EDITED: JANUARY 30, 2018

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Chapter 3: Moeder

Riza looked up from the book she was reading when the door opened, her tired eyes registering the presence of a man wearing a doctor's coat. On the other side of the room by the window, she could see her commanding officer turn towards the newcomer.

The doctor looked fairly pleased when he saw that they were both awake and stepped further into the room without being invited in. "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Mustang," he chimed, his glasses glistening and partially hiding his bright blue eyes.

It was Roy who responded to the man's greeting, "Good morning," he started but then faltered when he realized he didn't recognize the man. "Doctor?"

"Ah, I'm sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Anthony Geller, your attending physician." A sheepish grin appeared on his face and Riza thought he looked remarkably young to be a doctor already.

They finished the introductions quickly and the doctor proceeded to do what he came to do. He briefed Roy and Riza on the status of their injuries and determined that they may be discharged from the hospital sooner than expected.

"Everything is healing nice and well," Doctor Geller remarked as he finished prodding on Roy's abused ribs and changing Roy's bandages. "Just don't forget to change the bandages regularly and to contact me when you feel any sort of discomfort or pain around that bump on your head, Mr. Mustang." He straightened up and gathered his medical supplies and transferred them to the table next to Riza's bed as it was her turn to be examined.

She moved the sheets aside so the doctor will be able to check on her broken legs. In the corner of her eyes she could see Roy gingerly step towards her and when he reached the foot of her bed, he let out an exhausted sigh and plopped down.

"So, how are you feeling, Mrs. Mustang?" he queried as he grabbed the clipboard attached to her bed. "Your injuries are significantly worse than your husband's, so your legs may need a couple of months before they are back to being a hundred percent." He thumbed through the information written by the other doctors who attended to them. "I'm going to prescribe you some painkillers just in- oh…"

"What?" Roy gave the poor doctor a sharp stare. "What is it?"

Doctor Geller looked up from the clipboard with a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his neck. "I guess I'll have to consult with Mrs. Mustang's OBGYN before prescribing her with any medications."

She and Roy looked at each other then, confusion marring their features. Did the accident cause any damage to her female bits and that's why Doctor Geller wants to bring her OBGYN to the case?

"Erm…" she cleared her throat awkwardly. "May I ask what for?"

The doctor's eyes widened in realization – of what, Riza and Roy aren't sure. "Oh, so this is news to you as well, I assume!" He proceeded to write a couple of notes on the clipboard before replacing it at the foot of Riza's bed. "I believe congratulations are in order. You are five weeks pregnant, Mrs. Mustang!"

Riza blinked for a few times, looking up at the smiling young doctor. Then she shifted her gaze to her superior officer to find him looking as shell-shocked as she felt.

Pregnant.

In her twenty-nine years of existence, she had already abandoned the thought of having her own family and dedicated her time and effort to the military instead. Her teenage shelf would have entertained the idea of being a mother and wife but Ishval changed her perspectives and beliefs.

Why would she deserve to bring a child to the world when she helped destroy more than a thousand children's lives during the war? Did this world not know that she once gunned down an innocent child all because he was Ishvalan and she Amestrian? Was this world's definition of 'mother material' twisted?

And she couldn't possibly have a child with Roy! If, in this world, she and Roy were married, then she's certain that he's the father to this baby. If the higher-ups get wind of this, surely Roy's chances of climbing up the brass will be ruined.

Thoughts of court martial, dishonorable discharge and public humiliation swirled around in her mind. Years of hard work would have been for nothing, just because this weird, twisted world wanted to play around with them.

"Erm…" Doctor Geller coughed when the both of them didn't respond. "As I said earlier, seeing as everything is fine, I'm giving you the clear as soon as your insurance paperwork is finished. You can visit the kids in the pediatric ward after this. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to see their parents after the accident."

The doctor seemed to have just noticed the thick tension in the room and high-balled it out quickly. The door slammed shut and the two military officers were, once again, left alone.

Roy was the first one to break the silence. "I must say, this prank has become even more elaborate," he pointed out, his eyes never leaving her slouched form. "These versions of ourselves have clearly been busy. Apparently, we have at least one child that was with us when the 'accident' happened. And now," his gaze pointedly directed towards her flat stomach. "Now, we have one more on the way."

Her hands instinctively clasped over her stomach protectively, as if to hide from his intense stare. "There is absolutely no way for this to be real, General. We… We've never…" she struggled with the words and the implications of those words.

Mustang just hmm-ed and slowly rose from his seat on her bed. "Why don't we just play along for a while and see what more this prank has in store for us?" he gestured towards the wheelchair that one of the nurses left for Riza earlier. "How about we see those other children of ours?"

She shifted to the edge of the bed and slowly lowered her legs.

Play along?

This prank felt real enough, if the pain in both her legs suggested. Who could be behind all this intricate plotting? Breda? Possible, but he wouldn't dare hurt her or Roy and risk being torched while dodging several deadly bullets. And the same goes for Havoc, Feury and Falman?

