Chapter 11: Tip of the Needle
"I am still inside here
A little bit comes bleeding through
I wish this could have been any other way
But I just don't know, I don't know,
What else I can do…"
Nine Inch Nails
Edward woke with a start cringing as the pains in his neck cried out as he forced them to move. Trying to focus his eyes in the dim light he slowly realized he was still in the waiting room. He was alone, he had forced the others to go home and get some sleep. They had kindly objected refusing to leave him there by himself, but he had promptly blackmailed them. He figured he would get about a years worth of their servitude out of their blatnent mistake. They were in his debt and it felt rather good. But now as he lay in a twisted sleeping position in an impossibly uncomfortable chair he found himself staring up into the face of a nurse.
She smiled kindly at him, "Sorry to wake you, but are you Edward Elric?"
Ed stared at her for a moment before the nerves in his brain connected, "Uh yeah that's me."
Her smile deepened, "Well if you'll follow me, Miss. Winry is awake and she is asking for you."
A feeling of relief washed over him, finally he was about to see her. Once he walked into her room he was greeted with a rather harsh scene. Winry was laying in the bed her face a grayish color the bandages on her body making the fear rise up in him. His face must have given away his shock because she faintly tried to smile. "Ed don't look so sad."
He couldn't find any words to say to her as he sat down in the chair beside her bed.
"Ed I'm ok, really."
"Aw Win I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything."
"Edward don't apologize, you did nothing wrong."
His voice came out louder than he had expected, "No Win, please I have to say this. I never should have left you, especially when I knew it would hurt you so badly. I shouldn't have led you on for so long only to leave you in the dark." He tilted his head in wonder, "Win why would you wait for me for so long?"
Winry weakly picked up her arm and pulled his face to hers, "I think you should know that love makes a person do crazy things." Before he could answer she had pulled him in for a kiss. The smile lingered on her face for a few minutes after they broke apart. She wrinkled up her nose, "Hey Ed."
"Yeah."
"You should go home."
Ed looked at her strangely, "Winry why would I go home? I'm not leaving you here all alone."
"Well if you must know, you smell."
Ed's eyes flashed with anger but then after a few minutes of thinking he realized she was right. He had gone from jail to the courtroom to a hospital. He chuckled softly, "Alright you win." He waited until her eyes began to close as he continued to hold her hand. The nurse came in shortly after checking her charts.
"I'm sorry Mr. Elric she still needs to get some rest. I am going to have to ask you to kindly wait in the waiting room."
Ed got up and kissed her on the forehead; an irritating thought forming in his head. 'After you made her wait for so long it's finally your turn to do the waiting.' He walked out of the hospital but without really paying attention he ran straight into a woman. Glancing up out of his daze he mumbled his apology and headed out the front doors.
The woman stared at the boy who had just run into her, her face curving into a smile. 'So she was here.'
Winry was pulled from her sleep by the sound of a loud click. She weakly opened her eyes to see someone had locked the door behind them. Feeling rather dizzy she tried to make out the persons face. "Ed is that you?" There was no anser. A small gasp came from her as she realized the person standing before her was Connor's mom. She just stared at Winry a look of loathing on her face. It was unnatural for a woman who had seemed so sweet to have such a cruel expression. She began to walk towards Winry her eyes scanning the scene before her.
"It doesn't quite add up does it."
Winry felt wave after wave of confusion hit her, "I don't understand what are you doing here?"
An evil smile began to curve her lips up, "I mean you wanted to die, yet we gave you life. We took you into our home and now here you are the one living…while my son is DEAD."
Winry hadn't been told of Connors state, the last thing she remembered was his malicious expression as he shot her. From there on out everything was just a blur. Tears began to form in her eyes, "Oh god I am so sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen."
"Don't toy with me girl you should be the one six feet under not my son."
Winry looked around nervously, "The doctor will be coming in here any minute now."
Connor's mom threw her head back in laughter, "I'm glad you still think there is hope or did you forget that I too am a doctor. You wouldn't believe how easy it was for me to walk right in here. By the time I'm done with you no one will be the wiser."
She pulled a needle from her pocket, "You horrible girl I am giving you what you so desired." She grabbed Winry's IV tube, "It should only take a few minutes."
Winry shakily grabbed her arm to stop her from piercing her IV tube. "Please, don't do this." Her whole body was quivering with fear, "You're not an evil person why are you doing this?"
She threw Winry's delicate hand off of her arm, "My son was all we had and you took him away." With that she inserted the tip of the needle into the tube and pressed the end down. A small speck of horror displayed across her face before she turned to leave, "I have avenged my son and that is all this is. You are nothing to me and now you will be nothing to anyone."
Winry couldn't cry out, the familiar sense of fear was clouding every part of her brain. A strange thought began to manifest itself inside her mind as she waited for death to come. Maybe just maybe she wasn't supposed to be with the ones she loved. Perhaps it was better this way; anyone who had ever loved her had found nothing but pain and death. She closed her eyes tightly, well it would end shortly.
Ed couldn't figure out why something was bothering him so much as he walked out of the hospital. Then it hit him. His mind flashed back to the courtroom, the woman's face who he had just bumped into was there sitting next to Connor. He stopped short his feet planted firmly in place. 'What would that boy's mother be doing in this hospital?' He was positive that they had pronounced Connor dead on the scene. The scene of him crashing into her replayed a hundred times in his mind before it paused at the split second that he had looked at her face. That expression he had seen it before. All of the pieces of the puzzle pulled together as if magnetized, it was the same face Connor had when he had shot Winry.
Ed turned around to stare at the hospital his face going pale. "Shit."
Riza and Al were both sitting in Central headquarters a few miles from the hospital. Mustang joined them shortly after his face still grim. "Well I guess we really blew it."
Riza raised her eyebrows, "You think?" The sarcasm spilled from her words.
Al shook his head, "If brother wasn't so worried about Winry I'm pretty sure he would have let us have it."
Mustang looked up thoughtfully, "Hey didn't he say that he was going to stop by today after he got back from the hospital?"
Riza frowned slightly, "That's right he should have been here by now." Her face grew panicked, "You don't think Winry's condition got worse do you?"
Al was out of his seat before anyone could answer Riza's question, "Well I'm not going to sit around and find out, I'm going."
Roy and Riza stood up as well following him out of the room. Once they arrived at the hospital they noticed a woman staggering in her walk a crazed look on her face. Al noticed her and grabbed her arm before she could walk past them. "Hey wait aren't you…"
She stopped trying to walk away and turned to stare at the three of them, "Ah I recognize you all, but I have to warn you." She started to laugh her eyes bulging with a lunatic style, "There's no saving her now."
All three of them stared horrified at the woman who they slowly recognized as Connor's mom.
Al shouted into her face, "What have you done to Winry?!"
Sorry it took so long for me to update
But I think this one has its good points
Kisses
crazy lady
revenge
oh my
Amy
