Ed fell into a fitful sleep, and Roy dozed off soon after, sitting in the plastic chair beside the boy's bed.
He woke up to sunlight streaming in from the windows high up near the ceiling of the room, and Roy frowned. The clock on the boy's bedside table said eight am.
Nurses were bustling in the hall, and Roy could smell breakfast wafting into the hallway.
He blinked, shaking Ed's shoulder. He didn't want to wake the boy, but honestly, he knew Ed would be upset if he left without saying goodbye.
"Fullmetal."
"Hmmm?" Ed turned towards him, eyes half-opening.
"It's morning."
Ed half-sat up, craning his neck and squinting towards the windows to see the sunlight. "Oh."
"I have to go to work. The psychologist should be here to see you in the afternoon, and so I won't visit during lunch so you can have your time with him- but I'll be here after work."
"To take me home?" Ed asked hopefully.
Roy blinked. "Hopefully, yes. They give the words and I'll get you out of here, kid. I'm proud of you for dealing with all this." he reached over, giving the kid's hair an affectionate tusseling.
Ed shook him off but give a groggy smile, wiping at his face.
A young nurse ducked into the room, nodding to Mustang but focusing on Ed. "Breakfast time, Edward."
"Cool." Ed swung his legs over the side of the bed- he was stil in his sweatpants and stained t-shirt, and Roy frowned.
"Try and take a shower before the psychologist gets here, alright?"
"Huh? oh, okay." Ed nodded, looking down at himself and wrinkling his nose at his appearance.
They said their goodbyes and he was off to work, grabbing a crappy cup of coffee from the mess and settling into his desk.
He dialed the familiar number and Hughes picked up on the first ring.
"Hughes. I need a favor."
"Yeah. I heard from base security you stormed the psych ward last night, caused quite the upset." Hughes remarked.
"I did. It was warranted. Anyways, you have access to the coroner's records- I need you to see if anyone has died in the mental hospital."
Hughes paused. "Okay. Mind giving me an update on Ed?"
"He's been waiting to see a psychologist for three days. The brass and i think it's unacceptable- we have one coming in this afternoon to see him. but he's... he's seeing someone again."
"So that's why you want me to check the death records." Hughes said simply.
"Yeah."
Breakfast went well. The small boy who had attacked him the other day sat across the table, wolfing down his own breakfast before he was looking at Ed's plate longingly.
"Hello." Ed looked at the boy, who looked at him hesitantly.
"you want some, right?"
The boy nodded wordlessly.
"Remember what you have to do? Ask nicely?" Ed prompted.
The boy nodded, licking his lips and fidgeting his hands. "Can i have some...?"
Ed beamed. "Yes, you may." He spooned a small pile of scrambled eggs onto the boy's empty plate, tossing a few strips of bacon on for good measure.
The kid ate it ravenously, not even bothering to use his utensils, instead eating with his bear hands and licking the plate clean.
Ed watched the kid, repressing the pang he felt when he saw the desperation in his eyes. a kid so young shouldn't act like that, or be afraid of being hungry.
Lucy at down beside him, and he smiled, handing her the book mustang had brought him yesterday. "Basic alchemy Principals. There it is. I'll start reading it with you after arts and crafts, okay?"
Lucy nodded eagerly. "Okay. Did you see the man last night?" she sked curiously.
Ed blinked, noticing a nurse eying them.
"Yeah- the man- my Colonel, he stopped by last night." he lied fluently, and the nurse kept walking.
Lucy frowned. "Not him. The other one."
Ed sighed. "I told you- we can't talk about the people we see here."
Lucy looked upset, but fell silent.
They were doing paper crafts today, and the small, reedy kid who pestered Ed for food gave up, tearing it into small pieces.
"You made confetti, huh?" Ed asked, looking at the small scraps of colored paper.
"Confetti?" the kid blinked at him.
Ed nodded, grabbing a sheet of blue construction paper and clapping it between his hands.
It shredded into thin blue strips and rained down on them all. "Confetti!"
The kid jumped up, laughing and trying to catch the strands as they fell.
