#12 Proof
The rain poured ceaselessly down as Mustang stared out the window. He hated the rain; no one would fully understand why. Lieutenant Hawkeye came in and handed him another stack of papers, wanting him to continue signing them. "For once Riza, I wish it wouldn't rain on the afternoons. I want to go for walks in the park with Elysia, letting her play as if she hadn't a care in the world. Since Maes died, she hasn't left the house after we get her home." He said, turning his chair around to look at the stack of papers on his desk. "Is it wrong to wish you had been killed in the place of your best friend?" he asked, letting the question soak into the walls of their office. "If it had been you who perished instead of him, you know he would be thinking the same thing. You can't change the past colonel; you can only change the future." she said, walking around to the other side of his desk and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know… but I want proof that I can change the future. I want to know for sure that her future can be better than it is." he said, letting his head fall to his hands. He leaned over and put his ear to her bulging stomach that was swollen and alive with his son. "You have made a difference in many people's lives;" she said, stroking his hair. "You've made mine better and more complete, Elysia will grow up without a biological father but she has her adopted parents; no one knew why Gracia wanted her to go to you when she died, but I know it was for the best. She'll still grow up with a family and a little brother." she said, letting him feel their son kick around inside her. He reached up and laid his hand on the side of her stomach, rubbing the place she had gotten stabbed years ago. "But can I protect all three of you? How can I protect myself so that I don't leave you like he left them?" he said, looking up into her eyes. "I don't know Roy; I don't know. But if you want to get out of here at a decent hour today you need to finish your paper work." she said, pushing the papers back in front of him, letting him kiss her stomach before getting back to work. As three o'clock came around, he looked up again as their office door opened and Elysia walked in carrying a big piece of construction paper. "Look! I drew my family today in art class!" she exclaimed, handing the paper to Roy. His eyes softened as he saw what she had drawn; there were four large stick figures surrounding a smaller one, each person had a word above them. Maes and Gracia were first; 'mommy' and 'daddy' written in crayon above their heads. Next came himself and his wife, Riza; above their heads were the words 'new daddy' and 'new mommy.' "What more proof do you need? I'd say you got the proof you wanted." Riza said, hugging Elysia as she put her ear to her stomach, listening for her little brother to kick. "You're right; all I needed was a picture." he said, pinning it to the wall next to his desk. "I needed someone to put it in the simplest terms possible."