It had been a week since Ed had been home, a week that he had spent lounging around researching and icing his ribs with frozen peas. Today, Ed was finally allowed to go back to work. Although he could only sit at a desk all day and catch up on paperwork, he was more than happy to get out of his dorm. After assuring Alphonse multiple times that he would be okay on his own, he got dressed out of his pajamas for the first time in a while and gathered his things. He folded up the washed sweater and pants that Roy had loaned him, and clipped his watch onto his belt loop before he slipped it in his pocket. He tucked the clothes under his arm, saying goodbye to Al and heading towards HQ. He padded down the hallways of the dorms, slouching slightly so as to not pull painfully on any of his ribs or stitches. He waved to a few soldiers he recognized before he pushed open the door of the dorms and stepped into the fresh air. He basked in the warmth of the sunlight a moment, taking a deep breath of summer air before he continued on his way.
The sun was hot on his shoulders, but not uncomfortably so. It was a nice change after a week of crappy dorm room air conditioning. The clouds were full and white in the cerulean sky above him, and birds sang in the treetops. Ed was kinda bummed to have to be inside when it was such a beautiful day. Maybe he'd take a short walk with Al later, after he got off of work.
The white of Central Command appeared in the distance as he turned a corner. He walked down the sidewalk, brushing his hand through a patch of flowers beside him. But no sooner had Ed crossed the road, a gunshot rang out through the air. Ed could hear frightened screams over the ringing in his ears as he fell to his knees. He couldn't really tell what was happening, aside from a searing pain in his calf. It felt as if he was being burned with a white-hot rod, and yet he knew he had to run. He burst through the growing crowd of concerned bystanders and worked with his adrenaline to get to Mustang as fast as possible. He knew that someone had just shot him, and they were probably aiming to kill him, and he knew he wasn't safe staying where he was. He ran up the stairs of Central Command, leaving a trail of blood behind him. The soldiers at the doors eyed him warily as he hurriedly pulled his watch out of his pocket for identification and burst through the doors. He could vaguely hear concerned murmuring surrounding him as he limped his way to Mustang's office. Every injury on his body was throbbing painfully, especially the new addition to his leg. He sighed in relief as he threw open the doors to the office, slamming them shut behind him and pushing his back against the wood. He painted heavily as his eyes darted around the room, taking in the concerned looks his colleagues were giving him.
"Ed? What's wrong?" Asked Hawkeye, her brow furrowed with worry. She stood at the head of the room, holding paperwork that probably belonged to the Colonel. Ed sighed and let his shoulders droop and his arms fall slack as his sides.
"We have a problem." He replied, sounding nonchalant. Hawkeye nodded hesitantly, he eyes narrowing.
"What would that be, Edward?" She continued, her concern growing. Before Ed could reply, Havoc chimed in sounding panicked.
"Hey, chief? You're bleeding, a lot." He stated, standing from his desk and heading over to Ed. Ed tipped his head down to the growing puddle of blood around the sole of his boot. Blood dripped down his pantleg and soaked into his sock uncomfortably. He nodded and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I know. Someone shot me. That's the problem." He explained, sounding way too calm for the circumstances. The room around him exploded in a panic, Havoc running over and trying to find the source of the bleeding, Hawkeye hurrying into the inner office to find Mustang, and Fuery looking like he was gonna be sick, while Breda and Falman stood around with wide eyes looking worried, wondering what they should be doing. Ed sighed.
"Calm down. It's not that bad. It just nicked my leg." Ed assured them, though the amount of blood pooling on the hardwood was not convincing.
"Nicked my ass." Havoc retorted, pressing his jacket to Ed's leg. "It went straight through you, kid!" Ed just shrugged.
"Well it's fine. It doesn't really hurt that bad." He lied. It hurt like a bitch, but at least it was nothing like automail surgery.
"Edward! What's going on?" Roy yelled, running from his office with Hawkeye in tow.
"I've been shot. I'm pretty sure that someone was trying to kill me, but they're a terrible shot. They've got nothing on you, Hawkeye." Ed beamed, giving her a wide grin. She smiled weakly at him.
"Thank you, Ed. Now will you please sit down?" She pleaded, pulling over a chair.
