Scene Fourteen- Knox's House

Dr. Knox was abruptly woken from his sleep. Glancing around he realized that he was still in his messy living room. He must have dosed off while waiting for the younger Elric brother. Outside the sky was turning a pale purple indicating that the sun was starting to creep over the hills in the distance. The same soft knock that had awoken him the first time, came from the front door again. Wearily he rubbed his eyes before making it to his feet. Sure enough Al was on the other side of the door.

"I was wondering when you were gonna get back."

"Sorry if I kept you up so late." Al's gaze dropped as he realized how his actions probably caused Dr. Knox some inconvenience.

"It's fine, things have been pretty hectic anyway." The suit of armor leaned down in order to fit through the doorway. "By the way, your dad came by earlier while you were gone," the old doctor mentioned as he closed the door. Alphonse spun around and despite his lack of expression it was clear that he was surprised by the news.

"Really? What did he want? Are you sure it was him?" Knox arched an eyebrow wondering why the sudden interest.

"I don't know how but he somehow managed to help out. After he left, I went and checked on your brother. He's completely fine now, even his metal limbs are reattached and everything."

"What? Seriously!" Al was about to hurry down to see this for himself when the doctor stopped him.

"There was something else..." The suit of armor turned, hoping it was nothing bad. "He mentioned that Fullmetal won't remember anything that happened and that we shouldn't say anything to him about this incident. I wasn't actually suppose to tell you either but I figured one of you needed to know." Alphonse took a minute to process this information.

"Thank you for telling me. If it's okay do you think we can leave yet?"

"I don't see any reason you should stay. It would be best if you weren't here when he woke up anyway." Al nodded back before going down the stairs. Sure enough, it was just as the doctor had said. There wasn't a single scratch on Ed. He was completely healed. How was their father capable of doing something like this though? He had seen it before when they met the homunculi's 'Father'. Perhaps one day Al would get the chance to ask. Hopefully.

uuuuuuuuuu

He couldn't understand where all this anxiety was coming from. He was dreaming although he wasn't sure what it was about. Things were fuzzy around him and he didn't know where he was. Every so often there was this sudden fear of pain but when nothing happened he wasn't sure what made him think he was in danger in the first place. Everything was dim except for the occasional shadow that seemed threatening to him. Every time it closed in, he felt a desire to protect himself only to find he couldn't move. A tall thin being grabbed onto his wrist and held him still as it hovered closely. The contact shouldn't have hurt but for some reason he remembered it hurting. The vice grip on his wrist felt like it was sawing through his arm, all the way to the bone. He tried to pull away only to loose his balance and fall backwards. The thing was still holding onto him saying something in a mocking tone. He couldn't make the words out but soon there were more voices, yelling, crying, shouting at him. He didn't know what they wanted but they made him desperate to get away. And then there was more pain, possibly the worst he'd ever felt. It ripped through his lower half and tore across his stomach and back. It felt like it was going to swallow him. Finally he found his voice, crying out for help.

"Al?" His throat felt scratchy and he jerked his head to the side. "Winry...nnn" And as quickly as this all had started, it all faded away. He felt a leather hand on his head and Al's soothing voice bringing him back. All the pain and confusion left his mind as though it was never there and nothing had happened. Opening his eyes, he noticed how dark the room was. The only visible thing was a pair of red eyes staring down at him. Such an eerie sight only brought him relief.

"Brother, I right here. Are you feeling okay?" The blond sat up, wiping at his damp eyes.

"I...I just didn't know where I was. It didn't make any sense." He breathed in a deep breath and finally met Al's gaze. "Sorry if I worried you." Ed wasn't all that sure why he was apologizing. Glancing around he realized he was back in their dorm. "How'd I get back here? I thought I was still at Headquarters... and it was raining." His hand moved up and rubbed the side of his head. Al sighed now, knowing that lying was in Ed's best interest.

"You're automail," he pointed at Ed's arm before continuing. "It was bothering you and you passed out on the street. You've been in bed the past couple of days because of it." Edward blinked in shock, trying to think back but nothing else was coming to mind. Sure there had been situations where other people with automail had passed out from affects of the weather or other issues but any problems Ed ever had, he usually inflicted himself. Before he thought about it for too long Al changed the subject. "I'm sure you're hungry, you want to go out?" Quietly his older nodded as though he was trying to figure something out. After a couple of seconds between them, Al called out to get his attention.

"Come on, you need to eat." With nothing else coming to mind, he nodded again and moved to get up.

"Okay." As he placed his weight on his metal foot, it shifted uncomfortably at first but after a couple more steps it seemed normal. Shrugging it off, he headed for the bathroom, leaving Alphonse alone with his thoughts. The suit of armor had made a decision. He was never going to tell Ed what happened. He would keep this one thing from his older brother in order to protect him. Edward already carried so many burdens for the both of them, this was one that Al was willing to carry for him, alone. Of course there was always the fear that Ed would figure it out or perhaps they would run into Envy again and it would trigger something but if he didn't remember this incident, it meant they could move forward again. It meant that instead of months of healing and working through grief, they could continue with their plan quickly.

Even after Al had brought his brother back to their dorm, he slept the entire day away, leaving Alphonse plenty of time to come to his own conclusions about all this. It was just another wrench in the works that they didn't need. So he would stay silent. "Alright, I'm ready. You're gonna come along too right?" Ed's statement came out in an unsure tone. Al was pulled from his thoughts and for once felt fortunate to not have facial expressions. He was sure that if he did, he would be reveiling more then he wanted to right now.

"Uh yeah, I'm coming." The suit of armor rose to his feet, feeling an unseen weight on his shoulders as he quietly followed his brother out of the room.

-The End?-

Author's notes-At some point I need to change the format of this whole story cause it's too chopping without paragraphs. Just a serious pain in the rear. Anyway, I don't know we might one day write a sequel. Always did like Envy messing with Ed and frankly it just didn't happen enough in Brotherhood. And if we did do a sequel does anyone have any ideas to throw out there for us? Anyway show some love and thanks for reading. :)