Yep. Get ready, this one might scare you a little; but it's totally 'G' rated. Nothing gross, unless the father helping push out the baby isn't something they did back then… me nor my mom knew if they did that or not. But for the sake of the story, let's pretend they did. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed; I really do appreciate the comments. I think I'm gonna try and draw the last scene, with Roy and Riza looking over their daughter once she's opened her eyes for the first time. If I actually get it done I'll post it here. I don't own them, sorry. This is the last chapter.
Chapter Seven- The other baby, a name, and the new beginning
"We have to get this baby out of the birth canal before there are anymore complications!" The doctor said, elbowing the nurse to get Roy ready.
"Give me your hands. This one goes here and the other here. When he says push, push lightly down and forward; we have to get the baby out for her." She said, putting his hands on Riza's stomach. When the doctor gave the word, he applied pressure like he was supposed to and he heard the nurse gasp.
"Oh no; not another one." the doctor mumbled as the baby was pushed out, the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck. Riza suddenly woke from her faint and gasped for air as she saw them carry the baby away. Roy looked around in complete panic as he searched for a reason in their rushing off. She reached up and pulled his collar down, gritting her teeth and crying at the same time.
"The baby… where's the baby? Why's it not crying?" she said, her eyes in just as much of a panic as his were. Time seemed to stand still for them as seconds ticked by without hearing anything. Her face broke out in fresh tears again and he tried to comfort her, saying everything would be fine. He didn't know if he was comforting himself or her; both of them were a mess. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, his tears dropping onto her sweat-drenched hairline.
Seconds later they heard a loud wail coming from the other corner of the room. They both heaved sighs of relief as the nurse came back to them, their baby wrapped in a clean blanket.
"Congratulations; your baby girl gave us quite a scare there. She's strong and healthy; nothing could be found once she began breathing and screaming" the nurse said, handing the squirming and crying bundle to its mother. Her and the child's father looked down into the balled up fists and the scrunched eyes with awe.
"You did it; you did it Riza. She's here." He said, kissing her forehead.
"No Roy; we did it. We did this together." she responded, rocking the baby until it quieted. Her skin was pale and slightly wrinkled but he didn't care; she was the most beautiful human being he had ever seen besides her mother. He looked up into Riza's eyes and held his arms out as she set the sleeping child in his arms. He smiled and kissed one of the tiny hands that rested on top the blanket. He walked to the nurse, his eyes brimming with tears again and asked her if she knew anything about the family next door. She woman left the room and was gone for a few moments before poking her head in and calling his name softly. He walked out the door with his precious daughter and found Maes standing next to Gracia's door with a similar bundle, his eyes filled with pride and tears.
"It's a boy; a boy." He said, looking down into his son's brown eyes.
"Well I've got the most beautiful girl in the world." he started pausing for a moment. "Congratulations Maes; you've worked hard for this." he replied, walking closer to show his child to the other man. They each tore their eyes off their own bundle to look at the other one.
"You're right man; She is beautiful." he said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm still biased to my own beautiful girls, but she is very beautiful."
"And he looks just like you; black hair and everything." replied Roy, touching a few strands of the boy's hair.
"Do you have a name yet for your little girl, 'daddy Roy?'" Maes said, jokingly.
"No, we haven't gotten that far yet; there was some complications with the birth and Riza hasn't quite recovered from them yet." he responded, looking up. "The cord got wrapped around her neck and she wasn't breathing."
"I see; that must have had her really scared." replied the father of two children.
"She wasn't even awake for it; she passed out and I had to push the baby the rest of the way out for her." he said, kissing his baby girl on the forehead. Without another word they turned and went back into their own rooms, handing their children over to the waiting nurse for another check-up.
(BTW, the baby hasn't opened her eyes yet.)
Roy walked over to Riza and gathered her into his arms, hugging her as tears of joy fell from both of their faces. "I love you; thank you so much for everything you've done."
"I should be thanking you; you saved her life when I couldn't keep myself conscious. The doctor told me what happened; I can't believe you were so strong for both of us. You're an amazing man Roy; I'm glad I found you before some other young, brash female recruit did." she said as she relaxed in his arms and laid her head down on the pillow. He pushed her bangs out of her eyes and kissed her; he let all his happiness and pride for both his beautiful girls flow through his simple kiss. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment before he lightly touched her cheek and called her name.
"Riza? What about a name? Do you know what you want to call her?" He said as her eyes opened for a brief moment.
"Caitlyn… I want her middle name to be Caitlyn…" she said as she drifted off into sleep. Roy was at a loss for words; 'She's letting me pick her name? The name she'll be called her entire life and it's left up to me. Great; what do I do now?' Riza stirred in her sleep and said something to him, but he almost didn't hear. "Mother… your mother, Roy. Her name…"
"My mother?" He said, pausing to look into her resting face before leaving to go out the door. She was pale and covered in sweat, but his heart still swelled with pride when he thought of her bringing his daughter into the world.
