Riza never looked more beautiful than when she first woke up in the morning, when the sunlight came through the blinds and radiated off her blonde hair and warm, golden brown eyes. Especially, Roy thought, if said morning is a morning after.

"Mm…you feeling up for another round?" Roy purred, stroking Riza's hair and moving closer to her.

"You enjoyed that, huh?" Riza smirked, caressing his smooth chest.

"Oh yeah." He kissed her and pulled her closer, wanting to feel her warmth, and snuggled deeper under the covers.

She let him engulf her in a hug and nuzzled his neck. "How much did you enjoy it?"

"Riza…" She smiled and closed her eyes, basking in the sensation of his lips all over her skin and his hands massaging her back.

He sighed. "Riza, let's just stay like this forever. Let's quit the military and never leave the house. It would be perfect…"

Riza snorted. "Though you'd like everyone to believe otherwise, you do have ambitions, Roy Mustang. Remember those? The ones where you strive to become the leader of our country and restore Ishval?"

"But having sex with you is so much more fun," he pouted. Riza giggled, knowing he was only half serious.

"Well, as fun as this is," Riza tousled his bedhead playfully. "I have to get ready to go."

"Go?" Roy sounded horrified and he tightened his hold on her. "You're leaving me? All alone in a cold bed and an empty house? How could you?"

She laughed. "It's eighty something degrees in the middle of June, this bed is far from cold. And you won't be in an empty house because you have to go to headquarters today to do your favorite thing in the whole wide world."

Roy smirked. "Really? I didn't know headquarters gave out free drinks," he joked.

Riza smacked his head. "You know what I meant. There's a whole stack of Ishval papers waiting just for you. And don't even think of slacking off. I've already told the others and Grandfather to stay on you until it's done."

"But…" Roy sighed. "I thought time off meant time off, not exchanging one hard job for another."

She placed a kiss on his nose before crossing the room to get dressed. "They need all the help I can get. Besides, I know you. You can't just sit around and neither can I."

Roy snuggled deeper into the pillow. "Wanna bet?"

"Roy. Get dressed."

Roy groaned. "And just what will you be doing while I'm slaving away and missing my beautiful wife?"

"I'm taking Olivier to her doctor's appointment."

"What?!" The comical tone of Roy's voice and his expression sent Riza into a fit of giggles. "That's what you'll be doing? What the hell for?"

Riza's mouth fell open. "Because she's carrying our baby! I know you didn't forget that we're going to be parents in seven months."

"I know that, but why do you need to go with her? She's a big girl, let her go by herself. She'll probably bite your head off anyway."

"Actually, she needs someone to drive her. She doesn't have a license."

"Why not?" Roy was sulking now. It wasn't fair that Ice Bitch was getting to be with his wife instead of him.

"Because she was never in Central City long enough to get one or need one. She was only fourteen when she entered the academy. Plus her family employs drivers so she can just have them take her places."

Roy spread his arms. "Exactly! So I say again, why does she need you? I'm sure someone else can drive her."

Her smile vanished. "Roy, I want to be there. This is my child. If something's wrong, I want to know about it."

Roy walked over to her and cupped her cheek. "There won't be anything wrong. They said the procedure was a success. Everything will be fine."

"But what if it's not?" Riza's eyes flickered and her voice cracked just a tad, something only Roy would ever notice. "We lost two babies in a row, Roy. I don't think I can take losing another one."

"We won't," he insisted. When she was quiet for a moment, he tilted her chin up to make eye contact with her. "I mean it. Stop blaming yourself, it wasn't your fault."

"Every day is important in a pregnancy. I must have done something wrong. To lose one baby might have just been bad luck, but losing another one?"

Roy shook his head. "It wasn't. The doctor even said so. Nature just isn't perfect." He ran a hand through his hair, trying to think how to say what he'd been meaning to say for a while. "And Riza, please don't take this the wrong way, but I really don't think we need to have those memorials in the backyard. It's too much and it just brings back painful memories."

"They were inside my body." Riza's voice was flat and her face was stoic, the kind she used when she was trying to hide her emotions. Only Roy knew that the more emotional she was, the more unemotional she looked. "You wouldn't understand. They were alive. I felt them. There was no way in hell I was going to allow them to be flushed down the toilet or thrown out like garbage."

"All right." Roy knew better than to argue at this point. The scientist in him found it difficult to think of unborn fetuses as real people, but then he had to admit Riza was right. They had been inside her body, not his. He put his hand on her shoulder. "But don't worry. Third time's the charm. As long as Olivier doesn't screw up, you'll be holding our baby in your arms in no time. And I bet she'll be as beautiful as you."

"Or he," Riza said with a yawn. Her smile returned and she sat up, stretching. "I need to get going. I want to get her there early, she's probably nervous."

