Wow. These introductions keep getting shorter and shorter… I have some stuff to tell you this time though. Riza is four months pregnant in this chapter. I asked my mother (who has had four children) when babies begin kicking inside their mother's stomachs. She said somewhere in between five and six months. Well, Roy and Riza's baby is really strong and kicks earlier; so get over it. Can't be correct all the time. Sorry. My mother told me that back in the days of 1910-1920 they didn't have any way of finding out he gender of the child and there was no anesthesia either. So this was a hard chapter to write; my mother had anesthesia for my twin sisters' birth and I was there for part of that. But she was still in pain and I used my knowledge of that to write this. Hopefully I've left it clean enough that no one gets grossed out. And my mom also told me that back then it wasn't abnormal for women to give birth during their eighth month, therefore Riza gives birth shortly after the beginning of her eighth month. FYI: Did you know that women today carry their babies for TEN MONTHS? The doctors require it nowadays if your body can handle it. Really makes you want to go out and make one of those little suckers huh? Please review if you feel like it; I do really appreciate it. I don't own the characters… sorry.
Chapter Six- The proposal and the complications
Around five O'clock his stomach growled, sending him into the kitchen to make dinner. Riza woke up to the wonderful smell of chicken and herbs wafting through her home. She got up and walked barefoot to the kitchen, standing in the doorway and looking at the food he was preparing. He seemed to be doing nine things at once, but only one of them on the stove and one in the oven; the others were in his head.
"How am I gonna do this? Would she even say yes? Will she like what I got for her? What if something doesn't work out and she says no… no. That can't happen; she loves me. I heard her say it; how do I do this? 'Riza, will you marry me?' ugh… that sounds too plain. 'Riza, you light up my life and send my soul up in flight; will you marry me?" crap. That sounds too much like someone else. What can I…Ohhello; feeling rested and relaxed?" he said, almost dropping the container of herbs as he finally noticed she was there.
"Yes; I feel better. You should use two hands on that jar, it might fall out of your hands." She said, stirring some vegetables the pot. He smiled and added the some of the herbs to the vegetables, using two hands to hold the jar and put it away. She went to lean over and look in the oven as he stopped her.
"That's not for you to see right now; it's part of dinner." he said, lightly pushing her out of the kitchen and towards the table. There was a rose on her plate and the table was set with candles in the middle. He came in after her a few minutes later carrying a plate of steaming vegetables surrounding a few pieces of baked chicken. All healthy things; I guess he knows I need to keep eating a balanced meal. She thought as he placed some of the veggies on her plate and a piece of the chicken. He sat down and served himself some, setting the food down and reaching into his pocket to pull something out. She couldn't see anything because he had the lights out and the candles weren't lit. She heard the snap of his fingers and the candles lit up, illuminating his face and his outstretched hand with the glove on. Around his pinkie finger was a small diamond ring, glittering in the light. He smiled as her face went from adjusting to the light to complete surprise.
"I wanted to make sure it looked good on me before I gave it to you; if it didn't look good on me, it wasn't good enough for you. These candles represent you, this ring represents me. If you weren't in my life," He said, blowing the candles out, "I wouldn't shine at all. But since I do have you," he snapped his fingers again and the candles lit up, "I shine more brilliantly than the sun. Riza, you are my life. You always have been and will always be if you would just answer this simple question; Will you marry me?" he finished, taking the ring off his hand and reaching for hers. Her face showed every emotion she was feeling at that instant; surprise, love, adoration, even a little doubt. She got her emotions back under control as a million things went through her mind at the same time; 'Yes! Of course I will! Did he just propose to me? Ok, that was really cheesy, but cute and not expected. Wait! I have to answer him! What do I say? Do I say yes and be stuck with him, or do I say no and maintain my independence? What the hell do I do?' But before her mouth caught up with everything her mind was thinking, she blurted out yes. Roy's eyes went from hopeful to exuberant as he stood up and came to her side of the table, sliding the ring onto her finger. With the look in his eyes to guide her and the frantic thoughts in her mind, she smiled and hugged him. 'Well, my first thought is normally the right one…' she thought. Dinner ended just as spectacularly as it began; Roy proceeded to try and relight one of the candles he had blown out, but with his emotions in such an uproar, he singed his own hair. They laughed as he did the dishes again, this time with her by his side to help; they snuggled on the couch together afterwards, and kissed each other goodnight when it was time for bed. Roy decided to rest out on the couch so Riza would have more room to move around in her sleep. The next morning came with her calling out his name.
