Sorry about not updating yesterday everyone. We ended up having WAY more people here that I originally thought (about 14 total, 4 of them being children). I also had to take an online test and email a paper in yesterday, so I hope you understand! Anyway, here's chapter five of my story. I'll also be posting six, and maybe even seven. I also apologize for the length of this chapter. When I was editing the story, it just seemed logical to put certain sections together in chapters, so some may seem slightly shorter than others. On those occasions, I'll try to post two chapters at a time to make up for it.

Enjoy!

Chapter Five

"Here, mom and dad. This is a nice place by the window," Winry chimed as she placed the old picture on her nightstand. After her briefing in Mustang's office, she returned to her room to finish unpacking her luggage. Feeling a weight tug on her belt, Winry pulled her new State Alchemist watch out of her pocket and slowly caressed its fine craftsmanship. She still couldn't believe she passed the exam! Turning, she looked at her surroundings. The room wasn't big, but at least it was private. Sometimes alchemists may share a room with another, but since there were no other females the Fuhrer allowed her to have an older and more private room. In it was a simple bookcase that, instead of books, held an organized array of spare parts and wires for her and Edward's auto-mail. Next to her closet stood a door that led to her private bathroom. On the desk laid some of her pictures, memories from an easier past. She had put the picture of her and Edward by the river, as well as the one of her parents on the nightstand next to her small bed.

Pocketing her watch, Winry walked up to the window that stretched across the wall. She was at least four stories high, and thus had a terrific view of the surrounding headquarters. She was facing directly east, so the sun would be able to greet her in the morning when she woke up. Opening the window and looking down, she was able to spot an outside courtyard that connected to the cafeteria. It was close to dinnertime, and people were beginning to assemble. Even from her height she was able to smell the delicious food that was being cooked currently. Loudly, her stomach growled in protest, and she remembered that she didn't eat breakfast or lunch.

"I wonder if Ed is still mad at me from earlier," she said quietly to herself, then quickly shook her head is disbelief, "of course he's still mad at me! What am I thinking? Oh well, I'll get some dinner and try to find him afterwards to apologize. I was kind of mean to him earlier…I have GOT to get a shower first, I'm still wearing the stuff from yesterday!"

Winry gladly turned the water on and waited for it to get hot. Eagerly she took off her clothes and set some clean ones on the sink next to the shower. Finally when the temperature was just right, she carefully stepped in and let the hot water soothe her aching muscles. Making sure to keep her wound mostly dry, she scrubbed herself from head to toe and washed her hair. After cleansing, she stood there in the shower for what seemed like forever letting the hot water hit her muscles. Well, all good things must come to an end…Unfortunately… she thought as she turned off the water and stepped out to wrap her hair in a towel. Wrapping her body in another one, she grabbed the ointment she received earlier and began to clean her wound. Applying the ointment to the wound hurt a lot, but it had to be done. Finally, she wrapped the gauze around her arm to help prevent anything from getting in it.

Putting all of her dirty clothes in a pile to be washed, she walked over to her bed and began to put on the outfit she had already picked out Mustang informed her earlier that, since none of the uniforms would fit her because of her small size, she would be allowed to wear other clothing much like Edward had to until further notice. Winry chuckled to herself about this. I would have loved to been there when Colonel told him that… Tonight she had picked out a pair of low-riding blue jeans that fit right, and a black tank top that barely showed her midriff. Even with her injured arm, she was able to put her bandana on with ease, having done it thousands of times before. After finding the boots she wore earlier, she grabbed her clean gloves and coat (one of the soldiers came by earlier and picked them up for cleaning), and put them on. Before leaving, she made sure to bring some cash and her key to the room. With one more loud growl from her stomach, she finally left to solve her hunger crisis.

After what felt like hours to her protesting stomach, Winry was finally able to locate the cafeteria. Apparently the news had already been spread around with her acceptance as a State Alchemist because most of the men turned away from her when she entered, and talked to other soldiers. Even though she was used to the staring and pointing, this time she felt slightly uncomfortable around all these strangers. There were a couple of enlisted women that walked around and ate with the men, but even then most kept their eyes on her. Standing as tall as she could, Winry looked around to see if she could find Edward or Al, but neither of them was around. "Thunder-Blade alchemist, right?" came a voice from behind her.

Turning around, Winry was face to face with a soldier. By the looks of it he was in his mid-twenties. He had short, spiky black hair and deep blue eyes. He was at least six foot tall, maybe even more because she had to look up at him, even with wearing her boots. He was very handsome and proudly wore his military uniform. He looked at her again with his entrancing eyes, "Are you the new Thunder-Blade Alchemist?" he repeated. She found it very hard not to look at him.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Winry blushed and nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"About what?"

