. The very thought of anyone touching the wound made his stomach twist in knots with dread. It felt like there was an electrified fire roaring in his side.
"I'm fine" he tried again. Roy ignored him peeling away the soiled bandage not mentioning the grimace he saw sweep over Havoc's expression. Worry clenched his heart. Again the wound was inflamed and bright red seeping blood and a little of something else. Mustang grabbed the bottle of iodine.
Havoc tried to roll away but his whole body felt shaky and disobedient and he managed to put him closer to Roy with better access to the wound. He jerked swallowing back a cry of pain when Mustang began pulling and pushing at the wound to force it to drain. The Colonel was merciless with his thorough work dissolving him to writhing and whimpering biting his lip to hold back the cry. The iodine splashed and his vision sparkled and the world fuzzed over.
"Havoc. Havoc can you hear me?" He wanted to answer but the fire in his side was crackling and roaring. Everything was kind of spinning but not. Maybe he was spinning. The voices had a bit of a distant echo to them. He never noticed the needle slip into his arm.
"Hang on Havoc the morphine will be working soon" The promise was a good one. Soon he felt his tense body relaxing and the pain losing it's sharp molten edge. He could breath again.
"How're you feeling now?" the voice sounded a little distant still. Havoc swallowed thick a few times.
"Hughes?" That wasn't right.
"Yeah"
"What happened to the Colonel?" Hadn't he just been here? Wasn't he the one that started the pain? Well, started making it worse.
"Oh, he went to bed hours ago" Havoc scowled.
"What?" Hughes stood and went to the far too near table messing with objects Jean couldn't see.
"You've been out of it for a few hours Havoc. Roy finished cleaning the wound readied it and gave you a bit of morphine"
"Oh" he shifted trying to get more comfortable.
"Here, try and eat this" Hughes held out a steaming bowl of broth and vegetables.
"I'd rather not" Havoc grimaced.
"You eat it or you listen to me gush about Gracia and out upcoming child. She's all aglow and ravishing! I could just hug her and squeezer her all…" Havoc started eating. Hughes let him alone to mill around the cabinets consolidating what was left. Supplies were fast dwindling.
He scrubbed his forehead trying to concentrate. There had to be a way to make the supplies last longer. It was too dangerous to go out for more still. The military could smell blood in the water and were circling. He sighed. His gaze shifted to Falman, Fuery having slipped off the edge of the couch sleeping curled against the foot of it like a puppy. He wasn't doing well at all. They all liked to fool each other talking about he was getting rest and the food was doing any good but it wasn't. He slept all hours of the day and he wasn't gaining weight. His wounds, even the small ones, weren't healing up. Very few had even managed to scab over. He'd been driven to such a state of exhaustion his body couldn't even heal the smallest of cuts or bruises. Something had to be done.
Two in the morning rolled around. Everyone slept soundly. The sound of the whimper barely pierced the sleepy haze of Roy's mind. He rolled over a louder groan finishing his awakening. He sat up blinking to adjust to the darkness before looking for the source. He glanced at Falman but he was deep unconscious as usual. Another moan sounded. Havoc. He squinted at the cot. The Lieutenant was not awake that he could tell but he writhed on his back the blankets tangling severely his breathing harsh and fast between moans of pain. Roy rushed over finding Havoc with his eyes scrunched, face pinched and jaw clenched.
"Havoc?" he pressed his palm to his forehead cringing and the heat rolling off him in waves sweat dripping to the sheets beneath him. Havoc flinched away from his touch writhing more.
"C'mon Havoc don't do this" he growled yanking the blankets away off the cot. Blood soaked the bandage and the bed beneath him in a great pool. Jean lurched vomiting over the side of the cot violently. The others jolted awake. Fuery was kneeling at his head running a hand through his hair trying to draw his attention, talking to him, anything to show he could hear them. Breda looked lost.
"What're we going to do?" he murmured. They needed to clean and stitch it so the wound would actually close but all the stitches had been used for Falman. They only had a few drizzles of iodine left and they were starting to pick out bedding material to make into bandages so they'd be ready when needed.
"We need to get something that will say in the wound and keep it clean. The iodine always drains and infection takes again" Roy grumbled. The room was silent for a moment as they all tried to think except for Havoc's labored panting.
"Salt." Fuery spoke hesitant.
"Salt?" Breda quizzed.
"If we pack the wound with salt it will disinfect it and would drain" Kain explained.
"You know we're out of morphine right?" Roy questioned.
"Wait, why does that matter? He shouldn't need morphine…should he?" Breda didn't understand. How was salt going to help?
"Because salt is a strong natural disinfectant but it burns like hell. Worse than iodine I've heard. He's already in agony from the infection in the wound. He's going to want a lot of morphine" Roy explained. Havoc vomited unaware of them all.
"What other choice is there?" Roy's shoulders slumped. Kain was right.
"Get what iodine we have left, we'll scrub the wound clean then pack it." The process was horrific. It took a long time to scrub the wound with the iodine soaked rag and reduced Havoc to disoriented sobs. He screamed when they packed the salt and went into shock falling unconscious. A mixed blessing. They were all exhausted, the sun rising by the time they had him stabilized and settled. It wasn't until after they'd checked on Falman, managing to get another half bowl of broth into him, and were settling down for another attempt some needed sleep. And then Mustang finally noticed.
Maes Hughes was gone.