HIS BROTHERS KEEPER

Two children shivered in the cold,

One twelve and one but ten years old.

Through frightened eyes they watched the lights

Spin by the chaos of their lives.

A message here and there was thrown,

But nowhere left for them to go,

And in the silence of the night

Into the cold they both took flight.

Two children shivered in the storm,

Huddled close to keep them warm.

Through betrayed eyes he watched, with hate

That curled around him like a snake.

Without a mother, far from home,

Along the city streets they roamed.

Until the weather-beaten child

In order to survive, turned wild.

Two children shivered in the night;

The older taking up the fight.

And where a beaten pup had fled,

A lion bore it's teeth instead.

His heart would always yearn to find

The one who'd left them both behind,

But with his mother lost and dead,

He'd guard his brother in her stead.

-Written by Shady

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Chapter Four: His Brothers Keeper

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Al lay awake in his bed for a long time. The room seemed so much... bigger... when the house was quiet and the lights were out. So big it was almost - a little bit - scary. Suddenly he felt very afraid again. He needed his brother. Climbing quietly out of bed, he followed the sound of his brothers ragged breathing until he came across the other's bed.

"Brother?" Al whispered, pulling gently on his left arm.

"Mmm..." Ed's response was an unintelligable grumble. But he seemed to understand the reason Al was waking him, because he rolled over onto his back to make room for Al to crawl under the covers next to him. Al felt safe next to his brother, and with one arm draped across Ed's chest, he fell asleep. Ed smiled and sighed peacefully in his sleep. For the first time in a very long time, he wasn't one bit cold.

At 10:00 the following morning, Maria brought two bowls of porridge up to the boys' room. She paused outside the closed door and listened to the soft sound of laughter and voices that came from the other side. She knocked softly. "Can I come in?" she called. There was the sound of running feet and suddenly the door was pulled open by Alphonse. She smiled back at him and stepped into the room. Ed was seated cross-legged on the floor in front of a large puzzle, and a clear spot across from him made it apparent where Al had been sitting.

"I see you guys have been up for a while," she said, setting down the two bowls on a low table. "If you wake up early in the mornings, you can come on downstairs. Glacia's up early too, and she can fix you guys some breakfast." Ed leaned back against his bed and closed his eyes as another wave of dizziness passed.

"Edward?" Maria asked in concern. "We have medicine for you to take. And an inhaler for if you have trouble breathing." She held out a small plastic tube. "Do you know how to use this?"

"How would I know?" he snapped, so suddenly it caught her slightly off guard. It appeared that after getting a good nights sleep some of his energy had returned - and with it, his attitude.

"Then I'll show you," said Maria kindly. "You hold this piece in your mouth and breathe in as you push the button in." She went through the motions without actually putting it to her lips, and then handed it to him. After a few long seconds he reached out and took it.

"Alright," said Maria straightening up. "Why don't you guys eat up before your breakfast gets cold." Al moved over to the table immediately.

"Thankyou Maria!" he chirped politely. Ed slid over to his own bowl and picked up the spoon wordlessly. As the two boys began eating, Maria backed out of the room. Better to leave them be, she thought. Let them settle down and relax.

Ed had only eaten a few bites of the porridge when another wave of dizziness passed through him, this time much worse than the others. He'd been having these spells all morning, but not badly, and usually not very frequently. But he had noticed that they were getting worse and more often. Just breathe, thought Ed. It'll pass. He waited for it to pass, but it didn't. Instead, it got worse. Ed dropped his spoon and pressed both hands against his head, groaning in pain.

"Brother?" Al looked up at the sound. Ed let out one more pained cry and then collapsed onto his side. "Brother!" Al was by his side in an instant. "Brother!" he shook him gently. "Wake up!" Panic began to rise in him at the seemingly lifeless form of his brother, and hot tears stung at his eyes. Giving him one last shake, Al ran to the door. "Maria!" he cried desperately. "Maria!"

Glacia and Maria were conversing lightly at the bottom of the stairs when they heard Al's terrified shouts. Both women ran up the steps. "What's wrong, Al?" Maria asked the shaking boy in the hall.

