Lena sat hesitantly still as Winry reached across her body to heave the metallic limb where it should be to check the alignment before they actually connected it. It had been nearly four months and Lena had all but shrugged off the hinges of her physical rehabilitation. Pinako dryly unamused at her refusal to continue with the process but Lena assured her she was fine. She'd endured many more injuries in her life and this surely wouldn't be her last. The skin was mostly healed and the ports were generally clean. She'd removed her shirt to make this entire process easier and so far Winry hadn't made any comments. Lena was glad for the girl having tight lips. She'd begged her not to say a word of the scarring marring her back and stomach to anyone. She didn't want her brother to know about the things she'd gone through as a child. She also didn't want many people to know where her transmutation circles were tattooed over her body. If the wrong person got that information she would be toast. Lena sort of enjoyed the name she'd earned as an alchemist, which so far thank heavens, Roy hadn't put two and two together yet or asked many questions. Daunte had kept his mouth shut about it so she was in the clear for now. Winry sat back and put the limb back on the bed smiling softly.

"I know that you said I can't tell anyone but I really just want to ask…" she murmered looking down at the tan bed sheets. "How? How did you get all of those scars Lena?" Winry's fingers had brushed over so many of them now that Lena felt a slight impulse to give her a little bit of the story.

"Well, see I didn't grow up in Tennen. I was brought there as a child when I met Daunte." Winry tilted her head.

"But he said you met in the orphanage…"

"We did." Lena nodded turning to position her body facing the young girl with blonde hair. "See, I don't necessarily hate the Military. I hate people who are made of evil…" she paused reaching up to rub her shoulder absentmindedly.

"I just thought it would be because of what that man did to your arm." Winry said plainly. Lena made a face sighing.

"Well that was far from pleasant but I don't trust many Military men because of what they did a long time before that." When Winry blinked surprised but speechless Lena continued.

"Just shortly after I was born I was taken from where my mother lived. She died giving birth so my father apparently took me. He couldn't' bring me home." She said flatly. "Because he had a wife…so he hid me. He gave me to some men from he knew from the military and said basically that he didn't care what happened to me as long as I was raised healthy and alive."

"That's horrible." Lena seemed to look past Winry now.

"I grew up those few years in a lab. I wasn't a kid but a test dummy. I don't want Mustang to know that ok?" she said with extreme clarity making Winry look at her. "I never want him to know any of this."

"I won't tell him." She whispered.

"The scars are from transmutations…from energy in my body being used to support chimera operations." She said bluntly. "For some of them they needed extra emphasis and they figured out that without killing the subject they could borrow energy, skin, muscles, organs…what have you from another being in small doses to support the chimera." Winry sucked in a breath.

"The scars are…are from where they took things from you?" she asked breathlessly. "But what about your stomach!?" she said alarmed. What would they have possibly used from that part of her body? The scars extended below her waist line and up to the center of her stomach above her navel. Lena stiffened momentarily.

"Uhm…well that…it was uhm…" she shut her eyes screwing up her nose taking a deep breath. "Yeah. It's where they took stuff." She said softly.

"I'm sorry…" Wirny rushed out quickly laying a gentle hand on Lena's arm.

"It's fine. It's the truth." She shrugged the girl off. "Please don't tell my brother." Winry nodded adamantly.

Ed sat down the hall in the living room reading a research journal of some alchemist he'd never met yawning. He glanced at Al who was reading as well before stretching his arms above his head. He yawned. It had been practically forever since Lena and Winry had gone into the back bedroom to fix her automail in. It normally didn't take Ed that long and he had both an arm and a leg to attach. He glanced at Al once more before getting to his feet cracking his neck.

"I'm going to go in and check on them Al." he said.

"Okay big brother." Al said continuing to read. Ed wondered if his younger brother had actually heard him but it didn't really matter because he was so absorbed in the book. He walked down the hall quietly trying to listen for some sort of sounds. He didn't hear anything and by the silence he felt like something was wrong. The door was shut tightly which should have gave him pause but Ed had always been a curious by nature creature. He raised his hand to knock just as a horrible strangled scream broke the silence. It was muffled by something and Ed's blood raced. He shoved the door open quickly stepping inside. Everything happened at once.

"GET OUT!" Winry snapped turning around trying to shield Lena's partially naked body. Ed's eyes went wide seeing Lena's face pushed deeply into a pillow buried from where she'd screamed. From the looks of it she'd screamed when Winry had connected the auto-mail since the newly metallic arm was attached. She gave a short shudder gripping the fabric in her hand before pulling it from her face shakily.

"I…I…I just wanted to make sure…" he stuttered.

"ED! GET OUT!" Winry threatened raising her wrench above her head. A dark blush crept up on his cheeks as he stared at the length of Lena's spine gently sloping down into her lower back. Then something struck him. All over her back there were splotches of marred darkened skin stretching around her ribs. He sucked in a sharp breath.

"What happened?" Winry got to her feet latching her hands onto Ed's shoulders trying to turn him around and shove him through the doorframe.

"JUST. GET. OUT!" She succeeded in him getting him to the door. Lena twisted around keeping the pillow in front of her body despite her taped up chest a look of indecision crossing her face.

"No. Wait." She whispered softly. Winry stopped shoving Ed and glanced back at her.

"But…"

"He'll tell Roy." She said sighing looking down. "You can't tell him. Please." Ed heard Lena's voice softly speak from across the room on the edge of the bed.

"I won't. But…what happened?" he asked gripping the frame with his metal hand trying to keep himself wedged inside the room.

"Just nasty men." She looked up meeting his eyes.

"Why do you dislike the military so much?" Ed asked suddenly. Lena looked away knowingly at the floor. He bristled stiffening his shoulders drawing tight.

"I just don't usually trust them." Was her only response.

"FULLMETAL!" Mustang yelled from the front of the house.

"Please?" Lena looked up at him again. Ed made a face before running a hand through his bangs agitated. He couldn't help but see the worry in her eyes. Why she didn't want Roy to know he wasn't going to ask but he couldn't find it within himself to make her feel worse.

"I won't tell him." He said gently back. He heard his name called again and he grumbled glaring back through the door. "I'M COMING!" He snapped back stomping through the hall. Winry looked at Lena raising an eyebrow.

"Are your joints feeling alright?" Winry asked not having had the chance.

"Yeah, I'm great. Thanks." Lena said putting the pillow down looking out the window. "I'm just glad I have an arm again."