Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Gravity Falls. They are owned by Hiromu Arakawa and Alex Hirsch, respectively. I only own the OC characters.

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Twisting and turning around the cars in her way, Katelyn raced over the speed limit towards the town's hospital. It was several miles south of Portland, far out of the range where everyone had assumed Ed could have been held captive. After she had went out on her own, she made sure to keep everyone updated on her progress. But now that she had found Edward, his health was what concerned her more now. Once he had been treated, she would have to remind herself to call them. Both of their other siblings were most likely worried sick, Alphonse even more so. He hadn't seen his older brother for nearly a month.

She was still consciously aware of the blond holding onto her tightly as she finally pulled into the parking lot of the town hospital. She never bothered with learning the name of it, but she knew it was small, almost like Gravity Falls. The large headlight switched off as she threw her motorcycle into park. Ed let go of her as she stepped off the bike. Carefully, she eased the boy into her arms, carrying him bridal style. He did it so willingly that it made the young woman worried for him. It wasn't like him at all. But she had no time to waste. She walked briskly into the facility, right through the front door.

"I need a doctor!" she yelled into the waiting room. "Please, it's an emergency!" Other patients who were sitting nearby gawked at the sight of a young woman holding an even younger boy in her arms. What made the sight more shocking was the boy's naked body, and the number of wounds that covered it.

Katelyn continued to make her way forward. The receptionist at the desk in front of her had looked up at the commotion, her mouth dropping open when she laid her sights on Edward. She immediately called any nearby and available personnel from the phone on her desk, informing them of the situation. As soon as she was done with the call, a small team of nurses burst from the doors to the left of the desk, wheeling out a gurney in between them.

"Put him here!" one of the nurses ordered Katelyn, her eyes widening at the state of her burden. "What the hell happened?!"

"I-I don't know! I wasn't there." It was partially a lie. She knew exactly what sort of injuries Edward had, but she had never witnessed them being administered. Well, except for one. Her regret welled up inside her again, and she squashed down the thought before it could run rampant in her mind. With no more hesitation, she eased Ed down on the gurney. Her hand lingered in his before she pulled away to let the nurses take him.

This, however, seemed to be a mistake. As soon as Katelyn's hand left his, he bolted up into a sitting position, managing to grab onto her again. His metal appendage squeezed her fleshy one hard enough that it almost hurt. Edward looked scared and confused, like a vulnerable child. "Don't leave me!" he begged. "Stay with me, please! I don't wanna be alone!"

The nurses tried to pull the frightened teen back down onto the gurney, but he fought them off, refusing to let go of Katelyn. The young woman could do nothing as he clung to her like a lifeline, her eyes wide. Anguish churned in her gut, trying to silently convey to the scared child that he was safe, that he was going to be left in good hands. The look in Ed's eyes was enough to send something akin to despair to fill her soul. The trauma he had endured was recent. He probably didn't even know where he was. He just didn't want to lose what was familiar to him.

Eventually, one of the nurses pulled out a syringe and pushed it into Ed's neck. The boy's pleas were cut off as the plunger was pressed down, the sedative coursing through his system. His hold on Katelyn weakened, and his hands fell as he lost consciousness, the nurses gently settling him on the gurney. "Just wait here," the nurse said. Katelyn didn't respond to her, keeping her gaze fixed on the sleeping child. The nurse sent her an apologetic glance before she and her team wheeled Edward into the bowels of the hospital to evaluate his condition. It pained her heart to let him out of her sight, but she knew it was for the best. She didn't have the means to give him the kind of help that he needed.

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It took a few hours, but it felt like days. Katelyn sat in one of the waiting room chairs, her head in her hands and her leg bouncing nervously. She hated waiting, especially in this hospital. It was too white, too sterile. It reminded her too much of that white void inside her mind that was her prison once. But that was a long time ago.

She needed to know that Ed was okay before she contacted anyone else. She had to make sure that he was completely safe before she allowed herself to breathe calmly again. In the meantime, she waited, the anticipation bordering on agony. She would not fail him again in that regard. She would have done the same for her brothers, if they were still alive...

