Soldier Keep On Marching On

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Tell me what you want to hear
Something that will light those ears
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away
This time
Don't need another perfect lie
Don't care if critics ever jump in line
I'm gonna give all my secrets away

**********

Recovery was a slow and rather boring process. At first, every small process that required stomach movement floored her for minutes on end. Even hyped up on meds the dulled pain still managed to kick her ass for the better part of two weeks. For the first week, Aiden was bedridden and served light meals until her stomach could handle harder foods - and when that happened Kain brought her a burger (which she almost cried over). Though she did cry when the doctor scolded them for bringing her greasy foods. She blamed it on the medication.

With so much time on her hands, she found herself regressing back into her teen-like mindset. Sue her if needed, but Aiden felt that her Millennial needs weren't being met when no one responded to her death jokes as she wanted. Well, the nurses and doctors didn't. The team had grown accustomed to her strangeness and didn't bat an eyelash at the stupid things spewing from her mouth. Ed took it in stride and they bonded over all things self-deprecating while Alphonse, the poor soul, was now on the receiving end of two conniving children.

Nearly a month after she'd woken up Aiden had been cleared for mobility via wheelchair. Jean became her new buddy in racing down the halls, much to the displeasure of many nurses and Riza. Roy on the other hand found their races amusing and often acted as the finish line while Maes and Elicia commented on their superb performances.

Walking was easy, all she had to do was keep to the crutches she'd been given and avoid stressing her core. If at any moment she felt pain that was too much to handle, Aiden was to find a doctor or nurse immediately or sit and wait while someone else did.

As the two and a half mark of her stay at the hospital neared, three weeks of it being spent unconscious, Aiden was approached by doctor McCoy. A knock sounded at the door and Aiden glanced to her right. "Come in," she said, breathing deeply.

Not all of her time was spent goofing off with whoever decided to visit her. Aiden spent a large amount of time trying to stop her muscles from atrophying further than they already had. Stretches came first and when those no longer hurt she moved onto push-ups and planking as long as she could, building up both endurance and muscle. Of course with only a few weeks of practice, there wasn't much improvement. Still, something was better than nothing at all.

Shoes clapped against the tiled floor and stopped very near. "I thought I told you not to do anything too strenuous."

Aiden sighed and shifted into a sitting position before getting up, brushing away the small specks of dirt from her sweatpants. She then deposited herself onto her hospital bed and raised an eyebrow. "Happy?"

"Immensely," McCoy replied just as blandly.

It was very early on when she learned that, while her doctor was a trained physician, he rarely acted like one. He preferred to act more like a friend to his patients rather than a stone-faced machine that spouted answers like they were common knowledge when they weren't. The man earned her respect when one time he walked in with tousled hair, dreary eyes, large coffee in hand and growled, "I fucking hate mornings."

The admission startled her and Aiden almost choked on her breakfast when her laughter became too much. He had to slap her on the back and clear her airway. The man was an overall chill kind of doctor. Which was like a breath of fresh air in the stifling hospital.

She snorted. "What's up Doc?"

"Just a few things to clear up before you're released into the world."