Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and I am far too tired to work on a witty disclaimer.

Chapter Ten – Soliece

—xx—

Edward blinked and stared at the wall before looking back at Winry. "What do you mean, 'my daughter?'"

"Oh, god," Winry said, rubbing her temples, "Please tell me you remember being pregnant."

"What? Yes!" Edward raised an eyebrow.

"Good," Alphonse breathed, "I was not looking forward to trying to explain that to you again."

"You still haven't answered my question." Edward said, "How can I have a daughter, I thought I was having a so—"

The door opened and the doctor walked in with a pink bundle of blankets in his hands, cutting Edward off. He smiled really big and then burst out, "The birth was a complete success, Mr. Elric!" He walked to his side, "Here's your new baby girl. She's healthy, and, if I might say, quite beautiful."

Edward, still dumbfounded from the opposite sex of his child, took her in his arms. He removed the top of the blanket, covering the child's head and smiled at her. A thick black fuzz covered her head and her skin was a soft white. He stroked her cheek and just stared. Her eyes were closed because she was asleep, but she was still wonderful.

"So," Winry said, interrupting his trance, "What are you going to name her?"

Edward blinked. In the haze of his pregnancy, he had not even once thought of a name. Even if he had, he would have probably had some boy names ready, not girl names. He had simply assumed that because Roy and he were both men, they would have a boy. Apparently he was wrong. He stared at her and suddenly a distant memory came rushing into his mind…

"Edward, you wanna know a secret?" His mother's voice surprised him as he sat by the tree in the backyard of his home, reading. He turned around and nodded quickly. Of course he wanted to know a secret! She sat down next to him, smoothed out her dress and pulled her brown hair back before smiling at her son. "Well, it's about Alphonse. You know that when I was pregnant with him, we thought we were having a girl?"

"What? Really?" Edward's eyes were wide.

"Yeah! We were so sure that you were going to have a little sister that we came up with a name!" She smiled wide and Edward's heart grew warm.

"Wow!" Edward grabbed his feet and rocked back and forth with a smile, but then his smile faded and he stopped rocking. "What were you going to name her?"

"Well, we had three names, but I had secretly decided. What I was going to name her was…"

"…Soliece." Edward said as he held the child closer. "I want to name my girl Soliece."

Winry was smiling wide. He couldn't believe that he just called the baby 'his' girl. Alphonse, on the other hand, had a look of surprise. "Really?" He said, stepping closer to his brother. "You mean the name mom loved?"

"Yeah," Edward smiled. "It seems appropriate, right? Edward smiled at the still-his secret. His mother had once told Alphonse that she really loved the name, but never that she actually had picked it out for Alphonse. As tempted as he was to call Alphonse 'Soliece', he kept it to himself, keeping the secret safe.

"That's nice," Alphonse said, with a wide smile on his face.

"Well, I like it." Winry said, "Can I see her?"

"Just a second, Winry," He hugged Soliece, "Just a second."

There was a silence for a while so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and then you heard a very light whisper from Edward.

"I wish Roy was here to see this." Edward's voice was hoarse and his body shaky.

"Are you going to be alright, Brother?" Alphonse looked into his eyes.

"Y-yeah," Edward shrugged, "its cool. Here, Winry," he handed her his child, "You can hold her."

He leaned back on the bed and turned to the doctor, "So, when can I leave?"

"Well, Edward, you should probably wait here for a couple more hours since you've been here a near day anyway. The hormones are still going through your body, but your testosterone will kick in soon enough, so you should be emotional for another hour or so. In about two hours, you will have very serious mood swings for a while, so I will put you back under then for another hour. Then you should probably let your wounds set while you sleep plus another two hours. You can either leave late tonight or wait until tomorrow morning."

Edward blinked, taking in the information. "I guess I'll just wait until morning. That's probably safest."

"Here," Winry placed Soliece back in Edward's arms. "So you're just going to stay here then?"

