Crippled

Drama/Romance (Pairing: Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell)

Summary: Edward managed to get his brother's body back, but he had to pay a high price for it – his right leg, and an inner organ. Confused about what to do, Alphonse takes Edward to Risembool, Rockbell house. How will this change Winry's and Ed's relationship?

Note: This story WILL be rate M. I'm not going to write a story how Ed and Winry kiss and fall in love and marry in abstinence. Haha, no. Besides, I tend to swear in my author's notes. So, to sum it up:

NOT FOR YOUNGLINGS. GOT IT?

The first chapter isn't that bad, actually. Just a little gore-y.

I tried to write this story as realistically as possible in the anime world of Edward and Alphonse Elric. The story is based off the anime (Fullmetal Alchemist, not Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood), and is following my version the events after about when the Philosopher's Stone had been transmuted into Alphonse.

Update: Special thanks to reviewers Hugh Haiter and Cirdan for correcting me during the whole "checking Ed's organs" part. I can't believe I made so many mistakes! I really should pay more attention to House, M.D.

-x-

Edward's POV

I heard a distant voice scream. "Ed? Edward, where are you?"

That voice…could it be that of Alphonse?, I thought as I slipped in and out of consciousness. I brought my hand down to my right leg, and felt the stump that now resided there. I had lost my right leg, but still; I smiled to myself. The transmutation had worked.

It had worked. After six long years of searching and trying, it had worked.

I felt a pair of warm hands take me by my shoulders, and lift me from the ground.

"Edward? Ed, can you hear me?" I heard the voice plead.

I grunted, and attempted to open my eyes. It seemed like all of my energy had left my body, and I couldn't even manage to do this simple task. Minutes seemed to pass, but my eyelids slowly fluttered open. My eyes widened at the sight before me – my brother, Alphonse, was holding me in his arms. He seemed to have aged, resembling now a mature 16-year old instead of the 10-year old he had been then.

"A-Alphonse?" I managed to whisper, my eyes not leaving his.

"Yes, it's Alphonse, Ed," he answered, smiling at me as he tightened his embrace. "Don't try to talk, Ed. You-your leg -" he choked on his last word, looking away for a moment.

"It's all right, Al. At-at least we got your body back," I whispered, smiling slightly at him.

"But…no – this wasn't how it was meant to happen," he said, looking at my missing leg before turning back to my face.

"Al, it's all righ – " I managed to say before I felt the taste of blood rise in my throat. I managed to turn my head away from Al just in time as I threw up a massive amount of blood.

"Brother? Brother!" I heard him say, but his voice was fading as I fell into unconsciousness.

-x-

Alphonse's POV

"Brother? Brother!" I said to him, but he fell limp in my arms.

I lifted him closer to myself, and pushed the side of my head against his chest. I let out a sigh of relief as I heard the beating of his heart – it was faint, but it was there. I grabbed the nearby case – which I had swiftly taken my pants out of before I ran to brother – and tore up the shirt in it. I tied a bandage around his stump of a leg. My brows furrowed in frustration – this was all too familiar. I had done exactly this when we had attempted human transmutation on mom – when Edward had lost his left leg and right arm.

I stood up, and brought my hands into my hair. What was I supposed to do? I kept running my fingers through my hair, frantically thinking of what I should do now. The closest city was miles away, but…Risembool was near. Yes, Risembool! I tried to remember what brother had said to me before we attempted this transmutation – we should have never attempted it at all. I would have gladly stayed in a suit of armour if being human meant my brother would have to be crippled even further. Snapping out of my thoughts, I concentrated on what he had said – that is what was important now.

I kept glancing between the book I was holding and the ground in front of me, trying desperately to copy the transmutation circle in it with precise.

When Scar had transmuted the Philosopher's stone into my body, brother had immediately attempted to remove it from me. He couldn't do this in Lior as he needed his books and notes, so we waited until the battle in Lior would be finished. Out of brother's wishes, we stayed close together. Soon enough, we were on a train back to Central.

It took brother days to figure out the correct transmutation circle that he would be able to use and not break my blood seal. He had been terrified – scared of erasing me from this world. I, however, was confident in brother – he was a skilled alchemist, and I knew he was the only one who would be able to do this, and the only one I would trust enough to do this.

The memories flashed in front of me, but it wasn't what I was looking for – was my memory so hazy because of the transmutation or because I was panicking? I had gone too far into the past. Grunting, I tried again, attempting to recollect my thoughts.

Eventually brother drew a transmutation circle on my chest plate, and made me stand in the middle of one. He was trying to use the components of the elements surrounding us to create a barrier between my body and the stone, and then ultimately remove the stone from my body.

"Al, if I fail - " he had started, but I cut him off right there.

"Ed, it will work – I trust you, and I know you can do this," I said, giving him a thumbs up, and hoping to ease his tension.

He gave me a small smile, and drew a deep breath. He clapped his hands together slowly, and then lowered them onto the transmutation circle.

