Prompt 230- Ginger: "What Do We Do Now"
Title: What Do We Do Now
Author: Sonja Jade
Series: Brotherhood
Word Count: 2,847 (omg sorry!!)
Rating: T
Character(s): Pinako, Ed/Winry, OC
Summary: Winry’s sick and Granny wants to pretend she doesn’t know why. The discovery and aftermath of finding out Winry’s pregnant
Warnings: Talk of abortion, some of it graphic
Author's Notes: Sort of a companion piece to something I wrote a while back called “ Teacher Knows Best”, though the time between writing them has caused some details to be a little blurred. My first time writing from Pinako’s POV, let me know how I did. Thanks as always to bay115.
Prompt: Ginger
Pinako gathered her flask and her purse and told Winry, “I’m going into town to get more ginger ale for you. Stay in bed and don’t move, understand?”
She groaned in protest, “But Granny, I’ve got to get to work on that leg-”
“And I’ve already called him and told him you’re very ill. You’ll get to it when you’re better, girl. Now get some rest.” She didn’t have to twist her granddaughter’s arm too much- she’d been feeling like crap for about a week and a half now, and the old surgeon was puzzled. She couldn’t find a single thing wrong with her, but she was sick to her stomach and more tired than she’d ever been in her life. She used to pull all nighters all the time with no problem, now Winry could barely stay awake for four hours at a pass.
As a general surgeon who specialized in neurology for automail attachments, Pinako decided to seek the assistance of her colleague, Dr. Laramie, who specialized in internal medicine. He suggested it could be partly mental, with Edward Elric having just left her again for the first time in two years, and the fact that they were sweet on each other. But after a lengthy discussion, he and Pinako ruled that out. He asked if she could get Winry in to see him, but she’d refused saying ‘it’s just a stomach bug’, and pleading with her grandmother to let it go. Out of desperation, she brought a chamber pot to Winry’s room and covertly gathered a urine sample, and now she was taking it to Dr. Laramie to do some urinalysis and hopefully some up with an answer.
Using a syringe, the old country doctor drew the fluid up and deposited it onto a slide. He looked through his microscope and saw nothing out of the ordinary, certainly nothing to warrant the symptoms she’d been having.
“Dr. Rockbell, is it possible your granddaughter’s pregnant?”
She frowned. “Possible- yes. Likely? I don’t think so.”
“Pinako, she’s got the symptoms… I wouldn’t rule it out.”
She sighed and took her glasses off. “I told her about the birds and the bees, made sure she had access to prophylactics, warned her how easy it was to get knocked up and to be damn careful when she decided she was ready to start having sex… I really don’t think she’d just disregard everything I taught her-”
“But Ed left her again and she doesn’t know when he’ll come back. Remember being young and in love? And throwing caution to the wind in a moment of passion?”
Pinako closed her eyes. “Yeah. I do.” She put her glasses back on and took a deep breath. “Do the test then, and call me when you’re sure.”
“Are you going to tell her?” the man asked as he fished a squealing, immature mouse out of a cage and injected it with a small amount of Winry’s urine.
“Not unless she is. Can you imagine how embarrassed she’d be if she knew I was stealing her piss so I could bring it to you to test it? Better not even mention it unless it’s for certain she’s with child.”
It didn’t take long for him to call her back.
“You told me she didn’t mention having missed a period, but that she was never regular to begin with. That might explain why you didn’t consider it right away, but this mouse went into heat within twenty-four hours of the injection,” Dr. Laramie informed her over the phone. “Usually it doesn’t show positive for two to three days. She showed positive at the twenty-second hour. She’s at least three months along and maybe as many as four.”
Pinako tapped her chin with her pipe. “Then why would she suddenly start showing symptoms now?”
“Who knows. Could be stress that brought it on, could be the fetus finally settling in good, could even be that the baby’s big enough to put pressure on her stomach and that’s what’s irritating her. At any rate, she needs to be told. Edward needs to be told.”
“Alright. Thank you,” she responded, hanging the phone up and not knowing for sure how to proceed. She walked into Winry’s room and sat down on the bed.
