What if the gunshot Hughes suffered was worse? Part 2 –
Gracia felt a pang of worry as she left Ed to speak with the doctor by himself while she headed for Roy and Nala. Dressed in his civilian clothing, Roy was standing just inside the hospital doors, dark eyes searching for either a medical professional or for Gracia herself. Upon spotting her, Roy headed directly for her, meeting her halfway. His eyes scanned the room behind the Hughes matriarch and Gracia spotted the exact moment her husband's best friend found Edward. A glance behind herself told her that Ed was speaking with the doctor and nurse who had called for Maes' family, holding Leo closely to him.
"What happened?" was the first thing out of Roy's mouth once he was in front of Gracia. Nala whined in worry and Gracia knew without needing Lilith that her concern was split between Ed and her human.
Gracia took a deep breath. "Maes found out something," she said, keeping her voice low. "Ed said that Leo contacted him just on sunset and told him that the woman who Ed and Chester went up against in the laboratory went after him and Maes but that they got away with only a scratch to Maes' arm to show for it," she started explaining rapidly, knowing Ed wouldn't be talking with the doctor for long. "They headed for the park to try and call you so Maes could pass the message along –" Roy cut Gracia off, much to her irritation.
"I got the phone call," Roy revealed. "I thought I heard Maria Ross talking with Hughes before something happened. It was like Hughes dropped the phone because I couldn't hear much more before there was a gunshot then I thought Fullmetal speaking with someone. I tried figuring what he was saying but then there was another voice – I didn't recognise that one – before Nala was telling me to hang up and call an ambulance for Hughes," Roy told her.
Gracia nodded at his words. "Roy, Ed told me that the person who shot Maes shifted forms," she told him, earning herself a stunned look from the man. "First they looked like a friend of Ed's – Maria Ross, I'm assuming since you thought that that was who was speaking – then they shifted to look like me. That's why Maes didn't move to defend himself. He couldn't raise a hand against them," Gracia told him. "Ed and Ayala separated and Ayala went for Maes' attacker while Ed tried to get to Maes but neither of them got there in time to stop the gun being fired or Maes coming out of it with a lesser injury," Gracia said, her eyes watering as she remembered Ed's tears as he apologised to her for not being able to stop her husband from being shot.
Roy seemed to be frozen at what Gracia told him, not that she could truly blame him. "Fullmetal was there before Hughes got shot?" he asked.
Gracia frowned at the tense tone of his voice and glared at him when she realised that Roy was doing exactly what he always did whenever he was in a situation where someone he cared about was hurt but he didn't have immediate access to the person who had hurt them so was subconsciously looking for the next best person to be a scapegoat for his anger. Anger boiled under her skin as she realised Roy was doing exactly what Ed was currently doing: blaming him for what happened and Gracia was not going to let that stand.
Glancing over her shoulder once more, Gracia spotted Ed being led away by the brunette nurse while the doctor respectfully allowed her and Roy to finish their conversation before he approached them. Turning back to Roy, she almost grinned when Roy took a half step backwards at the fury blazing in her eyes. Nala was giving her human a 'you brought this on yourself' look before she watched Ed leave the waiting area with Leo and Ayala. "If you even think about blaming Edward for this, I will make the rest of your days a living misery, do you understand me, Roy Mustang?" she hissed at him. "Edward didn't shoot Maes. He didn't force Maes to search into whatever he was that got Maes into trouble. In fact," she said, a touch of ice in her voice when Roy looked like he was planning to argue, "Ed begged Maes to leave it alone. Maes was the one to ignore him and as much as it pains me to say this, Maes is one of two people to blame for what happened to him and that second person is not Edward," she told him, stabbing one of her index fingers sharply into his chest.
Roy rubbed the spot where Gracia had poked him, his anger fading from his eyes. "I-I know that," he told her, looking warily at her. Gracia would be lying if she didn't preen a little at getting that kind of reaction from Roy. "Did Fullmetal say what happened to Hughes' attacker?" Roy asked, obviously trying to move the conversation along so Nala would stop looking smugly at him and in a direction Gracia wasn't likely to unleash her mama-bear tendencies on him again. Mustang sometimes wondered whether Edward and Alphonse even knew how protective Gracia was of them.
"The hospital believes that the attacker got away when Ayala was called back by Ed to help him with Maes," Gracia told him. "Ed and I haven't talked about what really happened yet," Gracia said before Roy could ask again.
Mustang gave a nod at her words before he finally asked the question he'd been wanting to right away but decided to leave until last so he could get the information he wanted first. "How's Hughes?" he asked.
