Chapter 5: Re-Attachment
"Why, the little scumbag! I've got every right to kill him for this!" Winry sighed crossly as she tinkered away on Ed's damaged arm with her wrench in her little workroom.
She sighed as she mumbled to herself, "At least he only broke his arm this time and not his leg…," as the door creaked opened and Alphonse walked in with a cup of hot steaming coffee on a tray in Winry's most favourite white mug that had her name imprinted on it.
"Here, Winry! I got you some coffee," Al said as he placed the tray down beside her blueprints. Winry paused in her work and took off her safety goggles, and gave Al a small, appreciative smile as he sat in an empty wooden chair beside her.
"Thanks, Al! Welcome back! How kind of you to bring me coffee. I'm going to really need it," Winry commented as she picked up her mug and contently drank her coffee in one swift gulp.
"No problem, Winry. Uh, Winry…? Can I…ask you something?"Al asked shyly.
"Shoot away, Al. I'm all ears," Winry remarked as put her empty coffee mug back on the tray and dusted herself off.
"Do you know a girl named Lira…?" Al asked shyly cautiously. Winry's eyebrows crossed curiously in a playful way as Al's face darkened under the pressure.
"A Lira, hum…? Yes, I do know a Lira, actually! She lives in a little beige house…near the cemetery," Winry remarked as she paused near the end, wondering if she should talk about the cemetery, where the Elric Brothers' mother was buried.
"Yes! There! So you DO know her!" Al exclaimed happily.
"Well, of course I do! But how do you know about her? Considering you disappeared with Al the year she came and you never stayed around much, anyway. Wait...! Why are you asking me about her in the first place?" Winry questioned him as her eyes crossed and her brows knitted in curiosity.
"Oh! I...was just wondering! And..! Um! Sorry...about the whole "leaving-so-soon" thing. I guess I kind of picked up the habit of not staying anywhere long from when…I had my armoured body," Al thought aloud quietly to himself as he tried to ignore Winry's question.
"It's alright. But you never answered my question! How did you meet her?" Winry asked again, with a hint of impatience as her eyes hardened, making Al gulp.
"I…uh…went to the cemetery to visit Mother and, sort of…bumped into her there," Al replied hesitantly as, deep inside, his stomach was being filled with butterflies.
"So that's where you went huh...?" Winry said as her eyes softened and she gently ruffled Al's hair. Al didn't react, since he was used to it, but he looked up at her with sad eyes, which stunned her.
"Winry...please don't tell Brother I went there. You know how sensitive he gets when the topic is about Mother...," Al whispered as he put a finger his lips. Winry sadly smiled knowingly and nodded her head in agreement as Al stood up.
'This conversation is really getting uncomfortable! I'd better make my exit' Al thought to himself.
"I better go now, Winry. I promised Auntie I'd do some errands for her," Al lies as he stood up and prepared to leave the room, walking towards the door.
'Wait...! Al..!" Winry called out.
"Hum?"
"Lira's birthday is coming up in two days and they're going to have a party! I was invited and Lira said I could bring anyone if I wanted too and –"
"What does that have to do with me?"
"I was wondering if, maybe, you come with me so I can formally introduce you guys to each other...!" Winry suggested. The room was silent for a while as Al was considering it, but he was nervous, and the idea alone was making him sweat like a pig, but in the end, he nodded his head.
"She already told me her birthday was coming up...so, um...yes. I'll go."
A pair of feet in sky blue flats walked up the stairway case at the Central Military Hospital and the front doors opened to reveal Sciezka having been the one to walk up the stairs. She shyly looked around, took a deep breath, readjusted her glasses, and boldly walked up to the front desk where a fat looking secretary sat chewing bubblegum.
"Can I help you?" asked the secretary in a plain monotone voice.
"Um! Yeah, I'm here on behalf of the Führer! Can do you direct me to the Women's Health and Paediatrics Division?" Sciezka asked as politely as she could.
"Up the stairs and turn at the left hallway, you'll see an office there. A nurse can direct you from there,"" the secretary replied in her bored monotone voice.