"I don't know," he managed to say through his sobs. Glacia wrapped her arms around him reassuringly. "B - brother, he..." Realization struck them, and Maria hurried passed them and into the bedroom while Glacia comforted a very frightened Al.

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Maria hurried to Ed's side, but she could tell from his raspy breathing that at least he was breathing. "Should I call Dr. Rockbell?" asked Glacia from the hall, sounding calm for the sake of the younger boy.

"Yes," replied Maria. "I think he's just fainted."

"I'll be right back," Glacia said to Al, and then she hurried down the steps. Al turned and returned to the bedroom. Maria was just lifting the unconcious Ed back onto his bed. She was surprised to see he was shivering again, even though a film of sweat had formed across his forehead and was running down his face and neck. She pulled the covers up around him and then turned to comfort Al.

"Don't worry Alphonse," she said gently. "The doctor will be here in a minute. Why don't we clear away some of these toys while we wait, okay?" Al nodded and with a last sniffle he wiped away his tears. Maria helped him clear away the toys, silently praying that the doctor was at home. Glacia came in a few minutes later with a bowl of cold water and a towel, which she used to wipe away the sweat from his neck and face, and then rinsed and lay across his forehead.

"Doctor Rockbell is on his way over," she informed them as she worked. She studied Ed carefully, from his pale face and flushed cheeks to his wheezy breathing. "I wonder if he should be admitted to the hospital," she said thoughtfully.

"No!" Al piped up fearfully. "Brother hates hospitals. He'll be too angry if you lock him up in one!" The two women exchanged glances. The doorbell rang, preventing any further conversation on the matter.

"Hello?" called Dr. Rockbell as he let himself into the house. Glacia headed out the door to greet the man, and a few minutes later they both came into the room.

"Well what have we here?" he said calmly, offering a reassuring smile to the teary-eyed Alphonse, who was holding his brothers left hand tightly. Doctor Rockbell quickly felt along Ed's throat. Then, taking out his stethoscope, he pulled back the covers and lifted his shirt. The room was quiet, save for the sniffing of Alphonse and the noisy harsh breathing of Edward as the doctor worked.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Alphonse when Dr. Rockbell pulled Ed's shirt back down.

"I would say so," said the doctor with a reassuring smile. "But your brother is very sick. He's going to need some special attention. And someone will need to watch over him until he gets better, and make sure he lets us help him."

"I'll watch over him," Alphonse volunteered at once.

"Perfect," said the doctor. He then turned to the two women. "I brought an oxygen machine that you can set up next to his bed in case his breathing gets any worse," he said. "And has he had any antibiotics yet today?"

Maria shook her head. "I was just going to get them when he passed out."

"Alright, that's good then. There won't be any interferance with the shot I'm going to give him right now. I'll just run out to the car and get the supplies." Maria followed him out.

"He'll need to stay in bed," said the doctor softly. "He should be up and about as little as possible, even if he wants to be up. At least until the worst of this has passed. I'm surprised he's been able to stay up as long as he has. I didn't think it was at this stage of the sickness already when I looked at him last night."

The doctor paused when they stepped outside. "Normally I'd say admit him to the hospital, but I don't think that's a good idea in this case. Obviously he's able to push himself right to the limit if he feels he needs to, so I think it's best to just keep him here with his brother where he will hopefully be at ease."

Maria sighed. "He's so sick... and if given the choice, he would still have chosen the streets over coming to us for help."

"I can understand that mind-frame," said the doctor. At Maria's confused expression he went on. "I don't know their history, but I don't need to. His silence speaks loudly enough. When I looked at them yesterday, I could tell that he's been abused at some point or another. Although Al is pretty much unmarked, Edward is covered in scars. It's obvious that whatever hell they've been through, he's taken the brunt of it for his brother's sake. Which explains the difference in personalities as well; Al is more trusting and friendly, but also cautious. He relies on his brother. And Edward... he's got the eyes of a dog that's been kicked and beaten and turned stray." He looked back at the house. "I guess what I'm trying to say, is that stray's might learn how to bite, but it's only out of fear of the hand that beat them. And Edward might seem angry and bitter, but it's stemmed from fear and mistrust."

