Three hours. Three hours, and Roy was glad that the men had hung around for two of those hours, because he was certain he would've lost his mind waiting alone for so long. Doctor Ballard herself emerged and meandered down the hall, looking a bit haggard and most definitely tired. "Roy," she said, looking at the bag stuffed with garbage curiously. Her eyes skipped to the dark bags beneath the man's eyes, and she sighed.

"Is she all right?" He almost jumped out of his seat, knocking the bag over as he stood and moved to meet the doctor halfway through the waiting room. He seemed to consider disregarding the spillage of paper before he stooped down and stuffed everything back in the bag. "Well?"

"Calm down," Ballard said gently. "She's perfectly fine. Tired, but fine. The baby as well. It's a girl, and she's quite healthy." The elderly woman's face softened as her smile grew. "And Riza is asking for you," she added.

Roy followed quietly, uncertain. He was fairly certain that Riza would be exhausted, and part of him wondered if she'd be cross from the lack of rest. Part of him wondered what her reaction to the child would be, finally being able to hold her, see her, touch her.

His question was answered as he walked into the room. Riza was sitting upright with her back resting against the bed, a small bundle of a newborn child wrapped tightly in a blanket and resting gently in the blonde's arms. The baby was squirming a bit, every now and then making little grunts of what Roy believed to be disapproval at the cold as she cuddled in her mother's arms.

Riza did look exhausted—he was sure of that. Strands of blonde hair were plastered against her forehead and neck and the bags beneath her eyes were unmistakable. Her amber eyes were focused squarely on the newborn's face, and she did not look up when he entered.

It felt as though he was disturbing some sacred scene; the look of placid contentedness on Riza's features and the soft sounds coming from the newborn. Despite all of the trouble that this little baby had caused her, Riza seemed more than pleased to hold her newborn.

"Do you want to see her?"

Her voice startled him from his thoughts, and he realized that it was Riza asking the question—Doctor Ballard had left the room already. He looked over, nodding hesitantly. Her left hand was beckoning him over towards the bed, and he walked quietly, scared of making more noise then absolutely necessary. Riza gingerly smoothed the blanket over slightly, revealing a small, plump and slightly red face.

Roy carefully fingered a few of the soft yellow curls on the little girl's face before looking back up to Riza. Instinctively, he pulled the dried strands of hair from her face and neck, smoothing it back. Her amber eyes were watching his every movement, widening in surprise when he pressed his lips to hers, his hand against her shoulder.

When he finally stepped back from her, they were both a bit short of breath and Roy beamed at her. It didn't matter if that newborn was staying here with them or not—after what had happened, the baby's mere presence had changed everything between them. "She's beautiful, Riza." He leaned back towards her, leaving another soft kiss on her cheek. "She looks just like her mother."

Doctor Ballard had insisted upon one night and most of the next day in the hospital. Her justification for this was that it was in the best interest of the newborn—which she knew that the new mother would not argue. Furthermore, Rou found that he was ordered out of the room once every two hours or so. He had made the mistake of asking why the first time and even nearly a full day later he regretted it. The image of Riza feeding her newborn, feeding her newborn in a way only she could was almost too much for his mind to handle. He hated to admit it, but as a hot-blooded male he couldn't wait for a chance to observe the feeding ritual himself. It took him a quarter hour to try and get the thought from his head.

Roy had little time to dwell on the prospect as Riza had, upon being discharged with her child, gone straight to get her bags and then the train station. In the bitter cold weather at the train station, Roy spent the half hour they spent waiting for the train trying to convince Riza that resting for a few more days would be beneficial. Not only did Riza disagree, she politely told him to drop the topic—or else.

The ride on the train was relatively quiet. Due to the poor weather and the time of the year, the train was almost empty and it was easy to find an empty compartment. Roy was positive that Riza was exhausted; her shoulders slouched slightly as she cradled the newborn and her eyes were consistently drooping closed.

"I can hold her if you'd like, Riza…I'm sure you could use some rest." Roy stretched his arms and back in preparation for the child. He tried not to think about how ridiculous he'd look holding a newborn baby girl in a pink and obscenely fluffy blanket.

Riza shook her head to try and stay awake before responding. "No…that's all right. She's comfortable where she is." To markedly display her point, she gently smoothed the blanket away from the newborn's face, revealing that the girl was sleeping soundly.

"Okay. But you need to sleep sometime and Doctor Ballard insisted that I make sure you get some rest, so let me know when you want to; I'll hold her." Roy yawned, sinking back into his seat. For nearly an hour, he watched Riza cradle the sleepy child.

The way she tended to the newborn was captivating. Hands that he knew were rough and calloused from years of gunpowder and metal moved with surprising gentleness across the child's back when she woke up and cried. The way she went about mundane baby-care tasks was almost unnerving in how easily it came to her.

As he started to nod off, he admired the contented look on Riza's features. The softness in her gaze was so unlike her in so many ways and yet looked so in place on her features. When he finally fell to sleep, he was surprised to see that Riza nodding off herself—and that her grip on the child remained perfectly steady.

Author's Notes: Do not own FMA.

I AM SO SORRY GUYS. School has been crazy--I'm taking Introduction to Human Anatomy and Introduction to Physiology and it's just been really time-consuming. Add in the Model United Nations conference and I've just had no time to write. But I'm back!

We're almost done, guys. I'm sad! I think that's partly why I've had such a hard time getting this chapter out...