A/N: I've had this written up for a while; just not edited. Then today I realized...Oh crap! It's already halfway through the summer, and I haven't uploaded anything since Royai Day!

Suffice to say, I finished editing in a panicked flurry, hoping I could get this up today.

I hope you'll enjoy!

Brick by Brick

Chapter 2: An Eventful Week

The next morning, Riza awoke to bright light streaming in through the open window. The sun's greeting was a foreign feeling to Riza, but not entirely unwelcome. Riza usually got up before 5 AM, when it would be still dark out. The Lieutenant got up and stretched. I must have been up later than I thought, Riza mused.

Her fellow patient and roommate, Roy Mustang, came into the room, arms full of plastic bags. "I come bearing breakfast," he declared around a bagel. "All for you, milady. " He bowed theatrically.

Riza frowned, concerned. "Sir, why did you get us breakfast? In your condition, too."

Roy put the bags down and took the bagel out of his mouth. "Well, I decided I owed you something after keeping you up so long. The hospital food here is terrible, so I thought I would get breakfast." Roy seemed slightly pleased with himself.

"Sir," Riza began. "You're blind. Getting breakfast isn't like it used to be. A walk across the street could be fatal. If you die, how are you supposed to become Fuhrer? What would happen to the country after that?" Riza's eyes were disapproving, but held the slightest hint of worry as she looked at Roy.

The man she addressed took a bite of his bagel. "True enough. Only, I didn't cross the street or even exit the hospital. I called Breda to bring the food, so I didn't go too far—only down to the lobby. Plus, I had a doctor escort me to Breda." Roy felt his way over to his bed after offering Riza a small grin. "I'm not that reckless."

"Your past experiences would beg to differ," Riza said under her breath.

Roy pouted. "What, am I really that bad?"

Riza ignored that comment. "You haven't eaten yet," she said, changing the subject.

Roy opened his mouth to reply, but Riza cut him off by setting one of the to-go boxes down next to him. His head jerked over to where the box landed and his fingers crept over to examine the food. "Don't try to deny it," Riza said as Roy opened the box. "I know all of your excuses." Her eyes were faintly amused. Roy began eating.

Taking a box for herself, Riza heard Roy hum in appreciation as he began to wolf down the pancakes. "These are some good pancakes. Breda sure knows his stuff."

Riza only nodded. The rest of the meal was eaten in a companionable silence. Wiping her fingers on a napkin, Riza brought up a somewhat worrisome topic that had been on her mind as of late.

"Colonel…what do you think the military will do about Ishbal, now that we are at peace?"

There was a silence. Then Roy responded. "With no one in the conference [1] to support the Ishbalan people, I would imagine Scar and Miles would be alone in their rebuilding efforts." Roy shook his head with disapproval. "Even with all the help the Ishbalan people gave us, most Amestrian citizens are still prejudiced against them. It'll be a long way yet for the Ishbalans."

Riza nodded. "Yes. Their path to trust is harder because of all the lies and propaganda the military spread. The other citizens' unjust discrimination against the Ishbalans is not entirely the other citizens' fault. It is the military's fault." Riza rested her chin in her palm in thought. "So, in light of that, what if a few military members supported the Ishbalan people?

Roy looked in her direction quizzically. Riza elaborated. "Support…as in aiding the recovery efforts and speaking for them at the military conferences."

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"It depends on what you think I'm suggesting, sir," Riza replied coolly.

Roy took a deep breath and exhaled. "Are you saying we should back the Ishbalans? Not only back, but take an active part in their recovery process?"

"Yes, sir." Riza steadily looked at her superior. The gears began turning in Roy's head.

"Sir?" Riza said after a pause. "What are you thinking?"

Roy nodded thoughtfully. "I think it's a great idea," he said sincerely. "But why the change in thoughts? I mean, it's almost impossible to make up for everything we've done in the Ishbalan War. What everyone who participated in the war was so morally wrong that…" Roy shook his head. "Why?" he asked Riza again, looking, for all sense or the word, lost.

