Caroline: well um... yea.. i dont think a lot of ppl really like this but... nevertheless... heres the 2nd chapter bitches...

Chapter 2

Roy grumbled, his eyes staring up at the ceiling. He took the ice pack off of his forehead, but almost on instinct-

"Roy! Don't you dare take that ice pack off your head!"

Immediately, a pony-tailed brunette ran into the room, her expression like a small, angry child's. Roy immediately began laughing, despite how much of a headache he had at the time. The girl's eyes immediately widened, & her expression just grew even cuter as she pulled down on the apron as if trying to hide it.

"Shut up, okay!" she yelled. "You ask for someone to take care of you, & this is the thanks I get?"

"I didn't ask you or anyone else to take care of me," he said, abandoning his fit of laughter.

"Well then don't expect me to!" Caroline said, reaching back to tie the bandanna around her head even tighter before turning to walk away. She took a few steps before turning around quickly. "I gotta check your temperature!" she said suddenly, advancing towards the 'patient' on the couch.

Blushing slightly out of her natural nervousness, she bent over & placed a thermometer in the taisa's mouth, before standing up, & twiddling her thumbs while looking at a random corner of the room, focusing on it for just a moment.

"You know..." Roy said, starting to take the thermometer out of his mouth. "I'm pretty sure I know my own temperature... what with the Mustang family-"

"Ssh!" Caroline said, looking at him very seriously. "Don't take the thermometer out of your mouth! It's ruining all the hard work that I did..." she muttered, crossing her arms, & narrowing her eyes in a separate direction, thrusting out her lower lip.

Roy chuckled inwardly, swearing to himself that the girl had not changed one bit since she was six.

But she had, hadn't she? There was a certain way her eyes shone now, he noticed. They showed a hundred different emotions in them, & they had that certain spark in them. There was always that pinch of fear, that incomprehensible sadness, that sinful past, the ever-burning hate & anger, the look of regret, & that glare that could melt metal... but there was also that optimism, the courage to make it through the next day, the kindness to help those in need, the naivety to understand the world around her, & the adoration her eyes shone with every time she looked at him. He smiled as he watched the girl stand there, her observant eyes carefully noting each little detail on whatever she was staring at. Her eyes flicked to him quickly. The man tried to avert his gaze, trying to avoid any unnecessary damage to his ears due to the girl's yelling. But she did nothing of the sort. He sighed inwardly of relief, but then the girl gasped. He thought she would have just comprehended what Roy was doing, & he was waiting for the scream-fest to begin, but... that didn't seem to be the case either.

Instead, the girl ran over to the window, & reached up to shut it.

"What are you... doing?" Roy asked, flipping over to his stomach, propping himself up on his arms to make sure the child didn't mess up or break anything.

"What... does it look like I'm doing?" Caroline asked, an obvious struggle in her voice. "I'm... trying to close this goddamn thing..."

"Why?" Roy asked, confused to why the brunette would decide to do such a random task.

"So..." she struggled. "So you don't... get even sicker..." she said. "It's cold outside at... this time of... year..."

The girl continued to struggle until her arms began to shake, & it seemed that this thing just wasn't going to budge. But no, she wouldn't give up the battle. She closed her eyes, clenching her teeth & was about to transmute the thing when-

She blinked, wide-eyed.

'It... closed...' she thought.

As she turned around, she suddenly bumped into white-cloth. She looked up, noticing Roy had both arms on each side of her, just above her shoulders. She stood for a minute, completely confused. Roy, however, was just as confused as she was, but sure didn't look like it. In fact, the brunette showed wide-eyed innocence, as the raven-haired man displayed that lustful smirk. It was completely silent for a minute, before the girl sighed, closing her eyes for a slight moment, before opening them to give a more sultry, tired look. Roy gulped as she reached up towards his face slowly.

'Gods... she's actually... she's going to-'

His dark eyes grew wide & he blinked many times, & now he was in complete confusion, as nothing seemed to happen. The child, who had gained total control, just looked down at the thermometer she had removed from his mouth, blinking & staring at it, eyes half-open in an uncaring manner.

