Kain sat on the grass, wringing his hands together as he stared at the tombstone.
Here lies Sheska Fuery 1894-1920
Devoted Wife, Friend, Librarian
How unkind life was. It had shaken them all to their very cores, chewed them up, spat them all back out, and they were expected to live like nothing had happened. Expected to rebuild from the ashes of what was left for them, to find happiness and peace where they could.
And they had. They had managed to find their sparks of happiness and nurture the sparks into flames. Despite everything, he and Sheska had a friendship, a bond, and she had calmed and soothed him even in his most unhappy moments.
And now she'd been taken away. There was a complication with her birth, and she'd died just after their beautiful daughter was born. Before she had even a chance to hold her own daughter.
After a lot of contemplation, Kain decided to name his daughter Hope. By god, did he cling onto his hope, if only for her. She and Sheska had thrown many names around for both sexes, but Sheska kept asserting that they would name their child together, after meeting them. She insisted that once they met their child, they would know, that a perfect name would come to them.
Kain punched the grass, staring blankly ahead for a few moments before wiping the tears off his cheeks. Hawkeye and Mustang were watching Hope, and Kain didn't want to take too much advantage of their offer.
Another heartbreak. Another letdown. A life ended before it had really begun. A happy ending ripped away before it had a chance.
But life goes on. And on, and on.
Kain had never been the type to throw pity parties for too long. Even if he had wanted to, his family, his unit, wouldn't have let him. On most days, Kain would bring Hope into the office and work while she slept. Sometimes, if he was in the midst of working on something complicated, one of the team members would get up and soothe her if she cried.
For the most part, she was a happy baby. Most nights, she woke herself up and cried, requiring soothing before she would go back to sleep, but Kain had a difficult time sleeping through the night anyway, and almost welcomed the distraction.
Once, he overheard Havoc and Mustang speaking in hushed tones about how they were expecting some sort of breakdown, but that only fueled Kain's determination to keep on.
He and Hope visited Sheska's grave every day, sometimes leaving different books, sometimes leaving flowers. Perhaps it was morbid to bring a child to a graveyard, but those were the cycles of life.
And so he went on.
Life always went on.