"The hospital called to tell me he was going into surgery as soon as they got him stabilised him enough for them to believe he'd survive the shock of the operation and a nurse found me a few hours ago to let know that they were taking him in," Gracia said, a stricken expression on her face as she remembered the gut-churning emotions she'd felt when she'd answered that call and got told her husband had been shot and was at the hospital. "The doctor is waiting to speak to us," she told him, looking over at the patiently waiting doctor.
Mustang gave her a nod before he gestured for her to lead the way, which she did with no hesitation. "I'm Gracia Hughes, Maes' wife, and this is his best friend, Roy Mustang. What's his condition?" Gracia asked immediately.
The doctor nodded to them both before he consulted the clipboard he was carrying. "Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes suffered a gunshot wound to the left side of his chest. The bullet was still lodged in his chest and was resting two inches from his heart, which is why the surgeon insisted he be stabilised before surgery," the doctor explained, looking up at Gracia and Mustang to see if they had any questions. "Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes lost a lot of blood but the quick-thinking actions of Major Elric ensured the blood loss wasn't as bad as it should've been," he continued, ignoring the reappearance of his nurse. "He's out of surgery now and is resting. The surgeon was able to remove the bullet without any complications and we aren't expecting there to be any issues with his recovery," the doctor said, giving Gracia a warm smile when she sighed in relief. "He'll be in the hospital for a few days, likely a week, before we'll check on his progress and go from there," he said, answering the question that most families would ask once they'd received their loved one's prognosis. "Would you like to see him now?" the doctor asked and Gracia nodded immediately.
"Yes, please, doctor," the blonde said, voice faintly trembling with the emotions she was trying to hold back. Mustang placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and she reached up to squeeze it appreciatively while Nala pressed up against Gracia's side in a show of her own support.
The doctor nodded before he and the brunette nurse who'd led Edward, Ayala, and Leo to Hughes' room earlier turned and started leading them in the direction Ed and the two Animals had gone. No one spoke as they walked through the hospital. Nala seemed as though she was constantly holding herself back from racing ahead of everyone else and Gracia couldn't really blame her. She had to have known better than Gracia or Mustang did exactly what Ed had been feeling during the events the precious night and what he was feeling now and Nala cared for Ed at least as much as Gracia did herself.
Gracia swore she saw a glimpse of Ed and Ayala turning down a corridor up ahead just as they entered the corridor the doctor said Maes' room was in. Judging from how Nala reacted, Gracia didn't think she'd imagined seeing Ed and Ayala. She glanced up at Roy but he gave no sign that he'd noticed his youngest subordinate and their Animal leaving the corridor as his focus was entirely on the door that separated them from Maes. The doctor nodded to his nurse and she opened the door for them as he started speaking. "He is unconscious but that's only because of the anesthetic and painkillers he's on. Once the anesthetic wears off, he'll start waking up. He may be confused when he does and don't panic if he isn't awake long. We don't expect his body to have rid itself of the anesthetic until lunch-time today at the earliest. At that point he should be awake longer than a minute or so at a time," the doctor explained as they headed into Hughes' room.
Gracia gasped, hiccupping on a sob as she took in the bandages, oxygen mask, and unconscious forms of her husband and her husband's Animal. Mustang reached out to squeeze her hand but she didn't notice as she moved to sit at Hughes' side, settling in the chair on Hughes' left and grasping his hand in both of hers. Mustang watched her, eyes filled with pity before he looked at the doctor, his expression nothing but serious. "Where's Major Elric?" he asked. "I need to get his report so I can order an investigation to start into Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes' attack," he said as his justification, not wanting the doctors to think he was looking for Edward out of concern for him. Commanding officers weren't supposed to show that much concern for their subordinates, not if they didn't want their team taken out from their command.
The doctor looked at his nurse, who shook her head. "I'm not sure where Major Elric has gone. Perhaps he went to clean up properly after dropping Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes' Animal off to him," the doctor proposed, glancing significantly at the unconscious Leo who was still bundled in Ed's black jacket.
"Has he been treated yet for any injuries he got?" Mustang asked, unable to stop the question from being verbalized.
The doctor didn't show any signs that he thought Mustang's question was unusual. "According to the nurses who checked on him when Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes was brought in, Major Elric didn't report any injuries," the doctor informed him.
