"Riza?"

The blonde was fast asleep in her seat, her child cradled gently in her arms and propped safely in her lap. Roy had woken up somewhere in the middle of the train ride and saw that she'd fallen to sleep and tried to pry the baby from her hands. Not only did this wake Riza up at the time, it also earned him quite the nasty glare. He gave her a blanket in penance for waking her and then left her to her own devices. It was such a long ride that he'd fallen asleep again as well. Now, however, the train sat at the station, the conductor having just impatiently informed them that if they planned on getting off of the train, they needed to do it now.

It took less than three seconds for Riza to process that she was being spoken to; one to hear it, another to process it, and by the third she was wide awake if not slightly dazed. Stretching her shoulders uncomfortably, she started to stand and tried not to disturb the sleeping bundle in her arms. As he was never one to pass up such an opportunity, he scooped the child from Riza as soon as she stood. Her eyes widened, hands turning almost uncomfortably as she reached to take the child back.

Like a five year old arguing for his toy and keeping it from another, Roy took half a step back and a good three steps away, the gap between himself and Riza just enough so that she couldn't grab for the newborn. "Your arms are so stiff they're still bent—look at that," Roy declared, gesturing his head slightly to her elbows, pleased to see that he was correct in his assertion. "I'll carry her for a little while."

"But—"

"Don't argue with me," he snapped, carefully cradling the child in his right arm as he swung the shoulder strap of one bag over his shoulder. Riza stood on tiptoe to grab the remaining small bag and followed Roy silently out of the compartment and he was almost certain she was shooting a glare at his back.

He was careful maneuvering the steep steps off of the train, tucking his elbows in to guard the pink and fluffy bundle in his arms before moving aside to give Riza to pass. Roy caught her involuntary shiver at the chill in the air and tried not to be surprised when a pair of gloved hands appeared directly in his line of vision, fussing with the newborn's blanket.

"Keep her warm."

"She's fine," Roy replied defensively.

Riza puffed, still tugging at the blanket. "She's shivering."

"No she's not, that's me."

"Well button your coat," she murmured, "and make sure she doesn't catch cold."

Without a word of argument, he tucked the baby just a little bit closer to his chest and wrapped the excess of his coat around the blanket. Glancing up at the overcast sky, he wondered if it was going to rain—or snow—within the next day, and was certain he saw Riza tug her coat tighter around herself with a shiver.

"Miss Hawkeye, Mister Mustang."

Riza's head snapped up, meeting the dark gaze of the female alchemist, arms crossed over her chest. Sitting on a bench, Izumi Curtis looked relatively irritated, a fact made only slightly more intimidating with Sig looming behind her. Without thinking about it, Roy handed over the child; Riza was moving towards him to take her.

"Mister and Misses Curtis."

If ever there was a situation where tension was tangible, Roy was certain he was currently in it. Riza's gaze was fixated on her child's face, and Izumi was watching the new mother with a hesitant expectation. What the woman was expecting, he wasn't sure. He counted the seconds that passed, and then proceeded to minutes as they ticked by slowly. The two women remained unnaturally still, caught in whatever thoughts they were in. His gaze caught the other man's, and they exchanged a similar look of confusion; Sig coughed.

Riza looked up, snapped from her reverie. Roy could see her squaring her shoulders, straightening her spine, her jaw set and gaze distant—a soldier preparing herself for battle. The thought renewed his discomfort. He could've counted out the beat to her footsteps before she even started walking; he knew it was going to be a precise militaristic march and was correct in his assumption as Riza approached the other woman.

It was clear that Izumi wasn't certain what to expect of the woman. Riza hesitantly stood beside the female alchemist on the bench, rearranging the blanket around her child and running her fingers gently across the girl's cheek. The blonde held her breath as she gently placed the child in Izumi's expectant arms. "T…thank you."

That was it; as soon as the 'exchange' was made, Riza retreated, her expression unreadable as she returned to Roy's side. She kept her mouth firmly clamped shut as she picked up her bag, back to the new parents of her child, looking at the train that had just left them behind.

"You must be tired," Sig suggested quietly, his large hand against his wife's shoulder. "Come have lunch and some tea."

