Author's Note: This is what happens when I'm trapped in the car for seven hours. I was inspired to write this little piece by Michael W. Smith's Heroes. If you like and appreciate orchestra music, please check it out! Also, if you're new to my stories and haven't read the first two installments to the Beauty Series, it's okay. You don't need to read them in order to understand this, but I think it might help you appreciate this one a little more.

All of this said, please enjoy and let me know what you think!

The Beauty Series:

Healing Beauty

Beauty Beginnings

Beauty's Chance

...

"She's very pretty, Ed. I don't know why you don't go out with her." Tina frowned slightly, watching the lovely raven haired woman walk away from them. Edward held back his sigh. His sister-in-law was a very determined person. She saw what needed to be fixed and so she went about fixing it as best as she knew how. Even if it wasn't what he really needed.

"Naw," he scoffed, "She's pretty though." The truth was he had already been out with her once. That one time was all he needed to realize she needed more work than what he really wanted to put it. He didn't do much dating.

"Brother," Al said matter-of-factly, "you're getting old."

Ed glared at his brother and shoved him. "Geez, Al. Subtle much?"

"You finally have the freedom to settle down yet you're still as restless as ever. I think it will be easier to adjust if you find someone."

Ed quietly disagreed, not wanting to hear Al continue his nagging. "I hear you, Al." Then, quickly and deliberately, Ed checked his watch. "Speaking of which… I have somewhere I need to be. Don't wait up."

...

He found himself in front of the medical hospital memorial like he did every afternoon at two o'clock. It had become so much a part of his daily routine that the old veteran who ran security and the old lady receptionist knew him by name would wave him in free of charge. "We like to honor our men who served." The receptionist had told him once. "This is one way we know how."

It had kept him coming back ever since.

There was something comforting about seeing the faces of men clad in army-green and rifles in hand; it didn't matter that they were strangers to him. It was living proof that his nightmares had been real and not something his head had made up, proof that the war did happen. Al came with him some, too. But his younger brother viewed it as a harsh reminder of time he spent believing Ed to be dead. Whether Al realized it or not, Tina and his growing family had helped him heal, and he could understand why Ed was restless. Since Ed had been back, he had been living with Al and Tina (at Al's insistence) but was quickly discerning that he missed his independence as much as he missed his brother.

Ed arrived at his 'spot' in the memorial, staring at the line-up of American military nurses. After visiting the memorial for so long, his eyes had no trouble finding the familiar face of Winry Rockbell. Despite the picture being black and white, her face was smooth and her eyes sharp. Nobody smiled for the picture save Winry, who was trying to hide a small, determined smirk. He liked to imagine she had fire to her personality. When he had met her, the war had taken its toll on her, but she remained compassionate and determined. If it hadn't been for her, he would have died—or lived a very angry life.

"I see you've come again to visit your mystery lady?" It was the old man security guard. His balding head and smiling face negated the persona of intimidation he was supposed to hold.

"Something like that." Ed responded sheepishly.

"Which one is she?"

Ed pointed to Winry's place in the photo. The guard leaned forward and squinted a little.

"She's a perty thing... If you don't mind me asking, how did she die?"

His question startled Ed. "I don't know that she's dead." Which was true. He had spent so much time thanking her memory that he had forgot to consider the real thing.

The guard twisted the gray hairs at the end of his mustache, giving Ed the critical eye. "Have you considered finding her? We might have something of her on file." Seeing Ed's look, he added: "just a thought, though. Have a good visit, Mr. Elric."

He turned back to the picture, his heart thudding painfully in his chest.

...

A few phone calls had lead him to the St. Catherine memorial heart recovery center a state away. Ed had yet to leave his truck, mentally cursing the freaking pterodactyls that were creating havoc to his stomach. Even his palms had begun to sweat; this was not going the way he had imagined it. 'Course, in his mind, he was a bit more self-assured and knew what he was after. Ed didn't know why he had tracked Winry down after all these years- he only knew a day had not passed that he didn't remember what she had done for him. Perhaps it was to say thank you? What else could there be? How would he even begin to explain?

It was more because of his personality than his military training that Ed switched off his brain and got out of his truck. If he thought about it too much, he might chicken out. He had come way too far to do that. So the moment he stepped into the center, his gaze zeroed in on the help desk and he strove forward as fast as his prosthetic leg would allow; he was on a mission. The receptionist saw him and smiled.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes. I'm here to visit a friend. Winry Rockbell. Can you tell me her room number?"

The woman raised her brows in surprise but didn't comment. With a quick reference to the filing cabinet, she turned back to him and said, "She's in 105, the Rose Wing. Will you sign the guest book before you go, please?"

Though it wasn't a hospital, the center very much reminded him of his time in them. Sure, maybe there were more decorations on the wall and couches in the hallway, but the mask of disinfectant sickness wears smells the same in every setting. This particular smell had always played at the edge of his nightmares. He knew it always would.

