Oh, Baby - Royai, Roy Mustang/Riza Hawkeye

~P~

Oh, Baby

~P~

Roy Mustang launched himself down the long, bleach white hospital hallways, his eyes peeled for one specific room in the entire building. In his arms, his daughter, confused, bounced with each step, peering up at him with wide red eyes.

"Daddy, why are you running so fast? What's happening? I don't understand – please tell me."

The General could only blink down at her, wanting to give her an answer as to the situation occurring at that very moment, but his mind was in too much of a jumble to provide her with one. Instead, he offered her a quick, nervous smile and continued frantically searching for the room in which his wife resided. Maida continued to look at him but spoke no further, knowing that he was just as uninformed and unprepared for whatever was happening as she was.

Roy cursed as he turned another corner, still unable to find Riza's room. If only he had stayed home that day, if only he hadn't listen to her claims that nothing would happen—

The Wednesday had started out like any other regular day for the couple, even though Roy was on his toes about his wife's condition – a week and a half overdue in her pregnancy, with the possibility that she could go into labour at any possible second. He had wanted to stay by her side that day just in case anything did occur, but Riza had been convinced that no, today was not the day the baby would decide to be born and that he shouldn't worry. They'd already been waiting impatiently for over ten days extra from her original expected due date, so what would difference would another day make? And so hesitantly, Roy had been off to work and Maida had been over to the Hughes' house on account of her school being closed for a snow day.

But early in the afternoon, he had received a call that apparently yes, that day was in fact that day the baby would make an arrival and that Riza had been admitted to the hospital. And so within fifteen minutes of finding out that oh god his wife was having his baby! he had retrieved Maida from Gracia and made his way to the medical establishment down dangerously icy roads.

And so there he was now, nervous and frightened out of his mind as he looked endlessly for Riza's supposedly nonexistent room. "Dammit," he whispered lowly enough that Maida wouldn't hear him, "where is the room already? 366 – that can't be that hard to find! I'm in the 380s here!"

"Daddy?" Maida's murmuring went unheard through the blood rushing in his ears. She frowned and tugged on his uniform sleeve. "Daddy."

Roy stopped when her voice invaded his thoughts, and he slowed down a bit and looked down at her. "Hm?"

"It's back there. Room 366." Maida pointed behind him, furrowing her brow at him. Normally he was much more attentive, so for him to be so scatter-brained as to miss such a simple detail meant that something major was occurring and at that realization, she gave an annoyed huff – why couldn't someone just tell her what was going on!?

"O-oh," Roy sighed, before turning around and retracing his steps until he arrived at a door very clearly marked with the desired number he had been looking so diligently for. "There it is!" he nearly shouted, before reaching out to take the doorknob, though instead of opening it, his hand lingered there, trembling slightly. His stomach was twisting and his ears ringing and what if he missed the entire thing and he hadn't been there for either Riza or the baby—

Before Maida could signal her impatience at him not moving as quickly as she wanted, the handle turned from the other side, and a few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a nurse about to leave. She made a noise of surprise when she looked up and saw the two in front of her, before peering back at the blonde woman behind her and nodding. At this, she dismissed herself, leaving Roy standing there in the doorway, staring at his very-much-so-still-pregnant wife.

Riza blinked at him as he stepped slowly into the room, a smile stretched across his features that she easily returned. "Hi," she greeted him, her voice as tired as her face was – she hadn't been sleeping well in recent weeks, and this paired with the physical stress of being so late into her pregnancy was starting to wear down on her. But to Roy, she had never looked lovelier, that despite her exhaustion, she was brimming beautifully with the prospect of becoming a mother to a baby – and relief from the closely-approaching end of the dreadfully long pregnancy, he noted with a hint of amusement.

"Hey," he responded softly, pulling up the only available chair in the room so that he was tucked as closely to Riza as possible. Maida immediately climbed out of his arms and leaned forward on the little space of mattress in between him and the Colonel.

"Mommy!" she called happily, her eyes wide and her smile bright. The relief was evident in her tone, as had been her father's at seeing his wife again.

"Hello to you, too," Riza laughed a bit, raising her hand and smoothing back Maida's hair out of her eyes and kissing her on the forehead.

The little girl continued to beam at her, before shifting a bit and settling beside Riza. Staring up at her, she asked innocently, worriedly, "Why are you here? Did something happen? Are you all right?"

Riza wrapped an arm around Maida so that she was snuggled flush against her. "I'm fine," she told her, "but you see, Maida—" She took the little girl's hand and placed it on her swollen stomach, her own hand enveloping the smaller one, "—your little sister – or brother – is finally going to be here soon."

Maida look dumbfounded, but then her concern easily gave way to a burst of excitement, uncontained as she began to jump up and down slightly in her spot. "R-really? When? Now? I wanna meet them right now, mom!" She was still perplexed just as to how a hospital was involved in her younger sibling coming into the world – or even how the process of that would occur. But she didn't pay any mind to the curiosity and confusion gnawing at her brain, for her enthusiasm at the impending birth was all she could focus on. She was going to be an older sister, for crying out loud!

