Well I've returned from vacation and here's the next chapter as a gift to everyone! I typed it up in word while I was on vacation even though I couldn't update with no internet... sigh... now I'm off to update Ashes...

Thanks for the reviews again... I'm suprised everyone seems to like this story... ENJOY!

Chapter 3: Reunion

The blonde girl stood open mouthed for a second, blue eyes staring into shocked gold ones. She stepped forward once, then again until she was standing over her him, her eyes glistening. Before the blonde boy could react she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug "You idiot! I thought you were dead!"

Ed winced slightly, as pain shot through his wound but he hugged her back all the same "Winry…you… you're alive… but you went missing…"

"All the people in the resistance are missing I guess you could say" Winry drew away a grin on her face.

Ed turned his head to glare at Envy "You bastard… you knew this whole time! Did you just want to get under my skin?" at a smirk from Envy he smacked a hand to his forehead. "What am I saying? Of course you did."

"Where's Al?" Winry asked a worried expression crossing her face. "Don't tell me that he's-"

"Well he might be soon if you don't fix him" Envy broke in gesturing to the unconscious boy on the cot as he leaned back against the wall.

"…Al… his body… he got his body back?" Winry murmured in awe before looking to Envy. "So what happened?"

"Black hand assassin. He got a bad kick to the ribs and we think it punctured something. Internal bleeding, he's coughing up a lot of blood. Pipsqueak over there got his side sliced but it's not life threatening."

Ed blinked, feeling the urge to rub his eyes. If he was asked the two people who he thought were the least likely to hold a conversation, he would probably say Winry and Envy.

"A black hand huh?" Ed watched amazed as Winry pulled out a sheet of paper and began to draw a series of shapes on it. A transmutation circle? "You found them?"

"Rusl and I, yeah" Envy confirmed.

"Well apparently he was watching for awhile before he actually decided to help." Ed growled.

Winry shot a glare at Envy and tried to whack him over the head "Envy you asshole!" He dodged the blow easily and smirked.

"Aw, come on healer. I just wanted to see how long they'd last."

"Uh huh, I'm sure that was your reasoning." Winry set her pencil down. He watched in wonder as she placed it over Al's injured side and pressed her hands against it. A blue light shown throughout the room for a moment before fading once again. "Ok, that fixed the bones. Now for the internal bleeding."

"Y-you can do alchemy?" Ed stuttered, his eyes wide.

"I can do a lot of things that might surprise you" Winry grinned, drawing a second transmutation circle on another sheet of parchment. "I started studying medical alchemy when I went to help down South. I've gotten pretty good at it actually."

"Oh…" was all Ed managed to say.

"I'll explain everything later Ed, we have a lot to talk about… Let's see…" she placed the new circle down like she had the other one and the blue light flashed again. After a moment she pulled it away and felt the area gingerly before clapping her hands together in satisfaction "That should do it. He just needs a little rest."

She moved over to Ed and observed the wound on his side. He winced slightly as she touched it then brought away her fingers to reveal a sickly greenish liquid on them. "Ugh, poison... looks like that assassin wanted you alive. This stuff is just made to knock you out."

"How'd he get it in me?" Ed asked, bewildered.

"Probably coated his sword with it." Winry wiped her hand off on her baggy pants. "I'll have to draw the poison out before I can fix the wound. One second…" she rummaged through one of the cabinets till she came up with a bottle of goopy white matter. She tossed it to him "Just spread that over the wound ok? It should draw the poison out in about thirty minutes and then I can heal it."

"Oh… ok…" Ed did as he was told still a little flustered by how direct Winry was. She did seem to know what she was doing. She was the same girl, yet oddly different. She had always been straight forward and an expert in her trade, but sheltered away from Ed and Al's dangerous adventures. Now after three years, who knew how much she had seen. He could see it in her face that she had been through a lot. Her once, naturally joyful disposition almost seemed strained.

Ed jumped out of his reverie as he felt Winry lift his auto mail arm "Do you mind if I take a look Ed? It's been awhile… this arm has to be almost exhausted since the last time… how have you actually kept it all this time without breaking it?"

"Great difficulty" Ed managed a smile. "And some maintenance in Rush Valley before it went up in smoke."

"Ah right…" Winry sighed as she continued to observe his arm. "It's sad… I used to always want to build auto mail out there. Though guess I'm more needed here."

"Damn right you are" a new voice broke into the conversation.

Ed turned to see the raven haired girl from before leaning against the door frame, the corners of her mouth pulled up ever so slightly in a smirk.

"Oh, hi Zoe." Winry smiled warmly in return. "Anything you need?"

"Just stopping by." Her eyes trailed to where Ed sat, narrowing slightly in a cold gaze similar to the one she had given him on the balcony. She stared at him for a long while before her eyes went straight back to Winry. "Actually yes there is something. I need to see the inner circle in thirty minutes."

Winry nodded once, her eyes holding an odd sort of respect in them though the girl didn't look much older than her.

