NOTE: I would like to say that this may be seen as offensive to some, whether it be for medical bending of the rules or a disagreement in views of treatment centers. You are not being forced to read it. Please simply close the page and we'll both remain happy. I'm not trying to come off rude, but it's only a warning before you read...

The outward appearance of the old building had been more than enough to give any normal person chills throughout their body. It had done more than that to the young Winry Rockbell. She hadn't thought of this as a good idea from the very beginning. The only reason she was standing before this pathetic place was because of her fussy parents that were currently flanking her slender form from each side. Winry had deeply considered turning her back to the building to climb into the safety of her father's old but classic car. It had been a shocking twist for Winry considering her usual wants and needs. Usually, the girl would be thanking her lucky stars when she managed to get out of the old truck, but now was very different. She wouldn't mind the lack of air conditioning and she wouldn't mind the tasteless country music her parents listened to. A little music was always better than no music at all. That was exactly what she would be facing in her temporary residence before her.

"Can't I just have a therapist? I don't see why I have to stay here and waste my time with these people. I'm not like any of them. This place is for crazies who don't know how to function in the real world!"

Winry's voice had heightened considerably to a feeble whine that could quite possibly match a young child that begged for candy in a store. She understood that her complaints were resting on deaf ears. Her parents had firmly made up their mind on this decision and any protests against it would just 'stress' them out.

"Winry, we talked about this to you last night. You're having 'real' problems and removing you from school everyday just isn't working. We agreed on this, remember? You'll stay in here for a few weeks to see how the program works. If it doesn't work out, we'll figure something else out."

Sara Rockbell was ridiculously calm at the wrong times. Winry faintly wondered if this was caused by her mother's career. Sara was a professionally trained doctor that worked alongside her husband in the medical field. The two could be difficult to speak with when problems stirred up within Winry's teenage life. They fussed at her about medication and chemical imbalances in the brain that could cause certain feelings and emotions that were unwanted. Winry had recalled wishing to be a doctor like her parents when she had been younger in her childhood years. When she heard these bland terms and black and white definitions of human behavior, Winry turned her back to all of it. She never wanted to sound so cold and heartless like the ones in white coats with clipboards.

"You're going to agree with everything these people say, mom. You think just like them and you'll take their side if they even suggest I need more time in this place."

"Winry, I'm only asking for a couple weeks. Don't be stubborn."

"They're most likely going to drug me up till I'm a vegetable! How can you even think of doing this to your own daughter?!" Winry worked on raising her voice considerably while she lazily swung around her old fashioned suitcase in her hand.

Sara instantly chose to raise a hand to her forehead and rub at the sides gingerly, allowing an exasperated sigh to escape from her lips.

"Winry-

"You know what I feel like? I feel like a dog. A little pet that's sick and being dumped off at a place where the owners don't have to concern themselves with the little animal anymore. Well I'll have you both know that I'm a human being and I deserve rights like everyone else!" Winry had chosen to become stubborn in her last moments in the open air. Obviously her parents were less than pleased with her behavior and immediately acted accordingly by scolding her.

"Enough… We're not going to stand out here and argue with you. We're wasting time and we're not going to go inside looking like a dysfunctional family."

Her father was rather calm as well, but his voice held far more irritation within the tone along with impatience. Winry, if she had been given the opportunity to do as she would have liked, would have gladly noted that this was quite obviously a dysfunctional family considering the sources. Instead, she chose to remain quiet and fiddle with her blonde locks of hair within her fingers. She had felt an overwhelming sense to burst into childish tears, but had the strength to hold those emotions back for just a little longer while she took her first few steps closer to the treatment center up ahead. The place she had so firmly believed would become her prison for no less than a year. Her parents were lying and she knew it. A couple weeks weren't nearly enough to fix the problems Winry was having. She would be placed in long term treatment for sure. What had hurt her most was the fact that she knew her parents weren't taking this as hard as she felt they should have been. All because they were doctors that saw the world 'black and white'. Winry chose to see her life in many shades of gray and hints of animated colors. She didn't know if she would feel the same way when she walked back out of this building.

