"This is humiliating," Alphonse muttered.

Roy could hardly blame him for feeling that way – lying naked on a high narrow table in a small room draped with red curtains, with an audience of two men rather more preoccupied with his nether regions than any 17-year old could possibly be comfortable with.

But Doctor Yuen paused in his task – drawing an alchemic array on Al's lower abdomen – and focused a sharp gaze at his young student. The lamplight drew glittering sparks from the gold threads woven into his red tunic as his hands hovered just above the bare skin. "Yes," he agreed, "it is humiliating. And is what you deserve, for doing such a foolish thing. Is that not right?"

Al sighed in resignation and stared at the ceiling. "Yes, sir," he murmured.

The man returned to his work, tracing a complex array on the young man's pelvic and abdominal region with a stick of greasy black paint. Roy had been surprised to discover that the Xingian was not only a doctor but an alchemist as well. Yuen didn't advertise this as one of his skills – not all of his students were alchemists, after all – but obviously he was going to be of more help to Alphonse than Roy had ever expected.

The array was so detailed and intricate that the doctor had been working on it for fifteen minutes already. Roy watched intently, trying to understand the unusual symbols and their placement, but they were so strange to him that he couldn't really follow their intent.

Yuen caught his eye and smiled. "It has to be so complex," he remarked, "because we need to do many things inside before we are finished. I must have all the tools ready in case I need them."

"So you'll do the work?" Roy asked, eyes narrowed as he watched the doctor's careful placement of another symbol. "Even though Al made the initial changes?"

"We will work together. We will both activate the array, and Alphonse will guide me to where I need to go."

"I'm going to make everything worse, I know it," Al interjected miserably.

Roy set a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. Al's wide grey eyes darted briefly to his face before returning to their fixation on the ceiling. A thin film of sweat sheened his forehead and upper lip.

"We are almost ready," Yuen said.

"You can do this, Al," Roy added softly.

"Yes," the doctor nodded. He added one final line to connect the last symbol to the larger circle before standing back to regard the completed design with a careful eye. "You made the first changes, Alphonse. You will be able to make these as well. And then…," once more the sharp glance, "you will never do such a mad thing again."

Al swallowed hard. "No, sir," he agreed once more, his voice meek. "Never again."

If his eyes hadn't been glued to the ceiling, he might have caught Yuen's amused wink. Roy would have been tempted to chuckle, if he weren't so worried. It was a comfort, at least, that the Xingian seemed so confident that this procedure would work.

Yuen set the paint stick on a wooden tray at the end of the table. The candles on the tall candlesticks at either end of the tray flickered briefly from the movement, making the lines of the array seem to writhe on the pale skin. Returning to Al's side, the doctor said quietly, "All is prepared, Alphonse. Are you ready?"

Roy's hand tightened on the young man's shoulder. Al met the doctor's eyes and, his jaw tightening, he nodded once. Already his brows drew together as he set aside his nervousness and concentrated on the task at hand.

If there was anything at which Al was skilled, Roy reminded himself, it was complex and unusual alchemy. And he had that Elric knack of focusing all his attention on the alchemy, even when it was being performed on his own body. It was probably that same presence of mind, Roy mused, that had made Ed capable of retrieving his brother's soul and attaching it to the armour, even while bleeding from the loss of his limbs.

Now he watched all of Alphonse's attention turn toward this intriguing problem as he lifted his hand in tandem with the doctor's and placed it on the circle on his abdomen.

Roy blinked through the bright flash of light as the array activated. With his hand set on the curve of Al's shoulder, he could sense the blaze of new energy springing into being, as well as the kid's sharp catch of breath at the sudden surge.

"Now," Yuen said calmly. "Tell me what you did the first time."

Al's breathing settled immediately, as he began to relate the steps he had taken to try to stop the progress of his own puberty. Roy listened, a mere bystander, as doctor and student discussed various organs and body parts, as calmly and clinically as though they were dissecting some anonymous cadaver. Follow this vein here, find that valve there, take the source of this other, close off this, banish that…it was very confusing for someone whose medical knowledge was merely rudimentary.

"I see," Yuen nodded, eyes closed as his hand rested lightly on Al's abdomen, "you did not just close if off…"

"Right." Al, gazed blindly again at the ceiling. "I knew there would be problems if I didn't stop everything altogether…"

"Of course. Very wise. There could eventually have been a rupture otherwise."