Riza understood. Everything that happened in Ishbal was so overwhelming that it was easy to get mixed up in confusing thoughts about their experience in the war. But that meant that it was her job to set Roy's thinking back on track. "Even if we can't completely atone for what happened in the past, we should still focus on what we can do to help the Ishbalans in the present. Our objective shouldn't be to make up for what we did, but to help the Ishbalans however we can. Right now, the best way to help the Ishbalans is to get directly involved with the rebuilding of Ishbal."

Roy stayed silent through Riza's speech, his face a mask.

"The first step is to go to the conference and support the Ishbalans as an important military official, ensuring them aid more quickly. Once the first rebuilding efforts have begun, we can go to Ishbal and help manage the process."

There was a silence.

Then Roy sighed. "I've been stupid, Hawkeye. Somewhere along the way, I completely forgot the goal was to help the Ishbalans."

Riza waited for him to elaborate, but he stopped there.

Suddenly, Roy stood up. "Hawkeye, I think it's about time we did something for the Ishbalans," he said with alacrity, his eyes shining with determination. "Let's go find some books on Ishbal. When the higher-ups allow us to begin this project, we should be as knowledgeable as we can be, correct?" He looked newly revitalized

Riza blinked at Roy's sudden shift in demeanor, but briskly stood up as well. "Should I inform the other members of our team, sir?"

Roy paused in his path to the door. "Oh, yeah." He resumed his path to the door, Riza close behind.

VIP rooms came with many perks, but a telephone was not one of them.

Riza called three members of the Mustang Unit—Breda, Fuery, then Havoc. Breda responded with a solid 'yes' and Fuery the same. Havoc said he would help as much as he could—shipping supplies out, gaining Roy supporters, etc. Roy and Riza were both happy that at least a part of their team would be reunited in Ishbal.

Then the time came to call the last member of the Mustang Unit.

The First Lieutenant picked up the telephone for the final time and dialed Northern Command's number. The phone rang once before it was picked up. "Good morning, you've reached Northern Command. What may I help you with?"

"This is First Lieutenant Hawkeye. I would like to be connected to Second Lieutenant Vato Falman, stationed at Fort Briggs."

"Can I have your ID, please?"

Riza dug through her memory. "TBU611."

"Thank you, First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. You will be connected to Second Lieutenant Vato Falman shortly."

A few seconds later, Hawkeye heard the sound of a receiver being picked up. "Lieutenant Hawkeye? Sorry, I was doing drills. Major General Armstrong is pretty strict…even when she isn't actually here."

"It's alright. No harm done. Anyway, I've called to ask you about something."

Falman's voice was slightly mystified. "Ask me something? Well, sure, I guess. Ask away."

Riza proceeded to explain her idea about Ishbal. By the time she was done, Roy was standing next to her tapping his foot impatiently. "Couldn't you have taken less time to explain?" he whispered, still eager to begin research. "We don't have all week."

Riza didn't even spare the comment a verbal reply—her only response was stilling Roy's restless foot with her own. Roy scowled at her, but she was focused on Vato's reply.

She could hear Falman fidgeting in discomfort, and immediately knew something was on his mind. "Vato? Is something wrong?"

A sharp intake from Falman expressed his surprise at the sound of his first name, but he got over the minor shock. "Nothing's wrong…this is just a hard decision. I mean, Major General Armstrong doesn't take to kindly to deserters, even if what you're asking of me isn't technically deserting. However…everyone will take it that way. Everyone here is like a huge family, and I don't want to break these ties." He paused. "You…Mustang…all the others, you're family too. But I know you all would never turn your backs on me for denying your proposal. The Briggs soldiers might. They all go on about survival of the fittest, but…" Falman chuckled. "Under all those icy exteriors, there are caring and compassionate hearts. Even Major General Armstrong. They would feel betrayed if I left them, even more so because Miles has already left." There was a silence on Falman's end of the line as he let Riza digest what he said. "I just can't leave Fort Briggs, Riza. I'm sorry, but I have to decline."

