Ok this is my first Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood fanfic or fanfic in general so go easy please.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood was created by Hiromu Arakawa. I own nothing. Brotherhood verse with elements from 2003.

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"Well...goodnight Lieutenant, and...uh thanks again for the warning. I owe you one." Edward Elric said over his shoulder as he walked towards the front lobby of Eastern Command.

Riza Hawkeye gave a small smile as she followed him down the hallway. "Don't mention it Edward. Just in the future try not to antagonize them so much."

"Hey, if they hadn't called me short then I wouldn't have hurt them" Ed shot back, "Besides I only gave Havoc a black eye and Breda hurt himself while running away. If you ask me, they're just overly sensitive".

Hawkeye gave a chuckle. "Goodnight Edward, say hi to Winry for me." she said. Ed gave her a nod before walking down the stairs that lead into the street, responding only with a backwards wave. Hawkeye watched the teenage State Alchemist exit the building before thinking to herself, 'He's really a nice kid, I just wish he would stop antagonizing people so much.'

The air was crisp as Ed walked down the sidewalk leading away from the military headquarters. His little brother Al was currently visiting the Hughes' residance at the moment and probably would be there for several more hours. 'Poor Al, the Lt. Colonel probably has him backed into a corner with family pictures.' Ed thought with a shudder. 'At least he likes playing with Elysia'.

As a obnoxiously loud honking cab passed by, Ed thought about the warning that Hawkeye had given him only minutes ago.

'How is this fair? I thought we were even. They insult me and I beat them up; equivalent exchange. Why do they have to bring this to a whole new level?' Ed seethed to himself.

According to Lieutenant Hawkeye, a green bowl of chocolate chip cookies (which Ed had a sweet tooth for) had been placed in his and Al's hotel room by Havoc, Breda, and Falman. The three stooges had laced the sweets with some kind of alcoholic drug that either made you act drunk or have mood swings; sometimes both. The idiotic hope from this venture was that Ed would get drugged and then make a fool of himself. Since Al didn't need food Ed would be the only one to fall victim to their 'trap'. While this whole situation pissed Ed off he had to admire their dedication.

'I can't wait to see the look on their faces when I show up tomorrow perfectly sober.' Ed smirked. 'Maybe I'll drug their water cooler or something as revenge. Hmm, I wonder if Colonel dipshit had anything to do with this".

Ed walked for a few blocks in silence before his thoughts turned to what else the lieutenant had said.

"Say hi to Winry for me."

'I wonder if she's in the city yet. Her train should have arrived a little while ago.'

Ed hadn't been able to pick her up at the train station so he had sent a cab to drive her to Al and his hotel room. Earlier this morning she had called saying that she wanted to do some maintenance on his arm. He didn't know why, his arm felt fine. Hoping to dissuade her from coming he told her that he was following a lead on getting Al's body back and couldn't be disturbed. But for some reason she ignored this, saying that she still wanted to take a look at his automail. His childhood friend could be so confusing sometimes.

Looking at the setting sun, Ed began to think of when he talked to Winry earlier that day. She had said that she would call him when she arrived at the hotel. But so far he hadn't heard a single word from her.

'I hope the cab driver didn't get lost. If so, she's going to get pissed and take it out on me for no reason! I already have my idiotic coworkers out to get me, I don't need a scorned wrench-wielding gear head thirsting for my blood!'

'But where could she be?' Ed suddenly felt a twinge of panic.'What if the cab driver got the address wrong and dropped her off someplace bad?' He thought.

Ed knew that Winry was strong, but there were some people in this city that Ed didn't want anywhere near her.

Ed found himself picking up the pace as he walked down the near deserted street. If anything happened to Winry again, he'd never forgive himself. Besides Al she was his oldest friend. The odds of anything happening to her were slim, but you never know. Life has never smiled on him before, why should it start now?

Quickly rounding a corner, Ed saw the hotel come into view. It was a five star hotel, which just happened to offer a special discount for people in the military. Ed and Al had been renting a room there for a year now. Their current residence consisted of a suite with two floors to it. The room in question was on the fifth and sixth floor. From his vantage point on the street Ed could see a light on in the windows.

