Disclaimer: I own nothing
Author's Note: I hope that last line didn't confuse anyone. Usually when someone says that "You're living on borrowed time" it means the person doesn't have much time left. What I meant by "She's living on borrowed time" was that she literally borrowed time (10 years) from Roy when he transmuted her…so physically he's 39 now. I hope that makes sense.
Chapter 27 – Back to Where I BelongThe reinstatement didn't take nearly as long as Riza had thought it would. She walked in with her grandfather the next morning and was present as he held a meeting with the higher ups of Eastern Headquarters. Naturally they were a little suspicious, but after a few hours they began to warm up to the idea that the first Hawkeye was the imposter. To wipe away all doubt though Hawkeye did have to answer a long string of questions from telling them the details of her most recently recorded mission, to what Mustang's middle name was. Mustang was also present at the meeting (and not happy in the least to have it revealed to the entire room that his middle name is Hubert). In addition to answering questions she also had to show off various birthmarks and scars to the board to prove that she was who she said she was. She couldn't help but blush a little at having to show off so much skin to a group of middle aged men, but she tried to ignore the feeling.
The board finally agreed that she was the real Riza Hawkeye and the other had been an imposter. Plans were made to dig up the first body and rebury it under an unknown marker. The idea unnerved Hawkeye a little, but in all truths it wasn't her body any longer, only a shell.
The hard part was over. The records were in the process of being changed and Hawkeye had been reinstated. Now all she had to do was get back to work….
--
"IT'S A GHOST!" Breda, Falman and Fuery screamed in sync as Hawkeye walked in the door just behind Mustang. The three men ran terrified circles around the room, sure that their dead comrade was coming back to haunt them for slacking off.
"She's not a ghost you idiots!" Mustang shouted. The men had stopped screaming but they were now more or less huddled on the other side of the room looking for an easy exit. "The woman that died wasn't Hawkeye." He continued. "The other woman was an imposter. This is the real Hawkeye." The men didn't seem completely convinced but they did come a little closer to inspect the could-be-ghost. Fuery stared at the Lieutenant with big eyes, trying to find a flaw in the ghost's "disguise". Breda and Falman on the other hand poked at her shoulders a bit to see if she was solid. This whole show and tell thing was beginning to get on Hawkeye's last nerve. "Are you quite through?" she asked the men.
They just continued to poke and stare at her in wonder, but the sound of a gun being cocked was all that was needed to back them off.
"Heh!" Breda laughed nervously, "Guess it really is you Lieutenant."
"Yes, it's nice to see you're in good health. You really gave us a scare." Falman added.
Fuery gave her a quiet smile, "I'm glad you're okay."
Hawkeye smiled slightly back at her three comrades. After all the times she'd scolded them for slacking off, they still had seemed to genuinely be glad she was all right. A lump formed in the back of her throat…it actually seemed like they had missed her.
"I'm glad to be back." She replied.
Just then Havoc walked in the office. He was carrying a stack of papers that was so high it was obscuring most of his view. "Hey could someone help me with this—" he started to say just as he bumped into Hawkeye. The papers scattered all over the floor and Havoc bent down to pick them up without even looking at who he bumped into.
"Here, let me help." Hawkeye said bending down to pick up the extra papers.
"Oh thanks Hawke—AHH!" he screamed. "You're—you're –a ghost!"
"SHE'S NOT A GHOST!" the rest of the squad shouted at him. The surprise of seeing Hawkeye in the flesh was enough to almost make Havoc swallow his cigarette. Quickly Mustang explains the situation to Havoc before he can scream again. Even with the explanation Havoc still seemed a little unsure. He'd seen the Hawkeye's dead body, he'd watched Mustang's spirit break on the front steps…he knew she'd died. But now…somehow she was here. Cautiously, Havoc glanced at Roy. Roy nodded as if he was trying to answer Havoc's inner questions 'Yes, that's really her.' The nod was enough for everyone. The men trusted Mustang's judgement, and if he said this was really Hawkeye, then it really was Hawkeye.
--
The day began to settle down. Hawkeye started catching up on her backed up work and Mustang actually sat down and started working. The office fell into a comfortable silence and Hawkeye couldn't resist studying her comrades. Each was completely absorbed in their own work. Riza let out a contented sigh, she was finally back to where she belonged, finally back with the people she cared about.
--
Lunch finally rolled around and most of the men disappeared rather quickly in attempts to get to the mess hall before all the good food was gone. Mustang went ahead to grab a table for his usual lunch with Hawkeye. She stayed behind for a few moments to gather a few of her things. Havoc had also stayed behind. He nervously walked up her to desk and cleared his throat to get her attention.
"Did you need something Havoc?" she said looking up.
"I—well, I. See, when you—" he started, trying to find the right words. All Hawkeye could do was wait patiently for him to form a coherent sentence. "I never really got to know you." He blurted out. "We've been working together for years and I never really bothered to talk to you."
"We talk almost everyday." She replied to him, a little confused as to what his reason for this strange conversation was.
"No, I mean really talk to you. I don't know anything about you."
"Well," Hawkeye replied, "I'm not the easiest person to get to know."
"I'd like to get to know you. When you died, the Colonel, he told me a lot about you and I realized that I never really knew you and I thought that it was a shame…so I was wondering if maybe we could eat lunch together and we could talk, I mean really talk."
Hawkeye smiled warmly at Havoc. "I'd like that. I'm supposed to be meeting the Colonel for lunch, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you joined us." She gathered her things and started to walk toward the door.
"Lieutenant?" Havoc said
"Yes?"
"It wasn't until you…died that I realized exactly how much you do around here. For a few days I had your position and yours are some pretty big shoes to fill." He explained. Gently he removed a small star from the shoulder of his uniform. "I believe this belongs to you." He said as he put the little brass star in her hand.
"Thank you, this really means a lot to me." She said.
Just outside the door Mustang listened to his two subordinates talk. 'I told you she'd be back Havoc.' He thought smiling.
I know I keep telling you guys that this is the last chapter, but I think I might have 2 more chapters left. I need to finish my resolution between her and the colonel and then I've been thinking about throwing in an epilogue.
I hope none of you thought that Havoc was hitting on her, he's not. He just wants to get to know her as a friend because he realized that she's a good person and there's a lot more to her than meets the eye.