Catalyst

Chapter 7

Bargaining


"Mrs. Bradley was apologetic about overfeeding Elicia, she admitted she was a little excited to have a baby to care for again and might have offered her too much to eat out of pure joy. I think she was scared she might lose her job, she committed to writing down all feedings and regulating the baby's intake."

Havoc leaned over the desk as Roy reported in about his morning. The new morning routine meant Roy showed up for work even earlier than his staff. He had committed to driving Elicia to the sitter and carpooling with Hawkeye to work. Together they dropped the baby off and talked to the Fuhrer and his wife before continuing on to work for the day. So now, thanks to Hawkeye, he was punctual and in the Fuhrer's favor. Maybe. "And how did Bradley react to you lecturing his wife on bottle feeding?"

"I can do no wrong." Roy said with a smile. "I was almost late for work because the Fuhrer had to share some story about his brother, Tony, and how he was the baby that gorged himself when he was little. They used to call him Gluttony because he ate everything."

"The Fuhrer has a brother?" Havoc asked.

Roy sat back in his chair and laughed. "I had no idea! Apparently he has several siblings. Now they call Gluttony 'Gluten Tony' because he has to have everything gluten free when he comes over. Something Bradley seems to attribute to his food intake as a kid. Definite vibes of him being appalled by how his brother doesn't take care of his body and goes a long way to explain why Bradley is so fit for an older guy. Also they love fruit and vegetables in that house, they are adamant about healthy living. He gave me a melon."

Fuck Mustang and his damned charmed life! Havoc could not believe how things just unfolded before him sometimes. Sure this situation was a tragedy, but in the wake of it all things were just smooth sailing.

"Of course that lead to a weird conversation about Gracia's diet and her breast milk and how maybe Elicia has some food allergies? They're really focused on this gluten thing." Roy shrugged. "They were actually talking about Gracia like she was a cow. Riza and I had to get out of there. They could still be talking about it for all I know."

"So, this is your first night off in a week." Havoc asked. "Any hot dates planned?"

Roy thought about Knox's comments last night, about making sure he got away from it all before the surface started to crack. He pulled out his little black book and wondered if Vanessa would just let him sleep in her bed for a few hours after work. God he could use a nap, he was absolutely exhausted. There was responsibility for you, paying a prostitute to let you just sleep uninterrupted for a few hours. "Now that you mention it..."


Riza waited for the gossip to settle down and get old. She and Roy arrived in the mornings together after dropping off Elicia at the sitters. Then they began to have lunch together and she had to admit she actually enjoyed his company. They would talk about the baby and anything household related that needed to be taken care of, then let each other know about plans for the evening. She wasn't surprised when Roy said he was going out on a date, she was surprised that the rumors about them seemed to drop off the day after.

It helped her relax around him, helped her feel like maybe the pressure wasn't actually getting to them to be more than guardians for Elicia. It made her realize how she had been so very careful to not show too much to this man she was now living with. It was actually better for her that he went on dates because it gave her some time to be alone in the house she was desperately trying to tell herself was home.

She and Roy, for the most part, were getting along really well. They agreed that Saturday night would be family time, time spent playing poker with old Generals at her grandfather's place. It was somewhere that was neutral for her, a place she was comfortable and also without the looks or questions from the public. When she took Elicia on a walk through the park with Hayate she encountered the strangers who gravitated towards babies with dumb baby talk and the unsolicited advice about raising said baby. The comments about Elicia's beautiful eyes and how she must have gotten them from her father were the ones that struck home. Beautiful green eyes, that she got from her Mom.

Those people didn't know, they were just talking and passing on harmless compliments. Hayate started sensing her agitation and sorrow and started to get a little protective of her and the baby, so she stopped going to the park. However she knew, looking over at the playground, someday she was going to have to deal with it. For now, Roy enjoyed going to the park and all the attention he got for holding a baby. That, she could let him have.

