Cold
First came the coughing, then the snot, and finally the crying. Roy rubbed his eyes as he tried to remember the last time he'd gotten a full night's sleep. Scratch that, the last time either of them got a full night's sleep. As he sat at the kitchen table, a half drank cup of coffee in his hand, he listened to the restless movements above his head where the nursery was. Riza was still in there, attempting to soothe their three month old daughter. For a week now, the baby had been sick. The doctor had said not to worry about it, that she'd get better with the medicine in a short while.
That short while couldn't come soon enough.
After another thirty minutes of screaming, crying, and soft footsteps, Riza could be heard making her way downstairs. She stopped in the doorway for a moment and they looked at one another. Roy noted how tired she looked, nothing like the straight forward, stern military officer he'd known for years, but more like what she was now, a worn out, overstressed mother.
"She's finally asleep," Riza sighed, breaking the silence and causing Roy to blink.
"Child's got a set of Elric lungs, there something you need to tell me?" Roy quipped as he stood up and poured a fresh cup of coffee for her, motioning for her to sit.
"No, she's too whiny to be an Elric," Riza smirked before taking the cup.
Scowling, Roy handed her the cup of steaming liquid.
Riza took the cup, wrapping her long fingers around smooth circumference and inhaling deeply before making her way to the table. Sitting, she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Roy wondered if, in all her years in the military, she had ever met up with something this stressful and difficult to deal with. It wasn't like she could take out her sidearm and threaten the ill infant, expecting her to quiet down.
"Roy, I don't know how I'm going to survive this…" Riza whispered, instantly making him realize just how tired she really was.
"Go to Gracia's place and get some rest… I'll call the office and let them know I'm not coming in today. They can survive one day without the two of us," Roy suggested, setting one hand on her shoulder, Riza reached up and wrapped her own hand about his.
Sighing, she nodded her head, long blond hair falling down around her shoulders as she did so. Even like this, Roy was astounded by her beauty. There was no denying why she had drawn him for so many years.
"Are you certain you can handle her alone?" Riza asked seriously, her tired eyes boring into his.
"I'm the Flame Alchemist, I've taken on terrorists, serial killers, military corruption, and a pint-sized, hot headed alchemist. I think I can handle one baby for one day!" Roy laughed, not really feeling the confidence he was displaying. Truth be told, he'd not been alone with Mae for more than ten minutes since her birth.
There was little doubt that Riza didn't really believe him, but she acquiesced anyway. Roy got the distinct feeling that she was at the end of her rope and could take no more tonight.
Watching as Riza walked down the porch steps, heading for the sidewalk that ran parallel to their front yard, Roy considered the fact that he had just volunteered to spend the entire day alone with a sick baby. He also considered the fact that he'd only changed two diapers since the child had come home from the hospital. Riza had been appalled by his diapering skills and had promptly taken over the chore. Some part of him hoped Mae would stay asleep for the rest of the day.
Of course, that couldn't be.
Before Roy closed the door, a loud caterwauling cry echoed from the upstairs. Mae had woken up and she was not in a good mood. Perhaps he could change that, showing Riza once and for all that he was not 'useless'.
Carrying a squalling Mae downstairs, Roy resisted the urge to run his hand through his messed up hair again. It already looked like he'd just gotten out of bed, instead of having been ready for work not twenty minutes earlier. Mae resisted everything he did to calm her down; rocking, rubbing her back, even singing (though that was done badly and he didn't blame her for screaming louder). After checking her diaper (dry), he decided it was time to try feeding her.
Roy balanced Mae on his hip as he opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a pre-made bottle. With a furtive glance, he decided there was no way he was going to be able to light the stove while holding his daughter, but he didn't want to set her down either. She had finally started to calm down slightly, watching him closely as he prepared himself to feed her.
Growling, Roy lifted the bottle and looked from it to the stovetop to the box of matches beside the stovetop to the infant in the crook of his left arm. Unless he grew a third arm suddenly, there was no way to do this without setting Mae down. Which was not happening.
"Okay, you're not the Flame Alchemist for nothing," Roy muttered, setting the bottle down in a pan that sat on the stovetop, something that Riza left out at all times.
Once that was done, he slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out one of his gloves with the array stitched on the outside. It took some time to get the glove on with only one free hand, but he'd trained himself to handle different situations. True, this wasn't the 'normal' situation of a soldier, but being able to adjust was a very important skill for a soldier.
"Well, Mae, looks like you're going to get to see what your old man can do," Roy twitched when he realized what he had just said, but shook it off.
Holding his right hand up, glove donned, he slid his thumb and forefinger together. As the array activated, he snapped his fingers, producing a spark. Smirking, he watched as the flame enveloped the bottle, but that feeling of accomplishment was quickly replaced by dread.
