In Times of Peace

Chapter Three

Summer Showers

Early Morning

Edward had said last night before bed that it was going to rain. It wasn't that no one believed him, they all knew that his leg would tell him long before the rest of them knew. No, it was when he said rain, none of them had envisioned this. The storm had begun just after midnight and had only grown worse as the night went on.

Al, in his usual uncanny way, knew that Ed was in pain. He woke from a deep sleep with that certainty screaming in his brain. He had climbed quickly out of bed, assuring his wife that he was fine, and she should go back to sleep, before creeping down the hall.

There was no need to remain quiet as he reached the door, Winry opened the door with a still sleeping Trisha in her arms. "Oh good. Here Al, will you take Trisha to Roy and Riza's room, and let Roy know I might need his help. Ed's got a fever from the pain. I need to take care of this now."

"Of course. What else do you need? Hot water bottles? A glass of water?" Al asked even as he took his niece.

"Yes, and my bag. It's down in the study, the locked cupboard, top shelf." Winry said as she fished around in the dresser for a moment. "Here's the key, please remember to relock it before you come back up. It's where I keep all of the medicine."

Al nodded quickly before he walked as quickly as he could without waking his niece. He didn't bother knocking as he opened his parents' door. He slipped inside, and laid Trisha gently down next to Tad before turning to his parents, who had woken as soon as he had opened the door.

Roy was already out of bed, slipping on his robe. Al hadn't had to explain, both of them already well aware of why he had come in. Al and Roy silently left the room, Roy headed to Ed's room while Al rushed downstairs to collect the supplies Winry needed. He wished Granny hadn't left yesterday. Winry could handle it just fine but she could use the help.

Roy came into the room, shutting the door behind him, as Ed attempted to muffle his yell with his pillow. Winry was sitting beside him, rubbing gentle circles on his back, a bucket beside the bed for when he inevitably vomited from the pain. Roy stepped up to the bed, Winry looked up with a relieved smile. "Thank you, Roy. Can you sit with him while I draw a bath? The hot water will help. I don't want to leave him alone though."

"Of Course, Win." Roy said as he took her place and mimicked her movements, rubbing Ed's back. "It's okay Ed. I'm here."

"Dad. Please." Ed said, near tears from the pain. "I need- "

"I know. Al's coming with your medicine." Roy said. This was a bad one. It didn't happen often, but when the weather was bad enough, especially if Ed was already sore before it began, sometimes they had no choice but to drug him. Ed hated taking the medication, and generally refused. That he was asking for it instead was a testament to how severe the pain had become.

Winry returned as Al entered the room. Winry took everything from Al before turning to the three men. "Okay. I have the bath run. Can you guys help him into the water? I don't want him putting any pressure on the port right now."

"Yes, of course." Roy said, before he shrugged out of his robe in anticipation of getting water on himself. Al did the same before gently helping his brother out of his clothes. Winry turned to the bag and supplies Al had brought in to start getting it ready, while Al and Roy lifted Ed together to carry him into the bathroom. "I haven't seen him this bad before." He thought it had been bad when Ed had been out in the desert, and that had been, but this was worse.

"Neither have I, not since he was first recovering from the surgery." Al said with a frown. They set Ed into the tub, before Roy frowned at how slack Ed was.

He had Al help hold him up, while Roy stripped down to his boxers, then climbed into the tub behind Ed to keep him from slipping under the water. "Go see if Winry needs any help, then please go get me a change of clothes." Roy said to Al. Al nodded and rushed from the room,as he passed Winry asked that he also start a pot of tea.

Ed sunk against Roy's chest, relaxing in the heat of the water as it eased the pain in his leg. Winry slipped into the room with a frown, concerned over Ed's condition. She sat on the stool next to the tub, before saying quietly. "I've got everything ready in there, but we should leave him in the water a bit longer. It's helping to take the pressure off the port. The weather is mostly to blame for this, but this is why I wanted to look at his leg. The port is the problem. I need to get a look at it to determine what is causing the issue."

"Have you seen this sort of thing before then?" Roy asked, concerned. He was clinically aware of the issues surrounding automail, and he had helped Ed through some bad spells over the years, but he never stopped being concerned for his son.

"I have. That's what has me worried. I think, from his complaints before and his limp, that a wire may have come loose, and it's possible if it rubbed the wrong way it had caused a minor infection. Then adding the change in pressure from the storm…"

"I understand." Roy said, as Ed groaned from the pain as he shifted slightly while they talked.

"Edward. We're going to get you back out of the bath now, so I can get you something for the pain, okay?" Winry asked, and Ed nodded, before Winry helped him lean forward into her arms so that Roy could get out of the tub and towel himself off briefly before lifting Edward out of the tub.

