Nightmare

Review Replies: Lilith, yes, Ed's stronger than people think. Thanks for reading. radcat, thank you. It was hard to try to get into the guys' minds and deal with what they've been through, so I'm glad to hear I'm doing it realistically. As for Winry, you'll at least get Al's thinking on her this chapter. MaryLover, Thanks for reading. This one's more emotional and political, so there isn't going to be a lot of action or even parting of ways. So hope you enjoy it. chelzi, thanks, and like I said above, Al's feelings will surface this chapter.

Chapter 6

Roy looked up to the sound of a knock at the door of the room he shared with Ed. He saw Riza’s head poking in through the opening of the door, as though taking a peek first at Ed’s bed to ensure he wasn’t in the room, then over at Roy.

“Brigadier General, sir?”

“Yes, Riza?” he asked, tiring of hearing his title, and knowing the bright woman would realize his purpose for calling her by name.

“The rest of the team… and Major Armstrong would like to see you.”

Despite all of the drama surrounding him and said team at the moment, Roy smiled. “Bring

them in.”

Riza returned the smile as she opened the door wider, letting in the flood of blue-uniformed men. Roy soon found his bed surrounded by his team, all talking at once, all expressing concern for his health and well-being. There was an odd feeling of familiarity, that as they saw him like this, he was no longer their commander or a hero to “save” anything. He may have been older than all but Armstrong, but gone was treatment that he was somehow above them.

“How are you feeling, sir?” Falman asked him.

“I feel better every day,” Roy said.

Havoc looked over his shoulder at the other bed. “And the boss? He’s not here?”

“He’s at therapy.”

There was a uniform nod from the five men.

Even the usually boisterous Armstrong was silent at that.

“Brigadier General?” Fuery asked.

“Roy,” the man said, “please, I don’t even know if I’m going to be a brigadier general or even a private after the JAG is done with me. So all of you, call me Roy.”

“Roy, then,” Fuery said, taking a very visible swallow. “Did they really… Did they hurt Ed like the rumors say?”

“I cannot say what the rumors are on Ed’s condition,” Roy said, somberly, “but I doubt they came close to describing how he suffered.”

“Poor Ed,” Breda said. “And they’re still going to bring him to court.”

Roy’s eyes snapped up. “Court? Why?”

“Because he was listed as AWOL,” Breda answered. “It’s the same reason that we were all cleared of charges in order for the JAG to prosecute you and the first lieutenant.”

“I’m glad to hear that you are all cleared of charges,” Roy said. Though, he had to admit that while he was surprised by the methods, he was anticipating some attack from the Judge Advocate General's office. They had all been brought in as military attorneys under the fuhrer's reign. Though he at least knew that the judges within the same judicial department were appointed by parilament and ran a much more diverse gambit in their loyalties and opinions.

“I think it is a great disgrace,” Armstrong said. “You have heroically ridded this country of a terrible tyrant and they are charging you for assassination. Then, they try to put your fellow team members against you rather than at your side by putting the blame for our actions upon you. I would rather stand by your side, Roy. It goes against Armstrong family honor to allow someone else to take the blame for one’s own actions.”

Roy shook his head. “My only regret is that Riza will be prosecuted as well. When I did this, I hoped that I would be the only one to face disciplinary action.”

“That isn’t fair, Chief, we all did what we did because we believed in it,” Havoc said.

“And in you, sir,” Falman said, folding his arms across his chest.

“In other words, Roy,” Riza said, “no playing the martyr. Got it?”

Roy sighed. “No, I suppose not.” He looked at the people around him. “Well, is there anyone at the JAG who isn’t still loyal to the fuhrer and furious with me for ruining a good thing?”

Falman shook his head. “Unfortunately, there are none there who would be capable of defending you as they were brought in by Fuhrer Bradley. And not one has a clear record of keeping his or her own personal opinions out of any matter.”

“You sound as though you read all of their case files,” Havoc said. Falman opened his mouth, obviously to confirm that was what he’d done. “Never mind. I should know better with you.”

“Which is why you will need another member of the military with the ability to defend you,” Riza said with a smile. “They need to be able to think on their feet, be fairly intelligent, and have some background with law.”

“In other words, I’m going to be doing it,” Breda said. “You know, sir, you’re really ruining things for me. I was hoping to coast my way to retirement, depose one or two fuhrers on the way, but stay relatively out of the limelight.” He smiled.

“And though I do not have law training, I will assist with research,” Falman said.

“And Fuery and I are going to do our damndest to make sure they don’t turn our statements on you.” Havoc stuck his hands in his pockets.

Roy wanted to protest, to tell them not to tie themselves to him, as he was a sinking ship, but instead, he said. “Just promise me that you will offer the same thing for Riza, Ed and Alphonse.”

“Of course we will,” Breda said. “We owe at least that to all of you.”

Roy smiled at them, feeling more relieved knowing Ed, his brother, and Riza would be defended. “Thank you.”

