Over the course of the next hour, they all watched Ed become more and more aware of his surroundings. His shivering began to slow down until he had settled down completely, and the sweat began to dry against his skin. Eventually, he let out a low groan and rolled over onto his back.
"Who the hell took all of the blankets?" He grumbled, curling into the blue military jacket and blinking drowsily at the ceiling. He grimaced, smacking his lips a few times. "And why do I feel like crap?"
Roy, Riza, Havoc and Al all let out a collective sigh of relief at Ed's apparent lucidity, rushing over to his bedside to get a better look at him.
"Hey, chief! Welcome back!" Havoc ruffled up Ed's hair, causing Ed to squint with confusion. He looked around, noticing the dumb grins of relief on all of their faces.
"Care to explain?" He asked them, gingerly pushing himself up into a sitting position on his bed. Al inched closer to his bedside.
"You had a really high fever, brother. I didn't know what to do, so I called Colonel Mustang and we brought you here. Turns out you have a pretty bad infection." He explained, looking his brother up and down as if to assure himself that he was truly alright. Ed squinted questioningly.
"Here?..." He took in his surroundings, glaring at the surroundings monitors and white walls with contempt. "Noooo! Not again!" He groaned, leaning back into the bed in defeat with a quickly growing scowl. "I swear to God if I see that stupid goddamn Colonel again I don't give a crap if he kicks me out of the military I will beat him into the ground!" He hissed, grasping the sheets below him with a vice grip. Roy smiled sympathetically.
"Don't worry about it, shrimp. I've had a chat with General Grumman, and he's going to take care of it." He informed him, smirking triumphantly.
"Who're you calling a puny little crustacean?!" Ed seethed, hearing only the insult and paying no heed to everything important. Roy just sighed, not being able to wipe the smile off of his face. Though it was more subdued and brittle than usual, the rant was music to his ears compared to the deafening silence that had filled the hours prior. "God, it's freezing in here. Stupid goddamn hospital." He griped, wrapping his arms around himself with a shiver. Riza smiled down at him, and for a moment Ed could have sworn her blonde hair was a familiar chestnut brown, and he was stuck between wanting to throw his arms around her and wanting to cry. But in an instant, the moment was lost, and the bittersweet vision of his mother's face was whisked away as Riza turned from the bed, leaving Ed feeling even colder than before as he sat there.
"The doctors took away your blankets because of your temperature," She explained, laying a warm palm against his forehead. "But your fever's broken, so I suppose it's fine for you to have one now."
Before Ed could respond, he was enveloped in a large fluffy blanket. Riza wrapped it around him until only his face was showing from underneath it, which wore an expression of pure bliss. He fisted the blanket in either hand, pulling it tightly around himself and letting out a sigh of relief. Riza smiled down at him.
"Better, Ed?"
He nodded drowsily, pulling his knees to his chest under the blanket and lying down on his left side, looking impossibly pleased.
"What were you saying about the general?" He inquired, having cooled off about the crack at his height.
"I spoke to him on the phone, you'll probably be seeing him within the next few days. He was quite concerned when I informed him of your situation." Roy replied, folding his hands in his lap. "He's going to help us make sure that Colonel Stratton pays for what he did to you, get your recollection of events and all, there'll probably be a court martial." He explained, earning lazy nods of acknowledgement from Ed. Roy squinted. "Speaking of, you never did tell us what happened, not in any detail anyway." Ed grimaced, sinking further into his blanket cocoon.
"No, see that was kind of hard to do when I was running on half a ham sandwich and major blood loss." He grumbled, rolling his eyes with exasperation at the situation he had found himself caught up in.
"Yeah, I can understand that." Roy acknowledged, the cheap hospital chair letting out a low whine as he leaned back into it. "So why don't you tell me now?"
Ed just grimaced, not meeting Roy's eyes.
"It's not important, what's done it done. Not like you can do anything about it now." He reasoned, shrugging to the best of his ability without aggravating his side. Roy sighed at the response, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
"Ed, it is important." Roy asserted, gently tipping Ed's head so that he was looking into his eyes. "I need to know what that bastard did to you so that I can make him pay." He seethed, a look of determination in his eyes so heartfelt that Ed couldn't help but soften under the gaze. He sighed and pulled the blanket tighter around himself, as if to protect him from his own words.