"Roy! Roy come here! I can feel the baby moving!" she said, raising her voice with every word. He came rushing in, wiping his hands on a towel before touching her.
"You can feel the baby moving? Is there a way I can feel too?" He asked innocently, sitting down and looking at her stomach. She took his hands and placed them on her body, one near the top of the bulge and one closer to the middle. They sat for several minutes before he laughed and smiled at her. "This is amazing. I've never felt anything like this before; it's so wonderful…" he said, his voice trailing off as he laid his head on her belly and got a light kick in the ear.
Almost four months passed by without many problems. The inquiry never came at work and his new major had a good time fitting in with his colleagues. The only 'difficulty' came as Riza got larger and larger; she didn't want to go out in public, saying it would ruin his image if she did. He didn't care about what other people thought, he told her. The only thing he wanted was for her to be comfortable as the time got closer to the birth. She refused to go out though; the only time she went out in the sunlight was to sit in her chair as she watched Roy play with Black Hayate in the yard. During one of their afternoon play dates she had stayed in, sleeping peacefully in her room. Roy was just about to throw the stick for the dog again when he heard a scream coming from the house. He dashed inside, hoping it wasn't really her who had screamed. He opened the door to her room to find her sitting on the floor crying, her clothing wet. He tried to help her up but her legs were so weak she couldn't hold her balance, sending them both to the floor again. For a moment, Riza seemed to regain enough of her composure to tell him what was going on.
"It's the baby." She said in between labored breaths. "The baby's ready; it's time." Roy knew exactly what to do. He lifted her up and carried her out to the car, then ran back inside to grab the bag she had packed almost a month ago per Gracia's suggestion and let Hayate into the house. He jumped in the car after locking the apartment door and drove them to the hospital downtown, trying desperately to keep Riza calm as she let out another scream that pierced his eardrums. He drove with one hand on the wheel and the other on her stomach, helplessly talking to her and keeping his eye on the road. When they arrived, the doctors got her out of the car and into the hospital, leaving him to take care of parking. He dashed inside the main doors and practically collided with Maes who seemed to be in as big a rush as he was.
"Maes? What are you doing here? Is Gracia ok?" he asked, grabbing his friend's arm and pulling him towards the check-in desk.
"She's fine. The baby's about to be born and I have no idea where to look for her at." He said, half to Roy and half to the receptionist.
"I'm guessing one of you is Hawkeye and the other is Hughes?" The woman asked.
"I'm Hughes, he's Hawkeye. Where are they?" Hughes answered before Roy could reply. He shut his mouth and gave Maes a funny look before he stomped on his foot.
"Ow! Yeah, I'm Hawkeye. Where is Riza?" he added, hoping the lady didn't notice.
"312 for Hughes and 311 for Hawkeye. You can take the stairs at …" she began as the two men ran off towards the stairs. They rushed up the stairs, two at a time, and made it to the third floor in a matter of minutes.
"It's strange how both of them decided to have the babies today, at this time." Maes said as he met the nurse who stood outside his wife's door. She helped him put on the surgical gown and gloves, along with telling him to stay out of the way. Roy met a similar nurse and allowed himself to be tied into the paper-like outfit.
"Tell me about it. Well, see you when this is over, Maes." He said, nodding as the nurse opened the door for him.
"Good luck man. You're gonna need it." he responded, disappearing inside the room.
"OH MY GOD! MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!" Riza screamed an hour later. "WHERE ARE MY GUNS! SOMEONE GIVE ME BACK MY GUNS! I'M GONNA SHOOT HIM! HELL, GIVE ME A RIFLE!" Roy couldn't believe what he was hearing; he was holding her hand and staying out of the way like he was told. He didn't mind though; he would much rather be up near her face getting screamed at than down near her feet, getting kicked every few minutes when she experienced a contraction. She was screaming at him, screaming every word in the dictionary she knew to call him vile names. What seemed like hours later, which was actually only thirty minutes, the doctor told her to push. She leaned forward and pushed with all her strength; the baby still couldn't be seen. She lay back down and took deep breaths in between telling Roy he was the most idiotic man on earth before leaning forward again and pushing. The nurse standing next to the doctor exclaimed the baby was crowning and that she should push again, but her eyes widened in fear as Riza grunted and fell back. She had passed out from the pain and stress on her body; there was nothing she could do anymore. Roy tried calling her name and tapping her cheeks, but it was no use; she was out cold.
A/N: Yes. There will be complications; what is a Roiai fanfic without something going wrong?