Edward smiled at Alphonse as he ate the meal his little brother had prepared for him. "It's delicious!" he exclaimed through a mouthful of sausages and roasted potatoes.
If it were at all possible to blush as a suit of armour, that is exactly what Alphonse would be doing. "Thanks, Brother! I'm glad you like it. I was worried because I couldn't taste it to see if it was okay. I didn't know how it turned out, but it looked good," Alphonse was wringing his gauntlets as he went on nervously.
"There's no reason to worry. I thought it was amazing. When we get your body back I will make something for you to eat, Al!" Edward promised. He smiled up at Alphonse.
Alphonse looked embarrassed and hesitant by his posture. "There's really no need, Ed."
Edward gasped and punched Alphonse's armour arm with his automail. "Do you still think I'm a bad cook?"
"No, Brother, It's just that... Ed, the last time you tried to make dinner the whole dormitory almost went up in flames!"
"Okay, Al. That was an exaggeration."
"Not by much," Alphonse muttered.
"You jerk!" Edward shouted in a comfortable, joking way.
The brothers spent the rest of Edward's meal joking -or trying to defend themselves- about Edward's previous attempts at cooking or baking.
Edward yawned. "I was going to read a little more from that book I bought, but I'm tired so I think I'll read it tomorrow. You should read it tonight, Al. It might have something interesting about the ingredients for the stone."
"That's a great idea. Sleep well, Brother," Alphonse bid as Edward walked into the next room to lie down.
Edward wasn't about to go complain, but he had been laying in his bed for a while with an almost ever constant pain in his gut. It wasn't like the pain was very strong. It was more of a dull ache than anything else
Edward forced his eyes to close, and he drifted off, falling into a light sleep.
A bitter, warm liquid filled Edward's mouth. He bolted upright, knowing exactly what he needed to do. Edward rushed to the bathroom, making it only just in time to throw the contents of his stomach.
Edward groaned and moved his shaky hands to hold his head. He waited. No one rushed in. So Alphonse wasn't there? Did he go out?
Edward remembered that it wasn't very late into the evening, or at least not as late as usual.
Again, He felt the bitter, warm liquid fill his mouth and he vomited into the toilet.
He groaned and leaned back against the bathroom wall.
"Mmmhhhhm," Edward moaned as his stomach spasmed and continued to do so.
Edward threw up once again. He flushed down the bile that filled the toilet bowl and tried to stand using the sink as support.
It was shaky, but soon Ed was standing. He started to walk out of the bathroom, still using the sink as support but immediately felt like he had cotton in his ears. He could feel the blood rushing through them. Ed tried to catch himself, but black spots filled his vision and the objects around him blurred into each other.
He hit his head on the edge of the sink as his body fell. The dizzying blur slowly fading.
Before he had even hit the ground, Edward was out cold. The achy pain still remained, only growing.
Alphonse walked back to the dorm with some groceries. He would have told Edward that he was going out if his brother had been awake, but Edward had been sleeping so soundly.
The reason he was carrying all of the groceries was because he had had a glowing sense of pride when Edward had told him that the meal was good, and Alphonse couldn't help but want to make Edward praise him again. It was because a younger brother was almost always trying to find favour in his older brother's eyes.
Alphonse walked into the barracks, climbed the stairs, and greeted the officers he happened to pass. He pulled out his key, unlocking the door to his and Edward's dorm, swinging the door open wide so that he could easily fit through. He tried to close the door carefully, as not to wake Edward, but the door had a mind of its own and made a loud slamming sound as it shut.
"I guess we'll have to have that fixed so that it won't do that anymore," Alphonse whispered to himself as he laid the grocery bags down on the table before he crept as silently as a suit of armour can towards his and Edward's room. Poking his head in to make sure Edward was still asleep, Alphonse noticed the room was empty.
"Huh? Ed?"
There weren't many places Edward could have gone in the dorm so Alphonse checked the bathroom next. He flicked on the light and gasped as he laid eyes on his brother sprawled out across the ground.
Blood was pooling slightly around Edward's head.
"Brother!" Alphonse cried. He dropped to his knees and gathered Edward up into his arms, his phantom heart beating at a million miles a minute.
His relief was immeasurable when Edward groaned and his eyes began flickering open. He was likely aroused by the movement.