Riza's features were expressionless after Falman's spiel, but her voice was soft. "I understand, Vato. Take care up North, alright? Don't get speared by a falling icicle."

"…Yeah. I'll make sure not to do that."

"See you around."

"See you, Lieutenant Hawkeye."

Riza hung up the phone. As she stared at the receiver under her palm, the sniper felt Roy watching her.

"Falman…he refused to help in Ishbal, didn't he."

A nod from Riza. Roy sighed. "I guess I was sort of expecting this. Those soldiers up in Fort Briggs…they're a tightly-knit bunch. It's what makes them a truly effective defense. I can see why Falman wouldn't want to leave them."

"I almost feel like we're breaking apart," Riza said.

Roy listened as she continued. "Havoc has paraplegia, and Falman is staying up North. That's a third of us. Next thing you know, Fuery will be taken into specialized Communications, and Breda will go to Investigations. We'd be the only ones left, and even we could be split apart. It's not impossible, sir."

Roy shook his head. "No. Our team won't be broken apart. Even if all our different jobs and specialties take us elsewhere, we can still be a team. We've done so many things together, I can't see a future when the 'Mustang Unit' doesn't exist."

Riza raised an eyebrow, still facing the telephone. "With all due respect, how are you so sure, sir?"

Roy chuckled. "How am I so sure? You want to know how I am so sure, Hawkeye?" Roy asked rhetorically. He shrugged. "Well, my reasons are pretty simple, in reality."

"I know that a mother and father stay with their children, even when they're all grown-up."

Riza turned around and eyed Roy, then pulled away from him. She walked over to the coatrack, talking over her shoulder. "Sir, you've been spending too much time with Breda. You do realize he and the others have a betting pool…about us."

Roy had opened his mouth to respond: Sure, the guys always have betting pools. But, at the last two words, Roy became rooted to the spot and his right eyebrow started twitching. About him and the Lieutenant? Not only is that against military regulations, but anyone could see that their relationship was purely professional.

But you were just flirting with her, an irritating voice reminded him. Does flirting qualify as 'purely professional'?

Roy silently cursed the voice. Why did he have a voice in his head, anyway? The little voice sounded like something in a bad romance novel where the guy/girl is in denial, and this all-seeing "little-voice-in-the-back-of-his/her-head" comments on it. Then the guy/girl falls into an even harsher denial…something like he was doing right now.

But wait! That couldn't be right. That would mean that he, Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, was in a bad romance novel! No… Roy shuddered at the thought.

Roy frantically searched for a way to get away from his…unpleasing thoughts. This is all Breda's fault! Breda started the whole thing, making that sly little "family" comment. Damn that Breda…he's going to pay for this!

Roy jumped as Riza's voice jolted him out of his evil scheming. "Colonel. It's time to go."

Roy gave her a quizzical look. "Go? Go where," he asked confusedly.

Riza gave him a completely straight-faced look, trying to see if he was kidding. He wasn't. She inwardly groaned. He really forgot…

"Sir, how are we supposed to accomplish rebuilding an entire culture if we know almost nothing about their customs?"

Roy stared blankly at her for a moment. Then it dawned on him. Oh. "Yes yes, of course, how could I have forgotten?" He paused. "Wait…"

"Lieutenant, when did we decide to rebuild Xerxes?"

Riza nearly fell over herself in shock. No...he can't...really think…

Xerxes?!

Riza wanted to repeatedly bang her head on the coatrack. Really badly. But of course, she couldn't, because that would not only be professional misconduct, but out of character as well! So she settled for a small exhale of air through her nose. Roy just looked up at her, confused. "Was it something I said?" Roy asked innocently.

Riza stared at him. It was going to be a long week.

