BWinner's Note: I'm in the home stretch, woo hoo! It's been an interesting journey for a fanfic I thought was only going to have like two chapters. I'm really glad so many people have liked it, this is the first fic I have done of this nature, not to mention my first fic for FMA. I know updates have been slow, and I am sorry for that, but I really have worked hard to make this fic something worthwhile for fans to read. So, without further rambling…

Breaking Point - Ch.10

Roy Mustang was really starting to get sick of these early mornings; or at least what he assumed were early mornings. This interrupted sleep was beginning to take a toll on his body, leaving him more and more exhausted when he awoke. Last night had played out like all of the nights before, waking up with his heart racing and his mind addled with fear. It disturbed him how these terrors almost seemed to be becoming routine. Hawkeye had once again come to his room, soothed him, and once again chosen to remain by his side for the rest of the night. This morning was different from yesterday morning however, this morning she was not by his side as he awoke.

It really shouldn't have been a surprise to him, after all today was an important day and they didn't have time to dilly dally around in bed. Today the Flame Alchemist was finally going to get his eyes back.

He shouldn't have been so conflicted about that notion, yet he was. Gaining his sight back meant moving forward with his goals, taking one step closer to repairing the damage he had caused those many years ago. However, gaining his sight back also meant the departure of Riza. Starting today it would go back to nothing but strict protocol on their part, regardless of their feelings for one another. Was Riza the type of woman who wouldn't mind sneaking around to be with him? Roy wanted to say yes, but in truth he didn't know.

Realizing he was feeling sorry for himself Roy shook his head and got out of bed. There would be time to cross that bridge later, he had to focus right now. Reaching a hand out in front of himself he began to feel his way out of his bedroom to the kitchen once again. The smell of bacon soon became vibrant as he made it into the hall and the sound of a spatula on metal pans fell on his ears. Roy grimaced as he reached the end of the hall and took one hand from the wall, he was currently against, to feel in front of him as he made his way through the no man's land that was his living room. Almost instantly his hand was grasped in Riza's soft touch and that sour look on his face brightened a little.

"I can appreciate your excitement for today, but you really should have waited for me to come and get you," her no nonsense voice scolded. "The last thing we need is you injuring yourself further by being stubborn and setting the plan back because we'd have to wait even longer for you to heal."

"Can't blame a man for trying," he joked before allowing her to lead him to the kitchen table.

A coffee cup was soon placed between his two hands and he held it there for a moment as he continued to listen to her bustle about the kitchen. Roy really would miss moments like this. Soon enough the meal was ready, and she sat down to eat with him. Over the week she had been there Riza had done what she could to allow him some semblance of independence, and that meant breakfasts were restricted to what could be easily picked up with one's hands. This morning she had taken all of the components of a breakfast with bacon and eggs and put it between two slices of buttered toast. Roy was pleasantly surprised with it.

"You know one thing I am oddly disappointed about regarding today," Roy began softly. "Havoc is being healed first… I won't get to see the expression on his face as his paralysis is fixed," he admitted, his voice laced with self pity.

"Are you sure my face is still the one thing you wish to see first when your sight is restored then?" she countered.

"Yes," he replied without a second thought. "If I am only able to have one selfish desire in this whole situation, then that is the one I am taking."

Nothing more was said on the matter and the two continued on their breakfast in relative silence. When Roy finished his meal, he sat nursing his coffee leaving room for Hawkeye to clean the kitchen a little before she helped him select his clothes for the day. He never did get used to someone else dressing him, and it was slightly more awkward with Riza since laying his emotions so bare to her. Often, he had wondered what expression she wore as she helped him into his shirts and pants… did she blush adorably? No. Roy could never really see her blushing, even in such a situation. Knowing what he did of the woman it was probably safer to assume she averted her eyes as much as possible when she changed him in an effort to maintain a shred of his privacy.

"Thank you," he murmured softly as he felt her fasten the last button on his shirt.

"It's not a problem, Sir," she replied in her straight-laced fashion.

Roy didn't know if he could handle one more awkwardly silent car ride, and was grateful that today might put a stop to them. There were some things he could have brought up at this time, but they seemed awfully trite. Things as silly as, 'I'm going to miss you,' or 'our time together has been beautiful,' was flowery nonsense that had no place being exchanged between the two of them. Even if it was how he secretly felt. Hawkeye, likely wanting to respect her officer's wish for peace, remained silent as well and after what felt like hours the car finally came to a gentle stop.

Roy cautiously felt along the inside panel for the handle to let himself out, though it didn't matter because in a few short moments she was there guiding him and helping him avoid tripping on the curb. Breda answered the door almost instantly when they knocked and quickly the two were ushered inside. Roy could hear some murmurs from inside, recognizing them as Havoc, Marcoh, and Doctor Knox; the later was a bit of a surprise before Roy came to his senses and realized that the man might want to see the stone at work. This would be a rare opportunity after all.

"Hey Chief!" Havoc's droll voice called out. "Today's the moment of truth isn't it?"

"It is," Roy agreed. "Thank you again for agreeing to do this."

"Hello, Colonel Mustang," the voice of Doctor Marcoh finally greeted. "I'm sorry that it took me so long to get to you, I had a patient that needed a fair bit of attention."

"It's alright Doctor, in an odd sense it was a good thing that I had more time in this state. It gave me more time to reflect on aspects of my life, and get closure in others," he assured.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. At any rate I don't think it's fair to make either of you wait any longer. Mustang, as I recall you said you wanted me to help your friend first, this is still the case?"

"Yes, my thoughts on that haven't changed."