'See', Ed thought, 'She's fine. I was freaking out over nothing. Winry would call me an idiot if she ever found out about that'.

Ed's thoughts went from being worried to being annoyed.

'I hope for her sake, she has a valid excuse for not calling. She knows perfectly well that I don't like it when she comes to East City by herself.'

He thought back to the time when Winry was kidnapped by Barry the Chopper and he himself was almost killed trying to save her. Despite being a skilled alchemist, he and Winry had barely survived the incident. When that whole nightmare was over, to Ed's continuing regret, he had been too focused on his own problems to be worried about how Winry had fared. He just sat there sulking and didn't even say anything to her before she left later that day. He had been selfish and hadn't thought about how she had been affected. For Christ sake, she'd been kidnapped, tied up, and almost butchered by a sadistic serial killer. From what Pinako had told him, Winry had been plagued by nightmares for weeks after that day. Ed slowed his pace as guilt flooded him and he clenched his fist in anger. Anger at being weak and inconsiderate of his best friend. Winry had suffered and he hadn't done anything to help her. Two years later and not once has he ever talked to her about what happened. But despite everything that had happened, she still insisted on coming and helping him. Ed sighed, every time she came to East City, he couldn't help but think back to the time the two of them almost lost their lives.

Ed walked into the lobby and headed for the elevator when the receptionist at the front desk called him over "Um, Mister Elric".

'What now' Ed sighed impatiently, then turned to answer "Yes?"

The bespectacled man shifted uncomfortably in his chair, something every member of the hotel staff did when talking to Ed. It had been like this ever since an incident several months ago when the previous receptionist had mistaken Ed for a lost child. Needless to say it did not end well and now there was a new receptionist.

"Well sir, we have received several, um, noise complaints from other guests on the fifth floor complaining about loud sounds coming from your room".

Ed narrowed his eyes, "Noise complaints?"

The receptionist nodded nervously.

"What kind of noise complaints?

"Loud noises and furniture being moved around I believe."

Ed sighed. "Okay...did a blonde girl come in asking for my room recently?"

The receptionist was quick to respond, "Yes sir, Miss Rockbell checked in about half an hour ago. I gave her a key and your room number, and she took the elevator up...About 20 minutes later we started getting the noise complaints."

"Has anyone else gone up to my room?" Ed snapped.

"No, sir, I've just seen residents today."

"Have you gone up to check what's causing the noises?" Ed asked annoyed.

The man gulped and said "Well Mr. Elric you've made it very clear that you don't want anyone disturbing your room. And this isn't the first time we've had complaints."

Ed glared at the receptionist before mumbling "Thanks" and headed to the elevator. As the elevator rose to the fifth floor Ed wondered about what the receptionist had told him. 'Furniture moving? Just what the hell is she doing in there? Wait, could she be hurt?'. Ed was roused from his thoughts by the ding of the elevator as it reached the fifth floor. Pushing the door to the side, Ed exited the elevator and started down the hallway. As he approached his room, Ed listened for any loud noises from the other side of the door. He didn't hear anything. 'I guess whatever was going on in there has stopped'.

Sliding the key into the keyhole, Ed opened the door and entered the apartment. He closed the door behind him, giving the living room a quick one over to see if anything was amiss. 'So far so good.' he thought but then frowned as he noticed a lamp had been knocked over. 'What happened there?...Wait her luggage and tools are here!' Ed walked over to the bags that had been placed on a table in the living room. 'Yeah this is her stuff, but where is she?'

"Winry?" He called out.

Ed listened for a response but heard none. Getting nervous he spoke louder "Winry! Are you here?"

Ed moved across the living room, eyes searching for any sign that someone had broken in or that there had been some kind of struggle. There weren't any blood stains anywhere, but Winry's lack of response was becoming very troubling.

"Winry if you don't answer me soon, I'll break your damn automail!"

Ed froze when he heard a sound coming from the kitchen. It kind of sounded like crying, but was more like laughing.

