The last chapter was a little short and so is this one, but too long to put together, so I figured I'd post them two days in a row. Things pick up now! Yay! If you read this and like it, I would absolutely love it if you'd leave me a note and let me know! Thank for for the reviews/follows/favs I've gotten so far! It really keeps me going! Well, that and a love of this ship!

Three days later, Roy was forced away from her and back to work, though he often left the office go do his paperwork by her side. She mostly slept, so the room was quiet and he was able to focus well enough. When she would wake, he would push his work to the side and chat with her, sometimes for an hour, and sometimes only for the few moments she was lucid that day. Her body was having a hard time repairing itself, but it was moving forward, and for that he was grateful.

As the week went on, Roy never missed a day of sitting by her bedside. Sometimes, she did miss him, because she was particularly tired, but whether she knew it or not, he was there. When she was able to sit up and talk for a while, they would chat about life, hopes, dreams, her dog. But they wouldn't talk about work or what had gotten her in the situation she was in. It was strange, Roy thought. Before, they'd only ever talked about work or things relating to work in some way. But, they grew close the weeks that Hawkeye was in the hospital. Of course, they had always been close, but work took over and both of them dug their noses in it. Roy sought power, Riza wanted to protect him. And now they were talking to each other as people, not just as coworkers.

And then, Riza went home with instructions to take her medicine and rest for at least a week before even thinking about working. No working from home, no coming into the office, no even glancing at paperwork. Just rest. She was not thrilled, but was also thankful to be able to walk out of the hospital at all.

Roy gave her two weeks, and stopped by every few days just to check up on her and, later after she had rested for a week, some very light paperwork to look over so she'd be caught up when she returned to work. He didn't feel the need to come by any more or less than that, since there were plenty of other people visiting and making sure she was doing well. Plus, he had an office to run.

But, he couldn't deny he was excited when the day Riza was supposed to return to work rolled around. He sat in his office, his feet up on his desk, gazing at some paperwork. He knew Riza would come in and tell him to get his feet off the desk, and then he would ask her if she was ordering him around. She'd get flustered, but remind him the desk wasn't his, and belonged to his higher ups, and then change the subject to doing more paperwork or something. That was how it always was, and Mustang looked forward to it.

But the hands on the clock moved all around over and over again, and the sunlight shined in the windows and hit different spots in the office. Riza never showed.

Around lunchtime, Roy was perplexed, and called Havoc into his office.

"Has Lieutenant Hawkeye come in today?" he asked the man after demanding he take the stupid cigarette out of his mouth. And no, it didn't matter that it wasn't lit, it was still an order.

Havoc blinked in surprise and glanced around the room. "We thought she was with you."

"Do you know if she's come in today?"

"No, sir."

Roy didn't know what else to say or ask. He just dismissed Havoc with some half hearted excuse, like that she was probably around here somewhere. But, he was really growing worried. This wasn't like the woman he knew. If she ever had to call out sick, which was extremely rare in its own right, she always made a call at least two hours before she was supposed to come in. He knew that, because it was the rules, and also because she was the only one of his subordinates who actually followed the guideline.

But, Roy's paperwork had built up and he was sure she had to have come into work, because she would have called if she hadn't… right? So, he finished the stack on his desk and got up to take his lunch hour. He checked around the military base, and checked with everyone he could think of, but no one had seen the amber-eyed, blonde haired woman.

So, Roy decided, he would go to her house and just see if she was there. Perhaps she thought she was starting back the next week, he told himself. No, no he wouldn't be mad. That was just fine. It would just be a misunderstanding. She would be embarrassed, he would laugh at her embarrassment, and all would be right with the world.

Riza lived in a small condo not far from his own. It was two stories and smushed in between two other condos in a long row. He knew the place would be too cramped for a family, but for a single woman and her dog, this was perfect, and was why many single military personnel chose to rent one.

He knocked on the door and her the dog, Black Hayate barked. He waited, but there was no answer, just the whine and pawing at the door from the dog. Roy decided to ring the doorbell, and Hayate barked again, this time in a more desperate, whining tone, but there was still no answer.

Riza had given him a spare key (and he had given her one to his home), in case they ever needed to get to each other and the other wasn't answering. This, he figured, qualified as one of those instances. He grabbed the key and stuck it into the door, turning the lock. He opened the door and was greeted by a pouncing puppy, who was whining and licked at his hands.

"Okay, okay, it's me," Roy said as he shut the door behind him. "Jeeze, this isn't the first time we've met." But Hayate seemed anxious about something, which in turn made Roy feel anxious. He glanced around the entryway, but saw and heard nothing.