Six days after Mustang and Hawkeye's decision, Doctor Marcoh had visited, offering to heal Roy's eyesight. Everyone (including Mustang, Hawkeye, Breda, Fuery, and Doctor Knox,) had been shocked at Doctor Marcoh's generous offer. Marcoh had elaborated; he felt extremely guilty for using Ishbalans to create his Philosopher's Stone, therefore he would try to redeem himself by healing Roy so that the Colonel could help the remaining Ishbalans. In response, Roy accepted Marcoh's offer, but then insisted that Second Lieutenant Havoc be healed first. In hindsight, no one was really surprised at what Mustang said. He was famous (or infamous, depending on the person's standpoint) for caring for his subordinates.

A day after Marcoh's visit, everyone was taking a break from their Ishbal research. While the others were out having lunch, Roy and Riza got summoned to the hospital's lobby. Two people had shown up at the hospital, asking for Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye.

Stepping out of the elevator, the two military officers walked over to the front desk. The secretary turned around as Riza spoke. "Good afternoon. I am Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye and this is my commanding officer, Roy Mustang. We received a summons to the front desk a minute ago."

The person Riza addressed nodded. "Yes, the two who asked for you are currently waiting outside."

Hawkeye inclined her head in thanks. "Thank you," she replied as she guided Mustang to the exit.

"Have a nice day." The secretary continued his work, content with the normalcy and simplicity of his life. It was a nice day for him, indeed.

Riza looked up at the sky as she and Roy walked out the hospital's door. The light gray expanse of stratus clouds above her promised rain at some point of the day, perhaps soon. It was May, so spring would soon be over. Just as well, because spring was Roy's least favorite season.

"Hey Hawkeye," Roy said from beside Riza.

"Sir?"

"Do you see anyone out here? Anyone important?"

Riza took a look at their surroundings. Apart from a few people walking down the sidewalks and cars traveling on the streets, she couldn't see anyone who might have asked for them. "No one who might have summoned us, sir."

Roy hummed, thinking. "Well, I guess we'll have to wait awhile. It's not a bad day to wait outside, based on how it feels."

Riza recalled the ominous-looking sky. She decided not to crash the Colonel's mood with the impending bad weather.

"I just hope it doesn't rain," the Flame Alchemist muttered, as if reading Riza's mind. "I hate spring."

All of a sudden, a voice issued from around the corner. "Why is that, chief? Got some fighting to do you didn't tell me about? A mission?" A very familiar voice preceded the man himself as he strolled into Riza's sight. "Or is it just because you're have a deathly fear of being 'useless', as a certain First Lieutenant puts it."

"That voice," Roy said. "Who is it? It sounds familiar."

Riza didn't respond. "Lieutenant?"

Riza was looking at the blond man walking towards them. Walking. Yes, two, perfectly functional legs. He had his hands in his pockets as he watched Riza quickly recollect herself.

"Lieutenant?! Answer me!"

"Yes, Colonel. That voice would be familiar." Riza's voice was oddly neutral, but she gripped Roy's shoulder tighter.

Feeling the Hawkeye's increased grip, Roy became mildly confused and slightly concerned. "Riza! What's wrong?"

Havoc raised an eyebrow at the sound of First Lieutenant's name, but kept quiet, still waiting for Riza to speak. As if coming out of a stupor, Riza blinked and let out a small laugh, confusing Roy even more. His Lieutenant never laughed like that, especially when the topic was Jean Havoc. "It's only Jean Havoc, sir. You're overreacting."

Roy looked over at the Lieutenant. "But then why…?" He let the question hang in midair.

Riza looked back at Roy, then at Havoc again. "Yes, it's only Havoc, that's true. But I just thought I would never see the day wh—"

The Colonel cut her off impatiently. "The day when what?"

Then, everything clicked in Roy's head; a jigsaw finally becoming whole.

Havoc's appearance and cheerful teasing.

The lack of wheelchair noises as Havoc approached them.

Riza's tight grip on Roy's shoulder and her odd behavior.

"—when Havoc got his legs back."

Riza was a very realistic, down-to-earth person. She didn't believe in miracles and tried to avoid giving herself false hopes.

