White Sunlight
AN: I eventually decided on White Sunlight instead of These Fates. Just sounded nice, ha ha. Also, this isn't done - but it's becoming REALLY long, so I decided to split it into two or more parts. Probably just two, though. :) I hope everyone's okay with that.
Please let me know if my facts are weird! If there are some medical terms I haven't explained, I do apologize - shoot me a PM and I'd be happy to change it or let you know!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Part One
"Good afternoon!"
The young woman's cheerful greeting rang through the disinfected white hallways of the hospital. Her shoes went click-clack against the tiled floor as she moved, hurriedly stuffing her arms into the sleeves of her white coat. She flashed a smile at the dark-haired receptionist as she caught up her hair in a barrette, tucking stray strands of hair behind her ears.
"Hi there," she beamed, pausing beside the desk, "are you new? I haven't seen you before."
The receptionist found herself replying instinctively to the young woman's lovely smile. "That's right," she responded genially, "I've just started work. My name is Rosé."
"It's very nice to meet you, Rosé." The woman looked like she was about to say more, but one of the senior doctors called her just then, and she shut her mouth. Looking sheepish, she waved goodbye to Rosé and continued down the hallway, her strides long and self-assured. Rosé stared after her with an admiring look on her face.
"What is her specialization, doctor?" she addressed the older man who was leaning against the reception desk, gazing after the young woman. The man turned to face Rosé, flicking coal-black hair out of his dark eyes.
"She's received her degree in anesthesiology," the doctor replied, "but she's still completing her residency here with us. She's been here for just under five months." The corners of his mouth turned up. "Right little ray of sunshine, isn't she?"
"Indeed," Rosé agreed, moving her eyes back to the monitor of the computer and typing busily. "That must help the patients a lot. I wonder what kind of a life she's had, to be so bright and cheerful!"
Roy Mustang chuckled, but there wasn't much humor in his tone as he spoke. "You really have no idea, miss Rosé. She first came to us many years ago, as a small child."
Rosé's eyes lifted from the screen and she stared at Mustang in bewilderment. "What? Really? She was that dedicated as a child?"
The man laughed, sounding lighter. "Hardly, miss Rosé. She came here to be treated for trauma, you see. She was in a terrible state. My wife and I were the ones who handled her at the time. It took her quite a while to get better."
Rosé's eyes became round. "What happened?"
"It's not my business to share it with you, miss Rosé…"
"She lost her parents," spoke another doctor, a slim woman in her early thirties. Mustang made a wry face at the pretty, dark-haired doctor, who rolled her eyes in reply. "She was going to find out sooner or later," the female doctor added irritably. Mustang sighed.
"Yes, but still, Maria… it's really not our place to start gossiping about our patients' lives."
"Be honest, this is half of the reason why you became a doctor in the first place," Dr. Maria Ross retorted, smiling slightly. "But I apologize, then."
"Hmm," Roy grunted in acknowledgement. Rosé's eyes shone with admiration.
"What a brave young girl," she murmured. Roy tilted his head to one side, pretending not to notice that his wife had just appeared behind him.
"Brave? Yes, miss Rosé, I think you could call Winry Rockbell brave."
"You're late, miss Rockbell." The woman doctor's voice was icy. "I did specify that you should be here by two."
"Sorry, Dr. Curtis," Winry apologized, trying to straighten her coat discreetly. "I, um, ran into traffic."
"Lies," the older woman snorted, shaking her head. "In any case, come with me. I have someone I want you to meet." Dr. Izumi Curtis turned and marched down the hallway. Winry followed, fighting to keep the smile from her face. While Izumi Curtis was a harsh taskmaster, the woman also had unexpected depths – and seemed to harbor a soft spot for bright, hardworking youngsters. Winry supposed it would still take some time for Izumi to warm up to her, but she didn't mind. What was more important was that Izumi was an anesthesiologist, like Winry wanted to be, and she definitely knew her stuff.
"I've known Dr. Marcoh for years, and he's a very accomplished cardiac surgeon. We're performing a surgery today, and since you've always expressed an interest in watching, I thought it would be beneficial for you to be privy to this."
