Hey you guys! I have been gone forever, and I know I have a bunch of stories hanging (I beg your pardon most profoundly) but I'm seriously working on it. I finally have a laptop to vent my frustrations upon, and this little thing came into this jumbled up brain.

I actually finished FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood about a month ago, and this idea began to form in my head. I have a lot of it written out already, so I will try to update regularly, which should be about once a week. The chapters will be relatively short, but I expect them to lengthen out as time progresses.

The name of this fic is derived from Forgive Me by Evanescence. Feel free to listen :)

Without further ado...

In which Winry discovers the truth.

Will you forgive me, again?

She clutched her hands tightly to her chest. Her fingers trembled and her skin broke out into a cold sweat. Her mind went blank as she stared over his shoulder, out the window, and towards the bright blue sky. A woman pushed a carriage past the window, cooing to her baby as she went. The butcher stepped out of his store and gingerly held out a cube of meet to a stray dog. A flock of birds took off from a nearby tree and flew into the distance.

Outside, life kept going. Families grew, nature flourished, and the world kept spinning.

However, time in this room had stopped. She was out of time.

Her breath hitched and her eyes blurred, temporarily hiding the world from her sight.

"It... it can't be."

It happened gradually over a course of a few months. Before she knew it, her body had become weaker that it had. She would fall asleep while tinkering with her automail. Carrying her loaded tool box became next to impossible. Two weeks ago, she found herself in the middle of the market, holding a basket of apples, with no memory as to how she obtained them.

When she told her grandmother, she was immediately packed onto a train to see the best doctor in Central.

Now, a week later, she was staring at a man in a white coat, neatfully combed hair, and a somber expression cloaking his face.

She wanted to laugh ridiculously through her tears. She wanted to giggle and ask if he was joking.

But his expression was far from comical, and she was far from laughing.

Granny would fall apart when she found out. Her customers would have to find a new engineer. She wouldn't be able to see little Elysia anymore. Al would be devastated. Ed…

She couldn't tell the two brothers; she wouldn't. They were finally free of the chains that bound them to the horrible military. They were finally free to travel safely away from each other. They were seeing the world.

She couldn't tear that away from them.

Ed…

Honestly, she didn't know how Edward would react. He wouldn't have her to fix his leg anymore, and that was bound to tick him off. He would throw a fit, but he would get over it. He always did.

But still, she didn't think she could tell them. She didn't want them to, once again, feel burdened by another person. It would be better if they found out after.

She lowered her hands and looked Dr. Manek in the eye. "Are you sure?"

He sighed and took off his glasses, wiping them idly on his white button up. "Blood tests don't lie, Miss Rockbell."

She nodded stiffly and looked down, watching as tears splashed onto her hand and trickled down her knuckles.

She wasn't supposed to cry. He told her that she could only cry tears of joy. Sad tears were wasted tears.

"Looks like I'll have to break my promise," she whispered, and then stood to shake Dr. Manek's hand.

"Take your medicine," he instructed. "It will make you feel better."

She nodded once more, opting to stay silent for fear of a total meltdown.

She stumbled down the hallway, gaining knowing looks from a few nurses. They had seen this before: the glazed eyes, the pale skin, the shaky hands, and the jerky gait of another soul who had just been read their death sentence.

She tore away from their gazes and ran down the hall. She ran until she found herself tearing open two metal doors and barreling down the abandoned stairs.

Blood drummed in her ears. Her vision spotted.

She was out of time.

She finally allowed herself to wail, slowing down on the stairs. She clutched the handrail for dear life and slid down the metal bars, sobs wracking her entire body.

She cried for her family, her friends, herself, and her short time frame. She cried for all of the times she couldn't: as she stood before her parents caskets, as a suit of armor came barreling through her door clutching a dismembered little boy, and as that same little boy screamed as she attached his automail. She cried for time lost. She cried for time she would never have.

Dr. Manek said she would be lucky to make it to spring.

Her body was filled with poison.

Cancer.

Winry Rockbell was going to die in less than a year.

She was out of time.