YAY! Another chapter is up, and I reached 25 reviews. Well happy 4th of July people, to celebrate you get yet another chapter. This took like 3 hours to write, but I had it planned out from chapter 3 lol. So hope you all enjoy, and EdxRoy parental FTW lol.
Thank you all for the favorites and reviews, they make me happy ^^
Yeah, there might be 2 more chapters after this one, or the next one will be the last, I'm not so sure yet. An please vote in the poll on my profile, cause whatever story you pick will be my next project, and it will probably be chapters like this one, since it makes the story more detailed if its short chapters instead of one long story.
And thanks to everyone who voted in the poll, so far it looks like I'll be rewriting Dog of the Military but that could change if more people vote ^^
Father and Son
I walked out of the room after Ed had fallen asleep, I knew Al would keep an eye on him and if something were to happen he would tell me. I sighed, poor Ed.
Ever since the start of his chemotherapy he didn't seem like himself. He wasn't constantly arguing with me or really making jokes anymore, now he just stayed in my bedroom having nightmares. The doctors had warned me that the strain on his body from the treatments would make him hallucinate, but I never thought it would be this bad…
They had Ed on so many pills now, painkillers, blood thinners, medication for anxiety and depression…I could understand that he was tired of depending on these pills to live. If he didn't take them though everything would just get worse.
I really did feel bad for him, he was just a child and no matter how much he denied it a scared young boy. He had begun calling me dad after his first two chemotherapy treatments, it shocked me at times but I was getting used to it. He was like a son to me and through all this I guess he needed a father figure, someone to hold him and tell him he was safe.
Ed's mental health wasn't the only thing that worried me though, the doctors had also warned me about the side effects of the therapy, weakening of the immune system, fatigue, tendency to bleed easily, vomiting, weight loss, and hair loss. Thank god he hadn't lost any of his hair; it was just duller and thinner than it used to be.
The thing that worried me most was how much weight Ed had lost. Al and I were lucky if he could hold down some toast without getting sick. The doctors had told us that we should force feed him, since he needed to keep his strength up to get better faster. Just the thought of shoving something down the poor boy's throat made my skin crawl. I wouldn't do that, sometimes I would make him eat something but that was as close as I would get to force feeding him.
Ed also was sleeping more than normal, he rarely left the bedroom unless he needed to use the bathroom or go to the doctors for his chemotherapy. I hated seeing him so weak, even the simple task of walking took a lot out of him. Al would normally help him walk around the house if he wanted to leave the bedroom, he would sometimes tell me that the tan walls of my room were boring him and that I should paint them red.
I sighed again and sat down on one of the wooden kitchen chairs, resting my head in my hand. I wasn't doing well either, just the stress of caring for Ed made me sick. I was on medication too, mainly depression medication, this whole thing with Ed was making me depressed. I cared a lot for Ed; he was like a son to me, even though I didn't want to tell him. Even though he called me dad I hadn't called him son, not yet. I was kinda scared that if the chemotherapy was too much for him and he died that I would be even more depressed. Just the thought of his body lying lifeless in a coffin chilled me to the bone.
I wouldn't let that happen, he was like my child, and I would protect him with everything inside me. I felt the same way towards Al, they both needed a parent that would reassure them and comfort them when they needed it. I was allowing Al to stay in my home with Ed; I was secretly worried that Al would freak out in the military barracks if he was away from his brother to long.
I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of heavy panting. I turned towards the sound and was shocked to see Ed stumbling into the kitchen, leaning heavily on the wall.
"Ed what the hell are you doing? You should be in bed." I ran towards him, grabbing him in my arms before he could fall onto the floor.
He raised his head weakly and smiled at me, "I wanted to talk to you." I sighed and helped him sit down on one of the kitchen chairs. Ed flopped down into it, his thin body shaking with exhaustion.
"Why didn't you let Al come and get me? What if you feel and broke a bone or something." My question was met with a weak laugh. Ed looked over at me with dull, glazed golden eyes.
"I'm not an old lad you know, I'm not going to fall and break a hip." He coughed slightly and smiled.
"I'm sorry, it's just…you look so…fragile…" I looked away from him. I hated that I had said that aloud, but it was true. His skin was abnormally pale and you could see every bone in his body. I hated when they examined him in the hospital, taking off his shirt to look at his thin body. They told me that it wasn't good for him to have lost this much weight and I knew. It wasn't Ed's fault that he couldn't keep food down, we were lucky when he could.
"Yeah, I noticed." I looked up to see him slowly lifting up his shirt.
"Ed, don't do this to yourself. I know that it will only make you feel worse." I knew I couldn't talk him out of it. I watched as his eyes widened, taking in the sight of his thin body. You could see every one of his ribs, jutting out painfully from under his pale skin. His once muscular stomach was concave with starvation. He looked like a skeleton with thin snow white skin stretched over it.
"I can see why you think that…" Ed lowered his shirt and glanced at his thin left arm, "When the doctors look at me I close my eyes, I would have rather not seen it. I'd have to face it one day no matter what, and I did."
I felt tears sting my eyes and was shocked to see that he was crying as well, silent tears streaming down his thin face.
"I'm scared dad, I really am. What if the chemo kills me? I already look dead, maybe I should be…" He looked at me with bloodshot eyes. "Am I really going to get better?"
"Yes you will, the doctors said that they've seen worse patients pull through." I took in a ragged breath, trying not to cry in front of him. I knew that would only make Ed fell worse.
I watched in horror as Ed's eyes closed and he fell sideways out of the chair. I leapt up and caught him before he could hit the hard linoleum floor. For a second I thought he had actually died on me but the faint rise and fall of his chest relieved me. It must have been too much for him and he passed out.
I sat on the floor, cradling his limp body in my arms, hoping he would wake up soon. Why the hell did I let him look at himself? I should have stopped him, if I had made everything worse then…
Ed moaned slightly in my arms, opening his eyes slowly. He stared ahead, dull golden eyes unfocused.
Tears slowly leaked out of his eyes and he turned his head slightly to look at me. "Dad…you'll stay with me right…you'll keep me safe?" His weak sorrowful voice broke my heart. I stood up and carried him towards the bedroom.
"I promise to keep you safe son, I'll never leave you." I saw the relief in Ed's eyes, his tense body when limp and he sighed.
"You called me son…that's a first…" His eyes were closed halfway, glazed with exhaustion. I watched as a small smile pursed his lips.
"You are like a son to me, you always were and you always will be." I lowered my head to gently kiss him on the forehead. He tensed suddenly then went back to being the limp body in my arms.
"I love you." Ed whispered as I opened the door of the bedroom. Al looked up at us from the corner of the room, running over to see if Ed was okay.
"I love you too." I set him down gently on the bed, throwing a blanket over him. I sat next to his head, gently combing my fingers through his tangled blond hair. I began humming the song that Al had told me was the song that their mother had hummed to them.
"Everything will get better soon." I whispered through my humming. I watched as Ed's eyes slowly closed, hopefully finally going to sleep. I sighed and lay down in the bed next to him, wrapping my arms around him; I didn't want to leave him. If I stayed in the room with him maybe he would get some sleep instead of following me around the house.
I closed my eyes and let a comforting wave of sleep overtake me.