"A- Al, mhhmmggg," Edward whimpered. He pushed himself off of Alphonse, vomiting into the toilet before he suddenly experienced head rush and collapsed again, only to be caught by Alphonse.
"Ed, are you okay?" Edward didn't answer; he only groaned in pain and curled in on himself. "Brother, we need to get you to a hospital! This is bad!" Alphonse was already making his plans.
"No, Al. I don't need a hospital," Edward answered exhaustedly. He just laid there, curled in on himself in pain.
"But, Brother, you're really sick!"
"I'm not that sick," Edward gasped through another stomach spasm.
"Okay, than what about your head?"
"It's just a little cut." Edward had no idea how bad the cut on his head was. He didn't even know he had a cut on his head until Alphonse mentioned his head, and he saw some blood.
He pulled out of Alphonse's hold and wadded up some toilet paper, pressing it to where he felt the wet blood dripping down his forehead.
"Edward, plea-"
"No hospitals!" Edward shouted, his head pounding after. He regreted it, not just because of the pain but also because of the fact that he had done that to Alphonse. "Please, Al, can you go to the other room? I- I don't- I don't want you to- I need to be alone."
"Brother?"
"Please, Al." Edward rarely said "please" so it scared Alphonse just how much he was using the word.
"This is important! We need to go!" Alphonse pressed. He couldn't feel Edward's pain. It had been so long and he didn't -he couldn't- feel what Edward was feeling. He couldn't even try to understand because it had been too long ago to remember.
"Al, just listen to me... I'm fine. Let me go through this. It will pass."
"Fine, but I'm right outside if you need me," Alphonse reluctantly agreed. He didn't want to leave Edward, and he wasn't really leaving him. He swore he was close enough to help. But Edward didn't want him to see. He was proud and this was something that brought him down.
Edward couldn't stand it much longer. It really hurt, but he couldn't go to the hospital because he knew he would be admitted. That just couldn't happen because Edward needed to get Alphonse's body back, and he couldn't do that if he was stuck in a hospital for an extended period of time.
It would pass.
Soon, it became repetitive. First the warm, bitter saliva, then the pulling feeling in both the throat and stomach, then he threw up, and it all started over again.
And soon there wasn't anything left to throw up. All Edward could do was dry-heave over the toilet bowl. He didn't feel much better, but at least he didn't feel much worse either. He was too tired to care much, though. All-nighters never made him this exhausted.
"Hmmmm." Edward plopped down onto the ground, too exhausted to hold himself up and almost immediately regretted it.
Alphonse must have heard the slight thud and groan because he was gently knocking on the door.
"Ed, are you okay? Can I come in?"
"I'm fine- I'm fine, Al. Don't- don't come in." Edward was not fine. He didn't sound fine either. His voice was so quiet that it barely even a whisper.
"Brother, it's four-thirty. I really think we should go to the hospital. It's really late, and you haven't slept much at all." Alphonse was very clearly worried.
Edward knew Alphonse was right. He was always right about things like this. "Al... Al, I think- I think you might be right." It was too late to turn back now.
Edward closed his eyes and waited for Alphonse to open the door. The soft click was followed by a quiet rattling of the armour plates rubbing against each other.
"Brother, would you like me to carry you?" Alphonse asked trying to keep his cool and not panic over his brother, who was laying in a fatal position on the ground.
"No- no, I can walk- I can walk by myself." Edward tried to stand on his own, only to fall down onto his butt. He wanted to walk. He had to show that he could.
"Here, Brother, take my hand. You can pull yourself up." Edward didn't really pull himself up, and Alphonse knew he wouldn't have been able to. Edward was aware of that as well. Alphonse pulled his brother up and held him upright because without his strong hold on Edward, Edward would have fallen face-first into the cold tiles.
"Alphonse, your- your armour is really- really co- cold." Edward was shivering as he leaned in.
"I'm sorry, Brother. I can get you a blanket, if you want?"
"No, no, it feels good," Edward sighed.
The two brothers made it out of the bathroom and to the door before Edward stopped.
"Al, I- I don't think I can walk all the- all the way there to the hospital." Just then Edward's knees gave out. He would have fallen to the floor if not for his little brother's strong grip.
"Brother."
"Al, I- I really don't feel good."
"It's okay, Brother. I've got you."
Alphonse scooped Edward up and into his arms before opening the door, grabbing Edward's red coat as an after thought to keep out the night air.
