Summary: A series of short one-shots about various stations in the childhood of Maes Mustang, the son of Roy and Riza. Sometimes based on true stories.

Chapter summary: Having missed three weeks in the early life of Maes, is Roy still fit to be a father? Or had he missed too much of his son's life already?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the mentioned characters, they belong to Hiromu Arakawa. The only exception is Maes Mustang.

Maes's age: one month

Please enjoy!

A loud wail suddenly interrupted the peace and quiet that had dominated the living room, and the volume of the voice startled the slumbering man on the couch next to the baby bouncer enough to cause him to fall to the ground. It took only a heartbeat though for him to roll over on his stomach and crawl over to said bouncer, the volume of the wail increasing with every inch he crept closer.

He looked down into the small, scrunched up face of a raven haired baby boy.

Roy tentatively reached into the baby bouncer, weaving his hand between the small arms that were stiff with tension and frustration, and rubbed the tummy of the baby gently.

"It's alright Maes, papa's here."

The baby opened his small, teary eyes slowly, and deep caramel eyes fixated the obsidian ones that stared down with worry and hesitation.

Only three days after Riza had returned from the hospital, he had been forced to travel to Xing for an important political meeting, leaving his wife and new born son all alone (well, not all alone, of course, he had made sure to appoint Alex Louis Armstrong as the personal guard to his wife and son). After three long weeks, he was finally able to return home, but it meant that he had missed three weeks in the life of his son.

And for Maes this meant that Roy was practically a stranger – and that seemed to only enhance the baby's distress for his cries got even louder now.

Roy winced a little, tempted to cover his ears with his palms, but his rationality won over and he reached out for the boy again, hands trembling slightly as he took the boy into his arms and cradled him a little awkwardly.

"Maes, it's alright, papa's here, shhh," he cooed softly and rocked Maes back and forth while the wails didn't seem to decrease, "sweetie, tell me, what's wrong? Shhhh... you are not alone, I am here."

Roy tried to change the baby's position and leaned Maes's head against his neck. He felt small hands grasp the material of his shirt, a reflex, but now the crying was even closer to his ear. Squeezing his eye close, he shook his arms cautiously, resulting in an up and down movement of his son.

"Shhhhh," he muttered relentlessly and pressed his lips against the black tuft of hair in front of his eyes, "I'm here, Maes, everything is good, you are safe."

"Roy!"

The general whirled around as quickly as he could with an infant in his arms and he felt relief and frustration at the same time as he recognized his wife.

With Roy back home, Riza had allowed herself to take a bath instead of a quick shower, to relax from the past weeks of constant sleep deprivation and the weight of having to care for an infant.

"I'm so sorry Roy, he must be hungry again. It's been quite a while since I fed him."

She quickly strode into the room and reached out for Maes, Roy handed her the boy wordlessly. She instantly focused her attention on the crying baby.

"Oh Maes, it's alright, Mommy's here, no need to cry. We'll get you something to eat right away."

Riza settled herself into the couch Roy had slumbered on just a few minutes ago, propped up with cushions all around to allow herself and Maes the best comfort possible while breastfeeding him. Roy watched her, awed at the efficiency in which she did all the things, awed at the infant that stopped crying at the sight of Riza's breast and latched onto it hungrily, tear filled eyes staring at his mommy as if he asked her why she made him starve so long.

And all Roy could do was feel useless. The pair seemed to function perfectly without him. Was there even a place for him in this small family?

He saw Riza shiver slightly and only now he really focused on her for a second.

She was clad only in her short bathrobe, pulled back at one side to give Maes enough access. Her hair was dripping wet and slow trails of water ran down her neck only – she occasionally dabbed the water on her chest to keep Maes dry. There were still remnants of foam stuck to her legs and her wet feet were bare. She must have hurried to get out of the bath as soon as she heard the first wail.

Roy's thinking snapped back into place and he draped one of the fluffy blankets the pair loved to use in winter around his nursing wife.

Riza tried to catch his eye and smile appreciatively, but he had slipped out of the room already, into the bathroom, to fetch a dry towel. Unfazed by Riza's puzzled glance, he stepped behind the couch and started to rub Riza's head softly, enough to squeeze out the water but too softly to move her body too much and interfere with her feeding. Riza closed her eyes gratefully and leaned back her head, thoroughly enjoying the massage, and she even started to hum quietly, a habit of hers that seemed to have developed after having to calm down her baby daily.

