"What are you talking about, Ed? 5th laboratory? Isn't that closed?" Winry asked, completely confused. Ed was still shaking. Winry laid down on the bed, her head next to where Ed sat on her pillow. Al explained what happened with all of the chimeras they had ever met, starting with their visit to the Tucker household and ending with where they were then. She thought about what she could do to comfort him, with his new size. She sat up and picked Ed up once again, placing him carefully on her lap. She scratched him behind his blonde cat ears, as one would to a cat. His shaking stopped and she thought she heard a sound similar to a pur coming from Ed. Al looked at him, hearing the noise. He stared at his older brother. Had he really just… purred? If they couldn't fix him, would he be able to have his older brother and his dream cat?
"Ed… Did you just…?"
Ed didn't respond. It was true. He had purred. His life was going down the drain. What could go wrong now?
There was a knock on the door. The three teens looked at each other. Ed ran behind Winry's pillow to hide from whoever it was. Al composed himself while Winry walked over to answer the door.
"Oh, hello, Colonel, Lieutenant. Come in." Winry let Mustang and Hawkeye into the room. She offered them chairs and they sat down. They ignored the fact that her eyes seemed a little watery, putting it off as allergies instead of tears. But really, she was crying for Ed's sake. What could they do? Was it possible to fix him? "What are you doing here? Any specific reason?"
"We came to see the Elrics. They weren't in their room, so we assumed they were here. I guess we were half right. Speaking of which, where's Fullmetal?" Mustang answered her, and presented her with a question of her own.
"He's… uh… not here right now. He went out… on a walk… He needed some fresh air," Winry lied quite badly, as she was not the type to lie often. "Miss Winry, please tell us the truth. I already know of his current state. Is he hiding somewhere in here?" Hawkeye tried a gentler approach.
Winry blushed beet-red. What was she doing, lying to not one but two military officials? Ed had better be happy about this.
"Oh, Winry. I was supposed to take your bed sheets while I was in here. May I do that now?" Mustang asked slyly. Although this may be going a bit far…
What could she do now? Ed couldn't hide much longer, but could she spare him a few minutes? She pulled the pillow over towards her first, giving Ed a chance to run behind her but not so slowly as to look suspicious. She then picked up the pillow and pretended to scratch her back while really lifting Ed up onto her shirt. She stood up and handed it to the colonel, who was looking for Ed, sure he had been there.
"Miss Rockbell, the Colonel and I already know of Fullmetal's current state, so if you would please remove him from the back of your shirt, it would be greatly appreciated."
Winry flushed a deep red, saying, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, Colonel," then, after a moment, adding, "And you, too, Ed."
Ed clung onto her shirt, not knowing what to do or what she was going to do. It was too late when he saw her hand, strong from work yet soft and caring, come around to grab him. He tried to scuttle away but failed miserably and was caught by the boot on his undersized foot. She pulled him out, not knowing what she had grabbed him by. He dangled upside-down from her inescapable grasp, his face bright pink. Lieutenant Hawkeye held in her laugh, a slight smile dancing on her lips. Colonel Mustang, however, gave no attempt to hold in his laughter and peeled over, his hands on his knees for support as he was laughing so hard. Al and Winry, instead of laughing, noticed his blush and also that he seemed a bit faint. Al realized a second too late what was happening.
"Winry! All the blood is rushing to his head! He's going to-" Al shouted, but was interrupted by the sight of his brother's foot slipping out of his boot, making him fall head-first towards the floor four and a half feet away. From quick mental math, Al realized that was the equivalent of over 95 feet in Ed's current size. That would mean that the fall would definitely be… fatal instantly. If they couldn't catch him, his older brother would die! Al dove to try to catch his only brother, the one who saved his life, saying, "Winry! Catch him!"
Winry didn't know what was happening. Everything was going in slow motion. Al started to say something, and then Ed had started to slip. Mustang's laughter had slowed and he had looked up as Hawkeye's eyes grew wide at the sight of Ed falling. Al had dove in attempt to cut his fall almost all the way as everyone leaned forward. Around then, Winry became conscious of herself and her position. She bent over, reaching down to catch her childhood friend.