"Winry?" Ed asked cautiously as he made his way to the arch that led into the kitchen. When he reached the arch, he froze in shock. The kitchen was a complete mess and lying on the floor was Winry. She was sprawled out on her back in the middle of the floor. Her outfit and hair were disheveled and her face was bright red. Her white tank top was stained and her skirt was riding rather high on her thighs. At the moment she was just laying there giggling nonsensically. One of her hands was outstretched in front of her and she was waving it in front of the light on the ceiling, laughing whenever the light shone on her face.

Ed's jaw was currently punching its way to the basement as he stared in shock at his childhood friend. 'What the hell is she doing', He thought incredulously, 'Has she completely lost her mind?'

Winry, enveloped in her seemingly aimless game of peek a boo with the light, glanced over and saw Ed standing at the kitchen entrance. A dumb smile broke out onto her face as she quickly forgot about what she had just been doing.

"EEEEEeeeDDDDDddd", she squealed gleefully, as she rolled rather sluggishly onto her stomach.

Ed could still only stare as Winry struggled to stand up on shaky legs and stumbled over towards him.

"Hey ed, ow's it goin. s'ben while since hive seen you." She slurred as she stopped right in front of him.

"Winry?" Ed's voice held back none of it's shock. Winry giggled at the weird way his voice sounded. She swayed from left to right as if she had no center of balance. Her eyes were glazed over.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Winry gave a childish giggle, "Of curse i am, silly. I-I-i feel ffiinnee." she slurred as she continued to sway back and forth.

Ed grabbed her shoulders to steady her. "No you are not! Damn it, Winry, what is wrong with you." He half-shout at his delirious mechanic. His raised volume caused Winry wince and turn her head to the right. That's when Ed saw that she had crumbs on her chin. "Winry?" he asked, "What's that on your chin?"

"Huh?" She looked at him confused.

Ed's metal hand came up and carefully turned Winry's face so he could get a better look. He brushed the crumbs off her face and if he wasn't mistaken there were chocolate smudges near her mouth. Ed looked down on the floor of the kitchen where various foods, utensils, and other objects were scattered all around. But what really caught his eye was a smashed green bowl with chocolate chip cookies scattered around it. A few a them had bites taken out of them.

Ed looked from the bowl to Winry (who was now staring at the wall), then to the bowl and then back to Winry. 'Are you fucking kidding me?'. After knowing her for his entire life, Ed had learned how to deal with happy Winry, sad Winry, and angry Winry. But he never thought that one day he would have to deal with drunk Winry.

"I'm going to kill them" Ed muttered.

"Whaa?" Winry asked.

'I can't believe this is happening.' Ed moaned to himself before turning back to his inebriated friend."Winry, how many cookies did you eat?"

Winry placed one of her fingers on her lips as she thought about Ed's question.

"Uhhh one,two, three...seven, square?"

Ed resisted the urge to break something. Those idiots had concocted this half-ass revenge plan and ended up drugging Winry instead! Oh boy, he was defiantly paying those fools back for this. Drugging the water cooler was going to be child's play compared to what he was going to do them.

Pushing aside his vengeful thoughts he looked at Winry who was now staring at him with a goofy grin on her face. Winry's face was still covered in crumbs and chocolate, so Ed reached over to grab a towel. As he reached for the towel he felt something break under his boot. Ed looked down to see a large piece of the broken bowl, now in several sharp pieces. 'Oh Shit!' Ed looked around and saw all sorts of broken glass and china littered over the floor. 'Wow she really made a mess.'

"Oh" Winry blurted out. "Yur hear, I'll go get meh tools."

As Winry turned to leave Ed noticed that she was barefoot. "Winry wait!" Ed reached out and grabbed Winry's arm, stopping her in her tracks. "Be careful you idiot, the floors covered in glass." Ed snapped.

"Oh" Winry said in a quiet voice, "I shud be careful."

"Understatement" Ed mumbled bitterly, "Come on dummy let's get you out of here".

Rather than risk Winry cutting her feet, Ed curled his metal arm around her shoulders and his flesh arm went for her kneels. Winry let out a quiet yelp then began giggling as Ed picked her up bridal style. Ed carried her over the glass and into the living room. He nearly tripped over her shoes which had been lazily discarded on the floor. His stumbling caused Winry to squeal like a kid on a ride. "Well you're certainly a happy drunk." Ed mused out loud to which she lightly tapped him on the head.