"Fine. Well, I was just washing my hands and I was just about to leave when he came up behind me." He began explaining, letting his eyes slip closed so that he didn't have to see the pity that would inevitably creep onto their faces. "Said something about having a little chat, which is ironic because we really did nothing of the sort." He chuckled lightly, attempting to bring a little more life into the situation. "He kicked me in the ankle and then I fell, and then he pushed me into the ground by stepping on my back." He recalled begrudgingly, his face scrunching up with displeasure. "He only let up when he saw that I was bleeding, and as he went to leave, he kicked me straight in the incision." He winced at the memory. "God, that hurt." He hissed, chuckling humourlessly.
They all just listened intently, their faces contorting with horror upon hearing just what had gone down the day prior.
"Oh my god..." Roy managed to mutter, sinking his chin into his hands. "Just when I thought that asshole couldn't get any worse."
"Who the hell does something like that?! Doesn't he have any morals whatsoever?" Havoc raged, gripping his hair in his hand. "Who the fuck thinks it's even remotely okay to kick around a sick kid who just had major surgery? Who kicks around a kid period?" He raged, pacing the room in attempts to staunch the flow of fury rampaging through his veins. Roy and Hawkeye seemed to be faring no better, though they tried their bests to hide it. The gleam of unadulterated hatred was unmistakable in their eyes, their muscles tensing as they ached to strangle the man who dared touch their kid.
Ed rolled his eyes at their reactions and feigned annoyance, but somewhere deep inside he swelled up with a feeling of familial love and warmth. He couldn't hold back the tiny smirk that made it's way onto his face.
"Well like you said, the general is gonna do something." Ed declared, hoping to ease the anger he could see building up in the three military officers. "And I know he's nice and all, but I get the feeling he's not someone you want to make angry." He joked lightly, smiling even though it was weak with sickness.
"You're certainly not wrong, Edward." Riza mused, recalling many memories of her grandfather's temper and illiciting a quiet chuckle from everyone in the room, quite the contrary to the solemnity and anxiety that had filled the room during the hours prior. Their conversation was then interrupted by a timid knock at the door, causing them all to shift to see the source of the noise.
In the doorway was the same nurse from earlier, his face looking bright at the sight of Edward being coherent again. He smiled at them all as he walked through the door.
"Hello, Edward. You're looking better." He commented, grinning as he analyzed the nearby monitors and scribbled notes onto the clipboard he held. He glanced over to Ed, noticing the slight bewilderment on his face. "Bet you don't remember me, huh? You were pretty out of it the last time I saw you." He chuckled, setting down the charts and crouching beside Ed's blanketed form. Ed shook his head.
"Not really. Were you the one who took my blankets?" He asked accusingly, narrowing his eyes at the man.
"Nope, that wasn't me. I'm just the medicine guy." He laughed, raising his hands and claiming innocence. Ed still eyed him suspiciously as he went about checking his IV and feeling around his face to check his temperature. "Everything seems to be progressing well, the antibiotics have helped significantly." He assured them, noticing their vague expressions of worry. He laid a comforting hand on Ed's blanketed shoulder and smiled down at him. "Okay, kiddo. I know it's cold in here and it sucks, but I'm gonna need to take a look at that incision of yours."
Ed grimaced at the idea of leaving the safe and warm confines of his comforter, but complied anyway, seeing as the man had been nice about it. He frowned, pulling his arm sheathed in a blue sleeve out of the blanket, tugging the blankets down so that his side was exposed while keeping as much of him as possible still covered up. Andrew nodded his thanks, smiling sympathetically at him. With gentle hands, he pulled back the edge of the jacket, revealing the long line of stitches marring his skin.
The others in the room all unconsciously leaned forward to try and get a better look at Ed's side, wincing slightly at how sore the wound appeared to be. It was puffy and red, the stitches appearing like they might pop just from the swelling alone, it certainly didn't look comfortable. Andrew frowned at the sight, gently prodding at the surrounding skin with a gloved hand. Ed hissed and backed away from the touch, his eyes screwing shut.
"Sorry, kiddo. I bet that hurts, huh?" Andrew cooed, frowning with empathy. He pulled the jacket back over the boy and allowed him to cover himself back up with the blankets, discomfort plastered on his face.
Andrew pursed his lips as he pondered for a moment, then began to dig in his pockets, which they all became more and more inclined to believe to be bottomless. Ed watched on with curious eyes as he pulled out a syringe and a small vial of a sort of medication. He knelt down beside Edward, drawing a good amount into a needle and flicking out the air bubbles. He peered back at Ed.