"Thank you," Sciezka said with a smile as she walked past the desk and up the stairs the secretary had indicated. Once at the top, she looked to the left of her and spotted the office the secretary had talked about. She took another breath and walked up to the office, at which sat a more beautiful nurse scribbling away at some paperwork.
"Hi! I'm here on behalf of the Führer...! I...uh...came here to check up on his daughter? Roza Mustang? If that's alright, that is?"
The nurse there looked up from her paperwork at the mention of 'Führer' and smiled politely at Sciezka, before grabbing a folder from a stack beside her and handed it to her.
"If you are here on his behalf, would you give his these registration papers inside this folder for his daughter's birth certificate?" the nurse asked as Sciezka looked at the folder labelled "Roza Mustang" and put it in her purse.
"Of course I will! Thanks for telling me," Sciezka stammered as the nurse stood up and came out to meet her in person.
"Now, please follow me. I shall direct you to the newborn facility," the nurse said as she turned on her heels and walked down the hall, expecting Sciezka to follow her. Sciezka scrambled after the nurse and followed her to another hallway, the walls covered with a long glass window used for viewing the sleeping newborns. The nurse walked and stopped at a spot and motioned for Sciezka to come over. Sciezka walked up quickly to where the nurse was standing and saw that the glass window revealed an adorable little baby girl sleeping in a room on the other side. A nameplate on her crib was inscribed with Roza's name.
"She's so adorable!" Shiezka sighed gleefully as she stared at a tiny sleeping Roza from behind a glass window.
"She is indeed a little cutie isn't she?" the nurse sighed. Sciezka eyeballed the nurse from the corner of her eye and saw the sad gloomy look on the nurse's face. The nurse then suddenly brightened up and smiled at Sciezka as she asked, "Are you of any relation to the Führer?"
"No! Not at all! Just a...sort-of-close-friend! Ha-ha...," Shiezka replied nervously.
"Well then...! Please tell the Führer that his daughter is doing perfectly fine and that she's in a great shape and condition. She should be ready to take home within the week," the nurse said as she smiled, turned on her heels and quickly left the hallway. Sciezka then took out the folder and looked at the documents inside.
"I may not be in the military anymore, but I think I have a right to look," Sciezka mumbled as she flipped through the paperwork.
'A middle name?' Sciezka wondered to herself as she looked at the birth certificate registration part of the paperwork. She looked at the little sleeping Roza and back at the paperwork.
"I wonder what he would think of 'Eleanor' for a middle name...?! Or maybe even 'Rita'?" Shiezka thought aloud to herself as she placed the folder back in her purse, waved to Roza and rushed out of the hospital.
"Sir...? Sir...?! Please wake up!" a voice called out to a sleepy Roy, who was only half awake.
"Go away," Roy grumbled as he hit away the hands that were shaking him.
"But Sir! You have work to do!" the voice hissed. Roy stirred and sat up groggily, mumbling and yawning as he rubbed his eyes. He looked over to see Sciezka still trying to shake him and shrugged her off before yawning.
"How did you get in...?" Roy asked as he stood up and stretched.
"The door was already open, Sir," Sciezka replied as she saluted. Roy saluted back and looked over to check on Riza. His eyes widened as he saw her, awake, with the same doctor who treated Riza during the birth, talking to her.
'Dr. Clarisse Vida, is that doctor's name, isn't it?' Roy thought to himself as he scratched his head and told Sciezka to wait a minute and walked over.
"So how's she doing, doctor?" Roy asked.
"She's doing just fine, Sir. There will be no need to admit her to the hospital seeing as all she needs in rest, and plenty of food and water. She should be up and out of bed by as early as next week," Dr. Vida replied as she stood up and dusted herself.
"That's great to hear. Thank you very much. Doctor,"
"No trouble at all, Sir. I will be back next week for a check up on Mrs. Mustang, but for now, I shall take my leave," the doctor replied as she picked up her bag and left the room silently.