"Exactly."

"I see that you were very thorough. And made certain to understand the function of all the parts before you acted."

"I tried to be as careful as I could."

Roy's chest constricted, and he closed his eyes. This kid – this damn fool – he could have killed himself! And he'd obviously studied well in advance before he did this. It was no spur of the moment act. If Roy weren't so worried about him, he'd kill him for doing such a stupid, dangerous thing. At times, Al was more like Ed than anyone had ever expected. He was just more subtle about it, which made it even worse. You at least had a chance to try to counteract something that blared its existence at you, at the top of its lungs…

"Very well," Yuen's voice interrupted Roy's thoughts. "We will begin. First we must work backwards from where you ended…"

So they were done their preliminary analysis. Roy swallowed as the two began talking each other through the process. It took great strength of will for him to keep his hand from turning into a clutching claw on the boy's arm. He watched Al's own hand move slowly under the doctor's direction, the forefinger tracing a path back and forth across his abdomen in response to Yuen's quiet instructions.

They both had their eyes closed now, to concentrate without distraction on the work being done beneath the skin and under the glowing array.

"Can you tell if the valve can be opened?" Yuen asked.

"It can't," Al murmured. "I sealed it completely."

"Very well. You must create another opening, but the muscles must be made elastic so the new valve can function. I will guide you…"

Roy saw Alphonse wince and bite his lip as he performed the task as instructed. The farther along they went, the more his brows drew together in a frown, partly of concentration but also, Roy realized, of pain. This procedure clearly wasn't easy or straightforward. He imagined the work as being something like setting your own bone or taking out a bullet without anesthetic. He hoped, suppressing a shudder, that that was an exaggeration.

"This was very thorough," Yuen remarked quietly. "I am impressed that you were able to keep them separate this way."

"I knew it could get very bad if I didn't," Al whispered back.

Roy took care to breathe and keep himself relaxed as he watched the two medical alchemists continue their work. Realizing that he just couldn't manage to keep his hand unclenched, he finally removed it from Al's shoulder, allowing it to tighten on the edge of the table instead. He suspected the boy didn't even notice. Alphonse continued tracing his fingers around and around on his skin, responding in mere whispers now, as he and Yuen worked together.

As he'd so often done in other situations, Roy tried to concentrate on the alchemy itself to calm his mind and keep his emotions from clouding his thinking. He watched in fascination as first one part of Yuen's array and then another swelled with light as different internal tasks were performed. If Roy had had some idea of the meaning of the symbols, he might have been able to follow what was going on a lot more easily.

Although…he wasn't sure he wanted to, really. He had a swift, incongruous vision of Havoc crossing his legs under the table in that diner a few days ago, the first time he'd heard about what Al had done. Roy fought back the sudden urge to giggle, recognizing the potential hysteria of tension and fear. Instead he forced his concentration back onto the symbols of the array.

It bothered him rather a lot that the symbol he believed referred to blood was being set aglow quite as much as it was…

"Alphonse." A chiding tone this time, in the doctor's voice.

"What?"

"You did far too much, to try to make this permanent."

"Well…I kind of wanted it to be…" Al's voice faded as he frowned again, eyes still closed. His breath caught as though something particularly painful had happened inside, and then he swallowed, sighing as though it had passed.

Roy slowly let out his own breath. Across the table, Yuen's eyes opened and the doctor gave him a faint smile. "It is complex, General," the man murmured, "but all is well."

Roy allowed himself a cautious nod. Below him, Al's eyes opened as well. He said nothing, meeting Roy's eyes, but lifted his free hand. Roy enclosed it with both his own, trying to manufacture an encouraging smile, and pressed the hand against his stomach as the young man closed his eyes again.

He could have lost his young ward, his friend – his little brother – and never even known why. He clutched Al's hand as though it could keep him from reeling.

The work continued, Al's fingers moving back and forth, around and around his abdomen as Yuen directed, one section after another of the complex array glowing with power as the two of them carefully repaired the damage that had been done inside the young man's body. And at last Al expelled his breath in a great whoosh as Yuen opened his eyes and lifted his head.

