Note: I would just like to thank everyone reading my fics! I really appreciate the feedback and I will do my best to look at some of your work if you review mine . However… if you have nothing to say about my fic other than the fact that you think I spell the cute little blonde mechanic's name wrong, please don't review at all. I have taken three years worth of college level Japanese language classes, and many words that are translated from English into Japanese replace the 'L' with an 'R' because the 'L' sound does not occur in the Japanese language. For example, the word 'love story' is translated as 'rabusutorii,' and even Alphonse's name is translated as 'Aru' or 'Arufonsu.' So to me, the name 'Winri' as it would be pronounced in Japanese could either be translated as Winly or Winry in English. I think Winly sounds more 'English' and less awkward so I prefer that spelling and that is the one I will use. I don't disapprove of the fact that other people have a different opinion, and I don't give other FMA fan fiction writers a hard time for their choices. However, I'm tired of hearing it, and I am not changing every instance of her name in all of my fics to appease those who cannot get over the spelling. We all know who I'm talking about here. Anyway, I do really appreciate the readership and the other comments; its all very encouraging and makes me want to write better and more often! Thanks again!
A Bit of Relief
Pinako stood in the doorway, watching Winly drag the mud-caked, unconscious form back toward their house. A slight smile crossed her face; though Winly's back was currently toward her, she thought she recognized the bit of red cloak and black boots visible between Winly's half-bent legs. Pinako hobbled silently to the kitchen, rekindled the cooking fire and hung a teapot full of water over the spit to boil. If she was correct, she thought, she would have a very ill patient for a few weeks, and a love-sick couple for many more than that.
Pinako returned to the doorway just in time to help Winly half-carry, half-drag the limp body in her arms into the house. For lack of an easier to access, or warmer, room, both instinctively headed for the kitchen; the air in the room was definitely at a higher temperature than the rest of the house, and, though the floor was probably cold, that particular problem could be easily remedied by a few cushions and blankets.
Panting from the effort of moving a body nearly the size of her own and definitely more heavily muscled, Winly ran for the stairs to grab the extra blankets and pillows from the storage closet. They weren't the best they had, she knew, but they were the same ones Ed and Al had used when they had visited, and something told her that would help somehow.
Returning to the kitchen laden to the chin with bedding, Winly found Obaachan holding Ed's torso slightly upright, trying to get him to drink a little water. He hadn't quite regained consciousness, but his body would automatically swallow a bit of liquid at a time as long as it was administered slowly.
"Is he…" Winly started to ask as she set the pillows and blankets down next to Ed on the floor. She paused with one in her hand, staring at his impassive expression.
"Winly!" Pinako slammed her walking stick against the floorboards in impatience. "He'll be fine if you get your head together and start moving. Now get some kind of a bed arranged for him while I get an herbal tea ready. He'll be waking up soon, and I want to get as much liquid and herbs into his system as possible before he falls asleep. Now move!"
A bit stung by her grandmother's harsh words, but knowing they were meant to help her childhood friend, Winly set up the bed almost mechanically, letting her hands do the work while her mind focused on Ed's condition. 'I swore to do all I could, and I will,' she promised herself again as she draped a second blanket over the first.
"Okay, Obaachan, I've got the bed ready," she replied a few moments after double checking the layers.
"Good. Now, we've got to get him out of those wet clothes; he'll only get worse if we don't get him dry. I think I've got an old outfit of his tucked away somewhere…" Pinako headed towards the stairs. "Oh, the tea should be done steeping soon, so try to get him to drink some when he wakes. It'll help keep the fever down."
As Winly's grandmother limped toward the stairs, Winly began the difficult task of removing wet clothing from Ed's limp body. Undoing the cloak was easy; it simply fell onto the floor beside his shoulders. His jacket, shirt, and undershirt were a different story altogether, refusing to budge more than an inch at a time, almost as if they were too small for him. Pinako entered the room just as Winly had finished removing Ed's boots and socks, and hesitated with the button on his pants.
"Oh, for the sake of screwdrivers, girl, get them off! You can worry about modesty after he's recovered!" Dropping Ed's old clothes unceremoniously on the floor, Pinako picked up the wet ones and hung them over the curtain rack to dry.
Reminding herself that Ed really did need to get out of these clothes, Winly steeled herself and slid his pants and boxers down his hips and legs, averting her eyes from his prone body. Thankfully, these came off much easier than his shirts, so she wasted no time moving Ed's unconscious form onto the blankets beside him, and covering him with the last one.