After placing her on the couch Ed used the towel he grabbed to wipe Winry's face. Winry whined as he did this and tried turning her face away. "Ok I'm done! Are you happy now?" Winry nodded and Ed took this time to examine her more closely. Her arms and legs had some scrapes on them, but thankfully none that were bleeding. There were also a fair amount of bruises on her legs, probably from bumping into the furniture. Ed lifted her feet to see if the bottoms of them were cut in any way. Amazingly enough, in all her drunken glory, Winry had managed to avoid stepping on a single piece of broken glass. It was amazing that she didn't hurt herself. If she had then nothing in the world would've save those idiots at Eastern Command.

"Whah are yuh doing Ed?" Winry said while looking like she was trying to melt back into the couch cushion.

"Checking for scratches." Ed said,

"Scratchies?" Winry said confused, "But I'm not itchy."

Ed sighed, Where's Al when you need him? "Why did you eat the cookies?"

"I wis hungry" Winry was shifting her knees back and forward like a metronome. "And dey did not sirve food on da train wide." Winry said while pouting like a five year old.

"Winry" Ed said, "Do you even know that you're drunk?"

Winry paused for a moment, making an 'oh' shape with her mouth, then broke out laughing. "Yur silly, Ed. I'm nah drunk."

"Yes you are." Ed spoke dully.

"Ow can I be...drunk if I haven't drinken anything" Winry asked, smiling confidently.

"It was the cookies you moron. The cookies had alcohol in them!" Ed was beginning to lose his patience.

"Oooooohhhhhhh." Winry let out as if she was having an epiphany, "Maybe that's why meh head feels fuzzy". Drool began to collect in the left corner of her mouth.

With that Winry suddenly slumped forward and face planted into Ed's shoulder.

"Gah, Winry!" Ed said as he caught her.

She let out a groan and mumbled into his shoulder, "EEEEEeeedddd."

"Yes Winry?" Ed replied.

"My head hurts, I don' feel good." Winry said in a suffering voice.

Ed sighed before patting her back gently. "I know...I know. It's going to be okay Winry." He reassured her.

Winry merely responded with a moaning sound, her cheerful attitude had completely disappeared. 'So much for being a happy drunk'. Ed's attention was caught by the phone ringing, the loud noise caused Winry to fall back on the couch and cover her ears whimpering. Moving quickly Ed picked up the phone and answered, "Yeah who is this?"

"Hello brother?" Came a childish voice from the phone.

"Al..where are you, it's getting late out?" Ed sighed.

His brother replied "I'm watching Elysia, Mr. Hughes got called into work and Gracia is out of town so I offered to watch Elysia until he got back."

'Dammit, now I'm going to have to deal with this alone'. Ed thought to himself.

"Brother…? Are you still there." Al asked.

"Yeah I'm still here"

"Is everything okay? Did Winry make it to the hotel?"

"Yeah she's uh..she's fine. Thanks for calling me."

"Your welcome brother, see you soon."

'Hopefully.' Ed thought as Al hung up. He turned back to Winry who seemed to be sobering up a little. She looked confused and was staring at him with big eyes that reminded Ed of a puppy. "Ed." she spoke softly, "I'm tired."

'Well she's certainly speaking more clearly. What the hell did they put in those cookies, it doesn't seem quite like alcohol. Anyway, she needs to sleep, I guess I'll put her in my bed for tonight.' Ed thought as he moved back towards the couch. He knelt down next to her and slid his hands under her legs and back.

"Winry, I'm going to carry you up to my room okay?"

Winry just let out a huffing sound. Ed shrugged and began to lift her. Much to his annoyance she started struggling but stopped when he stood up completely. As Ed made his way to the stairs he noticed that Winry had stopped moving, looking down he saw that she had her eyes close and was breathing evenly. 'Oh good she fell asleep, that'll make this a lot easi- "OOWW WINRY WHAT THE HELL!"