Winry found herself desiring the exterior of the building far more than the interior once they had made it through the large double doors. The waiting room inside was small with enough magazines cluttered in a center table to pass the time for weeks of waiting if needed. The walls were plain and white with only a clock to decorate a small portion of it. The front desk was masked with papers, computers, and keyboards. A large cabinet in the back held stacks of folders, which Winry guessed held all of the files of patients and former patients. It made her stomach twist in despair when she thought of her own name and information being placed within that large cabinet.

Instead of choosing to listen in on the dull conversation that ensued between a lady at the desk and her parents, Winry found herself focusing on the large doors opposite of the ones that led to the exit of her new prison. She had instantly noticed the two small windows in the center of each door, although it was impossible to see anything on the other side from her current distance. She didn't think she wanted to ever see what was on the other side anyways. It most likely consisted of medication, phony people who wanted to 'help' adolescents, and most likely many irritating doctors who felt that keeping teenagers locked up was the best way to help them in society. It all sounded like some kind of a joke to her. It felt more like they were using this place to quarantine all of the 'different thinkers' and keep them away from 'common folk'. Winry didn't believe any doctor really understood or cared about their patients' mental health. In her opinion, the white coats only cared about money and their reputation. Why should they ruin their chances by actually considering the needs of the ones they were supposed to be helping?

"Winry, come here for a minute."

The disoriented girl had taken a generous amount of time to register the voice as her mother's before slowly sauntering up to the desk. Perhaps it was best she took her eyes off of those doors for the time being anyways. She would be behind them soon enough when this conversation was done and over with. Winry found that this was going to be a conversation she didn't find herself liking at all either. The woman she was speaking with was old and wrinkly and her eyes screamed 'careless' and 'rude'. In Winry's opinion, the aging crone needed to be in a hospital herself and not working at one.

"Winry Rockbell, is it?"

There wasn't a hint of kindness in the woman's voice. Winry half heartedly nodded and kept her baby blue eyes focused on papers resting on the desk infront of her. She didn't feel like giving this lady any respect since it was quite clear that that the old bat had no desire to try and respect her.

"What's your reason for being here?"

As if she didn't know the answer to that. Winry was already beginning to greatly dislike this woman by the second.

"I have depression and suicidal thoughts."

"You ever hurt yourself?"

"No, I haven't."

"You're certain?"

Winry paused in her fire back responses and desperately turned her ocean orbs to her parents beside her. This was downright degrading and humiliating in her eyes. Why did she have to tell this woman everything about her?

"Winry… answer the question for her." Sara encouraged slowly.

"I'm sure," Winry answered reluctantly.

The old woman calmly nodded and continued her business like report on what she was hearing.

"Have you ever hurt anyone else? Your friends, your parents?"

That was outrageous! Winry felt rage burn within her and her eyes narrowed to slits at the woman behind the desk. Winry was not that kind of a person to take her anger and confusion out on someone else. She would never even dream of hurting another to solve her problems.

"Of course not! I would never hurt anybody else!"

"Ever thought of hurting anyone?"

"No!"

Winry was seething with anger with the questions being asked to her. It had even begun to cause tears to prickle in the corner of the girl's eyes. The tears threatened to overwhelm her soon if she wasn't relieved of this pounding pressure.

"When you get your room within here, do you believe you'll try to escape?"

That was a stupid question. Winry felt slight confusion from it, but it soon turned to humor. What moron in their right mind would actually tell these people if they planned to escape? It would surely backfire if they did, right?

"How would I know? I think everybody wants to try and escape in here."

A stupid answer for a stupid question.

"But I won't, no."

Her voice dropped to a low whisper and her body stiffened with tension. The old woman considered her for a long while before going back to her writing.

"Thank you, Winry. I'll get the rest of the information from your parents. As you already know, you are considered a threat to yourself and others, therefore leaving is now out of the question."

Winry rolled her eyes at the woman's words. She felt like patting the lady on the back for pointing out the obvious. However, she still wasn't pleased in the least with being told that she was a 'threat' to others. That just wasn't true. Winry easily socked or threw a few playful punches to her friends in the past for teasing her, but anything more just wasn't in her nature.

