Roy blinked his eyes open slowly, groaning as he was dragged away from the oblivion of sleep. He felt like death warmed over. He contemplated returning to the dark void of dreamless slumber, but an acute feeling that something wasn't as it should be pulled him further into wakefulness.
He glanced lazily at his surroundings, trying to figure out what felt so out of place. White hospital walls met his vision… There was a long, plastic curtain that served as a partition to his left… and he was on… a stretcher?
Roy frowned, "Wait…I fell asleep in the infirmary back at HQ…How did I wind up here?"
"Ah, good. You're finally awake." He heard a voice coming from somewhere in the room. It sounded familiar, but he was having trouble placing it at the moment.
Roy sat up slowly, rubbing his temples as he tried to assess what had happened, "...How long was I out?" he asked weakly.
"You were closing in on twenty- seven hours, if you must know." The voice responded smugly.
Roy blinked rapidly. That voice. It sounded too young to be a doctor, "Who are you?" he asked. He squinted against the light as he lowered his hands from his head.
"You don't recognize me?" the voice sounded surprised, "What? Did a little rain give you brain damage? Idiot."
Realization dawned on him all at once as a golden haired teen swam into his line of vision, "Fullmetal?" he asked in disbelief.
The boy seemed to have abandoned his traditional garb and was instead wearing a white lab coat that was much too large for him.
"Glad to see you remember me after all." The kid replied snarkily, rolling up his sleeves.
"You really are a Fullmetal shrimp." Roy murmured tonelessly, rubbing his temples.
"Hey! Who you calling so small that if someone started to cry he'd drown in a single teardrop because it would be like a flood sweeping over him?!" Edward snapped.
The colonel groaned, "Please go away… Fullmetal. I don't feel like dealing with you right now…" he buried his face in his hands.
Ed smirked at this, "Leave? Not on your life! We have to prepare you for surgery after all!"
Roy dropped his hands instantly, eyes widened, "Surgery?!" he repeated, shocked.
"Yeah, that's right. You need heart surgery right away." Ed elaborated. His mouth twisted into a grin as he added, "And I'm going to be your surgeon… so let's try and get along, hm?"
All at once his adrenaline kicked in and Roy sprung off the stretcher and onto his feet. "What do you think you're trying to pull, Fullmetal?!" he roared.
"Aw calm down, colonel!" the kid grinned, "You're going to aggravate your condition." He clapped his hands and transmuted a blade extending from his automail arm.
Roy blanched. He didn't have his gloves with him and as such had little means of fending off the young state alchemist. He fled from the room, running as fast as his weary limbs would carry him.
"This has to be some sort of prank… and if it isn't…" Roy thought as he ran, pausing in front of a nurse's station, "Who authorized this?"
A nurse on duty glanced him over in surprise, "Oh dear. You look awful, sir. You really ought to lie down…"
"W-who…" he panted, catching his breath, "Who…authorized… Fullmetal…surgeon…?"
"Uh..." the nurse fidgeted, "Well, Mr. Mustang…Hmmm…It was probably the doctor that's been monitoring your case… Let me look it up for you." She began sifting through folders.
Roy leaned on the counter as he waited, "Hurry if you can… that kid's got a blade." He murmured.
"Ah! Here we are!" she beamed momentarily, "It's Doctor-"
"Is there a problem, Nurse Havoc?" a deep, gravelly voice interrupted her from somewhere behind him.
"Havoc? I wonder… does Jean have a sister he never talks about?…" Roy wondered to himself.
"No. Colonel Mustang here just had some concerns about the surgery. Perhaps you could set his mind at ease, Dr. Scar?"
Roy felt bile rising in his throat as he slowly looked over his shoulder. Terror turned his innards to ice as he stared up into the hateful red eyes of one vengeful Ishvalan.
"Is there a problem?" the scarred man asked evenly.
"Y-you? My doctor?!" Roy spouted, dumbfounded, "I… I have to be dreaming! That's the only explanation!"