Winry, who was still awake, had grabbed a handful of Ed's long blonde hair and pulled violently on it.

"Ha ha ha, your face is sooo red, it's like a tomato." Happy drunk Winry was back and was still tugging on his hair. Ed grabbed her hand to make her stop which caused him to almost drop her.

"Winry." he hissed, "Stop it!"

Winry just looked at him with the same dopey grin and glazed eyes. "I..always...liked..your hair.' she said slowly.

"Okay, then stop trying to rip it out." Ed barked.

There was a pause as Ed reached the bottom of the stairs then Winry spoke again.

"Why is (burp)..why is your hair so long?"

Ed paused and looked at her. "What?"

"Your hair it's soooo long."

"Yeah so what if it's long? It looks fine!"

Winry giggled like they were gossiping. "No it doesn't. You..you look like a girl."

"WHAT?! IT DOES NOT!"

Winry continued to giggle nonsensically. "It's long like mine, see." Winry held her own hair next to Ed's and laughed when Ed's was longer. "Seeeee, your hair is longer then mine, so you look like a girl!"

"I thought you said you liked it?" Ed said, trying to keep his voice quiet.

"I do." Winry rolled her head in a circle. "I like it because it's silly."

Ed huffed. Arguing with her in this state was even more useless than arguing with her when she's sober. At least like this she couldn't hit him with a wrench. 'Just get her into a bed and you can call it a night.' Ed bettered his grip around Winry and started up the stairs slowly.

"I threw up earlier." Winry put out.

"Where?" Ed questioned.

"Bathroom."

"Ok, do you feel better now?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"I missed the toilet."

"Great."

"It's still there."

Sigh "Don't worry I'll clean it later."

"Do you like my hair?" Winry asked suddenly.

The question caught Ed off guard, but he gave out response. "Uhhh, I-I guess."

"You guess?" Winry scrunched her face up.

"Yes I like it." Ed huffed. That wasn't a lie, Ed thought that Winry had great hair. It was soft and always seemed to glow in the sunlight. Not that he'd ever admit that out loud.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" She asked next causing Ed to almost drop Winry. Did she really just ask that?

"Well..I..umm wha-ich..ah da! Wwwhat was th-the question again?"

"Do..you..think..I'm..pretty?" Winry tapped his chest with every word. "You sound weird Ed, you drunk too?" She grinned.

She had short-circuited his brain with a single question. 'What do I do? Should I tell her the truth? Wait I'll just change the subject, maybe she'll forget that she even asked the question.'

"Hey Winry, how are things in Rush Valley?" Ed sweat dropped.

"That's not an answer" Winry whined, "Come on, you can tell me. We're best buddies."

'That's why I can't tell you...At least not now, not like this.' Ed thought sadly to himself.

"Why won't you answer me, do you think I'm ugly?" Winry began getting annoyed at his lack of response.

At this point Ed had reached the top of the stairs but he had stopped moving. His attention was now solely on the drunk girl in his arms.

"No I don't." Ed said in a serious tone.

"Then answer the damn question!" Winry had once again gone from happy to solemn as she was looking at Ed with a blank face.

"Winry, now is not a good time to talk about this." Ed started moving to his room.

"It's never a good time with you." Winry muttered bitterly to herself. Suddenly she began thrashing in his arms. Kicking her legs and flailing her arms against his chest.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Ed snapped as he struggled to retain his grip on Winry. But she continued to wriggle like a fish in his arms. Ed staggered to his bed and practically threw Winry on to it.

"There!" Ed yelled, "Now go to sleep!" Ed was done dealing with Winry's mood swings.

Winry picked herself up and sluggishly got off the bed. Ed tried to coax her back down, but she pushed him away. Winry stood up on shaky legs and glared at Ed with more ferocity than he was used too. He blinked in surprise as Winry's breathing came out in angry pants as her narrowed eyes refused to leave his alone. "This is so fucking typical of you Ed!"

Ed eyes widened at the sound of her cursing. 'Wow she's pissed.' He thought.

"What is wrong with you Winry?", Ed wanted to know why she was suddenly now so angry at him. This wasn't just the drugs, something else was really bothering her.