Both of her parents chuckled, and Riza was about to respond when suddenly, a pain she was becoming all too familiar with filled her system, its source in her lower abdomen. Maida simply, helplessly looked at her with a renewed worry while Roy was immediately holding her hand and rubbing small circles into the skin of her back, hoping to reduce the unbearable tension he knew she was dealing with. A few long, long moments passed before Riza relaxed with a prolonged groan against her pillows, a sweat having worked its way across her brow. Maida said nothing, in her own quiet distress at seeing her mother in a pain she couldn't prevent, but she clutched to Riza's sleeve and Roy's jacket as a means of comforting herself.

When Riza opened her eyes again, she smiled, despite knowing another contraction wasn't far behind the last she had experienced. Before either of the two could ask, she sat forward and breathed out, "I-it's okay. I'm all right. They're not that bad." But Roy knew better than to listen to her words – as only Riza would, she was lying so as to quell their concerns towards her, as she always had. His brave bodyguard and ever-strong wife, always trying to shoulder the weight of a situation for herself. But this time, he would not let her. He was terrified, but they were going to tackle this head on, together, like everything else they had in their lives.

It was her turn to be dependent, even if just slightly, on him for once.

"I'm here, Riza," he reminded her, "please, remember that. We're in this together. Anything you need, I'll get it for you."

She smiled at his words, before squeezing the hand that was holding hers. "Honestly, I'm just glad you're here." Her voice became lower and lower as she leaned back again, her eyes closing momentarily for a second of well-deserved rest in between the crippling contractions. Roy brushed back the hair sticking to her forehead before taking a seat again, though he still gripped his wife's hand tightly.

The room was silent for a few moments, with Maida leaning against Riza's shoulder and Roy affectionately stroking her face, when a small knock was heard at the door. Roy blinked at the place the noise had come from, but when he gave no response, the slab of wood opened anyway and from behind it Elicia's face appeared, followed by Gracia's. Instantly, the Flame Alchemist recalled the arrangements he had made with the Hughes family, and turning to Maida, who was nearly nodding off, gave her an apologetic smile.

"Maida, dear," he touched her shoulder, "Gracia's here for you."

Maida's eyelids were drooping over her crimson eyes, but at hearing these words and feeling his fingers on her collarbone, she was brought back into reality and gave him a grumpy frown. "But I don't want to go yet," she protested. On the way to the hospital, she could faintly recall being told by her father that in a short while, the Hughes would meet them there so that they could look after her. At the time she had been too concerned with her mother to pay much attention to what he had said, but now that she had been reminded and the time had come for her to temporarily separate from her parents, she was less than willing. "What if my new sister or brother comes and I'm not here?" She just had to be by her mom's side when the baby arrived!

But her father wasn't convinced, instead slowly picking her up from her place beside Riza and placing her feet firmly on the ground. "Don't worry," he told her, "we'll make sure to let you know as soon as it happens, Maida. You're not going to miss a thing, we promise." Maida's eyes flashed doubtfully, but when she looked back at Riza for confirmation, she received her answer in a smile and a "He's right," and with a sigh, she relented.

"Okay..." she began to turn towards the door, and the second her eyes landed on Elicia, who was waving at her with a large grin on her face, her mood perked and she was nearly skipping to her friend. Both of her parents laughed at how easily she had dismissed her disappointment, before whispering a word of gratitude to Gracia who promptly slipped out of the room with the two girls in tow.

When the click of the doorknob sounded behind the three, signalling that the couple was alone, Roy leaned forward and closed the space between his wife and him, kissing her. The lip lock was long, lingering and sweet, and when he pulled back so that his lips were brushing hers, he murmured, "I was so worried about you. I-I thought I had missed the birth all together and couldn't—"

"Shh," she interrupted him, before pressing their lips together again. "Nothing happened. I'm fine. We're fine, like I said." Roy sat back and sighed in relief, his hand sliding up to find her stomach, his fingers running over the rounded flesh. Riza smiled at the warmth his eyes exhibited towards her and the unborn child, before her hand folded over his and a chuckle left her throat. "To be honest, I think that the baby's just been waiting for you two to arrive. Because up until now the—" Abruptly, she bent over again, and Roy instinctively had his arm wrapped around her and he was allowing her to squeeze his hand as tightly as she needed to. A laboured breath escaped her lips before she relaxed again, "—t-the contractions haven't been so frequent and I was dilating pretty slowly up until a short while ago."

Roy's eyebrows were furrowed in grief and fear – the moment was so close he could almost feel the weight of the baby in his arms, and seeing his wife go through so much pain was difficult to watch – and he was about to speak when Riza cried out loudly, effectively making his mind go blank out of alarm. "Ah!" she yelled, releasing his hand and clutching her stomach, "I-I think I was r-right – because the baby... it's coming right now and – ow, dammit, why does this have to h-hurt so much?"

