A/N: Here we are. Updated on Friday again! I'm in shock that I have been able to keep it up. I think I will probably fall apart in two weeks and the 7th chapter will be delayed. We'll see what happens. Warnings for medical talk and injuries. Please excuse mistakes, I am sleep deprived.
Chapter 4
Al walked and walked until the sun began to rise. When he looked up to gaze at the new light peering from behind the hills, he realized that he could see some small structures in the distance. They were actually to his right and behind him. He had walked too far and, in the dark, passed by them in the night. There was a barn and a little home, surrounded by fields and fields of crops. The small light he had seen flickering in the night had been from their window, but they had put the lights out when they had gone to bed.
The Whitman family lived there. There was a man and his wife and quite a few children. There were more kids than Al was able to keep track of. When Alphonse woke them up that early morning, begging for their help, they took them both in without hesitation. They gave Edward a change of clothes, they wrapped up his injuries and found a bed for him to rest. Then they sent the oldest son for the retired doctor who lived a few hours away. The whole time, Al kept thanking them and apologizing and thanking them again. He kept thinking of when they were children and he had brought a bleeding, dying Edward to Granny Pinako's door. He got so caught up in thoughts that he didn't realize it when they asked him if he would like to sleep in the bed they had made up for him. Night was already beginning to fall again. He had spent the whole day in a stupor, reeling from the relief of finding help, of finding people who were kind. So kind. He cried from relief at their compassion. But no, he can't sleep. They gave him pitying looks, thinking he must be too worried to sleep. Let them think that, it was easier. However, when he asked if he could use their phone, they apologized to him. There was no phone in the house. The closest phone was in town, which was miles away. Al would have to report in to the Colonel later.
The doctor arrived late into the night. He had been held up by an accident on another property. The man was ancient and Al wondered how long he had been retired from his profession. The family assured Alphonse that Doctor Lindstrom was still very capable and reliable.
Edward had begun to stir, but he didn't seem particularly lucid. Blood loss, shock, possible concussion the doctor said. With careful hands, he inspected Ed's wounds. As soon as the doctor was about to begin cleaning out the cut on his leg, Edward blinked into semi-awareness.
"Al." Edward called quietly, his voice sounding thin and weak. "Al?"
"I'm here, brother. Don't move. There's a doctor here, he has to clean the cut on your leg. Can you hold still?" Alphonse murmured in a hushed voice.
"Hold still," Ed repeated back, but Al wasn't sure if he had really understood.
"You might have to hold him down," the doctor suggested.
"No," Al responded quickly, "that will make it worse. He can hold still. He… he has automail. He knows how to hold still. Right, Ed?"
Edward made a noise in the back of his throat and let his eyes slip close again.
With a nod, the doctor set to work cleaning Edward's wounds and sewed up his leg to the best of his ability. Ed, while he had grit his teeth and made noises of extreme discomfort, he did not move. The years with his automail had taught Edward to remain still through the worse pain. As long as he wasn't having a nightmare or a panic attack, Ed would bare it. Al spoke quietly throughout the procedure, though he wasn't even sure what he was saying anymore. As Doctor Lindstrom finished up, he interrupted Al's quiet assurances and began adding his own commentary. His words were soft and said so calmly that they eased some of the tension in the room.
"You said he fell into the river? Must have been caught by a rock. These stitches should hold, but it's not going to heal up nicely. Gonna take awhile. He'll have a scar for sure."
Al was nodding along as the doctor continued.
"Not the worst I've seen though, he'll be alright."
"There…" Al hesitated, pointing unsurely at his brother's now stitched together leg, "the cut looked really deep... there was something white. Was it the… bone?"
The doctor glanced up and gave the boy a small smile. It wrinkled his aged face even further. "No bone, it's not quite deep enough. Pretty damn close though. There was a lot of debris in the wound. You probably saw a rock. I've cleaned it out and sutured everything together now. Your brother is lucky."
