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Ed was holding Al's hand as tightly as he dared. He'd seen him in front of his Gate, but Al seemed even frailer now. More likely to blow away in a mild breeze. Al wasn't supposed to look like that.
He was sleeping. He had been for a while. Five years was a long time to go without sleep, so Ed didn't really blame him.
Though, with his mind wandering, he couldn't help but wonder if this was even a little bit like how Al felt for so long. Watching over him, nothing to do but sit for eight hours in near total silence. It was excruciating to not be able to do anything, to be completely helpless. He hadn't felt like this since Nina... He hated it.
He held on just a little bit tighter.
Alphonse couldn't do anything on his own in his current state. He needed help breathing, moving, eating, doing anything other than sleep, really, and even then he had sedatives to keep him out.
Ed decided that if he never had to look at a hospital again, it'll be too soon.
Al stirred a bit. Not nearly enough to actually be fully conscious, just barely shaking off the latest batch of medications. Good. It was about time for him to eat.
For a week, Ed had made sure to be right next to Al whenever he woke up. Sure, he left a few times whenever he was forced to, but he was never gone for long. Al never left him, even when he damn well deserved it, so he wasn't going to leave Al.
It's what big brothers are for.
"Big brother?" Al's voice was raspy and quiet from disuse, and the oxygen tent made it even harder to hear him properly.
"I'm here, Al," Ed squeezed his hand a little bit. Technically, he wasn't supposed to be holding his hand, but that's his little brother, damn it, and even Fuhrer Bastard is gonna be hard-pressed to make him drop Al's hand.
Al smiled. "The medication's worn off a lot sooner than last time."
"Really? I didn't think you were well enough to develop a resistance to it yet."
Al hummed, but didn't say anything. He looked to still only be half awake, still very much out of it.
"Big brother?"
"Yeah, Al?"
"You remember what mom did when we'd get hurt as kids?"
Ed thought for a moment. "When she send one of us to get Winry's parents?"
Al moved his head in what was probably supposed to be a nod, but he didn't have a comfortable range of movement quite yet. "She used to ask to see where we were hurt, then she'd kiss the wound when we showed her."
Ed scrunched his nose playfully. "I never really understood why she did that. It didn't do anything."
"Really?" Al asked, "I always felt better when she did."
"Ah," Ed nodded, "Maybe it was just a me thing. I don't exactly play by the rules."
Ed was sure that if Al could breath properly, he'd huff a little laugh. He settled for the smile he got, though. That was enough. Anything Al could do right now was enough.
"Ed?"
"Al?"
"I hurt."
Ed adjusted in his seat and moved closer to Al without disturbing the tent more than he already was. He hated this. "I know, Al, you're gonna hurt for a while."
There were tears in Al's eyes. "I hurt more than earlier."
He brought Al's had up and bent down to kiss it. "Feel better?"
This time, Al did huff a laugh, "Yeah," then he started coughing.
It wasn't like the normal coughs. This sounded deep, straight from his chest. He was starting to curl up into the fetal position, unable to get his breath.
Quickly, Ed ran to the door and opened it. He wasn't going to leave Al, but there had to be someone nearby that could help, right? A nurse or a doctor or another patient walking the halls that could call for help.
There was no one, and Al's coughing was getting worse.
He left the door open and rejoined his brother's bedside. He didn't dare open the oxygen tent to hold him, but he did lay his hand on his leg. "It's gonna be okay, Al," it had to be, "You're gonna be okay." He had to be. Ed couldn't lose him. Not again. Not after everything. He couldn't lose his little brother.
He ran to the door again. Still no one. Damn it!
He looked back at Al and decided, "I'll be back in less than a minute, Al. Hang in there, okay?" Without waiting, he ran to the T at the end of the hall to see if he could see anyone. Anyone. Even a kid would be able to get help! But there was no one there. "What the fuck kind of hospital is this if there aren't any fucking medical staff around!"
Turning back, he hurried back to Al's room. His coughing had died down to barely-even-there, but there was blood on the pillow next to his head.
"Al!"
"Big-big brother," he coughed again and more red stained his pillow.
"Al," he sat back down in the chair he'd been all but glued to for the past week, unable to really do anything, "You're gonna be okay, you hear?"
Al opened his eyes a crack and stuck his hand out of the oxygen tent again. Ed was quick to take it. "Tell me..tell me a story?"
"Sure, Al," he was getting a bad feeling, "Anything you want."
Al hummed. "Something with a happy ending."
Ed wasn't sure he knew how to tell a story like that, but he's a fast learner. He gently squeezed his little brother's hand. "Once upon a time, there was a girl named Wendy who had two brothers named Micheal and John,"
Al smiled softly, "I knew you liked the books I read,"
"I read the books you read. Doesn't mean I liked them."
"Sure, big brother, whatever you say."
"You want to hear the story or not?" He'd tell him anyway.
"Sorry, sorry," he had nothing to be sorry for.
"Wendy, Micheal and John Darling. They lived in a big house with there parents and their dog..." And so he went, telling an old children's story their mom used to tell them to go to sleep. When they'd set out to find a way to get their bodies back, Al had found the books that told the story of Peter Pan. His favorite was Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Ed hadn't ever really been a fan of fantastical stories, but Al liked it and that was good enough for him.
At some point, sometime between the Darling Children arriving in Neverland and Wendy meeting the Mermaids, Al feel asleep. It was then that a doctor finally came in.
"What did I say about leaving this door open?" he griped.
Very carefully, Ed turned to glare at the man. "Where the hell is your staff?"
"Pardon?"
"There was an emergency and not a single person was where I could get to them!"
"I assure you-"
"Yeah, yeah, shut up and do your fucking job."
The doctor put his hands on his hips. "Excuse you, young man. I don't care who you are or what you've done. I will not be talked to like that in my hospital."
Ed raised his eyebrow and then turned to face Al. "He started coughing real bad. Then he started coughing up blood."
The doctor hummed but didn't say anything. He was checking Al's chart, periodically glancing at him. He saw the blood on the pillow and pursed his lips. "I'll be right back." He shut the door behind him.
Ed started grumbling about useless doctors. After a minute, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down.