A/N: Enjoy.

Chapter 8

Ed's POV

"Because I loved you too much…" Winry whispered.

I gulped, starting to feel my face heat up intensely. My hand that was still on her shoulder, just dropped back to my side.

Winry loved me? This was definitely something new to me, but I quickly brushed that thought from my head and returned to focus on her. She's the thing that I needed to pay attention to. The thing I want to pay attention to.

I swallowed again, and then began to speak, "I-if you loved me, wouldn't that mean you trust me? That you can talk to me about anything?" She just continued to look at the floor, not saying a word. She seemed to just want to sit in silence. This ended up leaving me with my thoughts and Winry with hers.

I was still trying to absorb what had just happened. Winry got raped, and I wanted to find the bastard who dared to even lay a hand on Winry. That just made me so insanely pissed off. I couldn't even be here for her… Damn… I want to kill the person that hurt Winry so much.

No wonder she gets upset when we don't call or write. But why wouldn't anyone tell me about it though? My mind flashed back to the picture that had fallen out of her notebook. If that really was Winry, then the way she was hurt…

My chest started to hurt, and I began to have the feeling that I experience frequently. I want to cry, but I know I won't, and I refuse to as well. I don't know who or what I would cry for anyway. There was just so much confusion; it made me even more upset.

"Remember when I told you that I didn't want you to be affiliated with someone so dirty earlier?" She mumbled hoarsely. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at her. She had kept her body close, and hugged her knees.

She still stared at the floor with those soulless eyes… I just had a nagging feeling to pull her close, telling her that it's all okay… But it's just not that easy. Not easy for both of us, for different reasons.

"Y-yeah…" I stuttered, trying to clear my voice. I sat up straighter and sort of scooted myself closer to her. In response, she just looked up with dead eyes and moved a few spots away from me. Damn… Bad move, Elric.

"I didn't want to be alone, to be in fear everyday." She paused, "but I didn't want you to see me this way… I thought you would leave me for good… As in avoid me forever…" She moved her hand up to the spot where I'd accidentally hurt her earlier on and grasped it tightly.

"And I was afraid you'd hurt me."

My eyes went wide. I'd NEVER hurt Winry. She could hit me with a thousand wrenches and I still wouldn't lay a finger on her.

"Winry…" I stuttered again, "I-I didn't mean to hurt you earlier. I didn't want-"

"And what didn't you want?" She spouted, interrupting me. I paused, heaving a sigh filled with regret and grief.

I reached out to her and was about to hold her hand, but I stopped in mid-air. "I want to help you Winry." I pulled away. "But I don't want to hurt you either." I looked at my Automail arm. "I'm afraid I'll hurt you so much, you'll hate me forever."

"So what if you hate me? It's not like you particularly like me at all." She huffed slightly. "All we really are is childhood friends." Her eyes wandered to the floor again. She started fiddling with her newly cut hair.

"That's not true, Winry, I-" What was I going to say to her next? Did I like her? Not as a friend, but as a woman? She was smart, talented, gorgeous, and the way she smiles would light up anyone's world. I know she's an amazing person, destined for great things…

Did I want to be standing next to her when she was facing the world? I know for a fact that she wouldn't be able to at this moment in time… She would need support.

"Winry…" I whispered, accidentally sounding kind of angry. "Winry, you're really important to me…" I looked her in the eyes. For a quick moment, her ocean blue eyes had a glimmer of… something.

"I think you're a wonderful person, and I want to be by you through everything. I just don't want to hurt you… But I don't want to leave you alone either." She just stared at me. I looked at the floor, my face feeling suddenly very hot. "You are so important to me." Boy, I had said some embarrassing stuff. I meant what I said, but I don't know if I truly loved her or not. I put my Automail hand on my hot face.

"And you're still Winry Rockbell. Never in my entire life…" I paused and sighed. "I will never, ever think that you're different. You're not dirty or tainted; never have been, never will be. You're just as pure as ever… And I will never leave you." I looked up and her eyes were big. Full of surprise. I quickly shifted my gaze back to the floor. "Damn, Winry, don't look at me like that…" I covered my face with both of my hands. "It's embarrassing."

She chuckled, and I quickly looked back up at her, my face still felt as if it was on fire.

"I see…" She smiled half-heartedly. She moved a few spots closer to me, and pulled me into a hug. That sure made my face get even hotter… My heart was oddly beating a lot faster too…

"Winry…" I spoke into her ear, avoiding touching her. "I don't want to hurt you."

"A hug won't kill me…" She responded in the same tone. "Just for a little bit, please…" I slowly put my hands on her back. Surprisingly, she didn't jump at my touch. Every time I've touched her before, she's jumped, or even cried.

After a while, my heart was beating erratically, and I was questioning it reasoning. Could this be the reason my face felt so hot? I did have Winry's body smothered on mine, which was… more or less interesting.

Soon, I discovered her body was oddly, overly warm. My face felt hot, but Winry felt like she was burning up all over.

"Hey, are you okay?" I pulled her off of me, changing my thoughts from perverted-ness to concerned. 'I shouldn't even be thinking about her like this anyway… She's just a friend…Right?'

"I'm fine," she mumbled, falling back into my chest. I positioned her so I was still supporting her back, and I could see her face clearly. I felt her forehead with my real hand. She really was burning up.

"Winry, you have a fever." She closed her eyes and sighed.

"No, I don't… It's fine." She lied. She was not okay. It was probably a bad idea for us to sit on the cold tile floor for so long. But that would have only contributed a little to her fever. What else could be wrong?