She felt like things were settling down, until the end of the week came and she was leaving to go home and she literally ran into someone she was hoping she wouldn't have to deal with for at least another month.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye." Major Miles put his arms on hers when she bumped into her chest and then let go when it was obvious she wasn't going to stumble due to the surprise collision. He took off his glasses as he smiled at the women he was looking forward to seeing for almost two months. He saw the smile as she laid eyes on him and then it faded a little, he assumed the weight of what she was dealing with crushed her enthusiasm a little. "Sorry I didn't call. General Armstrong sent me down here to guard a shipment of contraband and I thought I'd see if you were free for dinner?"

Two weeks ago, she would have smiled and felt a flush of excitement like a schoolgirl. Today, however, all she saw was the future she worked for standing in front of her waiting to be pushed away. Everything had to happen at once, she couldn't recover from one hit before another wave threatened to take her feet out from under her. "Major..."

"I'm sorry to hear about your friend." Miles wasn't one to interrupt, especially not a woman, but he had grown fond of Riza and knew her well enough to anticipate her reaction. They didn't need to discuss the implications of her new role on things already set in motion, he just wanted to make sure she knew it didn't effect how he saw her. Well, it did, but his admiration only grew. "I called but your phone was disconnected and I didn't want to bother you at work. Some things, I think, are best said in person anyhow."

"Thanks." She was at a loss for words. He was such a good man. "Things changed so quickly, I didn't think to let anyone know about my change of address."

"Understandable." He said. "The General informed me about the details of your new living arrangement. She's been rather vocal about it, which is amusing considering she's never been one to care for the Central gossip. Her brother was able to give her details, so a reliable source I assume?"

Riza felt for the first time in two weeks someone was actually here for her. Not in the respect that they saw some opportunity she needed to be pushed towards, or questioning her resolve or ability to see the situation for what it was, but honest to God standing there wanted to know if she was needing a shoulder to lean on. "Yes. I also forgot to follow up with the General and let her know I will have to withdraw my application for the position at Briggs."

Miles smiled at her. "I believe the General's instructions were, and I quote, 'Don't you dare let her withdraw her application. You hear me? Does anybody actually believe Roy Mustang is capable of taking care of a baby? He can't even take care of himself unless he's helping himself to whatever he wants! That arrogant shit will crash and burn in less than a month if child services doesn't come to the rescue first. We can make arrangements for Daycare, Briggs is home to plenty of families. That baby girl can have some real role models that aren't womanizing sacks of shit like Mustang!'"

Riza had to crack a smile. Miles really knew how to imitate his General, right down to the hand gestures and speech patterns. "As much as I appreciate the General's...dedication... to seeing this promotion through, I don't see myself able to leave Central in the next eighteen years."

"Can you leave for maybe a few hours and perhaps go to Hagaren Cafe for dinner with me tonight?" Miles asked. "I don't mind if you bring the baby."

"Actually, it's my day off. Roy has Elicia tonight." Riza said and felt a little bad about going out on a date, but Roy had taken no time to go back to his regular routine in that respect and she honestly could use a break. Life had to maintain some degree of normal if they were going to survive this. Not that dating was part of her normal routine, but she was one to seize the opportunity when Miles was in town. "I'll call him and see if he wouldn't mind taking Hayate home with him."

Miles smiled at her and saw a look of relaxation that had yet to happen during this conversation. Riza was never one to be shy about their occasional dates nor the sex that usually followed. He hated to admit that he shared his commander's sentiments about Mustang and was relieved to watch Olivier dump the promotion files in her desk drawer and declare she'd push the decision off as long as she had to.