Edward whimpered in pain the whole way to the hospital, pressing himself against Alphonse's cold, hard chest plate.
"Almost there, Brother, almost there."
Alphonse sat there with his whimpering brother waiting for assistance. He felt like it had been too long of a wait. He should have seen a doctor by now. They kept waiting, though, not really having another option.
"Elric?" Alphonse's head shot up.
"Yes, that's us," Alphonse said in answer to the doctor who had just approached them. Finally!
"Please, come with me. We have a room set up."
"Thank you," Alphonse said, his voice anxious and relieved.
"It's my job, kid. Of course I'd help." The doctor smiled. "Do you want to put him in a wheelchair?"
Alphonse really didn't want to put his brother down, but he figured it would be more convenient if Edward was in a wheelchair.
"Yeah, thanks," Alphonse said, nodding.
"Great, I'll go get it," the Doctor said as he quickly moved off to go get a wheelchair from a little ways away.
Edward started writhing slightly.
"Al, I- I think I'm going to throw up." Edward's face contorted in pain. He dry heaved, having nothing left in his stomach to lose. "Al- Al, it hurts."
"I know, Brother. I wish I could help you, but I don't know how."
"Put him on here. When we get back to his room we can give him something for the pain," The doctor said, overhearing them as he wheeled over a wheelchair.
Alphonse carefully lowered his brother onto the wheelchair, flinching when Edward yelped.
"Oh, Brother, I'm sorry."
"It's o- okay."
The doctor lead Edward and Alphonse into the back.
"Now, before we can give you any medicine we need to find out your weight," The doctor told Edward.
"Can you take that arm and help him up?" Alphonse nodded, taking Edward's automail arm, while the doctor took Edward's flesh arm.
"Up you go," The doctor said, pulling Edward to his feet. Edward looked surprised and dazed, like he hadn't expected to be moved.
"Wha?"
"Just one moment. Can you step up for a second?"
Edward lifted his foot shakily and, with help from the doctor and Alphonse, stepped onto the scale.
"Okay, you are going to have to stand alone for a second so that we can get an accurate measurement."
Edward didn't last more then a second before he crumpled towards the floor. Alphonse caught him before he could actually hit the ground.
"Can you try again? If you can't it's okay."
"I- I c- can," Edward stuttered.
"Okay, thank you."
Alphonse helped Edward up, but this time Edward stood for a few seconds before his legs gave out again.
"Good job, kid. Huh? Maybe the scale is broken?" The doctor wondered. "Either that or you're one heavy kid," He joked.
"Oh, of course, his automail."
"That is most likely it. What limb? I know it isn't his left arm. But with that information we can average out his body weight."
"Umm, actually, he lost both his right arm and his left leg."
"Oh, okay than. Well, he's how old?" The doctor looked down at some papers. "thirteen. The average weight for a thirteen year old male... yeah."
The doctor pulled a pen out from his pocket and scribbled something down, while Alphonse helped Edward back into the wheelchair.
"Okay, sorry for the wait. Now let's get you back there," the doctor beamed.
Edward closed his eyes feeling a headache coming on. The next thing he he was aware of was that he was in another room with a bed and a few nurses were helping him stand.
"Hmmmm." Edward could tell something was missing.
It clicked. "Alphonse? Al?!" Edward wrestled against the nurses' hands.
"Right here. I'm right here." Alphonse's voice calmed Edward, and he relaxed.
As soon as he stoped fighting, though, he felt pain stab at his abdomen. He groaned and the hands lead him to the bed.
Alphonse was at his side as well as a nurse.
"Hi, my name's Peggy. I'm going to put in an IV. You're going to feel a little pinch and that's it, okay?"
Edward nodded. He didn't want it. He really didn't want it, but he couldn't fight against them.
"Great!"
Peggy put some disinfectant on the crook of Edward's elbow. Then Edward felt the prick of the needle. He winced, taking in several deep breaths.
"See? Just a pinch." She messed with it a little more, adding some sort of tape and stuff that they always did when nurses put in IVs.
"Now it's all done, but I'm going to give you some morphine. It might feel a little weird, but it will make you feel better."
Edward was already sick of people talking to him like he was a kid. He was already sick in general.
Edward gasped it always felt weird to have something foreign enter his veins.