Immediately, whatever peace has settled in Roy's mind had flown out the window and he was standing there, glued in place, conflicted on whether or not he should leave his wife and get a doctor or stay with her out of a need to be reassured she was all right and provide her with comfort. When he was about to lean closer to her, she side-glared at him through gritted teeth, and it became evident in that moment what he needed to do – and so running to the door, he shot her a quick look, mouthed 'I love you!', and took off to find the doctor that would end up helping bring their baby into the world.

~P~

He was terrifically small for someone who had been growing for ten long months.

Roy couldn't stop blinking at the baby – a boy, a son – sitting in his wife's arms – she herself seemingly glowing with love towards him – cuddled close as she murmured a tuneless melody to the newborn. He was absolutely stunned by the presence - after waiting for such a long time, there he was, so near, so real, so just there. The birth has seemed so excruciatingly long for the impatient General, who wanted nothing more than to meet his son and to see his wife calm and content again instead of howling over a child that refused to crown. But after everything had passed, a son was born to the Mustangs, healthy and as loud as a newly-birthed baby could be.

Riza watched as Roy's hand twitched, eager but afraid to hold their son himself, before laughing. "It's okay to touch him, you know, he is yours, too." Roy nodded at her, not trusting himself to speak, before he raised his trembling hand and pulled it through the light, fluffy black hair of the boy. The baby's scrunched face relaxed at his father's touch, and the Flame Alchemist's chest swelled at the sight. Riza smiled at the exchange, before pulling her son away from her chest and holding him out to her husband. "Your turn, Mustang."

Slowly, he placed a hand under his son's head and back and took him from her grasp, her hands falling to the area that had up until recently held the life he was cradling. Awkwardly, he fit the child against his chest and began to play with his puffs of hair again, staring down at a pair of amber eyes that belonged to Riza, too. Riza watched them, nothing but love in her expression. Reaching out, she touched her husband's hand and whispered, "See. There's no need to be scared. You're a fine father."

Roy's eyes widened slightly, before he shook his head, a smile playing on his features – he couldn't hide his anxiety from her, and he hadn't tried to, and so to hear the reassuring words from the woman he loved helped to calm him greatly. A long sigh leaving his mouth, his eyes never left his baby as he spoke. "I'd been under the belief that because we've had Maida for these past few years that I would be all prepared for this – that I would be able to tackle this directly as I normally would. But... but a baby is so much... more fragile. N-nothing could have prepared me for this." And it was true – when Roy looked at their son, he had never been more fearful of screwing up in his life, but he could also barely recall a moment he had been so in love with a human being, other than when he was finally allowed to confess to Riza and the fateful day that they had adopted Maida. He felt just as unprepared as the day the adoption had been verified, but was filled with the same hope, determination to protect and love as back then, too.

He could do this. He could be a good father to this baby, just as he had been to his little Maida. And he was ready to do anything to prove that.

The new parents sat in comfortable silence for a long while before he piped up, "Names for him?" The pair hadn't discussed names extensively – but they didn't need to. One look into his eyes told Riza he already had an answer to his own question. Leaning over, she placed a kiss on his lips and when she pulled back, she could have sworn she saw the faint beginnings of tears in his eyes.

Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to his son's forehead and closed his eyes, all while murmuring, "Maes Mustang... our little boy... Welcome to the family." And at this, his hand found hers and intertwined their fingers, and peering at her, he continued, "I love you."

"And I love you," she pecked him on the lips, and then gently cupped Maes' chubby cheek, "too, my Mustang men." Roy found her mouth again, kissing her long and soft, but when their son began to wriggle and cry in his arms, he was forced to pull back. His eyes were wide as he tried to shush Maes – he didn't have any experience with babies! – and Riza just barely suppressed a giggle before she reached over and took him. "I think he might be hungry." Roy blinked at her, knowing full well that that was not something he could aid her with, before standing slowly, hesitantly – he couldn't take his eyes off either of them – and making his to the door.

"I think I'll go get Maida." He offered his wife a smile, which she returned, adjusting Maes so that he could be fed properly. "I'll tell her that she's now the proud older sister of a baby boy." Riza nodded, whispering her love once more before directing her attention to the baby, cradling him back and forth to calm him. Roy continued to watch the pair, amazed by just how strongly how felt for both, before he turned his head to the hallway and caught sight of his daughter and Elicia talking excitedly about possible names for the already dubbed baby.

When the little white-haired girl caught sight of her father, her eyes widened and a grin stretched on her face, and she was suddenly sprinting for the door, and Roy's newly-constant smile grew. Turning back into the room, he gazed at three other members that made up the Mustang family, his wife laughing, his baby gurgling – apparently no longer hungry at the arrival of his sister – and his daughter pressing kisses to Maes' head, and he decided right then and there, that he was the luckiest man in the world and nothing, nobody could convince him differently.