Roy pulled up to the house and noticed the lights were on in the living room as well as the upstairs. Riza was home. He was glad she had a date tonight, it made him feel less awful about going out with Vanessa twice this week, especially since Elicia had been really colicky again today and he knew he was in for a long night. They didn't have an appointment with the pediatrician until next week so he ran back to Knox as soon as he felt overwhelmed. The doctor was less cranky this time and actually walked them upstairs to a doctor specializing in living, breathing people for advice. He got a nurses phone number, several actually, and it seemed he had garnered some fame from the newspaper's coverage of the Chopper case. Nurses, he could call for help and possibly treat to dinner at some point for their experise. Sometimes he hated himself for how well he could manipulate a situation to his advantage.

He got out of the car and went to the back seat to get Elicia out and also let Hayate out of the passenger side. The first week seemed like it was a breeze compared to this past one where it seemed like every time he touched the baby she had a problem and he was absolutely useless. He opened the door to let the dog out, the well behaved pup would only leave the car when told. He was actually pretty excited Riza was letting him share custody of the pup, petting and playing with Hayate was a great way to let go of his stress. "Ok Hayate, you can get out."

"What a good boy!" He watched the dog leap out and then closed the door, then went to the back door to get the baby out of her car seat. "Ok Elicia, want to get out?"

The baby moved a little and then went back to sleep.

"Now you're acting like me and I'm acting like your Dad. Hoping you're enjoying the irony of this Hughes." He picked her up, along with her bag of everything, and closed the car door. Hayate walked alongside of him and he saw the neighbors come out and 'check the mail'. The neighborhood watch. Everyone here knew how Hughes was with his precious child and was just waiting to pounce on the new neighbors to see how they were doing with the task themselves. He had successfully avoided them, but knew it was just a matter of time. Right now, dealing with everyone at work while figuring all this out was enough on his plate.

"Hello?" Roy said as he walked into the house and it was warm and the radio was playing. He knew Riza had a date tonight and the last thing he wanted to do was walk in on something happening on his couch with Major Miles. No, the last thing he wanted was Elicia to wake up because of him walking in on something.

"Hi!"

That..seemed uncharacteristic for Riza. He thought she'd be greeting him at the door, asking about her dog and the baby, but instead she wasn't meeting him in the foyer. Hayate trotted off into the living room and Roy cautiously followed and looked around. Riza was on the couch, a bottle of wine on the table and there was nobody else. Weird she was in here, she seemed content to just surrender the room to him and taking the upstairs for herself. "Date go well?"

"Yes." Riza said and watched Roy come in and set the baby down in her play pen. "I mean, for my standards I guess. Dinner...only. No sex. I can still be happy with that."

Roy turned and looked at her. Clearly she wasn't handling his dating routines well. He knew that would be an issue. "You've been drinking."

"Thanks Colonel Obvious." She said and pointed to the bottle. "I bought it for Gracia, but she couldn't drink it because she was pregnant and then breastfeeding. I had some wine at dinner, thought I might try it."

"Good stuff?" Roy asked and picked up the bottle. It was one step above wine bricks. It definitely was not good stuff.

"Nope." Riza said and help it up to look at it. "I couldn't afford good stuff. It's wine, not really your thing, so I didn't want to offer. You're a hard and fast kinda guy, wine takes more commitment."

Roy walked over and looked down at her, her eyes were blurry. This was really uncharacteristic for her, he never though there was a version of Riza Hawkeye in there that would indulge in alcohol to the point of actually loosing a little bit of control. This was a night for irony, apparently. She was acting like him. "Did Miles get you drunk?"

"No." She hissed. "He's a gentlemen, he brought me home when I got tipsy. We talked about Elicia and Gracia and I just kept drinking and talking and drinking..."

So that was it. She was coping with the loss of her friend, something neither of them really had a chance to do. Roy leaned on the couch arm and said softly. "Let's get you to bed."

"I wanted him to take me to bed, not you. I just wanted some great sex and forget about all of this for a while, but how can I bring him home to this house?" Riza asked. "I should have asked what hotel you recommend for your 'dates' with your lady friends."

"Riza." Roy said and closed his eyes. "Do we need to talk about my dates?"