Even with Doctor Marcoh and his Philosopher's Stone, she had still refused to get her hopes up over Havoc's recovery.

Yes, Riza was a firm realist. But at that moment, there was no person more grateful than Riza that for once, reality had yielded to fantasy.

As she looked at Havoc and his restored legs, she wondered: Maybe it isn't so bad to have hope after all.

Roy made a choking noise in the back of his throat (that he quickly stifled) and beckoned to Havoc. Havoc came over to Roy and Riza. Roy reached out and set a hand on Havoc's shoulder, then felt down to his leg. "So this is real," he said. "Not a dream?"

Havoc nodded. "No dream, boss. Doctor Marcoh did all of the fixing, no help from anyone else. I can feel my legs again, thanks to him and his Philosopher's Stone."

As if on cue, the said doctor walked out from where Havoc had emerged earlier. While Doctor Marcoh was a normally grim man, he couldn't conceal the satisfaction from his features. "Well, the calculations weren't hard at all—most alchemists would have only been held up by the amount of alchemic power needed to complete the transmutation. I did virtually nothing, the Stone did most of the work," he said in his rough voice.

Roy was hardly listening to Marcoh. He hugged Havoc fiercely, overcome with emotion. "I knew you would come back," he said into Havoc's shoulder.

Havoc awkwardly patted Roy's back. "Well, I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in the Havoc General Store, no matter how handy the place is. Plus," he added. "Being in the military makes it easier to pick up dates," Havoc said as he broke away from Roy, smirking. "Girls like dashing soldiers like me."

Roy scoffed. "That would explain why your only date in the past year was with a certain Solaris, I presume?"

Havoc scowled. "Please don't bring that up, chief."

Roy scoffed. "Based on your track record, one would say being in the military chases girls away. No one would think a walking cancer factory is 'dashing'."

Havoc opened his mouth to reply, but Riza decided to end the banter before it got too far. "Nice to have you back, Havoc," she said quickly, but warmly as she offered her hand to Havoc before he could shoot another witticism at Roy.

Havoc shook the proffered hand with a firm nod. "Lieutenant Hawkeye. It's good to be back," he said. "Sorry I wasn't there at Promised Day. If I could have been able to fight, there's no doubt in my mind that I would have been there, right beside everyone else."

Riza shook her head. "No, don't be sorry. You were very important in the coup d'état in Central—without your weapons and supplies, we would have been killed."

Doctor Marcoh cleared his throat from where he had been standing on the sidelines. "I'm sorry to cut short your reunion, but really, we should be getting started. I've booked a sector of the Alchemic Gardens for our use, and it runs out in 10 minutes."

Roy started. "In only 10 minutes? Why didn't you say something before?"

Doctor Marcoh looked over to the street, taking an interest in a passing automobile. "You were…occupied," he said carefully.

"Oh. Sorry, Marcoh, we didn't want to make you uncomfortable," Roy said sheepishly.

Marcoh shrugged. "I don't mind."

"So, are we gonna go to the car, or what?" Havoc said.

"Yeah," Roy said. He looked at (in the general direction of) Riza. "Shall we?"

She put her hand back on Roy's shoulder. "Let's go."

The group arrived at the Alchemic Gardens five minutes after they left Central Hospital. The gardens were lush and green with many natural elements ready at the alchemists' disposal. Ponds of water, banks of sand and clay, and stacks of wood were only some of the resources in the gardens. In the center of each section of the Alchemic Gardens, there was a square slate, ready for the drawing of a Transmutation Circle.

Doctor Marcoh had headed straight for the slate when they arrived. He had made all the necessary calculations beforehand, so he only took a couple minutes to draw the physical circle.

With only a few minutes left, Roy stepped into the middle of the Transmutation Circle, Havoc and Hawkeye watching from just off the slate. Marcoh was standing on the slate, but not inside the circle, ready to preform the transmutation.

"Are you ready?" Marcoh asked.

Roy nodded. "No use in waiting," he said.