Winry's eyes widened, and she looked startled but relieved. Perhaps it was strange or unnatural, but Winry had not yet seen a surgery being performed. The news made her steps sprightlier, and she kept pace with Izumi easily.
"Izumi." As they passed one of the waiting rooms, a large, hulking man got up and headed towards them. Izumi's pace slowed, and Winry slowed alongside her, looking curious. It was obvious that Izumi knew this person.
"Sig." The normally stern-faced doctor broke into a smile. "How are you, darling? What are you doing here?"
"There was just something important to tell you…"
Izumi noticed Winry hovering nearby and shooed the girl away impatiently. "Go on ahead of me, and tell Dr. Marcoh that I sent you. It's room 276, remember that."
Winry nodded vigorously and resumed the walk down the hallway, a smile blossoming across her face. So, the man was Izumi's husband. She wondered why she'd never seen him before – perhaps Izumi preferred to keep her personal and professional life separate.
As Winry neared the two hundred and sixties of the rooms, she paused, trying to recall which room Izumi had mentioned. There was definitely a two, a six and a seven in the number – but which order had they been in, again? Winry silently cursed her lapse of memory as she glanced around the corridor, her pale eyebrows coming together in a frown.
"This must be it," she muttered, pausing outside room 267. She opened the door without knocking and stepped inside the room, peering around in search of the doctor.
"What the hell are you doing here?" An angry voice exploded to her right, and Winry turned to meet a pair of furious golden eyes. She blinked in astonishment and took a step back.
"I was under the impression I was here for a surgery," she spoke hesitantly, instantly noting that the young man was close to her age and definitely not a doctor. He seemed to inflate at her words, his face turning a startling shade of red.
"No one's operating on anyone here!" he snarled. His outburst of emotion, however, left him unsteady, and he sank into the wheelchair that lay right behind him. Winry cast a glance at the single bed in the room and made out a skinny body lying underneath the white sheets.
"I'm sorry… can I help you?" She moved towards him with outstretched hands, hoping to steady him in some way, but he merely swatted her hand aside rudely. His right arm hung uselessly to his side, and she noted that his left leg was equally limp. Paralysis?
"I don't need your help," he growled, his golden hair shining in the sunlight. "And you're not operating on my brother, do you hear me? If I've told those two bastards once, I've told them a million times…"
"I was mistaken. I'm sure no one is operating on your brother," Winry soothed, fighting the urge to snap back at him. "I was looking for doctor Marcoh, actually. Any idea where he is?"
"No," the young man grumbled. "Now get out of this room, now. Leave me alone." He turned in his wheelchair and stared at the prone body on the bed, his shoulders tense.
"I'm sorry again," Winry repeated as she exited the room. Closing the door behind her, she searched the wall for a name plate – private rooms sometimes had them – and found the plastic sheet affixed to the wall.
It read Alphonse Elric.
"Thank you so much for letting me watch you, Dr. Marcoh," Winry beamed, her cheeks flushed with excitement. Izumi hadn't been lying when she'd said that Tim Marcoh was accomplished. Winry's mind kept replaying the memories of the surgery, trying to catalog all the things she'd observed. "I'm sure this will help me enormously!"
"It was no problem, young miss." The elderly doctor smiled kindly at her. "If you ever have further queries, please don't hesitate to ask me."
"I won't!" Winry could feel Izumi's eyes on her and turned to her mentor, her smile still intact. "Thank you as well, Dr. Curtis, for arranging this for me!"
"It was no problem," Izumi replied, her eyes softening. "I hope you were keeping track of everything we were doing."
"Absolutely," Winry nodded enthusiastically.
"Good." Izumi placed her hands on the young girl's shoulders and steered her out of the room. "Don't forget, Tim, we have another surgery scheduled at five," she called over her shoulder.
"I'm not quite that senile yet, Izumi," Marcoh called back. Izumi grinned and shut the door behind them.
"Oh, Dr. Curtis… there was something else I wanted to ask you about." Winry paused, her mind flashing back to her encounter with the angry, golden-haired youth. "Er… who is Alphonse Elric?"
