Chapter 71: Oh the kids

The rest of the year passed in a blur.

Jade returned to Amestris and one month afterwards, Claudio stood in front of her door and moved in with her.

The planning for the weddings begun and Olivier started to argue with Rebecca on the question of the bridesmaids.

Roy was permanently pale since he had promised Riza in a weak moment that he would get up at nights when Helena and Rachel were screaming.

Maes didn't look much better though since he had to deal with a pregnant wife who had the strangest cravings in the middle of the night.

As the school year ended and the exams lurked around the corners, Victoria got paler and paler with every passing day because she studied very hard. Roy finally took away her books and told her that she would receive good grades since she was – unlike Laila – able to concentrate on any subject even if she greatly disliked it. Nick was busy with playing football, so his grades were average – something that bothered his twin greatly and Roy had to separate them twice when Victoria lashed out on him for disturbing her while she worked. (They all blamed it on the stress since she was working really, really hard.) Laila still had her happy-go-lucky attitude and annoyed her brother greatly since Nick just couldn't put up with a cheerful Laila and an always annoyed Victoria at the same time. Riza was also happy most of the time since everyone was doing his/her work and like she mentioned to Olivier, that was something rare.

"…you want me to babysit all of your kids?" Olivier asked while she started at Roy. "Did you hit your head? You can ask Fullmetal how terrible I am with children. No one with a shred of sanity would ask me to take care of children – even if it is just for one evening…"

"Please, Armstrong," he said. "If you do it and keep Vicky away from her books after eight o'clock, I owe you a favour … I would even do your paperwork for one day or something like that. I wanted to ask Rebecca but then I remembered that Nick is a little bit afraid of her and no one wants Laila and Vicky lashing out on someone who scares their little brother…"

"Yes, your daughters can be really violent if someone attacks their brother," Olivier admitted. "I guess that they spent too much time around your cousin. By the way, why don't you ask Jade?"

"She has to hand in a very long report until tomorrow and it seems like she didn't even started since she yelled at Phil twelve minutes ago for not reminding her," he shrugged. "Well, Armstrong, please."

She rubbed her temples. "I understood that they are all studying for their exams right now, so it shouldn't be that much trouble," she said. "Alright, I will do it … but just if you make sure that you have some ice cream in the house when I come over … and orange juice."

"I will make sure that you can have your drug," Roy said while he leaned against a table. "Oh – and keep an eye on Victoria. She is studying way too hard. We are taking away her books by now."

"And here I thought that my princess was the only one you takes exams way too seriously," Bendix said as he wrapped one arm around Olivier. "She was always a little overachiever."

She gently slapped his upper arm. "Just because I took my education seriously…" she said.

"If I was you, Roy, I wouldn't leave Vic to Liv," the blond man grinned while he held her hand. "I see it coming that they will sit together in the living room and work on something. They are similar…" He sighed deeply and basically everyone could guess that he was acting. "Well, since we are engaged, it is my duty to help her. Expect me at your house at five. I will help my beautiful princess…"

"How do you even know when Riza and I are leaving?" Roy asked confused.

"Well, some people who like each other do something very strange: they talk with each other," Bendix said with his admirable sarcasm. "She told me that the two of you are going out today, so I assumed that you would need a babysitter. My first guess was Jean but Riza would never allow a smoker to be anywhere close to her kids, so it had to be someone else."

The only one without any problems was Nerissa who was still in therapy. Her progress was fast and even though there were times when she didn't know that her sisters were dead, she had gotten more stable. Her new behaviour was mostly very mature and calm even though she annoyed the other patients due to the fact that she was very normal most of the time. She spent her time drawing in her room and avoided the contact to other people because she felt uncomfortable around them.

"…you see, Miss Hawkeye, that Miss Nerissa is very … stable compared to our other patients and we fear that the constant supervision could slow down her progress," the doctor said. "For someone with this syndrome she is unusually cooperative and even though it has to be very hard for her is she allowing her therapists to get close to her – emotionally. She wants to be healed, madam." He hesitated for a second. "And she accepts that there is something wrong with her," he added.

"And that's good for her, I guess," Riza said.

"It is the reason why we were able to help her so fast," the man said. "It takes many patients many years until they accept that there is something not right with them but she accepted it one week after she was brought here. She seems to want to get a normal life … and her progress already as far as the progress of our last patient who died before we could help him."

"You mean that it could be better for her if she would leave the hospital?" Riza asked calmly.

"Yes," he nodded. "I read her file and I assure you that she means no harm for anyone. She is like a complete new person. She lost her violent tendencies and most of the time she is a little bit calmer than usual people and a little bit shy … but she seems perfectly fine…"

"…Serena…" Riza muttered while she nodded. "Of course … even Kay used to act like Serena from time to time … and maybe Nerissa's true personality is like Serena's…"

"Excuse me, Miss Hawkeye?"

She looked up and smiled thinly. "I was just thinking about something," she said. "As you know, I have five children to take care of, a dog and a job. It is impossible for me to take care of Nerissa too."