“You look upset,” Winry mumbled. “Everything alright?”
“Winry, I have to ask you some very personal questions, and I need you to tell me the truth, dear.” She turned to meet her eyes and she saw fear in her little girl’s face.
“Okay,” she said, her voice filled with worry as she sat up.
Pinako took a deep breath. “How many times have you slept with Ed?”
Winry’s face reddened immediately. “I-I… I haven’t-”
“Don’t lie to me, girl.”
She was quiet, whether out of shame in being caught trying to lie or embarrassed at having to admit the number, Pinako wasn't sure. “I don’t know, a lot of times.”
Pinako nodded. “Have you slept with anyone else?”
This time, her answer came quickly and certainly: “Absolutely not!”
Pinako nodded again. “And how many times did you forget to use a rubber?”
Winry’s face went white as the sheet she lay on. “Only once, but…” she trailed off.
“But what?”
Pulling the sheet over her face, she whimpered, “We were down by the river, no one around for miles. We didn’t have one, but he didn’t… didn’t inside. On my belly…”
“Winry, I told you that it only takes a little.”
“That’s why I’ve been sick, then…”
Pinako took her granddaughter’s hand. “I think you’d better call Ed, girl. He needs to know. And you should know you’re almost halfway through your pregnancy. Are your clothes getting tighter?”
She flipped the blankets back and looked down at her belly. She was just beginning to show, nothing much past a little pooch of tummy under her nightshirt, as if she’d just eaten too much at a big dinner. “I just wear that big loose jumpsuit, I haven’t noticed it getting tighter.”
Pinako laid her hand on the bump and pushed gently. “Solid as a rock. That’s your baby in that shell, Winry. Yours and Ed’s child…” She patted her there as Winry’s hand joined hers. “You’re about three and a half months along, maybe four.”
Suddenly her granddaughter burst into tears and she covered her eyes with her arm. Pinako sighed. There was nothing worse than knowing there was a baby coming when you didn’t want a baby to be coming. She knew that first hand- twice. And she wondered what her adopted grandsons would say if they knew that Ed would not have been Hohenheim’s oldest Resemboolian son, had she not taken that awful tasting syrup that gave the worst pains she’d ever had and made her bleed for three days.
“There is a solution…” she began carefully. “But we have to act right away.”
“No!” Winry burst out. “I’m not getting rid of it!”
“Think rationally for a minute, Winry-”
She sat up, eyes puffy and red and her face streaked with tears. “No! I don’t care if I’m only a few weeks away from being a journeyman automail engineer! I don’t care if I miss out on a career that could make me rich and possibly famous!” She settled her ranting and wiped at her eyes with the heels of her hands. “I love Ed, and I want to have his babies.”
Pinako scooted closer to pull her into a hug, patting her back. “And you can have all the babies you want with him- but with a little better planning, you could really make some money and put it away for when you’re mothering and can’t work.”
“Granny, I’m not doing it. Edward would never forgive me if he found out, and I couldn’t forgive myself if I did it.”
“Then if you’re set on keeping it, you need to call Ed right away. And as soon as you’re feeling better, I’ll help you get that leg finished so you can put the money away.” Pinako tucked her granddaughter’s golden hair behind her ears and gave her a small smile. “I’m happy for you. You’ll be a good mother, girl.”
She thanked her, then got out of bed to go downstairs to the phone. Pinako sat at the top of the steps and listened in as Winry told Ed he needed to come home right away. She told him she had something to tell him that needed to be said face to face, and by the time she hung up she was chuckling quietly.
“I do miss you, but that’s not the only reason you need to get back here. It’s really important… Alright, we’ll see you tomorrow, then. Love you… Bye, Ed.”
She laid the receiver back into the cradle and Pinako came downstairs. “On his way?” she asked.
“He’s leaving tonight, he’ll be here sometime tomorrow morning. He said he’ll just come straight from the station, not to worry about picking him up.” She rested her hand on her stomach. “Y’know, my belly does feel a little different. I still can’t believe it, really.”
