Recovery
Recovery
Mustang-Elric Apartment
9:00 am
Edward was bored. It had been three days since his collapse, and his family still wasn't letting him out of bed. He blamed Granny. She had scared Dad and Ji Mu into thinking he would relapse or further damage his leg, or refuse to stay home if he was allowed out of bed.
To be fair, he probably would refuse to stay home. There was so much that needed to be done still. As it was, his dad wouldn't even bring him any paperwork to look over! Ed groaned as he rolled over. He was so bored he was wishing for paperwork. Clearly laying in bed wasn't good for a person if they started begging for paperwork!
The door opened and Yuery's head poked around the corner, before their eyes met, and Yuery rushed into the room. Someone had brushed his hair and dressed him very recently, Ed could tell because his usually wild hair was almost smooth, and he was still wearing his socks. Yuery never stayed completely dressed unless they went out. He seemed to find socks offensive without shoes, and pants were only slightly less annoying to him. "Daddy! Yous waked!" Yuery declared as he jumped onto the bed. Ed automatically wrapped an arm around the excited child to prevent him from falling.
"Yes, Yu. Daddy is awake now." Ed replied, gently correcting the child's speech. He often repeated the child, with corrections. How else was the boys going to learn? "Have you been being good for Yeye?"
"Uh huh." Yuery nodded. " I eats the yuck."
"You ate your eggs? Good boy. Is Will being good too?"
"Na-ah. Will'am bad. He throweded his yucks." Yuery said solemnly.
"He threw his eggs." Ed said with a sigh. He understood. He did. He hated milk with the same passion Yuery hated his eggs. Yuery still needed to learn the word, if for no other reason to be able to tell people he didn't like them. Before Ed could say anything else, Will toddled into the room as well, before running over to the bed and attempting to climb up next to his brother.
He too, had been recently dressed. His brown curls were smoothed flat like his brother's, and he was also wearing a clean outfit. The lack of stains or dirt suggested he had just finished dressing. Ed reached down with his other arm and pulled the boy into bed with him and Yuery. William then wiggled around until he was wedged under Ed's arm against his chest with Will's head pressed to Ed's heart. "Dadda. Dadda up."
"Yes, I am up now." Ed replied and he hugged both boys. The only good thing about this whole thing was having all day to spend with his boys, if only he would be allowed to get up to enjoy it. He didn't get a chance to say anything else before Roy appeared in the doorway, drying his hands on a dishtowel which explained how both boys had managed to sneak in the room. Roy must have been doing the breakfast dishes.
"There you boys are, you can't just go walking off on Yeye like that. You'll make him old." Roy said as he walked into the room.
"You're a Yeye. You're already old." Ed said with a smirk.
"Haha. Very Funny. " Roy said drily. "I see you're feeling a bit better."
"I'm completely fine, you just won't believe me." Ed pouted as he sat up to prove his point. "You could at least bring me something to read."
"I'll bring you a few books, if you will stay still. You really scared us there Ed. We weren't sure you were going to wake up." Roy said as he sat on the edge of the bed and reached for William, who reluctantly climbed into his lap. The baby wasn't ready to leave Ed yet, so Roy settled further back on the bed to let the boys visit for a few minutes. He was sure Ed was missing his sons as much as they were missing him." It was all I could do to talk Al out of marching back across the desert. If not for Mei he'd be halfway across by now."
"No, I forbid it! Al's not to attempt to cross the desert, he's not strong enough!" Ed said as Roy gave him a pointed look, Ed fell back with a sigh.
"I didn't mean to scare anyone Dad. I just wanted to help and get as much shelter in place as possible before the weather gets worse. " Ed said as he hugged Yuery, who refused to leave his lap. "Winry isn't speaking to me at all."
"Winry isn't here. She went to Resembool yesterday to help Pinako finish a large order." Roy said with a frown. "Did she not tell you?"
"No. After she arrived yesterday morning and lectured me about my leg she walked out of the room and I haven't seen her since." Ed said. "I can't even go after her because you won't let me out of bed."
"Let her alone for a day or two." Roy suggested. "She's upset right now that you were so sick, but she'll be back soon enough. She's not going anywhere Ed, she loves you and the boys."
"Has Ji Mu ever decided to just not talk to you?" Ed asked.
"Yes." Roy said, then sighed. "Though all things considered I am not certain my relationship is the best to measure against anyone's. Riza has also sworn to shoot me in the back should I stray to a dark path, and nearly did on Promised Day, I deserved it."
"Well, then get me the phone. I'll call Ms. Gracia. She can tell me." Ed said. A part of Roy wanted to laugh at the seriousness of Ed's expression. Except it was the seriousness of his expression that had Roy heading toward the phone. He was obviously genuinely worried, and Roy laughing was going to make things worse. Roy didn't think the boy had anything to worry about. Winry was just upset. However, talking to Gracia would offer more comfort than Roy could about this, plus she might be able to convince Ed to take his condition seriously. Ed needed to call his brother as well, Al wasn't going to calm down until he heard Ed was fine from Ed himself.
