Chapter ten:
After spending a week at the hospital Kat was a-ok to go home. Roy insisted that she stay at his house, but Kat gracefully declined sayings, "I can't ask my cousin to help me out with everything! My goodness you paid for the bill and now you want to take personal care of me at your dirty apartment" She'd turned to Ed, "There's dirty clothes everywhere and a terrible smell I think something's growing in that house of his." Causing Ed to snicker behind Kat, "Anyway, I must decline my good cousin! But I'll see you at work… in… a couple weeks." Kat smiles as she's being helped up to the boys apartment, Roy had given them a ride.
Though another week later Ed had to leave because Winry got pneumonia and wanted to help her out while she was ill. Kat sits in her bed as Al makes her some soup for lunch for her. "Thank you again Al for being so good to stay with me!" Kat smiles at Al as he enters her room. "I want to try walking around again, it sounds so funny something so easy shouldn't be so hard." Kat points out, taking the soup and putting it in her lap, her left arm in a sling and a cast made it more than obvious that it had been broken, and was useless. Taking the spoon in her other hand she slowly sips her soup.
"Just try not to over do it like before ok?" Al lectures her remembering the bandages on her legs how she truly did over do it since she had to go back to the hospital to get them re sown, there was still blood on the carpet from that day.
"Yes, yes I know…" Kat looks at her bowl of soup rather broken.
Al knew it hurt her about what happened, she still wouldn't tell anyone about what happened. She'd always say 'No need to talk about it since that man is dead.' He knew that that man still hurt her even now, she'd have trouble walking she'd sometimes hold her lower stomach in pain while she walked, he guessed in the hopes of feeling the life that once was there.
He would even hear her crying at night names, and for her baby that died in her womb. The doctors had taken care of what was left of the dead fetus, he'd heard that she had gotten a terrible infection in her womb and would be lucky to still be able to have children. Al knew when she heard that, her heart was truly broken, but still she moved on still hoping that she'd have children, and hoping that she'd find something to hang onto or someone. Though it seemed to Al too obvious who that someone was, and he was not here he was with their childhood friend. It was moments like these that Al wished he wasn't some giant piece of metal, and was a human so that people could look to him for help and support, but who could love this cold metallic shell that became his body?
"Al?" Kat looks at Al confused.
Al looks to Kat scratching the back of his head nervously, "Gomen-ne! I didn't mean to space out!"
Kat smiles, sighing in relief, "I thought you'd gone somewhere I couldn't follow, and that would have been terrible!"
Al looks to Kat curiously, "Why's that?"
Kat smacks him like he had told a terrible joke, "Because I said so! Also your brother would have a fit, and it would make me cry if you left." Kat finishes hugging the boys' metallic arm. "You're such a good friend Al, I wonder what you look like in the flesh…" Kat finishes, though slowly ends in a bit of a whisper as if she were falling asleep.
Al blushes madly at the thought of Kat liking him, and much less holding him like this; he looks at her and sees that she's fallen asleep on his armor. "Kat…"
Kat snuggles closer to him, mumbling something. Al moves around slowly getting the finished soup, putting it on the table, and finally tries to get Kat to let go of his arm to let her lie down on her bed.
In great success Al gets up from the bed seeing the slow rising and falling of her chest he mentally smiles. "Like a ten year old boy Kat…" Al turns around closing the door behind him.
(SC)
Ed sits in the living room of the Rockbell home, waiting for Granny to come down, Winry had gone into a terribly coughing fit, and needed to use the bathroom to vomit. Ed scratches the back of his head, sighing, 'Poor Winry, I hope she'll be ok."
Hearing the creaking of the stairs Ed looks up to see Pinako walking down, "How is she?"
"She's getting worse my boy, we need the medicine, if we don't she could die." Granny looks up the stairs worriedly, her granddaughter could die and she would have no one left to be with her. Feeling the day way on her she walks to her bedroom, "I'll see you in the morning shrimp."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHRIMP?" Ed yells out from the couch, waving his fists. Hearing a giggle from the old woman's bedroom he knew that she'd already started feeling a little better, even if it was at the expense of his own pride. "Hey granny, is the medicine at the town?"
"Yes, but please don't leave tonight, you just got here!" Granny sticks her head out of her room glaring at Ed to make sure he understood what she was tell him.
"Alright I'll get it in the morning." Ed says as he lies down on the couch to sleep on.
