Heir to the Flame

Chapter 16: Automail Shoulder

Riza was into her eighth and a half month of her pregnancy, looking plumper, having strange cravings, moodswings, and pining for Roy twenty-four-seven.

Which was what she was doing right now, pining for Roy.

She was stroking Hayate behind his ears, trying not to let her anxiety show. What did they call it nowadays? Seperation Anxiety? Roy had been gone for hours, her mind was flitting through a large store of worst-case scenarios. He could have been Roynapped, he could have finally been assassinated, someone was holding him hostage... she was biting her fingernail and the craving for an apple suddenly hit her in the face. She sat up in bed and put her feet down on the floor. Her ankles were quite swollen and she was finding it increasingly hard to walk around by herself. Black Hayate barked loudly and got up from his position near her feet. She managed to get past the mirror in their bedroom and she stopped for a moment, examining her belly. She sighed and stroked it. The baby must be huge, she thought, and she suddenly feared the pain of having to give birth to him. She shook the fear away; Mothergave birth to twins,didn't she? If she could do that, then I can do this, she thought again, keeping one hand on her stomach and one hand on the stair bannister.

She was back at Roy's house for the month. Roy had insisted that the baby be born at the mansion and he would not take no for an answer. Well, he would have if she had pleaded long enough, but she really didn't mind so much. Just as long as there was someone there to help her give birth.

She was glad Roy had also insisted on moving their bedroom to only one floor above the ground floor, which was a drastic change in altitude from the uppermost tenth floor, whose walls were composed almost entirely of crystal and diamond. Roy was immensely proud of that top floor; it was completely alchemy-proof, meaning that no one could transmute it into smaller diamonds and crystals to make off with it. That had been a more recent update to the house; he and his father had made sure that every part of it was impossible to transmute, and it worked too!

She liked sitting up there sometimes, when Roy carried her up the stairs. She would just sit and appreciate the view of East City and Central, though the mansion was located on a hill that was somewhat closer to East than Central, but not within a short walking distance of either city. She'd sit with Roy and they would just talk; making sure what they would name the baby, where his room would be, whether or not to let Maes be present when the baby was born. That camera of his sure could be irritating.

And just yesterday Roy had turned the talk to Ishbalans. He said that he had run into an Ishbalan boy who was taking medicine to other Ishbalans a couple of weeks before. He said that he had been unable to discuss it earlier because he needed to think about the things he had seen, which wasn't like Roy at all. He had helped the boy out and followed him to the other Ishbalans, but he wasn't welcomed with open arms.

That was where he had met a scarred Ishbalan, who gave no name. He said that he had recognized Roy as a State Alchemist, and that one day he would die just like all the others. But he had said that he would save Roy for last. Then Roy had turned to Riza and asked, "What do make of that?" Riza shrugged her shoulders and hugged him tightly, and he rested his chin on her head. "I won't let anything take me from you or the baby, Riza. I promise." She had looked up at him and smiled, tears in her eyes, because she was having yet another moodswing. He smiled again and stroked her back until her sobbing subsided and another mood replaced the first. "Did Gracia have her baby?" she asked, and Roy chuckled.

"I told you a few weeks ago, didn't I?" he asked. "Gracia had a baby girl; Maes named her Elysia. It's been about a month, I think. She's about a month old now. And I'm her Godfather!" Roy looked excited and pleased, but Riza didn't think he had expected anything less. He and Maes had been fast friends; they had known each other practically since birth, though Maes was about three days older than Roy. Roy then whistled and felt her belly, remarking at how big it was, then a worried expression worked it's way into his face.

"I'll be okay," Riza had murmured, but his look refused to remove itself. A big child could complicate the birth, and if the birth became complicated... he shuddered. He could lose Riza forever, and possibly his child as well. And it would be all his fault.

He wanted to be around as much as possible, and he had been. But today he was late and she was worried.

She couldn't even call East Headquarters to ask if he was alright, or if he was there or not. It would raise too much suspicion, unless... She picked up the phone and dialed Havoc's house phone number; it was about lunch time and Roy had informed her that Jean always went home for lunch these days. His wife picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi Keira, it's Riza. Is Jean there?"

"He's coming in right now on that motorcycle of his, I swear he'll break his neck on that thing one of these days... what did you want to ask?"