Blushing furiously she replied while waving her hand, "Oh nothing! Um…yes, I am the Thunder-Blade Alchemist, also known as Winry Rockbell! What's your name?"

Smiling at her kind voice and character, the soldier replied, "My name is William Chadwick." Bowing, he continued, "It is a pleasure to meet you Thunder-Blade Alchemist, also known as Winry Rockbell…"

Blushing again, she looked at the bowing man in front of her, "um, thank you. It's nice to meet you too."

William looked at the young girl in front of him. "Would you care to join me for dinner in the courtyard? It is nice outside this evening…"

Looking around and seeing most of the cafeteria look at the man who approached her, she reluctantly agreed. She really just wanted to eat alone before looking for Edward, but would feel bad to tell him no in front of the entire cafeteria, which was obviously watching the interaction. Grabbing a sandwich and drink, they both walked outside. Finding a clear table, the two sat down across from each other and began to eat their food. William looked over and saw that she had only grabbed a small sandwich, "Are you sure you do not want anything else? There is plenty in there for you."

Smiling, she replied, "No thanks. I was really hungry earlier, but the feeling seems to have gone away."

He nodded, "I see. It surprises me that you don't need much to keep your energy up. Some alchemists I know eat three times their own body weight if allowed to." Chuckling to himself, "I think that short one is the worst…"

"You mean Ed?" Winry asked as she saw William nod to her, "Oh he's been like that since I've known him. I've always wondered where it all went." Seeing the confusion on his face, she decided to explain more. "I've known him since we've been small. We lived right near each other and have been good friends for years."

A few minutes passed in silence between the two as they finished their meal. Leaning back in his chair, William looked towards the sky. "It definitely is a lovely night tonight." He could see Winry take her coat and gloves off and lean forward with her chin cupped in her hands as she stared along with him. He glanced over as he saw how the moonlight kissed her pale skin and glimmered off of her auto-mail. Not wanting to pry too far, William decided to bring up the exam. "I was able to watch the second part of the exam yesterday; the one where you got hurt. How is your arm doing anyway?"

Winry turned back to face her new acquaintance, then looked back to her injury. "Well, I guess it's doing okay for now. The nurses said it would take a week or so to heal enough to report for duty, so I'm supposed to just hang around until then. I'll be able to start my missions once I'm cleared. It's gonna take forever for this week to end," she finished as she sighed to herself.

William nodded his agreement. "I know what it's like. I was shot in the leg before and was out for a while. But do not fret, for there are many things to do within this city. I can show you around here if you'd like…"

Winry looked at his eyes again, then cleared her head and stared at the sky once more. "Maybe…thank you for your kind offer. I may take you up on it. I have seen some parts of this city, but never for very long."

"That's a shame. This city has many wonderful, small, and hidden places within it. You just have to know where to look." William paused for a moment. "I do have a question for you, though I do not wish to offend you." Seeing that she turned to look back at him, he continued, "Is that arm really different from having a real one? I know that people usually go through something devastating when they lose a limb, but does it function and feel any different?"

Winry sat back and contemplated her answer for a moment. "Well, auto-mail usually has to be attached to your nerves every time you change them out. The process is very painful, and no matter how many times you have to change them you will never get used to it. Especially if you have more than one auto-limb such as myself." Seeing the confusion across the man's face again, Winry turned in her chair and lifted up her jeans to show him part of her right leg. "Most people don't know I have more than one. Sometimes I don't like to show either of them to people I don't know, but most of the military saw my arm at the exam or heard about it from someone else…either way most people know about it. So I figure why try and hide it?"

The soldier sat and thought about the information just given to him. "You are much stronger than many of those who sit in the cafeteria. And at such a young age…" Seeing the irritation begin to build within the girl's eyes he grinned and waved his hands apologetically, "Not that it's a BAD thing…It just means you are much more powerful than many. That is something you should be proud of."

Seeing he was genuinely sorry, Winry nodded her forgiveness. She could see a lot of the people begin to exit the cafeteria. "Well, I do really need to be going. I'm going to find Edward and make sure he ate something. He's probably still studying in the library, so I'll go grab something to eat and bring it to him. "She laughed lightly to herself at the thought, "I don't know what that boy would do without me."

Standing up while Winry put her coat and gloves back on, William bowed to her. "He must be very lucky to have you in his life. It was a pleasure to meet you, Winry. I do hope that we may get together and explore the town."

Blushing for what felt like the millionth time, she said her goodbyes and made her way back inside the cafeteria before going to the large library on the other side of the compound.