body heat is something most people use to convert heat quicker to a person who is freezing. at the age al is, he shouldn't know how that works in the medical sense. as with most people, you get the sense bodies close together make heat but to know how to use it is a different story so yeah...
oh and for the some reason the doc in my head sounded country...
Roy looked at Al as Al looked in the box.
"Brother? You mean Edward? Er, uh, Chaser?"
"Chaser is what Mommy made him… this is Edward."
Roy immediately got out of the snow and grabbed the box to flip it upward, the open end pointing to the sky. He then reached in and grabbed Edward up, the metal leg making him weigh more than he should.
"We won't be going anywhere today, Al. Go and open the door for me and call Maes. His number is right on the table."
Al nodded and ran back to Roy's apartment as Edward practically laid limp in his arms. It scared him, really. What if the kid was already gone? How would Alphonse handle finally seeing his brother but his brother was already an icicle?
"The door's locked, Roy." Alphonse said, jumping up and down.
Roy cursed under his breath as he climbed the stairs.
"Here, my keys are in my pocket. It's the odd shaped one."
Al rummaged in his pocket and found the keys, picking out the one for the door and unlocking it. Roy practically ran the kid over as he opened the door with his elbow and headed to the couch. He laid Edward on it as Alphonse put the number into the rotary phone slowly, saying the numbers as he did. Roy found as many blankets as he could and threw the bundle on the table in front of the couch.
"Roy, Maes wants to talk to you." Al said.
"Can you make something of those blankets? Get him warmed up."
Al nodded and quickly went over to his brother to fix the blankets. He had been afraid that Edward was dead but the heat of the apartment seemed to make him come alive enough to start shivering. Al pulled his soaking pants off as well as the thin shirt. He also pulled off the underwear and threw them into a pile on the floor. Al grabbed a thin blanket and lifted his brother up to put under him and then wrapped him in it. Then he took another and put it on top of him, wrapping him in it again. He took his coat off and stripped down to his underwear while grabbing the third blanket. He climbed onto the couch and moved the blankets around until he felt his brother's cold arm. He then threw the blanket over the two of them and held his brother close, trying to keep him from shivering.
Roy turned back but didn't see Alphonse. He looked around for a moment.
"Al? Al, where are you?"
"I'm here." He said, popping up from the covers.
"What are you doing?"
"Body heat."
"Roy, are you listening?" Maes said.
Roy made a face but turned back to the phone.
"Yeah, I'm listening."
"Anyway, how are you going to get out of this mission? It's a pretty important one."
"I'll tell them I've got the runs or something from food poisoning."
"Didn't you use that as your last excuse?"
Roy frowned. "I haven't used that excuse at all! What are you talking about?"
"Just making sure you aren't being lazy."
"Why would I be lazy when I'm trying to aspire? I find that sad coming from you…"
Maes chuckled. "I'll call Gracia and let her know Al won't be coming. She'll be disappointed. She'll probably make something and bring it by, knowing her. Especially when she finds out what Al has a brother."
"You going to come over here when you're done?"
"Yeah, we can't both be missing."
"I'm sorry to trouble you about all of this."
"It's no problem at all. The good thing is that we got the kid from whoever that Mommy bitch is. That's one hurdle."
"Well I think the problem is going to be the aftermath of what she's done and anything else that could be swimming around in his little head. I mean, Al said that before Mommy took them Edward's mind wasn't the same. We have no idea what's lurking in there."
"Understandable. Just keep me posted."
Maes hung up and Roy walked over to the bundle on the couch. Alphonse looked up at him and Roy made a face.
"I'm not mad, but how do you know about body heat? That's something a kid shouldn't really know about in the survival aspect."
"Brother taught it to me. I told you he was really smart before Mommy did what she did and he had read about it before. We even tried it once while our mom was alive. She let us make a camp outside the house and Brother wanted to test it out. It worked but he said he didn't like me being on him, so we ended up going back inside." He said with a slight smile.
Roy looked at Edward as he trembled, not shaking as violently as he was since he 'thawed out'. He put the back of his hand on Edward's forehead and he felt as cold as ice.
"I'll have to call a doctor to take a look at him. He'll ask what happened… Should I tell him?"
Alphonse thought for a second. He didn't know how Edward escaped or if he even did. It was odd that he happened to show up in front of Roy's house when he didn't even know where it was. He may have been bait for a setup. What Mommy would want with Roy was beyond him, but Mommy didn't know where Roy lived… unless Chaser said something… It all seemed rather forced to Al.
"Just… say he got lost in the woods or something. I don't think it would be a good idea to say what really happened."
Roy nodded. "I'll figure something out."
The doctor took out the earpieces of his stethoscope and put the back of his hand on Edward's forehead.
"Looks like he caught a small case of hypothermia being out there all night and all. If you hadn't found him, he would have probably died by the end of the day today. Poor kid looks like he's suffered something fierce. And you said you found him wandering the streets?" he said, looking at Roy with a disbelieving look.
Roy crossed his arms. "He probably had a bad home life and ran away or something. I mean, he didn't have any shoes on or a coat. He probably stole something and was shot at, hence the wound."
