Chapter One

The bell over the door to Mr. Garfiel's Automail Shop rang as a young man walked in and wandered over to Mr. Garfiel who stood behind the counter. There were a few customers in waiting in the chairs, some massaging their broken limbs and a few of them casually watched the newcomer.

"Can I help you?" Mr. Garfiel asked.

"I saw the sign in the window," the teenager jerked his thumb towards said window where there was indeed a sign looking for an automail technician/assistant. "I was wondering if you were still looking for someone?"

Mr. Garfiel rested his head in his hand and his elbow on the counter, flashing the teen a smile. "Do you have any experience?"

"Some." He answered truthfully. "I'm good with minor repairs, but there's a lot I could learn."

Mr. Garfiel nodded slowly and eyed him appraisingly from his tousled brown hair, his green eyes, worn clothes and worn boots. "I like your honesty. What's your name?"

"Jered."

"When can you start Jered?"

"Uh…" He looked a bit startled but quickly composed himself. "Right now?"

Mr. Garfiel straightened up and started walking around the counter, waving for Jered to follow. "Follow me, my mechanic will know what to do with you." He said with a wink. He opened a door at the back of the shop, near the counter and revealed a work room with tables and work benches strewn about and loaded down with parts, wires, and tools. Mr. Garfiel scanned the piles of parts until he found what he was looking for. "Back in that corner over there." Mr. Garfiel pointed with a flourish. "I should get back up front."

With that, Mr. Garfiel patted him on the shoulder and left Jered by himself. Jered took a moment to look around at the various piles of stuff before he heard the telltale sounds of someone tinkering with automail. He began to follow the sounds, careful not to knock the precarious piles. In a corner hidden by one of the many piles, he saw the back of a slight figure and was surprised. The woman before him was slim yet curvy as he examined her hips with her coveralls upper half tied around her waist. Light blonde hair was tied back under a bandana and cascaded down the pale back, interrupted only by a black tube top.

Uncertainly, Jered cleared his throat. "Um, excuse me?"

The woman startled and spun around on her stool. She looked to be about his age, perhaps just a bit younger and she had big blue eyes and grease smudges on her cheek and forehead. She eyed him curiously, looking confused. "What are you doing in here? Surgery is in the other rooms." She explained, pointing towards the door.

"Uh, actually…" he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Mr. Garfiel said you would know what to do with me."

The confusion on her face cleared and she looked excited. "Are you the new help?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. I'm Jered."

"Winry." She stood and held out her hand to shake and as he reached for it, she quickly pulled back and removed her grease-stained glove before gripping his hand. "So, Jered, what do you know and what don't you know?"

"I'm pretty good with the simple repairs. Wiring and nerves are still a little out of my grasp."

Winry nodded as he spoke. "What about surgery?"

He shrugged. "I'm only good for first aid."

Winry grinned up at him. "Well, let's see how fast you learn. I'm rewiring the nerves in this arm for Mr. Davies out there." She resumed her seat and gestured for Jered to pull up another stool.

It turned out that Jered was a fast learner and he picked up on the intricacies of automail easily enough to impress the seasoned mechanic. At some point Mr. Garfiel poked his head in to see two heads bent together over an automail arm, collaborating in low voices.

Mr. Garfiel cleared his throat, "How's Mr. Davies' arm coming along you two?"

Jered jumped back, startled but Winry turned her attention to their flamboyant boss and grinned. "We're almost done here. Jered's been soldering the last few wires all on his own." She gushed.

"Excellent, I'll let him know." Mr. Garfiel left them in the workshop again.

Winry beckoned Jered to come closer again. "Go on, you only have six left to solder."

"Right…" Jered said, settling back in. "And this will connect here," and he gestured "and that one will connect over there?"

"Yup!" Winry chirped.

When they finished, Winry grabbed the arm and told Jered to follow her. Out in the lobby Winry approached an older man, "Mr. Davies, come with me and we'll get that arm reattached." Both men followed Winry into one of the two surgical suites they had set up in the shop. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable over there." Winry pointed at the adjustable chair.

She pulled a wrench from her back pocket and prepared to attach the limb. "Alright Mr. Davies, this is going to hurt. Jered, come behind me and watch what I'm doing." Jered quickly obeyed and the old man nodded, taking a deep breath for what he knew was to come. "We'll do this on the count of three, okay? One… two…"

"ARRRGH!" Mr. Davies screamed as Winry turned the wrench. He launched himself forward and Winry caught him before he could fall off the chair. Mr. Davies stayed bent double, panting and sweating.

"Sorry." Winry said, abashedly rubbing the back of her head. "I find it's better when you're not braced for it. Then you won't tense up or jerk when I make the alignment."

"Wa… water…" The old man rasped.

Jered turned around, searching in a brief panic when Winry's voice called out, "Glasses are in that cabinet above the sink." Jered grabbed a glass and filled it with cool water from the sink and offered it to the man, keeping a hand on his back to steady him as he raised the glass to his lips. After a few sips, the color was starting to return to his face.

"Sit and stay as long as you need Mr. Davies. Mr. Garfiel will take care of you from here."

The rest of the day, Jered was Winry's shadow and she introduced him to her regulars and had him work with her on all her tasks and repairs for the rest of the day. When the last customer left, Winry locked the door and leaned against it. She pulled the bandana from her hair and wiped her face before flashing Jered a smile. "Long day?"

"Actually, it wasn't so bad. Most of it kind of flew by."

"Good. Tomorrow we open at 8; see you then?"

Jered returned her smile. "Absolutely."

Sarahplainntall here! This is my first time writing FMA fanfiction, and it is going to be a slow burn kind of story. I hope you enjoy! I appreciate reviews. Cheers.