Okay, I know the last chapter wasn't so good, but here's one that'll surely make up for it! ;D Enjoy!)

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, however I do own the made-ups! Haha!

Chapter Five – Talk.

On the way home from school, her mind seemed to add another thought at each step she took. Her head hung a little, sunflower yellow strands shamelessly cover her expression. 'I'm a failure.' She couldn't help but think with a sniffle, which followed after she kicked a petty stone. "Kimberly must think I'm an idiot." Wynter said this out loud as if in hopes of someone listening to her problems. And little did she know, someone was.

"Wynter." It was Winry. The concern in her voice made the ten-year-old burst into tears.

"Mom…" She ran forward and hugged her mother around her waist, burying her head into her summer dress that smelled of blossoming roses. The little girl sobbed a couple times out of spite for herself. Her lip quivered as she tried to speak in her mother's dress. "Mom… Can I please not go to school tomorrow? Please?" It came out as a squeak. The sympathy in Winry's eyes had shown for her daughter. "Yeah, of course you can."

"Does daddy know?"

"No he doesn't. I thought it would be best for it to be kept quiet for a while."

"Thanks." Wynter mumbled, her cheeks stained with tears as she released her mother and slipping her hand into her own. They walked in silence, the only sound that's made is the grasshopper chirps, and the fain t slamming of a hammer from the construction site. No longer able to stand the silence, "Mom?" "Yes?" "Will I be like this forever?"

Those words struck Winry, and it pained her to see her daughter the way she is. "I'm not going to lie to you. The journey will be a tough one, but in the end I'm sure you can conquer all your fears," Winry scolded herself inwardly for sounding so cheesy. The world didn't always work the way they wanted. That fact was proven to her many times in the past. Smiling sadly, she thought of Edward and how their paths were separated from each other's. She waited too long, and now she was married to Russel: one of the guys that Ed simply spited out of childish reasons. "Just give it time,"

"But I don't want to wait! It's ruining my life! My friends, my school-life…" Wynter outbursts, her face flushed with anger and embarrassment. "I…"

"Did something happen to make you afraid of touching someone?" Winry cut her off sternly, which caught her daughter off guard.

"No!" She lied, "Boys are just annoying, that's all! So are the girls!" She added the last part for the sake of herself. Wynter was nervous that her mother would say what all those other kids said. The truth was that Wynter was always picked on, on the playground, but she didn't want to shame herself.

"Oh," Winry said with a tone of disbelief, narrowing her elegant brows with curiosity. "You do know that if you tell me, that I will go talk to the teacher, right? That way we'd be able to settle this…" She felt that adolescent anger she used to have: the kind that meant a wrench to the head.

"But there isn't a problem, so we won't have to worry about it!" Wynter nodded as she looked to her mom, hoping she'd drop it. Looking away, her amber eyes glistened from the past tears. "Mom? How can you be so strong?" The question was mature despite her age. "Don't you have problems you can't deal with?" From her point of view, her mother was like this statue. One that can deal with anything that's thrown in her direction: she admired that deeply.

"Everyone has their share of problems. No one's free of them." The mechanic spoke with a stern tone, "In the past, and even now, I find things hard to deal with. Very much," She added the last part as she remembered those days when Edward would come back to Resembol, but then pick up and leave again. Then she remembered how Russel would leave for more than a week, possibly even more. She never had a clue on when he'd come back: similar to the situation with Ed.

'I'm married to Russel now, but it's not like I can't think about Ed when I want. He's my friend, and Russel can't control my thoughts.' She thought this with a nod. "Mine are just… Too complicated to explain," Not really, she sighed in her thoughts after she said this. Wynter tilted her head at Winry, receiving a smile from her mother, "But, right now, you should concentrate on how to get rid of what scares you."

Now Wynter was uncertain, she looked down shyly, "But how?" She muttered under her breath. Sometimes she wondered if she was actually Winry's daughter, the parent was so confident, and so sturdy that she didn't think she could be the same. And her dad is very self-actualized, when she's still fighting for that quality. Looking up to see that brilliant smile of her mother's, her lip curved into what she hoped was a smile. "I just don't see how. Is it curable?"

"Maybe I can get someone to help you out, your dad's gone, so there's only two people left," Winry stated confidently, "I just think it'll be best for you to not be around someone you're so used to…"

Wynter gulped, "You're going to ship me off to some stranger that could hurt me and I'll never find my way back?" Wynter piped up with utmost disbelief. Again, she jumps to conclusions. Her hands clutched at the hemline of her skirt anxiously as this was said. She ignored the look of surprise on her mother's soft features.

"Um, no… That's not what I had in mind." She had a sudden urge to joke around and say 'yes' but that would've been too cruel considering her daughter was only ten-years-old. Wynter seemed to relax a little, so she continued, "but it'll be a surprise, I'll give you a hint, you haven't seen them in a while, and I know for a fact that you'd love to see them,"

"Um, Nelly and Joseph?" Wynter tried carefully as she mentioned the brother and sister, whom she hasn't seen for so long. "No." She narrowed her eyes as she answered incorrectly. "Then who? Tell me!" The girl clung more to her mom's arm. "Please?"

"I won't say, because I don't know for sure." She gave off a sheepish expression to her daughter, "But don't worry: someone will come, and you'll like it." Winry made it a little assignment, like she usually had as a mechanic of a very rural area, to visit Edward and Alphonse in Central, despite the fact that they could be anywhere else. Central just seemed to be the best idea so far. "Would you like to go to a friend's house for a while?" She asked, with a smile. "I won't be gone long, I just need a day to prepare things."

"For work?" Wynter took a wild guess.

"Something like that." Winry said with a shrug to follow, "Maybe Kimberly's—"

"No!" Wynter outbursts defiantly, remembering everything that happened earlier, "I'll want to go to Nelly's… I haven't been there in a long time."

"Nelly's it is. I'll take you there." Then they turned in a whole new direction. The weather was fair in Resembol: they've had no rain so far, though it's April. The sun burst with exceptional warmth, and brightness that Winry had to turn her head sometimes considering it was facing them dead-on. A wind picked up, making Wynter shiver and move closer to her mom. "Mind losing that grip?" Winry laughed, "You'll make me trip that way." And after that Wynter apologized and loosened her grip on her mother's arm. Their walk was rather peaceful, and Wynter's tears drifted away with the wind. It wasn't an eerie peace, but a calming one.

( Well? How was it? X3 I love how I did this, but if you don't like it then feel free to tell me what needs to be improved! )

Poll

Do you think Russel should be the father, or Ed?

Did you like this chapter?

Do you like Wynter?

Do you want something bad to happen in the story? (Say, something involving a homunculis.)

At least 10 reviews, okay? X3 It'll only take a minute of your time! Thanks! )