I don't remember much of the transmutation – even though I didn't know it was possible, I had fallen into unconsciousness. Or rather, not unconsciousness – it felt like a deep slumber, as if it was the way my armoured body would sleep if it could. When I emerged from this slumber, brother was kneeling in front of me with his head hung low – I also saw his tears making their way down his face.

"Brother?" I said, unsure of what was happening.

I saw that he was clutching something very hard, until he heard my voice. He looked up, and his expression lit up immediately.

"Al?" he asked, a small smile across his face.

"Who else?" I joked, then looked at his hand. "What on earth are you holding? Your hand is about to fall off!"

He chuckled slightly, then looked at his hand. He had let the grip loosen of whatever he was holding, and opened his hand. I gasped loudly as the small, red rock lay in his hand.

"Al, it's the Philosophers Stone," he said.

"Al? Al, anybody in there?" brother said, snapping me from my thoughts. I had forgotten that I was drawing a transmutation circle – the one that would bring mine and brother's bodies back from beyond the Gate.

"Oh, sorry, brother," I said hastily, and continued drawing with the chalk.

"It's okay. I just wanted to tell you that this," he said, holding up a case, "is where your replacement clothes are. I don't think you will be returned with them from beyond the Gate, so just in case," he said, smiling as he set the case down – brother sure thought of everything.

I snapped my eyes open – his next words…

"And Al…if something goes wrong, Risembool is two miles north from this clearing," he said, gesturing at the small, empty field we were in. "Just that small path has to be followed, and it will lead to the train station."

Now I knew why we had chosen it – originally I had thought it was because of the hardened, muddy ground which was easy to draw on.

"Why would anything go wrong?" I asked, my brow furrowing. The circle was perfect – there was no way we could be wrong.

"I said if, didn't I?" he said, chuckling.

Risembool: two miles north. I kneeled down to brother – his breathing was shallow, and his heart was faint, but he was still alive. I reached my arms around his torso, and gently lifted him up. I twisted my body so that I could place him on my back, and then stood up.

I now noticed that I was taller that Edward – man, was he going to have a fit about that later, when he wakes up.

If he wakes up, a small voice in my head said, but I ignored it. Brother would wake up – I know he would.

I started walking slowly, as I was not yet familiar with my body – feeling Ed's weight, the ground beneath me, the clothes on my skin, the different scents in the air…after being deprived on these senses for six years, it was difficult becoming used to them again. Gradually, I started quickening my pace – I knew that brother couldn't wait too long.

I made my way through the small path brother had mentioned before the transmutation, and I soon heard the loud clanging of the train passing by Risembool. Ed groaned out of his pain, motivating me to move faster. Soon, I reached the train station, which was now deserted.

"I have to go to the Aunt Pinako and Winry's house," I thought, tightening my grip on Edward. I had wished that they wouldn't see him like this, but now it was unavoidable. At least the Rockbell house was the nearest from the train station.

After a long, slow walk, I managed to carry Ed to the Rockbell house. I was glad that I was almost there – even though walking was now easier, I had been gradually growing weaker. My walking had slowed down, now, as I was just taking slow, small steps instead of the rapid walking I had done earlier.

It was dark; twilight began to seep into the sky. I knew that Aunt Pinako and Winry wouldn't see me approach the house. Eventually, I reached the stoop. I stopped in front of the door, drawing in a deep breath. Brother wasn't bleeding too badly now – I could tell as his blood had stopped excessively flowing onto my back. I reached for the doorknob, and twisted it open. Thankfully, as it was early evening, it was unlocked.

I saw Aunt Pinako and Winry's shocked expressions, but I ignored them.

"You have to help Ed!" I shouted desperately.

-x-

Winry's POV

It had been a completely normal evening – I had been working on adjusting various automails today, ranging from feet to arms. A curious task for me was fixing an automail eye which hadn't been able to see color. However, I was up to the task and managed to get the man to see all the colors of the rainbow. Hah, it was something I could boast to Granny all day. At least I had thought so.

I had barely managed to get two words out before the front door had opened. We weren't expecting anyone, so I turned around and was shocked by the sight.

"Al?" was all I could say, as I stood frozen.

The man, who I strongly thought was Alphonse, stood a few feet from me with Edward on his back. He looked like an older version of the Al I had known – did they finally get their original bodies back? My eyes widened as I took a closer look at Ed – he had been bleeding heavily, as Al's whole back was covered with dried blood. I gasped as my gaze ventured lower – his leg. His right leg was gone. I felt my knees give out as I slumped to the floor, too shocked to do anything. I felt the tears pool in my eyes, and they slowly fell down my face.

"Winry, Aunt Pinako, please help Ed!" he shouted again, putting Ed on a nearby couch.

Granny was able to react quicker than I was, and walked to Ed as rapidly as she could with her short legs. I heard her shout something at me, but I couldn't move. I couldn't believe that Edward had been hurt again, crippled again. Alphonse ran to me, and started shaking me back and forth.

"Winry! Pull it together, Edward needs you," he said to me, looking into my eyes.