Other kids had crowded over, now, and one of them handed Ed a white piece of paper. "Can you make it snowflakes?"
"Yeah, of course I can..." he did the same, and soon the kids were running around and tossing the paper scraps at one another.
"That's quite enough, Edward." Nurse Kim looked at him angrily.
Ed shot her a glare right back. "What? Is there some hospital policy against having fun?" he asked, tone dripping with sarcasm.
Nurse Kim's eyes widened, and she puffed herself up slightly at his retort. "You shouldn't be using alchemy in front of the children."
"Why do you hate alchemy so much, lady?" Ed asked, not sure where all this hate was coming from.
The woman frowned. "We have a unit for the criminally insane. A quarter of the population is alchemists. Have you seen what alchemy can do in the wrong hands, Mr. Elric?"
Sweat started to form on the edge of Ed's temples, and he froze for a moment. Images flashed through his mind- a mangled, malformed body in his basement, his mother's scorched, bony hand falling to the floor...
"Yes. I have." he admitted.
"Then you understand why I dislike it on my ward. I feel it would be best if you went to your room to read a book for awhile, Edward." nurse Kim said simply.
Ed nodded hollowly, turning and striding down to his room, laying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.
A unit for the criminally insane? with alchemists? his stomach had started to churn. Do they keep people like Shou Tucker there?
The door to his room was palmed open, and Lucy was climbing onto his bed, the alchemy book he'd given her in hand.
"You said you'd teach me!" she said, giving him a small, bright smile.
Ed hesitated. "Why do you want to know?"
"I don't like people locking me up in rooms or chaining me to things! I Want to be strong enough so i never have to worry about that again!" Lucy said, sounding serious.
Ed nodded, looking at the book- she'd already finished the first chapter.
"Right. Okay. So most chains are made of steel- this is an array that can reshape steel or break it down. it's useful for breaking chains or reshaping steel." Ed drew the array quickly, tucking it between the pages of the book.
"And there's one for deconstructing wood. That's good if you get locked in somewhere..." he sketched that one as well, tucking it into the pages.
Lucy nodded, staring at both arrays. "I wanna know more."
Ed smiled. Her pure, childlike curiosity had reminded him why he liked alchemy in the first place- not every alchemist was a maniac. Some of them wanted to do good. Maybe Lucy would be one of those alchemists someday.
"Alright. So let's go over the next chapter. most alchemists draw circles with chalk- I'll have to see if i can get you some..."
BREAK
Roy had just gotten off the phone with the psychologist, who wanted to report his arrival in East City and that he was headed to the hospital to evaluate both kids now.
He'd hardly set the reciever down when Hughes threw open the office door, a thin folder in his hands.
"Here it is. All the death records for the hospital. There's only been three, but most of the executions for the criminally insane occurred at a military detention center, not on the ward..."
Roy nodded, flipping through the documentation.
A nurse had been killed by a patient in the ward for the criminally insane.
A patient had died of natural causes- old age- after spending years admitted to long term card. She'd also been female.
And an obituary for a man of sixty-five.
Carl Baker worked as a custodian at Sister's Mental Hospital. Was found unresponsive at 7am by nursing staff. It was later determined he suffered a massive heart attack. He was described by family as a loving husband and good father, and a doting grandfather to his three grandchildren, with whom he enjoyed fishing, camping, and trips to the beach. He is survived by his wife Leah, 67, daughter Sheryl, 40, and grandchildren.
Roy checked the date of the article. "This was what- three years ago?"
"Yeah. You think Ed is seeing this guy?" Hughes asked, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"From what he described, yeah, I do. I don't think it's malevolent- but after everything he's been through, Ed doesn't like having any spirits around him. It upset him badly last night. Especially because he can't talk to the nurses about it without being labeled as insane."
"Right. So- what are you going to do?"
"Show him the article, probably. It should help calm him down. He has a lot of anxiety over not being able to interact with this spirit, but if he realizes the man is just lonely and had grandchildren, he should be able to take it easy..."
"Well. That's as good a plan as any."