Izumi froze immediately, her dark eyes narrowing. Winry swallowed, wondering if she'd ventured into dangerous territory – but surely, he was just a patient, like any other? She was merely curious about him and his brother.
"He's been a patient of ours for the last five years."
Winry inhaled sharply, tears rising to her eyes. She didn't know why she was reacting so emotionally – but the thought of that skinny body lying underneath the same white blanket for five years…
"W-what happened to him?" Her voice wobbled dangerously, and she pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. Izumi regarded her protégé coolly – she'd stopped weeping over the Elric brothers three years ago.
"His brother refuses to tell us, actually." The doctor's voice was harsh. "He just drags the boy in here, his own right arm and left leg paralyzed, and demands that we help him. I don't know where he's getting the money from, but Alphonse has been in our intensive care unit for all this time."
Winry wiped the dampness from her face and took a deep breath. She couldn't afford to cry over every sob story that made its way to her ears. "And… and his brother?"
"Edward? He's a damn spoiled brat – spends the entire day by his brother's bedside, refuses to move anywhere, refuses to let us examine him. Oh, we did, at the beginning – although he fought us every step of the way – but all we could conclude was that the nerve endings in his arm and leg had been damaged, probably as a result of some sort of physical trauma."
"Edward." Winry frowned. "He certainly does seem bad-tempered. He's always like that?"
Izumi's lips thinned. "Miss Rockbell, I will tell you only one more thing. Do not, under any circumstances, get further involved with the Elric brothers. It will only cause you pain. They are not willing to let anyone enter their tragic world."
Winry's eyes widened. "Don't tell me… you tried to help them, Dr. Curtis?"
Izumi harrumphed, clearly upset about revealing this tidbit of information. "It didn't amount to much, now, did it? Just forget about them, miss Rockbell."
Winry ducked her head, her eyes thoughtful. "I don't think I can, Dr. Curtis," she replied softly. "I don't think I can."
"Winry, I've had dinner waiting for you on the table for the past two hours! When are you going to come down?"
"Sorry, granny!" Winry called, hastily shutting the book she'd been reading. "I'll be right down!"
"You said that last time as well," Pinako Rockbell grumbled. "Honestly, girl, I understand medicine requires focus and concentration – my own son went through it, after all – but you mustn't forget to nourish your own body as well. What good'll it do all those people if you waste away and die, eh?"
Winry smiled as she descended the stairway of their modest-sized house. "Sorry, granny," she apologized again. Pinako waved off her apology with one hand, a wooden ladle in the other.
"Just sit down and eat."
Winry took her seat at the small dining table and noted with surprise that her grandmother's plate was just as spotless as hers. As she piled her plate high with rice, chicken and steamed vegetables, Pinako sat down as well and watched her quietly. Winry paused with her fork halfway to her mouth.
"Granny… you haven't eaten yet, either, have you?"
Pinako snorted. "Of course I have. You didn't think I would wait for you, did you? An old woman needs her nourishment."
Winry's eyebrows rose. "Then how come your plate is still on the table and completely empty?"
Pinako was ready with a quick reply. "So that you could pretend that I hadn't eaten for your sake. You seem to like sentimental things like that."
Winry laughed and shook her head at her grandmother affectionately. Pinako Rockbell was an old woman, but the years had been unusually kind to her – at almost seventy-five years of age, she still bustled around like she was sixty. Pinako had been young when she'd had Winry's father – her first and only child – and Urey Rockbell, in turn, had been young when Winry had been born. As a result, Winry was still able to enjoy her grandmother's company.
"I was just looking up some things on physical trauma and paralysis," Winry explained as she dug into her food with gusto. "For a patient at the hospital."
"Eh?" Pinako squinted at her over her round spectacles. "What are you doing that for? Aren't you in the anesthesiology department, or did you change your mind already?"
"No, granny, I haven't changed my mind. I was just curious," Winry explained, unable to put a finger on what drew her to the brothers she'd met.
"Hmmph." Pinako hopped off her chair and made her way towards the sink as Winry finished off her meal. The young woman picked up her plate, along with one of the plates of food, and placed them on the counter next to the sink. The grandmother and granddaughter worked silently as they stored away the uneaten food and washed the dishes.