The next morning Ed awoke knowing that both Winry and granny were both still asleep. Getting ready to leave and walking out the door, Ed leaves a note saying that he'll come back with the medication. The cool air of the day hit Ed's face hard, causing him to shiver, 'I better hurry…' Ed keeps moving toward the town on a mission.
(SC)
Kat awakens screaming holding her chest and sitting up in her bed, Al opens the door to see what she's screaming about. "Kat! Are you ok!"
Kat looks at the bed with terrified eyes still holding her aching chest, she looks at her hand slowly seeing blood on it. Tears stream down her face, curling up closer to herself. 'When will I get to stop looking at my own blood?'
Her eyes widen feeling a large leather hand on her shoulder and the bed moving around at the cause of a new heavy weight on it. Kat looks up slowly, seeing Al there with her, 'it was a dream, just a dream, and they wont hurt me anymore…'
"Kat are you-" Al stops when Kat jumps up wrapping her arms around his metallic neck, crying loudly, "What's wrong?" Al asks looking to her shaking form only holding onto him all the tighter. Al wraps his arms around her waist holding her in place.
"Please don't leave Al, don't leave me alone! I don't want to be alone anymore! It hurts too much, to think about, about what happened. I dream about it almost every night, and it hurts, I can't take it much longer." Kat weeps out.
Al holds Kat a little tighter though cautious about her wounded body. "I'm not going anywhere Kat. Also Ed's going to be back soon too."
Kat slowly stops her crying remembering what happened at the hospital. How he was the only one of the soldiers that could understand her and not try to dig into her pants. Al seemed so much sweeter and gentler in nature, but both boys are so sweet, and protective of what they love the most. Winry, their home, each other as brothers, though did they love her? Could it be that easy for them both to want to protect her with such love? Could that truly happen to her?
"Kat, I'm sorry terrible things have happened to you, but if you don't tell someone about what happened then those memories will stay with you forever and slowly eat at you through time." Al points out, knowing this fact to be all too true, seeing it happen to many of the soldiers and even to his own brother at times.
Kat holds onto Al a little tighter hiding her face in his armor, "I can't, not now, not when… I just can't." Kat slowly gets out.
"You should try, if not me than tell Ed, or Colonel Mustang." Al points out.
"…" Kat lets go of Al looking at the face of the boys armor, just looking at him.
Al knew if he had flesh he'd be blushing now, "What's wrong?"
"Al…" Kat speaks up though sounding completely different.
Al backs up worried for her and his own safety. "Wha-what?" Just looking at her he could tell she changed in someway, her eyes were cold and collected, nothing like the innocent girl he'd seen before weeping on his armor. Her face serious and almost lustful, blood still on her shirt. "Kat your shirt!"
"A flesh wound." Kat smiles wickedly.
Al gets off the bed about ready to freak out and run away. "Kat what's wrong with you!"
"There's nothing wrong with me, and there's nothing wrong with Kat either, she's just a little hurt right now." Kat stands up ignoring the wounds on her legs, and grinning all the more at how terrified the boy looks. "What's the matter Alphones?"
"You are not yourself!" Al cringes, seeing that she's completely ignoring the blood that's running down her legs, and the more blood running down her chest. "Please go lie down!" Al speaks up standing on his own two feet, trying to sound brave.
Kat lightly laughs, walking up to Al and pressing up against him, "Why? Because of a little blood?" Kat moves her hands slowly up Al's chest plate grabbing hold of his shoulder spikes, pulling him down slightly. "It doesn't hurt, just like you can not feel pain, we are a little bit of the same Elric…" Kat slowly moves her head to Al's.
(SC)
Ed shivers as he enters the clinic, brushing all the snow off himself, "It's freezing out there!" Ed points out loudly, the only one there nods slowly, and elderly fellow, his hair short and white, his clothes heavy for the terribly weather outside, "What can I do you for Edward?"
"I need Winry Rockbell's medication." Ed speaks up stoically.
Looking around he smiles giving out a big "Ahhh!" He picks up the medication, and puts it on the counter by the register, "Here you are my good sir, finally came in last night, thank goodness for that eh?"
"Yea! Winry really needs this!" Ed holds the bag with the medication.
"Many do my lade its that terribly time of year." The clinic points out. Ed pays the man for the medication and waves before leaving for his journey back to the house.
"Man it's still snowing, you better get home safe old man." Ed points out.
"I will don't worry about me." He smiles waving to Ed.