“Now that we know what’s going on, let’s see if we can get you to keep some food down,” she commented as she wandered into the kitchen. “The best part about being pregnant is you can eat all you want and no one gives a damn!”
After a delicious meal with lots of nausea fighting ingredients, a warm bath, and a mug of hot chocolate before bed, Winry was looking and feeling much better. They worked together to change the sheets on the bed, and Pinako tucked her girl in, like she used to when she was little. She sat down beside her and ran her fingers through her hair.
“I don’t want you to think that I won’t love this baby because of my suggestion. I was only thinking of how much it will change your lives and how hard things will be on you if you start a family so young. I hope you realize though, that it’s not going to be like playing dolls.”
“I appreciate your concern, but even if Ed freaks out, leaves and never comes back, I’m having this baby. I know how precious life is… I’m not going to end a life just because I’m scared.”
Pinako was stung by her words. Looking back on her own mistakes, it did seem incredibly selfish to terminate what she was eager to create in a drunken fit of passion. She rose and turned the lamp off. “Try to get some sleep. It’s gonna be a big day tomorrow. And don’t forget to eat those crackers as soon as you open your eyes. It’ll help keep your stomach still and you’ll feel a lot better.”
As she walked down the stairs to get her pipe and a nightcap of brandy, she thought back to the two times she was in Winry’s situation- knocked up without a husband and just starting out in the world. Two babies gone from this world as soon as their existence was recognized. She didn’t tell Hohenheim or that Collins boy about either pregnancy. What would have happened if they’d known? And would those actions have kept Urey from being born? Then there’d be no Winry, and if it had been Hohenheim’s child she’d had, there likely wouldn’t have been an Ed or Al.
“Seems we had kids together anyhow, Van. With my son’s little girl and your sons both under my care, it’s like our own little messed up family.” She remembered Hohenheim’s baby when it passed from her. A little alien looking thing, no bigger than a plum with a big head and a huge chest, tiny arms and legs and impossibly small fingers and toes. The Collins baby was detected sooner, and if it came out in one piece, she didn’t recognize it. She looked up at the stars, trying to pull herself out of those dark memories of the past.
“I only hope whatever’s up there’s forgiven me.”
******************************************************
The next morning, just as predicted, Ed came rolling in like a train off track. His suitcase hit the floor with a thud and he raced into the kitchen, looking for Winry.
“Morning, Ed,” Pinako said as she sipped at her coffee.
“Where’s Winry?” he asked frantically.
“Probably upstairs, still asleep.”
He turned and bounded up the stairs two at a time, and she heard as he flung the door open without even knocking first. Not that it mattered really, they’d been sharing the same bed for months before he left for Creta, though she pretended not to know about that to save them from any embarrassment.
It was quiet up there for over an hour. Then at last, the door opened and shut again, this time slowly and less dramatic, and heavy footsteps descended the stairs. When she saw Ed’s face from where she sat, she could tell he was dazed at the news.
“Ed? You alright?” she said as she pushed away from the table.
“Yeah,” he answered. “I just need a little time to myself. Y’know… to take it all in.”
She watched as he walked out the front door and just kept going. It was a relief to see that he’d left his coat and his suitcase behind. If he planned on leaving her after this, he’d have to come back and get his stuff or go with only the clothes on his back. Pinako instead left Ed’s decisions to him while she made Winry a breakfast of ginger pancakes.
When she came downstairs, Winry looked sicker than ever, though this time likely from nerves. “That smells really good, Granny,” she said with a weak smile as she sat down at the table.
“Try to eat as much as you can. It really will help to keep a full belly.”
“I already lost all my crackers, so I hope you’re right.” She picked up her fork and poked at the stack of cakes. “I think he’ll be alright. He said he’d be back later.”
“He seemed a little out of it when he left.”
“Well, he certainly wasn’t expecting this any more than I was. But he wasn’t upset, more surprised than anything.” She smiled at her grandmother. “Don’t worry. He just needs a little time. Hell, I need a little time still.”