Her sudden thoughts came to a violent stop when she noted one of the 'white coats' had so suddenly stepped up behind the old woman to question her on business Winry had no particular interest in. However, the medical talk was not what was sparking her interest in the least. The man that was quite clearly a doctor within this facility had taken her by surprise. Winry noted that he looked ridiculously young and appeared to be far too casual looking to fit the description she had been aiming to pin all of these people with. Instead of the neatly trimmed stereotypical hair she usually saw, Winry was met with a deeper shade of long blonde hair tied back in a neat ponytail. He was oddly short, but definitely compact and well built when it came to a body frame.

"Hey Farrah, aside from the useless prescription I put through; do you have any idea where I put my coffee?" his voice was surprisingly masculine and deep that didn't seem to match his choice of hairstyle. Still, Winry felt it fit well enough for someone like him.

"Doctor Elric, you know I can't keep track of a cup of coffee for you. Sometimes I wonder how you got this job. You'd lose your damn head if it wasn't attached." the woman grumbled, clutching her pen to the paper below it.

Winry was startled by this man's carefree attitude and devilish grin. Doctors didn't smile like that and they sure as hell weren't carefree! They were supposed to be stiff and uptight! Winry stubbornly chose to believe that the man was putting on a front for the people within the waiting room. He was most likely a crummy, dry humored man when he was behind those doors.

"Would you just call me Ed? I hate formalities."

The young man shuffled around through files in the cabinet behind the desk, cursing occasionally.

"Edward works too if Ed is too casual for you, Farrah."

Farrah snorted while she sorted out the papers on her desk, moving her fingers to the keyboard and allowing her sunk in eyes to focus on the monitor.

"How about 'doctor'?"

An awkward pause ensued.

"You really don't want to just call me by my first name, do you?"

"No, I don't."

Edward chuckled as he yanked out a fresh, slightly crumpled paper from the cabinet.

"Found the prescription."

His eyes focused on Winry for a split second, winking to her casually before making his way to the back door to lead on to the unit with his patients.

"Bring me some more coffee, will ya?"

"Will do, Doctor Elric." Farrah called back to him without turning, typing away rapidly on the keyboard. Winry was shocked and surprised, seeing as how the old woman looked as though she would snap like a twig if she was given too much work.

Sara seemed delighted by the young doctor's personality and leaned forward to see if she could catch one last glance of the blonde. When she so noticeably failed, her eyes traveled back to the woman at the desk, questioning her on the history of the one they all had just seen. Winry didn't want to become too interested in someone who had such a dry, emotionless job. But she did get small snippets of information about him. His name was Edward Elric and was one of the newest doctors that had been asked to work within the treatment center. She didn't catch his age, which bugged her, but she figured she would somehow find out later on within these walls soon enough. The young man had been considered a genius and one of the best doctors in the state thus far. Winry found this hard to believe and chose to push the so-called doctor out of her mind for the time being. She had more important things to worry about and it didn't include concerning herself with a new medical 'genius'.

"Are you ready to go inside, Winry?" her mother questioned softly, pointing to the door she had been eyeing earlier. "They're ready to take you back and get you settled."

Winry suddenly felt the sense of abandonment from her parents. They actually were going to go through this. They actually intended to leave her here in this prison! She couldn't help but feel bitter towards them. She didn't want to be here and now she was given no choice. They weren't going to let her leave now that she was thought to be some sort of threat to the outside world. Winry chose to ignore her mother's thoughtless question and simply stepped up to the door, waiting for it to open. She mentally cursed herself the second she turned her back to her parents, still clutching her small suitcase. Her eyes were clouding up and it was blurring her vision. The battle against her tears was beginning and Winry had a sinking feeling that she was going to lose this round. It was useless in the end, for Winry had lost the same battle a year ago and had given into to the aching pain in her chest that followed her and the violent memory that haunted her nightmares.

Based on real events! Excluding the handsome, young doctor. Too bad, right?

A lot of stuff throughout the story is based on real things that happened, but not all! Thank you! I hope you read and review and enjoy! I apologize about some of the crappy grammar!