"Sorry. I let the doctor in," Riza whispered as she titled her head up to look at Roy. He gave her a small smile and sat down beside her and Sciezka grumpily sat at the other sofa.
"It's alright. You know, being with a beautiful strong-headed woman like you can really soften a man overtime," Roy sighed as he turned his head to look at Riza.
"Ahem!"
The voice made the couple turn around and finally acknowledge the silent Sciezka, who sat there crossly, holding a small yellow folder.
"Oh sorry, Sciezka. What was it you were about to say a minute ago?" Roy asked with a slight cough to dismiss Riza.
"Well, Sir. I visited the hospital like you asked me too, and the nurse at the 'Paediatrics Division' of the hospital gave me this folder with the birth certificate registration papers. And uh, we did some basic registration at the hospital when I went there with the doctor; so, I already gave them your daughter's name a little earlier because, uh, it was required at the hospital. They already removed her cord as well," Sciezka reported timidly as she handed over the folder to Roy.
"Really? More paperwork?" Roy sighed dejectedly as he opened the folder and flipped through the papers, the words 'Middle Name' catching his eye.
"A middle name, huh?" Roy mumbled to himself.
"A middle name? Roy, let me look at those papers," Riza commanded. Riza's voice snapped Roy out of his own little world and he happily handed the folder to Riza.
"Excuse me? I think I can suggest a name," Sciezka spoke, making both Roy and Riza looked up at Sciezka, standing right in front of them.
"What do you suggest, Sciezka?" Riza asked.
"Well, uh. I was thinking either 'Eleanor' or 'Rita'," Sciezka replied.
"Those are excellent suggestions!" Roy cried as his eyes brightened as he looked over and Riza and the two began to throw out middle names at each other, with a nervous Sciezka standing in between.
"I think…I think I'm just going to go now," Sciezka said to herself as she excused herself from the room and walked towards the door, but was stopped by Riza.
"Wait! Sciezka! Thanks for checking up on Roza," Riza called out.
"No problem! Good bye, now," Sciezka said as she walked out the door, closed it behind her, and walked away from the office.
"Arg! How long is fixing one darn arm going to take?!" a bored Edward sighed angrily as he lounged around lazily shirtless in his sky blue boxers and on the living room couch.
"Be patient, Brother. Winry's working really hard on your arm. You need to give her a break," Al replied as he entered the room and sat at an armchair across from Ed's couch.
"Oh! Hey, Al! Where did you go just now?" Ed inquired curious.
"I was just out for a walk, Brother. The weather's really nice today, so I decided to take a walk," Al lied as he thought, 'Two lies in one day. That's bad, Alphonse!'
"Dang weather must have been nice enough if you were taking a walk," Ed huffed.
"Aw, c'mon, Brother! It's not like as if I don't know my way around Resembool! I'm not going to get lost that easily! Does it really bother you than much when I take a small walk outside all alone?" Al asked.
Ed sighed as he tried to sit up, and looked at his brother with sad pained truthful eyes.
"I guess…it's just hard to see you growing up and becoming independent…," Ed whispered as his face darkened with sadness.
"Brother! I might not look like because I'm in my fifteen-year-old body but I'm nineteen now! I think I'm old, responsible and mature enough to take care of myself! I've always been able to since we were little," Al lectured as his eyes crossed unhappily.
'Huh? I've never known Alphonse to be the serious type...!' Ed thought worriedly in his head as he stared at the alien who appeared and claimed to be his brother. Ed now seriously thought something must have happened to Al's human body while Al's soul was attached to the armour!
"Who are you and what have you done to my brother?!" Ed whispered hoarsely to a confused looking Al.
"Brother! What are you talking about...?" Al asked, confused. Ed just sighed and shook his head sadly.
'He's really growing up...,' Ed thought sadly as he said to Al, "It's nothing. Just...ignore what I said. Sorry Al, I must be really sleepy since I didn't sleep much last night,"
"It's alright, Brother," Al replied as his eyes softened.
