Chapter 1

It seemed as if the carefree sounds of summer that floated in through the window of a small shop went unnoticed by a slender woman seated at a work desk, concentrating on several pieces of metal and wire in front of her. Her fingers worked steadily as she fitted several pieces together and worked a Phillips head into a screw. Her only other movements were a raised arm to her forehead every once in a while to wipe a few beads of sweat from the top of her brow. Shrieks of laughter rang out as a few of the neighborhood kids chased a ball, but the woman never looked up from her work. A mostly black dog with a metal prosthetic leg lay lazily under the window of the shop, his tail swaying ever so often at a troublesome fly.

A few moments later, the woman set the screwdriver to the side of her project and raised both arms into the air, enjoying a long stretch. Pushing away from the long desk, she walked slowly to the door and opened it, and leaned onto the door frame, looking out at the passersby and playing children in the streets.

"Hiya, Ms. Rockbell!" A small dusty haired brunet boy stood before her, holding a ball. His wide smile revealed a missing tooth in the front. The woman smiled back at the little boy and rustled his already wild hair.

"Hi, Thomas."

"Wanna play ball with us? We still need one more."

"I can't Thomas."

"Awwwww, you still workin' on your project?"

"Yep. And I'm almost done." An older woman walking nearby saw the woman in her doorway, waved her hand and spoke.

"Winry! Hello dear!"

"Hello, Mrs. Morrison!" Winry returned a wave and the little boy ran off.

"How's your grandmother dear?"

"She is doing fine. She still won't retire."

"Well, you know how she is." Mrs. Morrison stopped next to Winry in the doorway, a bag of groceries in her arms.

"Would you like some help, Mrs. Morrison?"

"No, no dear. An old woman like me could use this extra exercise." She gave a small chuckle and Winry smiled warmly. The old woman peeked inside the small shop and at the work table. "Still working hard dear?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Hmm. You do such excellent work in this community with all your automail research. But a young beautiful girl like you should be out dating, you know? Before all the good ones are taken, huh?" Winry placed an arm behind her head and gave a nervous laugh.

"Really, Mrs. Morrison, I'm much too busy to date anyone!"

"Nonsense, dear! I know that grandmother of yours would like to see a few little ones running about the house." The old woman narrowed an eye at her before smiling and heading off further down the street. She looked back at Winry again before completely leaving. "I hear of one particular young man that has taken a keen interest in a certain neighborhood mechanic!" Then she vanished around the corner in spite of Winry's blushing face.

Winry stepped back into the shop and closed the door behind her, leaning against it. The silence of the small room did nothing to calm the thoughts that were now swirling about the young woman's head. A number of boxes, blueprints and various metal parts the shape of human limbs were scattered about the four corners of the room. Winry left the door and proceed to head up a set of stairs where she entered a comfortable loft that sat above the workshop. Walking over to a window on a far wall near her bed, she peeked out before drawing the curtains closed and heading towards a closet, where she removed a large metal box and pulled it over to the bed where she sat, before dragging the box up and sitting it next to her. Her fingers smoothed across the intricate finish and a raised symbol that sat in the middle; a cross with a snake looped about. She seemed to hesitate a bit before proceeding with opening the box and staring at the contents inside.

Her hand slid across the glossy finish of an automail leg. A small piece of paper appeared to stick out from the sides of the box, which Winry removed to look at. It was a photograph, a picture with three individuals on it. All three of them smiling broadly and the cares of what the future was to hold not even a thought to them. The younger boy in the photo was seated on the grass, with the older children, a boy and a girl, standing side by side, with the girl's head on the boy's shoulders. Winry smiled, her eyes watering at the vision and a hand crept up to her lips to try and stifle the tiny sob that escaped.

"Al….Ed…." She hugged the photo closer to her, but the paper left her with an empty feeling. "Why did you both….why did you leave me? Didn't you know…how much I…I…?" Winry lay down on the bed, turning her back on the box and the contents inside. Warm tears flowed like a stream down her cheeks, lips and, chin. A large sob caught in her chest and she couldn't prevent its escape from her throat causing her to give in to her emotions and cry aloud.