The doctor stepped foreward suddenly off of the step and into the snow, walking toward his car. He pulled open the door and handed Maria a small machine and took out a kit. The two of them headed back to the house with them, and Maria pondered over the doctor's words.

-----

Edward felt himself slowly rising from the depths of his comfortable unconsiousness. He'd been dreaming. It was a nice dream, and he was reluctant to leave it, but somewhere in his mind he knew that his brother was waiting for him. And so, slowly, he reached the surface.

He was... comfortable. He decided that was the best way to describe it as he woke. Keeping his eyes closed, he flexed the fingers of his left hand and wriggled the toes of his right foot slightly. As the feeling of his body returned to him, he felt suddenly very heavy. So the weight of the world had returned to him - a weight he could only ever escape in his sleep.

But there was something else that seemed odd to him. Not bad, really, just... different. Something in the air, letting him breathe easily. His sense of hearing returned gradually, and he listened to the soft sounds around him. The constant but almost comforting tick of a clock... soft voices in the distance... the hum of some sort of machine to his right... was that the sound of a book page being turned? But the loudest sound of all, because it was closest to him, was the sound of his own steady breathing. It was much smoother, with only the occasional hitch to his breath, but it sounded strangely... echoed.

Slowly Ed opened his eyes. The world was blurry for a moment, but as it began to clear he furrowed his brows in confusion. Where was he? He had a breathing mask on, which explained a few things that his disoriented mind had failed to grasp, but this wasn't a hospital. Al had pulled a chair up to the bed and fallen asleep half on the bed with his head resting next to Ed's right knee. So Al was safe. Good. But that still didn't explain where he was.

The sound of a page being turned again brought his attention toward the bedroom door, where a woman sat reading a book. He recognized her. 'Mother?' he thought, confused. No, merely the woman he had mistaken for his mother once... And slowly it returned to him.

Ah yes; the fight, the police station, the house and the doctor. The doctor who had put a burning liquid on his cut wrist - he remembered THAT part quite clearly. This was where he'd slept that night. And he remembered, the following morning something about getting dressed, clowns, and oatmeal.

Okay, so something had obviously happened between then and now to land him in bed again, with this itchy mask over his mouth and nose. He scowled at the thought, and suddenly wanted very badly to get the thing OFF of his face. With both arms entangled in the blankets, it took a bit of effort and enough rustling to alert the black-haired woman of his conciousness.

"Hey there," Maria said softly, setting down her book and stepping closer. Ed stiffened and glared at her, as if daring her to make any sudden moves. At the same time, he pulled weakly at the mask, but his hand was so weak he gave up with a sigh.

"You gave us quite a scare there," Maria said, smiling reassuringly. "How do you feel?" Ed continued to glare, without answering. He didn't like being trapped under her gaze like that, and the sudden need to get away prompted him to begin struggling. The attempt was feeble, but it took enough of his precious energy to have him in a sweat. Al woke up as Ed moved his legs, and was instantly alert.

"No brother!" he cried, jumping up and pushing Ed's shoulders gently back against the pillows. "You have to stay in bed, or you won't get better." Ed visibly relaxed, despite the cold glare he still cast toward Maria. She smiled softly. With a bit of luck, Alphonse would make things a lot easier. Acting as a mediator between Ed and the rest of the world until the 12-year-old was willing to open up a bit, however, would probably be quite a tiring task.

-----

A week passed, and every day Ed was forced to endure the unbearable company of these 'strangers.' Al was fine. He needed Al to keep him from stringing out a line of foul words now and then, and twice Al had kept him in bed when he'd been on the verge of getting up just to spite these people. Okay, put simply, he needed Al to keep him sane.