"I'm going to take a nap, so maybe you should go and help Auntie for a bit," Ed suggested as he grabbed a blanket randomly lying on the other end of the couch.
"Fine...I will," Al said dejectedly as he stood up and left the room. Ed yawned pulled the blanket over his cold body as he laid down and closed his eyes.
'What's wrong with me...?' He thought before sleep took over and he drifted off into a dreamless nap.
It had been nearly three hours and Winry was still tinkering away with her wrench on Ed's arm in her little workroom, which was nearly complete. She smiled at the thought of Ed freaking out during the re-attachment of the arm, for he always hated that part because of the "mini" shock he always felt whenever his metal arm connected with his nerves.
"Now I just need this bolt, and this nail and Ed's arm should be fixed! Hmmm...! There!" Winry mumbled to herself, satisfied as she put her wrench down. She took her safety goggles off and stretched and Al walked in again.
"Al! Hey! Good timing! Do you know where Ed is? His arm is done!" Winry said as she walked up to Al and gave him a small smile.
"He's been sleeping in the living room for the past three hours," Al replied. Winry sighed and shrugged.
"Looks like I'm going to have to wake him up," Winry mumbled as she walked past Al towards the door, before she was stopped by Al.
"Winry...! Wait!" Al called out, making her turn around and look curiously at Al.
"What is it Al?"
"I...may need help picking out something for Lira's party...so...will you help me find something to wear?" Al asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper. Winry smiled knowingly and nodded as e replied, "Sure, after I attach Ed's arm to his body, okay? I promise!"
Al nodded and smiled as he followed Winry out of the little workroom towards the living room where Ed currently slept. They both walked in and found Ed had fallen off the sofa in his sleep. Al shook his head and sighed as Winry slapped her hand to her forehead in disgust before she walked up, bent down, and shook Ed as she yelled, "Wake up, you idiot!" Ed woke up with a start, startled and stared groggily at Winry.
"What...who...? Is it time for dinner?" Ed asked sleepily as he tried to sit up, making Winry sigh as Al came over and helped him stand up.
"Ed. You're arm's been fixed and I'm going to re-attach it now!" Winry snapped as the words, 'Arm', 'Fixed', and 'Re-attach' brought him back down to Earth and he became fully awake.
"Wait....! What?! Right now?!" Ed cried in shock as Al and Winry dragged him back to the workroom, where the arm lay, waiting for its owner.
"Lay down on that bed!" Winry ordered as Ed scrambled over to the only bed available in the workroom and laid down, nervous.
"I'm going to leave now," Al said as he walked out leaving his protesting brother and childhood friend behind. Winry put on his apron and safety goggles as got set up for the attachment procedure.
"Isn't there some way this part can be painless...?" Ed asked uncertainly. Winry smiled mischievously and shook her head.
"Sorry, Ed. You're going to have to get used to this someday," Winry snickered as she dusted off the arm, and Ed shivered with pure fear and pain. Winry sat down in a chair she set up beside Ed's bed and Ed prayed that he wouldn't die from the pain.
"Okay. Get ready for attachment in three...two...one!" Winry counted down and then connected the arm to Ed's shoulder, giving a satisfied 'click' as it made Ed feel the small jolt and yelped.
"There! You're all done!" Winry said as she stood up and dusted herself before taking off her safety goggles and took off her apron. Ed instantly sat up and tried moving his arm. It moved at first try, without any difficulty, but it definitely felt different.
"It should feel lighter. This arm is almost like Northern auto-mail, strong but light," Winry explained as she put her arm to her hips and looked at Ed happily.
"Yeah...it does feel lighter...! Besides the re-attachment pain, thanks again, Winry. Just put the cost of this arm on my tab!" Ed said as he stood up and ran out of the room.
"Geez! First thing he always does is leave me to clean up his mess," Winry mumbled to herself as she shook her head and started to clean up her workroom
"Hey! Al! There you are!" Ed called out as he bumped into his brother outside Winry's workroom.
"Brother! How's the arm?" Al asked nervously. Ed moved his right arm in a circle to show Al that his arm was fixed and he smiled at Al.
