"Can we go home yet?" Ed rasped, voice still hoarse but bordering on whiny from where he sat on the hospital cot, swinging his legs impatiently.

Mustang cocked an eyebrow. "Has the doctor cleared you yet?"

Ed said nothing.

"then you have your answer." Roy supplied helpfully. Still, secretly he was a bit relieved. If Edward was complaining, then he couldn't be too badly hurt.

A few moments later, a woman in a white coat strode into the room, looking far too cheerful for the late hour of the night it now was.

"Hello there, Edward." she beamed at him. "What seems to be the problem?"

"My commanding officer dragged me here and won't let me leave." Ed supplied, fixing Roy with a glare.

The doctor's eyes drifted to Roy, who sat, still in uniform and arms crossed, looking unimpressed. "He was caught in a house fire earleir tonight. Keeps insisting he's fine, but he's also a habitual liar about that sort of thing."

The doctor's eyes widened, and she scrutinized Ed more closely- looking at his dirsty clothes and the singed ends of his hair and frowning.

"How long were you inside the fire? Any trouble breathing?"

"Uh... I was inside the whole time... No trouble breathing." Ed supplied lamely.

The doctor looked him up and down, eyes still wide. She turned to Mustang. "Was this the fire on fifth avenue?"

Roy nodded.

The doctor looked at Ed once again, a mix of horror and astonishment on her face. "That house burned to the ground. How on earth are you standing here?"

"It's a long story. I'm an alchemist." Ed said, not having the energy to explain it all. He lifted his sleeve to his mouth and coughed- a raspy, pained sound, like a broken motor trying to start with a wet rag wrapped around it.

Ed's sleeve came back sooty, and the doctor frowned.

"He's been coughing up that crap for the last hour." Roy supplied.

The doctor nodded, going for her stethoscope. "Right. I'm going to need to listen to your lungs- can you take off your shirt for me?"

Ed shrugged off his rather sullied red coat slowly- at first Roy mistook the boy's slowness for reluctance. But Ed paused for a brief moment in only his black sleeveless t-shirt, took a breath as though he were steeling himself, and grit his teeth before he was pulling his shirt over his head.

The banding of black and purple spread out in a macabre fashion- veins or purple, bands of it, really- peering around from the boy's backa nd wrapping around his lower abdomen, some of the bruising stopping just beneath his ribs.

The doctor carefully replaced her stethoscope around her neck, nodding to Edward. "On second though- first I should take a look at his. Are you in any pain right now?"

"I've had worse." Ed said simply.

The doctor nodded. "Can you lay on your stomach for me?"

Ed shifted, moving rather slowly- but he managed to lay on his belly. Roy carefully stood- wanting to get a better look at the extent of the boy's injuries. The bruising on the front of the boy's torso was nothing compared to his lower back. His lower back- nearly all of it- was a deep, deep purpose- an impossibly large bruise- like the boy had been in some sort of car accident, or been struck by something impossibly large.

"Do you know what caused this, Ed?"

"Beam of wood." Ed said simply. "Fell on me."

"Can you rate your pain for me? On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the worst you've ever felt and 1 being the least?"

"4. I'll sleep it off."

Roy exhaled through his nose- unsure whether to laugh at such an Edward-esque response or be alarmed.

The doctor nodded, the surprise slowly disappearing from her face as she saw Edward's automail arm. She allowed a small smile to creep onto her face. "You automail patients always have ridiculous pain tolerances." she said quietly, almost as though she were speaking to herself.

"She gently felt along Ed's spine, fingers moving with an expert but gentle touch to make sure that everything was in place and no bones were broken.

"Everything seems alright there- can you lay on your back for me now?"

Ed grunted in reply and turned over, a slight wince tugging st his features for a moment before it disappeared.

"It must've been quite the beam that fell on you, Edward. I'll need to feel your belly and make sure there aren't any other injuries. Are your ribs hurting at all? Any trouble breathing?"

"Ribs are bruised. Not broken. I can breathe fine."

