Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal alchemist.

Warning: May be a hanky alert in this chapter for some.

A/N: Please leave review and let me know how it is.

We promised each other we would never say goodbye... what happened?

*~Chapter Ten~*

"Daddy, what r ou doin?"

Roy turned around and saw that Kelsey was awake. He didn't really want to go to the meeting; he really didn't want to leave his daughter home sick. He loved her so much, how could he simply leave her though? The simple answer was the stupid Fuhrer of the stupid head of the military and the country that was who. Kelsey quickly ran over to him and tucked herself into his military jacket. She was still warm and he frowned seeing that her fever was starting to come back up. She was going to be three tomorrow so he didn't want her to strain herself so much.

"Baby, daddy has work he has to do. I will be back after that is done-"

"I wan ou to stay daddy. Stay wit me. Pwease…" She pouted her lower lip and put her hands together silently begging. God, Roy couldn't take that look and she knew it too. Especially when her little green eyes lit up like that.

"Baby I need to go to that very important meeting and you have a fever. I can't very much take you-"

"Pwease daddy! I don wan to stay wit Miss Bwidgett!"

Roy sighed and quickly picked her up and took her out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. It was still a little early so he didn't have to worry about anything at the moment let alone a stupid fucking meeting. He took her temperature and saw with relief that it was below a hundred and two. It was slowly getting there though and he quickly had her take some Tylenol before giving her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Why don't you like Miss Bridgett baby?" He rocked her back and forth, patting her back so that she felt comfortable.

"Cus I wan ou daddy. I wan ou. I don wike Miss Bwidgett. Can ou stay home?"

Roy gave her a tiny smile before making himself look like he was thinking it through. She looked up with hope in her eyes and he found himself wanting to stay home the entire time and not leave her for a single second. He couldn't think of a single person who would want to see her like this. Hell Maes was here yesterday and told her that a picture of Elysia had always cheered him up. She took it so she didn't hurt his feelings and even told him her own little thank you. Roy wondered if Kelsey even knew that he was her other parent. He knew it was likely that she had not but she was close to the others as well. Just not as close as she was with her daddy.

"How about I go to the meeting and then come right home?" She looked a little down at that idea but he quickly tried to put a stop to that quickly. "The meeting is two hours and then I'll come home. Nothing would ever ever keep me from you baby."

"Kay daddy. Ou come home aftor that?" He quickly nodded running a hand through her hair which had lightened considerably since she became one. Now it was a golden light brown. He was sure it was going to be all the way blonde by the time she reached four. He knew it didn't matter it just meant that it wasn't Gracia's genes alone that caused Elysia to be a blonde.

"I will baby. I promise on my life."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck and trying to keep him close for as much as possible. He waited until he noticed it was a fifteen after six and that Bridgett had quietly entered his apartment. She seemed real happy to see Kelsey but frowned when she realized that she was sick.

"How are you doing baby. You want me to read you those adventure books you like so much?" She nodded before giving Roy another kiss on the cheek. He smiled, kissing her on the top of her head before handing her to Bridgett.

"Good bye baby, daddy will go to the meeting and then he'll be right back. I promise."

She nodded wearily, waving a little bit before laying her head onto Bridgett's head.

It would be the last time he saw her alive.

"Can you hear me Brigadier General Mustang?" He blinked noticing that the overhead lights were really bright but thankful that his headache was gone for the time being. He looked over to the voice and noticed the man in a white coat. Was he at the doctor's again? He didn't know.

The one thing on his mind though was a certain girl and he didn't want them to tell him she wasn't here. He had a baby girl, she was two years old, and her name was Kelsey Ann Mustang. She was his baby, she had to be.

"I can hear you," he said instead.

"What do you remember?" When Roy frowned he prodded. "You got three stitches on your head, do you remember why?"

Roy shook his head.

"Do you know what you remember?"

"Yeah. I remember my age. I'm thirty three. I have a daughter named Kelsey and she's two years old."

The man seemed amused whilst Hawkeye and Havoc seemed surprised. Lieutenant Brosh didn't seem to understand. The brigadier general has a daughter? He shared a look with Ross who seemed just as confused. They knew of a Kelsey but she would be six tomorrow.

"You have a two year old daughter? Is she as mischievous as my two year old? Can't keep anything from that boy without something happening."

Roy smiled at that.

"No she's a good girl. She's smart too. She's gonna be three soon as well." He frowned at that statement before continuing. "She has the biggest smile that you could imagine but she wouldn't harm a fly. She's like Alphonse with those cats only she loves any and all animals. A very happy warm hearted girl. Where is she?"

