EDITED: FEBRUARY 9, 2018

Chapter Four: Baba

"…the bad man chased me from my office. So I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. It was a good thing your daddy and I were training for the Central marathon during that time, or else I would have run out of energy and they would have captured me."

Roy's consciousness was just returning from a fitful sleep and he could hear a strangely familiar voice in the room. He could remember the previous day's events and still mentally cringed at the image of chibi versions of the Elric brothers looking expectantly at him with wide doe-like eyes after Edward requested that they be carried to Riza's bed.

The three of them now shared the biggest recovery room in the hospital. Riza's and Roy's beds were pushed side by side and they were flanked by the kids to form one big bed. Edward to Riza's left and Alphonse to Roy's right. Edward had stayed glued to the Captain's side ever since they first saw them and he figured that the boy got scared of him.

"...Then I ran towards a phone booth so I could call your daddy for help. I waited for the line to connect but then the signal got cut. And I could hear the footsteps of the bad man closing in," the voice continued, changing his tone as if he was telling a horror story.

Roy decided to keep his eyes closed and maybe go back to sleep. He already figured out that it was Maes Hughes' voice he was hearing. His dead bestfriend would sometimes visit him even when he's awake and with only his guilt and a bottle of whisky to accompany him. He didn't care what Makes talked about or who he blabbered to. He just wanted to hear his voice again.

Maes' voice paused at the cliffhanger and he heard a small voice gasp. And something happened that never happened during Maes' 'visits'.

"Oh no! What happened next?"

...somebody else talked.

Roy knew what exactly happened. Maes found out about the Homunculi and Envy was sent to keep him quiet. Two shots was all it took and the then Lieutenant Colonel lay on the floor of the phonebooth in a pool of his own blood.

But if Roy had been there, he would have burnt off the motherfucking Homunculi's lives until he turned into ashes.

Maes' voice chuckled as if it were normal that another voice joined in. "Well, your parents came and kicked the bad man's butt."

"For real, Uncle Maes?" It was Edward, he now realized. "What did Mama and Papa do?"

"Your mommy used her gun and shot the bad man's leg but I know if we didn't need information from him, she would have shot him in the-"

A new voice cut in. "No need to be graphic, Maes."

And now Hawkeye joins in!

In his surprise, Roy shifted to the right, away from the voices. The movement pulled on his stitches and he groaned aloud in pain. The conversation around him died instantly and he could feel three pairs of eyes on him and he slowly opened his own.

"How was your beauty sleep, Roy-boy?" Maes queried with a smirk on his face.

Roy snapped his head towards Maes' direction at the foot of Edward's bed and spent a good minute just staring at his bestfriend, a thousand thoughts running in his brilliant mind.

How could Hughes be sitting there, talking to his wife and son, when Roy himself saw his bloodied lifeless body lying in that damned phonebooth?

How could Hughes be staring back at him when he's already buried six feet deep?

How could Hughes still be alive when his ghost already haunted him in his every waking moment?

He didn't realize his body was shaking until he felt Riza's hand on his arm, and he pulled his gaze away from the other man's to look at her worried auburn orbs. "Are you alright...dear?" she asked, but he knew that she already had a complete understand of what's happening inside his head. Her grip was firm and it grounded him to reality.

This reality, at least, where he and Riza were married and free to love each other; where the young Edward and Alphonse became their sons, and; where Maes Hughes was alive and well, apparently.

He drew in a ragged breath to calm his nerves and he gave her a shaky smile. He felt her grip on his arm loosen before she drew her hand back to lightly tap on Alphonse's back as the child, he now noticed, slept in her arms with his head on the crook of Riza's neck.

He closed his eyes briefly before returning his attention to the other man in the room. "Stop talking like my aunt, Hughes."

The bespectacled man laughed. "Maybe I've been spending so much time in Chris' bar lately because a certain nephew of hers decided to get involved in politics and actually run for President."

Roy, once again, shared a look with Riza and absorbed this new piece of information. So, in this world, he was running for President...which means the government in this country is a democracy unlike the Amestris that they knew before.

With their lack of response, Maes continued being the talkative person that he was. "So, I've been telling Ed here the story of how we kicked butt during Operation: Envy." He mussed up Ed's hair, ignoring the kid's shouted protest.

With the adults' attention back on him, Edward's face lit up. "And Mama's so cool!" The blonde boy tried to get his hair back down but the strands just wanted to defy gravity that morning. He's just going to ask Mama to fix it later for him.

"Hey, Papa can be cool too!" Roy retorted playfully with a pout.

Edward pushed his bangs away from his face and blushed guiltily. "O-Of course, Papa."

Roy could see Riza reach out her hand towards him again, and felt her nudge him gently and discreetly. He could really get used to her initiating their physical contact.

"Edward, honey, go to Papa and let him fix your hair if it's bothering you," Riza gently told Edward. Her maternal instincts automatically took over with anything that concerned their 'sons' and, after some thought, he realized that she had always been some sort of a mother figure to these boys - and even to Winry – even before they were thrown into this world.

The young boy turned to his 'mother', his surprise evident in his facial expression. "B-But..." He glanced towards the older Mustang with a hopeful look that he was miserably failing to hide. "Is it okay, Papa?"

Roy pushed a snarky remark from escaping his lips, noticing how genuinely wary of him the child was. What could he have done to scare the kid so much? "Hey, it's no biggie, kid. C'mere. Papa is no hairdresser but I shall fix that bird's nest on your head."

Edward did not need to be told twice. He slowly crawled over from his bed to Roy's, stopping briefly by Riza's to peer on Alphonse's sleeping face and to kiss his Mama's cheek. He settled in front of his Papa's folded legs with his back towards the older man.

The adults talked about trivial things while Roy combed and braided Edward's hair. Growing up surrounded by many girls in Madam Christmas' bar, Roy ought to have gained certain skills in styling and make up but he wasn't about to admit that anytime soon.

They were on the topic of Elysia's ballet recital when Ed's head lolled to the side and a light snore escaped his slightly open mouth. Roy glanced at Riza and saw the soft smile form on her lips. Both Edward and Alphonse weren't able to sleep much the previous night since they woke up to the slightest sounds, fearing what children that age usually are scared of. And, in extension, both he and Hawkeye have only had a few hours of sleep between them.

Roy gently guided the child to sleep on his lap, earning a nod of approval from his subordinate. She, in turn, shifted slightly so that she could lay Alphonse on the space between them. He watched as she rolled her shoulders to ease the stiffness there and he wondered exactly how long she was carrying Al for.

"I must have tired him out," Maes commented, gesturing towards the older child and Roy's brow quirked in confusion. "I took him to the playground earlier since you two shouldn't be moving too much just yet," he explained.

Just how long has Maes been there?

He looked at Riza, engaged in a light-hearted conversation with the other man.

And why was Riza not at all affected that someone who's supposed to be dead was talking to her?

...

Sooo…not much difference, but a did add a few sentence. No major changes here though. J