Howdy! All righty then! Another chapter! Thanks for the reviews everybody, now you all get hugs and a pasty! (Hugs and hands out those nummy meat and veggie pies).

Chapter Two: An Explanation Please

Edward leaned back on his pillow, he was eyeing the odd doctor questioningly, and he didn't like the way he was looking at him. It was a mask of mild concern hiding the glare of suspicion and accusation

"Why don't you just admit that you're sick so I can go home?" House finally asked. Edward glared at him and replied slowly,

"What makes you think I'm sick?"

"Well for starters the fact that the moment you set foot in this hospital everyone that's touched you has suddenly turned to stone. Which, might I add is not something normal sick people do."

"Stone huh…" Edward turned and looked the other way for a moment before continuing, "sorry, can't help you."

House rapped the side of Eds' hospital bed with his cane causing Ed to jump, the startled and now aggravated teen turned and glared.

"You're lying," House glared back, "Don't give me that denial crap."

"Denial!" Ed sat up, "Do I look sick to you?" the shock he'd suffered had evaporated very quickly, considering this would have been the second time he'd traveled through the Gate. The first time it was just his mind so it wasn't so traumatic, but the second time it was his mind, body, and soul so that made the trip a little more rough and he had to regain himself, to put it in modern terms it was kind of like jetlag only it messed up your emotional system.

"Being a carrier doesn't necessarily mean you'll get sick, you'll just make everybody around you sick. Now, tell me what you have."

"I don't HAVE anything, just because at the time I got here, where ever here is, people started getting sick DOESN'T mean I'm the cause." Ed snapped. House raised an eyebrow questioningly, for a kid who seemed shocked into near silence he sure seemed pretty vocal now.

"You're stubborn, I'll give you that…but you're a horrible liar."

"I have no reason to lie doc…" Ed grumbled.

"Doc? What am I one of the seven dwarves? My name is Gregory House." House retorted. Eds' eye twitched slightly at the sound of the 'd' word but quickly realized it wasn't directed at him. Something else though caught his attention, and he asked,

"House? Who in their right mind would name their child 'House'?"

"Idiot, that's my last name."

"…" Ed gave House a blank look, "Still a weird name…" Ed leaned back in his pillows and glared at the wall in front of him, he was pondering what this House had said earlier about people turning to stone. He knew it sounded familiar but it just wasn't clicking, where had he heard about people turning to stone?

That's when the sound of squeaking wheels could be heard coming down the hall, Ed turned just in time to see a hospital bed being pushed by, in it was a familiar face. It was the man he vaguely remembered helping him that morning, he only had a faint memory because he had just passed through the Gate when he was found and he wasn't totally with it. The mans' face was gray and cracked like stone, frozen in pain.

House noticed the gold eyes go very wide as if suddenly realizing something, he leaned in and asked,

"Well? What is it?"

"Is…that man dead?" Ed asked in reply, House leaned back again saying,

"Probably, he wasn't moving," he set his cane down and added; "Though I think being turned to stone would make it awfully hard to move…or live."

Involuntarily shivering, Ed leaned further back into his pillows and closed his eyes tight. He had no idea how this could have happened, let alone how to explain it with out being considered crazy, this was a no win situation. He finally opened his eyes and looked down at his sheets saying,

"I've only seen it once…it was several months ago, I was with my younger brother and a friend. We were traveling south to," Ed paused, he momentarily debated with himself whether he wanted to say exactly where he was going or make something up, "well anyway, we found a young lady in the woods, she said she was searching for someone. It was her husband, a man named Lujon, we escorted her back to her village but when we got there she ran off." Ed stopped again.

"And?"

"We found them, Lydia and Lujon, I could tell that Lujon had been killed before we got there but…they both had become like stone. We didn't stay there for very long afterwards." Ed went back to staring at the far wall.

"Wait, how can that lady run off if she was found dead with this disease?"

"It must have killed her instantly…how should I know…I'd never seen anything like it before." Ed yawned and pulled at the blanket, his leg had started bothering him.

--

Two hours had passed sense Edwards' little interview, he sat gazing boardly out the window from his hospital bed. He was, once again, attempting to process what exactly he was going to do now that he was basicly a walking plague and if he had it, then did that mean Winry had it too? He prayed to god, since he didn't really have one Ed just used the term openly so it applied to whichever one decided to answer, that she didn't. He sniffed and pulled his right arm up and rested it on his stomach, a young man walked into his room, he was wairing a doctors jacket and had short blonde hair, Ed didn't pay too much heed to him as he walked over.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. Edward turned and gave him a look, he then returned to looking out the window and replied,

"Why do all the doctors ask how I'm doing? It's only been two hours, I haven't changed sense that…House guy asked."

"He actually asked you how you were doing?" the doctor asked sounding rather surprised. Edward sighed,

"Yes…but I could see right through him, he was after something and I gave it too him as best I could…now what do you want?"