"Now you get some sleep tonight, do you hear?" Pinako chastised her granddaughter. "I don't want to wake up at three in the morning and see your bedroom light still on." Winry smiled ruefully – it was true that she managed to scrape by on small amounts of sleep, but her grandmother didn't understand that Winry didn't mind getting only two or three hours of sleep. Life was brimming with things to do – it was almost ridiculous to waste one-third of it, sleeping away.
"Sure, granny," she said anyway, just to placate the old woman – and mentally made a note to keep only her bedside table lamp on.
"So you're doing your residency with us here, is it? Well, it is certainly a pleasure to meet you, miss Rockbell!" And with that, Winry heard her back break as the over-enthusiastic Dr. Alex Louis Armstrong enveloped her in a crushing embrace.
"-ack!" Winry spluttered as she attempted to pry herself from the large, muscled man. "Please, doctor Armstrong… can't… breathe…"
"Oho, I am most apologetic, miss Rockbell!" The blond man released her immediately, and Winry massaged her ribs as discreetly as possible. "In any case, welcome aboard!"
"Thank you," she smiled, inwardly wondering if everyone in the hospital was a nutjob of sorts. Just that morning, she'd seen Izumi throw a man to the floor because he didn't agree with her on some ridiculous subject. Thankfully, the man was another doctor who seemed to be used to such treatment, but really. The only sane person so far seemed to be Marcoh.
"If you are ever in need of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me!" Armstrong added, looking concerned. "I am always in the pediatrics wing! Well then, farewell for now, miss Rockbell!"
A pediatrician? Winry mused as she watched him walk away. How on earth did his young patients survive his hugs?
"Ah, I see you ran afoul of our resident BFG." Roy Mustang strode up behind her and clapped a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, after five hugs or so, you start to get used to the pain."
Winry smiled wryly. "Thanks, Dr. Mustang," she replied, shrugging his hand off as gently as possible. "I didn't know you still worked here."
"Of course, of course," Mustang grinned. "It's hardly been that long since you were last here. I remember you were Riza and my first patient. That means you'll always hold a special place in our hearts."
"I'm flattered, really." Winry didn't want to talk to Roy Mustang – his presence caused unnecessary memories to flood her mind. Still, she couldn't escape polite small talk. "How is Dr. Riza?"
"I'm wounded – you ask about my wife, but not about me?" Mustang smiled roguishly. "She's absolutely fine. Still refusing to expand our family but, well, what do you expect? She's right in a way, with us both working, the poor kid would have a pretty traumatic life, but still…"
Winry smiled and nodded, unable to truly empathize with the man. If you decided to marry another doctor, it was almost a given that you wouldn't have children for a while. Unless, of course, you were smart enough to think about investing in a babysitter.
"Well, it was nice talking to you, Dr. Mustang," she spoke politely. "I have to go find someone Dr. Curtis recommended me to, so if you'll excuse me…"
"Eh, recommended you to, huh? What for?" Mustang looked truly interested. "Don't tell me you'll be working with your own surgeon at last?"
Winry flushed, pleased that he'd guessed correctly. "She said that Dr. Yao himself was doing his residency here, not too long ago. He's a neurosurgeon, I believe, and Dr. Izumi seemed to think that we'd make good partners."
"Dr. Yao, is it? I know just where he is. Come on, I'll show you the way."
Winry's smile was more genuine as she followed the raven-haired doctor down the cool white corridors. "How long has he been by himself, doctor? I hope he doesn't mind me working with him, I'll try my very best!"
"Dr. Yao has only been a fully-certified doctor for three years, miss Rockbell. I'm sure you'll get along fine." He smiled indulgently down at her, marveling at her child-like eagerness. "Here is where he usually sits, I'm sure he'll be around soon."
"Oh, thank you very much, doctor…" Winry's voice trailed off and her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings. "Wait, this is the cafeteria!"
