Chapter 2

Notes in first chapter. A disclaimer still applies

When is a Home is not a Home?

The streets were thronged with shoppers, shoving and rushing everywhere. There were still a number of weeks to go, but the way people were behaving you would think that it was a lot less. Christmas music was blaring out of shop fronts, gaudy with over the top decorations and light displays. Roy Mustang rolled his eyes.

There was something a little bittersweet about the holiday for Roy. It was never the same, not since he lost his parents. His aunt, who raised him, had tried to make new Christmas memories for him, but the ones he tended to remember were the cinnamon biscuits he used to make with his mother and decorating the tree with his father.

This year would be different of course with Edward and Alphonse to think of. Those two boys were the reason for the large number of bags he had in his hands, bags full of tinsel, tacky Christmas baubles and fairy lights.

His home would be decorated for the first time in years. Then perhaps the boys would prefer not to decorate a tree. Roy sighed realising he probably should have asked. He could empathise with the pain that the boys were going through. After all, he remembered all too well how the first Christmas without his loved ones had felt. He wondered if he should ask his aunt how she managed to cope with him when he arrived to her, a broken, newly-orphaned kid.

He was so engrossed in thought that he didn't notice the woman running until he walked right into her. He caught her by the upper arms preventing her from falling and looked into started familiar amber eyes.

"Riza!"

"Sorry, Sir," she said.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

She looked at her watch and sighed, "Nowhere – at least not for another hour. There's no way I'll make the train now."

"Fancy a coffee?" He jerked his head to the café at the corner of the street.

She smiled, "I guess."

"At least this time you won't be serving me."

With a quirk of her eyebrow, she retorted, "The less said about that occasion the better."

The hour passed by quicker than Roy would have liked. He walked Riza to the train station, where she was taking the train to Central to meet a close friend. It transpired she lived close by, and he wondered why he had never taken the time to ask where she lived. He was surprised he had had not bumped into her before now since they were practically neighbours living only a few blocks from one another.

"Thanks for the company and the coffee," she said.

"It was my pleasure. I'll uh see you Monday then." He waved at her as she went through the barrier.

"Best of luck with the Christmas shopping," she called back over her shoulder.

"I'll need all the help I can get," he muttered to himself.

He stood there with a small smile on his face and watched her board the train. It was a pity he was her boss or he would have asked her out already. She was equally intelligent as she was beautiful with a sense of humour was delightfully dry and never failed to make him laugh. On top of that, she was hardworking, capable and always spoke her mind. What was he thinking? Of course, he didn't stand a chance even if he were to ignore the fact that he was her boss. But still his treacherous mind couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss her. He shook his head and reminded himself what he was wandering the streets for. He had much more important things to take care of other than a passing fancy. He put his hands into his pockets and braced himself for the upcoming madness.

Edward Elric walked in the door, and dropped his rucksack on the floor underneath the coat rack. He could hear laughter from the living room. Frowning, he entered the room and saw boxes of baubles and tinsel were strewn all over the room.

Roy looked up from where he was sat on the floor cross legged. "Good, you're back!"

Alphonse beamed at him , "We were waiting for you, Brother. Want to help us with the tree?"

His brother's expression was so hopeful that Edward almost wavered in his decision to remain uninvolved.

Nonetheless, Edward shook his head, "I am not interested. Christmas is for kids."

Alphonse and Roy exchanged glances and Edward felt his irritation rise. They had obviously been talking about him. Why couldn't they understand that Christmas was something that he had shared with his mother and there was no way he was going to pretend to play happy families with Roy Mustang. Sure, the man was tolerable enough but he wasn't family.

"C'mon Ed, it'll be fun," the older man said.

"No thanks." Edward plonked down on the armchair furthest away from the tree, "I'm watching television and I'd appreciate it if you would keep the noise down."

Edward grabbed the remote control and the television flickered into life. He feigned interest in the stupid reality show and sat with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

To be fair, Edward could admit to himself (if to nobody else) that the bastard was making a big effort, but that didn't change the fact that this was the last place he wanted to be. He wanted to be at home in Risembool with his Mom and Alphonse. He couldn't even spend Christmas with Winry and Granny Pinako, although Roy had promised that he would take them there during the holiday. It was something at least. Alphonse, the traitor, was lapping up the festivities and making him look even worse by comparison.