The doctor nodded, before she was carefully reaching down to start to feel Ed's abdomen. Ed recoiled violently her touch, looking rather betrayed. "Your hands are cold."

"I'm sorry, I forgot to warn you about that." she rubbed her hands together to warm them, looking down at Ed "may I continue?"

Ed nodded, and she continued her exam without incident.

She continued on to listen to Ed's lungs with her stethoscope, before she nodded, as though satisfied with her exam.

"Can I go home yet?" Ed asked, rather tired of the whole ordeal.

"In a moment. I'd like to speak to you" she nodded to Roy "outside briefly.".

Roy nodded, and he and the doctor stepped out of the room together, closing the door behind them.

"How is he?" Roy asked, not wasting any time. He knew Ed was good at hiding injury.

"Considering the situation he's been through- remarkable. Anyone else would be dead. That little girl in the other room came from the same fire and didn't have a scratch on her- it's amazing."

Roy nodded. "Edward is a very skilled alchemist. I have some idea of the rough deconstructions he used to partially stall the fire and protect them. But he neglected to mention a beam of wood falling on him." Roy could hardly keep the annoyance from his voice at the last part.

"That's the worst of his injuries, to be honest. He's certainly sore- the bruising is severe, but from my exam I'm confident nothing is broken. His back is, in less clinical terms, bruised to hell, and he'll certainly be sore for a week or so- but that's the worst of it. Normally, my first worry would be smoke inhalation- his lungs did sound irritated, but I didn't hear any fluid or sounds suggesting further injury. My next major concern would be internal bleeding from the trauma of the beam falling on him."

Roy nodded. "Will you be doing any scans or x-rays?"

"I don't think it's necessary. I can say with certainty that no bones are broken- they were all intact on examination. And I honestly don't think a scan would be necessary- with the kind of trauma we're worried about, there would be obvious clinical signs of internal bleeding, like a swollen belly full of blood. He looked right as rain when I examined him- I honestly believe he's just severely bruised."

"So he's alright? He's still coughing up soot." Roy admitted, looking to the doctor for assurance.

"Yes. To be honest, that's to be expected- better for him to get it coughed out than have it stay in his lungs- if it does, it might cause pneumonia. I'm going to write a script for some medicine- an expectorant- to make it easier for him to cough all that up. It'll also be easier for him if he drinks lots of water. And- I'll be writing a script for some cream as well. It's a gel that helps alleviate pain from bruises on his back to help him rest easier. I'll have the pharmacy fill them for you in a few minutes."

"So I can take him home tonight?"

"Yes, I don't see why not. He should be kept warm and quiet for the next few days- in bed and resting. He'll be sore for a week or so, but nothing that will last too long."

"He'll be glad to hear that."

The door behind them opened, and Ed- clad in his shirt and coat again- peered out at Roy, looking rather irritated and tired. "Can we go yet?"

"Go lay down." Roy said simply.

Ed fixed him with a withering stare.

"I'm sorting out some medicine you'll need from the kind doctor here. Once we have that we can go. Now lay down. The sooner I get this squared away the sooner we go."

Ed nodded, still looking rather irritated, and shut the door behind him.

Roy sighed. "Sorry about that. Edward dislikes hospitals immensely."

"I can see why. He does spend a fail bit of time in them. I like to read the medical records of my patients before I see him- he has a file like a phone book." the doctor was smiling, though. Ed had that charm about him. "I'll go write up the medicine for your charge, M... ?"

"Mustang. But you can call me Roy." suddenly Roy was aware that it was well after midnight, he was covered in grime and dirt, and in front of a rather beautiful young doctor. He ran a hand through his dusty hair, trying to smooth it, and the doctor smiled.

"Well, Roy- that certainly is some young alchemist you ahve on your hands. I'll go gather up that medicine for you."

And she was gone.

Roy was about to go back int the exam room and give Ed the verdict when the sound of running feet stopped him.

"Roy! Hey, Roy!"

Roy turned to see an equally filthy and bedraggled looking Hughes trotting ove, though the man was much mroe cheery than he was at this late hour.

"Hughes. How's Elicia?"

