I do not own FMA. Enjoy!

When Roy walked into Riza's hospital room and saw her sitting up in her hospital bed, the color already starting to return to her lips, he couldn't help but think that she was beautiful. This wasn't a new thought (on any given day, his mind would remark on the beauty of Riza Hawkeye at least once) but it was one of his first pleasant thought since this whole event began just one day ago.

Roy sat down in the chair next to her bed and smiled back to her. The two stayed that way for a while, neither of them saying anything for fear that they'd break whatever sliver of peace was over them at the moment. Roy mouthed "Hi" and Riza mouthed it back but that was all they did in terms of conversation during that calm. It was only after Riza frowned slightly and received a questioning look from Roy that she spoke, breaking the silence.

"I'm not going to let this happen again."

Roy's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Let what happen again?"

"This," Riza said, motioning to her abdomen. "I'm going to be more careful so that I don't get hurt again."

"Don't blame youself, Riza. That's not-"

"I'm not blaming myself, Roy," Riza said, her words reassuring. "I just don't want you to be hurt again because of me."

Riza's gaze went from Roy to her hands, which were clasped together in her lap.

"I hurt you," Riza said, her voice suddenly going soft. "You were afraid...you sounded so afraid and that killed me. You were scared that I was going to die. You were afraid for me. I told myself that, if I lived, I wasn't going to put you through that again."

Roy stared at her for a moment, at the curtain of blonde hair that hid half of her face, at the way she kept her gaze downcast, as if she were ashamed of herself for her confession. He could see the sadness in her eyes, a sadness that every instinct inside Roy's body was telling him to eradicate. Roy got up and sat down on the edge of Riza's hospital bed, turning his body so that he was kneeling across from her. He brushed a few stray hairs away from her face and gently took her chin in his hands so that she was looking at him once again. This move allowed Roy to see the tears that were threatening to spill from Riza's eyes.

"Riza, you didn't hurt me," Roy said, his tone tender and soft. "The only way you could ever hurt me is if you died." Roy placed a hand on Riza's clasped ones and slowly pulled them apart from each other so that her palms were visible. He placed his pointer and middle fingers on Riza's IV-free wrist and gave her a small smile.

"See? You still have a pulse; I can feel it. You're still alive. You didn't hurt me."

Riza returned the half-smile, despite the tears that were now running freely down her face. Roy put his arms around her and carefull pulled her close to him, aware of her injury. Riza clutched his jacket, her muffled sobs racking his body. Roy started stroking her hair in an attempt to soothe her.

"Shhhh, it's OK. It's OK. You didn't hurt me," Roy repeated.

The two remained like that until Riza's sobs died down and her breathing became slow and even. When Roy realized that she had fallen asleep, he continued to hold her for a bit longer before laying her back down and tucking her in. Roy sat there on the edge of her bed, watching her sleep.

He knew he loved her. It wasn't just about him finding her beautiful; it was about years of loyalty and her intelligence, her kindness that was unexpected if you did not know her. It was every part of her, the good and the bad, that Roy was in love with.

This fact was one that he'd known for years. It was, however, a feeling that he couldn't act on. In a few days, Riza would be released from the hospital and they'd have to go back to being Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye. When she was unconscious, Roy had told her his feelings but that hardly counted. He wanted to tell her so bad, he could hardly stand it. He knew, however, that he would have to wait.

'There's a time and place for that. A time and a place."

AN: An update, hooray! Sorry that this one took longer than the past few chapters have taken; I was experiencing some minor writer's block with this one. I like how it turned out; though. It's definitely better than I thought it would be! Reviews are much appreciated.