((Sorry for the chapter mix-up. This is the right one.))

Disclaimer - I do not own the idea for Fullmetal Alchemist in any way shape or form. Please don't sue. Thank you!

Selfish Protection

Written by - Stripe

Chapter 1 - A Rude Awakening

RIIING...

Winry rolled over in bed, covering her head her arm, trying to block out the sound. Why did she have a phone in her room, anyways?

RIIING...

That's right, she didn't. The girl opened open, groggy blue eye and tried to figure out where she was. Why wasn't Garfiel answering the phone? He was the person who owned the shop, after all.

RIIING...

Flopping off of the couch, Winry reached out for the phone chord on the final ring, barely knocking the phone off of the stand in time. Pushing herself up, she held the phone to her ear, still not fully alert.

"Hello?" she asked blearily, swallowing a yawn.

"Hey, Winry?" came the voice on the other end. The blonde girl paused for a moment, her mind still half asleep as she tried to place the voice. It sounded like him... but he never called. She must be too tired.

"May I ask who's speaking?" she asked politley, though she already knew who it was. She simply needed her ears to confirm it. There was a puase on the other end of the line, the other person sounding as if he were somewhat hurt.

"It's me!" he said after the second's pause. "Ed!" Winry smiled slightly, happy simply to hear his voice, until she realized she was still lacking one vital piece of information.

"Why are you calling? You never call. I didn't even know you knew this number." There was another pause, and Winry could easily envision the guilty expression on Ed's face. She could understand why he never called - being busy and all - but she was sick of the lack of communication between them. Anymore, with her being in a larger city, and his automail getting busted so often, she at least saw Edward more often, but he still wouldn't tell her anything.

"I need you to work on my automail a bit," he said after apaprently getting over his guilt.

"Did you break it again?"

"N-no! It's just..." he trailed off a bit, and Winry frowned, wondering why he would need to trail off on why he needed an automail check up. He hadn't completely destroyed it again, had he? More awake now, the mechanic glanced to her wrench which was sitting on a side table nearby. She let out a sigh. Better get ready to use that...

"When should I expect you?" she asked, flattening out her clothes. She really looked a mess right now... Sleeping on the couch would do that. Why had she slept there? Memories from the night before began to trickle back into the corners of her mind. She'd had to do some repairs late at night. And repairs could be exhausting, so she'd just plopped down on the couch and crashed. Nothing big, even if her now-stiff neck muscles would hate her for it later.

"Um, that's why we're calling. See, we got in a few hours ago, and we don't really have a place to stay, but you didn't answer when we knocked, so..." Ed trailed off slightly, his voice sounding somewhat nervous. Which was understandable. Winry knew she would likely hurt him had he been within range of her wrench.

"Where are you now?"

"At the phonebooth across the street." Winry frowned slightly, and hung up the phone. It wasn't meant to be a rude gesture - she just figured that if he were telling the truth, she could talk to him face to face in a minute or so, and if he were lying, he deserved to be hung up on anyways. Quickly running her hand through her hair in order to have it all going in one direction instead of several, she walked towards the window and peeked through the blinds. Her eyes quickly spotted the telephone booth in question. Sure enough, standing in front of it was a suit of armor too large to comfortabley fit inside, and standing inside of it was a blonde teenager, who was staring irritabley at the phone. Winry let a slow smile cross her face.

It really was nice to see them again.

The mechanic quickly glanced down at her clothes, trying to make sure that she wasn't indecent. Of course, Ed and Al had both seen her in her underwear(albiet, it was by accident) so it wasn't for either of their sakes - she simply didn't want the casual passerby to see her. Luckily, she had just fallen asleep in her work clothes and, while they weren't the most modest clothes she could wear, they were acceptable for public appearances.

Besides, it wasn't as if she were about to go parading down the street or anything.

Throwing open the front door, Winry began flailing her arms, trying to get the brothers' attentions. "Hey, get inside already!" she shouted, her grin only widening as she saw them turn around in unison. Both rushed over to the door, Al winning out simply because he didn't need to climb through a telephone booth first. Curiously, Winry watched Ed's automail arm and leg working. She couldn't see them at the moment, but they seemed to be functioning just fine. She stepped aside to let the two into the shop, closing the door behind her once they were both inside.

"So why are you here?" she asked, eyeing the state alchemist suspiciously.

"We found a new lead on getting Al's body back," Edward responded simply. Winry blinked in surprise.

"That's great. But... why are you telling me about it?" Winry asked. "Usually you just go after the leads and leave me in the dark."

"It's up North." Winry's mouth formed a small "o" shaped in understanding. She wouldn't have expected Ed to think this through, but going up to a snowy area with his type of automail was a death sentence.

"And you want me to remodel your automail?" she asked, already taking stock of the materials, how long it would take to make the automail, how much of the old automail she could reuse, whether or not she could do it by herself. Edward nodded in confirmation.

"Also, how quickly do you think you can close up shop and be ready to leave?" Winry paused mid-calculation, looking shocked.

"Leave? Me? Why? Are you in a hurry? I can have your automail done by today, I don't need to come with you." However, the look in Ed's eyes told her that she wouldn't really have a choice in the matter. "I can't just close up the place! What about Garfiel's customers? He isn't planning on coming back until a week from now!"

"You need to tell him to stay wherever he is right now," Edward said. "Tell him to watch his back." Winry frowned. She still wasn't getting answers.

"Why? Tell me what's going on. Don't I deserve to know?" There was a moment of akward silence after Winry said this, and Ed and Al looked at each other for a moment. Edward glanced to the side, averting Winry's gaze, while Al finally decided to speak up.

"We need you to do this Winry. It's for your own safety." He said, tone grave. "Because right now, you're being used as a hostage."

A/N - Told you we were backtracking. Which is why this chapter is so boring compared to the prolouge. Also why it took me so long to write. Just wouldn't come out easily. But if you ever need some EdWin, you can get your daily dose at my collection of oneshots called the "EdWin Chronicles." Go shameless self-advertising!

And if you hadn't gotten this by now, the plot is sort of a "what-if" story, being if, after Ed had his talk with Wrath, he decided to see to it that Winry was safe himself. And didn't call her and make a fluffy telephone conversation. I love the scene, but it doesn't fit in here. Alas.

I would also like to thank you all for your encouraging reviews. x3 I love you guys!

And, of course, more reviews would be greatly appreciated. As well as a beta reader.

---- Stripe