Marcoh turned to Riza and Jean. "No matter what happens, do not run into the center of the Transmutation Circle. Only do so if I give you the all-clear first."

Both of the blondes nodded. They had been around enough alchemists to know the hazards coming with the craft.

"Alright then," Marcoh said. He turned toward the circle and took out the Philosopher's Stone, which he stuck in between his teeth. With no ceremony whatsoever, Marcoh knelt down and pressed his palms to the outside edge of the Transmutation Circle.

Riza noticed a few things when Marcoh began the transmutation.

First, Roy was unusually stiff and nervous, though he tried to hide his anxiety. Then, the placing of Marcoh's palms on the edge of the circle was accented by a flash of lightning and boom of thunder, soon accompanied by a sudden downpour of rain.

Flash! Boom! Crack! Sizzle…

Sizzle?

Riza's eyes widened at the unexpected noise. Please, she mentally pleaded. Don't let that mean what I think it meant…

But as Riza peered at the circle, she knew her suspicions were correct.

The light that was quickly spreading along Marcoh's meticulously drawn Transmutation Circle had abruptly stopped…

…For the sudden deluge that Riza noticed at the beginning of Marcoh's transmutation had washed away over a quarter of the Transmutation Circle.

Riza knew that every millimeter of chalk counts in a Transmutation Circle.

Havoc stared at the circle. "What..." he whispered.

"Doctor Marcoh! The rain has washed some of the Transmutation Circle away!" Riza cried through the downpour.

Doctor Marcoh looked up and saw that she was correct. When he chanced a glance back at Riza and Havoc, he saw Riza heading towards the slate.

"Stay back!" he roared. "I can fix this, but if one of you two come into the circle, you might mess everything up!"

Riza stepped back, hearing the reason in Marcoh's statement, but still wore a conflicted look upon her face. Havoc was silently observing the chaos, hoping for the best.

Doctor Marcoh turned back to the Transmutation Circle, sweat beading on his brow. He took out the Philosopher's Stone from in-between his teeth and threw it into the middle of the destroyed circle. Roy had been standing stock-still since the first sign of trouble, but when he saw Marcoh throw the Stone into the circle, he stepped towards the red object, realizing Marcoh's intent.

"No!" Roy yelled, but Marcoh ignored him. Pressing his palms into the slate with a renewed intensity, the alchemist altered something about the transmutation, but Riza couldn't tell what the change was.

The circle went dim for a moment, then flashed thrice, in sync with the Stone's flashes. After the second flash, the next flash of light became abnormally bright and expanded, blinding the occupants of the garden. When the brightness level of the garden returned to normal, Riza and Havoc rushed over to the broken circle and Roy. Doctor Marcoh sat down and watched them.

Riza reached Roy first. "What happened, Colonel? Are you alright?" she asked.

Roy nodded. "I'm okay," he said, but his tone left a question in both Riza and Jean's minds.

Havoc took his cigarette from the corner of his mouth, which he had absentmindedly taken from his pocket when the rain had started. "What about your eyes?" he asked. "Are they fixed?"

Roy sighed and opened his eyes. They were still a clouded gray. "No. They're not fixed."

Havoc shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He exhaled. "Well, just because it didn't work this time doesn't mean we can't try again, right?"

"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, Havoc."

Riza was kneeling next to Roy, the rain splattering on her uniform and rolling down her back. She turned to Havoc and showed him her cupped hands—or more accurately, what was inside her cupped hands.

Laying in tiny red, glittery pieces in Riza's hands was the Philosopher's Stone.

[1]: There's a conference in Central that every military official above the rank of Major (with the exception of State Alchemists) in attendance that begun to meet a week after Promised Day. They make the decisions for a while about what happens next with Amestris.

A/N: Sometimes I feel like I take myself too seriously. I mean, who's really reading this stuff? I got 4 reviews last chapter, maybe some more for this one?

Review, for the sake of a new Royai story! I command you! :3

Happy Hunting,

~TVMC