Riza turned, "No, we couldn't impo—"

Roy gripped her shoulder, just a shade more than gently, and finished for her, "thanks for the offer; the next train back to Central isn't for a few hours…"

It was still powerfully awkward in the sitting room at the Curtis' home, Izumi trying to calm the screaming newborn with Riza standing with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Roy had gone off to try and help prepare lunch and tea, though he knew he had no place in the kitchen. At some point, the two men accepted that this was a situation they best get themselves out of as quickly as possible.

For the third time in the past ten minutes, Izumi tried to give the baby a bottle, which the girl would turn her face away from and continue to wail. Grumbling, she went through the motions of checking everything else—clean diaper, warm enough, no temperature. She was certain that the baby was hungry, but she wouldn't take the bottle.

"You've been breastfeeding her?"

The question was asked softly, and it was surprising that Riza even heard. She nodded. "The doctor suggested it."

"She's clearly not interested in having a bottle," Izumi replied.

"Yes but if I—"

"She can learn, especially after you've gone. But for now, I think the best thing to do would be to humor her." With only the slightest amount of hesitance, Izumi gingerly settled the baby girl in her birthmother's arms, and guided them to the chair.

"You're sure?" Riza still seemed hesitant. Izumi was trying to figure out if it was really a genuine concern that the newborn would learn not to feed from her mother or if it was fear that if Riza continued the intimate ritual with her child she'd not be able to leave. "Positive."

As it was another woman in the room, the blonde didn't hesitate to undo the top few buttons of her blouse; as soon as the baby was feeding the screaming stopped, and both women let out an audible sigh of relief. It was almost ten minutes till the girl was satiated, and finally lulled to sleep. Rearranging herself, Riza cast her gaze to the floor and went to hand the girl back to her legal mother.

"Thank you," Izumi said quietly, taking the now sleeping bundle into her arms and sitting beside Riza.

For just a few moments, the tension had eased between the two respective mothers. They were simply two mothers in different roles, one with the rights as birthmother and the other as an adoptive mother; sharing the common situation of a screaming newborn baby.

Riza swallowed, her eyes focused on a crack in the dark wooden floor, hands folded in her lap. "Have you chosen a name?"

Izumi glanced up. "We've had some ideas, but it didn't seem right to make a decision without your input."

"I have no say in what you choose to name her," Riza replied quietly.

"Not legally," Izumi admitted, "but as far as I'm concerned, you could name her yourself with no input on my behalf."

The blonde considered this, her hands so tightly folded that her knuckles were turning white. "What have you considered?"

"My mother's name was Theresa—when you told us it was a girl, that was the first name that came to mind. We considered the Elric's mother's name but it never quite sat right. The only other girl's name we considered was Sarah." Rattling off a list of baby names to one another almost felt natural. Almost.

"Theresa is a beautiful name," Riza murmured, nodding slightly in agreement.

For a few moments, it was quiet once again. Tense. "What was your mother's name?"

Riza glanced up, the smile on her face just slightly nervous, "Aya."

"Theresa Aya Curtis," Izumi said softly, smoothing soft yellow curls from the newly-named Theresa's face. "She looks a lot like you, you know."

Again, Riza nodded. "Roy's told me the same thing."

Theresa murmured something in her sleep, turning slightly in her blanket. Two pairs of eyes watched the little girl fuss a bit as she napped; occasionally sharing a knowing look of amusement on sometimes concern when it seemed that their charge might wake. Riza would smooth the blanket or gently touch the girl's shoulder; Izumi would carefully smooth hairs on the girl's head or sometimes adjust the way she held her.

From their vantage point from the kitchen, Roy and Sig made a wordless though unanimous decision to leave the two mothers alone.

Disclaimer: Don't own FMA

Notes: OH MY GOSH, this chapter was so awkward that I felt awkward just writing it. It was so hard to figure out how Izumi and Riza would respond to one another, what they would say (and what they wouldn't say). But this is what I've got. It's a little over 3 pages.

I'm so sorry that it's taken so long to get this up...I should be studying for my physiology exam but...I wrote this instead. Enjoy!