CHAPTER III

Burdens

"Rebecca?" Riza spoke through the phone, listening to Rebecca as she yawned. "Riza, do you know what time it is?" Rebecca asked her with a serious tone. However, Riza just continued talking. "I need your opinion on something." As grateful as Rebecca was that Riza thinks that her opinions mattered, she needed to know better than to call people at such a devilish hour. So she asked her again, this time, louder. "Riza, DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?!" Her almost-screaming voice made Riza jump a bit. Riza took a peep at her electronic alarm clock which flashed the time. "3:15." She finally answered. "AM, RIZA! A.M.!" Rebecca said just to clarify things. That made Riza apologetic. "I'm sorry, Becky. It's just that something has been bothering me." Rebecca sighed and asked, "What is it?"

Riza was thankful that Rebecca didn't hang up on her after she apologized. So she went on to share her burden with her.

"Well, I have this student I want to help and have regular home consultations with but..."

"But what?"

"See, the thing is she lives with her father and she doesn't have a mother. So her dad is basically a bachelor, right? And I don't–"

"Is he handsome?"

"By your standards? I guess so?"

"How about yours?"

"Sort of."

"I'll take that as a yes. Did you happen to see his shoes?"

"What? Shoes? Why?"

"Just answer the damn question, Riza!"

"No, I didn't happen to look at his shoes. But, Beck–"

"That's so you, so oblivious. You know what they say about men with big feet."

"Gross. Anyway, do you think it will be okay if I visited her like once a month at least? Or would people get the wrong idea?"

"Heh, pay no attention to what they think. Do your thing, I mean you always do that. And it's not like you're after him, right?"

"No."

"Well, why are you up at 3 am thinking about it?"

"I just felt really sorry for the child. Always alone, doesn't talk too much, very shy at her age. I've been teaching at the Kindergarten for 4 years and it's actually the first time I felt so sorry for a child. And I know exactly how growing up without a mother feels like. It just..."

"Reminds you of yourself when you were younger?"

"Yeah."

"Sleep it off, Ri. Everything will be better in the morning. I'll call you again tomorrow. Night."

Riza was left staring at her phone screen which still flashed Rebecca's number and photo. Pondering on Rebecca's words, Riza realized she was probably right. Sleeping might take her mind off it, she might actually feel better in the morning.


"Morning, daddy." Ellie stood at Roy's bedside; looking at her father who haven't even opened his eyes yet. Upon hearing her voice though, Roy's eyes shot open. Ever since Ellie was born, Roy has been a very light sleeper. "Hey, princess. You're up early." He planted a kiss on her cheek and sat at the edge of the bed. "Someone's at the door, daddy." Ellie said and ran outside. This early? Who could it be?

Roy got up and looked at the mirror, just to check if he looked decent. After that, he speed walked to the door. "Who is it?" He asked. "It's Jillian!" Of course, who else could it be? "Can you open up already? I have like 2 bags of groceries here!" Without any more hesitation, Roy opened the door; just to be greeted by Jillian's complaints as she made her way towards the kitchen. "ROY! Where were you?! I have been ringing the doorbell for almost 5 minutes!" Jillian stopped at the living room to give Ellie a kiss on the top of her head. "Morning, Ellie. I'll be back. I'll just talk to your dad for a bit." Jillian continued her ranting. "It's 8:30, Roy! Did Ellie even have breakfast yet? God, seriously!" Roy closed the door and followed her. "Good morning to you too, Jill." He muttered under his breath.

"Oversleeping! When your 4 year-old daughter hasn't even had breakfast yet!" Jillian nagged as she fried some eggs for breakfast. (More like brunch.) Roy sat on one of the kitchen stools and apologized to his sister, though he thought it should be Ellie he should be apologizing to. "Sorry, I was just doing some research for a case." She served the eggs on a white plate and placed it on the table. "Good grief, Roy! You need a woman around this house." Roy rolled his eyes and groaned. "Ugh, you sound like Maes. What is up with you people forcing me to date?!" Jillian glared at him.

"I didn't say you should date someone. You could like, hire a maid or a nanny or something."

"That's even worse!"

"Then find someone who could help you with...with all this, Roy. Swallow your pride. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for Ellie."

Roy heaved a sigh. "How many women do you know would date a man with a child of his own?" Jillian fell quiet. "Exactly." Roy said in a matter-of-factly tone and buried his face on his hands. "I'm sure there are a lot of women who would date a man with a child of his own. You just haven't found her yet." He sat straight as Jillian stood beside him. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders. She then leaned her head on his head. "I just don't want you to go around hurting yourself, okay? You may have a child of your own but you're still my baby brother and I can't stand to see you hurting anymore." Roy couldn't help but smile. Jillian might be a nagger but she sure helps Roy a lot.