Rockbelle Automail Outfitters
9:00
Winry sighed as she finished packing up the latest arm. Granny had a rather large order to complete and needed help, but that was mostly just an excuse. Winry was upset. When she'd gotten the call that Ed had collapsed, she had been terrified. It was too much like when she'd been called to replace his arm over the years.
He wasn't doing field work anymore! He had people to do these things for him, it wasn't supposed to be this scary anymore. Traveling and separation she could handle. Going to help people rebuild, well helping people was who he was, she couldn't imagine him NOT trying to help people. She just was terrified one of these days he wasn't going to make it back. Just like her parents.
How was she going to sit there and explain to those boys their Daddy was never coming back? It was hard enough to try to explain to Yuery that Auntie Rose had been gone, and William had been too little to ask for her at all, but they were getting bigger every day. Winry didn't even know why this time had upset her so much. Ed hadn't been attacked, he hadn't had a building fall on him again.
He'd spent too much time out in the sun. It could have happened to him anywhere! He could have been out working on fences or Granny's roof and it happen. So why was this so hard this time? Winry thought about it, and realized why it was bothering her. She hadn't been there, because she had left. It was for work but she had been the one who left this time, he had walked her to the train station and watched her ride away, waving happily, and then went out and almost died on her.
Had he died, she wouldn't have had a chance to say good bye, because she had left him behind, just like her mom and dad left her behind. Just like she left her boys behind including Ed. It was different when he left, sure she worried, but she was always there, waiting for him to come back so he did. She left and he had no one to wait for him.
Winry knew then that she wasn't being reasonable. This was something she was going to have to work through, because she couldn't leave her patients waiting until the Ishbalan Project was completed, but she couldn't worry like this the whole time she was working either. She had trusted Ed to come home that whole time he was searching for a way to fix Al, now she needed to trust him to be at home when she came back herself.
"Granny. I messed up." Winry said quietly, while she finished wrapping the metal in long strips of fabric.
"What happened?" Granny asked looking up sharply, worried the girl had forgotten a screw or something from one of the models.
"I left almost as soon as I got home yesterday. I only stayed long enough to yell at him over the burn on his leg. I barely even hugged the boys, I only spent an hour with them. Ed and my boys must be so upset Granny." Winry said, even as she began calculating how much longer it would take before she was able to head back home. "I was so scared and worried when I got that call, that I rushed right home but I just got so mad that he was being so reckless!"
"Well, Edward has always been reckless. If he thinks that pushing just a bit further will help someone he'll do it. We both know this, he is taller and more mature now, but this is still the stubborn boy who recovered from double automail surgery in a year. This is the young man who was impaled at the bottom of a mineshaft and four months later saved the entire country. He's stubborn, I would have been more surprised if he had managed to finish the entire project without suffering from heat stroke at least once." Granny said as she lit her pipe.
"He never takes care of himself." Winry said with a huff. "The only reason he didn't starve to death all that time he lived in the dorms was because Al was there to remind him. Ling said that Greed had to threaten to tie him up to make him stay in bed to heal after he was impaled. "
"You knew this about him well before you agreed to date him, let alone marry him." Pinako said. "Now I will give you the same advice given to me and that I gave your father. You cannot change someone. You cannot expect that they will change just to please you, therefore you have to decide, can you love him with his flaws? If you can't then you will just make both of you miserable in the end. If you can, then you can help him where he is weak and he can help you where you are."
"You make it sound so easy" Winry said with a sniff.
"Life isn't about easy. It never has been and never will be. Life is about surrounding yourself with those you love and doing your best to make the world a better place for those around you. Whatever his flaws, you can't deny Edward does exactly that."
"I just wish he would take himself into consideration."
"That's his flaw. It's your job to help him through it."
"Thanks Granny. I think I need to go home to my boys. They need me, don't they? All three of them."
Winry hugged her grandmother, then ran upstairs to change and pack. She was still upset, still hadn't really forgiven Ed for his last huge mistake. She couldn't imagine a left where he wasn't part of it, so it was time to make amends.
Hogwarts School
Headmaster's Office
Midnight
The woman who had given the prophesy, Trelawny, was here in the castle. Dumbledore keeps her mostly hidden away, but she was teaching here. Snape hadn't recognized the name at first, but then he saw her in the hall. She recognized him, and informed him that she found him rude. He wanted to talk to her more but he'd been summoned to the Headmaster's office.
Severus Snape slipped silently into the office and spotted Dumbledore at his desk writing what appeared to be an official letter. As Snape approached the desk, Dumbledore set aside the parchment and smiled. "Thank you for joining me tonight Severus."