"God no. I don't need to know what you do. I mean, I thought about that with you but you were such an asshole." She said and laughed when his eyes opened and he looked at her surprised. Like even he didn't think she's stoop that low. "I though that maybe you'd just be some no strings attached one night stand, but it was too many strings attached. Maes would have never let it just be that. Then I would make tension between Gracia and him, because she knows the only use I had for you was your dick."

"It's really good to know you're an honest drunk." He said. He had to admit she was right. He was an asshole, and it would have been a complicated hook up. Hughes would have been hounding him about details, trying to convince him that Riza was 'the one.' Would have been nice to know all she wanted was casual sex though. That he could have accommodated.

"It's good to know you're the slutty asshole I thought you were." She said and snorted. "God knows how much that one night would have really cost."

"I don't have any diseases." He snapped, offended. God, he really didn't want to admit he was spending money on prostitutes so he could get some sleep. Or help with the baby. He'd rather have her think he was seeking comfort in the beds of random women than admit how much he was struggling, that made him every bit the asshole she thought he was. However this was going to be a rift between them, so he asked again, "So we need to talk about my dates?"

"No." Riza pointed to his little black book on the table. "I see you can't keep them straight yourself so you have to write them down."

Roy groaned. Shit! "That's not what that's for."

"I bet it's not. Not for anyone but you to read and take little notes about Vanessa and her favorite appetizers and desserts. Or Madeline and how she likes take out and the back seat of your car...by the way our baby is not going to be in until you have it cleaned. You hear that Hayate, you call shotgun!"

Roy went over and picked up the book. He forgot about that when he rushed out of the house to go to the hospital. He was tired, this was evidence of that.

"Don't have anything to say?" Riza chuckled and set her glass down on the table. "Put that in your book, your tongue doesn't work on me."

He shoved the book in his pocket and turned to watch her try to pour from the bottle without getting it on the table. She didn't drink that much of it, which meant that Miles probably brought her home half wasted. He was a good guy, probably the kind of guys she deserved. "Let's get you upstairs."

Riza let him pull her up off the couch and lead her to the stairs. "So carefree about your reputation and sexual adventures and hair. I couldn't handle being that messy. Looking that...shallow. Seriously, what is with your hair?"

Roy felt her run her hand through his hair and tried to not enjoy it. She was so focused on it, so close to him to see if she could learn the magic of his hair style by looking closer...close enough to smell wine on her breath and the scent of her shampoo. He was glad when he heard a knock on the door and had to pry her off him to see who it was. He opened it and looked down at an old lady who was unfamiliar and looked like she was selling something. Fucking neighbor probably, he just responded as curtly as he could before he slammed the door in her face. "I'm sorry, we're not interested."

"Mr. Mustang?" The woman's voice was gravelly.

"Colonel Mustang." Roy said before he managed to slam the door and heard Riza scoff at his correction, muttering something about him being an ass.

"I'm Pinako Rockbell, with child services."

Roy looked through the opening between door and jam and just stared at her. He could feel Riza pushing at him, trying to see who was at the door and why he was only opening the door part way. She was grabbing at his midsection now, trying to tickle him but distracted by his firm muscles under his shirt. Now she was trying to pull his shirt out his pants to see. God help him, he was possibly going to explode out of his pants and poke this short ladies eye out if Riza got any further. "We already met with child services."

"And I am the surprise in home visit you were told about and..."

Roy closed the door as the woman asked if she could come in. He turned to Riza who was holding onto his shirt and said, "Child Services is here. Right now. Get upstairs and take a shower and sober up. Now."

"No." Riza whispered in horror. Those words were enough to sober her up a little. Damn her! Damn her for letting go a little and having some damned wine and trying to be human. Dammit! She wanted to see what was under his shirt!

"It's fine, I got this" He whispered. "Just go."