"Yeah...it's all done. Now how does a little training sound, Al?"
"Um...sorry, Brother. I already made plans with Winry," Al said apologetically as he excused himself and went inside the workroom, leaving a shocked Ed behind. Ed's eyes widened with surprised before he sulked off towards the living room.
Meanwhile, Al walked into the room and found an angry Winry glowering around and huffing about Ed's immaturity as she cleaned up.
"Winry?" Al called out as he tried to catch her attention. Winry looked up from putting away Ed's arm blueprints and stared at Al.
"Hello, Al! Sorry, just give me a minute to clean up," Winry huffed.
"Oh! Are you busy right now?" Al asked. A light bulb went on in Winry's head and she instantly remembered what she has promised Al.
"Oh right! You're outfit for the party! Uh, sorry Al. Just give me a minute to finish cleaning up this mess and I'll be right there to help you find an outfit!" Winry said as she stuffed a bunch of her tools into a silver case. Winry was just about to put the case back into its place when Al suddenly came over and took the case away from her and asked, "Here. I'll help you with that. Where does this case go?"
"Oh! Uh! The case goes over there in that corner," stammered a surprised Winry before she smiled to herself.
After the two finished cleaning up five minutes, they both left the room and Winry thanked Al as they walked up the stairs to the room Ed and Al shared whenever they came back to the little yellow house.
"So, what do you have to wear?" Winry asked as they walked into the room. Al pulled out a few items of clothing he owned and presented them to Winry. She looked through them and got Al to change into a few things a few times – While she was out of the room of course – and about half an hour later, Winry had decided on an outfit that she liked best and showed it to Al.
"I like this shirt with this pair of pants best, Al. What do you think?" Winry asked as she held up the shirt against Al, who looked at it for about ten seconds and nodded his head.
"I like this outfit too! Thanks, Winry!" Al said happily. Winry smiled at the happy look on Al's face and patted his back.
"No problem, Al. I'm glad I was able to help. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go start dinner!" Winry said as she waved and ran out of the room, leaving Al to stare happily at his outfit.
'If only Ed could see him now! He really is growing up huh?' Winry thought to herself as she went down the stairs, giggling and thinking of the happy content look on Al's face.
It was one look she would definitely never, ever forget.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
March 10th. 2010
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING BELONGING TO FULL METAL ALCHEMIST. IT'S OWNED BY MORE IMPORTANT PEOPLE/COMPANIES.
I DO OWN:
1. The [purely fan-made] plot
2. My OCS: Lira, Roza Mustang, and Clarisse Vida
*** No last name for Lira yet!
Maybe it'll be Hampton? Or Kellam?
I just love strange unique names~! ***
To any of you that have been awaiting his chapter, I apologize. I've been busy and have had many things on my mind, but I'm finally done it!
I'll admit I actually thought nobody would read this junk I write, but thanks to a certain someone (Mikano Zirake is the Pen Name on Fan fiction) I've got the courage to continue writing this!
Plus, I also plan on writing other things! Check out my profile to see what crazy ideas I'm coming up with!!
Again, I apologize for the lateness, because I intended to upload this chapter yesterday but I had to go to bed and all.
I'm actually uploading this through the Library I go to, because I'm not at home right now.
Ha! Beat that, you librarian suckers! : )
Joke Jokes. I love the library! It's the best place to be when you need a good book or a quiet place to study.
But sometimes, libraries really do have their complicated moments.
I really, really love this keyboard I'm using! It makes me feel like I can type ten times faster than I usually do!
Sorry folks, but because I'm feeling really lazy and tired at the moment, this author note (or rant if you wish to call it that) is going to have to be cut short but it WILL get updated (Hopefully?)!
REVIEWS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED SO THAT I CAN IMPROVE ON FUTURE CHAPTERS!
So for now, BYE!
-- J. U. T. H. L
P.S: I apologize again for not having a special. Maybe next time, thought! So, please forgive me dear readers.