Chapter One

Riza Hawkeye sat down at her desk and put her purse in the drawer at her feet. The rest of their team – Jean Havoc, Heymans Breda, Kain Fuery and Vato Falman – all sat at their desks and were deep into their tasks for the morning. The only one currently missing was their leader – Roy Mustang. It had been four years since the Promised Day and they'd just returned from their work rebuilding Ishval. There was still work to be done, but no building was needed anymore. The Ishvalans who'd been displaced during the War had been able to finally return to their homeland and now Mustang's team was working on establishing trade routes with them which could be done in the comfort of the office in Central instead of the hot desert.

In those four years, both Havoc and Mustang had been cured by Dr. Marcoh and they'd all been promoted for their work both during the Promised Day and with Ishval. Mustang was now a Brigadier General while Riza a Captain. Her grandfather Grumman was still the Fuhrer and had clearly been grooming Mustang to eventually take his place something which they all eagerly looked forward to.

Riza especially. She and Roy were still continuing to deny their feelings to the outside world and bottle them up. They were both very aware of the other, but knew they walked a tightrope. They both desperately wanted to be together, but with the current Anti-Fraternization law in place they couldn't. So, they kept their mouths shut and each lived for the moments when they were alone and a casual touch could be construed as something more. Riza wasn't sure how much longer her heart could take it though especially after everything they'd been through. The Promised Day in addition to going back to Ishval hadn't been easy for either of them and had opened old wounds for both. They wanted to take comfort in each other to help them through it, but they'd both stayed in the confines of their quarters instead of with each other.

As she picked up the file in front of her to begin her work for the day the phone on her desk rang startling the men in the room. Riza chuckled and picked up the receiver to find an unexpected voice on the other end.

"Winry," Riza said with a smile. All her teammates looked up in surprise at the mention of Winry Elric, formerly Rockbell. She and Edward Elric, the former state alchemist known as Fullmetal who'd been the one to ultimately stop "Father" on the Promised Day, had married and now had a son named Elias. Whenever they came to visit in Central from their home in Resembool she and Winry always took time together to shop or just have girl time. Riza spent so much time with men that she sometimes forgot to nurture her feminine side. As the years went by and she spent more and more time with Winry she'd begun to change that. Winry had become one of her very good friends despite their age difference. "How are you?"

"Good, but in a bit of a bind," Winry's voice spoke from the other end. Riza could hear little Elias in the background cooing as he clearly wanted his mother's attention. "I'm hoping maybe you could help us with that?"

"Of course," Riza leaned back in her chair and found all eyes in the room still on her. She rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. "Actually, give me just a second ok?"

She put the call on hold and stepped into Mustang's empty office and closed the door. None of the others were too surprised as Riza got away with more than the rest. She leaned up against the front of Roy's desk, picked the receiver up and took the call off hold.

"Sorry Winry. All the guys were staring at me so I wanted to step away for some privacy," Riza smiled. "How can I help?"

"So, Ed and I were invited to Xing in a few weeks. May is in some fancy ceremony and she invited us and Al, but we really don't want to take Elias all the way through the desert with us," She explained. Riza heard Ed in the background and Elias's cooing got further away indicating he'd taken his son. "My grandma takes care of him for us sometimes, but we really don't want to saddle him with her for a week plus she's already had a trip planned at the same time anyway."

"That does sound like a problem," Riza replied with eyebrows raised waiting for the request.

"Yea and with Al going too our usual babysitters are not an option," Winry replied. "Which leads me to my question. I know you've always got a lot on your plate, but is there any way you could come out to Resembool to watch him while we're gone? We'll have the kitchen stocked for you and we have a telegraph now, I built it a year ago, so you'd still be able to work if you needed to."

Riza sat shocked for a moment as the request sank in. While true she did always have a lot on her plate, that didn't mean a vacation wasn't something out of the question. In fact, it was almost something needed after the four years they'd had. And if she did in fact have a telegraph at her disposal she could still take the paperwork with her. The only thing stopping her was that she was technically Mustang's bodyguard as well and while the Homunculi and Bradley were deceased, the threat to him wasn't necessarily gone yet. Since he was being groomed to take the office of Fuhrer there were still some who disliked him.

"You can bring Mustang too if you need to," Winry surprisingly said next taking the thought right out of Riza's head. "I know you usually have to keep a close eye on him, but we've got plenty of space."

Riza's smile softened as the image came to mind. Maybe some time away together, just the two of them, was what they needed. "Yes, I think we can manage that for you Winry. We'd be honored to watch Elias for you guys."

"Really? Oh thank you Riza! We're so grateful!" Winry exclaimed.