"Nervous?" Roy laughed. "General Armstrong?"

"Well, yeah. I certainly was when I went for the first time. Pregnant women have to be poked and prodded in all kinds of ways."

Roy grabbed a shirt off his dresser and flicked her with it. "Pft. Believe me, there is no way that Olivier Armstrong is nervous about a simple doctor's appointment."

Olivier Armstrong was nervous as hell about her doctor's appointment.

So nervous that she couldn't eat and hadn't slept for a moment the night before. When she'd stumbled into a hot shower that morning, her knees had almost been shaking.

Olivier hated having to go to a doctor for any reason ever. Doctors got in your private business and stabbed you with needles and insisted on knowing everything about you and seeing everything you had to offer. It almost seemed like a suspicious profession. Who would take a job where you had to touch total strangers in intimate places and ask them questions about things that were so personal? She liked the one at Briggs, but still only sought treatment if absolutely necessary. Unfortunately she'd been forced to go on Riza's recommendation this time since she needed a doctor fairly soon and wasn't familiar with any of the practices in Central. The Armstrong family doctor had gone to Ishval to treat some of the wounded.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Josephine placed her hand on Olivier's shoulder as she slipped on her shoes. "It's no trouble at all and I'm sure Lieutenant Hawkeye won't mind."

"I'm not a child. I don't need you to hold my hand and bribe me with lollipops."

"Of course not, but I can tell you're anxious and I thought maybe I could help. I did go through the exact same thing five times."

"I'm not anxious." Olivier glanced out the enormous foyer window for the fiftieth time. Still no Riza.

"Honey, you paced the floor back and forth exactly forty-three times while the servants were bringing out your breakfast. I know because I counted. And then when they brought you your breakfast, you didn't eat any."

"I'll be fine, Mother." Olivier ran a hand through her hair, shoving it out of her face. "I'll admit I don't enjoy going to the doctor, but I'll get on with it. Though to be honest, I don't think it's necessary."

"Oh, but it is. In fact, the first visit is probably the most important one you'll have."

Olivier began to pace again without realizing she was doing it. "I should have looked around for a better doctor. I don't like being stuck with this man."

Josephine raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with him? If Lieutenant Hawkeye is fond of him, he can't be that bad."

"I don't want a man looking at me like that," Olivier admitted, pushing her hair back again.

Josephine put an arm around her shoulders. "Olivier, this is one of the best obstetricians in Central. He sees hundreds of women every day and his practice has been there for years. I'm sure he'll be gentle as a lamb and that he will see you as no more than another patient."

"He'd better, or I'll make sure to bring my sword to my next appointment." A car horn beeped outside. "It's about time Riza showed up." She sighed wearily. "I'll be back as soon as I can get out of there."

"Take your time, dear. It'll all be fine, you'll see." Josephine smiled at her firstborn, watching her trudge down the long driveway.

"She looks just like I did when I was pregnant with her," she said to herself, resting her chin in her palm and smiling.

"You're going to love this doctor, Olivier. He's so friendly." Riza assured her, cruising the car into the crowded parking lot. "He actually made me look forward to going to appointments."

Olivier doubted that. Friendly people annoyed her, especially if they were doctors. "I still don't trust the idea of a male OB/GYN. Any man who says he wants to pursue a career in female anatomy must have an ulterior motive."

"You have nothing to worry about. He's funny and sweet and has a gentle touch. The first visit is a little tedious but all the ones after that are fairly short." Riza switched off the ignition and turned to Olivier with a gentle smile. "I know it sounds crazy, but you might even enjoy it. There are some exciting parts. We'll get to know the due date and you'll have your first ultrasound."

Great. Just what I've always dreamed of. "Let's just get this over with." She climbed out of the car and slammed the door, stalking towards the entrance and leaving Riza scampering to catch up with her.

Waiting rooms were horrible places. Olivier put her hands over her ears to block out the noise of screaming, obnoxious children roughhousing in the play area. There was a sizable selection of different magazines to choose from, but there were two things they all had in common: none of them were current and none of them looked interesting. The armrests of the chair she was in were so close together they almost touched her sides, there was no headrest, and the bottom was hard. She fidgeted restlessly and kept her eyes glued to the clock.

Riza looked up from her magazine. She put her hand on Olivier's shoulder. "Don't be so nervous. It'll be fine."

"I'm not nervous," she lied. She pointed to the kids. "Why are they here? "I thought this was supposed to be a doctor for adults."

Riza winced a little at Olivier's harsh tone. She had been smiling fondly at the kids a moment before. "A lot of the women who come here are mothers and they have to bring their children with them."

Olivier stared in disgust at a purple-faced boy who was screeching his head off. "I can't fathom why people want to have these brats."

Riza shrugged and returned to her magazine. "Maybe someday you'll understand."

