Chapter 3:

The lieutenant sighed softly, packing the remainder of her few possessions into her bag. If she was being completely honest with herself, she hadn't much minded being in the hospital for as long as she had. It had been (in a twisted sort of way) a sort of reprieve. It was a relaxing vacation compared to the mess of events that had been happening over the past few months. To be quite frank: she was glad it had happened.

It also gave the Colonel a reason to rest, though he hardly gave himself the time. He was teaching himself about Ishval while his eyesight was gone and, though it had only been five days since he got it back, was currently filing his release papers so he could get back to work.

Riza snapped her case shut with a huff. Silly man.

She also couldn't say she hadn't enjoyed spending her recovery time with the Colonel. Even though they were more or less physically fit to leave, she almost wanted the doctors to force them to stay a little longer.

She shook the selfish thoughts from her head, giving the room one last sweep to be sure she had gotten everything before grabbing her bag and heading down the hall.

Technically, she had been released a couple of days ago. But, she hadn't left the Colonel's side ever before, so why should she now? Without telling the Colonel (and insisting that the doctors didn't either), she managed to stay the extra time. Though he would never say it, she knew the time was appreciated by Roy. He insisted he was a spitting image of health, but she could see through his facade with ease. She had known the man for the majority of her life, after all - who would she be if she didn't know him by now?

His eyesight may have been back, but he had taken a lot of damage before and even after that, and he was hardly spritely enough to heal as quickly as he used to. These things take time, time that he insisted he didn't have time for.

That didn't stop him from worrying incessantly about her, though. It was sweet, kind of him even, to worry so much about her when he himself wasn't all the way well.

A blush crept up her face, warming her cheeks. He had always been like that. It was one of the things she admired most about him.

Calming herself as best she could, Riza made her way through the halls and towards the front desk where the Colonel stood. He was hunched over the desk signing papers, leaning his weight on it in a covert enough way that only she could tell he wasn't standing fully on his own.

She huffed again (stubborn man), as she moved forward and set her bags down next to his.

"Ah, Lieutenant," he said, his attention shifting briefly from the page to acknowledge her, "Did you get everything you needed to?"

Riza nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good, good…" He muttered to himself quietly, flipping through page after page with discontented grumbles. He had never been one for paperwork. "Did you sign your release forms already?"

"Yes, sir. I did them this morning while you were getting ready."

Roy smirked. "Of course. You're always on top of these things." The man let out a long breath, scratching his illegible signature onto the final line before handing the packet back to the desk assistant. She was pretty: short, chestnut hair tied back to stay out of her face, bright blue eyes, rosy pink cheeks and long, batting eyelashes. She was his type alright.

But, either he was too occupied by the papers to notice, or he was just too tired to return her obvious attempts of flirting. The lady (whose name tag read 'Sandra') smiled sweetly before giving an apologetic look and exchanging the packet with another one twice as thick.

"I'm sorry, Colonel Mustang: there are a couple more legal things to go through."

Roy moaned loudly, rubbing his hand across his face and swearing under his breath as he took the offered packet from her hands.

"Why don't you sit down, sir," the Lieutenant stated. He made no objections, so she guided the poor man to a seat nearby and he plopped into it gracelessly.

"Seriously," he muttered, flipping through the packet with disinterest, "these things are terrible - you have to have a background in law to even be able to read this garbage…"

Riza smirked knowingly before looking around the room to let him delve into it with a bit of privacy. It was your typical waiting room - white walls and dingy carpeting. It was packed full with patients, some in worse condition than others, but almost everyone here had suffered from the events of the Promised Day.

Her thoughts were left to wander for a bit as Roy continued to work on his outtake paperwork. She recalled the events of that day...the horrors, the pain, the blood, the cooperation between the military and the Elrics and the sacrifices that were made...

The Elric brothers. I wonder how they're doing.

"I'm going to be here for a while, Lieutenant," the Colonel stated, catching Riza's eye knowingly as he pulled her from her thoughts. "If you have anything else you want to take care of before we leave, now would be a good time to do it."

"Will you be able to handle yourself if I do?"

Roy snorted, sifting through the pile of paper on his lap once more. "Well, of course I would rather have you here to do this work for me, but if you'd rather be somewhere else-"

"I'll be back in a bit, sir," Riza stated, turning on her heel and walking out of the room, leaving a chuckling Colonel behind her.

~oOo~

It didn't take long for her to find the room.