The year was 1926. It had been three years since she had last seen the brothers. Before Edward had returned from the "other" world, his little brother Alphonse lived with her and her grandmother Pinako while continuing his quest to find Edward, whom he couldn't remember seeing since trying to transmute their dead mother so many years ago. He had come back, to that ancient underground city, during a strange invasion who Ed claimed had pressed through the gate that connected their world to another. She had seen the machines and technology with her own eyes as she did the only thing she could do for the brothers. The only thing she ever seemed she could do for him…she had brought him a new automail arm and leg to accommodate his growth spurt. Afterwards, the brothers went on to fight, eventually entering the gate and forever separating them from seeing Winry again.

The lingering summer sun was steadily retreating in the west, casting a dimming glowing within Winry's loft, matching her sorrowful spirit. She hated herself at times when she got like this, hoping that things would get better over the years, though it never did. The older she got, the more she had come to realize what she had lost. Her grandmother, understanding her granddaughter's loss, did all she could to console the child, but to no avail, finally convincing her to move to a neighboring city to continue her dreams as the best automail mechanic in the world, telling her that she never knew when he might show up and need them again. It was this lingering hope that Winry continued living and strengthening her craft, anticipating that one day the two brothers…that he would return from the other world for good and they could be together again.

She shifted on the bed, her thick blonde hair sweeping across her shoulder as she rose up a bit at the sound of a knock on the door below. Not even bothering to put on her shoes, she maneuvered around the huge box that still sat on the bed and made her way down the stairs and towards the door where the knocking continued.

"Hold on. I'm coming…" She pulled the door open and faced a pair of strong eyes. "Lieutenant Hawkeye?!"

"It's Colonel Hawkeye now. Hello Winry."

"What brings you by? How did you know that I was here?"

"Could we discuss this inside?"

"Oh! Yes! Please, come in." Winry stepped to the side as she watched the Colonel turn and nod to an attendant by a state car before walking inside the shop. "Please Colonel, let's go upstairs. It will be a lot more comfortable there." The two women walked the flight of stairs, Liza looking about the shop at the various parts and pieces laying around. Winry went straight to the kitchenette and put a pot of water on the stove. "Can I offer you some tea or coffee Colonel Hawkeye?"

"No, thank you." Liza sat her hat down on the small table and looked around the loft. It was of comfortable size, clean and in order, much different that what she saw down in the workshop below. She smiled at the young woman as she sat down at the table to join her, a coffee cup in her hands.

"So…Colonel, what brings you by?"

"There is a request for you in Central."

"A request for me? In Central? Why?"

"Actually, it was Brigadier General Mustang's idea and we all agree with him. We think you would be perfect for the job. It is, partially, created because of you."

"A job…because of me?"

"Yes, as the head of the Prosthetics Research department. It was created by the Brigadier General in memory of Full Metal and the astounding accomplishments he was able to do because of your work."

"Because of Ed….." Winry's head lowered and a few defiant tears swelled in the corner of her eyes and dropped into the contents of the cup below. Hawkeye raised an eyebrow as her face softened at what she had said. So it was true, the girl really hadn't gotten over the bothers' absence.

"Winry…"

"I'm sorry, Colonel Hawkeye….I can't. I can't take a job like that."

The Colonel watched the girl's downward face and she reached across the table and placed a hand on top of hers. "Winry, you are an astounding automail machinist. You skills, I hear, are second to none. Full Metal trusted only you with his automail and spoke only of your praises. I understand….I know that the Elrics are no longer apart of this world. But you are! If you are to continue their memory, what they meant to you, stopping your dreams is not the way to do it. This opportunity with the military, it would give you the national recognition you need in accomplishing your goals."

"I don't care about….! I don't care about being the best anymore….I just want..."

"Winry. The best way to honor the Elrics is to live." Winry looked into Liza'a eyes as she spoke those words. Honor the Elrics? Winry felt a tuck at her heart, even as she heard their names mentioned. A job in Central? This could change so much for her. Maybe working in a facility dedicate in part to Edward would help her feel closer to him, like she was still able to do something for him. Liza Hawkeye stood up from the table and picked up her hat.

"Please, think about it and then give me a call at Central with your answer." She started for the stairs again, pausing briefly by the box that housed the exposed automail parts. Liza closed her eyes a moment before speaking with her back turned to the young woman.

"Did you make these for him?" Liza heard no reply from Winry and she resumed walking. "They're beautiful."