Mustang felt the familiar mixture of exasperation, annoyance, and unsurprise at the doctor's words. Of course Edward wouldn't have told the nurses if he was injured if the injury wasn't obvious. The thought that Ed was somewhere in the hospital, hurt and blaming himself for what happened to Hughes had Mustang's urge to find his youngest subordinate increase exponentially. Nala glanced up at him with knowing eyes but Mustang ignored her. "Thank you, doctor," Mustang said, signaling that he had no further questions at the moment.
The doctor nodded. "Call for a nurse if Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes shows any signs of distress or waking up or if you or Mrs. Hughes requires anything," he instructed and Mustang dipped his head at him.
Mustang turned back to the unconscious Hughes before the doctor and nurse had even left the room. His first thought was to keep Gracia company but then he remembered that Edward was in the hospital somewhere blaming himself for this and, though he'd never admit it out loud, Mustang knew he couldn't leave him with those kinds of thoughts for too long. Just as he thought to tell Gracia that he would be back in a few minutes, Nala interrupted him. "Edward's talking to Alphonse right now," she told him.
"How do you know?" Mustang asked before he could stop himself. From the worry that had been exuding from his lioness, he knew that Ed hadn't been responding to her since he'd updated her about Hughes being in the hospital.
"Ayala told me," Nala said sulkily. At any other time, Mustang would've teased her about being upset that Edward wasn't talking to her but right now, he just couldn't find it in himself to do so.
"Will you ask Ayala to tell you when he's off the phone?" Mustang requested as he took the second seat and moved it so he was sitting next to Gracia.
Nala nodded in agreement and presumably made the request of Ayala straight away because it was only a few seconds later that she said, "she agreed to do so but wanted me to tell you that if you do or say anything that she thinks will negatively affect Ed, she'll rip open your throat."
"You could be less impressed or agreeable to her threats against me," Mustang muttered, eyes on his best friend's unconscious face. "I don't plan on making Ed think that I blame him for this either," he added, knowing Ayala wouldn't tell Ed that since it seemed as though the wolf wanted him to speak with her human and telling Ed what Mustang had just said would only make Ed want to avoid him for as long as possible.
"Good. Because if you did, I wouldn't be happy with you either," Nala informed him and Mustang scowled.
"You could be less blatant in your favouritism, you know," he muttered at her. Nala rolled her eyes but didn't respond as she curled up next to his feet.
"I think you should go and find Ed," Gracia said, having correctly guessed that Mustang and Nala were no longer speaking silently to one another. "I don't like the idea of him being somewhere in this hospital and beating himself up for this," she told him. "Ayala and I have both already tried to get him to see that this wasn't his fault but he hasn't listened to us. He'd listen to you though," Gracia said confidently.
"There hasn't been a single time in his military career that Fullmetal has actually listened to me," Mustang pointed out with a scoff. Gracia's flat look told him that she knew he was fully aware of why she thought Ed would listen to him now. "He's calling Alphonse. Ayala's already agreed to tell Nala when he's off the phone. I'll go looking for him when Nala tells me that," Mustang told her, pretending not to notice the approving look on his best friend's wife's face at those words and instead focused on watching his best friend's chest rise and fall while they waited for him to wake up and for Nala to hear from Ayala. It seemed that being inside a hospital room with no one other than Gracia and Nala there meant that Mustang was willing to let his mask slip enough for his worry about Edward to show through a little bit more than he normally would've.
Mustang hadn't realised how antsy he was getting as the minutes passed by with no word from Nala about Edward being off the phone. He knew, of course, that Edward would be giving Alphonse every detail while on the phone to him and that Alphonse would've picked up on his brother's self-blame and would be doing his best to convince Ed that he wasn't to blame. All of that would take time but that didn't mean that Mustang's concern wasn't growing larger the longer it took for Nala to hear from Ayala. Gracia had placed a hand on his knee, both bringing his attention to the fact that he was rapidly bouncing his leg and making him stop the nervous action with an apologetic look.
When Nala lifted her head, tilting it slightly in the way she normally did when she was hearing something no one else could hear, Mustang found himself holding his breath as he waited for Nala to tell him what was happening. Finally, Nala looked up at him and said, "Ed's off the phone. Ayala says that they're near the phones located halfway between here and the nurses station."
Mustang nodded at her before he got to his feet, effectively gaining Gracia's attention. "I'm going to find Fullmetal. I should be back soon," he told her.
Gracia smiled tightly at him. "Be kind to him," she requested, her green eyes flicking back to Maes' unconscious face and thus missing Mustang's answering nod.