His regular visitors included Maria and Glacia (who Al had especially taken a liking to) and Maes and the doctor. They usually just came to run simple errands - Glacia cleaned the bathroom and sometimes changed the bedding. She brought in clean laundry (apparently they had found some old clothes for them), took out the old laundry, and sometimes tidied up whatever toys Al had left out. Twice in that first week she had changed the bedding, which had involved Ed getting up and sitting on Al's bed until she was done. Glacia was calm, quiet, and gentle. Not only in her face, but in everything she did. Always soft, always gentle, and always patient.

Maria usually brought him his meals, and she also gave him a book to read. It was a small novel, but it was fairly interesting. He read when he could, but most of the time it hurt his eyes too much after five minutes and he had to put it down. The small company of the two women he didn't mind as much usually. Maes also stopped in, but he usually stayed for a while, playing a game on the floor with Al, or talking about random things that he found interesting. Ed rarely commented, but he DID pay attention. Sometimes they were interesting.

Slowly, as the days passed and he was confined to his bed (with the exception of going to the bathroom, of course) he adjusted to their company. The doctor stopped by for a few minutes every day to check the equipment and change the dressing on his wrist, and sometimes he even brought a treat for Al and him. Ed's candy usually went untouched until Al finally ate it for him, with the exception of a piece of chocolate.

Ed came to look forward to Maes's visits the most though. He would sometimes stay for a long time and play a board game with Al, or the three of them would do a puzzle on a table that could go across Ed's bed, or occasionally hold a (mostly-one-sided) conversation with Ed. He was a friendly man. They were all friendly people. But that didn't mean they wouldn't disappear too, and this one thought kept a part of Ed ever-bitter toward them.

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One afternoon the two boys sat on Ed's bed, a table pulled across between them, working on a puzzle. Edward had finally gotten well enough to take off the oxygen mask permanately, and he was quite glad to be rid of it. "These people are nice," said Al softly. "Don't you think so, brother?"

Ed was silent, but narrowed his eyes in thought. "You shouldn't get too attached to them," he said at last. Al lowered his gaze and watched his brother work on the puzzle for a moment. It was a difficult one, and Al could only fit the odd pieces now and then, but Ed was putting it together with ease. He was always that way - always so perceptive - always thinking and piecing things together. A puzzle probably seemed easy compared to their lives. Al sighed.

"Don't you like being here?" he asked.

"No." The answer was sharper than he'd intended, and Ed cringed inwardly. v

Al was unfazed. He knew his brother better than anyone - better than he knew himself sometimes. And he knew that he was lying. "Why?" he asked. "I know I don't remember as many things as you do, but... I can barely remember mom, but... she would have wanted us to be happy, right?"

Ed got that pained expression in his eyes again, and Al felt his heart sink. Why did he have to go and say that? Ed pushed the half-finished puzzle away gently, and lay back against his pillows, rolling onto his side. "Why don't you go and see what Glacia is doing?" he said quietly. Al's face fell. "There's no point in you staying in here all the time if you don't have to. I'm fine on my own now and then."

Al slowly climbed off the bed and walked to the door. There he paused and glanced back at his brother. With his back to him, Al couldn't see his face, but he knew that he wanted to be left along for a while. With a sigh, he closed the door and headed downstairs. He could hear Glacia humming from the living room and headed that way.

Edward waited until he could no longer hear his brothers footsteps, and then he closed his eyes. He enjoyed sleep - the way all of the troubles seemed to fall away in the darkness. And - for a while at least - he needed that comfort.

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END

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Authors Note: This chapter felt a bit shorter. Sorry about that, I didn't really mean to change the length. Anyways, starting from here is where it gets a bit difficult; I wanted to show the difference in opinions between the Elric brothers and their desires, but at the same time I wanted to maintain the brotherly bond between them as much as possible. Hopefully I can keep doing that... I'll have the next chapter up soon! Thanks for reading, and please review!

P.S.

For anyone who was wondering where the reference to the clown came from, it was just a funny thing I felt like throwing in. Technically the reason Edward 'remembered something about clowns' was because the puzzle he and Al were doing before Maria brought them breakfast and he passed out was one of clowns. I didn't actually mention that, so I don't expect many people to have figured it out, but yeah... I added it anyways, just cuz I felt like being random.