After Winry got her breakfast down (and kept it down), the two of them moved down to the workshop and got to work on that custom leg and soon lost themselves in their work (and trying to not talk about the elephant in the womb). Around lunch time, they looked up at the sound of Ed’s voice.
“Win? Granny? Anyone home?”
“We’re in the shop, Ed!” Winry called out.
He came to the doorway carrying an armload of flowers and smiling like he had the world on a string. “Here,” he said as he awkwardly thrust the bouquet into her hands. His face was redder than the roses he presented and he stood scratching his head like he was unsure of his own gesture.
“Oh, Edward! They’re beautiful!” Winry buried her nose in them and breathed their fragrance, then set them aside and wrapped her arms around him. Pinako watched as Ed minutely relaxed and hugged her back, then closed his eyes and seemed to take a deep breath, as if he were relieved at her reaction.
He spoke gently as he held her, “And I got some ginger ale, gingersnaps, ginger tea- everything the dry goods store had with ginger in it, I bought it. Teacher said ginger helps with the morning sickness, so I got whatever I could.” Then he licked his lip nervously, and Pinako watched as he let her go and dig in his pocket, pulling out a small black box. She held her breath as she listened to him:
“I know I sort of asked you already… but it was really lame… and you deserve so much better than that,” he trailed off as he opened the box to reveal a pair of golden wedding bands. Winry gasped at the sight of them as Ed went on to say he wanted to marry her sooner rather than later, that he didn’t want his kid to be born into the kind of relationship his own parents had, and then Winry cut him off with a kiss.
“Why don’t you let me get your flowers in some water,” Pinako offered as she left them to their kisses. As she reached the top of the stairs, she heard her granddaughter talking in a watery voice, thanking him for not leaving her to deal with everything on her own.
“I couldn’t do that to you,” Ed replied. “You’ve made sure I never had to deal with anything on my own over the years, I’d be a heartless bastard if I left you now.”
Pinako grinned as she went back to finding a vase. “You’re a good man, Ed. I’m happy to give her to you.”
Author: Sonja Jade
Series: Brotherhood
Word Count: 2,847 (omg sorry!!)
Rating: T
Character(s): Pinako, Ed/Winry, OC
Summary: Winry’s sick and Granny wants to pretend she doesn’t know why. The discovery and aftermath of finding out Winry’s pregnant
Warnings: Talk of abortion, some of it graphic
Author's Notes: Sort of a companion piece to something I wrote a while back called “ Teacher Knows Best”, though the time between writing them has caused some details to be a little blurred. My first time writing from Pinako’s POV, let me know how I did. Thanks as always to bay115.
Prompt: Ginger
Pinako gathered her flask and her purse and told Winry, “I’m going into town to get more ginger ale for you. Stay in bed and don’t move, understand?”
She groaned in protest, “But Granny, I’ve got to get to work on that leg-”
“And I’ve already called him and told him you’re very ill. You’ll get to it when you’re better, girl. Now get some rest.” She didn’t have to twist her granddaughter’s arm too much- she’d been feeling like crap for about a week and a half now, and the old surgeon was puzzled. She couldn’t find a single thing wrong with her, but she was sick to her stomach and more tired than she’d ever been in her life. She used to pull all nighters all the time with no problem, now Winry could barely stay awake for four hours at a pass.
As a general surgeon who specialized in neurology for automail attachments, Pinako decided to seek the assistance of her colleague, Dr. Laramie, who specialized in internal medicine. He suggested it could be partly mental, with Edward Elric having just left her again for the first time in two years, and the fact that they were sweet on each other. But after a lengthy discussion, he and Pinako ruled that out. He asked if she could get Winry in to see him, but she’d refused saying ‘it’s just a stomach bug’, and pleading with her grandmother to let it go. Out of desperation, she brought a chamber pot to Winry’s room and covertly gathered a urine sample, and now she was taking it to Dr. Laramie to do some urinalysis and hopefully some up with an answer.
