Chapter twelve

"Thank you so much for this, sir," Riza said as the boys got out of the car outside the flat. They had bought some pizza for dinner in order to have something that wouldn't leave Ed mortified to be fed by someone else. "I owe you one for this."

"Don't worry about it, Hawkeye. I'm just happy that I could help out a bit."

"Still, sir, I do wish you'd at least let me pay you back for the snacks for Alphonse and that gobstopper you bought for Edward."

"Not happening. Just take care and eat while the food is still warm. The boys are waiting for you, so you'd better get going. I'll see you tomorrow morning if you don't wish to stay at home with the boys."

"I think Edward would kill me if I did, sir." Riza sighed. These next two months were going to be tough.

Mustang reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "It will be fine. You three are going to figure it out. And remember to call if you need any help."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now get going, Edward is looking daggers at us." He released her shoulder and Riza kind of missed it. It had been a nice reminder that she wasn't alone in this mess.

Although she was still a bit alarmed that it was her boss. They had already sort of become friends, which Riza was both happy for, but it also frightened her a bit.

She got out of the car, thanking him once again and walked up to the flat where Ed and Al were waiting for her, Ed's mouth a bit oddly shaped because of the gobstopper. His arm was in its sling and had been ordered to stay so for these first few days, mostly as a reminder for Ed not to use his arm. It would be a lot harder for him not to do so because he no longer had his right one, so it was a precaution to make sure that Ed didn't cause himself unnecessary pain until he was used to the cast.

He was still scowling at her because of the fact that he had let himself panic when they had brought in the sedatives in order to have reset the bones.

Riza unlocked the door and let Ed and Al walk inside first. She kicked off her shoes and carried the pizzas into the kitchen before she went back into the hallway to help Edward. Alphonse was already busy getting his own shoes off. She walked over to them and took the jacket draped over Ed's shoulders off him, earning a little growl.

"Edward, you need someone to help you and Alphonse can't be expected to do everything for you."

"Hrmf."

"I can help him, Riza, I'm done after all," Alphonse said, trying to defuse his brother's temper.

Riza, however, was afraid that if she let Alphonse help Ed with everything, then Ed wouldn't be able to trust anyone else. Besides, Al was only ten and should not be forced to take care of his brother like this. Both boys were very dependent on each other, which meant that it would easily only increase that 'us against them' way of thinking.

"Al, why don't you go wash your hands and set the table?"

"Why can't you?" Ed asked, looking at her distrustfully.

"Because I'm supposed to look after you two, which means letting both of you live as normal lives as possible. I do not wish for Alphonse to become your carer, especially as it may hurt your relationship too."

She heard Alphonse disappear into the bathroom while Ed just growled at her as she knelt down in front of him to remove his shoes.

Once they were done eating, Riza told them to wait a bit before they left the table. "We need to make a plan of sorts, you two. Ed, I know you're going to want to kill me for saying this, but you are going to need help when using the toilet and when you're taking a shower."

Ed turned red in half a second, looking like he wanted to run away screaming. "No way in hell."

"I can help him," Alphonse said, although he still looked a bit awkward at the thought.

"Alphonse, you're only ten and there's no need."

"But if Brother would rather I help him, then it's no problem."

"I would rather you help him with other things, like you just did when it comes to eating. If you would help him read and doing things like that, then I can do the rest. It's my job after all, not yours."

"But you're a girl! You're not gonna help me wash up and get dressed and … stuff!" Ed stuttered, still stuck on the fact that she was going to see him naked. Riza had known that this would have become a problem, but she wasn't going to make a ten-year-old do it.

Riza sighed. "Edward, I'm a detective. That means that I've seen most body shapes in all ages. It's nothing new."

"But they've been dead! They didn't have a choice! They didn't care!"

Riza figured that she probably shouldn't tell him about that week she had been investigating a murder in a nudist community whilst she had been working under DI Armstrong. She had been allowed to have worn her regular clothes, but she really had seen just about everything that nature had had to offer seeing as how she had been one of the constables that had been tasked with having conducted the interviews.

"Edward, I'm sorry, but it's just how it's got to be until your arm is better."

"I hate you!" Edward said before he stood up and nearly fell in the process. Alphonse helped him regain his balance, but Ed just shook him off and stomped away into the bedroom.

Alphonse seemed unsure as to where he was supposed to go and what he was supposed to do at that moment. "He doesn't mean it," he whispered to her.

