DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST; OTHERWISE, WINRY AND ED WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TOGETHER MUCH SOONER!
XXX
He woke up to screaming.
Well, in all honesty, it probably had more to do with the fact he had fallen out of bed. His metallic leg, something that was heavier than it was worth sometimes, clanged and sent a spasm up his leg. He gritted his teeth, but years of military training had prevented him from yelling out in pain. In fact, he had prepared his body so it was angled towards the door, the gun he had recently kept under his pillow at the ready.
He heard the screams again and felt his blood run cold as he realized it was his wife. Forgetting all about proper military protocol, he jumped off the cold floor and ran out of the room. He rounded a corner and as the screams got increasingly louder, he slowed his pace and drew out his gun, his golden eyes burning holes in the door.
"E-Ed…" he heard her whimper, before an even larger scream reverberated throughout the house, sending chills up his spine. Still, he got a hold of his raging emotions and kept his ground, slightly opening the door that led to her. Holding his gun up, he prepared himself for the sight of a murderer or worse, a Homunculus when he realized…
There was nobody in the room.
"H-huh?" he questioned, his voice raspy from sleep. Blinking his eyes, he tried to see if he was imagining things. But to no avail. Winry was by herself, clutching her stomach. Her eyes, a color so blue that they mocked the sky, were shimmering with suppressed tears and her lower lip was red with blood.
Winry's eyes locked onto Ed's and realization dawned on her. Ed, seeing the distress on his wife's face, quickly discarded his weapon and ran over to her side. He just about lost his footing on something… wet on the floor, something akin to a puddle. It seemed to be coming from…
"Ed!" Winry's voice had taken on a new urgency. "Ed, get over here now!" When she saw the gears working behind his eyes, she growled a bit and, using the last of her energy, crawled over to Ed until she was right underneath of him. She stood up tentatively and placed her arms over his neck when a fresh wave of pain went through her body. She screamed something bloodthirsty, digging her nails into his neck as she did, and eliciting a shocked growl as Ed fell to the ground. He was hovering as Winry began to breathe heavily in his ear, her voice strained as she stuttered, "Ed… stomach… baby…" So that's where the puddle was coming from.
At the last word, Ed's eyes widened considerably and he grasped the blonde-haired girl. "Wait… it's coming now?" At the sight of Winry's weak nod, Ed cursed silently and grasped her waist, pulling her up with him. She half growled, half whimpered at the pain, but didn't fight him.
"Winry, are you going to be all right?" he asked, his voice concerned as he took over her pained face. Though her body was quite large for the baby, she seemed so small and fragile right now that Ed was freaking out, not unlike the time he had seen a baby born when he was twelve. Of course, then he was just a kid; just a stupid kid in a strange town when a woman happened to be giving birth. That, and her baby's untimely appearance had happened to be during a thunderstorm. Looking out the window, it was, much to Edward's relief, a clear cloudless night with the moon hanging precariously and illuminating the darkness.
Winry gave a wry smile at his question before replying in an angrier tone, "Of course I'm not all right. ARE YOU INSANE?" The last words had turned into a yell as a spasm ripped through her body, sending her tears streaming down her face. "Just… just go to the hospital…" she huffed. Nodding, Ed decided to pick up his wife as though she weighed nothing and made his way as quickly as he could to the door.
After a few moments of precarious travelling, he reached the front door of their small house and made his way outside. Their house was fairly quaint; it was a near exact replica to Ed and Al's old house, before the fire and the accident. It was also right next to Grandma Pinako, who had in the recent years not only retired from the automail industry, but also had become a well known doctor in Risenbool.
"Hey, Granny!" Ed yelled, his voice even louder in the empty night air. "Granny! Dammit Granny, Winry's having her baby and I don't—" Ed was cut off as a well aimed wrench hit his face, almost causing him to lose his grip on Winry. He growled and tightened his grip, ignoring the blooming pain that flashed across his face. Damn that woman! She had thrown a wrench at him, with an even more dead on shot than Winry. He growled and just barely managed to avoid the next one that was thrown as well.