Scar frowned, flexing his well toned arm muscles, "I see… you've gotten far too excited. You're putting yourself at risk." He reached his arm out as it glowed with alchemic power.
The flame alchemist barely leaped out of the way, "Just what are you doing here?" he growled.
"You need to calm down!" the Ishvalan growled, "This sedative should put you out!"
"Darn. Hawkeye, where are you when I need you?" Roy thought bitterly, "That's no sedative!" he growled, dodging another assault. Sadly, his legs chose that exact moment to give out and he collapsed to the floor.
Scar's palm met his face in a sudden rushing force, "Rawwwr! Your face a'splode!"
Roy's mind turned inward on itself and all went dark.
A small part of him was well aware of the sheer insanity and impossibility of what he'd just endured. However, his fevered mind seemed to justify the experience as reality, causing a spiral of confusion.
It was in this state of fever induced confusion that he awoke, shivering slightly at the feel of the air around him. For a moment, he was almost afraid to open his eyes. What if all that had happened? What if he really was about to go into surgery with Fullmetal operating on him? A sudden spark of awareness alerted him to just how irrational that line of thought was.
Roy blinked open his eyes sluggishly, taking in his surroundings. He was pleased to see the medicine cabinets and desk lining the wall… What's more he was lying on a cot. He'd definitely been in the infirmary the whole time.
He sighed in relief and brought a hand to his temples, "Dard fever." He murmured aloud.
He made no motion to sit up, however. He still felt so tired, and the fever dream had been anything but restful.
He let loose a series of coughs, groaning as they scraped at his already irritated throat.
"There was one thing the dream got right." Roy decided miserably, "I really do feel like hell."
"Oh! Good. You're awake, sir." A feminine voice remarked from somewhere near the doorway.
The flame alchemist dragged himself into a sitting position cautiously as he looked her over. "Well. At least it's not Fullmetal." He blinked and rubbed his temples; he really had to try and forget that bizarre dream.
The nurse approached his bedside with some pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other. "You were asleep when I first came in, so I decided not to wake you… I hope you don't mind, sir." She said softly, "I've brought the medicine now though."
"Mm…thadk you." He murmured tonelessly. Even if he was out of it, it appeared his manners were intact enough for him to realize he owed the nurse such a reply. He placed the pills at the back of his tongue and shakily accepted the glass of water.
The nurse watched him as he downed the pills.
Roy clamped his eyes shut in discomfort as a tearing feeling ripped through his throat with the swallowing motion. He made to bring the glass of water back to his lips to try and douse the burning in another wave of cool liquid.
Sadly, the glass slipped from his uncoordinated hands. Too late his fingers grasped at empty air as the glass met the unforgiving floor. An audible crash resounded from the infirmary and Roy stared at the mess for a long moment. It was almost as if he didn't believe it had happened.
"…I'b sorry." He murmured, feeling a chill creeping up his spine.
"P-Please, sir," the nurse stammered, clearly still somewhat surprised, "D-Don't worry about it."
"Doh…it's by fauld." Roy sighed wearily, shivering against his will.
He slowly became aware of another figure standing in the doorway… Lieutenant Hawkeye, he realized.
The nurse murmured something about getting a broom and before he knew it the first lieutenant was at his bed side.
She mentioned that second lieutenant Breda hoped he got well… and that Hughes did as well. A sneeze interrupted him before he could question how the lieutenant colonel had found out, but it wasn't as though it mattered. As usual, Riza was capable of explaining things quickly and efficiently. Roy was in the middle of contemplating how much he appreciated this ability of hers when a particular sentence pierced through his thoughts loud and clear.
"More importantly, sir," Riza was saying, "I've brought those forms for you to fill out."
Truth be told, he'd almost forgotten about the forms… but he wasn't about to admit it. "Ah… thadk you, lieutedadt." He muttered instead.