Despite himself he glanced over at Roy and Alphonse again. The older man was examining a box of fairy lights.

"Are they white fairy lights or coloured ones?" Edward cursed himself for even asking, but sometimes his mouth was disengaged from his brain.

"I got the white ones. I think less is more when it comes to Christmas decorations."

Ed snorted pointed at the various boxes, "You do subtle? Yeah right, Mustang."

He's got a point," Alphonse added, a cheeky grin on his face. "You brought six bags of decorations."

Roy shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe I went a little overboard, but I didn't know what to get and I got as many different things as I could."

"Except lights for the tree," Edward pointed out. "You decided exactly what you wanted there."

"Reminds me of my childhood, but I could pick up some coloured lights if you prefer."

Edward put his hands behind his head, stretched out his legs and put them up on the coffee table, "No skin off my nose. I was just saying."

"No feet on the table, Ed!"

"You're not my father," Edward couldn't resist reminding him.

"And it's my house," Roy snapped.

"Yeah. Yeah. And you keep on reminding us of what an act of charity you're making."

Roy rubbed the bridge on his nose, 'Ed, I didn't mean it like that."

"Sure you didn't."

"Ed, that's not fair," Al interrupted.

"Al, it's fine." Roy held up his hand. "Can you go put the pizza in the oven, please?"

Great, I'm in for a lecture. Edward rolled his eyes.

Alphonse glared at Edward as he left the room.

Roy took the armchair next to Edward, but waited for Alphonse to close the door of the living room behind him before he spoke. "Listen kid, I'm not looking for any plaudits, just a little bit of respect. I know this is hard for you. God knows I can empathise, I know what it's like to lose your parents when you're young."

"I know you're trying to make the best of things. This place is your home. It's not mine! My home is back in Resembool."

Roy's expression was pained, "I'm sorry I had to take you away from there, but it's not so bad here is it?"

"No – I suppose not. Still it's not home." Nowhere could ever be home without Mom.

The older man sighed and clapped him on the shoulder, "Life isn't fair, and it's more unfair to some than others."

Edward could feel the moisture building in his eyes and averted his gaze. He couldn't let Roy see him cry.

"I'll go check on Alphonse," Roy said.

Edward suspected that the man was doing him a kindness and giving him privacy to break down.

He didn't want to owe him, and didn't want to rely on him anymore than he already did. Still life was a bitch and didn't care what it was he wanted.

The Christmas decorations never went up after all. Edward's smart mouth had soured the mood even for Alphonse. Still as Roy had pointed out, there was no rush in preparing the house for Christmas with whole weeks left before the holiday would begin in earnest. The two boys had eaten their breakfast silently, and Roy suspected they had an argument after the sullen dinner they had shared the previous evening.

Roy walked through the hall of Eastern P.D. and headed for his desk. He could see the large pile of paperwork on his desk waiting for his signature. Eastern seemed to have a mountain of unnecessary paperwork. While there had been a lot in Central, it had nothing on the reams of red tape in Eastern. Riza was already at the desk opposite his, typing at her computer. The rest of the team were on a training day.

"Good morning, Riza."

"Morning, sir." She looked up from the computer screen. She raised an eyebrow, "You look like hell if you don't mind me saying."

He ran his hand through his already mussed hair, "Never have kids. Teenagers are hard work."

Riza smiled sympathetically, "Rough morning or night?"

"Both!"

"I'm getting a coffee." She stood up. "Do you want one?"

"Please! I take it black-"

'And unsweetened, I remember."

A soft smile played about his face as he watched her leave. She really was something else.

His cell phone started to ring and he took it from his trouser pocket.

Smiling, he answered, "Hello Pinako."

"Sorry to ring you at work, Roy," she said. "Winry forgot to tell me until morning that you rang yesterday evening."

"No matter, thanks for ringing back."

"You know I'm always here for you and those two boys."

"I think Edward and Alphonse are missing Resembool and I promised that we would visit over Christmas." Roy winced even as he said the words; He didn't mean to sound presumptuous. "Of course only if it suits. I'm sure you and Winry have lots of plans."

"Of course, we'd love to have you for dinner on New Year's Day."

Roy smiled, "That would be lovely, Pinako."

"Good." She paused before continuing, "So, what's the real reason you called?"

