Heir to the Flame

Chapter 5: Trapped on the Train

And so the next morning, Riza had taken everything from Roy's home and left on the train to Central.

He was lying face down on the bed in a fit of emotional agony, not crying, but lying there, almost dead. The phone rang and he cursed loudly, shooting out his arm to the wooden bedside table to thrash and feel around for the phone. He finally found it and held it pretty close to his head, just not to his ear.

"What the hell do you want?"he groaned into the phone. There was a prolonged sigh from the other end.

"Roy, it's Maes."

"Yeah?"

"You feeling okay?"

"Hell no."

"Cryptic today, are we?"

"You would be too if they just suddenly carted off Gracia to another part of the country."

There was a gloomy pause on the other end. "Yeah, you're right."

Roy grunted. "See?"

"Did you see her leave, Roy?"

Roy kept silent for a bit, nodded, then remembered that Maes wouldn't see the nod anyway.

"I saw her... I wanted to say good-bye so badly right there... but Haruko... he was standing right there! God knows what he's doing to her now... if he's taking advantage of her I swear I won't sleep until he's dead and burned!" he howled.

"What about before she left?"

"Best night of my life Maes, best and worst."

"You're missing her already?"

"Yeah... that's why I've got my face buried in my bed, Maes."

"I was wondering why you sounded muffled."

"Well there you go."

Silence on the other end.

"Maes," Roy whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I miss my baby too."

"It's not even born yet!"

"Doesn't matter. I miss my baby."

"Any particular ideas why in that cunning little head of yours?" Maes asked in an attempt to probe Roy's feelings.

"Because it's mine, and... well... it's just mine. Think about it Maes... it's a life, andI fathered it, it's mine. It hasn't even been three months and I'm already missing it... my child... who knows what those military bastards will do with it!" he exploded from the bed.

"If they don't find out it's yours, then they won't do anything..."

"How can they not find out it's mine? Every child born to our family looks like a Mustang. If it's a boy, he's going to look just like me, Maes, there'll be no mistake."

"And if it's a girl?"

"...She might look a bit like Riza, but there will still be some traits that are clearly defined as mine."

"Your eyes, for example."

"That'll be the biggest signal."

"I always wondered how you looked exactly like your dad..."

"What day is it today, Maes?"

"Friday."

"I'm visiting tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. I'll take care of Riza when she gets here, so don't worry."

"See you tomorrow then Maes."

The train was wobbling a bit too much for Riza's delicate condition and she got up from her compartment to find the bathroom. She wished that Roy was there so he could help her; she was feeling increasingly dizzy and sick, and could not walk as far as she usually could unaided. She thought that she could at least make it to the bathroom down the hall if she held onto the rails, so she did. She inched her way to the bathroom and pushed open the door weakly, and threw up.

After she was finished,she sank to the floor and held her stomach tightly. If she had known it would be this hard, maybe she wouldn't have gotten pregnant in the first place... No, that was a silly thing to think... Roy would have somehow begged her to get pregnant anyway, she thought to herself. She had seen the forlorn and pained look on his face, though only she knew him so well as to identify it as 'forlorn and pained'. To anyone else, it would only look like a downwards pull to his normal detached face, but it spoke worlds to her.

She staggered out of the bathroom and wobbled back to her compartment, only to be accosted by Haruko halfway.

"Leave me alone," she muttered, trying to sidestep him. He wouldn't let her however, and a casual smile played on his lips. "Getting heavy are we, Riza?" She shot a hateful look at him and finally succeeded in pushing past him. "Don't call me that," she said, reaching for the compartment door handle. He grinned and reached his hand downwards, and she yelped and bent down awkwardly to swipe a gun out of her holster and pointed it at his chest, regaining her balance a bit slowly. Even that small action of bending to grab her gun fatigued her, if only slightly, and it was worriesome. He laughed and slapped her hand away viciously, her gun clattering on the floor, and her dazed mind wondered how she had missed that movement in the first place. He slammed her against the wall and she turned her head away from his, struggling ferociously in his grasp with her wrists pinned on either side of her, and she opened her mouth and screamed.

Alex Louise Armstrong materialized from one of the compartments a split second after Haruko let her go and stepped backwards. He cast a glance at the two of them, sparkles glimmering faintly, almost angrily, then walked forward purposefully, scooped up Riza in his arms, and strode back into her apartment in what could be called pretty darn close to one fluid movement. He laid her down on the seat and she curled into a ball again, cursing Haruko and the fact that she was a woman. Armstrong shook his head slowly from side to side and sat down on the seat opposite her, hands on his knees.

"Now now, First Lieutenant, there is nothing shameful in being a woman," he said, trying to comfort her. She looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "How would you know? You're not treated like a damn sexual toy for that bastard out there!" she screamed. He patted her shoulder with a large hand and looked at her pityingly. "Indeed I would not, First Lieutenant, but take heart. There is a man still back in the East who loves you very much, and he will no doubt do everything in his power to restore himself to your side." A smile raised his moustache. "Perhaps he will even go beyond the boundaries set for him; I would not put it past him." She stared at him incredulously. "Roy...?"

He nodded. "I recieved word from Lieutenant Colonel Hughes that he has not yet raised his face from the mattress of his bed and probably intends to partially suffocate himself in it. He says that he misses you and his little one already." She smiled and did take heart in his words. "Did he say anything else?" she asked.

"No, most of their conversation was the Lieutenant Colonel trying to release the Colonel from his brief stint of hopelessness. He did, however, express his feeling of Haruko quiet animatedly. I believe he said something like, 'if he's taking advantage of her I swear I won't sleep until he's dead and burned!' "

Riza's smile widened and her eyes became heavy. She closed them slowly, peacefully. There was a knock on the door and Haruko stepped in. "You're dismissed, Major Armstrong. I have business to discuss with the First Lieutenant." Armstrong hesitated, then saluted slowly and plodded out of the room regretfully: he could not refuse a direct order from the Brigadier General. Riza's eyes widened in horror, and she was afraid of falling asleep in the same room as that dreadful man.

Roy picked up Black Hayate from the floor and petted him distractedly, eyeing the map one more time for directions to Maes' house before tossing them in the passenger seat of the car. One more time, just to be safe; he knew that in his present state of mind, it would become easy to be distracted. He wanted to leave a day earlier, he couldn't help but harbor the thought that something would miraculously pop up that would cost him another hard day in the office and one more day away from Riza.

He got into the car and started it up, hoping that it wasn't so dusty from unuse that it refused to run for the drive to Maes' house. He breathed a silent thank you as it started smoothly and sped out the driveway and onto the road. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel, his eyes narrowed and his face definitely haggard. He hoped he wouldn't wreck on the way.

Riza lashed out at Haruko as he bore down on her, frightened and angry. "You stay away from me!" she growled, holding a vicious looking knife between them. He stopped short and laughed at her again, causing her hair to stand on end. Tears filled her eyes; there was no hope of getting away from him unscathed. She felt frustrated and alone. Why did he want with a pregnant woman anyway? And where was Roy? Tears coursed down her face. She wanted Roy now, here where he could protect her. She had never before realized how much she had needed him, not just how much he had needed her. She wanted the father of her baby there beside her to torch the life out of this thing that was stalking her and causing her undue grief.

But Roy wasn't there, only Haruko.

Due to my limited schedule during a schoolweek, I tend to update very slowly, but I do pick up on weekends. I've decided to have the baby born within the story, so there's another thing for all my loyal reviewers to wait for! Now don't hate me for this chapter; even I don't like the situation I've put Riza in, but to make the story more suspenseful and interesting, moments like these have to happen. -T A