It was a little after 3pm when Ed was pulled into the room and placed on a careworn green couch, a man with salt and pepper hair and a worn but friendly smile nodding to him.
"Hello, Edward. How are you?"
"Truth be told, I've been better. I don't enjoy being locked up." Ed said, sitting down and wrapping his arms around his middle hesitantly. He didn't want to be seen as obstinate, but at the same time, he was honest. About this part, at least.
"Right. I understand you were brought here after some... concerning... behavior that occurred on a recent mission. Can you tell me what happened?"
Ed swallowed.
Decapitated corpses. Bodies hanging from the ceiling. Screaming, crying, sobbing...
His hands had started to shake, and he folded them in his lap to keep them still, tongue darting out to lick his lips.
"I'd been chasing down a killer for awhile. Child killer. A real freak. Also hadn't been feeling well lately. Had just got out of the hospital." Ed admitted.
"Not feeling well in what way?" Dr. Wendel asked.
Ed shrugged. "Been feeling dizzy, sick for a bit. Getting nosebleeds. The doctor at the military base said I have anemia."
Dr. Wendel frowned. "And have you been receiving any medications for your anemia since you arrived here?"
Ed shook his head. "No."
"Should you be taking anything for it?" the light reflected off the man's glasses.
Ed blinked. "I... I dunno? Most of the time the doctors give medication to my guardian, Colonel Mustang, and he makes sure I take it... So you might want to ask him? He handles that stuff for me most of the time. Not that I couldn't take care of myself, I've been doing it since I was five, but he's nosey and he does most of the talking. I don't like doctors or hospitals very much."
"Right." Dr. Wendel wrote something on his notepad. "And had anything traumatic happened prior to the incident in the factory?"
Ed blinked. "You could say that."
"Elaborate on that, please."
"So the night before, I had a lead. A good lead. Nobody believed me, so I went running off into the woods myself to follow it. The military followed. I ended up finding a pretty badly decomposed body of a kid who was about my age... My anemia started acting up and I passed out. Woke up in the hospital. Spent a day there. Anyways, the investigators in the case realized I had good leads and my investigation was solid after they found the first body, so they wanted me to lead them to the factory."
"So we get there. And we find no less than twelve bodies. Mangled. Horrible. Some beyond recognition." Ed went on to describe the corpses in various states of undress, hanging from the ceiling, nailed to the wall, preserved in formaldehyde.
"We even found a body burnt to bones and ash. Anyways, I fell through the floor- found the lone survivor- and was attacked by another victim. Teenager- about seventeen. Said the serial killer had been training him to be his successor. He... held my head under water, taunted me, beat the hell out of me- I was sure I was going to die. I don't know how I did it, but I killed him with alchemy."
The doctor nodded. "Right. Any when you killed him, how did you feel?"
Ed frowned. "To be honest- at that moment, I was numb. I... I got my head above water and gasped for air. I didn't realize I'd killed him until a moment later, and when I did- I threw up. I hated it. Hated all of it. But the girl- Lucy- I could hear her crying, and I knew I had to get up and get her out of there, so I did."
The doctor nodded. "Take me up to the moments you dismembered the killer's corpse, Ed."
Ed took a deep breath. "Right. So- my nerves were shot, I was exhausted, I'd just killed someone who tried to kill me- and the superior officer, Leutienant Colonel Atkins- everyone was freaked out about the case, he got in my face, and I panicked. Socked him in the face. And I just..."
"I thought of all those kids cut into pieces. How they couldn't have open casket funerals, how their families wouldn't be able to say goodbye to them without having to look at bits and dismembered pieces- and I figured, if all thsoe kids don't get to have a proper burial, neither does this monster. So I put a few bullets in his head, and took an axe to his corpse."
The doctor nodded. "I see. And you did it... for revenge?"
Ed nodded. "Think of it as equivalent exchange. All the pain and suffering he inflicted on those kids and their families- all the horror he created- he didn't ge tot have a peaceful resting place. It was poetic justice, of sorts."