Using a syringe, the old country doctor drew the fluid up and deposited it onto a slide. He looked through his microscope and saw nothing out of the ordinary, certainly nothing to warrant the symptoms she’d been having.
“Dr. Rockbell, is it possible your granddaughter’s pregnant?”
She frowned. “Possible- yes. Likely? I don’t think so.”
“Pinako, she’s got the symptoms… I wouldn’t rule it out.”
She sighed and took her glasses off. “I told her about the birds and the bees, made sure she had access to prophylactics, warned her how easy it was to get knocked up and to be damn careful when she decided she was ready to start having sex… I really don’t think she’d just disregard everything I taught her-”
“But Ed left her again and she doesn’t know when he’ll come back. Remember being young and in love? And throwing caution to the wind in a moment of passion?”
Pinako closed her eyes. “Yeah. I do.” She put her glasses back on and took a deep breath. “Do the test then, and call me when you’re sure.”
“Are you going to tell her?” the man asked as he fished a squealing, immature mouse out of a cage and injected it with a small amount of Winry’s urine.
“Not unless she is. Can you imagine how embarrassed she’d be if she knew I was stealing her piss so I could bring it to you to test it? Better not even mention it unless it’s for certain she’s with child.”
It didn’t take long for him to call her back.
“You told me she didn’t mention having missed a period, but that she was never regular to begin with. That might explain why you didn’t consider it right away, but this mouse went into heat within twenty-four hours of the injection,” Dr. Laramie informed her over the phone. “Usually it doesn’t show positive for two to three days. She showed positive at the twenty-second hour. She’s at least three months along and maybe as many as four.”
Pinako tapped her chin with her pipe. “Then why would she suddenly start showing symptoms now?”
“Who knows. Could be stress that brought it on, could be the fetus finally settling in good, could even be that the baby’s big enough to put pressure on her stomach and that’s what’s irritating her. At any rate, she needs to be told. Edward needs to be told.”
“Alright. Thank you,” she responded, hanging the phone up and not knowing for sure how to proceed. She walked into Winry’s room and sat down on the bed.
“You look upset,” Winry mumbled. “Everything alright?”
“Winry, I have to ask you some very personal questions, and I need you to tell me the truth, dear.” She turned to meet her eyes and she saw fear in her little girl’s face.
“Okay,” she said, her voice filled with worry as she sat up.
Pinako took a deep breath. “How many times have you slept with Ed?”
Winry’s face reddened immediately. “I-I… I haven’t-”
“Don’t lie to me, girl.”
She was quiet, whether out of shame in being caught trying to lie or embarrassed at having to admit the number, Pinako wasn't sure. “I don’t know, a lot of times.”
Pinako nodded. “Have you slept with anyone else?”
This time, her answer came quickly and certainly: “Absolutely not!”
Pinako nodded again. “And how many times did you forget to use a rubber?”
Winry’s face went white as the sheet she lay on. “Only once, but…” she trailed off.
“But what?”
Pulling the sheet over her face, she whimpered, “We were down by the river, no one around for miles. We didn’t have one, but he didn’t… didn’t inside. On my belly…”
“Winry, I told you that it only takes a little.”
“That’s why I’ve been sick, then…”
Pinako took her granddaughter’s hand. “I think you’d better call Ed, girl. He needs to know. And you should know you’re almost halfway through your pregnancy. Are your clothes getting tighter?”
She flipped the blankets back and looked down at her belly. She was just beginning to show, nothing much past a little pooch of tummy under her nightshirt, as if she’d just eaten too much at a big dinner. “I just wear that big loose jumpsuit, I haven’t noticed it getting tighter.”
Pinako laid her hand on the bump and pushed gently. “Solid as a rock. That’s your baby in that shell, Winry. Yours and Ed’s child…” She patted her there as Winry’s hand joined hers. “You’re about three and a half months along, maybe four.”