As she raised his head to slide a pillow underneath, his eyes fluttered open suddenly, and searched the room almost in a panic, feverishly trying to orient himself. Winly's face seemed to be the answer he needed; he relaxed back onto the cushions and groaned as the pain crease between his eyebrows deepened, warning Winly of an oncoming headache. Seeminly out of nowhere, Pinako handed her a bowl of cool water and a washcloth, and Winly began to dab Ed's hot forehead to relieve some of the heat from his fever. He moaned, with relief, Winly hoped, at the touch, and she cradled his head in her arms, cooing comfortingly. "It's all right, Edward. You're safe, and you're home."
"Win - " he attempted to whisper her name, but a series of coughs prevented him from speaking.
Winly smoothed his tangled blonde bangs behind his ears, and hushed him quickly. "There'll be time for that later. Now, can you sit up a little? Obaachan made some tea for you; she says it will help with the fever."
Ed nodded weakly, and allowed Winly to help him sit up enough for her to hold the mug to his lips and let him take a few sips of the bitter liquid. He nodded after three or four small swallows, and Winly was tempted to let him rest, but knew better from prior experience. "Come on, Ed, just a little bit more. Finish half the mug, and we'll let you rest, okay? I promise, it will be worth it."
Edward's eyes searched her face, for what she didn't know, but smiling seemed to convince him to continue drinking, actually finishing the entire mug, to her surprise, before carefully lowering himself back down to the cushions.
With that done, Winly set about cleaning up some of the mud from his hands, face and braid, which, without running water, was rather difficult. He seemed to appreciate the cool water on his face, however, and Winly was almost sorry when, some time later, Obaachan tapped her shoulder and told her that she'd done enough.
"We should both head up to bed," her grandmother ordered, rather than suggested. "He needs his rest, and so do you. We've got a busy day tomorrow."
Reluctantly, Winly began to rise, but fell back as she found her left hand unable to move from the floor. Looking down, Winly met Ed's eyes for a second time, this time clearer and intelligent, and he mouthed silently, "Don't go."
"Obaachan - "
Winly's grandmother interrupted her protest with a sigh. "All right, then, if that's what he wants; but you, my granddaughter, are going to get out of your wet clothes immediately. You know where the spare sleeping bag is. I'll watch over Edward here until you come back."
Winly smiled at Ed once more, and thought she saw a ghost of a smile flicker across his face as the grip on her wrist loosened. She positively dashed to her room, pulled on pajamas, grabbed the sleeping bag and returned to find Edward already dozing off, and Pinako steeping another cup of tea.
As Winly bent to arrange the sleeping bag, she listened carefully to Pinako's instructions. "If he starts coughing, get him to sit up and pat his back with your hand like this." Winly glanced up from her task to see her grandmother cupping her hand. "It will help break up the congestion. If his fever picks up, which it probably will, don't let him throw the blankets off; it will only get worse. Dab his forehead and neck with cool water; that should make it bearable. If he wakes up during the night, try to get him to finish the second mug of tea on the counter; hot or cold, it should still do the job. And finally, if anything, ANYTHING comes up that you don't know how to handle, wake me up. Got it?"
Quickly reviewing the instructions in her head, Winly nodded in response, and climbed into her sleeping bag, still too tense and worried to sleep, but glad that Ed had asked her to stay with him. 'Not that I wouldn't have spent the night down here anyway, with or without his and Obaachan's approval.'
"Oh, I almost forgot," Pinako said, snapping her fingers and momentarily waking Ed from his light slumber. Tossing a metal basin on the opposite side of Ed's bed, Pinako smirked at the questioning look from Winly. "Just in case nature calls," she snickered, and hobbled upstairs, oblivious to Winly's flushed cheeks. "Goodnight."
"G'night," Winly called back, and settled down in her sleeping bag facing Edward. Coughing a little, he rolled onto his side to face her as well, and stared at her for a long while. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again as he decided against it, and flipped carefully onto his stomach. Reaching out with his human hand, he found Winly's arm, and pressed it to his back beneath the covers.
She smiled at his pleading expression and shifted closer to him, and watched his facial muscles relax a bit as she began to rub his back comfortingly, just like she used to when he'd been sick or upset in the past. It had always made him feel better back then, and this time was obviously no exception. A short while later, easy snores slipped from his nose, and his breath came evenly and deeply.
'Obaachan was right; that medicine really did help,' Winly thought, reluctantly lifting her hand from Ed's back and tucking the covers close around his shoulders. She lay watching his sleeping form for a while, barely able to restrain herself from brushing the back of her hand along his smooth cheek. Finally, however, exhaustion caught up with her, and she fell into a quiet slumber.