Ed was still a ways away in his drug-induced la-la land, looking impossibly pleased with eyes unfocused and unseeing. He seemed to be stuck somewhere in the ripples of consciousness, not asleep, but not quite awake either.

On the bright side, his expression was devoid of any signs of pain or discomfort, which was a comforting thought for both Roy and Riza.

It was just those two now, as Roy had sent Havoc back with Hughes to do some more digging on Stratton. He wanted to see if they could find any more dirt on the man before their inevitable court martial-after all, they would need as much help as they could get when considering how shifty and sly Stratton had proven himself to be. This time, they wouldn't be taking any chances.

It was time to take him down.

The sun was beginning to dip under the horizon, tinting the stark manner of the hospital room a warm orange and shrouding the surroundings in a sheet of towering shadows, reminding them just how long they had been sitting in those cheap armchairs. Just how long Ed had been lying in that damned hospital bed, sick out of his mind.

It was times like those when Roy wished he could fix things with a snap of his fingers instead of burning it all to the ground.

Maybe he should just get some sleep. Perhaps when he would awake the General would be there and everything would be alright.

Yeah, everything would be alright. That was the only consolation keeping him in that hospital room instead of hunting down Stratton then and there and beating him into a pulp so unrecognizable his body would only be able to be identified by his bloodstained fingerprints.

He sighed and pulled his jacket tighter around himself, tucking his hands into his armpits and snuggling further down into his chair.

It was difficult to fall asleep with the back of the chair digging into his shoulders, and his military uniform had never exactly been sleeping material, but it was the best be could do in that moment.

His exhaustion quickly overpowered his discomfort, and bit by bit, he fell into an uneasy slumber.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Wakefulness wandered back to Ed very leisurely, which he suspected to be an after-effect of whatever that nice nurse with the kind eyes and glasses had given him earlier that day.

It had to have been a while ago now, seeing as how the white light that had poured in through the windows had filtered away into nothing, leaving the room sheathed in shadows, the only light being provided by the restless screens of the surrounding medical machinery.

It was silent aside from soft puffs of breathing from the room's other occupants and the steady beeping of the heart rate monitor clipped onto his index finger. His thoughts were hazy with drugs and sleep, but he vaguely remembered the faces and military blues of Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc. Of course, his little brother had been there as well, though he was often in and out, catering to Ed and bringing him food and various items from the dorm to keep him occupied during his hospital stay.

He blinked a few times to adjust his vision to the dark room as distant voices began to flutter through his ears. One was quite obviously feminine, the other being warm and bubbly, with a deep and gravely undertone. He recognized the first voice as Hawkeye, but couldn't quite place the second. It definitely wasn't Mustang, as he could hear the man's snores echoing alongside the voice, reminiscent of the many times he had been found asleep in his inner office. It also didn't belong to Havoc, as the man speaking sounded a tad bit too old to be him.

Ed's eyes began to focus, and he could begin to make out a head of familiar blonde hair beside a blur of grey.

"...it'll be hard to be certain that Colonel Stratton hasn't weaseled up some kind of wicked scheme for the trial, but believe me when I say I'll do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen." Said the grey man, flipping through some papers haphazardly tucked inside a manila folder. Hawkeye nodded.

"Thank you, Grandad. You have no idea how much Roy and I appreciate this." She acknowledged, placing her own stack of files onto a nearby coffeetable. "He'd tell you himself, if he were conscious." She grumbled, a hint of chastisement in her voice as she shot a glare at the sleeping Colonel.

Grandad? Did that mean the General was already here? How long had he been asleep?

"Oh, my dear boy. Have we woken you?" The General asked, his voice rounded and kind, lilting in a way that suggested years of grandchildren.

Ed shook his head lazily with a yawn, pulling his blanket around himself tighter and struggling to sit up in his bed. General Grumman made a soft noise of disapproval, gently pushing Ed back down on the mattress with a stern but amiable hand.

"I don't think sitting up is a good idea in your state, young man. Just rest for now."

Ed let out a defeated sigh laced with indignance. He supposed the General had a point, but he had long since grown tired of being an invalid.

"How are you feeling, Edward?" Hawkeye posed, leaning forward in her chair to observe the boy's state.

"I'm okay." He replied honestly. Sure, the long line of infected stitches in his side wasn't comfortable, and his whole chest still ached from the broken bones and the fact that there had been surgeons digging around inside him a few days prior, but there was still a blanket of drugs keeping most of the pain at bay. He just hoped it lasted a bit longer.

"That's good to hear, let one of us know if you need anything." Hawkeye reminded him, to which he replied with a nod by rote. "General Grumman and I were just going over a few things in relation to Colonel Stratton and the upcoming court martial."