(SC)
Al holds Kat while on his knees, terrified, 'what just happened?' He looks at her seeing that there's quite a bit of blood on the floor. 'Was she hallucinating again?' Holding his metallic lips, if they could be called that, 'she kissed me!' he didn't know what he should be feeling, much less if he should be feeling it in the first place.
Al calls up the doctor, "Yes hello, Kat has fallen unconscious again, she's been walking around with out me being there and has opened her wounds again. Thank you." Al puts the phone down feeling terrible that he had to lie, but if he told the truth what would they do to her? For now he'd just put it to the side and keep with his little lie.
Al picks up the unconscious body in his arms, still bleeding from her terrible wounds. He takes her to the bath room lying her down on the tile flooring, 'What's going on… Nii-san come back quick! I'm scared!' he Thinks to himself, watching the young girl breath slowly, her face troubled with many things.
Al looks up and sees in the mirror that he's covered in HER blood. 'Oh no!' Al grabs a towel and starts taking care of himself before the doctor gets there.
(SC)
Ed returns seeing Winry is still not joining them for breakfast, too afraid that she won't be able to keep down. "I'm back." Ed smiles seeing the smiling face of 'Granny.' Holding up the medication, Granny walks up to Ed smiling brightly at the young man, "This what you were looking for Granny?"
She takes the bag outs and sees that it's all the medication that they'll need. Sighing in relief, she smiles at Ed, "Yes, thank you so much my boy." She begins to walk upstairs, and stops, "I heard about that young lady that's staying at your house, the one that was hurt badly."
"Yea what about her?" Ed looks at the old woman curiously wondering why it's so important to talk about her than it is to give Winry her medication.
"Well it's a big burden to take care of someone that badly injured, like when you came here with your wounds we did not leave your side." Granny starts again.
"What about it. Al can take care of her, and Winry needs me!" Ed grumbles.
"Winry will be fine now, thanks to you, but that friend of yours she has real injuries that can not be fixed with medication, they need time and friendship. I think you should check in on her, or help your brother, taking care of a badly injured person is not pick nick." Granny speaks up, "I wouldn't talk to you about this unless there were good reason Edward. A girl that has gone through such a dramatic thing, needs support, Winry will be fine, and when your friend gets better you can bring her here so we can all have a lovely dinner together." Granny speaks up causally.
Ed thinks about what that man did just for beginners, what he could have done to cause so many things. Still he had to help Winry, and now she'll get better. "I'll see you later Granny, tell Winry I hope she gets better quickly"
"I will."
Ed leaves for the train station worried for Kat's mental safety.
(SC)
The doctor finishes putting the last stitch on the girl, shaking his head. "You need to watch her a little more carefully, she's very fragile at this time and don't let her walk around too much or she will end up like this again. At least more of her injuries are healed. Now in about two weeks I'll return to see how she's doing and remove the stitching." The doctor points out.
Al bows, "Yes doctor, also she seems to be having bad dreams that make her move around in her sleep, could that make some of her wounds reopen?"
"Yes if she moves around too much in her sleep she can reopen her wounds." The doctor gets out a sample from his briefcase giving it to Al, "This should help her with her sleep and should last till her wounds heal. Also she'll need some iron in her body since she's lost so much." The doctor makes a prescription of iron, "Make sure that she eats when she has this or she'll have an upset stomach."
Al nods again holding the prescription. "Thank you doctor."
"No problem, now you take good care of her, she's still very weak, you hear?" The doctor teases with Al, who only nods. "I'll be back in two weeks."
"See you in two weeks." Al waves to the doctor.
Al felt so fortunate that the doctor believed him when he had actually lied. Looking to Kat he sees her still slightly distraught face. 'It's like she'll never be ride of this man, not even in her dreams…'
(SC)
Ed gets a train that heads strait for central all through the day and night. He left some flowers on the table for Winry sending his love for her. He knew she still only wanted to be friends, still that didn't mean he couldn't give a friend flowers. 'Al will be surprised to see me home so early. Then again Kat is hurt pretty badly.'
(TBC)
Trom: Oh boy here it comes XP!
Ed:Stalks up to Trom: What the hell where you thinking!
Trom: ; Well at least I didn't do it how I first thought of doing it.
Ed:Thinks about the possibilities and suddenly blushes: Baka:Walks off:
Trom: Flame me, comment anything just give me your thoughts!
Commentary:
Jazze Al-bhed-girl: Yea Vincent is a bit of a weirdo isn't he? ;.
Stary Angel: Oh thanks so much :Hugs: