A/N: Hello!

After Rose and Ed had their alone time, it's time to have Winry on the scene, so let's see how this reunion between her and Ed goes.

Thanks so much for reading!

Golden

Winry felt time freeze the instant her eyes focused on the golden orbs staring at her from the bed. It had been 3 years since she had seen them and the last time she had seen them had been for such a short period of time that she sometimes had to remind herself that that last encounter had not been just a dream.

"Hello, Winry." Ed greeted her with a shy smile on his face. His tone of voice was deeper compared to the one he had as a teenager but Winry surprised herself by realizing that she remembered that tone of voice perfectly. It was the same as it had been the last time she had seen him.

Winry's surprise caused her to let out a gasp of shock before covering her mouth with one hand.

"It's really me, Win."

"Ed..." Unbidden, a tear escaped her. For a long time she had hoped for his return but in all honesty the hope she had held since the blond had first disappeared had dwindled as the years passed. She had always dreamed of his return but her mind had begun to harbor the thought that she might never see Ed again.

"Don't cry, Winry. Please." Ed said in a pleading voice.

Winry wiped away the tear and, feeling her knees shaking, she caught a glimpse of the chair resting next to Ed's bed so she quickly made her way to it, collapsing into the chair as soon as she had it near her. Once seated she ducked her head breaking eye contact with the blond.

"Winry?"

At the mention of her name Winry lifted her face showing Ed a huge smile. "I can't believe it's really you." She said as another tear escaped her.

Ed, who was sitting on the bed with his leg facing the chair, reached up and wiped the tear from Winry's face with his hand.

Instinctively, Winry leaned into the light caress but suddenly realized what she was doing so she pulled away enough to separate herself from Ed's hand.

Ed retracted his hand feeling embarrassed at the liberty he had taken. Before an awkward silence formed between them, Winry laughed and took Ed's hand in hers. The gesture revealed the closeness they had come to share as friends without becoming as intimate as the blond's previous action had been.

"This seems like a miracle, how did you get back? I thought the portal had been destroyed by Mr. Mustang."

Ed smiled. The warmth of Winry's hands felt so good. "Indeed it was destroyed and I took it upon myself to destroy the one in the other world." His gaze momentarily darkened but he quickly covered it with his cheerful countenance. "I won't tell you it was easy but I found a way to open a path to Amestris."

"But how? Al's been trying to find a way with Xing's alchemy but hasn't succeeded yet."

Ed sighed but kept his smile. "Al wouldn't have to worry about that. He has to live his life. It was my responsibility to get out of the mess I ended up getting myself into."

"Don't worry, he's doing it but that doesn't mean he has to forget about his big brother." Winry abruptly let go of Ed's hand and stood up. "I have to let Al know right away!"

Ed scratched a cheek with a finger. "I actually wanted to ask you that, besides..." He ducked his gaze to his right shoulder.

"Yes, I know. Rose told me someone needed a new arm and leg. She just didn't mention to me that it was about you." Winry said as she cast a quick glance towards the door looking for Rose though the chestnut had apparently opted to leave them that time alone.

"I asked her to."

Winry frowned. "And why? I could have come better prepared if I knew from the start that it was you!"

Ed shrugged and smiled nervously. "Surprise?"

Winry rolled her eyes. "Typical of you, Edward. Well, you know the drill. Undress so I can take the necessary steps."

"Okay." Ed said somewhat uncertainly. The thought of undressing in front of Winry on this occasion wanted to make him blush although, on the other hand, he was also dreading Winry's reaction when she saw the current state of his ports... no, more like his port.

As Ed undressed, Winry went back to where she had dropped her toolbox to pick it up and then place it on the dresser in the room, her back to Ed.

Once Winry pulled out some of the tools and utensils she was going to use, she half turned to look at Ed. "Ok then-" Winry couldn't finish speaking as a gasp of surprise escaped her lips.

Ed grimaced, expecting to feel at any moment the blow of the wrench Winry was holding in one of her hands. "Maybe I should have warned you but-"

Before Ed could finish his sentence, Winry walked over and dropped to her knees in front of the blond without taking her gaze off him. "Ed... what happened to you? Why are you like this?"

Ed gulped somewhat relieved. That Winry hadn't hit him and was choosing to talk was something he hadn't expected. "You could say it's part of the price I had to pay to be able to come back. It wasn't contemplated but Gluttony had the bright idea to cross my path."

"Gluttony? I thought he was destroyed when the portal opened years ago." She replied as she laid the tools she had taken on the bed then ran her hands carefully over the bandages on Ed's shoulder, assessing the damage. "I never thought you could have lost the port."

Ed shrugged his shoulders trying to downplay the issue. "These are things that happen. But, we can do the port installation surgery again, right?" He asked, trying not to let his voice reveal the trepidation he had held regarding the possibility that his nerves really had ended up irreparably damaged.

Winry was silent as she removed a portion of the bandages to make a first assessment of the damage trying not to focus her gaze on the various marks covering Ed's torso (which the bandage around his lower torso fell short of covering) that indicated the blond was recovering from wounds that had surely bled, on the whole, considerably.

Winry's silence began to unsettle Ed but he tried not to show it and remained as still as possible so that Winry could continue her assessment. When she got up to collect a couple of extra tools from her toolbox, the blond inhaled deeply trying to control his racing nerves before Winry returned to her work.

After a few minutes of worried silence, Winry removed the precision goggles she had put on a couple of minutes ago and re-bandaged Ed's shoulder with fresh bandages (Rose kept a first aid kit in the room). When she was done she returned her utensils to the dresser where her box rested and then sat down in the chair that was next to the bed and thus a few inches from where Ed was looking at her expectantly.

"That was too close, Ed." She said earnestly before smiling slightly. "But you were enviably lucky. It appears that the doctor's intervention was timely as your nerves did suffer damage, but nothing permanent. I would venture to say that they are in the right state to undergo further surgery. But..." She gave a stern look to the blond who seemed to want to interrupt her excitedly. "You know that it's necessary to do some previous tests and check-ups before proceeding with the surgery."

Ed sighed, getting a little discouraged. "How I wish we could get the surgery done right away."

"All in due time."

"Well, how long will the pre-exams take, three days like last time?"

"Considering it's a wound over an old wound we'll probably require a couple more days."

"Okay." Ed said resignedly.

"And to those days we have to add a minimum of 2 more weeks."

"What?! Why?!"

The calm demeanor Winry had maintained faltered for a moment, causing a severely marked scowl that in turn caused Ed to instinctively try to back away fearing he would feel the blow of some tool at any moment.

"What do you mean 'why''!" Winry exclaimed, standing up and knocking over the chair in the process. "You're too thin! Too thin! From what I've seen and from the injuries Rose went so far as to mention to me on the phone, it's obvious that internally your body is extremely weakened as well." She squeezed the bridge of her nose with her hand as she inhaled a couple of times to steady herself. When she did, she sighed and sat down on the bed, trying to keep some distance from the blond. "Ed, what happened to you? It's more than obvious that this thinness is not solely due to the circumstances that got you here."

Ed averted his gaze to the opposite side from where Winry had been sitting. Good thing I listened to Rose and waited before having Winry come here. If that's the way she is now I don't even want to imagine what she would have done if she had seen me when I first woke up.

"Ed." Winry called out to him when she got no response.

Ed sighed. "How many pounds do I have to gain back before you can operate me?"

Winry stayed quiet determined not to answer until Ed answered the question she had asked. They spent a few minutes keeping silent as neither of them was willing to give in.

Clenching one of her hands into a fist trying to restrain the urge to grab a wrench and hit him, Winry insisted. "Edward."

A few more seconds passed with no response from the blond. Winry was about to lose what little control she had left, when Ed finally spoke in a whisper. "Life in the other world wasn't exactly easy." He said without daring to look her in the eye.

But that's what you chose wasn't it? Winry thought bitterly without daring to voice her thoughts aloud. A slight stinging began to make its presence known in her eyes but Winry tilted her head to look at the ceiling and clenched her hands into fists unwilling to shed even a tear. Years ago she had cried because neither Ed nor Al could but those times were behind her. Things had changed.

"Good." She said as she got up from the bed, in turn causing Ed to finally look at her again but now she was the one refusing to make contact with his gaze. "I'll go get Rose to plan your diet for the next few weeks. You're going to need a diet full of protein and other specific foods but I need to check with her what you've been consuming recently to estimate your stomach's reactions. As soon as I get back we will do some exercises to check the current state of your muscles so we can set up a daily exercise program to help us prepare your body for surgery. The way I see it, tomorrow we will be able to conclude with the general check-up and the next day with some of the pre-exams." She said in a calm, professional tone.

"Okay." Was all Ed could utter surprised at the change in Winry's tone and demeanor for at that moment he felt as if a barrier had formed between them.

"I will also take advantage of the time to go out for a few minutes to send a letter for Al. Communication with Xing is somewhat complicated so it may take a couple of months for Al to return but I know he'll be heading this way as soon as he gets my letter." Without turning to see him, Winry headed for the door but stopped her hand on the knob when she heard Ed speak.

"Thank you, Winry. For everything."

Winry turned over her shoulder and met Ed's sincere yet shy smile. She reciprocated his smile and said. "It's good to have you back, Ed." With that said, she retreated from the room.

Ed remained with his gaze fixed on the door for a few seconds before bringing a hand to his forehead leaning forward slightly. Wonderful, Elric. You're a big, fat idiot. He mentally scolded himself. The image of Winry's last smile clung to his mind as he realized that a certain sadness was creeping into the blonde's gaze. I screwed up, everything was going well. Although... did I really think everything could be like before? Pretend the last 7 years hadn't happened? Or rather the last 12. Since I left Resembool for the first time I wasn't there for her as Winry deserved and it was myself who started to create this distance between us. Everything has changed and it's been my fault.

Ed sighed heavily as he plopped down on his back on the bed. Besides, how could I have expected the same reception as the one 3 years ago? He closed his eyes as the memory of the warmth he had felt when Winry hugged him in the subterranean city came to his mind. Even though he had recognized the subterranean city when he saw it through the window of the small plane he was on before crashing, he didn't really feel at Amestris, at home, until he was in Winry's arms. Her scent and closeness made him feel so blissful that he could not contain himself and kissed her. Winry had been a constant in his illusions, desires and dreams of returning to Amestris so much so that, at that point, he no longer had any doubt that he was in love with her so for that instant he let himself be guided by his deepest desires and kissed her without thinking of the consequences.

Perhaps it was his own desire to know he was loved in the same way by her, but at that moment he had the feeling that she had reciprocated the brief kiss he stole from her but they didn't have time to talk about it or clarify their feelings because of the sound of pebbles being stepped on, which alerted them to the presence of more people. They barely managed to separate and share a quick glance before Al and Sheska made their appearance. The joy of seeing his younger brother again and especially in his flesh and blood body caused Ed to momentarily put aside what he had shared with Winry and focus on Al. He didn't want to leave Winry like this but he would soon talk to her properly. Or at least that's what passed in his mind 3 years ago since the invasion didn't give him the opportunity to spend time alone with her and, to top it off, he ended up making the decision to return to Earth to destroy the portal forever... without even saying goodbye to Winry.

I'm such an idiot. Ed thought as he covered his eyes with his hand. That had probably been the biggest regret he had ever had once he realized that there was no way in hell he was going back to Amestris. His heart ached deeply knowing that he would not see his brother back but now he had the peace of mind of knowing that Al had gotten his body back, that he was okay and that there would surely be plenty of people to help him when he needed it. But with Winry... he had made a mistake by kissing her. He didn't regret the kiss as such because it was a beautiful memory that he had held fondly in his memory but the circumstances and the events that transpired after it made him miserable. Maybe and just maybe, Winry felt the same way he did and he had left her without even saying goodbye to her and if that wasn't the case, she was his friend and he abused her trust and kissed her without even apologizing for it.

Ed shook his head a little trying to get rid of that memory. He had already tortured himself several years over it and now, at least for a moment, he wanted to enjoy the fact that he knew he was in the same place as Winry.

Despite the years, Winry's energy and pleasant aura was still there and that made him very happy. The confidence and strength that her bright blue eyes had always exuded had intensified without leaving aside the intense glow of kindness that was always in them. Certainly there was an instant when he seemed to notice something strange in her gaze which in turn made her look somewhat off but before he could delve into it, that mysterious shadow in her gaze disappeared making Ed wonder if he had really seen that.

As for her physical appearance, there had also been some small changes but nothing disconcerting. Her long blonde hair looked just as soft and beautiful although it was now slightly shorter than he remembered. Winry still wore several earrings in her ears but the most striking thing to Ed was that she now wore a necklace with at least 3 charms on it. In all the years of knowing her he had never seen her wearing one, so it caught his eye (although he didn't focus his gaze on it too long for fear of misinterpreting the direction he was looking in) but if he thought about it, overall, physically Winry hadn't changed much. Yes, the passing years had changed her from a teenager to a young woman, her body had become more defined and curvaceous but her captivating blue gaze and essence as such remained the same.

What did seem to be undergoing a marked change was their relationship. Everything had started out normal and even quite well as Ed didn't have to suffer a single blow with any tools but, through his own fault, Ed could tell that something in the way they treated each other had changed. That barrier he had come to feel had him puzzled and somewhat depressed but now he had to set himself the mission of trying to regain Winry's friendship as it was due because, although at first glance it seemed that it was still there, he wasn't entirely sure. Once he succeeded he could perhaps try to pursue something more with her. He didn't know if he deserved to even think about that possibility but, although it might sound selfish on his part, that was the deepest desire of his heart and the most important reason that made him look for a way to return to Amestris.