Roy opened the door again once Riza staggered her way upstairs. "Sorry, I didn't want the dog to bark and wake up the baby. She's sleeping. Not that the dog bothers her. He's awesome. A great dog. I love dogs!"

Pinako walked in the house and looked around. "The file says there is also a Riza Hawkeye that is a co-guardian."

"Yes, she's taking a shower. She is a clean woman. Smells good." Roy said and darted into the living room when he saw the wine bottle and glasses. He pointed at Elicia as he zipped in front of Pinako and over to the table. He snapped and pointed, "That's the baby!"

The dog came up and sniffed her hand then went back to sit beside the play pen as she heard glasses clinking and Mustang trying to hide evidence of something. "I'll be blunt, Mustang."

"Ok." Roy said and held the bottle and glass behind his back and went over to the short woman. He smiled. "I like direct."

"This situation doesn't look promising." Pinako said and looked up at him. "Two strangers, without any parenting experience, walking into a house and just assuming control of this little girls life and future. It's not that simple."

"We know." Roy assured her.

"No, you don't. You have good intentions. You haven't a clue what having a kid is like." Pinako said and sighed. "Actually you probably do, you aren't married and don't have kids so I am assuming at some point you realized you weren't ready for that in your life yet. Or ever."

"Ok, you're a little bitter for this job." Roy said and she looked at him and narrowed her eyes like she saw through every layer of his bullshit.

"I've seen it all, Mustang. I've developed an eye for people who can make it work and who can't. I've looked through your files, I've looked at the newspapers and read all about you. It's admirable what you're doing, but this is not about you. It's about Elicia."

"I know that..." Roy said and realized with his hands full he couldn't grab her and push her out of the house. To get his hands empty he would have to reveal the wine glasses and bottle that made it look like they were celebrating something or getting warmed up for sex. It left him the option of kicking her out, literally, which he'd reserve as an option for pure desperation.

"And I see a baby who is at the age where she could be placed in a loving home and leave this tragedy behind her. With a couple who is dying to have a child, but can't. A couple longing for a missing piece of their lives." Pinako said.

Roy looked at the sleeping baby. The impact of Pinako's words hitting him as she turned and looked up at him with defiant eyes. He was once that kid standing there listening to someone like Pinako telling his Aunt that there were better families out there, his Aunt asking if that meant erasing the ties to the name Mustang and his real parents. The answer was, 'yes, do what's best for the child' and in doing so...sever the connection to the dead parents that would only cause pain. Fuck no. So he lowered his voice and the hostile bite made sure she knew he saw though her bullshit to the real meaning behind her statement. "You think she should be with a couple who would never let her know who her real parents were? You would go against her parents wishes just because you think you know better?"

"Parents." Pinako emphasized. "Not friends who have no experience in parenting or even a working relationship with their partner."

"How about you get the hell out of this house? Is that parental enough for you?" Roy growled and Hayate perked up as he realized he needed to put himself between the baby's pen and this stranger. Roy realized that the 'kicking the lady out' card might be pretty closed to being played.

"Nobody is truly ready for their first child. Even when it's a surprise, you have the entire pregnancy to grow into the idea of parenthood when your child comes into this world. People need to be prepared for their lives to change this drastically." Pinako said, at least Mustang was prepared to fight her over this. He was a solider, a Colonel, that was expected. It was his job.

"You don't get to lecture me about expectations versus reality." Roy said and looked up as Riza came in the room. Of course it looked like he was just being a dick to this woman.

"What Roy means is..." Riza said and walked over to the couch to see that he had picked up her wine and had it behind his back. "We're all adjusting to the reality of this change and committed to it."

Pinako turned to look at her, Riza Hawkeye. A sniper. That said a lot about her. "So how does this work, you two?"

"We share responsibilities." Riza said.

"Are you sleeping together?"

"NO!" They replied emphatically.

"Right." Pinako went over to a chair and sat down. "Alright, sit down and let's get this interview started."