"Now, when this wears off I can't give you anymore without a parent's approval."
Edward and Alphonse both looked awkwardly at each other.
"We're orphans," Alphonse finally said awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, well, then who is taking care of you? Who's your guardian?"
"We live alone." She looked very confused and sympathetic.
"I still need a guardian's approval," She replied almost regretfully.
"Isn't my approval enough? It's- it's my body!" Edward demanded.
"You can give me your approval all you want, but you're still just a minor."
Edward frowned mostly from annoyance but also a little from the pain.
"What about the Colonel? Because he's your commanding officer isn't he pretty much your guardian?" Alphonse asked.
Edward groaned, and Peggy looked super confused.
"Commanding officer?"
"Yeah, it's kind of a long story," Alphonse answered.
"Well, if you want, I can take you to a phone where you can -umm- where you can call your commanding officer."
"Thanks," Alphonse said. He left the room, following Peggy out into the hall. She lead him to a phone he could use.
"Take your time," Peggy said through a smile.
"Thanks, again."
Peggy smiled as she left Alphonse to make his call.
Alphonse punched in the serial of numbers and waited. He was afraid that no one would answer. It was about five-twenty in the morning so it wouldn't be much of a surprise. Then Alphonse heard the familiar voice he hoped would pick up. Though, it was thick with sleep.
"Colonel Roy Mustang here," The voice through the phone said.
"Colonel, I'm so glad you're still in your office! I'm sorry for waking you, but Ed is in the hospital, and they won't let- "
"Alphonse, wait a moment. Why in the world is Edward in the hospital? Did something happen?" The Colonel sounded worried, which Alphonse had to admit was strange.
"No, nothing happened. Ed is super sick, but they say we need a guardian to give permission for anymore painkillers."
"Alphonse, I'll be down there soon. Which hospital?"
Alphonse told him the name and apologised again for waking him before hanging up the phone.
Alphonse returned to the room to find Edward asleep and a doctor packing up some tools.
"You family?"
"Yeah, I'm his brother."
"Well, you'll be happy to know that Edward doesn't have a concussion from his hit to the head, but he will need stiches. I can do that now while he sleeps or I can wait."
Alphonse nodded his understanding. "It would probably be best to do it now."
"Got it."
Edward didn't make any noise as the stiches were done, but he flinched away slightly as the needle numbed him.
"Do you know what's wrong with him?" Alphonse asked.
"Can't say yet. Sorry. I'm sure they'll have someone in shortly with a diagnosis."
"Thank you, sir."
Roy was tired and sore. He had accidentally fallen asleep at his desk, while working on overdue paperwork. It was not a very nice position for his back or neck.
The call he had received from Alphonse had woken him up from a much desired rest. Now he was wrestling on his coat in order to rush over to the hospital at five-thirty in the morning which wouldn't have been a problem if Mustang had fallen asleep at a more reasonable time. He hadn't. He'd fallen asleep at around five, which meant he only got about thirty minutes of sleep. That was not enough.
Roy left the office in a sleepy sort of daze. He had considered calling Lieutenant Hawkeye, but he chose against that idea, letting his Lieutenant get a good night's sleep.
Before Roy had even realised it, he was standing in front of the hospital. He didn't know how he got there or what had happened along the way, but there he was walking into the hospital.
Roy went directly to the front desk.
"How may I help you?" The woman there asked; much to happily for almost six in the morning. She was attractive, though. He might use his skills at charming her later. He could probably get her number and at least score a date.
"I'm here to see an Edward Elric."
"Hmmmm? Edward Elric? Let's see?" She flipped through some pages on her desk.
"Ah, There it is! Elric. Are you his father? Or family? Or maybe he's an outlaw?" The girl questioned scanning Roy with her eyes. The last one was obviously a joke because of Roy's military uniform.
"No, I'm not married, but I am legally his guardian."
"Okay, I can send you back, but you will need to fill out these forms so you might as well do it here, then I can take care of it for you." She handed Mustang a small stack of forms already mostly filled out by Alphonse. He could tell because of the writing. He was done in about a minute or two.
"Here you go," Roy said. "And do you know what's wrong?" He looked like a genuinely worried father, which he wasn't.
"No, I don't know if they have diagnosed him yet."
"Thanks, umm?" Roy smiled at the woman.
"Miranda," She said.