'What do I do? She said my mother, but my mother's name was Gertrude; I don't want to call her 'Gertrude.'' He said, pacing back and forth in front of the door outside. 'Wait; she doesn't know about… She doesn't know my birth mother's name was 'Gertrude.' She only knows about Aubree, the woman who raised me when she found me at the park, abandoned and alone. Aubree… Aubree Caitlyn Mustang. Well, she'll probably put Hawkeye though; she might not want my name on there just yet.' He continued pacing when Maes came out of Gracia's room on tiptoe, letting the door click quietly behind him. He turned and saw Roy deep in thought; something was taking this man's whole attention and he intended to find out how he could help.
"Roy! What's wrong with you? You're pacing; I haven't seen you do that since the days in recruit training. What's on your mind man?" Maes asked, stepping up to meet Roy halfway through another pace.
"I've got to come up with a name; Riza only wants Caitlyn as a middle name and has left it up to me to find a first name. What do you think about Aubree Caitlyn? Is that too much?" he said, crossing his arms and looking up at the ceiling. "I never thought this would be so hard…"
"I like it and I'm sure she'll love it too. Aubree is a very beautiful name; quite fitting for such a beautiful child." he responded, leading Roy towards the stairs. "Let's get something to eat; they won't wake up before we get back."
Almost an hour later they returned to find Riza's room empty and Gracia's door propped open. They entered quietly, not wanting to disturb anything important. There was a woman in a suit standing at the end of Gracia's bed with a clipboard, asking her questions. Maes smiled and hurried over to his wife and son, putting his arms around both of them. Riza turned around in her wheelchair and beckoned Roy over with a wag of her finger. He went to her side and saw she was rocking a baby bed on wheels that held his sleeping child.
"I just fed her; she was screaming at the top of her lungs until the nurse handed her to me. I think she has my voice and your attitude; she won't take no for an answer." she whispered in his ear as he heard Gracia give the woman their son's name.
"Benjamin Alexander Hughes." she said clearly, letting everyone in the room hear her say it.
"And you ma'am? Do you and the father have a name for your daughter yet?" the black-suited woman asked.
"I don't have the name; he does." She pointed up at Roy. "Tell them; tell her what you've come up with."
"Aubree Caitlyn Hawkeye." he said as clearly as he could, letting the sound of his own voice resound in his ears. Everyone in the room looked at him with confused faces.
"Roy, her last name is Mustang; not Hawkeye." she said, taking a hold of his hand and entwining her fingers with his.
"Ok; Aubree Caitlyn Mustang it is. Here's the last of the paperwork for both families; send it to the address at the bottom of the forms and we'll have everything else finalized. Have a good night and congratulations again." the woman said, leaving the room and closing the door. It burst open an second later with none other than Elysia and Seska running in.
"I brought her as soon as I got your call Sir. She's been a wonderful child to watch; you're lucky to have such a great family." Seska said, lifting the six-year-old up onto the bed so she could meet her baby brother. After a few minutes of letting her see the boy, she turned and looked right at Roy.
"Do I have two little brothers?" she asked, hopping off the bed carefully and walking to Riza on her tiptoes to the side of the wheel chair. She smiled as Roy picked her up and held her carefully over the side of the baby bed, letting her see the still, sleeping form of his daughter.
"No Elysia; you have a little brother and a little sister to play with. One to play blocks with and one to play dress up with." he said, setting her back down.
"I'm glad you had a baby girl; she's pretty like my mommy and her mommy." The girl said, sitting down in Seska's lap as Roy and a nurse wheeled their charges out of the room into their own. The second the movement stopped and Riza was back in her bed, Aubree let out a wail that startled him from his thoughts.
"Wow; She really does have your voice…I can hear it now; in a few years I've have two women in the house ordering me around. One with guns and the other with the round innocent eyes of a child that are hard to resist." he said, picking her up and kissing her balled up fists as the swung through the air.
"Guns, Roy? No; never again will I touch a gun unless it's in self-defense of our family. That part of me has been put away until I need it again." She said, taking the baby from his arms and calming her cries. "Besides; who needs guns when you have the innocent eyes of a child?" As they both leaned in to see Aubree's eyes as she opened them, Riza gasped and smiled as she saw their little girl's eyes were black like Roy's. Since her skin was now a normal color you could see the tufts of light brown hair that covered her fragile head.
"You do; I know your dirty little secrets Riza. You had a passionate love affair before you were married; you're not gonna pull those innocent eyes on me. They won't work." He said, sitting next to her on the bed after pulling the blankets up around her waist.
"And I know your dirty little secret Brigadier General Mustang; you settled down with the one woman who you could never catch. Then she practically had to leave you to make you notice something was wrong with her. You're soft on the inside Mustang; you always have been and always will be." Riza said, settling down in his arms and letting their daughter, Aubree Mustang sleep to the sounds of her parents playful banter about their lives in the past and the deep serious tones of their voices as they talked about their future… together.
A/N: I have another fan fic going that occurs six years after Roy thinks he killed the Furer. He's been in a coma from a head wound and now Riza has to get him all caught up on the changes with her and the outside world. Let me know if ya'll want to read it after I'm done with it!