He didn't see her anywhere and she didn't like being separated for a long period of time. Fuery ran out of the room and Ed suspected he was crying. He couldn't blame him though. Who would bother telling him that his daughter was dead? That she had been for three years now? He knew he wouldn't be able to and Breda quickly joined Fuery although he just made an excuse about needing something before tearing off after the other. Havoc stayed behind although Ed knew they didn't want Mustang to know. Damn it why was this happening?

"Do you know what year it is?" Roy frowned again as though thinking these questions were stupid.

"It's 1918, I know that." He froze suddenly remembering the reason that the doctor was prodding him like this. His daughter was born in 1912 so she would six year old. Why did he still think she was two years old then? Most of all, why had he forgotten this?

"So my daughter would be six years old tomorrow," he voiced aloud. "That still doesn't explain where she is."

Hawkeye was about to tell him but Havoc decided to be the one to do it. It would hurt far more if Hawkeye told him than it would be for Havoc, he told himself. Even if it did make him wish that they didn't have to say anything. Why would he have to suffer like this a second time when the first was just as bad. He knew Mustang would feel the same thing, as though he lost his daughter for the first time.

"She's not here sir." Havoc saw his confused expression turn into a look of surprise. But Havoc didn't give him time to interrupt. "She's not here because she died."

Brosh suddenly realized why the man had been the way he had when he had shown him all those baby scans and why he suddenly 'acted like one of those women who miscarried'. Holding a hand over his mouth, he felt bad that he hadn't realized it. The little baby was dead and she was going to be six. What happened to the little baby? Ross didn't feel any differently wondering why nobody told her so she could have spared his feelings.

Roy took it differently. He was calm and wasn't hysterical at all which is what Havoc suspected would happen when he found out the truth. Instead he seemed to be in disbelief that what Havoc told him was true. Please sir, he thought. Don't be in denial because you won't like what else we would have to tell you, he thought. He finally noticed Brosh and Ross and waved for them to leave. They did and he was happy for that small miracle. They already knew Mustang's kid was dead; they didn't need to know how she died in case he demanded it. This seemed to be the case right now.

"I don't understand Havoc. If she is dead, then how did she?"

Havoc closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath but Hawkeye beat him to it. She knew it was hard but he had to understand. His baby was dead and gone. Sure it hadn't been from the homunculi that killed Hughes but it was much worse.

"The babysitter's boyfriend sir. Remember him? The seventeen years old that was dating Bridgett at the time. You do remember what he had done to her right?" Roy shook his head and Havoc groaned although Hawkeye didn't do anything. They didn't want to spell it out for him.

Havoc slammed his hand on the table making Ed jump. He didn't understand what the seventeen year old had done to Mustang's girl but he was sure he was going to find out.

"Sir the guy beat a sick and defenseless two year old to death. She didn't even survive five minutes to the hospital. The reason for death was a fatal punch in the stomach. You didn't want to believe it then either. You wanted to tell yourself that she was only sleeping and that she would wake up but she hasn't been alive for three years sir. She hasn't-"

Roy didn't want to hear anymore. He didn't know, god he didn't hear but then he suddenly remembered a meeting that he had to attend to and how he had left his girl in the hands of the babysitter. Why hadn't she just come with him? Why hadn't he taken it seriously when she wanted to stay with him? It was his fault that she was dead not anybody else's. She had a fever and it was going to go down with Tylenol but he was a fool to think a teenager could be trusted with a sick toddler no matter how much he knew them.

He turned away as his heart picked up. Why didn't he know this? His mind made him forget all this but why? Why when he didn't want to forget Kelsey? He loved her little voice and her mischievous smile. There was so much to Kelsey than the bad moment at the end. He promised that he loved her but he would never forget. Why, oh why then did he?

He finally felt the tears begin to fall against their will. He attempted to wipe them as more fell. He didn't want to cry for her because Kelsey would feel sad. He hadn't cried for ages and he was sure he hadn't felt the sting of tears since then.

The tears he hadn't shed since the day that Kelsey had died.

"Mustang before you go into the meeting?"

Roy looked over and saw Angie just wanted to give a message. Stupid meeting had been postponed for thirty minutes. Another thirty minutes he could have had to be with his girl. Fullmetal was in Lior so he didn't have much to worry about. He was always carrying out missions and making messes out of things he was trying to fix. He sighed and went to see what she had wanted.