She shook her head. Those painful memories threatened to resurface again in her head. She didn't have time for that right now. She didn't have the luxury of thinking how every time she looked at Ed, she realized that Jonah would have been about his age if he was alive and well, not burned to a crisp and crushed under the fallen rafters of a burning barn, his blackened body right next to Noah's, who was much younger and so much smaller than his older brother. They had probably screamed for her too, begging for her to save them. Ed was no different from them now, but she was grateful that he hadn't turned up dead, like she had feared.

"Ma'am?" Katelyn looked up at the female voice right next to her, pulling her from her musings. The woman looked professional, her auburn hair swept back in a ponytail, her glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. Her deep brown eyes held an air of sympathy in them. Her white labcoat flowed just past her knees.

The young woman stood up when she was addressed, stretching her legs. "Katelyn is fine," she told the older woman. She kept her gaze steady, assuming calm once again.

"Katelyn," the woman started again. "My name is Dr. North. It's a pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand towards the brown-haired girl, who took it firmly in her own grasp and shook it. North immediately went straight to business, since she noticed that the girl was dying for information.

"That young man you brought in," she explained, "is stable now." She flipped through the clipboard in her hand. "Tell me, what's your relationship with him?"

"Uh..." Katelyn didn't know how to describe her relationship with Edward. He was annoying at times, sure, but she knew she was exactly the same when she was his age. And besides, she actually found some of his antics very amusing. She liked to constantly tease him about it, much to his chagrin. It was absolutely hilarious to watch him blow up at any mention of the word "small." It reminded her of her brothers again. It saddened her to realize that Edward may never return to his usual self. "We're not really family. But I am friends with him. He does have family that I was planning to call later, but I don't know how long it'll take for them to get here."

Dr. North contemplated this for a moment before shrugging it off. "Alright," she stated. She looked down at her clipboard again. "I have his test results here." She noticed the young girl tensing up. She waited a bit before diving back in. "Most of the lacerations were cauterized, which prevented any infection, but the injury on his hip was still serious." She flipped to the next page and held back a tired sigh. She didn't believe she would ever have to file these sorts of injuries, especially with a child. But she took a deep breath and continued. "There has been evidence of multiple penetrations in the rectal area. We were able to swab for DNA samples and concluded eight different signatures. We successfully identified seven of them."

Katelyn struggled to even out her breathing. This only confirmed her suspicions, and it stuck out clearly to her. Reality came crashing down on her from all sides, threatening to suffocate her. She had never wanted this to happen to him.

"Furthermore," North continued, Katelyn snapping her head back up to face her again, "we have found the same DNA signatures in his oral cavity."

Her vision blurred, but she was able to stay upright. This was worse than she could have ever imagined. She felt the urge to curl in a ball and sob her heart out. But she had to stay strong. She had to be there for Edward.

North stared at her. "You do realize that this could constitute a police investigation, correct?"

It was the first time that the doctor had seen panic flash in Katelyn's eyes. "Don't tell the cops, please!" The young woman's stare was intense. "If you need me to pay you for it, I can. Just please make sure that no police know about this." Katelyn hardened her gaze. "I assure you, it's been taken care of."

Dr. North decided not to question the firmness of the girl's statement. Whatever had happened, she clearly did not want to dwell on it. "Very well," she said. "No payment will be necessary for that."

Katelyn breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank you." She looked back up at North. "Can I see him now?"

"Of course," the doctor replied. "He's asleep still. You can see him, then go and make your call."

Katelyn nodded at her. Dr. North turned around to make her way further into the hospital with the strange girl following her.

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Author's Note: I decided that after being away for so long, I should give you guys another chapter. I've been at home sick for the past couple days, and I haven't had a lot of energy to write. I've given further insight into our OC character, giving her a bit more depth. I still haven't gotten a lot of opinions about her, so let me know if you're enjoying her so far. Obviously, considering the circumstances, she's acting way different than how she normally does. I'm still really tired, so all this rambling probably doesn't make any sense.

Praise is appreciated and constructive criticism is encouraged

-The_Mayflower