"Now let me- Oh, Peggy! Just in time! Can you take..." She glanced down at the signatures on the paper. "Roy Mustang to room 204?"
"Oh, the Elrics," Peggy said. "Follow me, Sir."
Peggy lead the Colonel down several halls, stopping at a room labelled 204.
"I think Edward is asleep so try to be quiet when going in."
"Thank you," Roy answered.
"You're welcome."
Roy knocked gently on the door before opening it.
"Colonel," Alphonse said upon seeing him.
"Hey, Alphonse, how's he doing?"
"I think he's doing better, Colonel."
"That's good. Have they said what it is? I tried asking at the front desk, but she didn't know." Roy was hoping that he could finally get some information.
"No, they don't know yet."
Alphonse was really quiet after he said that.
Mustang moved to the kid's side.
"Colonel," Alphonse sounded like he was about to cry, which was physically an impossibility. "I'm scared. Brother was in so much pain. He was so sick. I'm scared. Colonel, is my brother going to die? Mom got sick and died. I don't want to lose him too."
"No, no, Alphonse you got him to a hospital. They will help him."
Mustang really hoped that the doctor would be able to save Fullmetal. He'd seen doctors fail to save people so many times after the Ishvallin war. But how sick was Edward?
Alphonse still managed to look upset even with an expressionless face.
"Alphonse, your brother will be just fine. I promise."
"I hope so."
Edward woke to the sounds of voices. He hadn't realised he'd fallen asleep until he was awake, if he could really count what this was as wakefulness.
"...will be just fine. I promise."
"I hope so."
"Mmmhhhm," Edward groaned.
"Fullmetal?" It was an annoyingly familiar voice.
Edward groaned again.
"I think he knows it's you."
"Wow, Fullmetal, that's hurtful."
Edward cracked open his eyes, seeing just who he had hoped it wasn't.
Colonel Roy Mustang.
"Why are you here?" Edward asked coldly, holding back a yawn.
"Brother, he came to sign those papers."
"Yeah, I know, but why are you still here?"
"You're the reason I'm up at this time in the morning after a long day so suck it up, Fullmetal."
Edward frowned.
"And am I not allowed to visit my subordinate in the hospital?"
"No, you may not! Not when it's me." Edward said, trying to sit up. He went right down, trying to mask the pain in his features.
"Ed, are you okay?"
"Fine," Edward huffed.
"This is my fault! If you hadn't had that meal I made this wouldn't have happened. I hope that it isn't food poisoning."
"Al, this is not your fault. It's mine," Edward murmured slightly.
There was a knock at the door frame, signaling to the occupants that there was someone there.
"It's neither of your faults, boys. It isn't food poisoning. It's appendicitis. You're lucky. Though, it is a bad case, it could have been worse," the doctor, who was leaning against the door frame, said. He was a young Doctor and not the same one as before. This one had blonde hair like Winry's and blue eyes the colour of ice. "You have a fever that's higher than usual but that's pretty common with automail patients."
"What's your approach?" Roy asked. He knew what could happen if the appendix ruptured. He'd seen an officer die from it in Ishbal. He shivered at the thought.
"We need to remove the appendix. It hasn't ruptured yet, which we are lucky about, but we can't hold up hopes forever. I have a team setting up an operating theatre as we speak."
Edward looked a little uneasy about the idea of an operation.
"Do I really need an operation? I can just wait this out, right?" Edward sounded hopeful, though also doubtful of his question.
"No, Mister Elric, a ruptured appendix could kill you."
Everyone was quiet, and no one moved until the doctor shifted.
"But it won't come to that. We will make sure of that."
Edward was not comforted in the slightest.
Edward was sitting uncomfortably in the bed, a nervous shiver crawling down his back.
"Any medications?" A sweet nurse named Angel asked.
"No," Edward answered.
"Okay. That was the last question. Thanks, Edward," Angel said sweetly.
A knock could be heard before the door was opened by a young man with dull red hair. "The theatre is ready. You can bring him in whenever," the man announced.
Edward tensed.
"Oh, that worked out perfectly. Okay, thanks. I'll get him ready," Angel replied.
The male nurse left, and Angel turned to Edward.
"Guess it's time." She moved over to the IV pulling out a vile of some anesthetic and a syringe. Angel checked the vile to make sure she got the right amount even if she already knew. The syringe was filled, and soon the anesthetic was entering Edward's veins.