"There's a call from the Central hospital. They say they need you to go to South Bend Hospital and to be there for your little girl. Kelsey I think it was. She's really sick."

Hearing the same exact words from the doctor confirmed his fear. Didn't the other kid born die from an illness and he was about to go to a stupid meeting! He slammed the phone down, feeling tremors from the fear of what was happening to his daughter. He quickly turned to Havoc and asked for a ride to the south to get there before something serious happened to his baby. Fuery was crying, Breda was picking up a bunch of papers from the floor, Falman tried to keep Roy from tripping over himself or worse falling over in shock, and Hawkeye was white as a sheet from the news. Havoc nodded quickly helping Falman lead him to the car.

He swore it took thirty minutes although it seemed like forever, but they got there. Havoc knew that the others would explain why the colonel wasn't there and instead concentrated on keeping an eye on the colonel. He entered and quickly asked the first nurse he saw where his baby was. She led him to the ER and the doctor explained the injuries which got Roy shocked.

"What? I thought she was sick. She had a small fever this morning and-"

"That's not why she's here. She has bleeding in her stomach, torn intestines, ragged breathing, a ripped pierced left ear, and a tear to the pelvic wall. If I didn't know better I'd say the fever was an indication of abuse!"

"What no! She was okay when I left her this morning. She had a hundred temperature and I gave her Tylenol. She even waved when I left her to Bridgett. But I didn't harm a hair on her head…What abuse!"

The doctor sighed.

"I think you should realize that she has an uncontrollable bleed. She hasn't been able to breathe since she got here and she coded twice. Things are going bad and I don't think you are going to like what you hear."

"But you have to save her. Save my baby! She's gonna turn three tomorrow!" The doctor only shook his head before Roy fell to his knees. Havoc and Hawkeye tried to help him back up but he made it known that he didn't want to move until he heard more. He wanted to know that his baby was okay. He left her this morning and she wasn't exactly in excellent health but she was fine. Why was she in this condition why?

The surgeon shook his head and the doctor talked to him for a good five minutes before relaying to Roy what he was told. Kelsey, the little two years old that had only been here for five minutes was dead. She was already in critical condition when she got here. She had no pulse, she was getting oxygen from the bag valve mask and there was a bleed that could not be controlled. She bled to death in her stomach cavity. Cause of death? She was punched or kicked so hard in the abdomen that it killed her. Other injuries that they mentioned? Somebody yanked out an earring and had sexually assaulted her hence the torn pelvic wall. Roy was trying to keep from crying because he had left her with the babysitter that they had trusted for so long. Bridgett had loved Kelsey and didn't harm a hair on his girl's head for so long that he trusted her today. He hadn't thought to tell her no boyfriends around Kelsey though because she had understood and knew from the beginning when he had told her the first twenty times.

"Can I see her?" He whispered it so low that the doctor almost didn't catch that. He nodded and Roy snakingly made his way into the room.

There laid Kelsey with tubes still in her and machines were unhooked. She wasn't the little girl he had seen this morning. She wasn't wearing what she had been wearing just this morning. She had on one of Roy's white tee shirts this morning but now it was her black shirt. She was wearing underwear this morning as well and only now was she wearing a diaper. She was potty trained and didn't need one. Her little left ear was missing an earring and it had indeed looked like it had been torn from her ear.

"Kelsey?" he whispered.

She didn't answer. Not that she was going to. She was-He tried to ignore that. Muffling his sob, he picked her up into his arms and held onto her tightly. Her face was too pale for his liking and she wasn't breathing like she should be. What set him off was the fact that she wasn't smiling anymore. She wasn't smiling her beautiful smile that stole hearts of all that knew her and several that didn't.

"You're only sleeping," he continued. "You're sleeping and you're going to wake up soon. I can't handle it if you aren't because you weren't supposed to die this way Kelsey. If it was to an illness it would be different because we knew it could be possible but never this. Hell, Kelsey just open those pretty green eyes baby! Open them for daddy! You love to trick me and then make me feel better at the end. Kelsey please. Please open those eyes for your daddy. I love you Kelsey! I love you so much!"

He buried his head into her and tried not to cry. But a moment without Kelsey was a darker world than he wanted to imagine. Without her, his life was dull and normal. He didn't know what he had until Kelsey had come into it and without her he suddenly realized he couldn't think that. He finally broke down into harsh sobs with one thought in mind.

Kelsey couldn't be dead and this had to be a nightmare.