Suddenly her granddaughter burst into tears and she covered her eyes with her arm. Pinako sighed. There was nothing worse than knowing there was a baby coming when you didn’t want a baby to be coming. She knew that first hand- twice. And she wondered what her adopted grandsons would say if they knew that Ed would not have been Hohenheim’s oldest Resemboolian son, had she not taken that awful tasting syrup that gave the worst pains she’d ever had and made her bleed for three days.
“There is a solution…” she began carefully. “But we have to act right away.”
“No!” Winry burst out. “I’m not getting rid of it!”
“Think rationally for a minute, Winry-”
She sat up, eyes puffy and red and her face streaked with tears. “No! I don’t care if I’m only a few weeks away from being a journeyman automail engineer! I don’t care if I miss out on a career that could make me rich and possibly famous!” She settled her ranting and wiped at her eyes with the heels of her hands. “I love Ed, and I want to have his babies.”
Pinako scooted closer to pull her into a hug, patting her back. “And you can have all the babies you want with him- but with a little better planning, you could really make some money and put it away for when you’re mothering and can’t work.”
“Granny, I’m not doing it. Edward would never forgive me if he found out, and I couldn’t forgive myself if I did it.”
“Then if you’re set on keeping it, you need to call Ed right away. And as soon as you’re feeling better, I’ll help you get that leg finished so you can put the money away.” Pinako tucked her granddaughter’s golden hair behind her ears and gave her a small smile. “I’m happy for you. You’ll be a good mother, girl.”
She thanked her, then got out of bed to go downstairs to the phone. Pinako sat at the top of the steps and listened in as Winry told Ed he needed to come home right away. She told him she had something to tell him that needed to be said face to face, and by the time she hung up she was chuckling quietly.
“I do miss you, but that’s not the only reason you need to get back here. It’s really important… Alright, we’ll see you tomorrow, then. Love you… Bye, Ed.”
She laid the receiver back into the cradle and Pinako came downstairs. “On his way?” she asked.
“He’s leaving tonight, he’ll be here sometime tomorrow morning. He said he’ll just come straight from the station, not to worry about picking him up.” She rested her hand on her stomach. “Y’know, my belly does feel a little different. I still can’t believe it, really.”
“Now that we know what’s going on, let’s see if we can get you to keep some food down,” she commented as she wandered into the kitchen. “The best part about being pregnant is you can eat all you want and no one gives a damn!”
After a delicious meal with lots of nausea fighting ingredients, a warm bath, and a mug of hot chocolate before bed, Winry was looking and feeling much better. They worked together to change the sheets on the bed, and Pinako tucked her girl in, like she used to when she was little. She sat down beside her and ran her fingers through her hair.
“I don’t want you to think that I won’t love this baby because of my suggestion. I was only thinking of how much it will change your lives and how hard things will be on you if you start a family so young. I hope you realize though, that it’s not going to be like playing dolls.”
“I appreciate your concern, but even if Ed freaks out, leaves and never comes back, I’m having this baby. I know how precious life is… I’m not going to end a life just because I’m scared.”
Pinako was stung by her words. Looking back on her own mistakes, it did seem incredibly selfish to terminate what she was eager to create in a drunken fit of passion. She rose and turned the lamp off. “Try to get some sleep. It’s gonna be a big day tomorrow. And don’t forget to eat those crackers as soon as you open your eyes. It’ll help keep your stomach still and you’ll feel a lot better.”
As she walked down the stairs to get her pipe and a nightcap of brandy, she thought back to the two times she was in Winry’s situation- knocked up without a husband and just starting out in the world. Two babies gone from this world as soon as their existence was recognized. She didn’t tell Hohenheim or that Collins boy about either pregnancy. What would have happened if they’d known? And would those actions have kept Urey from being born? Then there’d be no Winry, and if it had been Hohenheim’s child she’d had, there likely wouldn’t have been an Ed or Al.
“Seems we had kids together anyhow, Van. With my son’s little girl and your sons both under my care, it’s like our own little messed up family.” She remembered Hohenheim’s baby when it passed from her. A little alien looking thing, no bigger than a plum with a big head and a huge chest, tiny arms and legs and impossibly small fingers and toes. The Collins baby was detected sooner, and if it came out in one piece, she didn’t recognize it. She looked up at the stars, trying to pull herself out of those dark memories of the past.