She double checked the room's name tag just to be sure (it read "Elric," so it must be at least one of the boys) before knocking lightly. A soft "Come in" could be heard from inside, so she opened the door slightly and made her way in.

In the middle of the room, lain in bed and hooked up to dozens of machines and IV's was Alphonse Elric. At least, she believed it was - his hair was long and golden like Edward's, and his eyes were the same golden color. But his cheeks were sunken in, his hair was lanky, and his face was softer than Riza had ever seen Edward's face being.

It had to be Alphonse.

She had seen him briefly on the Promised Day right after he had gotten his body back, but she hadn't really had a conversation with the boys since everything had happened. They had all been ushered their separate ways. She heard Alphonse's condition had caused quite a scare in his first couple weeks here, but hadn't heard much else since.

Edward wasn't in the room, though a chair was scooted close to Alphonse's bed, and she could only imagine he had hardly left it for the past few weeks.

Alphonse would have looked almost peaceful were it not for all of the IV's in his arms. A book rested neatly in his lap and the morning sun shone softly through the window blinds, lighting up his hair and eyes even more than they already were. The boy glanced up, catching Riza's fond gaze and smiling in response.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye," he exclaimed, marking his page and closing the book carefully - he was always one for formalities, and she had long since given up asking him (and his brother) to call her Riza. "It's so good it see you!"

"Hello, Alphonse," she laughed in return. "It's good to see you, too. How are you feeling?"

The light in his eyes dimmed slightly, but he was quick to recover. "I'm okay, thank you. Tired more than anything. How about you? Have you healed yet?"

Her hand rose to her neck subconsciously, skimming the bandages with her fingertips as the echo of what could have been ricocheted around her mind. Any closer to the left, the doctors had told her, and she wouldn't be here today. Riza forced a smile - she was far better than she might have been. "I'm doing well, thanks. Still healing, but the pain is gone. I was actually just discharged."

"And the Colonel?"

She sighed, shaking her head slightly with a fond expression. "He's doing just fine - he's also being released today. Though, he's pushing himself more than is probably wise. He can't stay awake from his work for very long, it drives him insane."

Al laughed softly. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I'm really glad to hear you guys are doing better though."

Exhaustion clouded over the boy's voice, but it was genuine and kind. He had obviously been worried, and surely the reassurance on their conditions had done him some good, perhaps taken a weight off his shoulder.

Good. He had enough on his plate right now.

"Thank you, we're certainly glad to be feeling better, too." She motioned to the edge of Al's bed. "May I?"

Alphonse hummed and affirmative, scooching ever so slightly to the side to make as much room as he could without falling off the side. "Please, go ahead."

She sat, taking a moment to take in the room around her. It wasn't very spacious, but it felt bigger because of the sheer amount of light coming through the window. It was just past midday, and Alphonse's room had a beautiful, unhindered view of the patients' grounds outside. Hospital patients walked through the greenery, sat in their wheelchairs and felt the breeze across their faces, convened on the benches and spoke with one-another. Central Hospital was full of suffering people, yes, but everyone there had the same sense of feeling lucky to even be alive.

The room Al was staying in, though bright and sterile, was cozy. Cards and flowers adorned nearly every available surface, and things such as books and other activities like crossword puzzles and small table top games took up the rest. Al himself had a hospital gown on, but he also had a knitted shawl draped over his shoulders - a pale green with yellow accents.

"Mrs. Hughes made it for me," Al provided quietly, noting Riza's gaze. He rubbed the material between his fingers, a tender smile on his face. "She didn't have to of course, but she and Elicia came to visit the other day and she insisted - wouldn't take no for an answer. She saw me, pulled out her needles and some yarn and said, 'You're nothing but skin and bones, you've got to be cold under those thin sheets.' She and Elicia spent the whole day with Ed and me, and she finished this right before she left."

Riza grinned, a laugh catching in her throat.. "Yes, that sounds like Gracia."

"How long have you two known each other?"

The Lieutenant leaned back, casting her mind back to years before. "I think it was not too long after the war in Ishval. I knew Hughes then, of course, and he talked non-stop about her while we were there, but I only got to meet her after we got back." She laughed lightly. "I'd forgotten, but Hughes asked her to marry him the minute he got back and she flat out refused."

Alphonse's face lit up in amusement. "Wait, really?"

