A/N: If you have not read Pressure Point, I HIGHLY recommend you do so, because otherwise these stories will be very confusing. But if you want to proceed, I cannot stop you XP

Chapter 1: Shooting Star
Timeframe: 15th December, 1915 (one month following Pressure Point)

"Anywhere else you'd like to go," Roy asked as he looked down at Riza.

The blonde woman seated in the wheelchair he was pushing shook her head. "Not anywhere else… Sir." It was still odd referring to him that way again; she had gotten so used to calling him Roy that the switch had been difficult. However, since they had been under the careful observation of countless military doctors and personnel for the past month, they decided that it was best to return to calling each other by their rankings, just to be safe.

As he walked them both back into her room, he placed his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it, as if silently asking if she was being honest with him.

She responded by reaching up and intertwining her fingers with his, feeling more comfortable now that they were away from the general hustle and bustle of the hospital's center. "Honestly, I'd prefer the quiet over venturing out again," she added.

In reality, she hated leaving her room if it meant sitting in that damned chair. While she tried to convince the staff that she was perfectly capable of walking on her own, her weak legs and lack of balance were what ultimately betrayed her. She had fallen enough times when she had attempted to venture out on her own that there was now a red tag hanging outside of her door. When she had asked members of the staff what it was, they repeatedly told her it was nothing to be concerned about, leading her to believe that it was a message conveyed to other staff that was on the same level as being called a "problem child."

While she liked the staff and appreciated their efforts, she found that they were inhibiting her from rehabilitating herself. Or, she ultimately supposed, she was inhibiting herself.

Maybe it was because the nurse named Susan walked too quickly for her. Or maybe because Alyssa walked too slowly and tended to speak to her as if she were a toddler. Or maybe because, no matter the person, they could and never would amount to Roy.

He always matched his speed with hers, complementing her movements with his at every turn. He never spoke to her as if she were a child, carrying on a completely normal conversation with her most of the time.

She says 'most' because, for the most part, he would only ever lower his voice and speak softly after waking her up from one of her all too common nightmares, though his wakings were too far and few between now. Since becoming a long-term patient at the hospital, the Fuhrer himself assigned soldiers he handpicked that were assigned to stand watch over her all day, every day. Meaning that Roy was now expected to be home most of the time, though he broke the rules whenever possible, oftentimes by coming by and crawling into bed with her in order to hold her. Despite this being frowned upon by the doctors and nurses that tended to her, they said nothing and allowed these actions to go relatively 'unnoticed.'

Stopping just in front of her bed, Roy stepped around the chair and offered a hand to her. Planting her feet on the ground, she reached up and grasped his hand while his other took hold of her elbow. As she slowly eased herself up and to her feet, he released his grip on her elbow and reached around to support her back, guiding her toward her bed so that she could sit on it. Once she had, he sat down close to her, close enough so that his weight caused that part of the mattress to bow, allowing her to lean toward him. Not fighting or objecting to it, she accepted it and leaned into him, resting her head upon his shoulder and closed her eyes.

A moment later a third person cleared their voice, breaking the peace that had settled between them. Bolting upright, she and Roy glanced toward the door, only to find Dr. Knox standing in the doorway.

In a show of resilience, the doctor had returned to work a mere week after being found in the basement of his home. When asked about it, he simply shrugged and said that it "Wasn't the first time he had been held hostage," and simply left it at that…

Raising a brow at their behavior, the doctor scoffed as he closed the door behind him. "Don't play coy with me, you two. I've seen enough by now to know what you're all about," he said as he pointed the tip of his pen at them.

Relaxing, Riza allowed herself to sink back into Roy's side, taking comfort in his presence.

"Just got a call from Winry," the doctor continued, "Said that she'll be here around 8:30 in the morning sharp. Have you eaten anything recently, Lieutenant?"

Riza shook her head. "Not since 6:30, sir."

Looking up at the clock, he observed that it was 10:30 at night. "Good, good," he mumbled as he scribbled the piece of information down on his notepad. "Any unexplained nausea, vomiting…?"

Again she shook her head in response.

"Okay," he answered as he scribbled down a few additional notes on his clipboard. "It's getting late, so I recommend that you go to sleep now. Going to be a busy day tomorrow." When Riza nodded in reply, the doctor focused his attention on Roy. "If anyone asks me I'm just going to say that you weren't in here when I went over pre-op with her and that you probably snuck in afterwards, got it," Dr. Knox said as he pointed the end of his pen accusingly toward the General

Roy nodded in agreement and scooted over, leaning back against the bed's headboard and making himself comfortable for the night.

"Alright then," Dr. Knox muttered as he looked down at his chart one last time. "I think I have everything. Any questions," he asked as his eyes moved up to meet Riza's.

For the third time that night she shook her head. "No, sir."

"Perfect. In that case, I'll see you tomorrow morning." Just as he was about to leave, however, he stopped and turned back toward them. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Before we begin, Winry, Edward, and Alphonse wanted to talk to you. Said something or other about a gift for you."

"A gift," Riza inquired, unsure of what exactly that meant.

Dr. Knox shrugged. "They didn't say. Just said that they'd be in at 8:30."

"Okay, thank you," she replied as the doctor dipped his head and stepped out while turning off the light, closing the door behind him. Leaning back so that she was resting against Roy's chest, she wondered out loud, "I wonder what it could be?"

Roy shifted beneath her, giving her more room to move closer to him on the small twin bed. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "But whatever it is, I'm sure it was Winry's or Alphonse's idea."

Riza chuckled slightly and said, "Don't discount Edward quite yet. You remember those lovely lilies he sent me, right? I don't remember telling Alphonse or Winry about my favorite flower."

"True, true," Roy admitted as he reached under her and guided his hand to her shoulder, pulling her closer still as he trailed off.

After a few minutes of silence, Riza was sure that he had fallen asleep. With a small sigh, she too closed her eyes and began to drift off when a small gasp escaped him. Opening her eyes, she turned her head to look up at him, seeing that his eyes were widened and fixed on the window.

"Roy…?"

"A shooting star," he murmured as he looked down at her and smiled. "Since you missed it, I'll let you have my wish."

With a light chuckle, she paused and closed her eyes. After she was silent for a few moments, he asked, "Well…?"

Opening her eyes once more, she said, "If I tell you it won't come true."

"Then may I tell you what I was going to wish for?"

"Go ahead," she encouraged him with a light chuckle.

"Well, while I'm confident everything will go perfectly, I was going to wish for just that. You know," he added, "For extra insurance."

She hummed in reply, really feeling the effects of sleep now. "That's a nice wish," she murmured as she closed her eyes and began to drift again.

Taking notice, Roy held her close and sighed contentedly, falling victim to sleep just as she was.

In her last waking moments, Riza smiled to herself, happy that her wish had come true.

A/N: Here is the first (cheesy) installment of Flame and Steel. The next chapter will be called "The Gift," and will be a continuation from this chapter. It will feature Alphonse, Edward, and Winry with the synopsis: When you know someone, you leave a piece of you with them. It'll have a family vibe and some Friendship!RizaAl (since there isn't enough of that on FFN) and probably some Parental!RoyEd.

The third chapter will be set a month out from this one and will feature Team Mustang.

I'm going to try and see if I can draw cover art for this one (but we'll see how it goes…). See you next chapter!