"I have a former colleague who used to work as a psychiatrist," the doctor said. "I don't know if the name Esmeralda Robinson is familiar to you but she is one of the few colleagues who I would trust with such a case. She is very old but I wouldn't underestimate her. She is still very sharp-minded."

"She is my grandaunt," Riza said. "I will call her. She used to be my neighbour for some months."

"Mrs Robinson could be able to fix Miss Nerissa completely," the doctor said. "She is very skilled."

"Oh yes," she nodded. "And could I see my cousin for some minutes before I go home?"

"Of course, she should be in the garden," the man said with a smile.

Riza got up and took her daughters with her as she went outside. She spotted Nerissa without any problems. The older woman was tall and blond. It was always easy to find her.

"Riza," Nerissa said as she saw her cousin. "You came again."

"I said that I would come again, Nessa," Riza replied calmly as she sat down next to her.

"Not everyone came back," she said darkly and wrapped her arms around her legs. "Teddy never came back. He … he stayed away from me…"

Olivier and Bendix were talking in the living room with Roy while everyone else was upstairs and Riza was getting ready for the diner and the opera.

"…so you are getting her out of hospital, yes?" Bendix asked while he looked at Roy.

"Yes," the black-haired man said. "From what they told us, she has gotten far more stable than before."

Olivier snorted. "I read some books on that topic when I was still in training," she said. "And from what I can remember, she will never be absolutely normal. She will always be different from everyone else."

"I know," Roy said unhappily, "but as crazy as you will find it: she is family for Riza."

"I will keep an eye on her," the blond woman said darkly as she sat down on a chair. "I don't say that she will still try to kill Laila. I just think that it could be a good idea if someone watches her…"

Steps on the stairs announced Riza's arrival and the topic was dropped before they left.

"You are more worried than you would ever admit," Bendix said while he smiled at his fiancée.

"You didn't read the books I read," she muttered before she kissed his cheek. "And I am honestly worried how Nerissa might react when she sees Vic. I mean … Laila is maybe Kay's biological daughter but she looks like Riza. Vic would be a younger Kay except for the eyes."

The very same second, the three older kids rushed into the room and Bendix quickly realised how tired Victoria looked. He sighed deeply. "Vic," he said calmly as he walked over to her. "You seem a little bit tired. Why don't you rest a little bit?"

"I can't," she yawned while she held up a book. "I need to repeat some topics."

"Really?" Olivier asked, quickly slipping into her role as Aunty Olivier. "I have an idea: I will ask you some questions and if you can answer them all, we will play a little bit in your room."

"And we will go outside and play football!" Bendix announced before he dragged Nick and Laila away.

"Vicky is killing herself," Nick muttered as they searched the ball. "Our parents are worried for her…"

His uncle frowned unhappily. "She is way too much like Lynn," he said. "And the bad thing is that she will never stop working herself so hard. It is some kind of addiction I believe."

"Why does Aunty Liv test her when you both know that it is bad for Vicky?" Laila asked curiously.

"Liv will test Vic with very easy questions and afterwards she will make your sister relax a little bit."

"That makes sense," Nick agreed before he stretched. "I will be so happy for Vicky once the exams are over," he added while he took the ball from a shelf.

"I used to say exactly the same when I was younger," their uncle sighed. "Liv was at least as bad."

Roy and Riza were enjoying their first night out since the twins had been born and while they sat in a restaurant, they tried to feel not guilty that they had left their children to Bendix and Olivier.

"One day, they will be grateful," Roy said. "I am pretty sure that they will have children of their own one day and we are very generous that we allow them to make some experiences beforehand."

His wife chuckled. "I am sure that she will still kill you tomorrow," she stated.

He was about to reply when a very exhausted Maria Ross stopped in front of her table. "Hughes says that the two of you have to come to the hospital," she said panting. "It looks like his wife is about to give birth and from what I saw before I left he is about to get a nervous breakdown."

"Why are Maes' children always destroying my calm nights when they start their lives?" Roy asked, remembering the peaceful night when his best friend had ordered him to the hospital five years ago.

"It's because he is their father," Maria said. She had lost count on how many peaceful nights her boss had shattered by calling her to ask her random questions which she could have answered the next day.

"…wonderful, Vic," Olivier smiled as she closed the book. "Every single question right, wow, I would say that you are prepared for your exam tomorrow." She gently patted the girl's head before she put away all the books. "Well, what do you want to play now?"

"I don't want to play," Victoria muttered while she stared longingly at the books. "I am too tired…"

Olivier checked her wristwatch before she sighed. "So, then get into your pyjamas and go to bed," she said. "I will read you a bedtime story and you will sleep enough before tomorrow."

She watched how the girl skipped away and a hard line appeared around her lips. As much as she liked Laila, her overly cheerfulness could be a little bit too much for the blond woman. Victoria could be cheerful too but she wasn't as happy-go-lucky. She was a little bit calmer and had far more self-control.

"Aunty Liv…" Victoria returned in her purple night gown. "Can you stay a little bit when I fall asleep?"

The woman nodded before she started to tell a bedtime story her godmother had used to tell her and Bendix when they had been children.