Even as Mae began giggling wildly - interspersed with coughing and hacking - Roy ducked for cover. The bottle shot straight into the air, bursting as it hit the ceiling. Roy felt warm milk running down his neck, soaking the back of his uniform jacket, and coating his hair. The milk dripped from the ceiling as he dared to look up. What he saw caused him to fight laughter himself.
Only half of the bottle was visible, as the top was embedded in the tiles of the ceiling. The bottom half of the bottle was broken, the milk splattered all over the stove, the floor, the walls, and Roy himself. Mae was unscathed and in a fit of hysterical laughter as she reached up toward to destroyed bottle.
"…Good thing you'll never remember this," Roy muttered as he watched the bottle begin to slide out of the tile. Stepping back, he avoided being hit by the bottle as it fell to the floor with a crash. Glass scattered throughout the kitchen, crunching beneath his boots as he made his way back to the refrigerator.
A fit of coughing caught Roy's attention as he pulled out a second bottle. Mae's face was bright red as she tried to catch her breath, making his own breath catch in his throat. Lifting her to his shoulder, he patted her back and whispered calmly in her ear, though he felt like running around in circles, screaming for help.
The fit passed and Mae immediately began screaming again, her hands waved in the air as she screwed her face up and large tears slid down her chubby cheeks. At this, Roy's heart broke.
"Hey there, it's okay," Roy murmured, realizing that, even a year ago, he'd never consider sounding like this, not even with Riza. There was something about a baby that made you change, something that wasn't tangible, but was definitely there.
As soon as Mae was calmed to a bearable point, Roy set her down in the high chair that sat near the table, luckily this had been spared the majority of the milk.
After lighting the fire beneath the pan, Roy glanced to the right. Sitting on the countertop, right where Riza had left it, was Mae's medicine. The bottle had an eyedropper built into the lid. Sighing, he realized that he needed to give the girl her medicine. This was a thing he'd rather not do. The medicine apparently tasted just as bad as it smelled and Mae was one stubborn child when she didn't want to do something. Especially when it involved something going into her mouth.
"Riza… I hope you're better tomorrow, because I don't think I can do this another day without you," Roy muttered, something he'd been doing a lot of lately, as he picked up the medicine and looked it over for a moment.
It wasn't lost on him that he was already missing his wife's presence and he'd only been alone with his daughter for half an hour.
Mae ate greedily enough, burping loudly as Roy patted her back. Feeling a sense of adolescent humor at the noise, he prepared himself to give the girl her medicine. If he managed to get it into her mouth, it would be a small miracle in and of itself. As it was, he could barely get the lid/eye dropper open. Whoever had developed child-proof lids should be shot. He had a feeling that, given the chance, Mae would have the lid off in seconds, and she was only three months old!
When Roy finally got the lid off and filled the eye dropper, Mae was watching him with a look of loathing. Normally Riza got to be the bad guy when it came to their daughter, unfortunately, today it was his turn. He was starting to wish he'd convinced Riza to stay long enough to give Mae her medicine.
Sighing, he cursed his own folly before smiling down at the baby in his arms. He'd never realized the looks a three month old could give, if looks could kill, he'd be a pile of ash at the moment.
"Come on Mae Rose, it'll make you feel better," Roy coaxed, bringing the dropper the girl's mouth. Mae's lips became thing light lines she closed them so tightly.
Twenty minutes, three spit ups, and many tears (mostly Roy's own) later, Mae was lying on the floor bundled up in a blanket, her eyes growing heavy. Roy laid beside her, his uniform front splattered with the horrendous smelling medicine, breathing deeply as he tried to calm his racing heart. The competition between himself and Fullmetal had been less stressful!
Looking to his right, he saw that Mae was finally asleep, a peaceful look on her face as she dreamed her little dreams. Roy hoped she never had a reason to have nightmares, never saw the horror of the world, that she would stay this innocent forever, that the worst thing that ever happened was being forced to swallow some medicine that made even his stomach turn over.
He rolled over onto his side and brushed a hand down Mae's smooth cheek. A small smile graced his lips as he watched her sleep. Gently, Roy sat up and lifted his tiny daughter into his arms, kissing her on the forehead before standing and carrying her toward the stairs. Before he'd made it halfway up, however, Mae gave a haggard cough and, for the third time that day, there was something splattered over his uniform jacket.
As Mae slept, Roy cleaned. After changing out of his uniform, which was set out for dry cleaning, since he doubted Riza wanted to try and clean it up, he'd attempted to brush the dried milk from his hair. He was afraid to take a shower, in case Mae should wake up and he didn't hear her. The kitchen was a hopeless mess, the most that Roy did was sweep up the glass and wiped down the table and counter.
Once that was done, he walked into the family room and settled down on the couch, lifting the handset from the phone that sat upon the coffee table. With everything that had happened, he'd never gotten the chance to call in at work. Though he doubted anyone would say anything if the General didn't show up one day out of the week.