Alphonse took Edward's hand as they waited for the sedative to take affect.
Mustang was standing back, leaning against the wall.
It wasn't long before Edward had lost all sense of time and where he was. One moment he was in his pre-surgery room with Alphonse and the Colonel and the next he was in the bed being pushed down the hall. He didn't even remember leaving the room or Alphonse inevitably having said a goodbye of some sort.
"So, Edward, is Alphonse your only sibling?" Angel was asking.
"Ya." Edward could tell that the word came out wrong even if he was too numb to fix it. She went on before he could even have tried.
"How old are you?"
"Hmm? Umm, thir- thirteen."
"How nice. I wasn't actually sure what your relationship with the Colonel was. Is the he your dad?" Edward thought about it lazily for a minute.
"Yup."
"That's cool. Okay, we are going into another room. After you go to sleep we will take you into the theatre."
"M'kay."
"Hey, Nicole, your brother is an officer in the military, correct?"
"Yeah," Another nurse answered in confirmation.
"He has a dad in the military."
Edward frowned. "No- no I don't." He was confused. Why would she think that?
"Oh, you don't? But you said the Colonel was-"
"No! Definitely not."
Edward closed his eyes, still frowning.
"No. No, no- not my- not my dad..."
That was the last thing Edward remembered before the darkness swallowed him up.
Roy and Alphonse were both anxious and showing it. Alphonse was fidgeting, a lot, and Mustang was pacing.
"Do you think it's going well?" Alphonse asked anxiously. It had been just over an hour now since Edward had been taken back.
"I don't know. I think they would have mentioned something if anything went wrong."
"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm worrying for no reason."
Both remained in an awkward silence for another thirty minutes, still fidgeting and pacing. A knock at the door made both of them jump up in surprise. A young woman opened the door, a smile on her round face that reached her grey-blue eyes.
Roy couldn't help but think she was cute with her wavy ash blonde hair pulled into a loose ponytail. She was on the young side but still looked old enough to ask for a number at least.
"Hi, I'm Tessa. Edward is out of surgery. It took longer then expected because the appendix was very infected and inflamed, but he is just fine and is just now waking up."
Alphonse let out a relieved sigh. From what lungs, Roy had no idea.
"Can we see him now?" Alphonse asked, hopefully.
"I can take you to the recovery room, but likely he won't be in there for a little while. Maybe ten more minutes."
"Why?" Alphonse asked. Roy nodded, agreeing with the question.
"The team will wait until his pupils are less constricted before bringing him to the recovery room because they want to insure that the anesthetics are healthily leaving his system."
Mustang nodded in confirmation that the information had been received.
"Okay," Alphonse said.
Edward opened his eyes; everything was blurry and washed in a white light. He felt kind of numb all over. He shot up.
"Whoa whoa, kid. You need to stay down. We just stitched you up. We can't have you ripping the stiches," A man ordered, coming into Edward's view, and easing him down. "The surgery is all done. We got it out just fine."
Edward relaxed for a minute, closing his eyes and allowing his dazed mind to wander. There was a slight shuffling near him, and Edward shot up again. He still saw the world as a blurry white mass of light and darker shapes.
"Hey, what did I tell you? You need to stay down," the voice said again. And again hands came to gently push Edward back down onto the table. Edward didn't comply and shot up again.
"Mark, can you come over here and make sure he doesn't keep sitting up?" Whoever Mark was, he was apparently more obedient than Edward was, because he came right over when the doctor called.
The doctor moved out of Edward's line of sight.
"Mark, are His eyes still pretty constricted?"
"Yeah, they're like pin pricks," Mark answered as the pried open one of Edward's eyes with his thumb while Edward fought to close his eye.
"Check his IV line," The doctor ordered.
"It's fine." Edward tried to sit up again while they were distracted with whatever they were talking about, only to be stopped by Mark's hands pressing down on his chest.
"He is still trying to sit up," Mark announced.
"Okay, wait a minute, and if he keeps trying to sit up move him to the larger bed. I'm afraid he will fall off that table and rip his stiches if he keeps shooting up like that."
"Okay."
Edward tried to remember the meanings of half the words that were being used, but he was left confused. He tried getting out of the bed again.
"No, stay down. Hey, he's doing it again!"
