Chapter twenty-seven

Ed froze for a second, as did Dad.

Then Dad fell sideways with a grunt of pain and Ed moved quickly, throwing off his red coat and knelt down before Dad, pressing it against the wound. Ed didn't even know what to say. Dad had just taken a bullet for him.

Dad was shaking slightly, his teeth gritted and his breathing heavy.

"Hey, Dad! Just take it easy, we'll get you out of this."

"Yes, I know … It's still not too comfortable though," he said weakly.

Ed looked about him in order to get some help, but Greg and Angela were busy trying to keep the last two of these bastards at bay. The jerks seemed to have gained some heart at seeing Dad getting shot.

"Okay, I need to get you out of here, can you keep pressure on that if I drag you out?" Ed asked, knowing that the risk of more bullets coming their way was definitely present.

In answer, Dad began sitting up and then leaned his arm heavily on Ed's shoulder as he stood up.

"Hey! You need to take it easy!" Ed said as he stood up, putting his right arm under Dad's left, while Dad put his arm over Ed's shoulders and leaned heavily on him, still pressing Ed's coat against his stomach. Ed took an extra look to make sure that the bullet hadn't gone all the way through. It hadn't.

"We're walking outside and then I can collapse," Dad said through gritted teeth. "Come on."

Ed had to basically support all his weight as they slowly made their way towards the exit. Dad limped heavily and was clearly in a lot of pain. Ed felt sick with the thought that right now, Dad had a bullet lodged somewhere inside his stomach and it was killing him.

Freeman was a burnt corpse, yet he was still killing Dad. Ed felt both angry and scared. Dad wasn't going to die now, that wouldn't happen. He'd be fine in a few weeks and back in the office and things would be back to normal.

Right?

Walter came running towards them from over by the truck, looking alarmed. "What happened?"

"He got shot, we need to get him to a hospital!" Ed said.

Walter didn't even say something, he just ran back to the truck before driving it over to them. Once the truck stopped in front of them, Ezra threw open the doors from the inside, revealing Hawkeye lying on the floor, still out cold. Ezra stretched out his arms to pull Dad inside and Ed let him.

"How is she?" Dad said weakly.

"She'll be fine, sir, just a concussion," Ezra said as Ed climbed in after them and shut the doors. Ed was barely kneeling by Dad's side before the truck started moving. Ezra kept pressure on the wound while Ed just held Dad's left hand feeling useless. Ed could smell the iron scent of blood and it made him even more scared. Dad was dying, he was in pain and it was because he protected Ed. If Ed had just done something differently then this wouldn't be happening right now.

"Hey, kid, take it easy, I'm not going to die on you," Dad said, somehow managing to smile at him through the pain. "I'm not leaving you any time soon."

Alphonse threw open the door to the hospital room. They hadn't let him come before now because they needed to make sure that the news had spread so that it was safe for Al to move in the open, even if it was with Harold guarding him. Al was sick with worry. The surgery had finished an hour ago and Dad was just lying there, Ed holding his hand.

Dad was still very pale and he was hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor was beeping in the background. At least he was breathing on his own, though.

Ed looked up at Al and he smiled sadly. "They say he'll be fine, it'll just take some time."

Al just ran over and hugged his big brother, crying. He had been so scared these last twenty-four hours. Ed hugged him back, stroking his back. Then Al felt something through the fabric of Ed's tank top and pulled away, his eyes widening at the two large slashes across Ed's front. "Brother! You're hurt!" Al immediately lifted the front of his tank top to see bandages covering his big brother's chest and stomach.

"It's fine, just a couple of cuts, Al."

"How did that happen?" Al was still alarmed, Brother always had a habit of lying about the severity of his own injuries.

"Freeman decided to cut me with a knife, they're not too deep."

Al just hugged him again. He didn't know what else to do. Brother had been injured and Dad had been shot. Hawkeye was in some other department for less severe injuries. "I was so scared! I didn't get any messages or everything and then suddenly Ezra called and said that Dad had been shot! But I couldn't even come see you before now because they needed to make sure that the newspaper had reached throughout the city first!" Al couldn't stop himself from sobbing into his big brother's shoulder.

"Hey, Al, it's okay. We'll be fine."

Al just kept crying.

Roy was in pain. He was sleepy and in pain.

Those were the first things he noticed.

Then he heard the steady beeping and felt someone holding his hand.

Roy opened his eyes slowly, being met with a bright light. A bright light followed by two anxious voices saying the same word, "Dad!"

He turned his head towards the sound, and his eyes focused upon two pairs of golden eyes looking at him. Roy could feel his lips form a weak smile at the sight of them. "Hello, boys," he said hoarsely.

That was all it took. Next second, Roy was being embraced from both sides as Alphonse had run around the bed to take Roy's right side while Ed was hugging him from the left. With one Elric against each cheek, Roy gently put his arms around them, not caring about the pain shooting through his stomach at the movement. Alphonse was sobbing into his right ear and Ed was just being quiet.

That was until he seemed to regain some of his anger.

"You bastard! Don't you ever do something like that again!"

"What? Save my son's life? Not going to happen."

Ed got out of the hug and looked at him equally pissed off and happy. "You nearly died! You promised us that you weren't going to die!"

"And I didn't," Roy said calmly. He was a parent now, after all, it was his duty to look after his kids. His stomach may be hurting like hell, but there was no doubt in his mind that he would do it all over again if it meant keeping his boys safe from harm. "How are you two?"

"Don't you dare change the subject! You took a fucking bullet for me and you expect me to just accept that? You nearly left us all alone!"

"Edward, I am your father. Both of you mean the world to me and I am more than willing to take all the bullets in the world if it means keeping you boys safe from harm. That's just how it is. Now come here, I think I deserve a longer hug than the one I got."

Ed scowled, but Roy only had to push him gently in order to get him to lie back down against his side, his head leaning on Roy's left shoulder. Alphonse was still just clinging to his neck while sobbing his heart out.

Roy had a feeling that they'd be sitting like this for a long time.

And he could only smile proudly at his boys.

So, a little warning, next chapter will most likely be the last, although I'm seriously considering writing a sequel. Would you people want to read a story set a few years later with Roy, Ed and Ed's son (I'm thinking around three years old)?