The Wants of the Few
Author's notes: Thanks to everyone that reviewed! It really makes my day . Here's a few answers to a coupled of reviewer's questions:
Maylin-Chan: You don't sound mean at all ! I know its against the military's policysfor them to have a relationship and that's going to play a bigger part later on in the story. Overall, Roy knows that he wouldn't be able to get involved with her b/c of that, but his main problem with dating her is because he doesn't want to hurt her if he's killed.
To anyone that was wondering if I was going to keep going w/ the fic: Yup! I'm still going strong...believe me, I'm just getting started ;)
Chapter 3 – A Good Mommy
Riza smiled wide as she watched Elysia play with Black Hayate from her kitchen window. Children fascinated Hawkeye. She loved the way they ran, they way they played, but most especially the way they smiled. The smile of a child was something special, it was much different than that of an adult. Usually behind an adult's smile there was false happiness and encouragement, but behind a child's smile was pure innocence. Riza couldn't remember a time that she smiled like that, but watching Elysia smile felt almost like she could feel some of her own innocence come back. Riza glanced at the clock, 6:11. It was just starting to get dark because the days were beginning to get shorter, she knew that soon Elysia would be getting hungry, and Black Hayate would be as well. She opened the sliding door that was the entrance to the backyard and poked her head out, "Elysia, you need to come in and eat." The young girl politely nodded and walked inside. Riza whistled and Black Hayate followed.
Elysia sat down at the table. Riza walked over to the fridge, "What would you like to eat Elysia?"
She thought for a moment, "Um…can I have a peanut butter sandwich?" Riza smiled wide, "Of course." 'Children are something else. If it'd been an adult, they would have expected me to cook, but this little girl just wants a sandwich.' Riza pulled out a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread. "Did you have fun today?" she asked the girl as she made the sandwiches.
"Yes Ma'am." She replied politely. Hawkeye could tell that she was trying to be on her best behavior. "I like your dog."
"I thought you might, you've been outside with him for almost 2 hours." She said as she put the sandwiches on the table.
Elysia dove into her sandwich, at first biting off a little more than she could chew. The little girls cheeks expanded making her look a lot like a hamster as she tried to chew while still keeping her mouth closed. Eventually she gave up and just chewed with her mouth open. When she'd swallowed her huge bite she gulped hard and said, "You'd make a good mommy."
The comment surprised Riza. It wasn't that she'd never thought of having kids…quite the opposite, but she'd never really thought she'd be a good mother. She knew that she could come off a little too stern sometimes. "What makes you say that?"
Elysia took a sip of milk to wash down some of the peanut butter and replied, "You cut the crust off my sandwich. My mommy says that big girls should be able to eat their bread with all the crust on it, but I still don't like it. My Daddy used to cut it off for me when she wasn't looking." Elysia threw her a close lipped smile as if she'd just divulged a huge secret. Riza smiled back at her. "I'm glad you like it."
Suddenly, the phone rang. Riza picked up. "No problem, Gracia." Elysia heard Riza say. "Elysia will always be welcome here. What? No, she's been an angel. Don't worry about bringing her over some clothes...no, Ican just let her borrow an old t-shirt of mine. Yes, I'll bring her tomorrow at 10. All right…you too. Goodbye." Riza hung up the phone and turned back to see Elysia's expectant face. "That was your mother," she said, "She needs a little more time alone so you're going to spend the night here."
Elysia's face fell. "Where's my mommy?" she seemed on the brink of tears.
"Your mommy's at home." Riza said, sitting down next to the child in attempts to comfort her. "It'll be okay. You'll see her tomorrow."
"But-but what if she isn't here tomorrow?" Elysia said, a few tears sliding down her cheeks. Riza gathered the small child in her lap and hugged the little girl's body close. "Don't worry sweetie, your mommy will be fine. She'd never leave you." Gently, Riza started to rock the child. The tune of Hush Little Baby came to mind and she started humming it.
After a few moments Elysia sat up and to look at Riza. "My Daddy used to sing that song to me." She said as she began wiping her eyes. "He used to sing it to me while I tried to go to sleep." Her nose was running and she sniffed uncontrollably, "He always said it was our special song."
Riza's face softened and she took pity on the girl. She hugged the child again and rubbed her back. 'Children should never have to go through this.' She thought sadly knowing the pain all too well.