Then she remembered just before she lost consciousness the other day, when Roy opened the door to his office after they returned from the meeting with Fuhrer Grumman, she saw the unmistakable red of Edward's infamous coat.

If there's anyone who would dare piss Roy Mustang off, then it was Edward Elric.

Riza felt mortified as Roy pushed her wheelchair towards the pediatric ward. Never in her whole life did she think she'd see the day completely relying on her commanding officer to move from one place to another. She prided herself in her independence and always being the one who helped others, not the other way around.

But, with both her legs broken and her body still recovering from the supposed accident, she didn't have much choice but to accept assistance however uncomfortable that made her feel.

"Riza." She heard him call her as they turned around a corner and entered the pediatric ward. The harsh white paint on the walls gave way to pastel pink and unicorns and teddy bears.

Because they had decided to play along, they opted to call each other by their first names. What kind of married couple would they be if they called each other 'General' and 'Captain'?

"Yes?"

"You seem awfully quiet. Is everything alright?" She felt him lean down and she could smell the musk of his aftershave. "Are you hurting somewhere?"

"No," she answered, peering up at him. When he frowned, she insisted. "Seriously, Roy, I'm fine."

The last time she called him by his first name was when they were teenagers, just before he went back to the military after they buried her father. That was back when harmless crushes didn't get in the way of them completing their goal. That was when there were no fraternization laws that stopped longing stares and fleeting touches.

It made her feel giddy and tingly then. Now, it left her thinking of what could have been if she just embraced the life of a countryside housewife.

They stopped in front of Room 611. "The nurse said the kids would be in here," Roy told her, his hands hesitating to push open the door. "I swear if I find out who's pranking us, I'll torch them!"

It had crossed his mind that it could be Havoc and the boys who was behind all this. This prank was a bit elaborate but that was what they had Falman for. It was highly probable seeing as this happened just as they were entering their office in Central, which he and Riza shared with Havoc, Falman, Breda and Feury. And they had access to the military headquarters which made it all easy for them. And he had heard them betting on Roy and Riza being in a relationship just a week before.

So how can he not suspect those idiots?

"Sir, err, Roy, I don't think this is a prank."

"What? Why do you-" He didn't get to finish his sentence and his mouth formed a large 'O'.

Riza's hand fell from the door knob onto her lap. Her eyes were wide as she took in the sight in front of her and Roy doing the same behind her.

Big, round gold eyes stared at her for two whole minutes before they slowly welled up in tears. Two small fists covered them before Edward bawled. The two adults remained frozen at the doorway, unsure of if what they were witnessing was reality or not.

Recovering from the initial shock, Riza wheeled herself into Edward's bedside. She patiently waited for him to calm down before she probed. This turn of events was certainly unexpected. This surely wasn't Havoc's – or the men's – doing since nobody in this world should be able to turn a fifteen-year-old boy back into a child.

It just doesn't happen.

"Edward?" Hawkeye began tentatively, peering into his face.

The boy in question tensed. "Yeah?" His voice was muffled by the pillow he had grabbed earlier.

She smiled encouragingly when he peeked out. "Can you please explain to us what is going on?"

Edward let go of the pillow, finally showing his face. His lower lip quivered as he hesitated to answer the Captain's query. "I have a booboo here…here…here…and here." He showed her the different areas in his body which had cuts and bruises of varying sizes.

Edward had definitely been turned into a toddler!

Riza reached over and brushed his shoulder-length hair away from his tear-streaked face. Her expression softened when the boy leaned in to her touch. "And can you tell me how old you are?"

Enthused by the challenging question, the young Edward perked up and started counting with his fingers. "One…two…three…fo-FOUR!" He grinned triumphantly and held up four fingers.

The captain looked at Roy but he was busy inspecting the other occupant of the room. She turned back to Edward who was playing with her hand. "Edward?" she began, deciding to address the situation. "Do you remember why we're here?"

She figured them getting transported into this world had something to do with alchemy and the Elric brothers. The unmistakable blue spark of an alchemic array being activated was the last thing she saw after all.

"Papa's car went fly fly and I saw the window go crack beside Al and then I bumped my head and then I fell asleep," the child explained and added sound effects and wide gestures. "I'm sorry, Mama. Please don't be mad."

Riza froze. Did Edward just call her 'Mama'?

She forced a gentle smile on her face despite the subtle nausea that swept over her. "Why would I be mad at you?"

Tears welled up again in Edward's eyes and his lip wobbled. "Because I fell asleep! Al also has booboos because I didn't protect him because I fell asleep!"

She was about to console the child when she heard the General walk over to them before he said, "Stop crying, shrimp. You'll wake your brother up."

Instead of his usual explosive reaction to being referred to as 'shrimp', the boy cowered and inched as close to Riza as possible. "Mama, is Papa angry with me too?"

A/N: Hello, lovies! So, I am on an editing spree. You can expect both minor and major changes in the chapters that I posted already before to fix plotholes. I suggest that you read Mom and Dad from the beginning.

Don't forget to leave a review! Thanks!

xx

Astrid