So, I have no idea why this chapter was so hard to write, but I have written and deleted about 4000 words that I didn't use.

And, if anyone's wondering: no, Ed's not going to be that violent in general, but he was desperately trying to outrun his grief and failing miserably as it clouded over his judgement and having Roy (Who pisses him off in general) there didn't help...

Chapter four

"Mister Elric!" the nurse called out again.

Ed panicked and began dragging his way forwards as quick as he could in order to get away from her. She wanted to catch him and tie him down and pump him full of drugs and keep Alphonse away from him and…

What have I done?!

Terror gripped his entire being. He was going to be arrested for this. He had attacked a State Alchemist and he would most likely be executed and he would never ever get to be with Al again!

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Ed screamed, panic coursing through his entire being. He didn't even know what he was supposed to do anymore. He had screwed up. He had screwed everything up and they would take Al away and it was all his fault!

"WATCH OUT!" the nurse screamed, right before Ed slammed his head into something hard and then he knew no more.

"Stop smiling, Maes," Roy told him grumpily.

Maes didn't stop, however. There was just no way for him to do so at the moment. He knew it shouldn't be funny, but seeing as how Riza had sorted things out with the hospital, Maes felt that he was very much entitled to find it amusing that his best friend was being grumpy over a tetanus shot and absentmindedly rubbing his left arm.

After all, it wasn't everyday that Roy Mustang, the great Flame Alchemist, was beaten up within thirty seconds by a blind thirteen-year-old with two missing limbs.

And Maes didn't blame Ed for his actions, even if they were stupid, because they were brought on by a child being scared and grieving and suddenly blind and thereby responding in the one way he knew how to, and that was to make sure that his only family was okay.

And so here they were sitting on the seats outside Ed's room while Riza was explaining to Edward that he wasn't in any trouble and that as far as the hospital was concerned, the escape attempt was brought on by hallucinations due to morphine. And, as hospitals were also one of the places that he hated most in the world, Edward was going to be moved to spend the night in the infirmary at East HQ instead.

They had been sitting here for about forty-five minutes now. Gracia was with Riza together with Alphonse and Elicia so that Edward knew where his baby brother was.

Of course, it also meant that all the nurses and doctors that passed them were looking awkward as Riza had been "angry" that they had obviously ignored it when they warned them about Ed's reactions to the sedative before they gave it to him, meaning that this was actually all due to the hospital making a severe mistake.

Maes couldn't help but admire how convincing Riza Hawkeye could be.

Which also meant that the kid was supposedly very happy about not having any sort of painkillers in his system at the moment as the doctors were very, very careful about listening to their patient because they kind of thought it was now their fault that a couple of State Alchemists reporting directly to the Führer had received unsatisfactory treatment resulting in injury as well as when Ed crashed at high speed into the metal bedrail of one of the beds in the corridors. Of course, Maes found the fact that Ed was currently stuck with a lot of untreated pain very concerning and he mostly wanted to run into the room and give the kid a hug. But he could also see that suddenly losing your sight and your only family while finding yourself in a place that made you nervous in general, wasn't exactly the best time to find yourself trapped in a constantly sluggish state.

"You're looking worried again," Roy told him, turning his ice pack to expose a cooler part of it to his already swelling jaw and eye.

"He's refusing to take any painkillers, Roy. Not even like a small Ibuprofen that you can buy without a prescription. I can sort of see why he doesn't want the ones that almost make you feel like a zombie because you're so tired, but refusing anything's pretty extreme."

Roy just looked at him. "Maes, he's a genius alchemist prodigy, he may be both strong and a highly accomplished martial artist, but his brain and his loyalty to his brother are still his most significant traits in my book. If you ask me, I guess there's the way any sort of drug-induced altered mental capacity is likely to make him feel trapped within his own body. Now having lost his sight, that must be terrifying. As for refusing the mild ones, I can make a guess based on the way the kid is usually acting… He's blaming himself for his brother and he's thinking he deserves whatever pain he gets from his apparent failure to protect him."

Maes swore quietly. "Life has really been way too hard on that kid. Both of them."