“I only hope whatever’s up there’s forgiven me.”
******************************************************
The next morning, just as predicted, Ed came rolling in like a train off track. His suitcase hit the floor with a thud and he raced into the kitchen, looking for Winry.
“Morning, Ed,” Pinako said as she sipped at her coffee.
“Where’s Winry?” he asked frantically.
“Probably upstairs, still asleep.”
He turned and bounded up the stairs two at a time, and she heard as he flung the door open without even knocking first. Not that it mattered really, they’d been sharing the same bed for months before he left for Creta, though she pretended not to know about that to save them from any embarrassment.
It was quiet up there for over an hour. Then at last, the door opened and shut again, this time slowly and less dramatic, and heavy footsteps descended the stairs. When she saw Ed’s face from where she sat, she could tell he was dazed at the news.
“Ed? You alright?” she said as she pushed away from the table.
“Yeah,” he answered. “I just need a little time to myself. Y’know… to take it all in.”
She watched as he walked out the front door and just kept going. It was a relief to see that he’d left his coat and his suitcase behind. If he planned on leaving her after this, he’d have to come back and get his stuff or go with only the clothes on his back. Pinako instead left Ed’s decisions to him while she made Winry a breakfast of ginger pancakes.
When she came downstairs, Winry looked sicker than ever, though this time likely from nerves. “That smells really good, Granny,” she said with a weak smile as she sat down at the table.
“Try to eat as much as you can. It really will help to keep a full belly.”
“I already lost all my crackers, so I hope you’re right.” She picked up her fork and poked at the stack of cakes. “I think he’ll be alright. He said he’d be back later.”
“He seemed a little out of it when he left.”
“Well, he certainly wasn’t expecting this any more than I was. But he wasn’t upset, more surprised than anything.” She smiled at her grandmother. “Don’t worry. He just needs a little time. Hell, I need a little time still.”
After Winry got her breakfast down (and kept it down), the two of them moved down to the workshop and got to work on that custom leg and soon lost themselves in their work (and trying to not talk about the elephant in the womb). Around lunch time, they looked up at the sound of Ed’s voice.
“Win? Granny? Anyone home?”
“We’re in the shop, Ed!” Winry called out.
He came to the doorway carrying an armload of flowers and smiling like he had the world on a string. “Here,” he said as he awkwardly thrust the bouquet into her hands. His face was redder than the roses he presented and he stood scratching his head like he was unsure of his own gesture.
“Oh, Edward! They’re beautiful!” Winry buried her nose in them and breathed their fragrance, then set them aside and wrapped her arms around him. Pinako watched as Ed minutely relaxed and hugged her back, then closed his eyes and seemed to take a deep breath, as if he were relieved at her reaction.
He spoke gently as he held her, “And I got some ginger ale, gingersnaps, ginger tea- everything the dry goods store had with ginger in it, I bought it. Teacher said ginger helps with the morning sickness, so I got whatever I could.” Then he licked his lip nervously, and Pinako watched as he let her go and dig in his pocket, pulling out a small black box. She held her breath as she listened to him:
“I know I sort of asked you already… but it was really lame… and you deserve so much better than that,” he trailed off as he opened the box to reveal a pair of golden wedding bands. Winry gasped at the sight of them as Ed went on to say he wanted to marry her sooner rather than later, that he didn’t want his kid to be born into the kind of relationship his own parents had, and then Winry cut him off with a kiss.
“Why don’t you let me get your flowers in some water,” Pinako offered as she left them to their kisses. As she reached the top of the stairs, she heard her granddaughter talking in a watery voice, thanking him for not leaving her to deal with everything on her own.
“I couldn’t do that to you,” Ed replied. “You’ve made sure I never had to deal with anything on my own over the years, I’d be a heartless bastard if I left you now.”
Pinako grinned as she went back to finding a vase. “You’re a good man, Ed. I’m happy to give her to you.”