Ed nodded, holding the child close to him once again. The doctor left the room, returning minutes later with a needle filled with something green. Edward squirmed anxiously and clamped his eyes shut. He could hear his brother chuckle in the background and reminded himself to kill him later. The pin broke his skin and he bit his lip as he could feel it enter, then slowly retract. A pinprick of blood came from his arm, but the doctor took care to simply wipe it away. "There, now they should kick in soon."

For a while there was silence before his brother spoke. "Do you, uh, want us to stay?" He asked, hints for a 'go free' in his voice.

Edward looked up sleepily, his drugs starting to kick in, "Tha-a-as o-okay." Soliece stirred in his arms, squirming in the blankets before fighting at opening her eyes. Edward gasped. Staring up at him were two wide golden eyes, shining and sparkling even in the dim light of his room. For a minute the two just stared at each other, the girl studying her father, as if to make sure he was good enough, the boy staring down at his new daughter, waiting for acceptance. After what seemed like forever, the girl parted her lips and let out a small giggle, showing her teeth-less gums. Edward let out a breath of air before the drugs began to take over, and he handed his daughter over to the doctor reluctantly. He closed his eyes and drifted away.

—xx—

He instantly knew it was a dream. Because of this, he took advantage of getting to do whatever he wanted, and the one thing he wanted to do was see Roy. Soon, Edward found his bare feet being warmed by hot sand. He looked up at the sky, its warm purple twilight and bright moon guided him through the unknown land. He lazily searched the skyline, feeling no hurry in his dreaming state. He felt no discomfort in the least, having loose close brushing his sides softly, his hair down and blowing behind him in the soft breeze; the warm air at his sides and softly coaxing him into the horizon where his eyes found a warm light.

As he walked, he distinctly noticed the utter silence, deciding that he liked it. Although he felt no rush, he was also eager in finding what he had wished for, and soon, he heard a very definite and familiar voice that could only belong to one Colonel Mustang. It was a soft murmur, accompanied by no one else, as if he were praying. "…but that's impossible," Ed softly chuckled, "Who the hell would that bastard pray to?"

But as the voice became clearer, he found that he was right. Roy was simply on his own and he was sitting on the ground, staring at the down, probably just talking to himself. He was so engrossed in his praying that he hardly noticed the soft steps approaching him. When he turned his head, Edward stopped in his steps, surprised at the sight of his lover. Apparently so was Roy.

Edward studied his lover's face, being that his jaw was covered in black stubble that Ed couldn't have even imagined before then. His skin color had a gained a tiny bit of pigment and his hair was longer, covering the back of his neck if only a small bit.

But his eyes. Those were the worst. Or maybe the best. They were so extreme, that they were beautiful and scary, wonderful and horrible. He stared at their emptiness… except they weren't empty. They were filled with a combination of fear, shame, adrenaline, excitement, and worry that stirred into an intoxicating mix that Ed just couldn't tear away from. Roy remained seated, tired eyes looking into his lover's before whispering, "Ed, what the hell are you doing in the south?"

"I…you…what the hell happened to you, you stupid bastard?" He took a daring step towards his lover, though knowing that he was dreaming, was still scared to touch the one who was stolen from him now twice before.

Roy rubbed his eyes, "What, is it my face? I know I haven't shaved. What do you care?"

Edward neverminded the rude gesture and continued, "No, it's your eyes. What the hell happened to your eyes?"

Roy looked at him before letting out a sigh. "This is why I didn't want you coming down here. Everyone down here looks the same. It's from all the people we've killed." He pushed himself off the ground, walked towards his lover and put his arms around his shoulders. "It's nice," he let a small smile grace his face, "to see someone who doesn't look starved of humanity. You look… normal." He attempted at touching his face, but Ed squirmed from his grasp and took several steps back.

"No!" He put his arms out in front of him to keep Roy away.

"Ed…" Roy said pathetically, trying to reach his lover. "Come on, Edward."

"No, I won't let it happen again!" Ed screamed. "Last time I let myself believe that you were here and you disappeared."

"Last time…?" Roy blinked, "Ed, what the hell are you talking about? I haven't seen you since I left!"

"Shut up! You're just a dream!" Edward growled, "What the hell did I do this for? I could have done anything and I saw you?"

"Edward, come on, sit down, you need to rest. You sound delusional and you need some sleep."