"What's wrong with me? With ME?" Winry shouted/slurred in a shrill voice."What's wrong with you Ed?"

"What on Earth are you talking about?"

"Of course you wouldn't know!" She growled, glaring at Ed.

"Just spit it out Winry." Ed said exasperated.

Suddenly Winry burst into tears. Ed found himself at a complete lost for words as Winry began sobbing in front of him.

"W-why don't you tell me anything Ed?" Winry said in between sobs. Her face was all red and messy again.

Winry's question didn't register for Ed, all he was focused on was that Winry was standing there crying. Ed felt the strong urge to comfort her, so he reached out for her.

"NO!" Winry shouted, pushing his hands away.

"You-you and Al, you never tell me anything. Why?"

Ed gulped, unsure of how to answer her. "Winry, I-"

"NO!" Winry shouted again silencing him. "Don't you dare say it's none of my business. You-You always say that, then you change the subject. Why? Why can't you te-tell me?"

Winry stood there trembling, her emotions a wreck due to the drugs coursing through her veins. Ed's heart ached at the sight of her being reduced to such a vulnerable state. 'Shit..She's never cried like this before.'

The only other time that he could remember her looking this shaken was...the Chopper incident.

Then just as quickly as it came, her sadness disappeared and anger again took its place.

"You don't care." Winry accused, pointing a finger at Ed. "You don't care about me."

"You-you can't mean that" Ed choked out, his face pale. Her last accusation had rocked him to his core. 'Does she really think that?' Ed prayed to God that she didn't. Ed walked forward with his hands outstretched towards her, "Winry you're drunk, you-you don't know what you're saying." Ed stammered.

Winry sucked in a breath before locking eyes with Ed, fury still blazing in those deep, azure colored eyes.

"If you cared about me, you would've taken my feelings into consideration. I care about you Ed. Granny cares about you. But we never know where you are. There have been months when I didn't hear a single word from you or Al. I've lost sleep wondering if you're even still alive!...I don't ask for much. A simple phone call or an occasional letter would be good, that shouldn't be too hard, should it? Well I guess it is because you can't be bothered to do any of those things."

Winry paused in her rant to grab Ed's metal arm and holding it up in front of Ed's face.

"Winry.." Ed began trying to cut her off.

"The only time Ed!" Winry cut in. "The only reason I ever know that you're alright is because of this arm and leg. Because you get hurt. It scares the life out of me whenever you show up broken. But I'm almost glad because that's the reason you even stop by anymore. Have you forgotten Ed? Have you forgotten your home? Granny?...me? Do all these years of being your friend, of sticking by you, mean nothing? Hell I'm not even your friend anymore, I'm just your mechanic...I'm just your mechanic that you can pull out of your pocket when you need me, then toss me aside when I'm finished...I can't remember the last time you, Granny, and me had a simple meal together. And after all of that, the complete lack of communication from you; after all of the sleepless nights and days upon days of endless worrying, what do you say to me when I ask you what you've been doing. 'It's none of your business'. Why don't you trust me Ed? What do I have to do to prove my friendship to you? I put everything I got into helping you and I never even get a thank you. This night is the first time I have seen you in almost half a year. I tried stopping by many times, but you lie to me. Don't think I don't know when you're lying Ed…every time I wanted to stop by and see two of the most important people in my life you blow me off or act like an asshole. Today I just wanted to come see you and you lied to me! When did you start hating me Ed?"

In all honesty, Ed was at a lost for words. Every venomous word she spoke was like connecting automail to his nerves again and again. He didn't know what to say to her, What could he say to her? Why didn't she tell him that she felt this way before?

'Because she never had a chance to, weren't you paying attention.'

"Winry" Ed choked out, "I...I'm sorry."

"Yeah of course you are", Winry slurred sarcastically.

Ed suddenly started to feel his guilt turn to anger. But he didn't know if it was towards her or at himself. Either way he felt like defending himself.

"You don't understand Winry!" Ed shouted defensively. "You don't understand how hard it is. I have Al to worry about. I have a responsibility to him."