"Mmhm," Riza continued, "She thought he was being stupid - they'd only gone on a couple of dates before Hughes was shipped off to Ishval. We all thought they'd been dating for months the way he talked about her." The woman looked down, a smile on her face. "Though, she said yes nearly a month later when he asked again. They had been mailing back and forth the whole time he had been gone. She once told me she knew he was the one on the first date they went on, but had to be sure those thoughts were real and she wasn't just hyping up the idea of him when he was gone."

"A match made in heaven then, huh."

Riza looked up, catching the way Al's eyes seemed to water for a moment.

"I still can't believe he's gone...They're a good family, good people. I miss him."

A nod. "Yes, they are. And I do too."

Again the two sat in silence, but this time far more comfortable than the first. It was a respectful quiet, a remembrance of what all had been lost.

Riza broke it first, desperate for some way to lighten the mood - the boy had enough to think about as it was. "How is Ed doing? Is he on the mend, too?"

Alphonse nodded, taking the topic change under his wing. "He is, though not nearly as well as he could be."

A raised eyebrow. "In what way?"

The young teen rolled his eyes, leaning back into his pillows and pulling the wrap closer as he crossed his arms - it was truly amazing how much he could manage to look like his brother. "Oh, you know, just the usual: running himself into the ground again because he thinks it'll get him faster results. He's just going to hurt himself more." The boy shook his head fondly, giving a huff that was more entertained than disappointed, "He's a lost cause - he'll never change."

"Even now?" Riza smirked. "You'd think after all that's happened, he'd at least have settled down some. Though, I can hardly say I'm surprised." Her voice lowered slightly, finally asking the question that had been on her mind since she got here: "How is he really? Now that he doesn't have his Alchemy, I mean. It was such an integral part of him, I don't think I can even begin to imagine him without it-"

"No, neither can I," Al responded, his voice equally quiet - weighed down like it was a heavy burden to carry, "and I've actually seen him."

The woman's face fell at Al's response. "That bad, huh?"

Alphonse shrugged, suddenly very interested in the woven pattern of one of the blankets on his lap. He ran his hand across the strands with the most gentle of touches, and - despite any attempt made otherwise - Riza could see his hands shaking. "He's taking it really well, actually. But...I don't know. Brother is different, but the same, if that makes sense? He's himself, but he's...not? I don't know." The boy let out a disgruntled huff, obviously disappointed the words would not come easily to him. "Ed has always been an alchemist - I can't remember a time when he wasn't. He's always been amazing, gifted even, since we were kids."

"You still are kids," the Lieutenant interjected, giving a sly smirk as Al gave a small snort.

"Well, yeah, technically I suppose. Though it hardly feels like it anymore."

Riza's smile faltered slightly. He was right, he and his brother had hardly been allowed to be children since they were barely in their double digits. They had gone through so much...too much. They had been through things kids should never have to deal with, yet somehow they handled it with far more grace than some three times their age could have.

"He's been amazing since we were really little," he addended. His hands fidgeted more forcefully, more quickly, "It's always been a part of him - it's a part of his identity, really. He's always held that part of himself like a badge of honor, and-"

A sharp intake of breath.

"...What if he doesn't like who he is without it? What if he hates the life he's going to lead now that it's gone? He wanted to become the greatest alchemist there ever was one day, how can he do that now? He won't be able to live out his dream, the life that he wanted so badly to live...what does he have to look forward to now that all of that is gone-" Alphonse's chest was rising too quickly, falling too quickly. He was working himself up too much, if he didn't stop hyperventilating he was going to pass out.

Riza reached out a hand, gentle yet grounding as it landed on Al's arm, the other subconsciously brushing a piece of long hair away from his face and tucking it behind his ear. "Alphonse, you need to calm down-"

"I did this," he muttered between gasps, the horror and sadness and absolute disgust he felt twisting their way across his face. "He gave that all up for me - if he hadn't wasted it on me, he could still become the greatest alchemist alive, he could still live the life he wanted to, he could still be happy," the boy's voice broke, waves of tears wracking his body, "and I'm the reason he can't be anymore-"

She pulled him close without a moment's hesitation, bringing him crashing into her as she wrapped her arms around him like a vice. She wasn't sure what to say except for soft reassurances, quiet murmurs of affection and care. Nothing could prepare her for the way she thought of these boys, the way she cared for them. She wasn't prepared for the first moment she met them, the first moment she felt her heart break and be pieced back together by their laughs and their bravery. She loved them both, dearly. They were wonderful kids, and they deserved none of this. So, she did the only thing she could think of to help: she hugged Alphonse close, and just held him as he let it all out.