"Okay, roll over that table. I have this bed ready," the doctor called before the surface under Edward's back started moving to his confusion.
He looked up and saw a pale face with black hair. It was all still blurry and he tried to remember something. Mustang.
That's who the person hovering over him must have been. His hand touched Edward's side and Edward flinched. "Kee'ya paws ovff, Mussang," was his reaction.
"He's trying to talk," Mark announced. It came from the blurry black-haired man, which confused Edward until he realised that he'd guessed wrong.
"Hey, Edward, I'm going to need you to move onto another bed." Edward tried to lift himself to help them, but his body felt numb. He was almost dead weight as his body was transferred to the other bed. He had been shooting out of bed, but he lost his strength when the doctor actually wanted him to move. Or in reality was trying to move Ed without Ed's help. He suddenly realised that things were making more sense again.
Whatever bed Ed was lying on was so soft in comparison and also had wheels. He knew this because soon he was being pushed through white, sterile halls. He froze when he found something missing. "Al?! I wan'ma brother," Edward demanded as he tried to sit up again. He squirmed, fighting off the hands that came to meet him. "M'brother. I wanna see my lil' brother!"
"That's good because that's where we're going," Mark informed him in a calm voice.
Edward couldn't help but feel immensely relieved at that information. He was tired and just wanted to go back to the dorms with Alphonse and sleep.
"Colonel, Mister Elric, we were just moving him to the recovery room. Do you mind following us there?" a voice above Edward asked.
"Okay, that's fine." It was Alphonse's voice that came next.
"Al?" Edward whispered.
"Hey, Brother. Are you feeling better?"
Edward nodded weakly, whispering, "Yeah, Al."
"That's good." Only then did Edward realise that they were moving into another room.
"Where are we?" Edward waited for Alphonse to reply.
"We are in one of the rooms in the hospital. You are staying in this room to rest."
"You'll stay with me, right?"
Alphonse internally smiled. "Of course, Brother. I'll stay right by your side the whole time."
"Thanks, Al," Edward mumbled quietly. It was all fading in and out again.
"How are you?"
Edward felt a fuzzy feeling. It was better than the numb feeling he had earlier. Then it dawned on him that someone had asked him how he was. Someone real asked him. It wasn't a voice from his head.
"Better," He answered, not even knowing who asked.
"That's good, Brother." A large hand was placed on Ed's left shoulder. "The Colonel's got to go. He's already late for work. Do you want to say goodbye?"
"No, why would I?" Edward frowned and tried to turn onto his side, groaning in surprise at the pain that spiked. He turned back onto his back and muttered a few curses.
"Okay, I'll be right back, Brother." The hand left Edward's shoulder.
Edward could hear the receding footsteps as they clanked out of the room. There were some softer ones as well, though.
The door shut quietly, and the room was left in silence.
"Thank you for coming, Sir," Alphonse said softly.
"Of course, Alphonse. I'm glad that it wasn't anything more serious." Roy paused for a minute. "And, Alphonse, feel free to call whenever."
Alphonse nodded gratefully, and Roy handed him a piece of paper. "That's my home phone in case next time you two need me I'm not at the office."
"Thank you again, Sir. This is very kind."
"Don't mention it. Just keep you and your brother out of trouble. I don't think I have to worry about you as much as your brother considering which of you is the smarter."
"Hey! Colonel Idiot, thanks for coming!" Edward shouted from where he was leaning against the door frame. He must not have heard what Roy said to Alphonse. "But don't come back or I'll slap you with my automail hand!"
Roy spun around to see Edward holding an arm around his torso. A grimace of pain was on his face. He was scowling.
"Idiot? I'm not the one who climbed out of bed after just having a surgery. Get back to bed, pipsqueak. And don't strain yourself." Mustang turned, walking out while Alphonse hurried to his brother and scolded him as he scooped up a thrashing, though not for long considering how much it hurt, Edward.
"I'll make you pay for that!!" Edward screamed behind Roy. "And I take it all back too!! Except for the slapping part!!"
Edward's threats were muffled by the door as it was shut behind the two brothers. And Roy chuckled at Edward's little scene.
Edward was being wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair, much to his annoyance.
The stay at the hospital had lasted a week and a half, which was very unfair because other patients didn't have to wait so long. He had something most other patients didn't, though. He had both an automail leg and arm. They were a slight hitch in his recovery.