"Humph." Olivier leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to just relax and not listen to the noise around her. She felt a hand tugging insistently on her sleeve and gripped the armrest hard. "Do you mind, Hawkeye?" She couldn't bear calling Riza by Mustang's name.

"What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything."

Olivier opened her eyes and started. The hand belonged to a little girl who was smiling up at her.

Olivier snarled. "Beat it, kid."

The little girl stood on her tiptoes and pointed to a ball resting in a corner. "Can you throw that ball for us? We need a tall person."

"No." Olivier smacked the girl's hand away. In a second, the girl was screaming at the top of her lungs, attracting the attention of everyone in the waiting room.

"Hey lady! What'd you do to my kid?" a very pregnant woman waddled over and leaned over her. Her bump was almost right in Olivier's face. "You got somethin' to say?"

Olivier stared at the bump for a second and groaned internally. In a few months that would be her. She pushed the woman away and met her glare with one of her own. "You should learn to watch your children and teach them not to disturb other people."

"Don't you tell me what to do! You have no right to hit my daughter!"

"Then how about I hit you instead?" Olivier stood up and met the woman's eyes. Riza started to shoot out of her chair when someone called, "Olivier Armstrong?" Riza practically dragged Olivier over to the nurse and into the examining room, and Olivier decided to teach the little girl a new finger gesture as she walked away.

"Here she is," Riza shoved her towards the nurse and Olivier stiffened, making a note to knock Riza's assertiveness down a few pegs.

"Doctor Dodo will be with you in just a moment. In the meantime you can come on back to his office and wait."

Olivier paused. "What did you say his name was?"

"Dr. Dodo. You know, like the extinct bird?"

"My doctor's name is Dodo? That's not very reassuring," she said, directing her chilly tone at Riza.

She shrugged. "It's just his name. I promise you he's very nice." She followed Olivier and the nurse into a big room with complicated medical equipment set up. In the middle was a large adjustable chair that was reclined all the way back.

"You can go ahead and sit down, Miss Armstrong. He'll be right in."

Riza sat in one of the chairs against the wall while Olivier settled herself uneasily in the big one. To her annoyance, her fingers were rubbing together on their own, a sure sign she was anxious.

"I remember my first visit," Riza said. "I had no idea what to expect. But luckily he breaks the ice right away and he's good about not making the intimate parts awkward."

"Intimate parts? Like what?" Olivier was secretly glad Riza had wanted to go with her. It was reassuring to know another woman would be there, even if she wasn't thrilled about a lower-ranked officer seeing her in a vulnerable state. She hated not knowing what she was getting into. On one of her trips to the library, she had started to research pregnancy and obstetrics, but the material had been so gross and gruesome even she couldn't stomach it.

Riza's tone was light. "Like when he does the Pap smear and the ultrasound. That kind of thing."

"He's doing a Pap smear?" Olivier tried to keep the apprehension out of her voice. The logical part of her knew it was a perfectly practical procedure, but the other part of her screamed that no one should be allowed to do something like that to a woman.

Riza nodded, oblivious to Olivier's inner turmoil. "Yeah, it's a standard thing for pregnant women." She smiled sympathetically. "I know, I didn't like it either. I don't think any woman does."

Olivier barely muffled a groan. Pap Smears were the worst, even when women did them. If Olivier had to choose between getting shot or getting a Pap Smear, she would have taken the bullet in a second. You could be proud of a bullet wound.

"Do you want me to leave during that part?" Riza asked. "I can come back when he starts the ultrasound."

Olivier shrugged, pretending not to care. "Do whatever you like."

Riza started to say something, but was cut off by the door opening. A tall, gawky man with orange curly hair and pale blue eyes stepped in. A waft of what smelled like onion rings sailed in with him and assaulted Olivier's nose. In fact, she was just now realizing how awful the room smelled. Like a cross between antiseptic, onion rings, and sickeningly sweet sugar. It was making her stomach churn.

"Hello there. My name is Doctor Stanley Dodo." She nearly cringed at the high pitch. How does a man have that voice? He sounded like Alphonse Elric and Catherine had a baby. But she stood up and shook his hand regardless.

"Sorry about the wait, I was just finishing up my lunch." He swiftly handed her a crinkled bag, almost shoving it in her face. So that was where the smell had come from. "Would you like some?"

Olivier didn't even have a chance to say no before the stench overpowered her. She did, however, get a good look at Dr. Dodo's dirty white shoes as whatever remained of last night's dinner came rising back up into her throat and pouring out of her mouth. Chunks of what she guessed were pineapple clung to her hair and landed on her clothing.

"So I'm guessing you're already experiencing morning sickness."

Olivier closed her eyes and moaned, holding her stomach.

This visit was not starting out well.