"I- I did call for that reason. But I suppose I had another reason too."

"Well what's that other reason then?"

"I was looking for some advice."

"Ed's finding it difficult to adjust I suspect."

"I don't know what to do. I have one boy that wants to celebrate Christmas and another who wants nothing to do with it."

He sighed heavily. He had thought he was getting somewhere with Edward, but every time that thought crossed his mind he felt like he took three steps backward for every step forward.

"Hmm, I think I can guess which is which. I really don't know what to say, Roy. It's a difficult situation for everyone. You need to believe in yourself. Those boys care about you even if they don't always show it."

"Even Ed?"

"He's scared and pushing you away. You won't help yourself by running back to Resembool every time they get restless."

"I have tried to help them settle in, let them chose their rooms, even let them pick up what they need."

"Roy, the rest is up to them. You can only do so much."

"I hope so."

The sound of footsteps alerted him to Riza's return. She walked over and pressed a mug of hot coffee in his hand. He mouthed thanks. "I'm just so new at this parenting thing. Sometimes, I feel like I'm drowning."

"Kiddo, every parent feels that way. And it will only get worse, the older they get. Your hair will go grey a lot quicker than you suspect."

"Here I was about to thank you," Roy said.

"You're very welcome. Now, I know I have work to do."

"Don't worry I have plenty to be going on with. Goodbye Pinako."

Somehow, despite her teasing words his heart felt a little lighter. He smiled as he pressed the cancel button and put his cell phone back in this pocket.

Riza's amber eyes were concerned as she looked up over her computer. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just a call from an old friend of the boys' family." Roy sighed looking at the pile of papers on the desk before him. "We're going to visit on New Year's Day."

"I'm sure Edward and Alphonse will like that."

"I'm sure they will." Roy's smile turned into a scowl when he looked down at the paperwork, "I hate this part of the job, Riza. Where do I even start?"

"One page at a time, sir."

He glared at her, but there was no heat in it. He supposed that was the best way to deal with parenting too.

Later that evening, Roy was glad to see the lights were on when he arrived home. His neighbour had dropped the boys home after school as usual.

Alphonse's head popped out the living room door, "Hey Roy!"

"Tell me you brought food, I'm starving." Edward walked down the stairs holding his stomach dramatically.

"I've got some take away," Roy said. "Come on, let's eat before it gets cold."

Edward and Alphonse shifted suspiciously and Roy narrowed his eyes.

"Can we eat in the living room?" Alphonse asked. "We'll just eat from the cartons, save on the washing up."

"Yeah," Edward added quickly, "I'll get some cutlery."

The two boys practically pushed Roy into the living room, and he gaped when he saw that the living room was decorated with hand made paper chains and red and gold tinsel. The Christmas tree was lit up with the white lights he had brought home the day before.

"So what do you think?" Edward asked.

"Wow! You both did this?"

"Yeah," Alphonse replied, a pink blush in his cheeks.

Roy shook his head disbelievingly, "These are even better than any of the crap that I bought."

He placed the brown paper bag on the coffee table and took a closer look at the tree. On closer inspection, he noticed the paper chains were not the only handmade decorations. There were some crude looking ceramic decorations in the shape of socks as well as pine cones with ribbons. Roy suspected there was a story to each and every one of these decorations.

He turned to the boys with a smile, "Well this is a nice surprise."

"We brought some of these from Resembool before we left," Alphonse explained.

Edward had his hands in his pockets and he was staring at the floor. "Some of those are a little embarrassing, but Mom used to insist on putting them up every year."

Roy inclined his head, "And it wouldn't feel right to have a Christmas tree without these."

The two boys nodded.

"I'll just go get the cutlery before the food goes cold," Ed offered.

The door slammed behind him; Roy did his best not to wince. No point in complaining about that when the evening had started so nicely. Roy grabbed three cushions and placed them on the floor.

Al took the cartons from the brown paper bag. "Mmm noodles."

The smell of the food made Roy's mouth water. Lowering himself onto one of the cushions, he chuckled, "You two have been busy."

"We still have the candy canes to add," Alphonse said. "And the paper star for the top of the tree."

Ed burst back into the room and handed the cutlery to Roy and Alphonse.

"Thanks Ed." Roy took a forkful of noodles.. "So tell me which of you two creative geniuses made the bottle cap reindeer?"

