Riza recovered first. She massaged her temples briefly, holstering her gun, "It would appear she got away, sir." She stated, glancing to her commanding officer.

Mustang was on his knees, clutching his head painfully.

Hawkeye blinked, "Sir? Are you alright?"

Between the howling wind and the intense throbbing in his cranium, Roy barely heard her. Still, he forced himself to straighten, a shiver creeping down his spine in the effort, "I'm…fine, Lieutenant." He spoke slowly, "At…any rate…" he paused to shudder, "She... didn't get away…with the notes." He swayed dangerously as he stood, prompting Hawkeye to steady him without second thought.

His obsidian eyes met her caramel ones with a dazed stare, causing the lieutenant to frown. "Sir?"

"Forgive me…Lieutenant." He murmured; his voice almost lost in the rain, "I'm a bit… lightheaded."

Riza felt a stab of unease at his reply, but pushed it aside. "If you can wait here a moment, sir, then I'll bring the car around." She spoke stoically as ever.

"Nngh." Roy grunted, hands reaching up once more to cradle his aching head, "…What of the Elric brothers?" he asked, almost inaudibly.

Riza, who had started off, glanced over her shoulder at him. Despite the storm fairly drowning him out, she was fairly certain of what he'd asked, "They've headed back to the Eastern Command building, sir."

"Very good, Lieutenant." He shivered slightly, "Carry on then..."

Hawkeye nodded to the colonel and picked up her pace as she once more turned her back to him. He'd seemed out of sorts all morning, but now it seemed fairly obvious to the lieutenant that her commanding officer was not doing well. She had no intention of making him wait out in the rain any longer than he had to.

As she disappeared from his sight, Roy crouched tiredly in an effort not to let his dizziness get the better of him. The pain in his head pounded mercilessly in time with the driving rain as chills continued to course through his being. "To hell with this weather." He thought miserably.

The only thing that seemed to dull the pain minutely was a feeling of overall weariness.

Suddenly, a car caught the corner of Mustang's vision and he glanced up. Hawkeye was stepping out of the car and walking towards him. She looked down on him with what seemed to be a hint of compassion in her eyes, "Will you be needing a hand, sir?"

He stared up at her a moment, wondering if he'd heard her right. Her tone was professional as ever, but her words suggested that she was concerned about him. "I'll be fine, Lieutenant." He did his best to assure her, standing slowly. While her support was appreciated, he still had his pride.

Riza eyed the colonel as he took a few staggering steps over to the car. Pulling the rear passenger's side door open, he eased himself down onto the empty back seat.

The lieutenant nodded to herself and went around to the driver's side, letting herself in. The engine still running, she grasped the steering wheel...

"Heh…Heh….HHHppt'CHUuu!"

The noise from the back seat caught Riza off guard and she cast a glanced back at her commanding officer, "Gesundheit, sir."

The colonel sniffled in response, perhaps not entirely willing to own up to his own sneeze. Instead, he rubbed his temples, willing his horrid headache to go away.

Realizing he was pointedly not responding, the lieutenant turned the car around and drove for their headquarters.

"I feel tired enough to sleep for weeks." Roy thought to himself exhaustedly. He did not relish the idea of filling out a report on this incident. In fact, in his current state, the very thought of work made him feel woozy. His thoughts were interrupted by yet another shiver climbing up his spine. Subconsciously, the drenched man clutched his overcoat more tightly around himself in hopes of finding some warmth.

Though keenly aware of her superior's suffering, Hawkeye remained silent. Although he'd openly admitted his dizziness, he seemed completely unwilling to own up to anything further. That being the case, she would entertain his little charade for the time being.

"Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir?" Riza inquired, eyes on the road.

"Y-You should ch-change into something dry b-b-back-" The way Roy stammered, Hawkeye could tell he was struggling to get out his words. Therefore, she wasn't terribly surprised when she heard his breathing hitch.

"Heh…Huuuk'tCHUUUu! Hhpt'CHUuu!" He sneezed twice this time and did his best to muffle a groan. His nose's sudden desire to misbehave was incredibly disagreeable with his pounding head. He sniffled quietly and attempted to ignore the urge to cough that was quickly welling in his chest.

"What was that, sir?" Riza asked calmly, they were nearing the command center now.