"Fuhrer Grumann's office please," Roy directed the operator, ignoring the telltale clicks and static of others listening to the conversations going on. He knew that there were people listening in on the Fuhrer's phone calls, in case there should be any threats dispensed.
Moments later he was connected with the Fuhrer's secretary who demanded to know who was calling the Fuhrer from an outside line. Roy did his best not to snap at the woman, she was just doing her job after all.
After ten minutes, Roy finally got it through the woman's head that he was, in fact, General Roy Mustang.
When he finally got Grumann, he breathed a sigh of relief, keeping one ear open for Mae the entire time. Surely her great-grandfather would understand if he was suddenly speaking to nothing but air. However, he did not have to test that idea.
"Roy, is something wrong?" Grumann greeted him like family instead of personnel, meaning Riza had most likely already called in for him from Gracia's house.
"No, I just wanted to let you know why I failed to appear this morning," Roy explained calmly, still glancing furtively at the stairs.
"Riza let me know. How is my great-granddaughter?" there was a laugh in Grumann's voice as he asked. Roy frowned, getting the distinct feeling that he was being picked on.
"She's fine, sleeping now," Roy responded, ignoring the unspoken laughter. It was one thing for Riza to say something to the man, another thing all together for him to do so.
"You're coming to the end of it. She'll be better before you know it and then you'll wonder what you were ever worried about," Grumann commented in a knowing voice. Roy found himself wondering when that would actually happen, after everything he'd been through just this morning.
"Let's hope so, I have found myself missing Fullmetal's temper tantrums as opposed to dealing with an ill baby," Roy deadpanned.
His emotionless comment was not lost on Grumann who actually had the audacity to chuckle at Roy's obvious discomfiture. Fighting the urge to growl at the older man, Roy settled for scowling silently.
"You may want to watch wishing for such things, Roy, when she's older and has Riza's temper, you'll be missing these days," Grumann's voice was serious, even though there was still a hint of laughter hidden behind the words.
"Don't remind me," Roy spat, sighing as a whimper followed by a cough reached his finely tuned ears.
The day progressed in much the same way. Roy seemed to spend as much time cleaning (not all that well) as he did trying to calm a miserable infant. At least his own weariness had made him immune to the diapers. That was one good thing to come of this day.
As evening approached, Roy came to realize that there were fewer and fewer coughing fits and more sleeping from Mae. She was eating better and spitting up less (his shirts appreciated this). By that night, Mae was breathing easier and he was able to sit down to eat. He'd not realized just how hungry he was until it was six in the evening and his stomach began to growl quite loudly.
While Mae laid upon the floor on a thick blanket, Roy sat on the couch and ate, watching her from the corner of his eye. Mae laid there, her brown eyes following dust motes and light spots above her. Everything seemed to fascinate her, until she yawned wildly and stretched her arms convulsively.
It seemed the yawn was contagious, as Roy joined her in doing so. This was not lost on Mae who promptly turned her attention to him and smiled, moving her arms about without any since of control.
Roy lifted her into his arms and settled back onto the couch, messing with her fingers and toes, to her utter delight.
As the front door swung open, light spilled in from the porch light, silhouetting the figure standing there. Brown eyes swept the front room, looking for any signs of the house collapsing from her day out. Nothing seemed amiss, everything was in its proper place, the walls were still standing, the ceiling was not caving in, and there was no sign of a fire anywhere.
Instead of feeling better about it, Riza felt a pit form in her stomach. There was something wrong when the house was still standing and Mae was silent. Closing the door, she walked into the kitchen, sighing in relief when she saw the dried milk that still covered the table, floor, and counter. Shaking her head, she looked at the ceiling, noticing the hole immediately. She had to suppress the urge to laugh. This was more like it.
Removing her jacket, Riza walked back into the hallway and placed it in the closet before making her way to the stairs. Instead of going up them, however, she turned and walked into the family room. A soft snore emitted from the couch and she noticed a pair of feet hanging over one armrest. Coming to stand behind the couch, she caught herself smiling instantly.
Laying on the couch, which was too short for him in the first place, was Roy. His feet hung off the end while his head was supported by the other armrest. Laying on his chest, his right arm slung protectively around her, was Mae. Her fists were curled up in his shirt, holding onto the cloth tightly as she slept peacefully for the first time in a long time.
Suddenly, the sense of dread she'd felt since leaving the house that morning was gone. It seemed Roy could handle Mae on his own. It had been hard admitting that she needed help when it came to their daughter, but it had been even harder admitting that Roy could handle the girl on his own. There had been a lot of fears involved. But, he'd proven her wrong, again.
Throwing a blanket across the two forms on the couch, Riza smiled and sighed in relief. Perhaps this 'family' thing would work after all.