All the sound that'd disappeared into a mysterious vacuum earlier came roaring back to life as the courtroom dissolved into chaos.

Alarmed yells and shouts from the jury and observers of the trial behind them- scraping chairs and clacks as wooden chairs were knocked over- the typist who'd been transcribing the trial screamed, a glass pitcher of water was knocked from the table and shattered into a million crystal pieces on the floor.

And through it all, the only thing Roy Mustang could notice was the silence.

The small, blond form crumpled in military blues in the center of the court room. So still.

He staggered his way forward, tuning out the chaos, hands finding the small form and turning him over.

He'd lost the ability to breath. He knew he was breathing, but there wasn't enough oxygen... His hands were shaking as he scanned the small uniform, reaching up to tap one of Ed's cheeks. The boy's eyes were screwed shut.

"Ed? Can you hear me?" he didn't know how his own voice wasn't swallowed up in the auditory chaos around him, but he was blessed with a reply as those golden eyes fluttered open to look up at him with confusion.

"Roy?"

"He had a gun. He shot at you. Are you hurt anywhere, Ed?"

"I dunno." Ed shrugged. "I feel fine."

He did look remarkably fine. Roy raked his eyes over the boy's body- his chest and uniform were remarkable unharmed, his abdomen clean and free of any signs of trauma...

It was then he noticed the growing dark red stain on the upper left of Ed's uniform. He tried to swallow, but his mouth had become like sandpaper.

For one horrible minute, he thought that he'd been shot in the left breast- a wound to the heart- that he'd have a minute or two, at best, before Ed faded out in his arms.

His eyes frantically scanned the source of the wound, though- the blood seemed to be coming from Ed's arm, not his chest- and Roy let out a harsh nasal sigh and a prayer of thanks. Ed had been hit in the upper right forearm. He was bleeding. But it wasn't a fatal shot- it wasn't fatal- he tried to tell that to his stampeding heart, to his own shaking fingers...

Roy shifted Ed so he was cradling the upper half of the boy's body in his left arm, reaching across with his right arm and doing his best to hold pressure on the wound.

"Ed- he shot you."

Ed's golden eyes darted over towards him- so bright, so clear. He looked confused. "No he didn't. I feel totally fine."

"That's because you're in shock, Edward."

Roy looked up at the new voice to see Marissa Jennings- the unflappable attorney- kneeling in her black skirt and pantyhose, hurriedly shrugging out of her black jacket to reveal a wine colored top.

"You're going to be fine, but we need to do our best to stop the bleeding." Her brown eyes met Roy's as her hand reached for his, where it was clamped over Ed's injured upper arm. She was asking his permission to help.

Reluctantly, Roy moved his hand from the wound, and Marissa, business-like as ever, placed her discarded coat to the wound, holding pressure with both hands.

Roy swallowed, trying to quell the nausea in his gut at the sight of Ed's blood on his hand.

"This may hurt a little, Ed- I'm sorry, but I have to keep pressure on it to slow the bleeding." Jennings apologized.

Ed blinked, looking over at her in surprise. "I don't know what you're talking about. I can't feel a thing."

Ed had started to lose some color in his face, and a bit of sweat had broken out on his forehead. It reminded Roy of the way he'd looked when he'd had to have his tetanus shot, right before he'd fainted. It made his stomach lurch uncomfortably.

He was brought back to reality by Jennings placing a hand on his own bloodied one. He was trembling, he realized.

"Thats the adrenaline talking. I need you to stay focused and stay awake, Ed." Marissa was looking at him while she spoke, and Roy nodded to her, steadying his hand. He'd be alright. They needed to worry about Ed at the moment.

"They've called for an ambulance. It should be out front in two minutes."

Roy looked up, surprised, to see Lieutenant Margaret Shaw joining their huddle, looking concerned.

Roy wanted to snap his fingers at her- at Banks- at all of them. But the alien desire burned out quicker than a campfire in a thunderstorm when he looked back down at Ed.

"We're going to need to move him to get him out there."

"I can walk! I'm perfectly fine." Ed started to struggle in his grasp, trying to get to a position where he could leverage himself to get upright.

"Ed- Ed stop..." Marissa looked at Roy in alarm as Ed didn't pay her any attention.