Roy pulled the towel away from Riza's head now and she turned her head to him, lips puckered in anticipation of a kiss, but he turned away, heading for the bathroom. He took his time in hanging up the towel, and when he was done, he stared at it.

He felt awful. Useless didn't even cut it. He had always loved the idea of a child and as long as that thought had resided in his heart, it had always been a child bearing the caramel eyes he loved so much. But now? He seemed so unfit to the task! His child resented him and he's unable to sense Riza's needs as quickly as he was able to before. How did this happen? Why –

"Roy."

He heard her voice, soft and low to not disturb the child, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Would you come back, please?"

He sighed. He really didn't feel like facing his wife now that new, troubling feelings arose inside of him, but he shouldn't deny her any help she might need right now. After all, he had left her alone for three weeks already, hadn't he?

Roy reluctantly re-entered the living room and looked at his wife who told him with a glance to sit down next to her. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, avoiding the other's eyes. In the mean time, Maes emptied Riza's first breast and she rearranged the baby to let him comfortable suckle on her second breast, his head now facing away from his father, before she spoke up again.

"You are not useless."

Roy jerked around to her, his mouth opening and closing, but she didn't let him say anything before she continued.

"It must be hard for you to connect with him. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone with Maes. He needs to get used to you again."

"What if he doesn't love me?" Roy quickly covered his mouth with his hand, but it was futile. The words were already out – and they were faced with Riza's cocked eyebrow.

"Roy, he does love you. You even talked more to him while he was in my tummy than I did!"

With a nod, she motioned him to sit closer, and he did so, laying his head onto her shoulder and one arm around hers as she was practically immobile. She nuzzled into his hair.

"You were scared. You are not used to his cries and that's okay. I had to learn them, too. I had to learn how to properly hold him and I had to learn not to be afraid to have him in my arms."

Riza turned her head a little and pressed a tender kiss into Roy's hairline.

"Remember the day of his birth? You held him so proudly. You weren't scared and you looked right into his little face."

"And he sneezed," Roy added, the corners of his lips curling upwards slightly. Riza chuckled a little.

"Yes, he sneezed right into your face. Apparently his way of saying 'Hi!' to you. But he didn't cry. And he didn't cry those first three days you were with us because you felt safe and reassured. He will feel safe when you feel safe."

With a huff, Roy raised his head again and leaned over his wife to stare at the infant wrapped in her arms. Maes's eyes shuffled to the shadow over him immediately and focused on Roy. Instead of the fear and uneasiness they held before, his caramel eyes looked curious now and his suckling seemed to get lighter until he let go of the breast.

"Huh, are you done already?" Riza balanced the little boy and brought him into a vertical position, ready to burp him, but seemed to decide otherwise as she shoved the infant into Roy's arms, surprising him.

"You do it," she explained with a grin and kissed his cheek reassuringly as she folded her hands on his shoulder. "I'm right next to you. If he starts to cry, I'll help you. Just hold him over your shoulder and tap onto his back lightly."

Holding his son in his outstretched arms, Roy stared at him again, unsure whether he should follow his wife's instructions or not. Maes stared right back at him, innocently, curiosity all over his face – and something else. Something was quite familiar in the pout on his lips...

"You really need to burp him. He already stares at you like you always stare at me when I turn down your inappropriate displays of affection in public. A mixture of deep craving with a hint of annoyance."

Roy blinked. She was right. That facial expression was so distinctively him.

"He's inherited more of your quirks. You'll be surprised of how much he already reminds me of you," Riza added softly and nuzzled into Roy's neck while he gently pressed the child into his unoccupied shoulder, head lying on his sleeve.

"And now-?"

"Just lightly tap his back."

It didn't take him long to burp Maes and he quickly rearranged him in his arms, head facing his mommy on the couch. The boy's small eyelids drooped as Roy held onto him, and a small hand wrapped around his finger, now out of comfort instead of distress. Surprised and happy, Roy looked up and he met the eyes of his wife – worn and dark circles under them – but they beamed just as much as they did on the day of their wedding. He quickly caught her lips in a sweet kiss before both continued to look down onto the slumbering wonder that their love had created.