Roy sighed. "And by some cruel twist of fate, they've ended up with me of all people. Maes, I'm their legal guardian because of my position as Fullmetal's CO, meaning that I'm supposed to be the one who signs the hospital release forms as long as he's a minor, not the one who has him living in their home! Why the hell did the Führer decide to extend the guardianship to be in general instead of disappearing as soon as he stops being my subordinate?!"

Maes looked down to hide his smirk. This was all a very odd situation and Maes could see how Führer Bradley was thinking, appointing Roy as guardian. The Rockbells were out of the question as sending a recently blind kid and his newborn brother to live in a big house full of automail parts with a teenager and a diminutive old lady far out in the countryside wasn't exactly a very good idea. Adding in the fact that there were a lot of people who were potentially very interested in killing both of them as revenge on either the military or the Elrics in person now that they were at a rather serious disadvantage, it was clear that they needed protection. Seeing as how Roy was already their temporary guardian, had known the Elrics at least to some extent for the past ten months, was a highly skilled combat alchemist and earned more than enough to provide for the two kids and whatever expenses that would come up due to Ed's disability, he was actually a pretty good option.

Except for the fact that him and Ed had a tendency to drive each other up the walls which the Führer didn't know about.

Maes, however, still couldn't keep the smile off his face. He knew his best friend enough to be absolutely certain that if someone else took those kids in, he'd be stressed on a daily basis about not knowing if they were okay because he blamed himself for what had happened to them in the first place. That also included if Maes took them in, which is why Maes had used the suggestion earlier as a bit of a way to push his friend into further realisation.

Not that Maes was opposed to the idea of taking them in, of course. He'd have loved doing it and would have done so had Roy not found himself in his current position.

And of course Maes wasn't about to leave a clueless Roy Mustang in this mess, he obviously needed help and guidance that Maes and his darling wife were more than happy to give.

"Maes, would you please explain to me why the hell you're still grinning? It's annoying and you've got that "I have a great plan that I'm not telling you about" look again."

"Well, Roy, it just so happens that I know that you need some help to make this work…"

Roy looked at him. "Which is why I'm definitely not suited for this, like we've already established."

"Which is why I've accepted the position General Grumman has been offering me for about six months now."

Roy just stared at him with his uncovered eye. "You're moving to East City? Just like that? Maes, think about your family, your friends, you've been living in Central for years! Don't be stupid!"

"I am thinking about my friends. And Gracia agrees with me. And imagine how much fun it will be for Elicia to have a couple of brothers!" Maes went from smiling to serious. "And besides, Roy, I made you a promise."

Roy looked confused at that. "When?"

Maes broke out into a wide grin at that. "I told you I'd help you reach the top, didn't I? I'm just extending that to the top of happiness! There's nothing like having a family and now you get to experience the wonderful world of fatherhood and even raising a child from day one and I bet you can teach Ed chess and you will all have so much fun!"

Roy didn't get to respond to that, because that was the moment that the door to Ed's room was opened and the boy himself was sitting there in a wheelchair being pushed by Riza. Maes could tell that he was furious despite the bandages covering his wounds, but Ed didn't say anything as Riza shut the door behind them.

"Edward? How are you feeling? I'm Maes Hughes," Maes said kindly, moving forwards and grasping Ed's left hand in both of his. "It's very nice to meet you."

The kid looked confused and surprised and his furious attitude seemed to die down a little and he bowed his head like he was ashamed of what he was saying. "Thanks, Mister Hughes, for helping with Al," Ed said in a low voice and Maes could hear some of the emotional and physical torment that no kid should be going through making its way into his words.

Hearing it, Maes kneeled down in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. "There's no need to thank me, Ed."

Maes could see the boy's lips trembling and he squeezed his shoulder. "Were you going somewhere, Ed?"

"I'm gonna talk with the Colonel and didn't wanna risk waking Al up."

"I'm over here, Fullmetal," Roy said from where he was sitting.

Edward turned around in the wheelchair to face him. "Thanks … for not arresting me."

Roy only grunted, not letting himself be soft enough to give any other confirmation.

"Now tell me just why the hell they're saying we're gonna go home with you?"

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