Edward pulled his coat tight around him. Even with his scarf and gloves, he was still cold. He suspected his nose was pink if his brother and Roy were anything to go by. The three were visiting the local Christmas market. The little market back in Resembool was nothing like this. At first, Edward had been reluctant to come, but Alphonse had persuaded him saying that it would be fun. There was also the chance that he might find a present for Winry and Granny Pinako. Roy had topped up their pocket money and Edward was looking forward to going on some of the amusements. The Big Wheel looked liked it would be fun, but thus far Roy had been adamant that he would be keeping his feet right on the ground where they belonged.

"C'mon Roy," Edward wheedled as they approached. "You're not afraid of a Big Wheel are you?"

Alphonse tugged on Roy's arm, "Don't be a spoilsport. It'll be fun."

"I've just eaten a burger, I have no intention of getting on that and vomiting it back up."

Edward wagged his arms and made chicken noises. "Coward!"

Roy rolled his eyes, but before he could say a word he was interrupted by Alphonse. "Look!"

He pointed up ahead and started to wave frantically, "Hey Miss Hawkeye!"

Sure enough Riza was heading in their direction with a dark haired woman. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of who was calling her. Edward suspected that his younger brother harboured a bit of a crush on the woman.

"Hi Alphonse, Edward, Roy." She turned to her dark haired friend, "This is Rebecca."

Rebecca beamed at them.

"Rebecca, Roy is my boss and these are his kids, Edward and Alphonse."

Rebecca arched a brow, "Gee, you look a bit young to have two kids this age."

"Well, I'm their guardian. They are not my biological sons."

"Thank God," Edward said. "I wouldn't like to look like you."

"I don't know I think he's kind of handsome." Rebecca smiled at him. "What do you think, Riza?"

"He could be if his hair wasn't so messy." Riza tilted her head and pursed her lips. "And his head is shaped rather oddly."

Rebecca nodded, "Like a potato."

Edward and Alphonse dissolved into laughter at Roy's crestfallen expression. "What's this Pick on Roy day?"

A still giggling Alphonse turned to Riza, "Miss Hawkeye, did you think you can convince him to get on the Big Wheel?"

Edward smirked. "Nah – he's too chicken."

"Alright, alright, I don't think I can cope with any other put downs tonight. My ego is in shreds already. I'll get on your damn Big Wheel."

Everyone survived the Big Wheel without any nasty accidents, but Edward was a little green after all the food he had eaten before the ride not that he was about to admit to it. He walked ahead with Alphonse, letting the three adults trail behind.

"Al, do you think that Miss Hawkeye and Roy like each other?"

Alphonse frowned, "I dunno. Why do you say that?"

"He smiles a lot when she's around and well they keep looking at one another when the other's not looking."

"I like her," Alphonse shrugged. "So what if he gets a girlfriend. I think he should be happy, and I think she'd be good for him."

"And what do you think is going to happen if they decide to get married and have kids of their own. They are not going to want us then."

"That's a lot of ifs, Ed. Besides, I don't think Roy would do that to us even if you can be a little shit sometimes."

Edward stuck out his tongue. "Well don't get too attached."

"I think you're worrying for nothing, Brother."

"Hey kids!" Roy called from behind.

Both boys turned around, identical scowls on their faces, "We're not kids."

Riza pointed at a little make shift café, "Hot chocolate?"

She didn't need to say it twice, both boys forgot their irritation and walked back to the adults.

"I think I'll skip the chocolatey goodness," Rebecca said. "I have a date tonight so I better get home." She turned to Alphonse and Edward, "Nice to meet you two."

"Likewise," the boys said politely.

"And I'll see you soon." Riza hugged Rebecca, who caught Roy's eye over her shoulder. "Bye Roy, I am sure I will meet you again." She winked at Riza who rolled her eyes.

Edward's stomach dropped. Rebecca clearly saw what he did. His mood soured once again and he pulled Alphonse into the tent.

"What's up, Brother?"

"Nothing." Edward narrowed his eyes as the two adults followed them inside.

Alphonse, either accepted him at his word or simply chose to ignore his mood, "Let's get a table."