Heading out of the room without another word, Mustang closed the door softly behind them once Nala was in the hallway with him. Allowing Nala to take the lead since she would be able to find Ed sooner than Mustang could, the alchemist followed his Animal through the hallways. When they came across the phones Mustang assumed Nala had referred to in her message from Ayala and there was no sign of Ed or Ayala, Mustang gave his lioness a questioning look that she ignored as she continued walking. Mustang didn't say anything since he knew she was still tracking the wayward blonde down but he did get a bit concerned when she sped up and turned a corner before he could match her speed.
When he did catch up to her, Mustang found her waiting outside of a locked bathroom, staring the door down with enough intensity that Mustang was a little worried she'd actually end burning holes into the closed doors. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Edward and Ayala must've been on the other side of it so Mustang decided to wait them out, leaning up against the wall to the right of the door as he waited. He smirked at Nala as she continued staring unwaveringly at the closed bathroom door but so intent on what she was doing was she that she didn't seem to notice his amusement with her actions.
A couple of minutes later, Mustang heard the familiar ringing clap of Edward's alchemy, albeit slightly muffled due to the closed door and walls between them and he would absolutely admit that his first thought was that Edward was making a path of his own out of the bathroom in order to avoid them. However, it was Nala's continued watch that told him that his subordinate was not going to extreme measures to get out of speaking with either of them and sure enough, the door opened only a few seconds later to allow Ayala and Ed to leave the bathroom.
"Hey, Nala," Ed said, giving the lioness a soft but sad smile that had Mustang's heart clench slightly at the sight of it. The expressiveness that was normally in his golden eyes was dulled down and they seemed almost listless. He reached out to scratch Nala's ears and a small grin formed when Nala leaned into the touch, making happy chuffing noises as she indulged in the attention.
When Ed looked around and spotted Mustang leaning against the wall, startling at the sight of him, Mustang smirked. "You thought I'd let Nala roam the hospital by herself?" he asked, not showing the worry he felt when he saw that Ed's responding glare to his smirk was weaker than it should've been, allowing the wariness Ed felt at seeing him to show through.
"Thought you would've been with Miss Gracia still," Ed told him, shrugging a should with a casualness Ed obviously didn't feel. "Is Hughes alright?" Ed asked, allowing some of his true emotions to slip through the mask he normally wore around Mustang as he looked in the general direction Hughes' room was in.
"He'll be fine eventually," Mustang told him as though he was debriefing Ed on any other mission. "The doctor told Gracia and me that he lost a lot of blood but that your actions in the park kept him from losing too much. He also told us that the surgery went extremely well and they don't anticipate any complications in his recovery," Mustang informed him, pretending not to see Ed's shocked expression.
"That's good," Ed murmured. Ayala and Nala felt his confusion at not being yelled at by Mustang but instead subtly praised by him and both felt the urge to either smother the blonde with affection or to start yelling at him themselves that this wasn't his fault.
"Gracia gave me a quick report of what you told her when she first arrived here but I need your whole report, Fullmetal. Including what story you've given anyone else," Mustang told him. Though he wanted to ensure his youngest subordinate wasn't unnecessarily blaming himself for this, he did need the whole story so he could use details from it to bolster his case.
Ed sighed heavily through his nose, as though annoyed that Mustang was asking this now but everyone could see that it was a cover for his confusion deepening. Golden eyes scanned the area they were in for anyone who might overhear them before Ed started speaking. "Just on sunset, Leo told me that the woman Chester and I had fought against in the Fifth Laboratory had tried to attack them while Hughes was on base. Apparently he'd found something about the two I'd fought against and wanted to tell you and decided the best phone to use was the one in Central Park," Ed told him. "Ayala and I headed for the phone booth Leo told us they were heading for and when we got there, someone who looked like Maria Ross was holding a gun on Hughes," Ed said. "It wasn't her though and Hughes must've said something because the next thing I saw was the form of Miss Maria being encased in red alchemic energy and the person turning into Miss Gracia," Ed revealed. From the lack of shock he saw on Mustang's face or felt from Nala, he assumed that Gracia had already told them about that part.
"Hughes couldn't defend himself so Ayala and I tried to intervene. Ayala went for the fake Gracia while I tried to knock Hughes out of the way before he could get shot but we didn't get there in time to stop him from getting hurt," Ed admitted, not looking at Mustang at all now. "I'd realised that the person attacking us was the other person from the laboratory that Chester and I fought and I goaded him into showing his real self. While he was doing that, Ayala and I figured out that he had to have been using a Stone to transform but he wasn't touching it like Cornello did whenever he went to perform a "miracle"," Ed told him, eye twitching at the memory of the greedy priest. "That's when we realised it must've been inside him but I couldn't do anything at that moment to stop him. Before he could try and leave, Ayala started attacking him while I kept pressure on Hughes' injury and had Nala get you to call for an ambulance." Ed paused for a breath before he continued.