Jillian was just about to finish cleaning up after breakfast when the doorbell rang. "Roy! Door!" She shouted upon hearing the doorbell. Roy came running from Ellie's room, carrying her in his arms. "Who is it?" He asked before opening the door. Expecting that it was his mother, Roy was surprised to hear someone else's voice. "It's Riza Hawkeye, Mr. Mustang."

Not even a second later, Roy immediately opened the door for her. "Teacher!" Ellie shouted as soon as she saw Riza. Riza smiled and greeted them. "Good morning, Ellie. Good morning, Mr. Mustang. Would you mind if I visited you for a bit?" Roy's mouth was open like he was about to say something but froze. Roy looked at her; Riza was definitely beautiful on a regular day but she looked even more beautiful now, standing outside their door, outside – Roy snapped out of his daze and invited her inside. "Oh, yeah, I mean no, we don't mind, of...of course, p-please come in." GOD DAMN IT, ROY.

Riza stepped inside the house, actually surprised at how clean the place looked. Roy led her to the living room. "Please, have a seat." He said and gestured toward the couch. She put Ellie down and the little girl immediately ran towards Riza. Ellie sat beside her and looked her in the eyes, saying, "You look so pretty today, teacher. You look like a doll." Riza giggled. "You're prettier, Ellie."

Roy sat on a chair across them and smiled at Ellie. "Ellie, Teacher Riza came to visit us. Aren't you glad she did?" Ellie smiled widely and nodded. No words were needed, her smile said it all. Riza stroked Ellie's dark hair then proceeded to look at Roy. "If you wouldn't mind, Mr. Mustang, I would like to visit Ellie at least once or twice a month. I see a lot of potential for her and I also would like to help her develop some of her skills. That is, if it's okay with you."

Ellie's eyes widened but didn't say anything. Just as Roy was about to answer, Jillian walked in to the living room. "Roy, the milk..." Jillian stopped on her tracks when she saw Riza. "Riza! Long time no see!" She walked towards Riza and Riza stood up to meet her with a hug. "Jillian! I didn't expect to see you here." Jillian sat beside her, on the opposite side of where Ellie was still seated. Riza couldn't help but think of what Jillian's relationship was with Roy and it was giving her unpleasant feelings. Snap out of it, Riza. As Riza's thoughts wandered, Jillian spoke again. "I was just visiting Roy and Ellie. Oh, I forgot to tell you, Roy here is my brother. Little brother, to be exact." Riza was so surprised that she took a look at Roy then looked at Jillian again. There was definitely a resemblance. Riza felt so stupid but she was also relieved for some reason; for a moment there she thought their relationship was something else.

"I see. I could really see the resemblance now." She smiled at her. "Anyway, I just came by here to ask Mr. Mustang if it's okay if I visited Ellie like I did with Max when he was in Kindergarten too." Jillian fixed her eyes at Roy. "Roy, you gotta say yes to Riza's offer, she really helped Max a lot." Without a moment's hesitation, Roy nodded. He was going to say yes and now, with Jillian's encouragement, he was even more positive. "Yeah, that would be great. Anything for Ellie."

"It's decided then. I'll come by again next Saturday to start the consultations." Riza said in a joyous tone as they all came to an agreement.


That night, after Roy finished reading a bedtime story to her, Ellie – who was seated on her father's lap – asked him something. "Daddy?" She said in a hushed tone. "Yes?" Roy answered back as he gently rocked her to sleep. "Can Teacher Riza be my mommy?" Surprised at such a question, Roy didn't know what to say, so he blurted out a short, "What?" She responded calmly, not understanding that Roy's 'what' was rhetorical. "Can Teacher Riza be my mommy? She's really kind and she helps me and my classmates a lot too. I really like her." Ellie's eyes lit up as she talked. Roy thought it was amusing to hear Ellie say something like that. He has never seen her adore someone like this, except him, before. "Uh, aren't Aunt Jill, Aunt Rachel and Gramma like mommies to you too?" He asked her, in the hopes that she would agree with him. But Ellie shook her head slowly. "No, because Aunt Jill is Max's mommy then...then Aunt Rachel is Cousin Victor and Cousin Emma's mommy and Gramma is daddy's mommy." Roy thought his heart was literally going to get broken then and there. There was nothing more painful than hearing her say those words. Still, he kept his composure and comforted her; careful not to promise her anything just yet. Sure, he liked Riza, probably more than he should, but he was certain Riza was all professional and would never see him as more than Ellie's father. "Well, I...I'll see what I can do about it, okay? But for now, my princess would have to go to sleep." He said as he kissed her forehead. "I love you, daddy. Good night." She kissed him on the right cheek. "I love you, princess. Sleep well."


A/N: Heyo, thank you for the kind words on your reviews. Believe it or not, it motivates me so much. Anyway, this chapter is definitely one of my favorites. I hope you would enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. :)