Edward could hardly breathe, sitting in the doctor's office again. If the wait last time had been brutal, this was excruciating. He'd rushed back as soon as their train arrived in Central, but it had still been a full day since he was hit. Now, waiting with Al to see Ted, Ed couldn't keep his hands off his stomach. What if, so early on, he'd managed to hurt—he gulped, held back panicky tears (what the hell was up with the crying anyway?)—or even kill his baby already?

Why'd he have to take the stupid assignment? Why didn't he know better? And why did he have to suddenly become attached to his baby now, when it's life was no longer a sure-fire thing?

If they didn't let him back soon, he was going to force his way past the damn door and get his answers.

Alphonse patted him gently on the shoulder, trying to calm him down. But how could he possibly relax now? Unless he passed out from the stress. That was always possible.

Finally, finally they called his name, and Edward walked into Ted's office. As soon as the door shut, the dam burst and he was crying.

"Ed, Ed, calm down. What is it?" the doctor said, ushering him to sit down.

"I went on a fucking assignment!" Edward half-shouted, angry at having to admit his idiocy. "I was told to go calm down some riot in the east with the Ishbalans, and—and—"

"He was punched rather hard…in the stomach," Al finished quietly, as Ed blubbered.

"Is my baby going to be okay!?" Edward blurted. He was terrified, but he had to know. His baby couldn't be gone…

But Ted was quiet. Oh, no, please no, why was he so damn quiet!? "It's hard to say," the doctor answered eventually. Ed deflated, collapsing into his chair as Ted continued. "Your case is unique. For example, how you're already experiencing morning sickness and are already very emotional. The women I treat don't have those symptoms for at least the first month of their pregnancy. I would speculate that due to the fact that your body is not at all meant for this, you're going to have a harder time in general. And the first months of pregnancy are the most delicate, the time when the baby is the most fragile…"

Ed couldn't breathe. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't his fault…but he couldn't shake the knowledge that if he had just refused the assignment, stopped trying to act like everything was fine, his baby wouldn't be in jeopardy.

"Let me ask you this," Ted said after a moment. "Have you experienced any bleeding?"

"Bleeding?" Ed sniffed.

"Yes. When a woman has a miscarriage, sometimes she will bleed and have cramps—similar to menstruation…not that you know anything about that."

Edward shook his head. "No, I haven't been bleeding…does that mean my baby's okay?" he asked hopefully.

"Well," Ted answered hesitantly. "Bleeding doesn't always occur, although like I said, your symptoms are exacerbated, so I would expect it. Then again, due to how early this is, there might not be much inside you to pass through the bleeding. I believe you may have gotten lucky, but to be honest with you, only time will tell."

Shaking, Ed tried to compose himself. "But everything might be fine?"

"Potentially, yes. If so, you've truly experienced a miracle."

"I don't believe in miracles," Edward whispered. "I don't believe that there's some higher being watching over me casting away danger, as convenient as that would be in this situation. So…I guess I just have to hope I still have some luck left."

As soon as they got back to Roy's, Ed raided the man's refrigerator. If he was going to do this pregnancy thing—he hated how that rhetorical "if" suddenly took on a very new and frightening meaning—he might as well get straight to the eating-shit-in-massive-amounts-when-upset portion. Chocolate. Perfect.

Edward grabbed the entire tub and curled up with it on the couch, in full-on worry mode. Al offered to sit with him, but at the moment Ed just wanted to wallow in his guilt and sadness like some pathetic asshole. Which, debatably, he was.

And he was still doing just that when Roy arrived home.

Oddly enough, instead of getting mad at Ed for potentially ruining his upholstery with ice cream, the man walked over and hugged him tightly. Edward did his best not to relax into the embrace, but it was sad how much he needed that.

"I heard what happened," Roy whispered. "I'm so sorry…I should have known better, I shouldn't have sent you on that mission. I just didn't want to make things any harder on you, and now this…"

"No," Edward answered. "It's my fault. You wouldn't have done it if I hadn't pressed for normalcy. Damn it!" he exploded suddenly, causing Roy to jerk away momentarily. "I'm such a dick! All this, just for me to protect my fucking pride or whatever, just so I don't have to face what happened…and now I might have killed my baby…"

"'Your baby?'" Roy asked, surprised.

"Well, yeah," Ed responded. What, was the man deaf? "That's what this is. I'm pregnant. So it's my baby inside me."

Roy rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously. It's just an interesting term. You could have just said 'it' or even just 'the baby.' But you claimed ownership. I just didn't think you'd already be this…attached."

Edward rubbed at his stomach awkwardly. Yes, this just enhanced the man's point, but he couldn't help it. "I guess…I mean, I am. I just think it was the shock—is the shock—of maybe losing my baby that really made me realize that it's mine. Mine and—" he cut himself off. Damn, that had been close. "It doesn't matter," he continued hastily. "The point is, it's mine. My baby. And…fucking hell, I sound like a doting mother."

"You are a mother," Roy chuckled. "C'mon, finish your thought, this is adorable."

Glaring, Ed did as he was bid, voice soft despite his expression. "I just found out I was pregnant. And that reality just hit me. But…I still love my baby. I know that sounds stupid. How can I already love it, when it's not even been a month? But I can't help it."

Edward bit his lip as he finished, realizing how dumb he sounded. But Roy just hugged him once again, this time not letting go. Ed wondered if now would be a good time to tell him…to just say, "Hey, this is your baby, too." But he couldn't ruin the moment like this…okay fine, he was just scared. Besides, if his baby might not make it, what was the point?

He'd worry more about how to explain what had happened (which was a pretty daunting task) if and when he confirmed he still had a baby to tell the man about.

The thought had Ed cringing into Roy's embrace once more, and he didn't even have the energy to care about how strange he was acting, or be concerned that he was probably being more than friendly with someone he wasn't even supposed to get along with.

He closed his eyes, considering a nap. This was all way too complicated.

Sorry for ending (taking a break for vacation) at such a horrible spot! But really, you needn't have worried. I'm not about to kill off the baby!