"You did summon me Headmaster." Snape replied stiffly as he looked the older man over. He appeared to have abstained tonight, which was an improvement. Four times now, Snape had forced potions down the man's throat to prevent alcohol poisoning, and frankly he was tired of it.
"I've decided you were quite right Severus. I have allowed my emotions to get the better of me, and as a result have been failing in my duties. I will not regress." Dumbledore said, pretending not to notice the doubt in Snape's eyes. "I have a favor to ask Severus. It appears that Elric has managed to disappear with the boy. I need you to try to locate them."
"What happened to your spy?" Snape asked. He couldn't refuse outright, it would look strange, however, the oath he had taken would prevent him from giving them any information he found or didn't find. This would be problematic.
"She is still there, and it is my understanding still under the impression they intend to return. The problem lies in that they have been gone now longer than one would assume they would take for a holiday."
"Was she not paying attention to their plans as they prepared to travel then?"
"She said she wasn't quite certain what they were talking about, however, given the way they spoke of it she assumed that she should." Dumbledore replied while fidgeting with an ink blotter to keep his hands busy. He was still feeling the need to drink but he refused to give into the desire. It wasn't helping, if anything it was making it harder. "She did say they mentioned more than once that they were both involved in the 'Ishbalan Restoration Project' though I have no idea what an 'Ishbalan' is it is likely why they have been gone."
"Perhaps she should acquire a newspaper. It sounds as though the Project would appear." Snape said. "An Ishbalan is a race of people."
"Perhaps I should have sent you instead." Dumbledore replied.
"That is hardly a feasible solution. Who would you have spy on the death eaters then?" Snape sneered. "I am to disappear for months or years at a time , then what am I to tell them when I reappear?"
"What did you tell them about your time at Spinner's End?"
"Nothing. There were none that asked at that time"
Dumbledore nodded but otherwise said nothing, Snape sighed before adding. "When do you want me to go and how long shall I be gone? I will simply say I'm having a holiday abroad."
"Leave immediately, once you have established that the Boy didn't just disappear with the child, and that they are safe you may return." Dumbledore replied. Snape nodded, and left without another word. Dumbledore sighed before returning to the parchment, he wasn't okay yet, but he was getting there.
His personal issues needed to, once more, take the backseat to his goals. Just like his feelings needed to be set aside. If he was going to save as many as possible, he would have to set aside everything except his goals. It was hard, harder than it should be all things considered, but it was what needed to happen.
Voldemort- Tom Riddle- he wasn't dead. Dumbledore had hoped at first that he was, but too much pointed to he wasn't. The research he had conducted had explained how and meeting the boy, teaching him during his time at Hogwarts explained the why. Now though Dumbledore needed a better plan. Originally, when he had learned that Harry was still alive, Dumbledore had briefly hoped. It was too late.
Horcrux. When Dumbledore first uncovered evidence that this was what they were working against, he rejected the ideal. It was worse than Grindelwald which, all thing considered that said a lot. The worst part, was it looked like there was more some more than one made and floating around. He needed to find those pieces, and destroy them. He needed to so that without tipping off anyone else that he knew what they were.
Journal Three
1625-1635
01/09/33
Perenelle has lost another. The fourth.
I am begging her to stop, to not do this
To herself anymore. I have told her, I
Do not care I need her more than I need
A son. She insists that I am lying to her
About how I feel on the subject.
Demetri has become a wealth of
Emotional support for me. I can lean
On him so that she may lean on me.
I really do not know what I would do
Without him at this point. That said,
Something happened last night, and
I am not certain whether I should
Encourage such behavior, ignore it
As a one time event, or discourage him.
I am in love with my wife. I am. I think
I may also be in love with Demetri, and
I don't think Perenelle... I do not wish to
Hurt her with that.
_T.B.V.N.F.H.
03/09/33
We came to an agreement, Demetri and I
Perenelle cannot find out about us. He is
Happy to keep us private. I am out of
Practice, I have not courted another
Man since Hiro many years ago now.
I am playing with fire and I am well
Aware of all this could cost me. I
Tried to resist. Now I can only hope
She never learns of this.
_T.B.V.N.F.H.
12/12/35
Demetri has suggested a change of
Scenery may help Perenelle recover.
He has sent a recommendation to
The Headmaster of Hogwarts School
Of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
I loathe to ask, but I felt I must. I
Was however a tad tactless when
I asked if the idea came as an
Attempt to be rid of me without
A fuss. He took insult to the
Question and I am afraid we grew
Rather loud in our disagreement.
Of all the ways for Perenelle to
Have discovered my…indiscretions
I would have preferred nearly anything
To learning of it by overhearing our
Breakup on the eve of her latest
Loss.
I am uncertain if I can repair
My marriage. I am uncertain
If I truly want to after everything
I've done to hurt her. Perhaps
She would be better suited free of me.
I've known her for ten years, today.
I have brought her nothing but pain.
_T.B.V.N.F.H.