Al's P.O.V.
I sit outside the hospital room in Central with Brother. We were able to move Jade here, but not without difficulty. We had to take her to the Western hospital first.
"No! Damn it!" Brother curses, punching the ground. I hear the rain pounding on the roof, drops of water slipping through the cracks.
"Brother! Relax! We have to move! Now!" I shout, snapping him out of his trance. I lift Jade into my metal arms, her blood staining me red.
Brother taps his toe impatiently. Further down the hall, Colonel Mustang paces back and forth angrily. How long have we been waiting?
Brother and I run as fast as we can, but I hear that the other chimeras have escaped. Or been set free. They pound hard on our trail, following the scent of Jade's blood. They're so close now… "Al, run ahead with her! I'll keep 'em busy!"
I look at Brother, shocked. "No! I won't leave you!" I protest as we keep running.
"Al, she needs medical attention, and we can't lead these creatures into town!" Brother shouts, turning around and using alchemy to bring up a wall of earth which the chimeras soon destroy. "Go, Al! Go!"
I'm getting impatient now too, but I'm trying to just wait. It shouldn't be taking this long. Right?
I finally make it to the hospital, but Jade has lost a lot of blood. The tie on her shoulder to try to stop the bleeding is soaked now. She's really pale; I'm worried for her.
The hospital people have me take her into a room and put her on the hospital bed. "Will she be alright?!" I ask frantically.
One of the nurses gives me a sad but reassuring smile. "I promise we'll do our best."
It's been hours since then, and even longer since the commute back to Central. The door opens and a smiling nurse comes out. Brother and I jump to our feet. "She's doing just fine. She's stable and awake; you can visit her now if you wish."
I'm the first one in the room, followed by Ed. Colonel Mustang stops to talk to the nurse. "Al!" Jade exclaims when she sees me. "Ed!" Her smile brightens at the sight of us.
"Jeez Jade, don't scare us like that!" Brother exclaims, but he's smiling as well.
"Yeah, you had us all worried!" I add.
Her smile fails for a moment. "What happened to your automail, Ed?"
Brother looks away sheepishly. "Well, let's just say there was someone behind the chimera. Couldn't see who, or what, but it tore up my arm, the just disappeared."
Jade rolls her eyes, smiling again. "Oh, Brother…" I add in a playful tone.
"You better get that fixed up." Jade says, looking at the broken automail.
"Yeah, I know. We're going to see my mechanic as soon as you're fit to travel." Ed replies, and I get excited.
"We're going to see Winry?"
Ed grins. "Yep! And she'll kill me for this, but hey, she's the one who made it!" I see some excitement fade from Jade's eyes, but I shrug it off.
Colonel Mustang takes this moment to enter. "I thought you were supposed to keep her safe, since she didn't know as much alchemy as you two." He says seriously, looking between Ed and me.
"Since when have you cared about my wellbeing?" Jade spits back, glaring at her uncle.
"Whether I act like it or not, I'm still your uncle. You're the only family I have left. I never stopped caring for you." Mustang's voice is softer when he talks to Jade.
"Right, since you cared so much, you decided to send me off, away from the only family I had." She counters quickly. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She finishes, turning away from her speechless uncle. "Anything else from you two?" She asks, yawning.
Brother is speechless as well, and a knock on the door startles us. Lieutenant Hawkeye opens the door and smiles. "Well, since you're feeling better, I thought it to be time to introduce you to some of our other members."
The door opens wider to reveal some of Brother's colleagues. The room's atmosphere brightens as Jade's visitors grin at us.
My P.O.V.
I turn to see other people dressed like my uncle in the doorway. "Lieutenant." My uncle says simply.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye, I didn't know you were stopping in." Ed gives one of his goofy smiles.
"Yeah, well, I thought your friend/ apprentice might want to meet some of the people she may be working with."
The buff man from the train station steps forward, taking off his shirt. He does a few poses, going on about some 'family trait'.
"That's Major Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist." The Lieutenant explains.
"Nice abs, Major." I smile, and I swear that sparkles appear around his head.
"You are a true artist! I welcome thee to Central!" He says dramatically. Ed looks at him like he's crazy, and I smile at the look on his face.
I'm introduced to my uncle's 'underlings' and then the last man steps forward.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Maes Hughes."
I shake his hand and smile. "Mr. Hughes, nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you from Ed and Al." Ed gives me a look that clearly says 'don't ask about his daughter'. I raise an eyebrow, but I don't say anything.
Hughes pulls out a picture anyways, and Ed rolls his eyes. "Oh boy, not again." Ed whispers, preparing himself for something. I give him a confused look before the picture is shoved in my face. Hughes starts spewing rapid words about how adorable his daughter is.
"M-M-Mr. Hughes!" I interrupt him, and he stops talking. I take the picture from his hand and smile. "I can't see how cute she is if the picture is this close to my face." I start to giggle and Hughes smiles.
He lets me look at the picture without interrupting me. The picture is of a little girl, still in her toddler years. Her cute hair is pulled up into pigtails.
"Aww! Mr. Hughes, she's so cute!" I say, speaking the truth about his kid. Most of the people in the room look at me with shocked faces. I simply giggle. "What? I know a cute kid when I see one!"
Ed's P.O.V.
I can't help but smile at Jade's last comment. She and Hughes talk about his kid, and I catch myself watching her. Every smile Jade makes lifts my spirits. I see Mustang looking at her too, and Lieutenant Hawkeye is whispering something to him.
"Alright Maes, that's enough for one time slot. We better let her rest and get back to work." She says seriously and she and the guys who work under Mustang leave.
"Good-bye my dear! Get well soon!" Major Armstrong says, his voice over-dramatic as usual. Jade just smiles and waves as he exits the room.
"You'll have to come visit us after you're better!" Hughes smiles.
"I will, after we get Ed's automail fixed." Jade replies, smiling as well. Hughes nods to Al and I, salutes Mustang, then walks out of the room.
"We'll bring you some of your books if you want." I offer.
"Thanks Ed, I'd appreciate it." Jade replies, still smiling. Mustang starts to walk away, but Lieutenant Hawkeye is suddenly in the doorway, like she was expecting this and was prepared. She shakes her head no and whispers something to Mustang who protests quietly.
"Boys, why don't you come with me?" Hawkeye suggests, cutting off whatever Mustang was saying.
"Okay, we'll visit you later Jade." Al says, practically dragging me out of the room after Hawkeye. Jade sighs and waves to us. Hawkeye shuts the door behind us, leaving Mustang alone with Jade inside.
"Al, what was that for?!" I ask in a loud tone.
"Roy and Jade need time to sort things out." Hawkeye explains to me. "Since Jade can't go anywhere, the only problem was Roy."
