Metal and Hardships

Part 2

It was about two in the morning when Winry woke up. She figured it best to not go back to sleep so she could make sure Edward was alright.
She looked over to her right and saw Edward still sleeping. He coughed a few times and wheezed rather than breathing normally. Winry wished that he'd get better soon.
She couldn't do much for the alchemist. Sometimes she wondered why alchemists couldn't heal each other or themselves. If the so called "equivalent exchange" was true like the Elric's had stated many times, what would be equivalent to restoring someone to full health?
Winry couldn't do alchemy. She pitched the idea after seeing what happened to Edward and Alphonse. She wouldn't want to get hurt and then have them worry about her. No. She needed to be doing the worrying right now.
She eventually forced herself out of the comfortable recovery bed and walked quietly to Edward. He seemed like he was asleep, but after seeing his face Winry knew he was faking.
She sighed. "I know you're not asleep. Drop the act." She said.
Edward opened his eyes. "And to think I thought I was doing pretty good." He said.
Winry rolled her eyes and picked up the pills just as she had before. "Here. You fell asleep before you could take them. I'll get you some water." She said.
Edward slightly nodded and Winry went into the kitchen. A few moments later, she came back with a glass of water for Ed. He swallowed the pills in only a couple seconds before trying to sit up. He groaned at the reminder that his auto-mail was gone.
Winry helped him sit up. "Thanks..." Edward said.
She gave him a thumbs-up. "No prob, Ed."
"So, d'you need anything?" Winry asked.
"Nah, I'm *cough* fine for now." Edward said.
"Well at least drink the rest of your water. I'll be back in a minute." Winry said.
"...okay..." Edward said as Winry left and shut the door behind her.
     Winry checked up on Alphonse, who was still impatiently sitting on the couch. "Hey, Al, you okay?" She asked.
     "More importantly, why are you awake? You should be asleep right now." Alphonse said.
     "No, it's fine. I just happened to wake up and decided to stay awake. I'm getting Ed something to eat." Winry said.
     "Is he awake now? Can I see him?" The suit of armor asked anxiously.
     Winry laughed. "Let me finish making him food. You can come in with me. Hopefully he's still awake." She said.
     "Great!" Alphonse exclaimed.
     After a while, Winry finished making Ed's food and both her and Alphonse headed back to the recovery room. She slowly opened the door quietly. "Hey, Ed. You awake?" Winry whispered into the darkness.
     "Yeah." Said another tiny whisper.
     Winry smiled and walked in the room followed by Alphonse.
     "Brother!" Alphonse exclaimed, excited to see his brother awake.
     Edward did his best to smile but it didn't last long, for he was interrupted by a stubborn tickle in his throat causing him to start coughing.
     Winry patted him on the back until his coughing fit was over. She put a tray over his lap and set the food on the tray. "I know you said you didn't need anything, but you need to eat something." She said.
     Edward took every bite with extreme caution, careful not to eat too fast to the point where he'd start coughing again. It took longer than it could have since he had to eat with only one arm, but he eventually finished everything on the tray except the glass of white liquid.
     Winry stared at him, then at the glass. "Ed..." Edward looked up at her curiously, "You didn't drink your milk." She said clenching her teeth.
     Edward immediately looked away. "Why would I drink milk? I don't gain anything from it." He pouted.
     "IF YOU NEVER DRINK YOUR MILK YOU'LL NEVER GET TALLER!" Winry exclaimed.
     "Who're you calling half pint? Pipsqueak? So tiny you can only see with a microscope?!" Edward retorted.
     "Brother, Brother, she didn't say any of that!" Alphonse said.
     Edward calmed himself down. "Sorry. I'll drink it." He said as he drank almost all of his milk at once.
     Good job, Ed. Winry thought to herself.
     Winry took a small pill from the bedside table. "Take this. It'll make you tired and will help you stay asleep." She said.
     Edward nodded and took the pill. After a few minutes, the medicine kicked in and Ed fell asleep again.
     "Al," Winry said, "You'd do anything for your brother, right?"
     "Of course I would!" Alphonse exclaimed.
     "And you'd do anything for me as well?"
     "Absolutely!"
     "Great. I need to ask you a favor." Winry said.
     "Go ahead then."
     "I need you to go to Central for a few days. Inform the Lieutenant Colonel and see if he can have someone to come pick you two up once Ed's back to normal." Winry said, looking down at Edward.
     "A-alright. I'll go now then." Alphonse said.
     "Be safe." Winry whispered.
     Alphonse closed the door leaving Winry and Edward alone. Winry tangled her fingers in Ed's hair. She always loved looking at him and being friends with him. But for some reason, it just never seemed like enough. She felt like something was missing inside her heart. Something that only he could fix. Winry would never admit it, but all this time, over all these years, she's always loved Edward. Sometimes she got confused and told herself that she only loved him as a friend, but now it was clear. Taking care of him and being with him made her realize that. This made her wonder if Ed felt the same way. It would be weird if she told him that she did but he didn't feel the same, but then it would be even more weird if she told him and he did return the feelings. She knew that things would never be the same if she told him, so she smiled to herself and concluded that she'd keep her feelings for Edward secret. For now.