"I then told Ayala to switch with me," Ed revealed. "I grabbed Hughes' throwing knives and on my mark, Ayala took over keeping pressure on the wound and I used the knives to keep our attacker focused on his injuries rather than the fact that I was getting closer. Before he could do anything, I used an array that Al and I had come up with against him and I destroyed the Stone he had inside of him," Ed divulged. The stunned expression on Mustang's face almost coaxed a smirk to form on Ed's but it didn't. "He called himself a homunculous and my theory is that his Stone was his life-force so when I destroyed it, I killed him at the same time," Ed told Mustang. "He disintegrated in front of me so there's nothing left of him but some blood from his injuries. Once he was killed, I took over putting pressure on Hughes' injury again and the ambulance turned up a few minutes later. Ayala led them to me and I told them that Leo told Ayala who told me that Hughes was being attacked and that we got on the scene just before he was shot. Ayala managed to injure the attacker but they got away when I called Ayala back to help me," Ed said. "They repeated my story to the doctors and nurses who met the ambulance and I haven't been approached by any soldiers or anyone else for my story yet so the military hasn't been told anything as far as I know," Ed told him, finishing his report and falling silent as he waited for the fallout.
"You developed an array that can destroy a Philosopher's Stone?" Mustang asked, tone stunned and causing Ed to give him an odd look, as though he couldn't figure out why that would be his commanding officer's first question.
"Al and I developed one, yeah," Ed told him, turning his confused look to Ayala in hopes she'd have an explanation for the weirdness going on with Mustang. "What do you think I was doing to keep myself entertained while I was trapped in here for three weeks?" he asked curiously.
"Not creating a brand-new array that could destroy something that's supposed to be indestructible, that's for sure," Mustang said, a touch defensively.
"Well, I was," Ed told him, his familiar scowl on his face. "Now, if that's all you want, I'm going to my hotel room for a proper shower," Ed said, not waiting for an answer as he moved to go past Mustang. He was stopped by both Nala and Mustang, though the latter only grabbed his right arm to halt him while the former decided to physically get in his way. "What?" he asked, making sure his annoyance was aimed solely at Mustang since he figured the man wanted something and wasn't concerned like Nala was.
"The doctor told me that you reported no injuries. Were you being honest or trying to avoid medical attention?" Mustang asked, letting go of Ed's arm before the blonde remembered he was touching it.
"It's the truth," Ed scowled. "I don't always get injured in a fight, Mustang, and I didn't have much to do with that particular fight anyways," he pointed out. "Ayala was the one who got injured and all she copped were bruises," Ed informed him.
Mustang looked at the golden wolf, who gave a nod. "Well, you can't blame me for making sure," Mustang said in his own defense. "How many times have you said you weren't injured when you were and then had those injuries become infected or wind up being worse than what your originally thought?" he asked rhetorically, earning a deeper scowl from the blonde.
"This is edging into 'Ayala will tear your throat open' territory," Nala warned him, looking significantly at the wolf, who was now lifting her lips to start forming a snarl as she slowly shifted out of her sitting position into an attacking one.
"Yeah, well, this isn't one of those times," Ed told him, moving to step around Nala and putting her between him and her human so Mustang wouldn't have as easy a time stopping him again. "Now, if that is finally all, I'm leaving," Ed said, his tone drifting towards irritated.
Mustang panicked internally for a moment. He knew Ed still blamed himself for Hughes. It was plain as day on his face any time Hughes had been brought up in their conversation and in the way Ed subconsciously kept glancing guiltily in the direction of Hughes' room but Mustang didn't know how to bring up the topic so he could tell Ed that no one blamed him. Then suddenly, an idea formed and Mustang followed his instincts. "I'm a little surprised, if I'm being honest," Mustang told Ed, who looked at him suspiciously. Both Nala and Ayala were watching him warningly, which unnerved Mustang more than he'd ever admit. "I would've thought you would've been in Hughes' room with him, Leo, and Gracia," Mustang said casually.
Guilt and regret flashed across Ed's eyes but he just glared at Mustang. "I figured it'd be better for me to get Hughes' blood off of me before I went and sat in his hospital room with Miss Gracia," Ed said, using his usual tone to imply he thought Mustang was an idiot.
