The Waters of Lethe
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, I just like to play around in it's world and torture Ed for awhile
Author's note: post series and rather AU. Some movie events will happen, but differently
Warning: May contain movie spoilers, plus bad language, violence, blood, death, and maybe sex.
Beta: Kittygirl109
32. Surgery (Chirurgie)
Professor Jungbeck slapped Edward's hands away from where they were tightly clutching his shirt just before he snapped, "Stop that, Herr Elric! I know you are in pain, but you must let us examine you. Now hold still!"
Edward responded by raising his head and fixing the man with a fierce basilisk glare, but the Professor obstinately refused to burst into flames. Defeated for the moment, he sighed, dropped his head back, and obediently moved his hands to clutch the sides of the examining table. Determined to be brave and not cry out again, he clenched his teeth and hissed between them in time with the pain throbbing in his gut.
A third-year resident named Fritz unbuttoned Edward's waistcoat and shirt, then the top three buttons of his pants before he pulled the cloth away. Edward nervously sucked in his breath and eyed him warily. Experienced fingers gently probed the area of the abdomen he had been clutching at while Fritz muttered "hmm" quietly.
"The skin is hot, and the abdomen is slightly distended in this area," he pressed down first on Edward's right side, then the middle, and finally the left side. Frtiz muttered "HMM!" even louder when Edward reacted with a loud yelp of pain. Fritz swept his gaze over his fellow students and residents assembled about the table and crowded at the door of the examining room before he addressed Professor Jungbeck.
"I diagnose appendicitis Professor, a severe case too. I believe the appendix will burst in the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours."
"And your recommendation, Doktor Leuhring?" Jungbeck asked in a dry voice without inflection.
"Immediate surgery is indicated, Herr Professor. There is great danger of peritonitis should material from inside the appendix leak out and cause an infection. Yet I welcome a second opinion." Fritz nodded to Johann, another third-year resident. He stepped forward and repeated the examination.
"STOP IT!" Edward screamed. "THAT HURTS!"
Jungbeck ignored his outburst and began to crisply issue orders, "Johann, today you will get your chance to be the head surgeon. Doktors Leuhring and Federmann will assist you." He nodded towards one of the few female residents in the room. "Doktor Langenhorst, you shall be in charge of anesthesia, so pick someone to assist you. But take your time because I must contact some of the living donors first."
The installation of Edward's experimental prosthetic limbs six years ago were complicated by his extremely rare blood type of AB negative. The hospital had no blood stocks of that type available, although it did have enough type O, the "universal type", so called because it was compatible with all other types banked. But this stock was valuable for that reason and Professor Jungbeck didn't want to dip into it if he didn't have to. The hospital had a list of "living donors", people with rare blood types who were willing to donate a pint of blood as needed. A few of them were AB negative and they lived not far away from the hospital.
Fourth year student Frida Langenhorst inserted a fine-gauge needle into Edward's left hand and taped it down, she had cared for him during his last serious illness and was familiar with his uncertain temperament. As the drug began to drip into a vein, she rubbed his shoulder and spoke soothingly to him. "Please be patient, Herr Elric, you will begin to feel a little sleepy in just a few minutes."
Not believing her, Edward gritted his teeth and felt embarrassed by his earlier outburst. He had endured the installation of these prosthetic limbs without screaming, he would not cry out again. Suddenly, he began to feel woozy as a sort of mental fog snaked tendrils across his mind. His abdomen still hurt, but it felt disconnected, as if it was happening to someone else.
He heard Frida say "He's ready" as if she was speaking from across the room, and he felt slight movement as the table he lay on was wheeled towards the operating theatre. Edward nodded off briefly, then snapped awake when the table stopped.