"Incredibly cute. That's all the doctors could say. Not a scratch on her. But the doctors have given her princess bandaids anyways because she's so cute, and it's adorable and I have photos but I haven't been able to develop the film yet." Hughes smiled, holding up his trusty camera.

"That's good." Roy ran another hand through his hair.

Hughes smiled. "How's your doing?"

"Bruised and cranky. But he'll live. They're writing up some medicine to help him cough up the crap he inhaled and some cream for the bruises and then we're out of here. They want him to rest for about a week."

"Knowing him, he'll be up and about in two days." Hughes said with a grin.

"Not if I have anything to say about it. Doctors orders. Lord knows I have enough trouble wrangling the kid into the hospital when he is hurt- if I let him make himself worse then we're both screwed." still, Roy couldn't shake the slightly fond note from his voice.

"Are you and Gracia alright?"

Hughes nodded. "We've already made arrangements to stay with her mother across town. We'll figure something out. It's no big deal, really- a house is a house- things can be bought. Edward and Elicia are the only things that can't be replaced. Although-" Hughes frowned slightly "I lost all of Elicia's baby pictures. But it's okay. I'll take more photos of her."

Roy nodded. A nurse came over with a small white bag of medicines for Roy, and the two said their goodbyes.

Roy headed back into the exam room to find Ed laying on the exam table, half asleep.

"Ready to go, shortstack?"

"Finally." Ed swung his legs over the side of the table, brows furrowed in annoyance. "And don't call me short."

The kid really must've been tired. He hadn't even yelled.

Edward spent that night and most of the next day sleeping. It was comforting to see the boy resting, but unnerving that he was willing to do so without complaint. In Roy's mind, it only solidified that the boy's body needed to do more healing than it let on. He dutifully woke his annoyed blonde teenage alchemist to give him some of that medicine- an expectorant, the doctors had called it- to help him cough up whatever soot he'd inhaled.

Edward insisted his back was fine, but he was sleeping on his stomach, which informed Roy that the boy was lying. While he was asleep, Roy managed to smear some of the pain relieving cream onto the boy's back, and he seemed to rest easier after that.

On the third day of bedrest, however, Ed had decided he'd had enough.

Roy found him in the kitchen downstairs, trying to make scrambled eggs.

"You shouldn't be up."

"I was hungry."

"You could've called. I'd have brought you something."

"Mustang, as much as I like having you as my loyal manservant, there's some things a guy has to do by himself." Ed paused, stopping where he was using a spatula to stir his eggs and coughing, spitting a mouthful of soot into a nearby coffee mug he'd been using for an impromptu spittoon. Roy cringed, taking the mug from the boy and dumping it down the sink.

"Bed." he pointed upstairs.

"But my eggs!"

"I'll cook them and bring them up to you. You're still coughing up soot. The doctors said rest for a week."

"But I'm not tired!"

"Then read. Al has brought you plenty of research from the library. And I've got him working on a project for me as well."

"But I'm bored!"

"I have a project you can help me with too. But I'm not going to tell you what it is unless you go. Rest." Roy hadn;t stopped pointing with one hand, as he took the spatula with the other and kept cooking the eggs.

Ed was a mixture of grumpy and intrigued as he stomped upstairs and climbed back into his bed.

A few minutes later, Roy came upstairs with a plate of scrambled eggs, which Ed eagerly devoured.

"So- what's this project you want my help with anyways?" Ed asked between mouthfuls of food.

"Actually, it's the same one Al is helping me with. He should be back with the materials soon."

They fell silent, the only sounds for a few moments Ed demolishing his eggs.

Roy simply watched him. "Were you scared?"

Ed looked up, golden eyes questioning.

"In the fire. After everything you've been through, being trapped in a fire is probably the last thing you'd need. I was frightened watching it. Knowing you were trapped in there and I couldn't get to you." Roy admitted.