Mustang gave a conceding nod. "I don't doubt you could probably do with a shower after the condition I heard you arrived in the hospital in but I wouldn't have thought you would've voluntarily gone for one unless a nurse or Gracia suggested you do," Mustang countered.
"So I've decided to do something pre-emptively. Sue me," Ed snapped, causing Mustang's frustration to grow. This was not how he thought this conversation would go and he had no clue how to get it onto the path he wanted it on.
Nala was watching them both before her own impatience got the best of her and she sighed loudly, making sure both of them heard her. Once she had both of their attention, she looked at Ed and bluntly said, "Roy wants you to know that he doesn't blame you for what happened to Maes. It wasn't your fault he dug into something he shouldn't have and that the enemy tried to stop him from telling us whatever it was he'd found out."
The reactions she got made her interference worth it, in Nala's opinion. Both of them turned red as a tomato and while Ed didn't make a noise, Mustang spluttered slightly, disbelief that his Animal would've done exactly what she did. Ayala's amusement was shown in her toothy grin and the sparkle in her eyes as she took the two stunned alchemists in as well. They both sat there waiting for their humans to get over their shock and finally have the conversation Nala had just forced Ed to stop avoiding like he had been.
Ed was avoiding everyone's gazes and only the Animals could feel his shock and confusion at what Nala just told him. Both Animals knew that Ed just couldn't bring himself to believe that Mustang wasn't going to be tearing him a new one for something that – in Ed's mind – was his fault but the way Mustang had been acting since they'd started talking supported Nala's words and that was what was confusing Ed the most. Despite wanting to do so herself, Nala didn't tell Ed everything her human was thinking and feeling on this manner but the look in Nala's eyes when she locked gazes with Mustang told the man that he had a very limited time to do so himself before she took control.
"What Nala said was the truth," Mustang said, sounding and looking a little awkward, like he wasn't quite sure where to go from here. Ed didn't look like he would be forthcoming with any suggestions even if he had any. "I know what Hughes is like when someone he cares about is in danger and don't argue," Mustang ordered when Ed opened his mouth to do just that. "The moment you told us that those homunculi told you that you and Alphonse were both sacrifices, you told us you were in danger," Mustang told him, eyes daring him to argue. Ed wisely decided to not argue with him on that so Mustang continued. "Hughes wouldn't have stood by and not done everything in his power to find out why someone was planning on sacrificing both of you and who that someone is. Even if Elysia or Gracia had asked him to leave it alone, he wouldn't have," Mustang informed him.
"I know you're blaming yourself – don't look at Ayala like that," Mustang told him when he spotted the side-eye Ed gave his wolf. "She didn't have to tell Nala anything. Gracia was the one who told me and even if she hadn't, I would've known myself once I got the story from you," he said firmly. "You have this problem of trying to shoulder the blame for every bad thing that happens to someone you care about whether you're there or not when that something happens," Mustang pointed out, causing Ed to wince a little. "There are only two people to blame for Hughes ending up in the hospital with a gunshot wound and they are Hughes himself and the homunculous that shot him. You played no part in Hughes' decision to dig deeper except for being chosen as a sacrifice and don't even think about blaming yourself for that either," Mustang instructed. "You had as much choice in being chosen as Alphonse did so if you're going to insist on blaming yourself for why Hughes is in that bed then you'd better be prepared to blame Alphonse as well," Mustang told him.
That statement got Ed speaking again. "Alphonse wasn't even in Central!" he protested.
"And if your injuries had been less severe or if you'd gotten out of that laboratory before you bled out as much as you did, you wouldn't have been either and Hughes still would've been shot," Mustang pointed out bluntly, "and if that had happened, Gracia and the military would be organising his funeral and it still wouldn't have been your fault," Mustang said, emphasizing his point. "You didn't hold the gun on Hughes. You didn't pull the trigger. You didn't even encourage him to go against the Fuhrer's orders to drop this!" Mustang exclaimed. Ed shifted a little, showing how uncomfortable he was with Mustang being bluntly honest like this and with the lack of yelling Ed had been expecting. "You saved his life, Ed," Mustang reminded him. "The only reason he's in that hospital bed and not in a body bag or coroner's table is because you and Ayala were both there to stop him from getting killed," Mustang said, voice unnaturally soft, causing Ed to meet his eyes for the first time since Nala had spoken. "You and Ayala are the only reason Hughes will still be around to annoy me with updated photos of Gracia and Elysia everyday and the two of you are the only reason he'll be around to even take them. Do you understand?" Mustang asked and Ed gave him a slow nod.