Riza beamed at the joy in her friends' voice and grabbed the pen and notepad off Roy's desk to begin taking notes for their upcoming trip.

….

Roy Mustang shuffled into his office nursing a cup of coffee he'd grabbed from the cafeteria on his way in. He should've stopped at the café around the corner instead as theirs was much superior, but he feared the wrath of his adjutant if he'd done so as it would've made him even later than he currently was. When he opened the door to the office he found almost all his subordinates at their desks with the exception of his Captain. Looking up at the various greetings sent his way he frowned in confusion at his closed office door.

"Who's in my office?" Roy asked Havoc.

"Riza," He said without looking up from the paperwork he was focusing on. "Winry called and we apparently were staring."

"Ah I see," Roy nodded as he headed for the closed door.

As he opened it, he found her leaning against the front of his desk with a pad of paper dangling from one arm and pen in the other with the phone cradled between her shoulder and cheek. He smiled fondly at the pleasant look on her face which was somewhat rare to see these days. Their extended time in Ishval hadn't exactly been easy on any of them, but especially for he and Riza who had horrible memories of the place. He closed the door gently behind him and she finally looked up although he knew she'd noticed him when he'd first arrived. As they were now alone, he let his face clearly show his affection which she returned. These were the moments they lived for. When they were alone with no one to watch. Neither took it further than this and it had to do for now.

"Sounds good Winry. We'll see you then," She smiled sincerely into the phone. She said her goodbyes and returned the phone to its' cradle. "You're late, sir."

"Not by much," He rounded the desk and set the terrible coffee on a coaster then sank into the chair as exhaustion already began to overtake him. "What did Winry want?"

"She, Ed and Al are going to Xing for some ceremony May is in a few weeks from now and they don't want to take Elias with them through the desert," She replied.

"I don't blame them. It's not a pleasant journey for an adult much less a child," Roy nodded in agreement.

"Her grandmother will be out of town at the same time as well so they need a babysitter," Riza replied. She didn't think she'd have to do much convincing, especially if there was a telegraph available for them to keep up with the paperwork, but she was still prepared with an argument. "So, you and I will be going to Resembool for a week."

"Me? Why me?" He asked as he pointed to his chest. "Why in the world do they want me to babysit."

"They want me to babysit, but I can't very well leave you here without protection or supervision," Riza crossed her arms over her chest as she prepared to make her case. "You'd slack off and get nothing done. Winry said they own a telegraph now so we can still work on paperwork while there and it would honestly make me feel less stressed if I had you with me."

Roy's eyebrows raised in surprise at that admission. His eyes softened and he smiled at her. "Really?"

"Yes," Riza whispered back. She hadn't meant to say it that way, but in all reality it was true. Both personally and professionally. If she left him here in Central with everything going on she'd be on constant alert for a phone call that he'd been attacked while she wasn't there to protect him.

"Ok," Roy softly agreed. "Fill out the leave request for us both and I'll get it done today."

Riza nodded and went back to her desk. As she pulled out the paperwork for the leave from a drawer in her desk she felt all the eyes in the room on her again. With a huff and a roll of her eyes she set the papers down on her desk and looked up.

"What?" She asked the group of men who were in fact staring at her.

"How's Winry?" Havoc asked with genuine interest.

"Good," Riza replied with a smile. "They needed a babysitter in a few weeks so I'll be heading to Resembool with the Brigadier General."

"The boss is going too?" Breda asked in surprise.

"Yes. Have to keep an eye on him somehow," Riza replied as she began to fill out the paperwork. "If he stayed with you all nothing would get done."

Havoc chuckled with a nod. "I suppose that's true. Babysitting huh? Every time I remember that Edward Elric has kids already it makes me feel like a slacker."

"I know what you mean," Falman chimed in. "It doesn't seem like he's old enough to even be married."

"It does help when you meet your soulmate as a kid even if he did spend most of his life trying to deny how he felt about her," Riza replied thinking back to his vehement denial of his feelings for Winry at her kitchen table the day she'd told him about Ishval. "Seemed pretty clear to me though as soon as I saw them together."

"Agreed," Fuery said. He looked over at Riza with a curious smile. "So will you take work with you too?"

Riza looked up from the leave request forms she'd completed and nodded. "Yes, Winry built a telegraph so we'll be able to communicate with you all to do what we can from there."

Fuery's jaw dropped at that statement. "Did you say she built a telegraph?"

Riza chuckled along with the rest of the guys in the office. "Yes, she built a telegraph. Winry's a gearhead and always has been. Is that really shocking to you?"

"I guess not," Fuery replied.

Riza stood and took the leave forms along with a few files with her into Roy's office as the conversation turned in the outer office. She happily sighed as she began a countdown in her mind to getting away from Central even if for a few days.