"Can you ask him if Roy's at work? And if he's okay?"Keira relayed the question to Jean who answered quickly.

"He says Roy's in the infirmary; he was sparring with Major Armstrong and his arm suddenly went limp. No one's sure what's wrong with him, but Roy started to leave just as Jean left. Jean's not sure where he could be now."

"Okay, thank you Keira."

"You're welcome."

Riza hung up the phone and pondered her current situation. Roy's arm went limp? Was that possible?

She didn't know where else to call, but then the phone rang for her. She picked it up and uttered a timid hello. "Riza? Thank God you're there, it's Roy. Um, I... you think you can come see me at my uncle's house? It's near the center of East City, the big house on the right side? I know it's a little much to ask... and I'd come if I could..."

"Roy, what happened?"

"Um, oh, ah, nothing, heh heh... Armstrong just bumped me the wrong way, y'know?"

"What happened?"

"My shoulder isn't working, that's all I'll say. Now are you coming or are you staying home? I understand if you can't come..." she picked the car keys off of the loop.

"I'm coming, Roy, okay? Big house on the right side?"

"Right."

"Okay, I love you, bye."

"Love you too, bye." Riza got into the car and took a deep breath. It wouldn't be easy going from here to the center of East City. It might take only ten minutes, but she didn't thinkit wise to drive too much in her condition.

She stopped the car in front of the large house on the right side of East City Center. She was surprised to see that it was an automail shop more than a house, and the color drained out of her face. What on earth had happened? Had Armstrong seperated Roy's arm from his body completely?

She hurried in and an older man greeted her at the door. He looked a bit like Roy, not much. Just enough to be passed for a relative. The height was right, and so was the eye color, hair color, and build, but that was where all similarities stopped. He held out his hand and she extended her hand as well. A teenage boy, maybe in his fifteens or sixteens, peeked out from behind a door. "Dad! I think his shoulder's dislocated and broken; it'll be one hell of a cleanup and repair job." The man nodded back. "AlrightVergo... it would be best if we didn't tarry any longer. You'd better go in and see him, because after that we'll have to put him to sleep and start surgery," he directed the last comment to Riza.

"But what happened?" Riza asked worriedly.

"Then you don't know?" the man queried.

"No, I don't know, Mr...?"

"Glenn, Glenn Mustang. You see, my nephew has a... well, I don't know how much he'd want me to tell you, but he lost his shoulder bone in an accident. The bone that controls the arm and connects to the rest of his skeleton was too badly damaged and it was replaced by an automail substitute."

"But I... I never saw it..."

"That's what I'm saying; it's not the same as the run-of-the-mill automail you find nowadays, though the Rockbells are coming pretty darn close to where we are. I'd give them a few more years. It's located inside of his body. It was perfectly attached close to... I'd say about twelve years ago, but now he's goneand busted it, and we'll have to reopen his shoulder and fix it, not to mention remove any broken bits."

"That's dangerous isn't it? A foreign substance in the body?"

"It is, if it's broken. Then the little parts will get into his bloodstream and it could become fatal, but the piece as a whole was designed not to cause the body to reject it. That's why it's vital to get to it as soon as possible," Glenn stressed the 'as soon as possible'. Vergo popped back out. "I don't think we can delay any longer, Dad, I've already put him to sleep."

"Right. We'd better get started... if you could wait out here, Riza?" she nodded,thinking that Roy must have told them her name, and stroked Black Hayate some more. Glenn proceeded into the operating room and she waited. What if the damage was too bad, what if it had splintered into little bits and it was killing Roy even now? Then she wondered just how he had lost an entire shoulder bone without losing his shoulder completely, like Edward lost his entire arm and not just the bone. She would just have to ask Roy when he woke up. If he woke up.

By now you can probably tell that the baby will be born soon; but will Roy survive this automail surgery? And whoever thought that Roy might have an artificial shoulder bone? I did! Man, I need to stop eating candy before I write these things. Just for reference, I added a new story called All Eras Must End. It's about Eric Lee Elric, grandson of Edward the Fullmetal Alchemist! Roy may be dead, but he still makes a rather important appearance later in the story. As a matter of fact, so does Maes Hughes! The first, that is, because there are two Maes' now.

-T A