"It's 2000 hours." Roy said dryly.

"It's a surprise visit so sit down Mustang."

Roy finally gave up and placed the bottle and glass on the table and sat down. Riza came over and sat down beside him.

"You're both military, have you considered what will happen if one of you is transferred or deployed?" Pinako asked and looked up at them to see if they fidgeted.

"It's always in the back of our minds." Riza looked at the wine bottle. It was the reason she indulged tonight. Miles had brought with him an offer to transfer to Briggs, a move she had been considering for a year. The job was hers if she wanted it and Olivier Armstrong, of all people, was stalling to give her that opportunity. It was more than just a promotion; it was a move away from Central and the feeling that she just would never feel like she belonged back in society after the war and a move away from all the officers who didn't appreciate her because she was a woman. A promotion and serving under a General she truly admired and the implications of something more with a handsome Major who delivered the news. A Major who had listened to her talk about her dead friend all night, who had casually mentioned he wasn't so bad with kids. God she wanted to give Roy a chance, she wanted to believe what Maes said about him, but nobody in this room would argue that Miles wasn't a better candidate for father than Mustang.

"How will that work with a baby? This house? This arrangement?" Pinako asked and wrote down notes.

"We'll have that discussion when it happens and we will adapt." Riza said. After seeing Roy's little black book she had considered having that discussion. He was not a role model for Elicia. Why did he even bring her to meet his mother and try to make her think he had respect for women if he couldn't wean himself off going out and doing whatever with his little harem of women? She didn't want to judge him, but she had to now because of Elicia.

"Isn't that what a real family would do?" Roy asked and Riza elbowed him in the ribs to tell him to quit antagonizing the lady. Or maybe it was for implying they were a family. He wanted to give her space to grieve however she wanted, whether it be with wine and Miles or telling him the truth about what she really thought about him, but now wasn't the time. He needed the hard ass Lieutenant to have his back right now.

"It sounds to me like you have issue with the military and not us." Riza said coldly. "Perhaps when you can address this situation objectively you can come back."

Pinako raised an eyebrow. She wasn't used to defensive adoption candidates, they usually went overboard trying to please her. She had to admit, maybe her own feelings were jading her view of this a little. "It's early enough in your shared custody arrangement that maybe you have not had enough time to discuss everything. I'll give you that. My intentions this evening were to drop in and inspect the conditions you are raising Elicia in and ensure standards are being met."

"Good thing we're gauging ourselves against higher standards than yours." Roy said coldly and looked up at the Hughes's wedding photo over the fireplace. He got another elbow jab for that, but much lighter. Riza was just asking him to not piss this little woman off at this point.

Pinako stood and walked over to place a business card next to the wine glass and bottle. Then gave them a curt smile. "I'll look forward to our next meeting and hearing your answers in our interview. Until then have a nice night. I'll see myself out."

When she was gone they both let loose a sigh of relief. Riza looked over at Roy first, he seemed fixated on the photo but broke his stare to turn to her. "I'm sorry about tonight."

"We can talk about..."

"No, that's not necessary." Riza said and stood up to grab the wine and glass to clean up. "That lady was right, we still are new to this and each other and I had no right to judge you like I did. Life ended for Gracia and Maes so quickly and life changed for Elicia instantly...but you and I are going to have to take time to figure life out. We can't avoid that. It's going to take time."

Roy nodded and watched her turn to leave. He should explain himself, but he couldn't. So much of who he was revolved around this persona he created that giving up truths about himself to someone he didn't quiet trust, well it would do no good for anyone.

"I'm going to bed." She said and gave him a smile. Tomorrow was Saturday, family day. They could talk then. Right now she just wanted to go to bed and scold herself for this weakness she exhibited and make sure it didn't happen again. "See you in the morning."

"Good night." He said and settled back down into the couch, staring at Hughes's smile and vowing he wasn't going to let him down. No matter what this world thought of him.