The Blade Alchemist
The Surgery
Edward POV
I layed there in bed, hands behind my head, while Al sat on the floor leaning against the wall. After lunch, Al took Drake back outside to practice more alchemy while I walked down to the library to check out a few books on alchemy for Drake to study. I began to run over everything Drake had said during lunch about his future plans.
Enlist in the military huh? I wonder if he plans to take the State Alchemist exams in the future. He did see the gate after all, so once he learns enough about alchemy he should be able to perform alchemy without a circle or an array. "Brother." Als' voice pulled me back from my thoughts. "Yeah Al?" There was a moment of silence. I turn over to look at him. "Al?" He lowered his head then turned to me. "Brother, do you think that Drake will try to get his body back, like us?" I rolled back onto my back and stared at the ceiling.
"I don't know Al. I've only lost an arm and leg. It would be nice to get them back, but I'm not that worried about it. But you lost your whole body, we have to get that back. As for Drake, he lost both legs, and he can't feel anything. It wouldn't surprise me if he did try." I continued to go over everything in my head, until I felt sleep pull on me. He's a fighter, and I could see the determination in his eyes. If he decides to try and get his body back, even I won't be able to stop him. That was the last thing that went through my mind before sleep finally took me.
Drake POV
I was pulled from sleep by Al lightly shaking my shoulder. "Drake" he said in a low voice. I just mumbled back. "Hmmm?" He stopped shaking me and stood straight. "Brother and I are leaving now. I thought you would want to come say goodbye." I opened my eyes and I could see that it was still dark out. I turned over to face him. "What time is it?" I looked at the watch on my wrist, 4:32am. "Your leaving this early in the morning?" He nodded. "We have to so we can catch the train to Liore. Did you want to say bye to Ed?" I sat up in bed and yawned while rubbing sleep out of my eyes. "Yeah, can you give me a hand? After all, wheelchairs can't exactly tackle stairs very well." He bent down and picked me up as we made our way to the living room.
As we get to the bottom of the stairs, I see Ed with a suitcase slung over his shoulder. Al set me down in the wheelchair at the base of the stairs. Winry managed to find the old dusty one that Ed once used before he got his leg. I roll over to them and stop in front of Ed. "Well, I guess your heading out huh?" He smiled and nodded as Al stretched out his hand to me and I took it in a solid handshake. "Yeah. We've got to get back to our mission before Colonel bastard chews my ears off. I left some beginners books on alchemy in the kitchen for ya. That should keep you busy till you are able to go to the library for more."
I let go of Als hand and took Eds in return. I gave him a solid nod. "Thanks Ed, Al. For all you've done for me. I can't thank you enough. I look forward to seeing you again." Ed nodded back to me and we all turned to the stairs when we heard footsteps. It was Winry, who walked down the stairs and gave each brother a hug. "You didn't think you were going to get away without me saying goodbye did you?" She released the brothers and turned to me. "You need to get back to bed. Your body is going to need all the rest it can get for the surgery tomorrow." I smiled and waved back at them until Al picked me back up and carried me back to my room. He set me on the bed and we gave each other one last handshake. "Bye Al. Catch you later." He nodded then left the room as I layed back and let sleep take me again.
The next day
Drake POV
I heard a soft knock on my door, causing me to wake up. "Hold on." I pulled the covers off and sat up. I pulled the wheelchair over to my side and I slid myself into it, almost tipping over. Last night, Winry moved me into one of the downstairs rooms so that I could use my wheelchair to move around. She didn't want to carry me down stairs right before a surgery as it would put some strain on the surgical site. Once in my chair, I rolled over to the door and opened it to find granny Pinako there.
"Good morning granny. Where is Winry?" She gave me a smile and moved aside so I could leave the room. "Morning Drake. Winrys in the operating room getting it ready. We're going to the kitchen and get some water for you. You have to be awake the whole time during the surgery." We entered the kitchen and she walked over to the sink to fill a glass. "Why do the patients have to be awake during surgery? Wouldn't it be easier if they were knocked out?" She jumped of the step stool and handed me the glass.
"All other surgeries, yes that would be the case. But when it comes to automail surgery where we have to work with the nerves and tendons, the patient has to be awake. If the patient is asleep, the nerves and tendons will retract into the body, making it very difficult to grab them to connect to the port." I finished my glass and gave it to granny who returned to the sink to fill it up again. "However, the surgery is usually only 15-20 minuets for a single limb. Two limbs of course take longer. But seeing as how you can't feel pain, no offense," I waved my hand at her letting her know that none was taken. "your surgery should take no more than 20-25 minuets because we won't have to fight you."
I looked at her confused. "Fight me?" She nodded. "Remember, the patient is awake through the whole thing. And no one is just going to sit there while under so much pain." I face palmed myself. Duh, I'm such an idiot. "Granny, Drake, everything is ready." we heard Winry call from the back room. So I finished my water and rolled to the operating room. I came through the doorway and rolled over to the medical bed that was lowered down, so that I could slide onto it off the chair. Winry and granny lifted the bed to where it locked itself in a higher position.
"Well, are you ready?" Winry asked. I gave a loud and long sigh. "Yup! Lets do this!" Both women nodded at me then began working. "Scalpel and forceps...cutting." Within seconds, my stump started bleeding profusely. "Port..." This is just so weird. They're cutting me open and I can't feel it. Winry turned to her right to grab more tools and I could see the blood on her clothes. My stomach started to churn with all the blood I saw, so I leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "Winry, I'll attach the skin to the port and tidy it up, start on the other one." I heard the rattling of tools as they were being tossed into a small bucket of disinfectant. "Alright, number two..." Winry grabbed a small rag and used it to wipe the sweat off her brows.
"Cutting..." Now the other stump was bleeding, but at least the other one had stopped. Granny was using a wrench to tighten down the clamps on the port that were holding the skin. "Port..." Winry whispered. Afterwards, granny began to smother the skin with what looked like a jelly. "This is to help the skin heal and bond to the port faster. It also helps prevent infection." I nodded at her and layed my head back and waited for them to finish. "Ok. We just need to tighten the clamps to the skin and coat it. After that, we're all done. I'm gonna go grab some water for Drake granny."
A few more minuets passed and Winry returned with a glass of water, which she gave me. Granny turned to me. "That's it, all finished. Your not going to be able to leave that bed for at least 12 hours. After that, we will wheel the bed to your room and lay you in your own bed. Your gonna be bed ridden for the next 3-4 days while the ports heal up. During that time, Winry and I will start working on blueprinting and constructing your new legs." I finished the water and gave the glass back to Winry. "Do you have an idea as to what general specifications you want for the design?" she asked. I thought about it for a minuet.
"Yeah, something that is really light weight so that I'll be able to move and run quickly. And while I'm stuck here, can I have one of my books so I can study up on alchemy?" Winry nodded and left the room. Granny spoke up. "Well, I'll go start on lunch and make some tea. I'll bring it back here to you." I nodded and game her a smile. "Thank you, you know, for everything. You saved me and took me in, and now your giving me my legs back. I really cannot thank you enough." She just smiled and left the room. I layed my head back and took a deep breath. My legs back. I can' believe I'm getting my legs back.