"Hm?" For a brief moment Roy thought she was mocking him, but then realized she was inquiring as to his previous sentence, "Oh…um…" his brain foggily tried to reassemble the remark, "…You should change into something dry… back at headquarters…you don't want to get sick…" his words came flatly.

"Oh. The irony." Hawkeye shook her head to herself, "You might want to consider that as well, sir." She said instead.

Mustang frowned as a few coughs escaped him. He got the feeling she was just humoring him now, "…Lieutenant."

"We're here, sir." She interjected, pulling the vehicle up alongside the relatively large building.

"Hm…so we are." Roy replied shortly, glancing up at the familiar building. The colonel didn't relish stepping back out into the rain, even briefly, but there was nothing he could do about it. He opened the car door to let himself out. He stood a bit too quickly, he realized, as he was greeted with a fresh wave of dizziness. "Nngh." He grunted as he stood rooted to that spot, trying desperately to get his bearings.

"Sir?" Hawkeye inquired, though a slight edge to her tone seemed to be questioning if he was alright.

He clamped his eye shut, rubbing his temples.

"Sir?" she repeated, "Do you need anything?"

She watched his shoulders rise and tremble as he shivered. Still, he stood otherwise completely still. A sinking feeling was beginning to flood the lieutenant's mind when at last he spoke.

"I simply stood… a bit too quickly…Lieutenant," The colonel seemed like he was doing his best to select words that seemed natural. Sadly, his façade was broken by the slow fashion in which he spoke. He seemed to realize this, as he tacked on, "And I'm…well… just a bit tired… after dealing with that alchemist."

Riza had suspicions he was downplaying how he felt, but she was in no position to correct him. "I see, sir. Though we should probably get out of the rain."

"Yes," a muffled cough, "We most definitely should." Roy knew very well that the obvious was being stated, but he quite frankly didn't care. He had stood still long enough to overcome the worst of his dizziness and managed to find his stride. The colonel led his lieutenant into the building and out of the wretched weather.

Mustang didn't make eye contact with anyone as he made his way down the hall. While a change of clothes was desirable, he had a gut feeling Fullmetal was waiting around outside his office. "Better take care of that first. If I'm lucky I won't have to deal with his mouth." He thought to himself. Though to be honest, even if he didn't keep Ed waiting long, he was sure the young state alchemist would have some snide remark ready.

Lieutenant Hawkeye was mere paces behind him when they came upon the rest of his most trusted subordinates. They were performing their usual duties, but glanced up as their commander entered.

"Whoah. You got soaked clean through, Colonel." Havoc remarked, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lip.

"Yes…well it is raining out." Roy grumbled. His face contorted briefly.

The second lieutenant tilted his head, regarding his superior.

"Anyway, the Elric brothers are here to submit their reports on the incident." Breda put in, jerking a beefy finger at the brothers who had been waiting in front of Roy's office.

Roy wanted to roll his eyes, but decided that it wasn't really worth the effort, "I see. Th-thank…" he paused, mentally cursing as he battled the insane itching that was torturing his nostrils.

Breda glanced to Havoc who simply shrugged.

Falman and Furey glanced at one another.

It had been the general gossip that morning that the colonel wasn't feeling himself. The team had been speculating their leader was ill and they seemed to wordlessly come to the conclusion that being out in the storm had only caused his condition to worsen.

"Th-Th-Th-" Roy tried desperately to finish his sentence, but his nose had other things planned. "Heh…Hhpt'CHUUUuuu!" He managed to sneeze into the crook of his arm, but it really was a small victory.

"Gesundheit, sir!" Furey chirped without too much thought.

Mustang fixed him with a glare and walked on past his subordinates towards his office.

"Shall I get some tea, sir?" Riza asked; she had the feeling he'd be talking to the Elrics for a while.

"No, Lieutenant. Go get changed into something dry." His words were tired, but firm. "Come along, Fullmetal." He tacked on; addressing the golden haired teen as he brushed passed him on the way inside his office.

"Hmph. Come on, Al." Ed muttered as he and his brother joined the colonel.

After changing into some spare military fatigues in the locker room, Hawkeye decided to go ahead and fix the colonel a cup of tea. It wasn't as though he'd ordered her not to; he'd simply told her to go and get changed into something dry. She allowed herself a small sigh; she wondered if she could persuade him to go home early this evening.

By the time the tea was ready, Riza's mind wandered to what scene she might find upon entering her superior's office. It was probable Edward would be seething over a subtle insult about his stature. On the other hand, a part of her wondered if Mustang was really in the mood for banter now. If nothing else, rainy days typically made him disagreeable.

