The town was small enough to know with certainty that there wasn't a hospital for miles. Roy looked down at the small bundle in his arms and knew they couldn't wait that long. Instead, they ploughed back into the inn where they were staying and quickly located the receptionist. Her eyes widened upon seeing the bloody and beaten child in Roy's grasp. Before she could do anything but gasp, Roy cut her off.
"Is there a doctor in this town?" She looked at him in extreme concern and nodded.
"Y-yes, of course, lay him down, I'll go fetch him." She then quickly left and scurried to find the doctor. Roy made his way to their previously rented room and gently laid Ed down on the nearest bed. He winced as he leaned back into the bed, before heaving a sigh of relief. He looked up at Roy and Riza and smiled.
"I knew you would come." They both smiled sadly at him.
"Of course, Fullmetal. I'll always come for my subordinates." Roy replied. Sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Now let's take this off and have a look at you." He grabbed the edges of Ed's tattered shirt and peeled it off. He had to look away for a moment upon seeing the extent of Edward's injuries. Ed's brow furrowed and he let out a pained whimper.
"Hurts." He whined. Roy brushed the bangs from Ed's bloodied face and tucked them behind his ear.
"I know, Ed. Just hang on, the doctor will be here soon." He reassured him. Ed's head fell to the side in exhaustion.
"M'kay." He slurred quietly. Roy's heart couldn't help but break at the pain that the kid must be in to their hot-headed, loud-mouthed prodigy into a whimpering, subdued child. He didn't deserve this. It was then that a tall, strong-looking man in a white coat raced through the door, setting his black bag on the table beside the bed. Ed looked up at him with distaste, but didn't protest. The man kneeled next to the bed where Edward lay, and introduced himself.
"Good morning, young man. I'm Doctor Jennings. Seems you've found yourself in a bit of sorry state, hm?" Ed scoffed softly at the man.
"A bit." He croaked. The man gave him a warm smile.
"Well that certainly won't do. How about we fix you up now?" Ed just nodded and seemed to, for once, accept much needed medical help, though Roy chalked it up to be the kid's exhaustion and pain talking. The doctor began to dig through his bag and pull out a few tools. Ed did his best not to look at what the doctor might be doing to him. First, the doctor took a large gauze pad soaked in saline and began to gently wipe away the dried blood and dirt from the large wound on Ed's chest. Ed winced now and again, but otherwise stayed still. The doctor frowned a bit.
"This'll need quite a few stitches, I'm afraid." At that, Edward's eyes twitched open with a grimace.
"I don't like needles." He declared to the doctor. Jennings then lay a large, reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Just close your eyes, my boy. It'll be over soon." Edward seemed to be too tired to go about his usual antics, and simply took a deep breath and let his eyes slip closed. The doctor then filled a syringe with some lydocaine, and carefully injected small amounts around the wound. After a few minutes, he began to stitch the cut closed with practiced hands. He ended up with 22 lines of black thread holding the wound together. He then smeared a good amount of antibiotic ointment onto Ed's chest, before placing a thick gauze covering over it all. He then took a thick roll of white tape, and thoroughly secured the bandages down. He repeated the same steps with the cut on Ed's arm, earning another 15 stitches and a generous wrapping of bandages around his bicep. The doctor then turned his attention to the burns on Ed's stomach, gently dabbing away at the damaged skin. Ed winced at the touch. He then applied a thick layer of burn salve to them, before placing more bandages on top.
"Okay, son. This might hurt a bit, but I've got to check for any broken ribs. I'm just gonna feel around some, alright?" Ed frowned at the idea of more pain, but nodded nonetheless. With gentle hands, the doctor poked and prodded around Ed's chest, Ed sucking in a pained breath whenever he would touch a particularly sore spot. "Sorry son, that must hurt quite a bit, yeah? You've got a few broken ribs" Ed grimaced but nodded. Jennings then turned his attention to Edward's hand, taking in the state of his two fingers. He frowned. "Okay, my boy. We've got to set these fingers in place. You're gonna wanna brace yourself." Ed sighed in a breath of defeat. He screwed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth in preparation for the pain. He felt a presence on the metal of his automail, and cracked an eye open to see Roy holding a supportive hand on his. Ed squeezed his hand a bit and closed his eyes. With two quick tugs, Edward's bones were back in place, and he struggled to choke back a scream. The fingers throbbed angrily in protest. "All done, son. You did well." The doctor then proceeded to wrap a hard splint over his fingers and part of his hand, wrapping it up tight to keep the bones in place. Jennings smiled big at Ed. "Alright, how about we take a look at that face and head of yours. Would you mind sitting up a bit for me?" Ed nodded as Roy and Riza rushed to help him gingerly sit up, placing piles of pillows behind his back. The doctor went around to the back of Ed's head, hissing in sympathy. Beneath his blood-matted hair lay a 2 inch gash that definitely hurt quite a bit. "Okay son, same deal here as with your chest and arm, bit of numbing medication, might sting a bit." Ed hummed in response and let the doctor do his work. The doctor trimmed a small amount of hair around the wound, and gently soaked out the blood from Ed's hair and cleaned up the gash. 5 stitches later and Ed was lying back down again. Now turning his attention to Edward's face, he cleaned away the dried blood from his wounds, tying two small stitches in the cut on Ed's cheekbone. He shined a flashlight into each oh his eyes, determining that Ed had sustained a moderate concussion as well. He patted Ed on the shoulder and stood up at his bedside. "Looks like we're all done here, young man, not hiding any more injuries from me, are you?" He said with a bright smile. Ed shook his head. Jennings then turned his head to Roy and Riza. "He'll be okay, he just needs plenty of rest. He'll be in a quite a bit of pain for a while," He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small bottle filled with white capsules. "He can take one of these whenever he gets uncomfortable, and I'd definitely recommend that he take one now. Keep the bandages clean and dry and watch out for any infection, and he should be completely fine." He handed Roy the pills with a smile, before turning back to Edward. "Rest up, young man. I hope you feel better soon." Ed just nodded, his eyes half lidded. With that, the man swiftly left the room, clicking the door shut behind him. Roy slowly took a seat on the edge of the bed, followed by Riza on the other side.
"How are you feeling, Edward?" Inquired Riza, her voice barely above a whisper. Ed cleared his throat and looked over at her.
"Like I got hit by a train." He croaked in response. Riza smiled in sympathy.
"How about I get you a cup of water and you take those pills now?" Ed pondered for a minute, before giving her a faint nod. She left to fill a white mug with water, returning and taking the pill in Roy's hand that he had taken from the bottle. Roy gently held a hand behind Ed as he gingerly sat up slightly, as Riza pressed the mug to his lips. They laid him back down on the pillows, and went to work at untying the laces on his boots and sliding them off of his feet. Roy then unbuttoned and slid off his leather pants, as he imagined they wouldn't be very comfortable to sleep in. This left Ed in his boxers. Ed was much too drowsy to care. Roy then gently cradled Ed up into his arms while Riza pulled the blankets back. Ed didn't peep a word of protest, even when they tucked him in to the bed. Roy took one last look at the sleeping boy, before dipping into the hallway to find a phone. He had some calls to make