"Yeah, I understand," Ed told him. To Mustang's surprise and relief, it seemed as though Ed really did understand what Mustang had just said. Not only that, but according to Nala, the blonde also believed him. Mustang was kind enough to ignore the way Ed's eyes glistened suspiciously and the fact that Ed reached up to wipe them.
"Good," Mustang said, relief tinging his voice. There were a couple of beats of silence before Mustang cleared his throat and just like that, Ed found himself standing in front of the Mustang he normally faced when they both ran into each other outside of the office and in public. "I'll let Gracia know that you're going to head back to your hotel room in order to take a shower," Mustang told him. "Until Hughes wakes up though, I want you, Ayala, Nala, or myself to be in the room with him at all times. You said that he was attacked by two homunculi and that you only destroyed one. That leaves at least one more out there who might take advantage of his being unconscious and hospitalised to make sure he can't pass along his message," Mustang explained.
Ed nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine with helping guard his room," Ed agreed easily and Mustang took a moment to file away the feeling of how good it was to have Edward follow an order without arguing with him first. Nala rolled her eyes in an obvious way, earning herself a glare from her human that Ed didn't seem to notice. "Ayala and I are gonna get going now," Ed told Mustang, reaching out to ruffle one of Nala's ears in a goodbye before he and his wolf did leave. "Let Miss Gracia know that I'll tell Lilith or Nala when I plan on coming back to the hospital and that if she needs anything, to give either of them a list of things she wants me to grab for her," Ed instructed.
"You do remember which one of us is in charge of the other, right?" Mustang snarked as he and Nala stood together, ready to head back to Hughes' room once they'd said their goodbyes to Ed and Ayala.
"We both know that the true commanding officer of the team is Miss Riza," Ed teased, grinning when Mustang couldn't come up with a decent retort in response. Something flicked across Ed's face too quickly for Mustang to figure out what it was. Ayala pressed against Ed's side, likely in response to whatever it was that Ed had thought and the blonde sighed. "Thanks for what you said and stuff," he said and before Mustang could say anything in response, both Ed and Ayala disappeared down the nearest corridor.
Mustang debated for a moment but decided it would be best to not follow his subordinate. It would likely cause Ed to become embarrassed or defensive and they'd managed to end this conversation on a rare, good note. Mustang did not want to be the one to ruin that. Feeling how pleased Mustang was with himself for managing to get through to Ed, Nala rolled her eyes once more. "You wouldn't have even managed to speak to him about that if I hadn't pushed the two of you into the conversation," she reminded him, flicking him with her tail as she headed for Hughes room, a smug smile forming on her face at the sound of her human's spluttered denials and protests that he would've eventually brought it up by himself.
It was Ed and Ayala's turn to keep an eye on Hughes' room that afternoon. Gracia had gone home shortly after Ed had come back from his hotel room and cat nap so that she could explain what was happening to Elysia and thank the neighbours for looking after her daughter and Animal. Gracia planned on bringing Elysia to the hospital that evening to say hello to her father since his doctor believed he would be able to stay awake long enough to reassure Elysia that he was fine by that point. Evidently, Hughes had woken up around lunchtime, only half an hour or so before Ed and Ayala had come back to the hospital but he'd only been awake long enough to have everything explained to him by Gracia and to be assured Ed and Ayala were alright. To say Ed had been shocked that Hughes had even remembered they were there was an understatement. He hadn't even considered that Hughes would've noticed either of them in the moments he was shot.
Mustang had been in the room with Nala for a little while, working on the paperwork he would've needed to do once he was in Central to finalise his and the team's move up until a few minutes ago when he'd told Ed he was going to stretch his legs and check to see how the investigation into Hughes' shooting was going. By the time Ed had come back to the hospital, Mustang had gotten the wheels rolling and the story Ed had given the ambulance officers had been the official story the military got. Ed had been interviewed by two Investigations officers he didn't know the moment he'd stepped through the front doors of the hospital and he'd made sure Mustang knew how much he didn't appreciate the heads up about it. Ed knew Mustang was really leaving in order to avoid setting his paperwork on fire so that Hawkeye wouldn't send a soldier with replacement paperwork and a firm warning through that soldier to make sure nothing happened to this to destroy it.
Leo had woken up shortly after Hughes had done so the first time but was currently asleep. He'd only woken up long enough when Ed had arrived to profusely thank him for getting to them in time and – when Ayala had tattled on him – told Ed that he didn't blame him in the slightest for the extent of Hughes' injury before he'd gone back to sleep, not allowing Ed the chance to try and argue even if he wanted to. Ed hadn't been impressed with Ayala but the wolf had given him her version of a 'what can you do?' shrug before she'd settled in for her own nap, leaving Ed with his books as the only things to keep him entertained.