Muffled sobs filled the room as Alphonse latched onto the sharpshooter like his life depended on it. Riza could feel the shoulder of her shirt begin to grow wet against her skin, but she easily let the thought slide by as more and more thoughts took its place.

How long had he been keeping this inside? Didn't he and his brother know what it would cost to bring him back? Surely he knew that none of this was his doing, that he wasn't at fault…

What felt like an eternity passed as the two sat wrapped up in eachother. Her hand brushed slowly through his hair, rubbed his back, pulled him ever closer as more sobs shook his shoulders. With as much as his muscles had atrophied, Riza was surprised by just how tightly he was able to keep hold on the back of her shirt. Fingers shaking, he squeezed the fabric in his fists even tighter, pulling her as close as he physically could be without him being directly on her lap.

It was in times like these, times of rare displays of weakness and grief, that Riza was forced to remember that these were just children. The child holding on to her was just barely a teenager - the biggest things he should have to be worried about are puberty, relationships, schoolwork. Instead, he was sitting in a hospital cot, riddled in pain as his body tried to regrow nearly half a decade of lost muscle, his mind reeling as he tried to comprehend the fact that his brother gave up the biggest thing he could think of in order to save him.

That is far more than anyone, especially a child, should have to deal with. It was obvious this had been weighing on Alphonse for some time now. With no one around who could truly understand how great a sacrifice this was, no one who realized just how scared and hurt Alphonse was to see his brother so lost and different...it wasn't hard to understand how lost and alone he felt. Riza would be damned if she didn't offer an ear and a shoulder to lean on. It was the least she could do, especially after everything the brothers had done for them.

"What if he hates me?"

The words were so quiet, so muffled and mixed into the muddled sounds of crying and sniffling that she almost didn't hear them. But, when those muffled sounds finally translated themselves into understandable words in her mind, the Lieutenant's heart broke.

Riza pulled back slowly, moving as far away as the child's grip on her would allow before peering down and wiping some of the wetness from the huddled figure's face. "Alphonse, look at me."

The boy's hesitated for a moment before cautiously meeting her gaze, staggered hiccups and salty tears continuing to shudder through his skeletal form.

"Alphonse, your brother does not hate you. Nor does he even have the capacity to," Al curled into himself a little once more, but Riza pulled him back up, forcing him to keep his eyes on her. "Edward knew what he had to do, and he did it willingly and completely of his own volition. If he didn't want to, he could have left without giving anything up. Your body and soul would stay at the gate, and he would still have his Alchemy. But if he did, you would be gone, Alphonse. All of this, everything the two of you have worked towards for the past four and a half years would have been for nothing. And everyone, everyone knows just how uninterested Edward is in a life without you. If he had to, he would give up everything he had to know that you were safe and alive and whole again. You know that, don't you?"

A sniffling nod. "B-but he wo-won't be happy-"

"He's ecstatic that you're back, Alphonse. He wouldn't have it any other way."

"B-but I'm not even myself anymore! I-I-I'm a husk of who I once was, I may nev-never get back to w-who I used to be-"

"Then you'll get through it together." Riza leaned forward again, cupping Al's face in her hands and placing her forehead against his. His skin was soft, smooth. He smelled like dew and the morning air when the sun rises just right. Without Ed's sacrifice, Riza would never know those things.

"He wants you here, Alphonse, with him. He needs you by his side far more than he ever needed his Alchemy. You are his power now, you are the future he has to look forward to. He gets to see you grow older with him, gets to see you become what you want to be and to live the life you want to lead. And that life? That's the life I'm sure he wants too, more than anything. Besides," she pulled back, wiping another stray tear from his cheek before ruffling his hair fondly, "you and I both know Ed will find a way to become the best alchemist in the world anyway, even without his Alchemy."

Al laughed wetly, scrubbing his face with the back of his hand. "Yeah, rules don't really apply to him, do they?"

"Not in the slightest."

They chuckled for a moment as Alphonse regained control of his breathing once more. His face was flushed, his eyes were pink and puffy, but God did he look alive. And all that mattered.

"You know you'll get better, don't you?"