Sometimes, Edward wondered how there could only be a year between he and Alphonse. His brother always seemed so naive and optimistic no matter what. Edward followed Alphonse to a table near the front and slid in beside him. Riza and Roy took the other side of the table.

"So my treat everyone," Roy said. "What do you want?"

"White chocolate!" Alphonse licked his lips.

"That sounds nice," Riza said. "I'll have the same, although I'd prefer to pay for my own."

"Nonsense – even if you were insulting me earlier."

Riza shrugged. "Well – I do fetch you coffee everyday."

"Only because you're getting your own," Roy pointed out.

"Well - Roy Mustang without his coffee in the morning is a terrible sight to behold. I'm just doing humanity a kindness."

Edward mouthed "See flirting" before he stuck out his tongue and made a gagging noise.

The sound ruined the moment; both adults had a tinge of pink on their cheeks.

With a nervous chuckle, Roy asked, "And what would you like, Ed?"

Edward knew exactly what he would like, but he said "Classic with cream and marshmallows."

Roy felt his pocket for his wallet and headed for the cash register.

Alphonse looked at Riza, "Do you live around here, Miss Hawkeye?"

"There's no need to be so formal. You can call me Riza. I actually live only a few blocks from your house."

Unable to bite his tongue any longer, Ed had to ask the question. "Are you and Roy seeing each other?"

"Ed!" Alphonse sounded appalled.

Riza's eyes widened momentarily before recovering, "Why would you ask that?"

"Well, you're the only one of his team that he talks about and we've never met other members of the team for hot chocolate."

"You should be talking to Roy about this, but the answer to your question is no."

Edward looked over at Roy, who was near the top of the queue. "You know, we used to always joke about Uncle Roy and his different girlfriend every other week."

Little wrinkles appeared on her forehead. "Is that so?"

"The thing is now with two kids in tow he doesn't have as many options to choose from."

He had to credit the woman, she showed no signs of discomfort other than her initial surprise at his question.

Alphonse kicked him on the shins, "Ed – there's no need to be so rude."

Ignoring the pain and his brother, Edward continued, "You can't honestly think you are the only one. He would flirt with any woman."

Roy chose that moment to return to the table holding a tray with the hot chocolates, "Is everything alright?"

The question was left unanswered as the trio took their hot drinks.

Roy knew something had happened when he was away from the table. You could cut the tension with a knife. The evening had been spent in good spirits until for no reason that he could fathom the mood had changed. Riza had finished her hot chocolate, but left as soon as it was finished. Although his curiosity was piqued, Roy waited until he arrived home before confronting the two boys.

The moment the three arrived back at the house, Roy ordered, "Living room now!"

Neither Alphonse nor Edward looked at him as they went into the living room.

"Sit!" Both boys obeyed, and Roy looked from one brother to the other, "Are either of you going to tell me what happened at the café?"

Edward had his arms crossed and Alphonse was biting at his lip. Roy's fists were balled at his sides.

"I'm waiting!" There was no answer. Roy took a seat in the armchair across from them, "I can stay here all night if needs be."

"Ed was rude to Miss Hawkeye." Alphonse's voice was barely more than a squeak and he moved over to the other side of the sofa, not that there was much room to put between himself and his brother.

"Fucking traitor." Edward glared at his brother.

"I'm sorry, Brother."

"There's no need to be sorry, Al," Roy assured him. "You did the responsible thing."

He turned to Edward, "Are you going to tell me what you said to her?"

"Why do you care? Is she your girlfriend or something?"

"I care, because she has been a very good friend to me." Roy fought to keep his voice even, determined not to lose his /

"You didn't answer my second question."

"No – she's not my girlfriend."

"Couldn't blame me. You two were like two dogs in heat."

Roy went to open his mouth, but he was speechless. Alphonse, on the other hand gasped for both of them.

Edward poked Alphonse in the ribs. "Remember when the stray turned up and took a fancy to Den?"

"Enough!" Roy's voice was icy cold. His eyes were narrowed and his nostrils were flaring. He was breathing deeply trying in vain to keep his temper in check. "You have no right to treat Riza like that. You can say what you like about me, but don't be rude to her!"

"Fine!" Edward stood up and walked slowly to the door.

Roy just starred, having lost complete control of the situation.

Edward's hand was on the door handle, "Fuck you! I hate you, and I hate living in this damn house."

The teen swung open the door and slammed it shut behind him.