Movement caught Ed's attention and managed to drag him out of his book. Rubbing his eyes as he brought himself back to reality, he looked around the room to figure out what it was that got his attention. Mustang and Nala weren't back yet and Ayala was still asleep on the floor at his feet. When he glanced at Leo, he noticed the fox was intently watching his human who, Ed noticed quickly, was shifting as though he was about to wake up. Ed sat up, now wide awake, and watched Hughes closely, waiting to see if he was actually going to wake up or whether he was going to fall back into the deep sleep he'd been in.
When Hughes' eyes flickered open, causing the man to wince and squeeze them shut at the brightness of the hospital lights, Ed knew he was awake this time. "Hughes?" he called, waking Ayala up as he sat on the edge of his seat and carefully touched Hughes' wrist, startling the man.
"Ed?" Hughes rasped out, reaching up to scrub at his watery eyes before he opened them a second time and squinted in the direction of Ed's voice.
"Yeah," Ed said, relief saturating his voice as he let go of Hughes' wrist and grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and pressed them gently into his hand. "Here's your glasses," he told him, explaining what he'd just put in Hughes' hand.
"Thanks, kiddo," Hughes said gratefully as he carefully lifted his arms and placed his glasses on, wincing when the movement pulled a little at his injury despite his best efforts to prevent that. "So I hear I have you to thank for waking up in a hospital bed and not a body bag," Hughes said conversationally, trying to sit up a little higher on his bed.
Ed gave him a flat look. "I don't think anyone wakes up in a body bag unless they're really unlucky," Ed deadpanned.
Hughes grinned, eyes twinkling tiredly. "You know what I meant," he chuckled.
"Yeah, that's what everyone keeps telling me," Ed told him, aiming for casual but apparently Hughes saw right through him. It probably helped Hughes when he noticed Ayala's look at Ed.
"Well, if I remember the events correctly – and I'll have you know that it takes more than me being shot for my memory to be affected that badly – then everyone's right," Hughes informed him. "Especially my beautiful wife. You know she's always right about everything so if she said you saved mine and Leo's life then that's what you did," Hughes told him, nodding at his own words. "Is there a reason you think otherwise?" Hughes asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder, not meeting Hughes' eyes.
"You wouldn't have been in that position if I hadn't snuck out of the hotel and gone to investigate the Fifth Laboratory against orders," Ed muttered, speaking quietly like he was hoping Hughes wouldn't hear him.
"Well," Hughes said, "I suppose that's technically correct but," he said, stopping anything Leo and Ayala was about to say or do to him, "I was also in that position because I went against the Fuhrer's order to not investigate the laboratory and what happened. I was also in that position because I didn't listen to you when you asked me to drop it. I was also in that position because I uncovered something important and wasn't careful enough to make sure I wasn't being watched and I was also in that position because I went to Central Park in the middle of the night where there would be no witnesses around me," Hughes pointed out. "So, really, this was kind of mostly my fault so there isn't any need for you to be blaming yourself," Hughes told him, "and, I mean, the only person to blame for why I'm in hospital is the person who shot me so that can't be your fault either," he added. "Really, I don't think any of this is your fault so blaming yourself seems kind of silly, if you ask me," he said with a note of finality.
"I agree," Leo said, his voice echoing in Hughes' mind which told his human that he was speaking to both of them. Hughes didn't need Ed or Leo to translate what Ayala was saying to her human. The look on her face was very easy to translate.
Hughes reached over with a little bit of effort and grasped Ed's left hand with only a small wince to give away the fact that he'd caused himself any kind of pain. "Don't beat yourself up, kiddo. This one isn't on you, alright?" Hughes said, squeezing Ed's hand before the blonde could yell at him for being stupid and hurting himself further.
Ed swallowed down the thick blockage of emotions that sat burning at the base of his throat before he nodded and squeezed Hughes' hand back. "Alright."
A/N - Okey dokey so this is the last of my pre-written "what if...?" so don't expect more of these unless someone requests a scenario which, might I remind you, is something you're allowed to do! Just check the first chapter's A/N for the rules and stuff around requests. Also you're getting this one early because I'm getting up at a stupid early hour in the morning and will be out of service for two days and figured I'd get this chapter up early rather than post it late. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and let me know what you all thought to it! Until next time! FullmetalBitch xx