"N-no!" Edward bit his bottom lip, "I won't let myself. I'd rather wake up than have some fake wet dream about you!"

Roy sighed, "I still don't know what you're talking about, and I still don't know how the hell you got down here, but I guess I'll just have to let you stay away. You're being absolutely ridiculous but I'd rather have you here than have you run away."

Edward scowled, "Right, like you really mean that. Probably just want to make me feel sorry for you or some shit so you can get in my pants. Well guess what, it's not going to work. I'm not stupid!"

Roy looked at him for a while before bowing his head and shaking it, laughing softly. Edward stepped towards him, "And what the hell is so funny, you bastard?"

Roy laughed a bit longer before looking up at Ed, "It's nice to know that you haven't changed in my absence. I would have been very disappointed if you had."

Edward blushed, "Whatever. I'm still not going to touch you."

Roy shrugged, though he looked a little disappointed. "That's fine, I suppose, we can talk." He fell back onto his seat on the ground. Ed reluctantly sat few feet away, facing him and staring at him suspiciously.

"So what are you doing out here, anyway?" Ed said, swaying his head in the direction of the fire lit camp. "Aren't you supposed to be over there?"

"Nah," Roy said, ruffling his own hair, attempting to bring up the back a little. "It's too loud over there. I need to think, and I can be alone out here."

Edward cocked his head, "Isn't that dangerous? I mean what if you were attacked?"

Roy shrugged, "Does it really matter?"

Ed's brow furrowed angrily, "You stupid bastard!That's completely selfish! You know how many people would miss you if you were dead?"

Roy stared at him with an eyebrow raised. "I think you misinterpreted what I said. I meant, does it matter if they attack me out here or in there. I still have my gloves. I don't need an entire army backing me up." He smirked at his own self confidence, but then it grew wider when he realized what Edward had been implying. "Would you really miss me that much?"

The blonde flushed, "No. Like I'd miss you." He turned away from the man, looking off into the mountainous distance.

Roy sighed. "Ed, please, at least sit next to me. It's been nearly a year," he reached out a hand, "I miss you."

Still staring out into the night, he gulped, feeling his defensive mind begin to break down. Who was he to deny Roy Mustang? He hadn't done many times before, that's for sure. Roy was nearly… nearly beggingjust to be next him. No, Roy was not begging, simply demanding in a sympathetic manner. But this was ridiculous! He was just a dream! This time Edward knew it.

…but what would it hurt? Wasting this time by being stubborn was just ridiculous and childlike. He and Roy both knew that he wanted to hold him and be with him. "Fine," Ed breathed, almost feeling the smile appearing on Roy's face, "I will. But not for you! I want to, okay?"

He stood and moved to him, sitting a half foot from the Colonel, seeing the disappointed look on his face. Edward bit his lip and closed those inches until he was right up against him, an arm snaking it's way around his waist. "Now," Roy said, "is this so bad?" Edward could tell he was holding himself back as to not piss off Edward and make him move away, so Edward simply nodded.

There was a long silence, simply because Edward could not think of anything to say, but then he bit his lip, wanting to tell Roy something… tell him what had happened in the last nine months…

"What's wrong with you?" Roy asked.

"Listen you bastard," Ed growled, "don't push your luck."

"I thought you said you wanted to sit here, hmm?" The raven haired man smirked.

"Shut up." Ed clenched his teeth. "Listen, I need to tell you something."

"Yeah?" Roy pulled Ed closer to him, practically placing him in his lap.

"Pay attention!" Edward snapped, "Seriously. This is important."

"Listening." Roy said innocently.

"So, you know how I was a little sick when you left and I had to go to the doctor?" Why was he even bothering to tell him this? He was just a dream, for God's sake! Edward waited for his response anyway, and then continued at a nod. "Well, when I went, they, um, sort of, found out something weird…"

"Yes…" Roy waited patiently.

"Well, that night I moved in, I had been screwing around with Al, doing all these weird experiments, alchemy-wise, mind you. Then, I came over and, right after that I started to get sick, right?" Roy nodded yet again, pleading for his lover to get to the point he was obviously avoiding. "They found out that…" Edward bit his lip again. "No, this is stupid, why do I need to tell you?"