"Heh, well…" the doctor smirked, his accent caught Eds' attention and he continued to watch the doctor quizzically, "Anyway, this is a hospital and I'm a doctor, just checking up on you that's all."

"I have a question," Ed said, "If I have this disease and I'm passing it around, why is it I'm not in a contained area?"

"Naturally we'd put you in one but, for those around you to contract the disease, they have to touch you."

"Hmph…" Ed huffed, "Where are you from?" Ed asked suddenly, "I've never heard anybody talk like you do…"

"Hey, I'm the one that should be asking the questions."

"Then why aren't you? If you're not going to ask anything, then I have plenty of questions to ask." Ed hissed, he really didn't like staying in hospitals, "Here's another question, I've givin' you people my name, what is yours?"

"You can call me Dr. Chase, and as for the way I talk, I'm from Australia. Can you use a seringe?"

"Australia? Where is that?" Ed asked, he was basicly entertaining himself by asking all these questions, he wanted to know as much about this place as he could, but in the long run he really could care less, that and he was trying to avoid that last question, he hated needles. He was more interested in trying to get rid of this disease.

"Is this an interview or a check up?" a dark skinned man had entered the room and was eyeing the two of them questioningly. His gaze though couldn't be more questioning then Edwards', now Ed had been familiar with the Ishbalans and how they had darker skin but he couldn't recollect ever seeing somebody that dark. He continued to stare until the man stopped and asked,

"Is there something the matter?"

Eds' eye twitched at that question but he ignored that and replied,

"No…"

"All right then, my name is Dr. Foreman and…"

"Are either of you as meddling as that House guy? And what is it with his name? House…that's just a really weird name…"

Both doctors looked at each other then at Edward, who was now toying boardly with his right arm, Chase had a rather amused look on his face whereas Foreman looked kind of irritated. He seemed to brush it off though as he took out rubber gloves and a seringe; Edward stopped his toying and eyed the needle as if it had just insulted him.

"What are you going to do with that?"

"We need to draw some blood, run a few tests, just to make 100 sure that you're the carrier." Foreman said pulling the gloves on with a snap, Ed bristled and turned pale.

"You can wait till I have a nose bleed cause you're not sticking me with that." Ed hissed, then Ed tried changing the subject, "Are you from Ishbal?" he knew that was by far his most stupid question, it was dead obvious the guy wasn't considering Ishbal didn't exist on this side.

"Excuse me?" Foreman said looking up, temporarily forgetting about the needle.

"I just…" Ed stopped though when a lady poked her head in and said,

"We're being summoned…"

"What?"

"House wants to see us all in his office right now."

"Cameron can't you see I'm trying to draw some blood here? We need to run a blood test to verify if this kid really is the carrier." Foreman said holding up the needle, Ed scowled at him saying he wasn't going to get stuck with that needle. Cameron was about to reply to that when suddenly House stuck his head in and said,

"Right now."

"But…"

"What part of you're not poking me with that damn needle didn't you get!" Ed snapped. They all more or less ignored Eds' rant and continued to argue,

"We need to run that test just to make sure." Foreman said.

"His blood isn't going anywhere, I think you can spare a few minutes to hear what I have to say. It's not like I'm giving you a choice in tha matter." House retorted as he stepped into the room.

"But the sooner we run the test the sooner we can verify the boy as the carrier and isolate him so the disease doesn't spread."

Seeing that Foreman wasn't backing down like he usually does, House grabbed a pair of rubber gloves and put them on, he then took the seringe out of Foremans' hand and stuck it in Edwards' arm.

"What the hell!" Ed tried to pull away but found that the doctors' trusty cane had found its' way between the bed rails and held him down, "Damn, what kind of doctor are you! You're crazy!"

"So I've been told, there." House handed Foreman the small vial, that had been attached to the needle, "Now that you've got your blood, can you all PLEASE join me in my office."

Edward glared at the doctors as they left the room, he started rotating his arm and shoulder to get the feeling of having a needle jabbed into his arm away. He shivered again and shifted down into his blankets, a sick feeling welling up in his stomach and a real dislike for Dr. House. Ed soon drifted off to sleep, he really couldn't explain why he was feeling tired but he really didn't care either.

-To Be Continued-

Huzzah! I rented House from Blockbuster ®, so that means I'll be doin' me homework and further expanding my House knowledge keh, keh, keh. But some idiot rented vol. 1 and 3 so I'm stuck with vol. 2 (mentally hunts person down and (I'm sorry the content of what will happen is far too graphic for public display)). But was that snappy? If not I'll try even harder in the next chapter, I really do try, I'm really starting ta get into this show…and I really like House…he's cool XD.

Oh hey! Did anyone know that the dude (it's Hugh L…something) who plays House is also in the movie 'Flight of the Phoenix' (remake with Dennis Quade)! I didn't know that, so I had to sit and watch it again. I was all like…hmmm he's clean shaven…that's weird. Then after the plane crashes and all the people have been in the Gobi for like…ever…he started getting the beard and I was like…ah! See…there's House (hugs) n.n.