"Oh, sure." He replied, taking a seat in the office chair Hawkeye provided. Falman came running over, handing Havoc a first aid kit, which he accepted with a nod. He took the bandage shears from the white container and began to cut off Ed's leather pantleg. Ed crossed his arms and glared at him.
"Hey! I like these pants!" He protested as Havoc tore the pantleg off at the knee. Roy let his head fall into his hands.
"Ed, for the love of God. There are more important things to worry about right now! You can just fix them with alchemy later!" Roy shouted, kneeling next to Havoc to inspect Ed's leg. He shrugged.
"Eh, I guess you're right." He replied, looking down at the gory wound on his calf. The bullet had entered messily through the back of his leg a few inches below his knee, exiting raggedly through the front, bringing along torn tissue and no shortage of blood. Ed screwed up his face. "Ew, that doesn't really look too good, huh?" He observed as Havoc hurriedly pressed gauze against the wounds, earning a hiss from Ed.
"Yeah, it doesn't really look too good, kid." Havoc agreed, placing thick layers of gauze over each side of his leg and wrapping it up tightly with ace bandages. "There were bone fragments in that mess too, so it must've gone right through your fibula as well. Aren't you in pain, chief? This has got to hurt like hell." Havoc exclaimed, a sympathetic look on his face.
"Oh yeah, hurts like a bitch." Ed chuckled, grunting as Havoc pulled the bandages tight. "Hurts worse since I ran here." He added, earning bewildered looks from around him.
"You ran here? With your leg like that? From where?!" Roy interrogated, eyes darting over Ed's body.
"From outside the building. Someone shot me! I'm not just gonna hang around!" Roy just blinked owlishly at the kid, eyes wide with astonishment.
"Okay, looks like it'll be okay for now, but we have to get to a hospital." Havoc announced, taping down the edges of the ace wrap. Ed groaned.
"Do we have to?" He whined, leaning back in the chair and tossing his head to the ceiling.
"Yes, Ed. We have to. You've been shot and it's gone through the bone." Roy reasoned, crossing his arms. Ed groaned but made to stand, being stopped halfway by a hand on his shoulder pushing him back into the chair.
"Uh, I don't think so, chief." Havoc reprimanded. "You are not in any shape to be walking right now." He slid his arms around Ed and scooped him up to his chest. Ed's eyes looked like they would pop out of his head.
"Havoc! Put me down!" Ed protested, pulling at the arms that held him up.
"Not gonna happen, kid. Sorry." He replied, heading towards the office doors. Ed groaned as his leg throbbed angrily underneath the layers of tan bandages. He was glad to not have to walk, but he wasn't about to let them know that. Ed closed his eyes with a grimace.
"This sucks." He hissed with a frown. Ignoring the concerned murmuring around him as he stared at the ceiling. "I can't catch a break."
"I keep trying to tell you, kid. You're a magnet for trouble." Roy commented, shrugging his shoulders. Ed's head shot up to glare at the man.
"Nuh-uh, that makes it sound like it's my fault. Trouble finds me." He argued, gesturing aggressively with his hands. Ed bounced in Havoc's arms as he padded through the parking lot. Before Ed could complain that every step was shaking his leg, a deafening bang resonated through the air. Havoc and Roy instinctively hit the deck, Havoc bringing Ed with him. Ed cried out as he landed on his broken ribs and his leg bounced off of the concrete. He suddenly became aware of a burning pain in his left shoulder as his clothes quickly became wet against his skin. Roy and Havoc seemed to not notice as Havoc quickly got to his feet and scooped Ed off of the ground, bolting towards their car. Roy yanked open the door to the back seat, ushering Havoc and Roy inside. He slammed the door and got behind the wheel, starting the engine and immediately pulling out of the parking lot, tossing a seatbelt-less Ed and Havoc around in the back.
"Holy shit, what was that?!" Roy shrieked, his voice sounding weak as he struggled for air. Havoc shook his head with a nervous grin.
"I don't know, boss. Everyone okay?" He responded, scanning his eyes over Roy, who nodded, then turning his gaze to Ed, who wore a grimace and held his automail against his shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers. The grin fell from his face as he sprang up from his seat and towards Ed. "Shit!" He hissed, pulling Ed's hand from the wound and tearing off his clothes.