And yet it was in this setting that Winry had given him back his hope and helped him find his purpose. Now, seven years later, he was visiting her in one. Sometimes life was just a little twisted.

He found her room but hesitated in going in. A nurse had just finished with her daily check up, gathering her equipment and returning it to her cart.

"Now Ms. Winry," he heard the nurse say. "No marathons today, please. I know how much you like working out in the rose bushes, but it's just too hot today. We don't need to make your heart work more than it already does."

"I'll remember that, Rosie. But no promises."

When he had first met Winry, they had both been roughly around the age of thirty-three. Looking at her forty year old self, time (or perhaps it was the sickness) had not been kind to her. Her skin was an unhealthy pale and her body thinner than it should have been. Her lovely golden hair had been cut to her shoulders and she had it tied in a ponytail. Yes, she looked worse for wear.

Despite all this, Ed had compassion for her.

The nurse 'humphed' and pushed her cart out the door, startling Ed from his stupor. She narrowed her eyes.

"Can I help you?"

He felt his face burn beneath her scrutiny. "Um, yes. I'm here to visit Winry."

Rosie's brows jumped at his words. And though she said nothing, she moved her cart and waved him in.

The moment he stepped inside the room, he remembered he was nervous as hell. It took a minute for her to realize someone was in the room with her, but when she did her eyes grew wide in surprise. He watched her tug her sweater tighter around her chest, a clear check for modesty.

"You look familiar. Who are you?"

Man, she was straightforward. Ed tugged nervously at this collar. He hadn't thought about what he was going to do once he got to this point.

"It's been a while..." He started lamely, "but we met a few years back in an American military hospital in Germany-"

He saw her eyes flicker to his prosthetic leg and back to his face. With her eyes wide with shock and unshed tears, she placed her palms over her mouth. "You're Edward Elric. You survived."

"Yes, I did." It was the only opening he needed. All prior awkwardness he had felt was abandoned in an instant, and Ed took the liberty of pulling a chair close to her bed. His first instinct was to grab her hands, but he forcefully resisted. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her.

"Yes, I survived." he said it stronger this time. "I've done so much more than that."

And so Ed told her his story and her part in all of it. No longer was she a black-and-white photograph of a memory, but a living breathing inspiration.

When he had finished, Winry's quiet tears were enough to make him want to hold her. Such tender desires were… foreign to him.

"I'm glad you found your brother, and I'm glad I was able to help you when you needed it most. Thank you for sharing, Edward. Thank you for finding me."

They were silent. But the silence wasn't heavy, but instead thoughtful. Kindred souls form a friendship in which death or distance isn't an issue. And seldom do people know when they've stumbled into such a gift. Ed was one of these. But what was he supposed to do now? Leaving seemed wrong for so many reasons.

"Winry, why are you in this place? What's wrong with your heart?"

She grimaced. "I have a hole in my heart. I have since I was little. A few years ago it tore and became bigger. As a military nurse, I'm promised a job in the states wherever I go. But if I'm not able to perform the job, let's say if I'm sick, the government doesn't pay for compensation. So I'm in need of an operation, but I have no money. And even if I had it, I have no one to care for me. I'm not married, no kids, no family." Se winced again. "And all my friends are dead. I know you understand that part. I'm basically a sitting duck."

His face must have showed his horror because she patted his hand gently. "No worries. I've lived a full life. Your story just reassured me that it held purpose. It will be okay, Ed."

He stared at her in disbelief. He had watched this woman give everything to her patients, expecting nothing in return. She had risked her life for the men who protected this country and now there was none who would stand for her. And then it hit him. Ed knew what he was supposed to do.

There was no hesitation this time as he grabbed her hands and pressed them to his lips.

"Winry, there hasn't been a day that I haven't thought about you. When I was sick and saw me at my worst, you stayed. Your beauty and compassion got me through the darkest of times. Now here you are," he gestured to the room. "In the same place I was. I can't give you what you deserve, but I can give you what you need. Will you please let me pay for your operation?"

Her eyes became wide with shock. "Wha-"

"I know why I was meant to come back." He interrupted. "You poured your life into our lives, it's time someone take care of you. Don't worry. I live with my brother and sister-in-law and their two children. I speak for all of them. When they know who you are, they will back me. You will not be a burden."

She was crying again. "Ed, I'm a stranger to you. You feel this way now, but how about when I'm bedridden for a month? Are you still going to be so determined when you have to feed, bathe and pay the bills?"

The former army man did not lose his intensity. "Yes." Then he said carefully, "You have given everything. It is my honor, my privilege to give it back to you in these days when you will need it most. Please, allow me to do this."

Her resolve was beginning to crumble; he could tell she was overwhelmed by his words. But she recognized their truth. And so in answer she whispered:

"I can do that."

It's not over, folks! Stay tuned and review!