One Foot In Front of the Other

Chapter 6 Honesty

I woke in the middle of the night to a wave of pain and nausea powerful enough to jar me from sleep. I moaned softly as the pain racked my body, wishing once more for a way to end it. Ed (who had finally had his wounds treated,) had been asleep in the chair beside my bed but woke to my sound of pain. "Hey," he murmured softly, "Are you alright?" I shook my head weakly. "What's wrong?" he asked, frowning. I didn't answer. He placed his left hand on my forehead, and his eyes widened. "Holy crap you're burning up!" He yelped. "It's cold," I complained, "And I don't feel good." Ed slid a small trashcan next to me as he darted out of the room. "If you're gonna be sick try and get it in there." He fired over his shoulder as he left. He was back in a moment with a thin blanket and a rag soaked with cold water. "Sorry, but this is all I can give you." He apologized as he handed me the blanket, "I can't risk your fever rising any more than it has already." He wrung out the cloth and laid it across my forehead, and I whined at the sudden cold. I tried to push it away, but he stopped me. "I know it's cold. I'm sorry, but I need you to leave it there. It'll help bring your temperature down." I opened my eyes to look at him, ready to argue, but the world spun and my nausea worsened. I rolled over, abruptly emptying the contents of my stomach into the waste bin. I groaned as my pain increased tenfold, tears springing, unbidden, into my eyes. "Here." Ed murmured, helping me sit up partially so he could pull my hair into a loose braid. I closed my eyes, leaning into his touch. "There." He said after a moment, "That should keep your hair out of the way." His tone was drenched with empathy, and I wondered if he was recalling his own suffering, so many years before. He helped me lie back down, and readjusted the cloth on my forehead. "Ed..." I groaned, struggling to speak, "How long..." I didn't have the strength to finish, but he knew what I was asking, and he winced as he answered. "I don't know. I'm sorry, I know it hurts, but recovery time is different for everyone so I really can't tell you how long this will last." Blue eyes met golden ones as I whispered, "But... it will end?" Ed bit his lip as pain flashed across his face, and I realized that, in that moment, more than anything, he wanted to lie to me. He wanted to tell me that it would end, and that my suffering was not in vain, but Ed wasn't a liar. Sure, sometimes he'd gloss over the truth when it came to his health, and sometimes he'd leave out fights or details of his missions when he didn't want Winry to worry, but when it came to the important stuff... stuff like this... well, he was honest to a fault. He wouldn't lie to me about this because if he gave me false hope he would feel he'd betrayed me when I finally realized that things were not as simple as I had supposed, and that this pain would continue, in one form or another, for the rest of my life. "No," He said, his voice barely audible, "But it will get better. You just have to keep fighting." Despite my pain, I could feel my eyelids getting heavier. "And I'll be right here by your side every step of the way." He promised. I yawned, and he smiled. "Get some rest." He suggested, and I fell asleep to the gentle, steady sound of his breathing. He was breathing because of me, I realized, and that was worth all the pain. I slept dreamlessly that night, my pain nothing but a dull echo in the background of my mind, aware of Ed's presence even in my sleep. Unfortunately, that was the last peace I was going to know for a long time, because it was all downhill from there.

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SO there's another chapter! Sorry to everyone reading this, I know I haven't posted in a while. (Technical problems and such, but I think I've gotten everything fixed now.) I know this is short but hey it's something. I should have another chapter up soon.