"Lucky…" Al echoed quietly.
At that moment, Edward groaned and scrunched up his face. It was difficult to tell how much Ed was listening or if he was even conscious.
"Probably has a headache." Doctor Lindstrom noted. "Concussions will do that. Just have to keep an eye on him. You take him into town when you get the chance. Have them look him over."
"Do you think he will be alright?" The words reverberated through Al before he could stop them.
The doctor stepped away, motioning for Alphonse to move closer and look at his brother's exposed leg, which was swelling around dark stitches.
"Keep an eye out for infection and have him rest this leg."
Al was nodding quickly. "And he'll be alright?"
The doctor heaved a great sigh. Alphonse knew that it was never a good sign when adults did that. "He seems strong. I'm sure he will be fine," Lindstrom finally said.
At those words, Al felt like he could collapse in relief. A lot of the fear and uncertainty of the last 24 hours dissipated. Ed would be fine. He was hurt, but he would heal and then he would be just fine. Alphonse thanked the doctor profusely. They were going to be fine.
…
A week would pass before Al would realize how wrong he had been.
It was the coughing that was the first sign of trouble. The coughing and the way Edward seemed to be unable to catch his breath. It had been a few days and Edward seemed to be doing better, but then the coughing started, and he was up most of the night, struggling for air. When he finally was able to fall asleep, he slept and slept. He's come down with a cold and he is still healing, of course he is tired. Ed is still getting better.
Then there was the fever and Al thought it was part of the cold, though maybe it was a case of the flu. The other children of the house were kept away from the brothers to keep them from catching it.
It was early in the morning on the seventh day that Edward didn't have the strength to get out of the bed. The coughing shook his entire form and his eyes were glazed with a high fever. He shivered and clung tightly to the blankets.
"I'm just cold, Al," Ed had responded when Al asked if he was alright. "Tell Winry to close… window," Edward slurred, before shutting his eyes again.
"Winry's not here, Ed." Al said softly. Edward made no response, the only sound in the room was that rattling noise that came from Ed's chest when he breathed. When had it gotten so loud? Something dark settled upon Alphonse's mind. A dreadful feeling that he had been overlooking something important. Too scared to admit, that something was very, very wrong. Hesitantly, Al lifted away his brother's blankets to check on his leg. Ed made a sound of protest at the cold air assaulting him, but he didn't have the energy to do anything about it. The leg was swollen and red around the stitches. Seeping out around the edges was a cloudy discharge.
The Whitman family sent for the Doctor again.
Infection.
Pneumonia.
Edward needed a hospital.
It would take an entire day to get to the closest town, Howlseye.
The only way to get there was in the family's horse drawn wagon. It would take all day and it was near freezing outside. In the other room, Al heard the adults talking in hushed voices about Edward's ability to make the trip.
"He needs antibiotics, fluid and oxygen. They will be able to help him in town," Doctor Lindstrom explained to him, as he stood beside Alphonse at Edward's bedside.
Alphonse felt himself nodding, though an emotional numbness had settled inside him ever since he saw the pus leaking from his brother's leg.
"Your brother is strong. This is his best chance."
Al nodded again. Edward would be fine.
Ed's frame began shaking with a new bout of coughing. Alphonse moved to help his brother sit up, to aid his breathing. Although he couldn't feel it, Al knew that Edward was burning with a high fever. After the coughing subsided, Alphonse still held onto Ed. Around him, the adults moved, making plans and all Al could do was hold on.
To be continued...
A/N: Short chapter. Kind of a weird, inbetween chapter. Also, if it seems a little vague and undetailed, that's actually what I was going for. Everything is moving around Al in this blur and he can't focus on details right now. He spends time with this family and doesn't even know how many kids there are. He's just fighting to keep himself together... anyway... Next chapter, reunions happen. :)
Thank you to all my reviewers. You guys seriously brighten my day.