Dr. Wendel wrote something on his notepad. "And afterwards, what were you thinking about? Did you think about harming anyone else, or yourself?"
Ed shook his head. "No. I was just... I was exhausted. I wanted to get the one kid that was still alive and get out of there."
"And did you enjoy dismembering the corpse, Edward?"
Ed blinked. He sighed. "I... in the moment, yes. I did. I felt like I was getting justice- whatever justice I could, I mean- for all those poor kids. Looking back, I shouldn't have done it. I realize how... crazy it seems, but honestly, that entire day was horrific, and it was a lapse of judgement." he was surprised at how rational he was, how believable he was making this cover story.
"Do you have fantasies about hurting yourself or others?"
"No. Even when I have to fight criminals- I try to avoid hurting them more than necessary. I fight to live, not live to fight." Ed admitted. "The boy in the basement was the first person I ever killed, and it was because I had no choice- it was him or me."
"And how do you feel about that, Ed? About killing the boy in the basement?"
Ed swallowed, feeling nausea start to brew in the pit of his stomach. "Not good. I hate that I did it. I regret it. But at the same time... I had to do it. I know rationally, I had to. It was him or me. I take care of my little brother. If I hadn't killed him, who would take care of him? My... my boss... Colonel Mustang said that he was glad I did it, because I deserved to live more than that monster of a man did. I don't know if he's right or not... but it makes me feel better when he says he thinks I did the right thing. Because I trust him."
The doctor nodded- he was writing hurriedly on his notepad, but he spoke as the pen scratched across the page.
"Right. I see. So Edward- can you speak to the dead?"
Ed blinked. He swallowed. "Excuse me?"
"Can you speak to the dead, Edward? Do you see and communicate with the deceased?" Dr. Wendel asked him seriously.
Ed slowly shook his head. Mustang had told him to deny, deny, deny- so he didn't get labeled insane and kept here forever- but he hadn't expected the doctor to be so blunt or precise in asking him...How had he even gotten the idea that Ed could communicate with the dead?
"And if I release you from the hospital, Edward- where will you go?" Dr. Wendel continued writing.
Ed blinked. "So I live in the military dorms, so I'd be there..."
Dr. Wendel frowned. "And you live alone?"
"Well, sometimes my younger brother stays with me, but right now, I'm alone, yes..."
"And you don't live with your legal guardian, Colonel Mustang?" Dr. Wendel was looking a bit confused.
Ed shook his head. "No, I don't. I have his phone number, though, he checks on me, gives me rides to and from work, and he's told me to call him. When I first got sick with anemia, he said to call him if I started feeling bad. I'm fine on my own- been taking care of myself since I was seven." Ed admitted.
Dr. Wendel nodded, standing.
"So... do I have to stay here any longer?" Ed asked nervously.
Dr. Wendel patted his knee. "I think you're as fine as someone can be, mentally, after witnessing everything you have." he reassured Ed.
"I'll submit my evaluation to the hospital system and the brass and we'll see about getting you released."
Ed's heart leaped. "So I can go home tonight?"
Dr. Wendel gave him a sad smile, shaking his head. "Sorry- the hospital systems tend to move a bit slower than that, but I'd say tomorrow night you'll be discharged."
Ed blinked. It wasn't exactly what he'd wanted to hear, but it was better than nothing. "Right. Okay- thank you."
"Not a problem my dear boy. If I was you, I'd go to your room and rest for a little while- I have some paperwork to do and reports to submit."
Ed nodded. "Right. Thanks." he left the room, heading down the hallways towards his bedroom, feeling drained but relieved.
He planned on taking a nap, and was about to flop on his bed and nap when he noticed a small pile of wrapped candy sitting on his pillow.
He frowned. Where had that come from?
He saw movement from the corner of his eyes, and looked to the corner- there was the janitor, watching him hopefully.
Ed looked from the small pile of candy to the man, who was beaming at him, and realized it was a gift.
Ed smiled.
Thank you. he mouthed the words, giving the man a wave.
The spirit returned the wave, before he was disappearing into the wall, leaving Ed to crawl beneath the covers and sleep.