"Finished," the doctor said, smiling at Roy, before bending to pick something up from beneath the table.

"Finished," Al echoed weakly, then rolled over and vomited into the bucket Yuen produced just in time.

They let him lie there and doze for a while longer, as the two men stepped aside.

"How long till things get back to normal?" Roy asked.

"We can't be certain, but I would guess two weeks. It will take time for the body to become accustomed to its new shape."

"New…shape." Roy shifted uneasily, and again fought the impulse to cross his legs. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"The boy needed to change the route taken by some things inside. But all things will work properly, and he will feel no different than he would have done before." The Xingian doctor's eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. "Do not worry, General Mustang. He will be fine."

"But…what if…"

"We will worry about that if there is no change. Give him time first."

Roy tried to follow the man's advice, though he couldn't help but worry at Al's pale face and his weakness when they finally walked back outside to the car. Alphonse took several deep breaths along the way, as though trying to reinvigorate himself, but he took his steps with great care, and sank into the car seat with a long sigh of relief.

Roy put on a casual attitude as he drove. "When we get home," he said, checking the cross street and braking as he approached an intersection, "I'll make you a big sandwich and you can put your feet up for the afternoon." Nobody was coming from either direction, so he sped up again, giving the young man a quick glance as he did so.

Al didn't look up, his temple pressed against the window on the passenger side, his weary eyes closed. "I don't need a sandwich," he murmured. "I think I'll just go to bed."

"Are you sure? You were too nervous to eat breakfast. You must be hungry now that it's all over."

"I wouldn't be able to keep it down anyway."

"What do you mean?"

Al gave a little shrug. "I probably won't be able to eat till tomorrow sometime. I'll throw up if I try. Maybe I'll manage some soup by tonight, but I don't know."

"I don't like the sound of that," Roy frowned.

"Don't worry. I'll be all right in a day or two, like before."

"But I don't understand why you would feel that sick."

"I guess my body doesn't like it when I rearrange things in there," Al whispered. He took a slow, careful breath. "I'll be all right," he said again. "Eventually."

Roy drove on, trying to concentrate on the road, but unable to prevent another quick glance at the young man. Al's face really did seem quite pale. "I don't know," the man muttered. "I might still call Yuen after we get you to bed. I don't like the look – "

He stopped suddenly, as a thought occurred to him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Alphonse's head turn. "Roy…?"

"Al…," he said slowly. "You had that bad spell a few weeks ago. Remember? When I threw out the rest of the pork roast because you couldn't seem to keep anything down?"

A long silence. He glanced over and saw the alarm flash into his companion's eyes, before they slid away from his face. He waited.

Slowly the colour crept into the young man's cheeks as he looked out the window, down at his hands, anywhere but at the older man. "Well…," he said at last. "I guess that…would have been the day, yes."

Roy took a deep breath, his jaw setting. "I see." And he drove on in silence for several moments, until at last he muttered, "Dammit, Al."

"I know, I know," Alphonse said in a rush. "It was a stupid thing to do, and I'm sorry, and I'll never do anything that stupid again. I don't know how many more times I can say it."

"I just don't know if that's good enough, kid, and I don't know how you're going to make this up to me."

"What? To you? Roy, what do you – "

"I mean," Roy interrupted, "it was a perfectly good roast gone to waste, and those things aren't cheap, you know. It's gone, and you can never bring it back."

It took a few seconds. Finally, with a strangled squeak, Al burst into laughter, a wave of relief breaking across his face. "Roy! You're so mean – and I deserve it – " The young man collapsed against the door, holding his arms tightly across his stomach, the giggles intermingling with groans of nausea.

"You bet I am," Roy grinned. "And you do deserve it."

"You're never going to let me live this down, are you?"

"What do you think?" The man cast his narrow, sidelong smile glance across the front seat, and the youngster groaned again, hiccupping with mirth. But already some of the pallor was gone, a healthier flush creeping into his skin.

Roy nodded to himself in satisfaction, wheeling the car around the last corner that turned into the street they lived on. He'd let Al sleep the afternoon away, but he'd have a big pot of chicken soup ready for supper. Things were going to be all right now.

________________

(Author's Note: I thought this would be 6 chapters long, but it's going to have 7 instead. So, not quite done, but almost. Thanks so much for your patience!)