At his words I snapped out of my faze, and stood up on my unstable knees. I bit my lip in hope of stopping my tears, but I couldn't help them from falling as I looked at Ed. Granny had began to wash and disinfect his stump.

"How can I help?" I whispered, looking at his face. He looked…calm.

"Go and get some bandages, so we can start wrapping up his leg," she said, then turned to Al. "Was his leg his only injury, Alphonse?"

"Yes. No," he said, putting his hands into his hair. "I don't know. I'm sorry. He…he vomited blood before passing out," he said.

"It could mean that he has internal injuries, then. I won't be able to tell anything of them, though. Winry, would you be able to?" she asked, looking at me.

"I-I think so. Just let me go get something," I said quickly, and then turned my heel and ran. I heard faintly Al say "Wouldn't a doctor be better?", to which Granny had answered "He lives far away, Al. And I don't think Edward can wait that long".

"Edward can't wait that long," I kept thinking as I opened the cupboard next to the door of my automail repairy. I took as many bandages that could fit under one arm, and then ran to my parent's study. Granny had kept the room as it was, but I never went in it as it reminded me too much of my deceased parents. However, Ed needed me now.

I took a quick breath. I turned the knob and ran to the bookcase nearest to me, blocking out all the pictures of my parents, and me as a young girl. I scanned through the books with my eyes, sliding my hand along the spines. Finally, I found what I was looking for: The Basics of Human Anatomy. I placed it under my other arm and ran back to Edward.

"Here," I said, giving the bandages to Granny.

She and Al began tying Ed's leg while I opened the book, searching for a diagram of the inner organs. I quickly read the footnotes, telling me how to check for any injuries. I put the book down, and ran back to the repairy. Granny and I always kept a CAT scan machine handy so we could check for any other injuries when people came here with a broken automail, or even sometimes with a bloody stump. Like Edward. Like Edward now, and all those years ago when he had lost his arm and other leg.

The CAT scan had been a new development – the imaging was blurry and shaky, but it was there. Granny knew a successful doctor in Central who had kindly donated one of the machines to us.

Swallowing the lump in my throat and fighting my tears, I started pushing the CAT scan towards the living room. When I reached the room, I carefully set the camera over Edäs body. I placed my hands on his chest and ripped his shirt open – I knew I didn't have time to carefully pull it over his head. I dimmed the lights in the room and took several pictures of his chest and abdomen, and waited for the machine to print them out. Because of how Ed was lying down, I had to twist the screen in an awkward angle, and possibly blurring the pictures. However, I hoped they would turn out all right.

The pictures printed just as Granny and Al finished tying Ed's leg. I took the pictures and turned on the lights, and reached for the book. The book in one hand and the pictures in the other, I began comparing the diagram and Ed's CAT scan.

I scanned the pictures quickly – in his chest, his lungs and heart seemed to be all right. Then I checked his oesophagus, stomach, gall bladder, pancreas, intestines, spleen and kidneys. Looking at the pictures and expecting the worst was the hardest thing I had ever done – especially because this was Edward. Ed, the boy I have known all my life, and who is like a best friend to me. Or was he more to me?

I gazed down at him, and felt…as if my heart was breaking. What if Ed dies? The thought brought more tears to my eyes. I wiped them away, and began closing the book. He didn't seem to have any serious internal injuries, which I was glad for. However, a shadow in his scan caught my eye. A shadow, just above his stomach. As if something was…missing. I hastily opened the book again, studying the diagram.

It was the liver.

Half of his liver was gone.

I felt more tears start to pool in my eyes as I shakily flipped the book to a part specific about the liver. I read quickly, until I saw what I had been looking for – I had known this, but couldn't think of it in my panic:

The liver is the only internal human organ capable of regeneration.

I smiled slightly to myself – he would be all right. Granny and Al looked at me in a confused manner. Of course they would; I hadn't told them anything. I turned to them.

"Half of his liver is gone," I started, before seeing this was a mistake – I should have said "He will be all right", or something.

Both sets of eyes widened, and neither could speak for a second.

"Ha-half of his liver?" Al managed to stutter, before walking hastily to Ed. "What is going to happen to him?"

I dropped the book, and brought my hands to Al's shoulders. "Al, he will be okay! Al, the liver, it can regenerate. It will take time, but he will be fine!" I said to him, smiling as I felt happy tears leak down my face.

Al looked at me for a while, before, much to my surprise, wrapped his arms around me and embraced me tightly. His head rested in my shoulder, and I felt his tears on my skin. I brought my hands to his back, and moved them slowly and soothingly up and down.

"Th-thank God," he whispered.

His words surprised me – Ed and Al had often stated how they don't believe in God, but in alchemy and Equivalent Exchange. However, I understood – desperate times called for desperate means.

-x-

So. How do you guys like it? I gave you a fucking long chapter (for once), so no telling me it is too short. It took fucking seven Word pages, and I say that is enough.

Reviews make me happy. I'll write more soon if I get some.