Riza had already foreseen Ed's reaction, though. Yes, it hurt her a bit to hear it, but she knew that right now, Ed was like a trapped animal and they lashed out.

She grabbed Al's hand that was lying on the table and squeezed it gently. "I know, Alphonse. I'll go talk to him."

And so Riza stood up and went into the bedroom where Edward was sitting in the corner of the room, partially hidden by a wardrobe, his knees drawn up to his chest. She went over and slid down the wall so that she wasn't looking directly at Ed, knowing that it would probably set him off again if she did. She put her arms around her own legs.

"Go away," Ed said, his voice caught somewhere between anger and tears.

"Edward, telling me to leave isn't going to change anything."

"I don't care. I don't want you here."

"I know this can't be easy for you, but you have to accept some help all the same. We have to make do with what we've got."

"So why won't you just let Alphonse do it?"

"Edward, your brother is ten. You want him to live as normally as possible, right?"

"Of course I do!" Ed was clearly getting angry again.

"And if it was someone else, would you want your brother to have to take care of them all the time? To have to clean them and feed them and brush their teeth?"

"But why does it have to be you?" Ed said, clearly seeing her point, but not willing to admit defeat.

"Because I'm the one who chose to take care of you two. When I said 'yes' to take you in, I also said 'yes' to do things that I don't really want to, because I still want you two to live a good life. It's only until you get the cast off in six weeks."

Ed was quiet for about a minute. "I hate this."

"I know." Riza knew that Ed had a lot of frustration that needed to be let out, so she just waited for him to continue.

"I hate being helpless. I'm supposed to look after Alphonse!" Ed seemed to be near tears at the thought. "I'm such a useless big brother."

"You're definitely not, Edward. You saved his life with what you did. You're a hero."

"I'm not. If I was a hero I would have been able to save Mom." Bitterness had found its way into his voice now.

"Ed, that wasn't your fault. He was a grown man with a meat cleaver." Riza spoke patiently and softly.

"I should have stopped him. Instead he managed to hit me and all I could do was watch Mom get hacked to pieces. I couldn't stop him. I was too weak. And now I'm too weak to take care of Alphonse. I'm… I'm just failing everyone I care about."

"Edward, you're not failing anyone. You saved your brother's life when most people would have tried running away. You would have made your mother so proud. Any parent would have been proud that their son saved his brother the way you did."

"So why does everyone leave me, then? Why did Hohenheim? Barry? All those families? Nobody wants me."

"That says more about them than about you. They were bad parents. You didn't deserve them."

"So what you're saying is that I deserve you? I deserve a bossy cop who's not even old enough to be my mother?"

"Edward, I don't deserve you two either, but I'm still going to try to make your lives better. I'm trying to give you two a home where you can hopefully be happy. I know that I won't replace your mother, after all, she sounds like an amazing woman."

"She is."

Ed didn't say anything else for a few minutes after that.

"I need to pee," he said quietly, reluctantly admitting defeat. Riza had a suspicion that he'd been holding it in for as long as he could.

"Then let's go."

She stood up and moved to help him get to his feet, earning an annoyed grunt as she supported him. They walked into the bathroom and she locked the door before walking over to a thoroughly embarrassed and annoyed Edward. He was blushing furiously where he stood in front of the toilet.

Riza pulled down his trousers and boxers and helped wipe him dry when he was done and then washed her hands, not saying anything as it would only further embarrass him. When she was done drying her hands, she pulled up his boxers. "I'll go get your pyjamas for you too, it's nearly bedtime."

And so she went into the bedroom and fetched Ed's pyjamas before returning to the bathroom where Ed had kicked off his trousers and was looking at her grumpily.

Ed's face was red all over once she was done having helped him with dressing and then with having brushed his teeth, and was currently wiping away toothpaste foam from the corners of his mouth. "There, all good." She didn't put the sling back on because he'd be lying in bed after all. And so she left it to Alphonse to find them a book and help him turn the pages. Al had changed into his own pyjamas while they had been getting ready in the bathroom, and so he propped himself up in the bed next to his brother, placing a book between them.

"Good night, boys, and remember to wake me if you need something. That goes for painkillers too, Edward." Her voice turnes a lot more stern at the last part.

"Good night, Riza," Alphonse said.

Riza could have sworn she heard the whispered beginnings of a 'good night' from Ed, but apparently he realised what he was doing and stopped himself.

She still smiled, though, as she walked back into the living room to call her grandfather.