Nothing more was said and Roy heard some shuffling as Doctor Marco presumably sat down. He distinctly heard Havoc take a deep breath before there was a flash of change in the lighting of the room. Then silence for a moment, before Havoc released a surprised gasp followed by a chuckle.

"It's crazy… it's like that pins and needles feeling you get after one of your limbs falls asleep!" Havoc exclaimed. "It's definitely there though, I can definitely feel something again!"

Mustang found himself smiling, an odd sense of relief washing over him. It was a small comfort that he was able to at least reverse one tragedy that befell a member of his close circle. It was good to know that it worked, and that his friend would eventually be okay again.

"That's good," Doctor Marcoh assured. "I can tell you this though, the rehabilitation will be rough. Your muscles have entered a state of atrophy due to lack of use, you'll need to remain in that wheel chair for a few months yet while you attend rehabilitation sessions at the military hospital. How many months it will take to a full recovery will depend entirely on you and how much you work for it."

"We'll keep him on track doc, don't you worry," Breda interjected.

"Before I do anything for Colonel Mustang, I need all the drapes in the room to be closed," the doctor instructed. "It needs to be as dark as we can make it in here because when Mustang's sight is restored the world around is going be incredibly bright for him."

Roy sat silently and listened to the bustling around the room, the pulling of cloth and scrape of curtain rings against their rods. Finally, things quieted down once more and he heard a chair pull up in front of him. There was the gentle pressure of a hand on his knee before that same bright flash penetrated his eye lids. Roy kept his eyes closed, waiting for instructions from Doctor Marcoh; he couldn't for the life of him explain why he felt nervous now.

"When you go to open your eyes, do it very slowly, even a little bit of light is going to be somewhat overpowering to you at first," he was instructed.

Roy only nodded in response. "Lieutenant, are you there?" he called out.

"Yes, Sir," she replied softly. "I'm just behind the doctor."

Roy slowly opened his eyes and did what he could to focus. Things were still very dark, but that was to be expected given the instructions he heard. Shapes he could make out were blurred and his eyes felt significantly strained. Roy felt a slight pang of disappointment, this wasn't exactly what he had expected.

"I won't lie Doctor Marcoh, it's hard to see anything right now," he admitted, hoping the discouragement was hidden from his voice.

"Sadly, that's going to be the case for a while. You're going to have to stay in dimly lit rooms and shaded areas for a while, until your eyes get used to the light around you again. You might also have issues with depth perception and blurred vision," Doctor Marcoh explained. "However, to make this slightly easier I've brought something from a fellow doctor I know who specializes in eyesight. It's a type of yellow shaded lens, and it should protect your eyes from the harsh contrasts of outdoor light somewhat and allow you to get around easier. That being said I do recommend someone continue to stay with you during your adjusting period."

"I see, well thank you doctor," Roy said as he grasped the object placed in his hands. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us now, hey Havoc,"

"Yeah, you got that right, Chief," Havoc chuckled. "It'll be worth it though. Returning this country to the people and doing what I can to mend the damage in Ishval… there's no way I wouldn't want to be a part of that."

"Heh, aren't you ever the group of optimists," Doctor Knox snorted in his usual cynical tone.

"Moving forward is all I have left," Roy replied simply. "Doctor Marcoh, once again I thank you for doing this. Since I know you'll be shipping back to Ishval soon, to resume your duties as a doctor there, I trust you'll pass on the rehabilitation itinerary for Havoc and myself to Doctor Knox so he can provide it to the military hospital here in Central when the time is right."

"It'll all be taken care of, don't you worry," Doctor Knox interjected for his comrade. "My best advice is to get Havoc signed into the military hospital again ASAP, I can draft up a false surgical file that sates he was taken to a private hospital and worked on not too long ago. All it takes from there is pulling some strings to re-file his paperwork as an enlisted man and it should be okay."

"I'm sure Fuhrer Grumman would be willing to do me one more favour," he assured. "This will take a couple of days though. Breda, are you okay to continue looking after Havoc in that time?"

"Makes no difference to me Colonel," Breda chuckled. "Besides, Falman and Feury have been over for the past couple of nights, they'll pitch in too if I ask."

"I'm glad to hear it," and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Not much more time was spent in Breda's townhome before the two doctors decided to take their leave. After some friendly conversation, and a very stiff drink, Roy decided to do the same, and signaled to Riza to take him home. Before leaving he slipped on the shaded lenses, curious to see what would become of them. The brightness from outside was certainly toned down, but edges of things were still fuzzy, and it was hard to make out what anything was.

"I don't know what to do from here," Roy quietly admitted in the car. "It's funny, this morning I was brimming with nervous excitement at the prospect of getting my sight back, but filled with disappointment at the prospect of losing you back to our duties so soon… It's all turned out backwards; I'm disappointed the stone didn't work the way I expected to, but excited for the fact that I have an excuse to continue to ask you to stay with me."

"I think I can understand how you feel," came her own soft confession.

TBC…

A/N: That took WAY TOO LONG. I won't lie part of it was due to a bit of distraction on my part I got wrapped up in other story ideas, and started drafting them before I lost my train of thought… I've got like 4 fics on the go at once now, it's crazy making. The other was due to trying to come up with realistic descriptions for Havoc and Mustang's physical beings once the Philosopher's stone was used. I KNOW Havoc winds up going through a bit of rehab, which leads me to believe that the stone can only accomplish so much, thus Mustang wasn't going to wind up with a free pass and just boom! Get his eyes back. I'm on the road to wrapping this up, and what a crazy wonderful ride its been.