"There!" Winry shouted, she stumbled forward until she was right in Ed's face. She aggressively grabbed his jacket and pulled him forward. "You always use Al as an excuse!"

Ed narrowed his eyes, anger clouding his mind. "An excuse! You're saying I use my brother as an excuse!" Ed was trying to push Winry off of him, but she wouldn't budge.

"Yes I am. Whenever you don't feel like facing reality, you use Al as your get of jail free card!" Winry shouted in his face, while still resisting his efforts to get her off him.

"Winry!" Ed warned in an angry voice.

"What's a matter Ed, you realize that you treat your own brother just as bad as you treat your friends?" Winry screamed.

"ENOUGH!" Ed bellowed as he felt the last of his restraint snap. He shoved Winry off of him with as much force as he could muster. Winry was sent flying back, unable to stop herself in her inebriated state. Ed watched as she hit one of his desks on the way down; her head bouncing loudly off the wood, before crashing to the floor in a unmoving heap.

It took Ed less than a second to realize what he had done.

"WINRY!" Ed's fury was quickly forgotten as Winry remained motionless. In a second he was by her side, gently rolling her over onto her back. 'My god, what have I done? Please be okay Winry. Please be okay!' Her face was blank and she looked like she was unconscious. His flesh hand made its way to the back of her head where he felt a large bump forming. Before Ed could think about going to get help, he noticed small tears rolling down her soft cheeks. He pulled back to look at her and saw that her body was shaking from silent sobs. He carefully maneuvered her head onto his lap.

"Winry?" Ed pleaded, hoping above all else that he hadn't hurt her too bad.

"I..I..I'm s-s-sorry, E-Ed." Winry whimpered quietly. Her eyes still closed as tears continued to escape them.

Ed's eyes widened at the fact that she was the one apologizing. In her state she had no control over what she said and so all of her demons came pouring out at once. Yes what she said had hurt and was a little cruel, but it had been his actions that caused her to think like that. His heart sank as he realized almost everything Winry had said was true. If anyone should be apologizing it was him.

"Winry I-" Ed began.

Winry's hand landed on Ed's mouth silencing him. Her eyelids opened and she looked at him with watery eyes.

"I'm sorry Ed." she repeated. "I'm a terrible friend and you deserve better."

Ed's heart clenched painfully as she insulted herself. He wanted to stop her but he knew that she had to get this off her chest. Her getting drunk was the only reason he had learned about how insecure she was about him and Al's absence. He had to let her finish.

"You need to get your bodies back Ed." Winry continued. "And I tried to be there for you. Help you in anyway I could and give you the time you needed, but I failed Ed. I failed you."

Winry paused in her speech to swallow tearfully before continuing.

"You need to get your bodies back. You're right, you need to be out doing dangerous things and staying away for long periods of time. You need to do this….but I don't want you too. I want you to just come home, where it's safe and no other bad things can happen to you...So I know that you're alright. It's selfish. No, it's downright pathetic. I'm only considering my feelings and not yours. I didn't mean what I said Ed. I don't think that you hate me. I don't want you to hate me". Winry let out a sob before continuing. "But I'm scared Ed. I-I'm scared that you won't come back."

At this Ed gasped, unable to keep his silence anymore. He tilted her head to look at him. Her teary eyes weren't as glazed but she was still drugged. 'Why does she have to be drunk? Why can't we have this conversation when she's sober?'

"How could you think we- that I would ever leave you?" Ed spoke quietly.

Winry sniffed before replying.

"I don't know what to think anymore…..Granny's sick."

Ed eyes widened. "What?"

"She'll be okay, but it was close. She's getting older and I...I don't want to be alone. Oh god, I'm so weak. All I do is cry and cause you problems. I just bitch and nag you. I-I nearly got you killed two years ago because I was stupid. Don't hate me. I care about you so much, more then you can even imagine! Please Ed, don't hate me." She begged as sobs wracked her fragile body.

Ed hugged Winry's face to his chest as he whispered reassurances into her ear. As he held her close he was struck by a mental image of Winry in her bed at night crying herself to sleep. Crying over Barry the Chopper, crying over Granny, crying over all the pain that he has caused her with his stupidity.

