A certain blond haired alchemist gets sick… the only problem is that no one knows that he is actually a she, and hiding that fact becomes increasingly difficult when delirious with fever… fem!Ed, parentalRoy!fem!Ed

Thank you xIcyChanx for the wonderful fem!Ed stories that inspired this!

Set before things get really intense in FMA Brotherhood, Ed is around 14, Al 13.

When she had woken up that morning, the blonde knew that she should have stayed in bed that day. She was achy and shivering but quickly passed it off on the cold morning and her auto-mail. Unfortunately, she had to hand in her report on her latest mission to Mustang. Maybe if her brain wasn't so fuzzy with fever she would have thought of the more sensible options: calling in sick, asking for a time extension or sending Al to hand in that report.

Yes, that would have been the sensible thing to do. Instead, she sluggishly got out of her single bed in the military barracks. She didn't even have the energy to go on her usual complaining rant about how uncomfortable it was. She slowly got dressed in her trademark black shirt, leather trousers, red coat, platform boots and white gloves. Glancing out the window as she attached her silver pocket watch to her belt she shivered again. She looked at Al who was engrossed in an alchemy book by the table in the other corner of the room. She was grateful that Al was not paying attention to her. If her brother knew how lousy she felt right now, he surely wouldn't have let her leave.

She tucked her report under her arm and quickly slipped out the door without a word, not trusting her voice to speak.

"Si... Brother!" – Al called after her, correcting himself quickly in case someone else could hear, but she decided to ignore it and keep walking in the hallway. Al sighed disapprovingly when he got no answer. If Ed thought the details of her health could get past her brother, then she couldn't have been more wrong. She really should have stayed in bed that day...

Edward Elric could be described as many things. Being ordinary was most definitely not one them. He was well-known for becoming the youngest State Alchemist to date, performing transmutations with the mere clap of his hands, he was considered a child genius in alchemy. Few people knew about the fact that the Fullmetal Alchemist had two artificial limbs, better known as auto-mail since he had used them with such proficiency that rivaled his own flesh and blood ones. The list of trusted acquaintances that also knew the reason behind this fact, or that why his brother, Alphonse, was an empty suit of armor, was even shorter. By a long mile. But Ed's biggest secret, that only a handful of people were privy to, was that his name wasn't Edward, more precisely, he wasn't even a he… Her name was Edeline.

To tell you the truth she was always a tomboy, she never dressed or acted girly. So when, after her failed human transmutation that she attempted with her brother at the ages of 11 and 10, Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang visited her at Granny Pinako's and offered her the State Alchemist job assuming that she was a boy, she saw an opportunity to make everything right that she just couldn't pass up. You see because of an executive directive from the Führer President female State Alchemists were simply not allowed in the military, despite the fact that there were no problems with female soldiers. So Ed lied. Well at least about her name. Her gender was just a lie of omission.

And she managed to keep it a secret for almost three years now. No one in the military knew her real identity. When she and Al burned their house down, they also burned any official documents that could reveal the truth. In Resembool the state authorities were not as tight as in Central or East City, so they also had no records of Edeline's birth. They checked. After she became State Alchemist the documents were substituted with the fake information that she gave to the military.

She was very careful about concealing her gender. During the entry exams, it was quite easy. At the age of twelve, before puberty hit, only little tricks were needed to fool doctors. And they never made her strip beyond underwear. Nowadays she just refused any medical attention, bandaged her chest tightly and wore slightly baggy clothes. Her trademark red coat also did wonders. Al was reluctant to the idea at first but went along with it. Fortunately, he never messed up by calling her sister in front of others or by her full name ever. Her childhood friend Winry and Granny Pinako also knew about her attempt to conceal her gender and went along with it on the few occasions that any of them came in contact with the military.

Three other people knew that she was a girl, but they wouldn't have known of the gender swap for obvious reasons. Hohenheim, their father, hasn't been seen ever since that fateful day when he left his family ten years ago. He didn't even know that the siblings' mother, Trisha, was dead, so why would he know what Ed decided to become a dog of the military? Izumi Curtis, their alchemy teacher and mentor, and her husband knew her as Edeline too, and she wouldn't dare to face her with this new development in her life. Everyone else was blissfully oblivious and assumed her to be named Edward, and she fully intended to keep it that way.