Roy felt his heart speed up in worry and fear, and he quickly channeled it into something he knew- discipline. He raised his right hand, cuffing Ed upside the head quickly. There was no real force behind the blow- just enough to jostle Ed's head and make the teen stop squirming.

Ed stopped struggling, golden gaze turning over to look at Mustang in surprise and... hurt?

"That was mean."

"I know. But I had to do it because you weren't listening and you were going in injure yourself further. Now lie still until we can get you to the ambulance."

Ed made no move to start struggling again. In fact, he seemed to be pouting from where he laid still. Were it not for the circumstances, it would've been comical.

Jennings moved to the side, and Roy looked over to see Lieutenant Shaw take her place, her leather belt in her hand.

"I can make a tourniquet for his arm before you move him." she offered, though her hands made no move to follow through with the action. She was waiting- for his permission, he realized.

He nodded, letting his gaze drop back to the blond teenager in his arms. "Do it."

Ed wriggled in his hold slightly. Roy sighed, reaching up to brush a few stray strands of blond hair from the boy's face. "Be still." he ordered.

For once, Ed listened, though he was still looking slightly miffed as he met Mustang's gaze.

"So... did we win?" Ed piped up.

Even Lieutenant Shaw's expert hands stopped their work on Ed's tourniquet in surprise.

"I thought we won the trial- I mean, we had good evidence and stuff. And the jury agreed with us. But then the judge overrode the verdict but it turns out he's not really even a judge at all."

Roy shot Lieutenant Shaw a look, and she quickly resumed her work in fastening her belt around Ed's upper arm as Ed continued talking.

"I don't know if we won or not to be honest, Ed." Marissa had moved closer, hoping to keep Ed talking. "It seemed like we did, but there's official things that need to happen."

"Well everybody keeps telling me Banks shot me." Ed said, looking annoyed. "So can you get him on attempted murder?"

Jennings raised her eyebrows. Everyone in this courtroom had been a witness to what'd just happened. Even a first year law student could've slam dunked the case.

She nodded. "Yes, Edward, I believe I can do that."

"So we won, then." Ed was looking cheerful.

Roy looked over at Shaw- she was nearly done looping her belt around Ed's upper arm, and was using the wooden handle of the discarded gavel to twist the tourniquet tight.

He looked back down at Ed. Apparently his concern and dark expression was visible, because Ed frowned.

"What're you looking like that for? We won."

"Banks shot you."

"Why are you always such a downer? I mean, yeah, I got shot- but you know what this is the face of- a winner. Cause I'm winning!" Ed pulled back his lips, which were still red enough that Roy wasn't completely panicking, to show Mustang a beaming grin.

Roy let out a nasally sigh, shaking his head as he looked down at his teenage subordinate in disbelief. "Ed- be quiet."

Ed grew tired of looking at Roy- his charcoal eyes, dark with concern and something that was unreadable- worry, maybe- love? That Ed didn't want to think about it.

So instead he turned to look at Jennings, their attorney with dark curly hair, almond eyes, and a red-lipped smile.

"You're pretty." he said simply. "You should totally go out with Mustang. He likes girls in skirts."

Jennings looked from Ed to Mustang- were the circumstances different, she would've smiled, but she wasn't sure if the kid was being serious or not.

"Edward!" Roy was trying to combat the flush creeping onto his cheeks. "Ed, shut up!"

"His tourniquet is done." Lieutenant Shaw announced.

Roy jolted to his feet, Edward still in his arms.

Hughes jogged into the room, looking a bit disheveled. "Ambulance is out front."

"Right."

Ed had his pinky and thumb of his automail hand held up by his ear like a phone, gesturing to Jennings.

"Call him!"

Roy was already jogging them out of the room. He was running down the hallways, trying to get himself to stop blushing, when he noticed Ed had gone slack in his arms. The kid's eyes were closed.

He cursed under his breath.

"Ed. Ed, say something."

The only sound were his footfalls on the floor as he raced them towards the door. His heart started to pound louder, he felt like all the oxygen was being sucked out of the room. "Ed. Say something. Please."

He was lucky he didn't manage to run into something, because he was now almost one hundred percent focused on the small form in his arms.