"Precisely. Dr. Yao is a bit of a… how should I put it, big eater. He spends much of his free time here. Unless he has a surgery scheduled – which he shouldn't, else Dr. Curtis wouldn't have directed you towards him right now – he should be along shortly." Mustang offered Winry a cheery wave. "See you later, miss Rockbell!"
"Goodbye," she called in reply, settling down on one of the gray plastic chairs and surrendering herself to a wait.
"Ahh, you must be Dr. Rockbell!"
Winry jerked herself out of a semi-doze and stared at the proffered hand. For some reason, the first thing that she noticed was that this man – whoever he was – was the first person to actually address her by the title 'doctor'. It made her feel pleasantly warm inside.
"Ah, yes, that would be me," she admitted, shaking the man's hand firmly and allowing her eyes to drift towards his face. Open and genial, with slanted eyes that pointed towards his Asian heritage and jet-black hair, tied back in a ponytail.
"It is a pleasure," Dr. Ling Yao spoke, releasing her hand and sitting down beside her. "Forgive me for being late; I had some unexpected matters to attend to. I'm sure Dr. Curtis will let me have it later!"
"Oh, was Dr. Izumi your mentor here, as well?" Winry asked with interest. Ling shook his head, waving at the lady who manned the cafeteria counter.
"No, no, that would be Dr. Fuu Yao. He was a distant relative, so he took me under his wing."
"Oh, that must have been nice… working with a relative…" Winry smiled at the thought.
Ling made a face. "Hardly! The old geezer pushed me so hard… still, I did learn a lot from him."
Winry laughed at his expression. "I think I'm really going to enjoy working with you, Dr. Yao."
"Please, call me Ling!"
Winry didn't have the heart to ask Ling when they were going to move out of the cafeteria – the man attacked whatever was put in front of him like someone who had been starving, although she highly doubted that was the case. So as he shoveled food into his mouth, Winry glanced around the cafeteria.
"Hey, Ling… how much longer are you going to take?" she ventured to ask after a while. Ling paused for a heartbeat, shrugged and then returned to his food. Winry exhaled loudly and got to her feet, tired of pretending to admire the pale gray walls.
"Why don't we meet up in about an hour, and we can discuss what sort of work you've been doing and how I can help?" she tried. Ling nodded in response, swallowing a mouthful and smiling at her.
"That sounds great. Let's meet here?"
"Okay," Winry sighed, "but you'd better not have any food in front of you. Is this seriously all you do in your free time?"
"No…" Ling looked sheepish. "Well, maybe."
"That's not an answer," Winry smiled. "See you in an hour."
In truth, it wasn't just that she was bored – she wanted to visit Alphonse Elric's room again. The poor boy had been in a coma for five years… she knew that as each moment passed, he became less and less likely to wake up.
She had to admire his brother's dedication, though. Izumi had told her that Edward never left his brother's side – didn't he have any family to go home to? she wondered.
She found the room easily enough and pushed the door open, wincing at the slight creak it made. Luckily, she was not met by angry words today. As she shut the door and turned towards the solitary bed, she noticed that Edward was asleep.
His head had lolled forward so that his chin rested on his chest – a position that looked terribly uncomfortable. Alphonse was still mostly covered by blankets, but as Winry drew nearer, she saw that his face was uncovered.
A pale, haggard face, with skin stretched taut over his cheekbones. His hair was a golden-brown, just like his brother's, and fell over his forehead in a messy sweep. Winry felt a lump rise in her throat as she tentatively reached forward and brushed the hair away from his closed eyes. He looked so tired, so worn out – she wondered what kind of a person he'd been before falling into his coma.
"What are you doing here?" Edward's voice was still slurred with sleep, but his eyes were sharp and alert as Winry turned to meet them. "And don't touch Al like that, he's nothing to you, you shouldn't even be here."
"You can't tell me where I can and can't be," she retorted, albeit in a more gentle tone than usual. "Is your neck okay? It looked like you might get cramps, sleeping like that."
"Hmmph. I'm fine," Edward muttered in reply, raising his left hand to wipe at his forehead. "But you didn't tell me what you're doing here."
Winry smiled slightly. "No, I didn't, did I?" Edward looked like he was expecting more, but when she remained silent, an unexpected chuckle escaped him.