********

“I heard the nurses talk about the fact that Roy doesn’t need to be here anymore,” Ed said to Dr. Hector.

“His injuries could be handled at home now,” Dr. Hector said.

“But he won’t go. He said he’s waiting for me to be able to go with him.”

“And how does that make you feel?” she asked him.

“Weird,” Ed admitted. “He never seemed to… you know, care before.” Ed flicked a ball of fuzz from the armrest of his wheelchair. “I don’t want pity.”

“I’ve been working with the brigadier general as well, Ed, and it isn’t pity.” She tucked a piece of graying brown hair behind her ear. “He, as you said, cares.”

Ed sighed, but said nothing for some time, preferring to continue to flick off a few specks of dust from the armrest of his wheelchair. “I hate this thing, you know?”

“The wheelchair?” the woman asked, her soft blue eyes scanning over him.

He nodded. “I mean, at least I can get around, but I miss being able to do it on my own.”

“Well, you’ll get your automail leg soon, won’t you?”

Ed sighed and rested his head on his automail hand, his shoulders shifting to support the sling and cast on his other arm. “Winry said the surgery will have to wait until I’m a little better healed. And even then, it will be at least six months before I can really use it.”

“Well, by then, you’ll be getting around with crutches at least.” Ed didn’t respond, but the idea of six months, hell, even six days seemed painful. He didn’t want to be a burden anymore than he already was. “So tell me a little about Winry. She’s more than just your mechanic, isn’t she?”

“Sure,” Ed said. “She’s been my friend since we were little kids. My brother and I used to fight over her. That’s kind of funny now.” Yet, there was nothing in his voice, demeanor or mind that was mirthful.

“Why?”

“Well, Al’s a better choice any day over me,” Ed said. “And really, I’d let him have Winry.”

“Before I address your self-deprecating comments, let me say that as a woman, I the idea of you passing her off to your brother like an item is somewhat grating,” Dr. Hector had an eyebrow raised, but nothing in her tone was accusatory or angry.

“That’s not what I meant,” Ed said, defensively. “I just… I don’t think of Winry that way. I haven’t for a while.”

“A while being more than two months ago?”

Ed just nodded. “But lately, I haven’t really been thinking of anyone that way. I just… I can’t. What I used to think I liked, well, I don’t know if I could anymore.”

“Ed?” Dr. Hector said.

“Maybe they were right and I am just a freak,” Ed said.

“Edward,” the doctor’s voice said, sternly, forcing him to look up. “Not a thing they said about you was true. You are a strong, intelligent young man. You are trying to recover from an experience that is naturally going to be difficult, but still you try. That hardly makes you a freak. It makes you special and admirable.”

He bit his lower lip. He wondered what she would think if she knew.

“Ed, talk to me.”

He shook his head, wrapping his automail arm around himself. “Can’t.” How could he say aloud that sometimes, not often, he managed to get hard, that once, the son of a bitch had managed to get him off? How could he tell her that after a while, his body had decided this was all it was going to get, so it would find pleasure from it? Where were the words for that?

********

Al was still sitting outside of his brother’s therapy session, watching as Winry carefully made adjustments to the automail leg she had made for Ed. She loved his brother. Al realized that, and there was a startling moment where he found he’d decided he wasn’t going to be a second choice. Winry wanted Ed, Ed didn’t seem to want her, and Al wasn’t going to be a consolation prize.

There was something strangely frightening and empowering in that small decision. Maybe after Ed got better, he would decide he liked Winry. If he did, then that was wonderful, but Al knew he wouldn’t hold out hope that eventually her attention would turn to him.

“Do you think he’ll get better?” she asked with genuine concern.

“He’s usually really resilient,” Al said. “But this… I don’t know if anyone could get better after this. Even brother.”

Winry looked at him as though his answer had disappointed her, but he felt he was just being honest. He wasn’t going to sugarcoat what he knew was true. This was a horrible thing that had happened, and Ed wasn’t bouncing back like he had from so many things in the past. Al knew that things were bad if Ed couldn’t even manage his usual false optimism, even when things seemed their worst. If Ed was beyond even false pretences of being well, Al knew a quick recovery would not happen.

Al saw Riza pacing down the hallway and she signaled to him to come with her. He was surprised by it, but he followed nonetheless.

"Lieutenant?" he asked politely. "You're usually with the brigadier general when you are here."

"It is a bit crowded in there," she said, though she continued to walk down the hall to a more secluded area, again gesturing for Al to follow her, which he did. "Alphonse, I have heard from Breda that two of the four planned arrests concerning the fuhrer's death are to be made this afternoon."

Al's face began to grow red with anger. "They can't!" he said, much too loud for the hospital. "My brother is just healing, and they are actually going to blame him? And the brigadier general! He saved Ed from that monster and they are going to arrest him?"

"It isn't them the soldiers will be coming to arrest. At this point the JAG feels that in their current conditions, they aren't a threat to anyone. However, that cannot be said of their accomplices." Her tone was even, and despite Al's outburst, not once had she told him to keep his voice down.