Pinako wasn't amused. "I heard you the first time. Now come; the time you used yelling could be used getting Winry to an operating room." And with that, she turned around, leading a fuming Ed and a slightly comatose Winry to a room in the back. It was a small, almost entirely white room with large windows that overlooked the countryside. It was supposed to be calming, Ed near; but at the moment, the scenery was only pissing him off with its tranquility.
Especially when his wife was screaming bloody murder.
During the five minutes or so it had taken to reach the room, Winry had snapped out of her stupor and screamed as contractions rushed through her body. Pinako wasn't there; she was gone, waking up a stationed nurse to help with the delivery.
She had been very strict though before leaving as she said, "You; put her on the bed." She waved her hand over to an unoccupied cot in the center of the room and added, a little smugly, "It shouldn't be too hard for an idiot." Before Ed could yell at the woman, she stepped out of the room, leaving Ed with a pained Winry. Gritting his teeth at the 'idiot' comment, Ed carefully made his way over to the bed and placed Winry on it.
Just as he stepped away to leave, Winry reached out with a vise like grip and said, "Don't you dare leave." Ed gulped at the barely veiled threat in her voice, debating on whether to abide by her request or make things easier for Granny Pinako by not passing out.
If you ever talked to Al or even, God forbid, Mustang, they would tell you the exact same thing: Ed was rather… nervous in operating rooms. Of course, him and Al had helped Winry deliver a baby back when they were kids, but Ed didn't so much as help as pass out after seeing the blood and hearing the screams. The only other time he had seen a woman giving birth was the few seconds the door was open to Hawkeye's room before it was closed by a passing nurse. And with that, he had been sick.
Still, whether he would like to admit it or not, Winry was his wife and this was their child. So, despite all of his better judgment, Ed grabbed a nearby chair and plopped down besides Winry, holding her hand.
Winry smiled weakly at him before a fresh wave of pain wracked through her body. As if sensing the urgency of this, Pinako and a young, blonde-haired girl entered in, bringing in some towels and a bucket of warm water.
Pinako gave Ed a soft look before she went over to Winry and said to the nurse, "Amelia; pull her dress back as far as you're able and help me get her ready to deliver." The nurse nodded nervously and sent an almost imperceptible glance at Ed. He scowled at her, which caused her to utter an 'Eep!' and rush to do what Pinako had asked.
Ed continued to glower but felt his expression soften as Winry began to (unsuccessfully) breathe and calm herself, like those books on child birth had said. After a moment, though, she gritted her teeth and let out a somewhat growl as she felt the child in her womb. This wasn't lost on Ed, either; her hand squeezed his with the strength of a thousand mothers and he nearly cursed out loud at the grating feeling in his bones.
Pinako gave Winry a stern look but said kindly, "Winry; you must simply breathe. And, well, looking at your contractions, they are nearly two minutes apart. When I tell you to push, you have to push." Winry nodded and tried again to calm herself by breathing. Pinako smiled kindly and then, turning back to business, said, "On the count of three: one, two, THREE!"
Winry pushed with all her might, taking a break at the sudden pain. Pinako said again, "Push!" and Winry obliged, her face contorting in pain and sweat. After a few more minutes of this tedious process, Pinako said, "You're doing great! I'm already able to see the head!" Winry nodded weakly, too tired to talk, and took in as deep a breathe as she was able before she pushed again at Pinako's voice.
Now, Ed wasn't stupid, but he was happy that he hadn't passed out yet. Thinking that maybe he had gotten over his fear of deliveries, he dared a glance underneath her dress, seeing part of the head of the baby, covered in blood—
Ed got a goofy smile on his face before he passed out.
XXX
"—d. Ed. Edward?"
Ed groaned and opened his eyes, being greeted with the morning sun shining through that damned window. He noticed that he was in a comfortable, soft bed in a pure white room. Forgetting where he was for a moment, he jumped up, fully ready to defend himself if necessary, only to be met with the shocked face of the blonde-haired nurse. She put her hands up in defense, cautious, and Ed sighed before he dropped out of his stance.