"Winry, let's get to your room." She stayed quiet for a bit. I shook her awake, repeating what I just said, "Winry, we need to get you to your room."

"So cold… And tired…" She mumbled quietly. "Don't wanna get up…" I looked down at her, furrowing my eyebrows. Without giving it any second thought, I picked her up, hoisting her on my back. She didn't say a word, her head bouncing back and forth against my back. I could even feel the heat of her body through my shirt. I stumbled into the hallway and into her room. Her room was suddenly darker. It was the afternoon, why should it be dark in there?

I put Winry down on the bed gently, and pulled the covers up close to her face. As soon as I took care of putting her in her bed, I looked out the window. There were multitudes of clouds in the sky, and you could see lightning off in the distance. 'I should probably stay with Winry… She's never liked storms anyway. And now she's sick too.'

I got up to go back to the bathroom again and get a cold washcloth for her forehead. Something tugged on my though, preventing me from leaving.

"Don't go…" Her voiced sobbed quietly.

"I'm just going to get a washcloth for you." I spoke quietly, removing her hand from my shirt slowly. Her sleeve was pushed up a bit, and a white bandage was suddenly noticeable on her wrist. 'How long has that been there?'

As soon as I finished my thought, a big clap of thunder rattled the house. Her metal tools scattered throughout her room clanked together, making eerie noise, almost like horror music. I shuddered. Winry emitted a small, weak squeak. She used her weary arms to pull the covers over her head.

"Don't leave…" Her tired voice was muffled from the covers. "Please…" Her body was still visibly shaking even from under the covers. I sighed, sitting down in the chair that I'd brought in earlier, to make keeping an eye on her, easier.

Another bright flash brightened the room momentarily, and a clap of thunder accompanied with pouring rain hit the windows and shook the house once again. I gripped my arm tightly. My joints were starting to ache.

"Ed…" Winry's voice erupted from the covers. I looked at her tiredly. Or at least her body lump under the blankets. The rain was making me tired along with sore.

"What?" I replied back somewhat angrily. The sudden fatigue and pain wasn't making me a happy camper.

"I'm so cold…" She sobbed again.

"What do you want me to do about that?" She didn't respond. Did she fall asleep?

"Can you get under the covers with me?" Her voice sounded strained. "It's cold…"

"Are you serious?" I sighed heavily. Again, she didn't respond. "Winry, I know you're cold, but I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't." Her voice was quiet. She paused before speaking. "Please…" I looked down at the floor, feeling my face heat up a bit again. I kicked off my clunky boots and tossed them aside. I also undid my belt and let my pants slide down to the floor. I didn't mean to be undressing in any bad manner, I just know better than anyone that sleeping in leather pants is hell. Especially when it's hot, and Winry's got a fever, so… Yeah, not a good thing.

I stepped out of my pants and was left with my underwear, and my long sleeved shirt I had on. Rain was really hitting her windows hard, and the sky looked like there was no chance of it letting up. I poked the blob that was currently named Winry.

"Winry, do you want me in or not?" I mumbled, starting to turn red. She peeked her eyes out from under the covers. At that time, lightning flashed again, and the lighting made her face look absolutely frail. I could trace every bone she had in her face, and her eyes had huge, dark circles under them.

She slid over to the opposite side of her bed, and I pulled her covers to get in. I slid in and shifted myself accordingly. Of course, making sure I wasn't to close to Winry. I sighed as I lay on my side.

Her body was suddenly rolled onto by back. She was feeling really hot.

"Damn Winry, you're burning up." She didn't say anything; she only shivered intensely. "This is the last time I'm ever doing something like this for you again."

"Shuddup," she slurred, attempting to fight back in her state. "I'm cold…" I sighed heavily again. I promised I would watch over Winry, but now that I'm suddenly more self-conscious of her (without a good reason), this was just too much for me.

I still felt her shuddering immensely on my back. I flipped over, so I was now facing her. I put my cold Automail hand on her forehead, and she jumped at my touch.

"I know you're cold, but this will help your fever." I grabbed her waist with my other hand and pulled her close. "And this will keep you feeling warm." I mumbled, feeling my face get even hotter. I'm not usually a huge sap like this, but something was nagging at me to take care of her; treat her like she's the closest thing to me.

After a while, she started to calm down. She hiccuped a bit, as she was done crying. Her breathing was also fast at first, but it started to slow down. Her previous sad, worried and frail face was now replaced with a content, calm face with soft facial features. She had fallen asleep, and her breathing was slow and quiet. I moved my hand that was on her forehead, through her now short hair. I couldn't actually feel it, but I can imagine that it's soft and calming even to me. I did always like it when Winry braided my hair for me.

I kept her close, and sighed. 'What if I really do love her?…'

It was 3 in the afternoon, and that was the last thought of mine before I accompanied Winry in deep sleep.

A/N: CRAPPY CHAPPIE! –cries- I'm sorry, this is really bad, and I had a tough time writing this one.

MY reasons for Winry's fever:

She was sitting on a cold tile in the bathroom, while she was still wet from her shower.

After cutting herself, she lost blood that she actually needed. Since there was less blood, her body tried to bring her internal body temperature up, rather than relying on getting blood to her legs/fingers/arms/ etc., but it got too hot for her (Thus the fever).

It may not be entirely correct, reason #2, but I'm learning a lot about blood and organs in Biology, and that's pretty close.

Also, I have another poll on my user page!! Please look at it if you have the time, and if you have even more time, then put your opinion in!! Thanks!