"Us?" Al asked in a hiss, as though the air had been let out of him. She nodded. "They can't do that. I only just got to see my brother."

"They can, and they are. You have to understand that the JAG was hired by the fuhrer, and they are not exactly happy by what transpired two weeks ago."

Al folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. "Can they even prove the fuhrer is dead? I heard there wasn't a body."

"There wasn't a body of the fuhrer, but there was of his son and there was a fire of massive proportions."

Riza put her hands in the pockets of the black pants she wore, almost as though she didn't know what else to do with them. "And in order to comfort your brother after night terrors and even ones during the day, Roy has confessed to the crime several times."

"And because of that, you are being arrested?" Al asked.

"I shot Colonel Archer in plain sight, and it is fairly obvious I knew and 'colluded' with Roy's intentions."

Al nodded. "And I still have the charges from the fuhrer for withholding the philosopher's stone from the government."

"Yes," Riza said.

"Running away wouldn't be an option even if we wanted to because we have the brigadier general and Brother here." She opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. "I know that you would not run even if you could. I was only saying."

He looked down at his hands. "When are they coming?"

"They will be here in a few minutes," she answered.

"Do you have any idea where they might take us?"

"In Central's brig. At least, I know that is where I will be going until more is decided. You might find yourself there as well."

Golden brown eyes looked up to meet rust-colored ones.

"It isn't right. Isn't fair. And what will they do with Brother afterward? And the brigadier general?"

"Breda is serving as Roy's attorney. He's already pushing for house arrest for Roy and including Edward in that because of how much your brother seems to rely on him."

“I hope it works. For them at least."

"So do I."

The younger man put his arm around Riza and together they waited for their fate.

********

Ed had heard Mustang yell before, usually at him, but today, it seemed almost a steady, loud roar. In the back of his mind, Ed knew he should fear it. He should be afraid of someone yelling as Mustang was yelling at the moment, but the part of him that wanted to rant and rave and was being suppressed by memories and nightmares was enjoying the sight too much to consider fear.

"What the hell do you mean that they have been arrested?!" he asked Falman, who looked more flustered than Ed could remember seeing him.

"Sir," Falman said. "Breda is there now arguing that they are necessary to your and the major's recovery."

"They did nothing more than what was necessary! They are not criminals! Why would they arrest them when they let the rest of you go with not even a slap on the wrist."

"Because the JAG wants revenge, Mustang," Ed said quietly. "The fuhrer was malicious and knew how to hurt someone. Believe me, I know.” He looked away distantly for a moment. “You have to know that anyone who worked for him that close would know how to do it just as well as he did."

"That is exactly what Breda believes," Falman said. "By placing more of the blame on both of you and Alphonse and the lieutenant, it helps them paint you as criminals and still hurt you by hurting them."

Ed thought it was a fairly devious plan. He wondered whose idea it truly was: the man who had tortured and tormented him or the people he trusted to serve as his lawyers.

********

"Judge Campbell has been assigned to this case," Captain Anton de Havilland said. "He has never made sentiments known, but I do not believe he will be seeing things from our perspective."

“Then what do we do?” Captain Gustav Messerschmitt asked. “It was your brilliant idea to let Mustang’s men go free.”

Anton turned on the older but smaller man. “Are we making accusations?” Dark brown eyes glared. “Because when word reached us all about the fuhrer’s death, I do not recall you making any suggestions.”

“We trusted you, but I am considering that it might be an error in our judgment.”

“That’s just fine,” Anton said, long, pale fingers curling on the back of the chair in front of him. “So tell me, what do you think will happen when one of the people who think like Mustang gets in office? Or Mustang himself? What will happen to us? There isn’t one here who can honestly say that we have a clean enough record to withstand a new fuhrer trying to shake down the current administration.”

“So why did we let Mustang’s supporters go?” Gustav asked, getting fairly bold for the normally weaselly man. Anton assumed he had already heard from the other higher-ups in the JAG that they were thinking the same thing. Gustav certainly would not have had this sort of initiative on his own or it would have been him in charge of the JAG rather than the considerably younger Anton.

Anton smiled as he turned from the man and checked his appearance in the nearest window, smoothing down a loose pale-blond lock. “We let them go because they were supporters, Gustav, surely even you could comprehend that. If they are all charged with the same thing, they are equals, six people, including Mustang and the woman, who all believed the same thing, who have started a wave of rejecting King Bradley’s administration. If we try them all successfully, they are a group of martyrs who did the best possible thing for their cause. If we try only Mustang and Hawkeye,” Anton said, turning back to face the gray-haired man, “then we can show that they bullied their team into taking those positions, commanded them to defy the military and risked their jobs and our way of life.”

The younger captain looked down upon the older one. “Surely you must understand that if Mustang becomes a villainous figurehead, we will be able to keep our jobs and our freedom. Of course, considering I’ve got almost half the years on my record that you do, I wonder what would be discovered in a thorough rifling of your personnel and criminal records.”

As anticipated, Gustav backed down.