Zoe then looked to the homunculus who still leaned against the wall "Envy would you-"

"Yeah, I'll spread the word." He nodded, pushing himself off the wall and heading towards the door, his hand raised in brief farewell. "See you later, Healer."

"Right" Winry sighed, rolling her eyes though she was smiling.

The girl lingered for a minute before she smiled at Winry "Don't be late. I'll leave the dragon to you." Her eyes flitted to Ed one last time, with a look that oddly seemed to say "I'll be watching you" before she left.

"Uh…" Ed said, breaking the silent.

"Sorry about Zoe" Winry sighed. "She's… like that with new comers, especially old members of the military. She's actually like that with everybody unless she really knows you…"

"Who is she exactly?" the blonde boy asked suspiciously.

"The leader of the resistance."

Ed wasn't sure which was wider, his open mouth or his eyes. "The… leader?" he stuttered. "But… what…how old is she!"

"Hmm…" Winry thought for a minute. "I think she's twenty one… a little bit older than us I guess. But we don't run things by seniority. She started the resistance, she's the one who keeps it together, and so she's the leader. Besides if things did run by seniority, Envy would be in charge and that is a very scary thought."

"Oh…" Ed muttered, Winry's obvious tone making him feel kind of stupid. He quickly decided to change the subject. "So what did she mean by dragon?"

Winry laughed "Oh she means Ms. Izumi. She's asleep in here you know, behind that curtain over there. Had a little trouble with her condition is all."

"Heh, well at least she won't be awake to-" he got no further as a knife pierced the curtain and whistled through the air, embedding itself in the wall right above Ed's head. He froze his eyes wide before finishing his previous statement. "-kill me…I thought you said she was asleep!"

"She was" Winry blinked.

"Where did she get a butchers knife anyway!"

"…I'm not too sure… I didn't see it with her when she came in… I'll have to ask her about that…"

"I brought it just in case I had to cut up any idiotic students of mine!" the familiar voice of Ed's teacher boomed as she stalked from behind the curtain, glaring lividly "Where the Hell have you been Edward!"

"I-I'm sorry teacher!" Ed cowered. "It's just… well I didn't know you were alive or anything and Al and I have been on the run… and we're black listed and everything so…"

"Enough with the excuses!" Izumi yelled before sighing, abruptly calming down. "I won't kill you yet, since you're injured… but I'll kick your ass later!"

"Yes ma'am…" Ed murmured, bowing his head.

Winry sighed, a smile on her face "Really, shouldn't you be resting Ms. Izumi?"

Izumi thought for a minute "…probably. But I'm feeling much better. Plus I heard Zoe talking about a meeting and I won't miss that." Her eyes turned on the sleeping Al and a rare gentle smile crossed her face. "Body back and everything, I don't believe it… It's good to see him in the flesh." She glared at Ed again. "What the Hell were you two doing, getting yourself banged up like this?"

"It was a Black Hand." Ed winced. "Al and I our black listed like I said."

"You're lucky you didn't get yourself killed." Izumi muttered. "Who found them?"

"Rusl and Envy." Winry answered before turning to Ed "The poison should be out now, I'll close up the wound." She drew out a square of paper again and began to draw.

"Envy helped them?" Izumi seemed utterly surprised. "That isn't something I expected to hear today."

"How does everyone know we hate each other?" Ed muttered.

"Not exactly a secret Ed." Winry sighed bringing the finished circle forward and pressing it lightly against his wound. Blue light flashed for a few moments before it faded. Winry removed the paper square and smiled at her handy work "There, how does that feel?"

"All better" Ed grinned as he felt the area the wound had been a second ago, where only a thin white line remained. "You are really good at this Winry."

The blonde girl flushed slightly and shrugged.

"Knock, knock" Ed turned to see an unfamiliar man standing in the doorway.

"Hi Blake" Winry waved. "Not injured again are you?"

"Not yet" he shook his head, grinning broadly. He was a broad shouldered guy with buzz cut brown hair and a large, muscular build, but a friendly glint in his eyes."Just an update from Zoe: She wants you to bring the two newbie's with you."

"Why?" Winry frowned. "That's not like her…"

"Don't ask me" he shrugged. "Fifteen minutes ok? See you then."

"Yeah see you!"

"Who was that?" Ed asked, blinking.

"One of the closer ones to Zoe I guess you could say, though it's more of a respect than friendship… Blake is a good guy though… and a good fighter" Winry smiled, sighing.

"I'll see you at the meeting Winry" Izumi patted the girl on the shoulder. "You too Edward."

"Yeah… ok" Ed muttered.

"Ah! We have fifteen minutes to look at your auto mail! I'll get my tools!" the familiar glint of happiness that usually came into Winry's eye at the mention of tools, sparkled in her blue irises and she trotted back to behind the curtain.

At that moment Al stirred and opened his eyes. "Huh, I feel better now." He turned his head to look at a still slightly shell shocked Ed "So what happened?"

Ed blinked "...Where to start?"

So what did you think? Drop me a note in the review box and tell me how I can improve and everything!