She held the forms down to him, producing a pen from her pocket, "I recommend you take leave for the following week at least, sir. Shall I list the dates for you?"
He stared blearily at the papers. The black ink seemed fuzzy and out of focus… not crisp and precise like it ought to be. Vision slightly inhibited by fever, he squinted in an effort to try and make heads or tails of the forms. The page's contents seemed to double briefly before merging back into a single image.
"…Dard fever." He repeated his earlier sentiment, feeling a mix of frustration and defeat sinking into his tired mind.
"Sir?" Riza questioned.
An annoying tingling once more invaded his nostrils and he let the papers drop into his lap along with Hawkeye's pen, "Heh...HUPT'chuu! Hukt'CHUUU! Hhhpt'CHUU!"
He sniffled exhaustedly as the fit passed.
"Sir…about the forms…" Hawkeye began with uncharacteristic tenderness leaking into her tone.
"Jusd… tell be where to sigd, lieutedadt." Roy murmured, closing his watering eyes for an agonizing moment before looking back at her. "I… I ca'd really bake sedse of theb righd now…So I'b trusting your judgment." He admitted.
Riza seemed taken aback for a brief moment, before nodding. Her expression once more a calm mask, "Yes, sir. Just sign here." She pointed to a line on one of the pages, "Then here." She indicated a line on the other.
Roy uncapped the pen and slowly scrawled his signature across the lines his lieutenant had pointed out.
Hawkeye wasted little time in retrieving the forms from the colonel and set them on the edge of the room's desk as she began filling out the other necessary information.
"Thadk you…lieutedadt." Roy's voice was weary and worn, but there was no mistaking the true gratitude behind those words.
"You're welcome, sir." She replied calmly as she worked.
The nurse had cleaned up the mess and left again, leaving only the two of them in the room.
Roy sighed, leaning back against the pillow once more. He felt awful, but knowing his lieutenant was still calm and collected brought a relief to him he couldn't explain. It was a sense of knowing she had everything taken care of… He could afford to rest a bit, knowing she had his back… Just another reason his fever-addled mind was all too eager to accept as justification to lie back and shut his eyes…
"…submitted. My shift ends in two hours, sir. I'll return then." He zoned back in on Hawkeye's words, blinking lethargically as he tried to figure out what the first part could have been.
Hawkeye frowned at his confused expression, "Did you hear me, sir?" she asked.
"…Missed the first pard." He admitted without much thought.
"Right. I said that I'll take these forms to be submitted." She told him easily. She paused and tacked on, "Will you be needing anything before I go, sir?"
"…Doh." He coughed into his hand, "Thadk you, lieutedadt."
She saluted him as she had earlier, "You're welcome, sir. I'll be back in two hours." She reminded him.
"Righd…See you thed." Roy murmured.
Riza nodded to him and exited the infirmary once more.
Roy watched her disappear and sighed as he leaned back again. He could hardly wait for the two hours to pass. He was really starting to long for his own bed. Still, in his current state he imagined he could sleep just about anywhere. His eyelids fluttered as he once more faded out of conscious thought, a small part of his mind begging his fever to cease in its failed attempts at story telling.
Author's Note:
And here lies chapter six. Yes, I know, I'm taking forever to get poor Roy into the comfort of his own home. On top of that, I gave the colonel absurd fever dreams! *laughs*
Anyway, this particular fever dream sequence is loosely based off an amusing conversation with my fiancé. After I'd read him the first chapter, he promptly requested Roy hallucinate/ fever dream again. So we began discussing what that would entail. It was his idea to have Ed as a nurse/ surgeon and Scar as a doctor; I just firmed up and expanded that idea a bit. I also added a reference to the FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood bloopers… just because. =)
So I'd like to not only dedicate this chapter to my amazing fiancé, but my wonderful fanfic readers! I stayed up until four in the morning typing this so it would be ready for today. Here's to the beginning of a new year, guys!
As always, reviews make me happy and I'll see you in chapter 7!