"Come on, Ed," Roy said anxiously, "just tell me."

"No, you're not going to believe it."

"What?" Roy said, "What's there not to believe?"

"Believe me, you bastard! I hardly believed it myself!"

"So now you're comparing yourself to me?"

"You're right, that's unfair to me!"

"You're being childish again! Why are you always like this?"

"Fine, you idiot, you really wanna know? The doctor said I was…"

Suddenly, his eyes were closed and the warmth of the desert was gone, and he knew that he was awake. He hadn't told dream Roy that last word, breathing it out like dirty air, "…pregnant."

—xx—

Edward was out of his hospital bed in an hour, fully dressed and waiting out in the lobby for his daughter to be brought to him. He hugged his red jacket around him in the cold air of the hospital, growling at the doctor under his breath for taking so long at getting Soliece. How long could it possibly take to get her? Surely, they could tell them apart, not many children have golden eyes and black hair, and—Edward chuckled to himself—looks that could kill. "C'mon," he grumbled, "I'd like to get home."

Minutes later, the doctor emerged with the child in his arms, once again wrapped in a pink blanket. "I assume you have a way to get home other than walking?" The doctor said, letting Edward take the girl in his arms.

"Er, no," Edward said, puzzled, angered, and tired. "I was just going to walk home; it's not far from here. I can't drive anyway."

"I'm going to have to get you a ride, then, it's far too cold outside. Do you know an adult that I can call?"

"Are you kidding? It's Fall! It's gotta be at least sixty out there!"

"For the safety and welfare of that child, I require that you find a ride. Now can you give me an adult's number?"

Edward grumbled, cursing the fact that he'd have to wait at this horrid hospital even longer. Racking his brain, he searched for an adult that he could call. Normally, he'd just bug Roy at work, but seeing as how the man was hundreds of miles away, he took the next subordinate. "I'll make the call." He grabbed a pay phone off the wall, and punched in the numbers, biting his lip angrily to keep the swearing at a minimum.

—xx—

Lieutenant Havoc arrived about twenty minutes later, nodding to the doctor and staring at the bundle of blankets in the steaming boy's arms before leading him to his car. Even as Ed climbed into the back and the Lieutenant started the car, his eyes still remained glued to the baby. Ed could feel his stare and looked up at him. "What?"

Havoc's eyes lazily drifted up to Ed's as he grabbed for a cigarette. "Nothing," he rambled, placing the cig in his mouth and lighting it, "I just can't help but wonder what you're doing with a baby." He took it out after a long drag, letting the smoke linger in the air before blowing it towards the passenger seat window.

Ed blushed, "That's none of your fucking business!"

"What," Havoc continued, ignoring the other blonde, "did you adopt or something?"

Edward clenched his teeth. "I said that's none of your business! Now take me home…please," he spat.

Havoc shrugged, "Whatever, chief." The rest of the ride back to the apartment was silent, as promised, and when Edward slammed the car door closed behind him, he simply nodded in the officer's direction before walking to his door and making his way inside begrudgingly. Only then did he realize.

He had no idea what to do with this child. He stared down at the snoozing Soliece and around the apartment as he closed the door behind him. He felt the girl squirm in his arms and he realized there was only one thing to do. He set his daughter down on the couch and grabbed for the phone, calling the one person that he knew could help him. He dialed for Winry Rockbell.

—xx—

A/N: Okay, I finally finished this chapter after being grounded for a week, off the computer for two weeks before that because of band camp and writer's block all through then. I hate this… can I just skip to the end now! I just want to write the last three chapters… those will be fun. Now I have about a million drabbles to write that I have stored either in my mind or in my drabbles notebook, a new chapter of EFGP because you all (well, that separate set of readers) want me to update it. I'll get it done, I'll try. I don't know if I'm still grounded. I had to practice both instruments for an hour each to get on here now, so now I'm going to work on EFGP because they are the most important. Then I will do drabbles if I have time. Thanks to all of you for my fabulous support.

Ales :D