He noticed something else too. "Man… my head hurts. Dammit; did Granny Pinako knock me out?" As he said this, he rubbed the back of his head where it had connected with the floor and the nurse couldn't help laughing.
He sent a glare at her and she said, between hiccups, "R-rather, Miss Pinako didn't anything of the sort. You… passed out after you saw the h-head." At this, the nurse's expression softened quite a bit and her laughter died down. "Well, I'm sure you're willing to meet your daughter, right?" Ed's angry retort died on his lips and he sent a desperate glance at the nurse.
She chuckled and said, "She's with Miss Winry now. Come; I'll take you to them."
XXX
After a few moments of travelling the halls, Ed and the nurse (Amelia, he recalled) reached Winrey's own bedroom. Apparently, after she had given birth, Pinako had wheeled her bed over to a more secluded area so she could rest. Ed was grateful; from all the snickering and glances he had been getting, it wasn't hard to deduce that he had turned into the laughing stock of the hospital.
"Miss Winry? Is it all right if I bring in a visitor?" Amelia asked. After a moment, a rough acknowledgement was heard. Amelia produced a key and proceeded to unlock the door, motioning Ed with her free hand. Ed followed, glad to be out of the hospital corridors and seeing his wife.
The first thing he noticed was how undoubtedly tired Winry looked. Even though she had most likely been resting the entire night, her eyes were outlined by shadows and her body seemed frail and sickly.
The second thing Ed noticed was the small bundle in her arms. It was a girl; her golden hair fell across her head in wispy waves, barely covering her scalp. Her eyes, in the split second they had been opened, were a pale blue, even paler than Winry's. She was beautiful.
Ed instantly fell in love with the little girl.
Stepping around Amelia, Ed made his way over to his wife and his child. Those two thoughts made him giddy and slightly pleased at the turn of events. Who would've thought that he would have a family with the girl he loved? A girl who was also his automail mechanic and childhood friend from even before his mother's death? He chuckled; fate sure was strange sometimes.
Once he made it over to Winry, he pointed down to the bundle and said, "Can I hold her?" Winry's tired eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly, handing over their daughter to Ed. Ed took the precious baby, the one he was seeing for the first time, and gently rocked her slightly. He saw the smallest twitch on the baby's face, which he decided to take as one of contentment.
After a few more minutes of this, Ed carefully handed back the baby and Winry took her, preparing the breast feed her when she stopped in her tracks. A strange look overtook her face and then, with a raspy voice, she said to Amelia, "Could you take her please?"
Amelia looked confused and said, "Are you sure? Don't you want to feed her?"
Winry smiled, that look on her face still evident. "No, I'll feed her. I just need to take… care of something."
Amelia's eyebrows furrowed while Ed was also at a loss. What did she mean 'take care of something?' She sounded so serious that Ed almost wasn't paying attention to that evil glint in her eyes.
"Ed, darling," she cooed, her voice sounding sickeningly sweet. "Would you come here for a second?"
Ed gulped, not liking where this conversation was heading. He gave a glance at Amelia, thinking she was in on it, but her eyes betrayed nothing except confusion. Deciding to go against his instincts to run, he slowly made his way over to her bed.
Winry smiled a shark's grin, happy at his decision to follow her suggestion. But before he could completely reach the bed, Winry grabbed the wrench Pinako had given her in the morning and aimed it at Ed, causing him to fall down quite comically.
She smirked victoriously before she said, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING PASSING OUT DURING THE BIRTH OF OUT DAUGHTER?"
XXX
EL FIN.
To be honest, I wasn't even planning on writing a one shot (yes, people, ONE-SHOT) because I have other stories I should probably be working on now.
Ah well xD
Hope you enjoyed it though :P I had a lot a fun writing it.
And just remember to click that pretty blue button and REVIEW!