"Well it's a good thing you found him." He reached over and took the thermometer from Edward's mouth. "His temperature is still pretty low. You'll need to get his body temperature back up to normal. Using your boy to give him body heat was a good idea."
"Thank you… How long before he gets back to core temperature?"
"I'd say a couple of hours at least. Keep the apartment warm, keep him wrapped up. The other boy doesn't have to stay with him but I would definitely keep him covered to the neck. In fact, I'd even cover his head so that heat doesn't escape. I'd suggest a heating pad if you have one but only on top of the blankets. The only problem is that once he reaches core temperature, his body is going to react to the gunshot wound, broken shoulder, and the fractured ribs."
"Fractured ribs?" Roy asked, frowning.
"Yup. I got the bullet out of the arm but there's a lot of bruising around his rib cage area. I can't feel too much around it but by looking at the size of the bruise and how small he is, most likely the ribs are fractured. That being said, I can't give him anything for the pain until he's back to core temperature. The hypothermia is almost like an icepack for him, numbing the pain, but obviously he can't stay cold like that. Once he gets to core temperature, the body will react to the pain and most likely he'll go into a fever. You'll have to call me so that I can get an accurate measure of his pain tolerance and give you something for him. Doing it now, I could overdose him."
"Right, I understand. What about food and drink? Should I try or is it too soon?"
"I'd stick with broths and maybe a little something soft like eggs or a tiny piece of boiled chicken. Mostly broth, though."
"Okay."
The doctor gathered his stuff and left as Roy led him to the door. Once gone, Alphonse watched him from the chair as he pulled back the covers to see what bruising the doctor had been talking about. Sure enough, the whole side of his Edward's chest was nothing but a nasty back and blue bruise. Alphonse came over and looked at his brother.
"Mommy kicked him or threw him into something."
"We need a different name for that bitch besides 'Mommy'. That word is for a woman who loves her child and would do anything for it. That woman who makes you use that name is making you misunderstand what a real parent is. She's cursing what a real mommy is."
"That's all we know her by and that's all Ed will know her by. We can't confuse him anymore cuz I know he'll be really confused when he wakes up."
Roy sighed, knowing Al was right. Until Edward was able to comprehend that he was safe and that Mommy wasn't anything like a real mother, they would have to use the misnomer until they could find a proper name to call her. I'd call her Heartless Bitch, but Maes would hit me for making the kids say it… He touched Al on the head and he looked up at him.
"How about I make a little breakfast? I'll scramble some eggs and maybe you can try and feed Edward a tiny bit of them?"
"Okay!"
Since Roy couldn't go in, he decided to look over some reports at the dining table. Alphonse fell asleep on the other side of the couch with Edward and Edward was bundled up like a Briggs soldier. Roy had taken the liberty of finding his heating pad and filled it with water, warming it up. He set it on top of the blankets and turned the downstairs radiator on. Now he was getting tired again, the silence, the warmth… the boring report.
A knock startled him and he fumbled as he got up to go the door. He looked in the hole and opened up, finding Gracia with a pot of something.
"Hey, Maes said that you had found Al's brother and I had already planned on making soup for the cold day."
"That's perfect, thank you." He said, letting her in.
Gracia went to the kitchen and set the pot on the stove.
"I'm sorry, but I can't stay. I have to go back to the shop. My boss said I had enough time to just bring this over. She thought you were Maes and so she let me come."
"I see. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, would you mind making me some broth for Edward? The doctor said it would be the best for now until he's back on his feet."
"Sure thing. I'll set some aside after work when I make dinner."
"You're the best, Gracia. I can understand why Maes enjoys you so much."
Gracia blushed immensely. "He- he doesn't say that."
Roy smiled as she left and realized that Gracia was one of the few women he didn't flirt with at all. Maybe it was his respect for Maes… or maybe it was his respect for Maes as a killer. Either way, he found no attraction to her nor any desire to try and woo her. He shrugged. She was a good woman and definitely Maes' type. She's also be a good mother, that Roy could already tell.
After desperately trying to withstand the comfortable atmosphere, Roy finally decided to give in at about midday. We can have the soup for supper… he thought. He grabbed up Alphonse and took him upstairs to his bed and laid him down. He turned the radiator on in there to warm up the room but also cracked the window just enough to let in some of the cool air. He then went back down and turned the radiator off in the living room and gently picked up Edward. The blankets made it cumbersome but he wasn't going to leave the kid down there by himself. He placed him between him and Alphonse and stole a blanket from him to throw over all three of them since he didn't pull down the bed when he put Al on it. The air was just right and he fell asleep.
something sweet amongst all this drama. and this happens to me all the time when i'm trying to type. i dont' have a desk set up and i get cold really easily. i also don't have music/tv on most of the time because it distracts me. so it'll be all nice and warm and silent, got my warm laptop on my lap on top of my blanket on the couch... and zzzzzzzzzzzz. and then i have to move the laptop and take a nap, haha. anyway, it sucks sometimes because it'll hit you at like 3pm. but i thought it would be a nice 'father' moment between roy and the boys and like a said, some sweetness amid the dramatic. :)
