Chapter Sixteen-Something missing
When Winry entered the hospital room, she was surprised to see Ed wasn't there. While Al hadn't woken up yet, she had still expected to see him there of all people. By this time of the day it was just Riza and May there. Winry took a second when she noticed May. The younger girl looked even more worried now, probably due to the fact that Alphonse was still unconscious.
"So...did Ed even come in this morning?" The question was directed at Riza who glanced up from the papers in her lap.
"Isn't he still missing?"
"He showed up at the dorm last night." Riza cocked a brow at the short explanation.
"Really? It would have been nice of him to call us last night or something." Winry thought about the night before and a faint blush crossed her cheeks.
"I guess he was just too busy for that, I mean tired, yeah tired." The automail mechanic laughed at her own mistake which only made her look more guilty.
"Right, well I guess I'd better let the General know so he can call off the search." Rising from her seat, the lieutenant left the room. Winry let out a sigh and headed over to May and extended her arms, holding Shao Mei out to her.
"Thanks for letting me have her, she's really cute." The panda hopped onto her owner's shoulder happily. May managed a feeble smile which quickly went back to a frown as her gaze shifted back to the bed. It was quiet in the room for several seconds before her small voice broke it.
"Winry,...I'm really worried about him. I just want him to wake up." The girl from Xing started to cry and brought her head down into her hands. Shao Mei's small paw lightly touched her face. Riza came back in, still as professional as always even when she noticed May crying.
"Winry, did Edward tell you where he was going this morning?" The blond glanced up, obviously thinking about it.
"Actually he was gone before I got up this morning. I just assumed he'd come here. Why?" Riza let out a quick sigh and brushed her bangs out of her face.
"Well it's just he didn't go to Central Command and the General hasn't heard from him at all. It just doesn't make sense. He had to know we would pull the military resources in order to find him."
"But they're not still looking for him are they?" The lieutenant shook her head. Winry was about to reply when she paused for a second. Her face went slightly pale before she rushed into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. May sniffed a little before she glanced over at Riza.
"Eds' not helping her if he keeps disappearing." Her statement was somewhat cold but then she wasn't too happy with the older Elric's absence when Al was like this.
"As much as I want to say this is normal for him, he's never been this unreliable." They both heard the toilet flush and Winry weakly came back out quietly.
"Sorry about that." Riza found herself smiling in response.
"That's okay, we understand. Can I get you anything? Maybe some juice or water?"
"A glass of water would be nice, thank you." Lt. Hawkeye excused herself and left the room again.
"May, are you going to be okay? I'm sure Alphonse wouldn't want to worry you so much." She rubbed her nose and tried to dry her eyes some.
"I know, I just wish we knew when he was going to wake up." Winry made it back over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We all feel the same way."
"Your husband doesn't seem to feel that way otherwise he'd be here."
"Yeah, I'm sorry he's not. I'm sure what ever is keeping him has to be really important."
"I don't mean to take this out on you, Winry. And it's not for me but I know Al would want him here." Riza came back with a pitcher of water with a couple of plastic cups. Just as she got in the room, she stopped short. A small gasp left her mouth and she froze, almost as though she was afraid of something.
"Riza? Is everything okay?" Winry tilted her head to the side, wondering what was wrong. There was a presence there now. How she hadn't felt it sooner she didn't know. Glancing behind her she noticed the dark shadow on the floor that seemed unnatural.
"Yeah Lieutenant," Edward was standing in the doorway. "Everything alright?"
"Edward!" Winry's happy declaration didn't shake Riza from her shocked realization. She had a difficult time swallowing as he moved closer, smiling happily at her. Her eyes widened from fear and the pitcher of water dropped from her hand, spilling all over the floor.
"Are you okay?" Winry asked again, trying to understand what was going on. Ed walked over and picked up the now empty pitcher.
"My fault, I probably startled her. I'll go get some more if you want." He glanced over at Winry.
"No, it's fine." His amber gaze shifted up to Riza who continued to stare down at him. It took everything for her not to pull her gun on him. As he rose to his feet, he handed her the container before leaning into her ear.
"Let's play this out like last time, shall we?" She nodded stiffly in response. There was no denying who he was. She had felt this heaviness before with Selim and the attacks on the city lately just confirmed it in her mind.
"I'm gonna go find something to clean this up with." Moving towards the door quickly, she knew she had to get away from Edward. Once she was down the hall a ways where no one could see her, she brought her hands to her mouth as a soft sob came out. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and her vision blurred.
'Not Ed, if it had to be anyone why did it have to be him?' Her mind reeled as she thought about what it would take to get him back. It was beyond her limitations.
"Something wrong, Lieutenant?" The feeling had crept up on her again and she spun on her heel to see him standing casually behind her, with his hands in his pockets.
"Tell me why? What purpose do you have for this?" She was angry and wanted nothing more then to shoot him. Edward tilted his head some in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"Stop playing with me!" A smile tugged at the corner of Ed's mouth. But not his typical boyish smile that she had grown to love about him. This grin seemed to be something of pure evil. Something that wasn't Edward Elric at all.
"And here I had hoped you missed me."
"You bastard, how could you? They were going to start a family." She was having a difficult time keeping her emotions at bay.
"He should have thought about that before ruining my life. Let me make myself clear, it's in everyone's best interest that this stays our little secret." He didn't wait for her to react to his threat. She knew he could easily cause a lot of problems for everyone if he wanted to. With nothing else to say, he left as quickly as he came. Riza felt ill from the encounter. Noticing a chair nearby she collapsed into it and continued to sob into her hands. She didn't know what to do. The only way she could protect anyone was by staying quiet. Just as she started to feel as though she could actually compose herself more she heard someone stop close by. She could feel their eyes on her and she finally glanced up to see the Flame alchemist standing there. His handsome features now staring at her in shock. She probably looked like she had lost her mind. Standing quickly, she tried to dry her eyes.
"So..sorry sir, did you need something from me." She clenched her fists tightly, trying to hold everything in. As she finally brought her gaze up to meet his, she noticed him moving towards her quickly. Before she knew it, his arms were around her and he held her tightly to his chest. Something about seeing her cry made him feel as though he had to hold her. To protect her for once.
"I don't know what's going on, but it'll be okay." She felt herself loosing control of her emotions again and cried loudly into his shirt. There was nothing she could say to explain what she was feeling but he didn't need to know. He simply knew whatever could cause her this kind of sadness had to be pretty bad. In all the years he'd known her there had been very few situations were he actually saw her cry. The last time in fact he could recall was at her father's funeral. But this seemed far worse then that and maybe it was because he had gotten to know her so well. "Whatever it is, we'll get through it. I promise."
A/N-Alright someone out there has to be like 'Aww soo cute!' This last scene was so worth some reviews.