"Here, let me see your hand." He requested, holding one hand out to Ed with the syringe in the other. Ed scowled disapprovingly at the sharp pain stick and white latex gloves. Andrew smiled at him encouragingly. "It's okay, it's just medicine. No pokes, I'm just putting it into the port on your hand."
Ed still seemed unsure, sparing a glance at the three military officers behind the nurse, who urged him on with nods. Ed slowly and cautiously removed his arm from under the blankets, letting his flesh hand wrapped up in teddy bear tape rest in the nurses gloved palm. Andrew inserted the syringe into a socket on his hand.
"This might sting a little." He warned, slowly pushing the plunger and depositing the medicine into his bloodstream. He muttered soft apologies as Ed winced and sucked in a pained breath. The slight pain soon proved to be worth it, as Ed's eyes glazed over with drugs, his brow unfurrowed and his arms and legs fell slack, wearing a look of utter relief. "Is that better, kiddo?" He asked softly. Ed just nodded, his eyes half lidded. He smiled down at him, pushing off of his knees to stand from his crouched position and looking to the nervous crowd of military personnel. "That'll probably knock him out. He's a tough kid, but that has gotta hurt like hell." He mentioned, a sour look of sympathy on his face. "I just gave him some diluted morphine, so he won't be feeling much of anything for awhile."
They all nodded in response, looking worried with the fact that the man had deemed the pain morphine worthy, but glad that Ed wasn't feeling it anymore. Roy studied the kid's dazed expression, and was honestly a bit worried that the kid's lucidity seemed to be gone again, but there was a different look in his eyes now. This time, he wasn't confused, he wasn't hurting, it was just blissful oblivion; not knowing and not caring, just basking in feeling nothing. Roy supposed that was better, though he couldn't help but still feel a bit worried.
Roy had been so entranced in Edward's condition that he didn't notice the nurse slipping out of the room, nor did he notice his best friend slipping in, not until there was a harsh hand on his shoulder, breaking him out of his daydreams. He started at the touch, his shoulders jumping to his ears.
"Hey, Roy-boy!" He heard an enthusiastic voice call from behind him, though there was a more serious undertone that he couldn't quite pinpoint.
"Maes! You scared the crap out of me!" Roy yelped, holding a hand over his racing heart. "And we should probably be more quiet, though I don't think we have to worry about him waking up." He added, his voice just above a whisper. Maes nodded, eagerly taking a seat next to Ed's bed and taking his drugged up and battered state in.
"How's he been doing?" He inquired, brushing the bangs out of the little bit of Ed's face that showed from underneath the blankets. Roy's mouth formed a thin line.
"He was really bad when we brought him in." He admitted solemnly, his voice low. "I thought he was doing a lot better, then the doctor came in and started poking around. He must have been in a lot of pain, and he didn't let any of us know. They even gave him diluted morphine, hence his current loopy half-consciousness."
Maes frowned, laying a gentle hand on Ed's shoulder.
"Yeah that sounds like him. Keeping it all to himself no matter what." He smiled faintly, turning to face the others in the room. He pulled out a few files from inside of his coat. "I've been looking into Colonel Donovan Lee Stratton, and I've found a few things you might want to see." He suggested, passing the manila folder to Roy, while his two subordinates watched on curiously. Roy pinched his brows together, skimming over the documents and idly wondering if he should look into a pair of reading glasses, when something caught his eye.
...charged with interfering with Official Military documents, but due to his flawless record before the accusations, the judge let him off with a warning...
His head shot back up to his best friend, then to Riza, then to Jean, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
"You don't think..." He started, shaking his head with disbelief and quickly growing fury. "That bastard intercepted my complaints!" He raged, his voice a furious whisper so as to not wake the sleeping bundle in front of him. Maes nodded regretfully.
"Yeah, and that's not all." He admitted, taking the forms from Roy and flipping through them. "He's had countless court martials against him for abuse against lower-ranking officers, all with the same judge overseeing the matter, and all with the same outcome. No punishment."
"You're kidding..." Roy breathed, taking in the situation. "So not only is this guy an asshole, he's an asshole criminal." He put his head in his hands with exasperation. "This is so much more than I signed up for." He whined, staring up at the ceiling.
"Yeah, I don't envy you." Maes sympathized, patting Roy on the shoulder. "But you've got General Grumman involved now, right? He'll make sure the trial is clean as a whistle."
Roy just sighed, dropping his gaze to settle on the abused kid asleep in front of him.
"I sure hope you're right, Maes. For his sake."