"Stubborn wench, aren't you? That's okay. Just… just don't touch him. Please." Winry was startled to hear the rawness in his voice. "He… just don't."
"Okay." Winry accepted his strange request without questions and moved away from Alphonse's bed. "How long have you been here?"
Edward's jaw line hardened. "A while."
"And when was the last time you ate?"
Edward looked puzzled at the question, his forehead furrowing as he thought about it. "I… uh, a few hours, I guess. Mei brought across something for me. She usually does that, and claims she made it herself, although I've seen just how skilled she is in the kitchen." He snorted.
"Mei?" Winry echoed. She had an hour – who knew what could change in an hour? She wanted to help these brothers – she wanted to heal them, because she understood what it was like to not want help. But she also understood that no matter how much you might not want it, help was needed in certain circumstances. And this was one of them.
"This girl who's crazy over Al. She comes by every day, leaves food by his bed and gives me some. I throw the stuff next to Al away when it starts smelling." Edward closed his eyes. "He did love his food, though, so if anything could wake him up…"
Winry's heart twisted. The young man seemed so different from the last time she'd seen him – then, he'd been furious and insistent. Now, he looked broken.
What had changed him in such a short span of time?
"I see," she responded to where he'd tapered off. "Maybe that will work."
"Don't coddle me," Edward responded with a scowl. "I know it's stupid."
"No, it's not stupid," Winry said gently. "Sometimes, stimuli like that really work."
"Yeah, well – not after five years, I guess." Edward turned away from her and fixed his gaze on his brother. "It hardly seems like it's been that long," he mused, and Winry suspected that he was talking to himself, unused to having an audience. "It seems like it was only a few days ago, or maybe just a few weeks… and they wanted to fix me, said they could repair my nerve endings, said it was easy… but I wouldn't let them do it, Al, not without you."
"Do you think he would have wanted that?" Edward turned to meet Winry's steady, almost accusing eyes. "His brother giving up a chance to return to normal, for a ridiculous reason like this?"
"It's not ridiculous!" Edward snapped in reply, his brows pulling together in a ferocious frown. "I won't let them do it until they're sure Al can come back. I can live with these pieces of junk," he gestured angrily at his disabled limbs, "but until I see Al awake and aware with my own eyes… they won't touch me."
"That's it?" Winry felt as angry as Edward looked. "You're just going to sit here and wallow, while there's a chance to heal yourself? That's insane! You're insane!"
"Shut up!" Edward's voice cracked sharply. "Just shut the hell up… I don't even know why I'm talking to you! You have no goddamn business sticking your nose into other people's lives, and you know nothing about us. So just leave us – just leave me alone!"
"I'm not saying it isn't admirable to wait for your brother!" Winry refused to give up. "It's very brave and noble of you to stick by him for so long, but I don't think any sibling would want their older brother to go through this. When you have an opportunity, why don't you take it?"
Edward's lips thinned. "Just get out," he spoke, and for some reason, he sounded defeated. "Get out."
Winry inhaled deeply and turned on her heel, marching out of the door. As soon as it shut behind her, she sniffed and pressed her hands to her face, allowing herself to lean against the closed door.
She stood there, in the silent hallway, and wept for them.
"Hello again, miss Rockbell." Ling smiled at her widely, donning his white coat. "So sorry to keep you waiting for so long. Where did you go?"
"Just here and there… and please, call me Winry," she responded, feeling unnaturally drained. After her encounter with Edward, she'd gone to visit Marcoh again, in hopes of asking him a few doubts she'd had. Unfortunately, however, he'd been busy, and so had Izumi – so Winry had spent a good half hour just wandering around, unwilling to muster up the energy to be curious about her surroundings.
"Hmm." Winry could feel Ling's eyes on her, and she raised her gaze to meet his, offering him a smile. "Well then, let's be off!"
Winry followed behind Ling as they made their way down the corridor. Winry tried to keep track of where they were going, but it soon dawned on her that they were headed to a wing she hadn't visited before. Of course not, she mentally scolded herself, she hadn't been anywhere near the neurosurgeons' area. They weren't headed towards the intensive care unit, as she'd suspected, but instead to one of the operating rooms.