"What? What is it?!" Roy yelled, eyeing the two through the rear view mirror.
"He's been shot! Again!" Havoc yelled, pressing Ed's red jacket against the wound.
"Ow ow ow!" Ed muttered as he pushed Ed down to lay on the back seats and put heavy pressure on his shoulder.
"Sorry, kid. We have to stop the bleeding." He apologized as Ed grit his teeth and grunted through the pain burning through his entire arm.
"What the hell, Ed? Why didn't you say something?" Roy yelled, swerving through cars to get to the hospital as fast as possible.
"Well, I was kind of trying to process it myself you know." He defended. Roy sighed.
"How bad is it, Havoc?" He asked nervously, his brow furrowed.
"It's not a fatal shot if we take care of it." He explained, keeping both hands pressed against Ed. "Looks like it was meant to hit the heart, but luckily it got the shoulder instead." He continued, his voice tight.
"Well Ed, you were right. Looks like we've got an assassination attempt on our hands." Roy declared regretfully. Ed grinned cheekily.
"I've been assassinated, cool." Ed chuckled, earning a confused stare from Havoc and Roy.
"How on earth is that cool, Edward?" Roy sighed, looking done with Ed's antics. Ed shrugged with his automail shoulder.
"I dunno, just is." He beamed, grin still plastered on his face.
Roy sped into the parking lot of the hospital as Havoc pulled Ed gently against his chest. The second the car rolled to a stop, he swung open the car door and raced through the hospital entrance. He was quickly surrounded by nurses and doctors who pried Ed out of Havoc's arms and laid him on a gurney. Ed's eyes darted around nervously, eyeing the medical personnel nervously with a certain sense of distaste present in his face. Ed was pulled into a room and suddenly monitors of all kinds were being attached to his body. Ed kept quiet, but his eyes were wide and restless, and he panted anxiously as doctors and nurses danced around him. Havoc and Roy watched him from the windows outside of the room. Havoc bit his lip while Roy stared intently at Ed, not daring take his eyes off of him.
"Poor kid, he looks terrified." Havoc muttered, shaking his head. Roy hummed in agreement.
"Yeah, and you'd think it's because he's just been shot twice, but that's not it." Roy told him. Havoc raised a confused brow at him. "Kid's not afraid of the bullets in him, he's afraid of the doctors." He explained, eyes still on Ed, who was frowning and backing away from the doctor's touch.
"Really?" Havoc breathed in astonishment. "Kid comes into the office after being shot in his leg straight through the bone and acts like it's nothing, but is terrified by a few doctors?" He added, watching as Ed screwed his eyes shut and tucked his chin down as nurses were prodding at him and inserting an IV into his hand. Roy nodded solemnly.
"Yeah, can't say I understand that kid too much. I think that the automail surgery kind of traumatised him, so he associates all medical treatment with that experience." Roy theorized, watching Ed squirm as medication was injected into the IV port on his hand. Havoc hummed in understanding.
"Yeah, I never even thought about that. Automail surgery is supposedly hell even for a grown man, and he's just a kid." Havoc shook his head sympathetically. The two were broken out of their thoughts as a short blonde nurse burst out of the room beside them.
"Are either of you his legal guardian?" She inquired, holding a clipboard of paperwork. Roy nodded and took the clipboard from her. "We need your consent to do an operation to fix the damage caused by the bullets." She explained. Roy nodded and signed the papers.
"Of course, but you might not want to tell him that. He doesn't really like doctors too much, if you tell him you're sedating him he'll probably freak out." Roy advised, remembering the time he had been in the hospital with Ed, and how he exploded when the doctors tried to put him under. She nodded in understanding before dipping inside the room. She whispered briefly to the doctor in the room, who then prepared a syringe of what Roy assumed was medicine to knock Ed out. The syringe was inserted into the port on his hand, and before Ed could protest, the plunger was pushed and the liquid was in Ed's system. In a matter of seconds, Ed's head lolled to the side as his eyes slipped shut, unaware that he was about to be cut open and fixed up.