As she dashed through the rain, her gaze fixed on Edward; Winry felt tears mingle with the rain on her face. He was finally back! But something was wrong. His face was contorted with pain, and as Winry reached him he collapsed to his knees, his flesh arm gripping his metal one. He hadn't even noticed her yet. Winry reached him and shook his arm.
"Edward! What happened to you! EDWARD" she screamed. But he just stared blankly ahead. She gasped as her gaze fell on his Automail arm. It was trashed beyond recognition, and from the flashes of blue light coming from the socket, she could tell that the arm was constantly connecting and disconnecting from the socket and nerve endings. That must be what's casing him so much pain! Winry thought. Her gaze then travelled to Ed's torn shirt. It was soaked with dark blood, and there was a deep, nasty looking gash in his stomach.
"Oh Ed…" Winry choked. "What have you done to yourself this time?"
Edward suddenly let out a cry of pain, as his Automail reconnected itself to all the nerves in his arm. Winry squeaked at the sudden noise and placed her hand on Edwards back as she knelt beside him. He jumped as he finally noticed her. His face spun towards hers, and she could see that his beautiful amber eyes were clouded, as if he didn't recognise her. Suddenly, Ed let out a cry of fear and fell backwards away from her. He looked so scared of her… then his eyes cleared and recognition slowly crept across his face.
"Win – Winry!" he choked, his voice barely a whisper. Some of the horror faded from his face, but Winry could tell he was still in a lot of pain. He closed his eyes momentarily and swayed on the spot. Winry was scared he was going to collapse, but then he re-opened his eyes and said,
"I think I need some maintenance, Win…" Winry almost smiled, but as the pain on his face returned, the situation grew serious again.
"Ed! Come on, I have to get you inside! Oh Ed!! What happened to you?!" Winry sobbed as she hauled him to his feet by his good arm. She pulled his arm around her shoulders and they stumbled towards the house together. Ed's face was tense and Winry could tell that he must be in a LOT of pain, but he just gritted his teeth and tried not to make a sound as they struggled through the door.
They tumbled into the warm, brightly lit Rockbell Kitchen.
"GRANNY! AL! QUICK! Come and HELP ME!" Winry screamed into the quiet house. Ed's arm slid from her shoulders as he fell to the floor. He moaned softly, even though he should have been screaming with pain.
Suddenly there was a bump and a clatter as Al and Pinako skidded into the kitchen. They both took in the scene. A blood and rain soaked Ed lying on the floor in clear agony, and Winry also rain soaked, smeared with Ed's blood.
"Brother!" Al yelled, shock all over his fourteen-year-old face. He sprinted to his Brother's side and Knelt by him.
"Brother! What happened to you?" he gasped, worry replacing shock. Winry Quickly turned Ed onto his back and told Al to get a damp cloth and press it to Ed's wound to try to stop the bleeding. Al obeyed as fast as he could while Winry saw to his Automail. His leg seemed to be perfectly in tact, but his arm was in a bad way.
"The metal is crushed and stuck into the socket, but I think I can get it out." Winry said to Pinako. Pinako still seemed to be in shock though, which was unlike her, and merely nodded. Winry gently but firmly wrapped a hand around Ed's crushed, metal arm and placed the other under the release catch on his shoulder.
"Sorry Ed, this might hurt a bit," she whispered into his ear, and with that, she flipped the release catch upward and swiftly pulled on the Automail. A horrible grinding sound filled the kitchen as the metal scraped on Ed's arm socket, but Ed just tensed and gritted his teeth, as usual, not voicing the pain he felt. Winry winced at the high keening sound the metal made but kept on easing the damaged arm from its socket. At last it came free, and immediately the pain on Ed's face reduced and his body relaxed. Al was still pressing a cloth to his stomach and Pinako was still in the doorway, seemingly in a trance. Winry bit her lip as she took in Ed's appearance in the glow of the kitchen lamps. His eyes were closed and his brow was slightly furrowed, but other that the gash in his stomach and his arm, physically, Edward seemed to be okay. Suddenly there was a noise from across the room. Winry jerked her head up to see her Granny bustling around the room collecting Automail parts. She'd snapped out of her trance.
"Al," Pinako said, with her usual resolve. "Get some bandages for Ed's wound, Winry I'm afraid your gonna have to pull another all nighter. Ed will be pretty angry if he wakes up with no arm again!" Al jumped up and rummaged through the medical supplies, producing a roll of bandages and Winry helped her Granny gather all the necessary Automail parts for Ed's new arm. The old one was beyond repair.
Hmmm… I will put more chapters up! Hope you like! Please R&R!