"102 degrees," she said with a monotone voice, before her eyes flicked upwards, as well as her right hand, moving Roy's left arm away from her so that she could get past him. "Go lay down..." she said. "I think it's been well over 3 minutes..."

Roy blinked, confusedly once more.

'3 minutes?' he wondered. 'What's that supposed to... wait... what?'

He shook his head, sighing & went back to lie down on the couch. Sitting down, he stared up at the ceiling, smelling something wonderful coming from the kitchen across the hallway. He would have gotten up once more, but the last time he did, his head began to spin a little too fast.

In about two seconds, Roy looked up to see Caroline sitting on the edge of the couch, handing him a bowl.

"No thanks," he said. "I'm not feeling that bad."

"It's not for you to throw up in, bastard," she said.

"Don't be vulgar," Roy said, pointing a finger at her.

"I'll do whatever the hell I want," the 12-year-old said. "You're not my father," she said, looking away, her eyes mixed with anger & sadness.

Roy stared at the girl. It was ironic how the girl's expressions, eyes, & personality could change in a matter of milliseconds. Like the relationship between the two. One minute it would be one of adoration, as pure as the snow that would begin to fall soon, but in another minute, it could turn to one of hate & spite, past mistakes written all over it. It was ironic how a 28-year-old man could think of nothing but a 12-year-old child when he could have practically any woman he wanted. He smiled slightly, & took the bowl from Caroline.

"Thanks," he said, quietly.

No reply. The Colonel began to eat the contents that were in the bowl.

"This actually isn't too bad..." he said. "I didn't know you could cook."

"I can't," Caroline said quietly, still not broken from her thoughts of the past.

He ate another bite before saying anything else.

"So... what is this, exactly?"

"Ramen," Caroline said, twirling her chopsticks around in her own bowl.

Roy suddenly began laughing.

"What!" Caroline yelled, seeming slightly angry at the man. "What's wrong with it!"

"Nothing, nothing," Roy assured, waving her off. "It's perfectly fine," he chuckled. "It's just that I should've expected nothing less."

About 15 more minutes of Roy crossing the line with Caroline's temper, the two sat silently, Caroline having been wasting all her time yelling, had not yet to take a bite out of her own bowl, but instead twirled the chopsticks around in it.

"Why aren't you eating anything?" Roy asked, beginning to grow slightly worried about the Ramen-obsessed brunette who, he had noticed, had just stared at it blankly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Caroline said. "Nothing really."

He stared at her for a few more minutes, before she turned to him, handing him her bowl. The man was confused, but comprehended the situation quickly.

"No, no," Roy said, waving his hands. "It's yours. Eat it."

"No way," Caroline said. "I mean... I'm not that hungry... & it's hot so... it'll make you feel better."

"I already ate one bowl," Roy said. "I'm fi-"

Roy blinked, & looked from his mouth to Caroline's face. The girl sat there, stuffing the chopsticks full with Ramen into Roy's mouth. She took them out, not a noodle left on them, blushing slightly.

"Now eat it," she said, handing him the bowl, & looking away from nervousness. "I don't like feeding it to you."

Roy slowly ate it, confused by the girl's generosity.

"You know..." he said. "I didn't really ask for anyone to take care of me."

"Yeah, I know," Caroline said, looking down at the ground as she had been before.

"So... why are you then?" he asked, curiously.

"Because..." she gulped "I wanted to take care of you." She looked up, smiling. "I wanted you to feel better."

Roy was slightly taken aback, but he smiled, handing her the finished bowl. She smiled, her eyes shining with adoration. She pulled the blanket up to his chin.

"Now get some rest, okay?" she said, before getting up.

She walked to where the hallway met the living room, before turning the light off.

"Caroline."

She stopped, her head looking over her shoulder. Roy looked at the framed silhouette in the doorway, the light of the hallway & everything else making whatever he could see of her look even more beautiful.

"Thanks."

He saw her turn slightly to the side, as if slightly in surprise, but the light made it possible to see her toothy smile.

"No problem," she said, before walking off into the kitchen to clean off both dishes.

To be continued...

Caroline: yea so... r&r i guess