"We don't have a surgery right now," Ling responded to Winry's confused look, "but it's probably best to familiarize yourself with everything that's there, just so none of it takes you by surprise." She nodded in agreement, another faint smile crossing her face. It would certainly be fascinating to examine all of the equipment, whether it was meant for anesthesia or not.
After an in-depth study of the entire room, during which Ling answered her many curious questions, Winry finally felt normal again. She flopped down in one corner of the room and relished the sensation of cool tile against her bare skin.
Ling watched her with an amused smile. "You're certainly unlike anyone else I've ever met," he remarked, reaching down a hand to help her up. "I can't quite decide whether you're extremely mature or extremely childish!"
"A combination of both, probably," Winry laughed, taking his hand and hauling herself up. "I become a little strange when I'm around medical equipment. It's part of the package, unfortunately."
Ling grinned. "I don't mind. Listen, we have a surgery scheduled in an hour and a half. You're not technically supposed to start working with me until tomorrow, but what do you think? Are you up for it?"
"Absolutely!" Winry beamed. "As long as I don't get you into trouble or anything," she hastened to add. Ling waved one hand in the air, shaking his head.
"No, no, not at all. It's not a complicated procedure today, but we'll need our anesthesiologist at her best!"
Winry smiled. "What's the surgery, though?" she questioned. Ling sat down on one of the hard plastic chairs, shrugging languidly.
"The patient is suffering from axonotmesis; he was diagnosed in the morning. There's something applying pressure on the nerves of his left arm, so we need to remove that as soon as possible. If we take too long, the axon won't be able to regenerate, you see."
"I see," Winry replied slowly, taking a seat next to Ling. "You… would know the cause of any type of physical paralysis, wouldn't you?"
Ling tilted his head to one side. "Yep," he agreed, "probably. Why, what's wrong?"
Winry chewed on her bottom lip, debating on whether to ask the young neurosurgeon. "It's just… someone I know," she spoke softly. "He says his paralysis is minor and easily reversible… I was wondering if you could help him."
Ling looked surprised. "Certainly, but if he's already been told that the paralysis can be lifted… why hasn't it been?"
Winry sighed. "He's a bit stubborn about it," she admitted. "There are, um, complications. Not with the injury or anything, just… with his attitude," she muttered under her breath. Ling's ebony eyes brightened with realization.
"You're talking about Edward Elric, aren't you?"
"What?" Winry started. "Er, yes, I am – but how did you know?"
Ling slapped his thighs and laughed. "Who here doesn't know about that kid? He definitely is a handful. I think I mentioned him in one of my university projects, once. He was here when I was doing my residency, too."
"So then, can you help him?" Winry's voice was eager, and Ling's laughter subsided as he adopted a more serious expression.
"I can't help him if he's refusing treatment, Winry," he replied gently. "We can't just shanghai him, knock him out and perform the surgery. We're always here for when he decides to take that step, but we can't force him."
Tears pricked Winry's eyes. "He's such a stupid idiot," she muttered. "Who would do that?"
Ling looked at her kindly. "I can see where he's coming from, though," he added thoughtfully. "But if you wanted to help him – I would start by befriending him. He's a crusty guy, but if he manages to warm up to you – well, who knows what could happen? I can see you, out of all people, making friends with him."
Winry laughed. "Thanks for the compliment," she responded, bumping Ling's shoulder with her own, "but I'm not so sure. How would that help?"
Ling shrugged. "He might open up to you. And you might be able to convince him about the surgery."
Winry made a face. "I think he hates my guts, actually," she admitted. "I've met him twice and argued with him each time. I don't think that really endears me to him."
"Relax, I'm sure it'll all work out," Ling assured her. "Even I've managed to trick him into a conversation or two – it won't be hard. But it might take time, you know?"
"Right." Winry sighed and got to her feet. "Well, in the meantime, we have a surgery to prepare for."
AN: And there we go, end of part 1. More Ed-Winry interactions in the next part, if that cheers anyone up!