"Lieutenant?" He called out and took a step towards the kitchen.

There was no answer, so he called again.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye? It's Colonel Mustang."

Still, no answer, except for Hayate who was whining next to him.

"Riza?" Now, Roy was worried. He was calling loud enough to wake the neighbors, if it hadn't been the middle of the day. He didn't know why she wasn't answering him back.

But he soon found out as he turned the corner to the living room and found his Lieutenant face down on the carpet. Her hair was splayed around her and she was dressed in a white tank top she wore under her uniform and black sweatpants. One arm was tucked under her head while the other grasped the carpet. Hayate went over and nudged her, whining when she didn't stir.

"Shit, Riza!" Roy called and lept over to the woman. He shook her gently and, getting no response, turned her over and lifted her upper body into his arms. "Riza, do you hear me? Riza!"

The woman let out a soft moan and turned away from him, but then fell silent and still. Roy placed a hand on her cheek and found that she was burning up with a high fever. His mind instantly went to the wound on her shoulder and he ripped the bandages off, but there was no sign of infection. In fact, the wound looked great and was only wrapped in bandages to prevent the stitches from opening if Riza brushed up against a wall or something accidentally.

He wasn't happy that he couldn't figure out the source of her fever, but he knew he just had to work to bring it down. He scooped her up and carried her upstairs, Hayate pattering after him curiously.

Roy entered her room and laid her on the bed. She looked slightly more relaxed on the soft mattress, but her brows were still furrowed in pain and sweat rested on her brow. He quickly grabbed a cloth and wet it with cool water before returning to place it on her head. That was rewarded with a soft sigh and a finally restful looking Riza. Roy also sighed in relief and sat down in a chair he'd pulled up by the bed.

"Fuck, Riza, it's always something, isn't it?"

"'m sorry." came a mumbled reply. Roy glanced up at her, and she didn't open her eyes, but her lips were parted. It hadn't been the wind, she was awake.

"It's not your fault," Roy said, standing and placing a hand on top of hers to let her know he was there. "Though this is a pretty shitty way to get out of work." He laughed much louder than his little joke called for, but he wanted her to know he was only kidding around.

"I'll have that paperwork on your desk tomorrow," she murmured, and Roy couldn't tell if she was serious or joking along with him because of her hushed tone.

"Alright, alright." He humored her, in case she was worried he was mad. She wouldn't be getting much done for a while, that much he could tell. "Are you thirsty?"

"Yes." came the reply after a pause. He left and came back with a glass of water. Gently, he sat her up and helped hold the cup while she drank gratefully. While she did so, he dabbed the cloth around her face, trying to cool her down.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied, gasping for air after chugging the water. "I woke up feeling fine, ate breakfast, and was about to get changed when the next thing I know, I'm laying in bed." Roy frowned at that, hating the idea of Riza being alone on the floor for so many hours. Then again, at least it was hours and not days. He helped lay her back down and replaced the cloth.

"You're a fucking mess," he chuckled, but he still felt worried.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'll do better, sir." Even when sick, Riza was still… Riza.

"Shut up." Roy said. "Just get some sleep. I'll call the doctor and…" Shit. There was no doctor because the services were closed, and they'd only reopened the hospital because Riza was dying. "I'll figure something out. Did you take your medicine today?"

"Yes, before I ate," Riza replied tiredly and her eyes slipped closed. She couldn't keep them open any longer.

Roy turned and shut her blinds, his eyes lingering over her room. Her bed was a mess because she had been laid in it and the blankets were ruffled, but every other thing had a place. The room was more organized than anything at the office, and was perhaps the neatest bedroom Roy had ever seen. He noted the lack of personal photos, save for a picture of a younger Black Hayate on her bedside table. Other than that, this could have been literally anyone in the world's bedroom.

He left her to sleep and closed her bedroom door. "She's fine," he told the dog, who almost seemed to understand. With a wagging tail, Hayate followed the man downstairs.

Now, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't just leave her. If she worsened, he had to be there to take care of her. Hell, even if she stayed the same, she needed someone to take care of her. She could barely hold a glass of water. And the hospital wasn't going to be much help, because all the services were closed. And right now, this was just a fever. If he demanded a hospital open for her, and the public found out, there would be riots. But, doctors were still working, often for free, so maybe he could track one down.

But for now, he felt exhausted, so he sank into the couch in the living room and watched as Hayate laid on the ground next to him.

At least, Roy thought as he let himself slip into a doze, he was getting out of doing paperwork for the rest of the day.