A nod. "Yeah. Eventually. In all honesty, it's hard to see it sometimes, but I know I will." He grinned, his eyes flashing in a way they hadn't only moments before: there was hope behind the golden flecks. "I may not be who I want to be right now, but I will be someday soon.I know I'll get there eventually, I just need to keep moving, right?"

Riza flashed a smile of her own, her heart warming up the inside of her chest. "Right.'

The two talked for a while longer, mostly lighthearted things like the weather or what they had been reading lately. Alphonse seemed more animated than he had when she first came in. The relief he felt for just getting his worries out into the open was almost palpable in the air around them as Al filled the space with stories of the gossip he had heard from the nurses, or the trip he took outside in his wheelchair the other day: he was more like himself with every word.

"Al, I'm back! I'm so sorry that took so long, the lines were seriously insane. I guess everyone else in this damn place also wanted-oh, hey Lieutenant."

The woman turned, facing the figure who stood in the doorway as Alphonse said some soft assurances.

Edward stood taller than Riza remembered, his signature braid replaced by a ponytail at the back of his head. Purple bags hung softly underneath his eyes, a testament to his sleepless nights and days spent watching over his brother. A cup of coffee steamed slowly in his hand, a sandwich resting neatly in the other.

He moved into the room, setting his cup and meal on the side table closest to his chair. The older brother seated himself in the said seat and nodded to the lack of a wristband on Riza's exposed skin. "You finally got discharged, then?"

She nodded, standing up and adjusting her pants so they wouldn't become creased. "Yes. The Colonel is filling out the remaining paperwork as we speak, so I figured I should come and say hi before we left. Though," Riza muttered, looking at the clock in the room, "I suppose I should be getting back - I don't want to keep him waiting."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. I bet he's dying to get out of here."

"I know I am," Alphonse muttered, crossing his arms lightly as he leaned back into his pillows.

"You'll get your turn, Al," Ed assured, ruffling the younger boy's hair, "It won't be too long now."

The younger boy nodded, that spark in his eyes gleaming bright.

The way Edward looked at his brother, the way his gaze softened, the way the corners of his mouth curled up subconsciously, the way his whole body seemed to relax - there wasn't a doubt in Riza's mind that what she had said had been true:

Edward Elric didn't have a single regret for his actions. Alphonse would always be more important to him than his alchemy. Even if he never said it aloud, you could see it plain as day. He was hardly hiding it.

"I'd best be going," the Lieutenant stated, moving her way towards the door. "It was wonderful to see you both on the mend."

Alphonse smiled sweetly. "Thank you Lieutenant, it was great to see you too. Thanks for the company, and for...listening."

The older boy raised a questioning eyebrow, but didn't ask for clarification.

"You're welcome, Al. If you ever need a listening ear again, you know where to find me."

"See you, Lieutenant. Say hi to Mustang for us," Ed called out as Riza walked out the door.

She cast a smirk over her shoulder. "Of course. Have a good day, boys. Keep us updated - we're just a phone call away."

"We will!"

Riza laughed fondly to herself as she made her way down the hallway. They really were sweet boys. They'd bounce back in no time - they had each other, after all. With the two of them side-by-side, there was nothing they couldn't accomplish.

It didn't take long for her to find her way back to the main lobby, and it took her even less time to spot the raven-haired Colonel in the spot that she'd left him.

He looked up at her sudden presence, a knowing smirk on his lips. "Did you finish everything you needed to?"

She nodded.

"How are they doing?"

"They're doing well," she replied, "Alphonse has a long way to go still, but they're both still as spunky as ever. They said to say hi."

He chuckled softly in return, grunting under his breath as he pulled himself to his feet. "I expected nothing less." Roy let out a sigh, stretching carefully as he turned to his companion. "Finally finished my damned paperwork. You ready to head out?"

The woman looked around, committing the room to memory: the broken people, the busy bustling, the knitted together community - everyone banded together by a shared disaster.

"Yes, Sir."

AN: Heya folks! Sorry it's been a little bit, this chapter just kept getting longer and longer...oops. Again, please let me know if you have any prompt ideas for me! I've got a couple planned still, and I've got another chapter mostly written.

Would any of you be interested in a chapter focused on Alphonse's physical therapy? I have a chapter I could post in the meantime, but chronologically the physical therapy chapter should be the next one. Though, I don't really need to keep it in chronological order since these are mostly supposed to be a lot of one shots anyway. Please let me know what you guys would prefer, either by PM or by commenting below.

Thanks for reading! I'll post again soon~