"Get back here, Edward!"

The sound of stamping feet on the stairs and the slam of a bedroom room told Roy where he had went. At least he had not left the house. Roy gritted his teeth and went to follow him.

Alphonse caught him by the arm, "Don't be so hard on him."

Looking at the boy who was visibly upset, he stopped. He sat down next to the teary eyed Alphonse on the sofa. "Maybe you're right. It might be best if we both cool down a bit."

"He doesn't mean it. He's just upset because he's afraid that if you get a girlfriend you'll forget about us."

Roy frowned, "But that's ridiculous!"

"I know, and I think that deep down Ed knows that too."

"I've really messed up, huh?" He mussed up Alphonse's hair.

"No you haven't."

"I wish I believed you, kiddo."

Alphonse averted his eyes and starred down at his lap. "Promise me you won't send us back to Resembool."

"Hey." Roy raised the boy's face to look at him. "Where did this come from?"

"Sometimes I worry when Ed is being horrible to you that you'll decide that he's right and that we belong with Winry and Granny Pinako."

"No, Alphonse!" Roy put his hand on Alphonse's shoulder. "There's nothing either of you could do that would make me send you away. This is your home too. I know it's hard and you miss your mother every day, but I'm here now and I have no intention of abandoning you. No matter what. I promise."

A cup of black, scalding coffee helped to settle Roy's nerves. As surprised as he had been at the day's events, he was glad that Alphonse had voiced his fears. The kid was always so eager to please unlike his older brother. Roy had no idea that he was harbouring such worries, and it broke Roy's heart to know that he had been keeping all of it to himself. Now, he could only hope that he could get through to Edward. He walked up the stairs towards Edward's room. There was a sound of sniffling on the other side of the door. Roy froze in the action of opening the door.

What should I do? Should I go inside? Would that make things worse? Is it my fault that he's crying?

Roy took a steadying breath and lowered himself to the floor outside the room instead. Is Edward that unhappy here? I'm sorry Trisha. How do I fix this? I have to fix this.

With a new determination, Roy knocked on the door. "Ed, can I come in?"

"No – go away!"

"Please, Ed. I'm not here to fight."

Sighing, Edward replied, "Just a minute."

After a few moments of what Roy assumed was cleaning himself up, Edward came to the door. He opened the door with a sullen look. This time Roy could see the sadness in his red rimmed eyes rather than the sullen set of his jaw.

"I'm sorry." Roy sat on the bed next to Edward.

Edward's mouth dropped open, "What?"

"I know my parenting skills leave a lot to be desired, I am trying but sometimes I fuck up."

"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean all of those things I said back there."

"I'm glad." Roy said. "Because you're going nowhere and I really like having you here even if you make me want to pull all my hair out."

Edward smiled, "Yeah – your hair's gotten grey too."

Roy's hand went to his hair, "What?"

Edward laughed, "Gotcha!"

"Brat!"

As much as Roy wanted to leave it there, he knew he had to get to the bottom of what happened earlier. "What was that about, back at the café wth Riza? I thought you liked her, Edward."

"Like her? I don't even know her." Edward's laugh was devoid of any joy. "I guess I was annoyed that what was supposed to be a family day at the market ended up with more people tagging along."

"Oh." Roy was filled with shame when he looked at it from the boy's view. "I'm sorry, Ed. That was thoughtless of me. I wasn't thinking."

Edward shrugged his shoulders, "That's how it goes. You see it all the time in movies and on television."

Roy frowned, "What do you mean?"

"No offence Roy, and I am sure you have the best of intentions, but even you forgot about us when Miss Hawkeye was around."

"I didn't forget about you, but perhaps I wasn't as attentive as I should have been."

"Does it really matter. Look I understand. You don't owe us anything."

"Edward!" Edward looked up. "Listen to me. I could no sooner forget about you two than I could my own children. You're like sons to me."

"Really?" There was a hopeful gleam in Edward's eyes.

"Really! If, and that's a big if because I've got a lot on my plate with you boys, I ever have children of my own, nothing will change."

Edward smiled sadly, "You say that now, but having your own could change things."

"I'm going to prove it to you both."

"I want to believe you, Roy, I really do."

"One step at a time, I suppose."

That was progress at least, but Roy knew he had a lot more work to do.