Carefully, Winry and Roy dried Ed before Roy carried him back into the bedroom. Winry had an IV pole set up already and was quick to get the needle in her husband's arm, starting both strong painkillers and antibiotics. Silently, Roy wrapped Ed's leg in the hot water bottles noting how red and inflamed the skin around the port still looked even after soaking.

"It's infected. This should take care of that, then once the swelling has gone down, I can take a look inside the port to see where the problem lies." Winry said when she noticed Roy's expression. "We're going to have a long night here."

"Alright. I'm going to change; I'll be right in the bathroom if you need me." Roy replied, as he slipped into the bathroom and changed out of his wet boxers and into the stack of clothes Al had set on the dresser.

Roy came back into the room, Winry was sitting in the chair now pulled up to the bed, taking Ed's temperature and blood pressure. "It's going to be a long night. You can go back to bed if you need to, I'll call if anything changes."

"Nonsense. I'm not going anywhere." Roy said as he sat on the edge of the bed to look down at his eldest son. Ed was flushed, a frown marring his face even in his sleep, but seemed less stiff than he had when Roy arrived.

"Please, at least lay down next to him. When I get too tired, we can trade." Winry said with a sigh. Sometimes she could have sworn Ed was Roy's biological child with their shared stubbornness. Roy looked like he would protest further until she added, "He'll sleep better if someone is next to him. The pain brings the nightmares, and he hasn't been this bad in a long time."

Roy nodded then, before shrugging off his robe and laying down next to his son. Ed leaned into him as soon as Roy was settled, even in his sleep seeking out the comfort of another known person. Roy hugged the boy to him gently as Winry wrote down the results of her tests and dimmed the lights.

He had meant to stay awake, even if he had agreed to lay down, however the steady rhythm of Ed's breathing soon lulled him to sleep. Roy woke with a start a few hours later, when he realized he had fallen asleep. Winry had drifted off lightly herself in the chair. Ed's fever seemed to have broken, and he was no longer stiff with pain.

Roy glanced over at the bags, but it appeared either he hadn't been asleep very long or Winry had recently changed them. Ed was sleeping half across his chest so Roy couldn't just get up to check the time. He blinked sluggishly, as he attempted to stay awake when he noticed Al sitting at the end of the bed with a worried frown.

Roy was reminded sharply of the time before Ed and Al's forced disappearance when the boys would crawl into his bed. At the time he had wished he could snuggle Al up close as well, but he had still been trapped in the armor. Now though he was a flesh and blood young man, and there was plenty of room for him as well. Roy waved to get his attention, before holding out his free arm in a clear invitation to join them.

Winry woke up an hour later and smiled at the three men huddled together. She took the time to look at Ed's leg again, relieved that the swelling and redness had gone down. Ed was no longer feverish either. She changed out the antibiotic bag hopefully for the last time and turned down the drip on the pain killers. Her husband hated taking them, and had a naturally high pain tolerance, so she tries to keep them as minimal as possible while still keeping him comfortable. She was grateful that Riza and Mai had already assured her that they would be caring for the children in the morning. She was already tired.

She laid back in the chair again to go back to sleep, glad that the emergency part was over at least. The rain had also finally slowed she noticed as she drifted back to sleep, already thinking about the possible issues that had flared up though she was sure it was simply a loose wire.

Morning came slowly for them, as it had been a fitful night, but thankfully around dawn Winry declared the antibiotic treatment had completed. He would have to take oral antibiotics for a few days, but the worst was over.

Roy sent Al back to his room after Winry declared this and asked that he check in on Riza and the kids on the way. Once the room was clear he turned back to Winry. "Now, the truth. The worst is over, but how bad is this?"

"Honestly, I won't know until I get his leg off and get a good look at the port. I think it's a loose wire that rubbed the nerves wrong. He was complaining last night and the day before of twinges." Winry said with a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, Ed manages to downplay injuries a lot as you know. The man can be half dead and claiming it's a flesh wound. The rain already causes swelling in the stump, but if something is already brewing, which clearly it was, that swelling is going to make things worse."

"I see. Do we need to get him back to your clinic in the city?" Roy asked with a frown. He knew she was right. The boy had driven him crazy for years with his take on injuries and illness alike.

"No, I don't think so at this point. I have everything I need for most simple repairs with me." Winry said, as she began moving around the room gathering supplies. "I might need your help though. He isn't awake enough to know to hold still, and I don't want to wait much longer with the rain being what it is."

"Alright. I'm going to go change into something easier. I'll be back in a few minutes." Roy said and Winry nodded intending to do the same.

Since Riza and Mai had already headed downstairs with the children, Roy was able to change into a t shirt and jeans rather quickly before returning to the room. Winry was now wearing her normal coveralls and had gathered everything she would need to get a good look at his port set up on a tray on the night table.

Roy held Edward still while Winry disconnected his leg, the boy arching painfully with the removal but his leg still. The scary part for Roy was that Ed didn't wake up even with his body's protest, but Winry assured him that was thanks to the pain medication.