Ed nodded, feigning disinterest. In reality, he was quite excited to see that damned Stratton go down, and he couldn't wait to see the look on the man's face when he discovered Ed's connections with General Grumman. Sometimes working under Mustang and Hawkeye had it's perks.

"Oh, but you needn't worry about such things, my boy." The General interjected, wearing a thoughtful look of concern. "We'll take care of it. You just focus on getting better."

Although Ed got the feeling he was being dismissed due to his age, he wasn't about to fight the man on it. He didn't really want to do any more paperwork than he had too, and he was much too tired to care anyway. He simply nodded.

"So, what's the plan?"

General Grumman lit up at his question, then went on for a good ten or fifteen minutes explaining the court martial and how it would go, who would be there and what Ed's role would be in all of it, peppering in a few military terms that Ed reconized but didn't quite understand the meaning of. He nodded along absent-mindedly, resisting the urge to tug the blankets over his head and go back to sleep. The longer the man rambled, the more Ed wished he hadn't asked.

"Whas goin' on?" A drowsy voice interrupted, breaking the General off from his tangent and sparing Ed his ears.

"Roy-boy! How nice of you to join us!" Grumman exclaimed, causing Roy to jolt a little in his seat. Ed bit back a chuckle at the idea of Mustang being startled by a man who was a considerable amount more goofy grandfather than he was hardened soldier.

"G-General Grumman, sir." Roy stammered, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he straightened up in his seat and smoothed out the front of his uniform. "I apologize for my unorthodox appearance, sir."

The General just laughed, waving a dismissive hand to him.

"No need for that, son. We're off duty anyway."

Roy cleared his throat with an awkward smile, setting his hands in his lap and holding back a yawn.

"It's good to see you, sir."

"Likewise, my boy."

Ed watched the interaction with an amused grin. It wasn't often that he find something that flustered the great Flame Alchemist, and he was already cooking up ways he could use this new knowledge against the man.

General Grumman then took that opportunity to begin his raving about his plans for the court martial, and Ed just barely held back an exasperated groan. Instead, he opted to tune out the military mumbo jumbo, escaping into his mind for a bit. At least until those three were done rambling.

Where was Alphonse during all of this? If Ed had to suffer, then he should too. Where did he say he'd gone again? Was it back to the dorm? To see Mr and Mrs.Hughes and Elysia? He hoped for the latter, maybe then Al would come back with some of Gracia's cooking... Apple pie... Quiche... Mmmm...

"... Would that be alright, Ed?" Called a voice through his delicious reveries, breaking him out of his thoughts.

He shook himself back to reality, being met with three pairs of curious eyes looking down at him, expecting an answer.

"What?" He managed to mumble, rubbing the haze out of his eyes with his flesh hand, batting at his hair with his other hand as the tape of his IV caught on it. Mustang looked down at him with a smirk that showed he was entertained by his struggles, and he had half a mind to wipe that smile right of his...

"Would you be okay by yourself for a little while?" Roy asked politely. "We need to head back to HQ for a bit."

Ed blinked owlishly a moment, processing what was being asked of him.

They wanted to leave him alone? In a hospital? By himself?

Sure, he could handle it. After all, he had spent many times in a hospital by himself before. Well, Al had always been there, too. Even if they didn't talk the whole time, it was still nice to know he was there.

Even though he didn't really want them to leave, he was hardly in any position to ask them to stay, either. They had already sacrificed so much of their free time to be with him, and now they were using more of it to arrange a court martial for his benefit. They had already done so much for him, he had no right to ask for anything more.

"Sure, yeah, Al will be back soon anyway." He lied. If Al really had gone to the Hughes' house, it could be hours before he'd be back. No matter, he could stand being alone for that long. He wasn't some snivelling child.

"Are you sure, Ed? One of us can stay, if you want." Riza assured him, offering him a warm smile. Ed shook his head, breaking through the reluctance.

"No, no really, I'll be fine." He decided, more talking to himself than he was to the other soldiers. "I'll probably just take a nap anyway."

After a few more minutes of assurances and doubts, the three finally up and left, leaving all three of their phone numbers on a nearby notepad in case he needed them for anything. Which he wouldn't, because he could take care of himself, because he wasn't a child.

But as he looked around the dark room, listening to the hustle and bustle of hospital workers outside his room, only the presence of the stars to keep him company, he had never felt so small.

He didn't understand. He had spent many a nights by himself, nose in a book, researching until the ends of the Earth in order to get his brother back in his body. He had wandered the restless streets of Central by himself during many sleepless nights, calming himself with the sting of the cool night air. He had walked away from groups on numerous occasions, just to get a moment for himself away from the cacophony of a crowd.

So why all of a sudden had it begun to hurt?

As he curled up into a ball on that stiff mattress of a hospital bed, the fluffy blanket he had wrapped himself up in not quite keeping the chill away, he began to realize.

Although he liked to be alone, he really didn't fancy being lonely.