Ed shifted, hummed, and didn't open his eyes. "I can't hear you." he said petulantly. "Because I'm in shock, and I'm not allowed to talk, apparently."

Roy let out a breathless laugh, willing himself not to go weak in the knees with relief and keep himself moving forwards.

"Kid, you are an asshole. Once you're fixed up in the hospital, I will barbecue you, understand?" he cast a look downwards to see Ed's eyes were still closed, a tense expression on his face.

"Ed? Talk to me."

Ed's automail arm reached up and fisted itself into Roy's collar, grabbing a handful of the blue fabric. He shifted and mewled a little, golden eyes fluttering open. "It's starting to hurt." he said quietly.

"I know. I'm sorry. We're almost there." Roy had reached the end of a the longest hallway now, and he turned- fifty feet and they'd be out the front door and t the ambulance. "Hang in there for me Ed. Stay awake."

Ed did better than that- he tightened his grip on Mustang's shirt, using the fabric to haul himself up. His right arm remained useless, bleeding as it was into Mustang's side, but he threw his automail arm around Roy's shoulders, burying his face in the crevice between the other man's shoulder and neck.

"Don't leave me 'lone..." Ed managed to stammer.

"I'm not going anywhere, Edward. I'll be with you the whole time, I promise..."

He'd reached the doors, now. Two EMTs held them open for him- a gurney was waiting outside, and he carefully laid Edward on it- Edward's automail hand still hand't let go of the front of Roy's uniform.

"Sir, you need to step back-"

Roy wasn't the one crowding the gurney. As Roy tried to pull back, automail fingers tore the fabric of the front of his uniform.

"Dad!"

The cry stopped both Roy and the EMT trying to usher him back cold- Ed was laying on the gurney, metal fingers reaching pitiably towards Roy. Something within Roy twisted and ignited. He'd promised Ed he'd stay.

Roy shot the EMT a withering glare before he was stepping back towards the gurney. "Whatever help he needs- it'll be easier for all of us if I'm with him. I doubt you've ever had to restrain someone with automail before."

The EMT stepped back, and he and his partner both began the flurry of motion- loading the gurney into the back. It was a cramped ride, but Roy still found his place beside the head of the gurney.

The male EMT banged on the roof of the ambulance, which turned onto the street.

"I'm going to need his hand." the female EMT motioned to Ed's right hand- Roy noticed she had a needle in her hand. "Ed. They're giving you medicine. I need you to look at me and only me, okay?" Ed was already too out of it- low on blood and stressed to have to see the needle and deal with the drop in blood pressure.

"My arm hurts."

"I know. Take a deep breath and talk to me." Roy could see out of the corner of his eyes as the woman readied an alcohol swab and prepared the needle.

"About what?"

"Anything."

"Okay. You should take Marissa on a date. She's nice."

"You think so, huh?"

"Yeah. You guys both have dark hair. So it's good."

"Is it now?"

Ed startled- Roy realized the EMT had sunk the needle into his hand and moved, gently turning Ed's head to the side so he was looking at him.

"Just keep looking at me, Ed."

"My arm feels weird. They're doing something to it." Ed said, looking at him forlornly.

"I know it does. They're giving you medicine to make it hurt less."

"You might feel a little cold, sweetheart. That's okay." the female EMT was reassuring him, as her counterpart inspected the tourniquet.

"Yeah it's cold. And my mouth tastes funny." Ed complained, smacking his lips and making a face.

"That's perfectly normal, sweetie." the EMT assured him.

"Does it still hurt, Ed?"

"No. Just feels funny." Ed laid back, blinking heavily a few times.

"It's cold." he added again for good measure.

"And I'm tired."

Roy shot a glance at the EMT, who looked down at her monitors and nodded. "He's stable. You just rest, sweetie- we'll be there soon."

Roy let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, giving the automail hand within his own a squeeze.

"You can relax, Ed. Just close your eyes and get some rest. We'll be at the hospital soon."

Ed made a keening noise of protest and opened one eye.

"I'm not going anywhere, Ed. I'll be there when you wake up. I promise."

"Okay." Ed said hoarsely, before he was laying back and letting tired eyes fall closed.

What was your favorite part? Sarcastic shot Ed or Papa Roy?