'Barry the Chopper!' Ed growled as he remembered the bastard who had tried to take Winry from him. The evil man who had hurt her and now continued to hurt her long after he was caught. There were only a handful of people in the world who Ed wanted to kill. Barry was at the top of the list for all the pain that he'd caused Winry. 'I wasn't there for her...I'm never there for her.'

'But I'm here now!'

Right now, it didn't matter that he had find Al's body and that they didn't have any leads at the moment. It didn't matter that his co-workers were assholes. All that mattered was that Winry was here and she needed him.

"Shhh." He cooed gently in Winry's ear. "Don't cry Winry, please don't cry." Ed massaged her head while rubbing his metal hand soothingly up and down her back. As he did this he checked the bump on her head. It was quite large and he made a mental note to get her some ice. Since concussion symptoms were very similar to being drunk, he wouldn't be able to tell the extent of his damage until morning. But there wasn't anything wrong with her skull, he would have felt something if there was.

"Winry?" Ed asked as Winry's tears began to subside. He could see that exhaustion was starting to get the best of her, but he had to say something. Even if she probably wouldn't remember any of this tomorrow.

As gently as he could, Ed lifted Winry off the floor. She whined but didn't protest. Ed had almost forgotten that she was still drunk and her mood had yet again changed. Carrying her to his bed, he couldn't help but noticed how light and soft she was in his arms. Almost like a sleeping baby. He suddenly felt his over-protectiveness for her increase.

Ed placed her onto the bed where she immediately snuggled into the covers. He couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked. 'Got to get her some ice.' He thought.

After a quick trip to kitchen he returned with a cold pack for her head. As he placed it behind her head he saw that she was still awake. 'Well it's now or never' he gulped.

"Winry?" Ed asked

With a small groan she turned to face him. Ed reached down and took her soft hand in his flesh one. He knew that she probably wouldn't know what he was saying but he needed to say this.

"I wanted to talk to you about what you said. I'm not mad at you. In fact, I'm glad that you told me. It's made me realize some things...I'm the one who doesn't deserve you. You are one of the most caring, intelligent, hard-working, and stubborn people that I know. I could never hate you. Never! I care about you way too much Winry. Ah hell, I'm so sorry for knocking you down. I promise you that I will never, ever, hurt you again. I'm sorry that I worry you so much and I can be an idiot. Winry, the reason that we stay away is because it's easier. I know how that must sound but hear me out. It's hard, it's so hard being away from Resembool, from you. The reason that Al and I don't stop by a lot is because we may not be able to leave. And the reason I tell you not to visit is because I'm scared too. It's not your fault what happened two years ago. Nothing that happened that day was your fault. But I am terrified that something like that could happen to you again. Al and I have made a lot of enemies and the thought of them hurting you keeps me up at night! I can't lose you Winry. You mean so much to us..to me. You're not just my mechanic. Actually you are not just my friend. You are so much more then that and I wish I was brave enough to tell you this when you were sober."

Ed stopped when he saw that Winry was asleep. Sighing to himself he pulled the blankets over her and tucked her in. After making sure that she was comfortable he got up to leave after adjusting the ice pack behind her head. Leaning back he stopped to look at the beautiful young woman in his bed. Despite how much he annoyed her, he had pretty good idea how she truly felt about him. The thought of that and what could come of it caused a warm feeling deep in his stomach. With that in mind he spoke his next words softly and sincerely.

"One day Winry, one day soon Al and I will be back in our original bodies. And when that day comes, you and I can...we...uh...I'll tell you that I...well you know."

Winry rolled over in her sleep. Ed gave a small smile before walking down the stairs. In his life he has made many promises and this was one that he would keep. She wouldn't remember what was said tonight but he would. He would never forget.

"One day Winry, one day."

The End

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This was an idea I had after watching an episode of Deadman Wonderland. I really don't like the 2003 version, especially the way it treats Winry. While this was set in the brotherhood verse, I threw in the Chopper incident, because I had a lot of problems with how it was handled. Winry was basically a set piece that got caught and quickly thrown into the background.