As she approached the office with the cup in hand, the rest of team Mustang eyed her. Though if they had any comments; they chose not to speak them into existence. She rapped at the door with her free hand. "Sir?"

"Come in…Lieutenant." The voice was weary and rough, but belonged to the colonel beyond the shadow of a doubt.

"Yes sir." Riza let herself into the office. She headed straight for his desk, noticing in her peripheral that Edward was actually working diligently on a report… at least for the moment. She set the tea cup on the edge of the colonel's desk with a gentle 'klak'.

Mustang blinked and glanced up at her, causing her to grimace inwardly. His ebony eyes were swollen and watery, almost making the dark bags beneath them more pronounced. His nose was now pink with agitation, a tell tale sign that he'd been sneezing and rubbing at it frequently in the short span of her absence. Combined with the flush of his face and his mildly glassy expression, it wasn't hard to conclude he was most probably running a fever. She faintly wondered if all this had something to do with Edward's seemingly silent cooperation.

"What's this…Lieutenant?" came Roy's gravelly inquiry. His breathing hitched as he subconsciously shivered.

"Tea, sir." Hawkeye replied calmly, "I thought it might help warm you up, sir."

Roy eyed his lieutenant a moment, but let his gaze drop down to the cup. Something warm to drink did sound pretty good, and his throat was feeling raw. "Thank you, Lieutenant." He murmured, grasping the teacup in his fingers.

He sipped at the warm concoction, letting the steam fill his nostrils. "Ahhhh…" he sighed contentedly, taking another sip.

"Almost done with the report, Colonel…" Ed trailed off, trying desperately not to insult the sick man. It's not like he cared if that idiot, Mustang, got sick from running around in the rain. Really, he didn't, or so he told himself. Though he had the feeling Lieutenant Hawkeye cared far more than he did and might be so inclined to put a bullet through his temple if she felt he was being a nuisance to the colonel.

Alphonse glanced at his brother wordlessly, pleased that he was managing to control himself.

A cough from Mustang shattered the momentary pause, "Good."

Riza glanced to the colonel's desk; it appeared he hadn't even started on his own report on the incident. She wasn't surprised.

A few moments later, Ed stood from his place on the sofa and walked briskly over to the desk. "All finished." He stated, extending the papers in his automail hand.

The flame alchemist held out his own hand to receive the papers; his mouth opened as if to say something. Suddenly, his face contorted.

Ed frowned and snapped the papers away from the colonel in just the nick of time.

"Hehh…Hhhpt'CHUU! Huukt'chUU! Hhpt'CHUUUUU!" Mustang lurched forward, sneezing three times in succession. He'd barely managed to contain the spray with his gloved hands.

"Bless you, sir." Hawkeye said calmly.

Roy only sniffled miserably in response, rubbing idly at his nose.

Ed looked mildly disgusted, "Here." he plopped the papers down in front of the colonel, "I'm not sticking around to catch your cold."

"Brother, be nice." Alphonse frowned, or at least he would have had he a functional mouth.

"What? It's hard to believe he got sick from a little bit of rain." Edward mused.

"Fullbetal." Roy tried to sound threatening, but if anything his voice came out thick and pathetic.

The Fullmetal alchemist regarded the colonel and smirked slightly, "Yeah, yeah. We're going now. Come on, Al." he turned around, beckoning the living suit of armor to follow him out of the office.

Author's Note:

And here we have chapter 2. I'm having entirely too much fun making Roy sneeze… somebody ought to stop me! *laughs*

Now some of you might say: "Cool fic, D1g1m0ncrazy, but you do KNOW rain itself doesn't get people sick. Besides, viruses take time to incubate."

True as that may be, the rain isn't what made him sick. As I alluded to in the first chapter, he was already unwell. The body heat he lost from being drenched/ cold along with his struggle against Echo caused his defenses to drop and his symptoms to become more prominent. Besides, some of you may be aware of a particular, common illness from this time of year that has a 'sudden onset'…. Perhaps I've said too much. *laughs nervously*

Anyway, congested voice Roy equals fun. Expect more of it next chapter as the Mustang torture continues! I feel like I've got the characters down pretty well, but if any of you think I've written someone out of character, please let me know!

Reviews make me happy! I'll see you guys in chapter 3!