Edeline pulled her red coat tighter against her now uncontrollably shaking body as she walked the cobblestoned streets of East City toward the Eastern Command Base. There was no denying it she was definitely sick… She felt so stupid for not thinking of something to get out of this sooner. She tried to adjust her pace to a bit brisker walk, hoping that the friction warmed her up a little but just ended up breathless, sweaty and utterly spent by the time she reached the gates of HQ. Then after stumbling her way in she was faced with the massive staircase leading up to the offices of the higher ranking officers.

Mumbling an assortment of swear words mixed with colonel and useless, she dragged herself up through several flights of stairs. Ed paused and leaned against the doorframe before entering the office where Mustang's subordinates worked to catch her breath. She felt really dizzy as she looked at the green walls and carpets but also determined to hand in that report no matter what if she had already made it this far. She put her face in her hands to rest to bit then pushed herself off the wall with a big breath trying to muster up the energy to face the Colonel but just ended up sending herself into a coughing fit. She didn't even hear the big oak door creak open behind her and almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her right shoulder.

"Are you alright, Ed?" a concerned Lt. Hawkeye asked who came out to check what the source of the ruckus was in the hallway.

She was seriously like a mother hen sometimes, Ed thought.

"Yeah everything is fine, just swallowed the wrong way," she croaked, barely managing. When did my throat get so sore?

Riza took in the boy's pale demeanor, not believing a word he said but let it go.

Ed walked past the lieutenant into the office gathering all of her strength to not sway or fall flat on her face. Havoc and Breda exchanged glances with each other, then with Hawkeye behind Ed's back. Riza just shook her head as she followed the blonde in gesturing them to ignore him for now. Ed strolled past the other subordinates, not daring to look at them, not wanting to see their worried expression. She opened the door and stepped into the colonel's office.

"Oh, Fullmetal, you are early. How unusual…" Roy paused as he glanced up from the massive stack of paperwork on his desk and took in Ed standing before him.

He was really pale, and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead despite the chilly temperatures outside. He had either just run a marathon, or he was sick, Roy pondered to himself.

"Here's your report, bastard," Ed tried to say as evenly as possible, but even to her own ears her voice was raspy and stuffed up. As soon as she placed the papers on Mustang's desk, she turned around as gracefully as she could and started to walk out of the office when Roy called after her.

"Wait, Fullmetal. Sit down until I read it over," the Colonel gestured towards the couch in his office. The blond alchemist grumbled at her plans being crossed by Colonel Bastard, but the sofa was actually starting to look quite inviting. She was so, so tired and still chilled to the bone from the cold autumn air outside. She might as well sit down and rest a bit.

Roy eyed Fullmetal suspiciously as he plopped down on the couch grimacing as if regretting the sudden movement. The Flame Alchemist turned back to the report in hand and read it over quickly. It was alright. At least considering Ed's standards. He suddenly got an idea, and an evil smirk appeared on his face as he peered over the paper only to find Ed fast asleep on the couch, his head hanging back on the seat.

Propping his head on his fist, Mustang took a moment to watch over his young subordinate. He looked so childlike in his sleep. With his stubborn and feisty personality, it was easy to forget that Ed was barely fourteen. He snored a bit as he apparently had trouble breathing through his nose. Seriously why did he even come in if he was feeling this unwell? I would have given him the time extension… Mustang mused but then quickly realized that probably was not the case, he would have given Ed hell about trying to skip.

Just then Riza entered, probably wondering about the quiet in the office. Usually, by this time, the loud banter and flame war of insults would have started already between the two alchemists. She glanced at the sleeping form of Edward and instantly furrowed her brows. She made the few steps to the couch placing the back of her hand on the blonde's forehead. Subconsciously Ed leaned into the cool touch which felt so good on her all too hot skin.

"He has a high fever," she commented quietly to Roy as to not wake the young alchemist.

"We should take him back to his dorms to sleep it off. I can drive him," Roy suggested. He was clearly concerned for the well-being of his underling.

"Don't think it's such a wise idea with how high his fever is. He should see a doctor. And after that, he will need someone to look after him. Al is only thirteen, I'm not sure he would know what to do," Hawkeye admonished his superior for his thoughtlessness.

"And your suggestion is, Lieutenant?" Roy inquired with a big smirk, a little too cheeky for the sniper's liking, who felt an intense itch to pull her gun on the alchemist.

"He should probably stay at your place. More appropriate with his gender."

Oh, if they knew…

Btw: English is not my native language, so if any mistakes got left in, I'm sorry. I read it over a few times, but I just can't see them anymore.