Ed nodded, setting down his fork. "Yeah. I was scared. But Elicia- she was talking. crying, actually- and I realized I couldn't fall apart. I tried to breathe deep, even though there wasn't a lot of air, and I just had to keep going. So i got us downstairs in the flooded bathtub, and then I put us underground. And I just waited. Elicia was really scared, and so was I, but I just tried to be like you, when you calmed me down before, and it seemed to work out alright. I should've been more scared, towards the end- I was too tired to use my alchemy to get us out from underground. But I wasn't, because I knew you'd find us- I wasn't on my own anymore."

Roy nodded, looking pensive for a moment. He looked up, meeting Edward's eyes.

"I'm proud of you, Edward."

The door opened downstairs, and large, hollow footsteps let them know that Alphonse was home and climbing the stairs.

"I got the materials you asked for, Colonel. It took awhile- there was a lot mroe than we thought, I talked to nearly everyone in Hughe's office." Alphonse set down a rather large box on the floor, and a shopping bag beside it.

"This is that project you guys were talking about?" Ed sat forward in bed, looking interested.

Roy nodded. "Hughes mentioned all his photo albums of Elicia's baby pictures were lost in the fire." he said seriously.

"But luckily the Colonel knew that Hughes has shown people so many pictures and given them away that there were a lot out there. We just had to gather them up from everyone who's gotten some. Including us, brother-" Alphonse held up a few photographs.

"So I just need your help sorting them out and putting the album together." Roy opened the shopping bag, pulling out a large red photo album with gold trim.

"Sounds easy enough." Ed sat up in bed, and Alphonse moved to open the large box of photos, which they started to spread out on the bed.

One hour turned into four like nothing- there were little pictures, of Elicia when she had just been born, wrapped in a blanket, and cute pictures of her in a ladybug outfit and various baby clothes as she grew up. They decided to order the album chronologically- starting with the youngest pictures and moving to the oldest. It was fun to see not only Elicia, but also themselves grow- there was a picture of Ed holding Elciia as a newborn- he'd only been 12 at the time- and one of a toddler Elicia chewing on Al's gauntlets, and pulling Roy's hair. In one photo, Elicia was clinging to Roy's leg while he did paperwork in his office, green eyes impossibly big as she gummed on the every end of Roy's pantseg. She'd been teething.

It was also fun to see themselves in the background. In one of the pictures, Elicia crawled on the carpet of Roy's office, reaching towards the camera, while in the background, Ed had just thrown a chair at Mustang- the chair was mid-flight towards Mustang, who was making hasty retreat after calling Ed short.

The door downstairs opened. "Anybody home?" Hughes voice drifted upstairs, and the man himself followed, holding something steaming in his hands.

"Hey guys! Ed, I see you're resting up nicely." Hughes smiled, holding the steaming pan in his hands higher. "Elicia's resting at home with Gracia too, but they wanted me to bring you this apple pie!"

"That's great, Hughes." Roy said, looking up from the snapshot in his hand.

"We have something for you too." Ed said, holding up the closed and finished book in his hands.

"What's this?" Hughes set the pie on the dresser and stepped closer, taking the book from Ed and opening it.

When he saw what was on the first page, he gasped, turning to the next, and then the next, as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

When he looked up, a few tears were on his cheeks. "This is amazing! I thought I lost all her baby pictures in the fire." he breathed, lips trembling.

"You did. But luckily you were always giving the spares and extra photos to anyone who'd listen." Roy admitted calmly, smiling.

"It was the colonel's idea." Alphonse said, nodding. "We just gathered them from the people you'd given them too and arranged them".

"It's perfect." Hughes set the album on the bed with shaking hands and pulled Ed and Roy into a hug with one arm, reaching for Alphonse with the other.

"You guys are the best!"

"We know. Now quit with the mushy stuff already and let's eat some pie!" Ed exclaimed.

Done! One big, happy ending!

But I'm not finished writing FMA fanfiction. I'm thinkg of doing mroe Ed angst and whumph in the future- mainly, a fic where Ed has to go into a warzone when war breaks out and fight. And looses his innocence along the way. Or another idea I've been toying with is Ed gets put in a dangerous position by a military officer superior to Mustang and holds his ground and loyalty. These are just ideas I'm playing with right now. Let me know what ou think!