"Well, Fullmetal, how does it feel to be free?" the most annoying voice Edward knew sounded from behind him.
"Mustang! What the hell are you doing here?!" Edward demanded in his annoyance.
"Had to sign the papers so that they'd let you go free," Mustang said as he came around Edward. "And I'm driving you to the barracks."
Edward glared at him before sighing and shaking his head. "Well, you could at least help me out of this wheelchair." Edward couldn't believe Mustang fell for that.
Mustang offered his hands for Edward to take.
Edward jumped up and smacked Roy over the head with his flesh hand, seeing as he wasn't about to give his driver a concussion. That wouldn't be safe, and Edward wasn't to keen on going back to the hospital after just getting out. "That's for coming back here when I said not to! And," Edward smacked him over the head again. "That's for calling me small!"
Edward swore and clutched his right side. He dropped into the wheelchair heavily.
Roy could see a nurse running up to see if Edward was okay as he nursed his own sore head.
The boy's head shot up. "Quick, Colonel! Get me here before they tell me that I have to stay!"
Roy was kind enough not to make a joke about leaving Edward in their clutches. He smirked and waved off the nurse. "Okay, Alphonse, you wait here with your brother while I pull up my car. Don't let him get himself admitted again while I'm gone!" Mustang called as he made his way to his car.
After getting into the car, Edward and the Colonel up front and Alphonse filling the backseat, they drove off, remaining in silence, either to preserve their sanity or to throw it out the window.
Mustang tossed back a small red envelope that was roughly the same colour as what Edward's coat was.
"What's this?" Edward asked, picking it up and looked to Mustang.
"A get well card," Mustang answered, pulling out of the hospital parking lot.
"Why?" Edward asked hesitantly.
"Because you just got out of the hospital and the team wanted to do something nice. They all signed it."
Edward opened the envelope and pulled out a card decorated with bandaids and little syringes. "How great," Edward droned. "Makes me glad that I'm not still there." He opened it and saw that each member of Mustang's team had signed the card. It was nice and Edward was very grateful to them...
Until he saw who it was addressed to. Get well soon, Shrimp. It was Mustang's handwriting.
"I'M NOT SMALL!!!" Edward roared.
If anyone from outside of the car was wondering why this car was swerving about, they would not likely have guessed that it was because a violent teen was punching his driver -and commanding officer- really hard in the arm with his automail first. And greatly regretting it afterwards.
"Remember don't lift anything too heavy. Try to be laying down as often a possible because of that arm. Those are doctor's orders so I expect you to listen to them," Mustang reminded as he pulled up at the barracks. He would be lucky of Edward even half listened to him.
"And if I don't? Ha, you won't even know if I don't." Edward was smirking evilly.
"I will. I have Alphonse on my side. He'll tell me if you don't listen to those orders. Isn't that right, Alphonse?" Mustang gave Alphonse a look and Edward looked back to Alphonse, completely sure that Alphonse would be siding with him.
"I'm sorry, Brother. He's not lying."
Edward was shocked. His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "Al? You're betraying me to Colonel Bastard? How could you? You're reporting to him of all people?"
"Brother, it's not like that and you know it." Alphonse sighed and opened his car door. "You're being overly dramatic."
"I am not! I'm being betrayed by my own brother. I'm just shocked that you would do this to me."
Alphonse came around the car and opened the door for Edward. "Come on. If we could trust you to listen to the doctors, though, Brother. You wouldn't feel so betrayed."
"Oh, come on, Al! Am I not even allowed to open my own door? This is crazy!" Edward climbed out of the vehicle carefully with a scowl on his face.
"Fullmetal, are you still sour from your hospital stay? Just be good and Alphonse won't call." Mustang started his car up again. "See you on two weeks."
"What the hell?! Two weeks?!"
"Yeah, I'm giving you plenty of time so that you'll be in good shape when you come back," Mustang said through a smirk.
"I'm going to kill you!"
"Get well soon, Fullmetal!" Roy called as he pulled off, death threats ringing in the air.
So I wrote this about a year ago, using my own experience. Except for Ed it was better because they found out earlier and I didn't give him chronic appendicitis like I had. It was already too long. I didn't want to give him a reoccurring problem.
Please review because reviews are incredibly encouraging! And thank you for reading!
-UNAU/IME