A/N: I am so sorry for the wait everyone! I have no excuse other than that I just wasn't in a very fluffy mode often enough to write this. I'm hoping now that I've written this, my fluffy side will reemerge so that I don't leave you all without an update for so long. Thank you so much for your patience, and I hope that you enjoy this next installment! And please feel free to let me know if there is any OOCness or anything incorrect up until this point! Thank you!

Timeline: 23 weeks

A sharp jab to Roy's side tore him from the deep plane of sleep he had attained and forced him up into a sitting position. He was charged and ready, his senses alive and primed for the imminent attack that was to come. Instead, however, when his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, he found that there was no intruder or attacker. Nor anyone else in the room with them for that matter. A light jungle momentarily redirected his attention to the end of their bed, but after he recognized that the mass of black and white that was lying there was Hayate, he relaxed.

With that in mind he turned his attention to his wife and found that she was sleeping peacefully beside him. He watched her chest rise and fall for a few breaths and, when he was confident she was in as deep a sleep as he had been before, he directed his focus back to the visceral ache he felt in his ribs. Reaching up, he tenderly ran a hand over them, surprised by how contused they felt.

Something, or someone, had hit him.

He looked around again, thoughts once muddled becoming more clear by the second, and tried once more to discover what it was exactly that had roused him from his sleep. His thoughts immediately returned to Riza, whom hadn't moved since his abrupt awakening. She appeared as peaceful and deep in sleep as she had been before. Roy lifted a hand and hovered it over her shoulder, and then stopped. There was no use waking her if there wasn't anything to wake her over.

He closed his eyes and groaned softly, settling back onto his pillow with a small huff. Perhaps he had dreamt up the entire ordeal? Though… his sore ribs would beg to differ. Just as he reached over to rub them again, another firm force connected with his hand and drove it against his side. Roy yelped with surprise and jerked away, immediately turning his attention toward Riza for a third time and saw once again that she was sleeping. That time, however, he had felt it and knew that he had been awake enough to know that he hadn't dreamt it.

Roy cautiously lifted the covers and peered beneath them, allowing his eyes to adjust to the fraction of light that poured in through their window, identifying the pillow Riza used to support herself during the night, and nothing else. Puzzled, he lifted and pushed them again, this time sprawling the covers over the lower half of their bed.

Riza shifted beside him, clearly uncomfortable by the sudden change in temperature. But rather than wake she continued to sleep, only adjusting herself by pulling the pillow she had wrapped herself around closer to her body and curling her knees closer to her chest.

A smile formed on his lips and he watched her for a few moments, absorbed by just how peaceful she looked. Riza's side rose and fell with every deep, even breath she took. Gone were the small lines that had settled on her forehead from the week's brutal schedule. Though she had done her best to hide it, the exhaustion eventually won and made itself evident in her expression and actions. On top of the mountain of paperwork the quarter's end brought, he knew that the little one was restless, feeding off their mother's anxiety. The nights were just as long and grueling as the days, wrought with endless bouts kicking and rolling that plagued Riza's sleep. He reached up to brush a stray strand of hair from her cheek but stopped short of doing so when her face contorted and wrinkled with discomfort. Without further warning, her leg kicked out from beneath her and connected with his thigh.

The sudden, though unintended, attack elicited from him a surprised yelp that he was quick to muffle with his hands. Roy watched, distressed, as Riza shifted again and moaned, rolling from her side onto her back. Her hand moved up her side and lightly clutched her stomach again. Then, her face softened as the round of kicks subsided, once again falling into a deep sleep.

Roy reached down and rubbed his tender thigh as he watched, waiting for any other indications of discomfort on his wife's face. Perhaps he had thought it too soon; maybe the sleepless nights weren't over quite yet…

The jingle of Hayate's collar redirected his attention toward the end of the bed. The pup had clearly been disturbed too and did not appear happy about it. He huffed and stared at the sheets, glaring at Riza's foot as it rhythmically flexed and extended beneath the blanket. Just as he realized what was to come, and before he could beckon the dog toward him, her knee jerked and her foot kicked into the air. Hayate jumped away and caught his foot on the edge of the bed. With a surprised yelp, he slipped off the edge of their bed and tumbled onto the floor.

Roy scrambled to the edge of the bed and watched Hayate stand and shake himself. He offered him a sympathetic smile once Hayate had shaken off his disbelief. The pup snorted with disdain and turned tail, padding over to and settling down on the dog bed across the room and gave him a discontent huff. He moved his shoulders apologetically but Hayate was clearly not amused, opting to turn away from them and face the wall.

Roy shook his head, unable to provide any relief to the aggravated pup, and then focused on Riza again. Her face showed no signs of wakefulness nor discomfort, once again seeming to be in a deep state of sleep. However, despite how she might appear, Roy knew better than to assume that everything was alright by what he saw on the surface. Taking care to move as quietly as possible, as to not disturb what sleep she was getting, Roy carefully placed his hand on her stomach.

No matter how many times he had felt their child move, Roy decided that he'd never get over the absolute awe he would constantly be overcome by. This movement, this child, was two parts of them that created a whole. A child that would one day grow to be whatever he or she wanted to be in an ideal world that they hoped the two of them could create for it. There were moments where he and Riza would fear that they could not provide for the child an environment where they would flourish and grow. Where it would one day learn of the atrocities and despair its parents were involved with and would reject them. They were terrified by what the uncertain future held, but all it took for them to take a step back and look at the now was the promise they had made to do the best that they could. And feeling that little kick brought them back to that promise.

A smile touched his lips when the child rolled beneath his hand. The movement was subtler than what he had felt previous nights, which he attributed that to the fact that Riza was still sleeping, aside from the occasional disturbance. He pressed his hand more firmly and the child kicked back. Roy jumped again when Riza's leg reflexed and her foot kicked into the air.

Surprise turned to comprehension, which led to amusement. He waited another moment for confirmation and, when he felt another small kick, turned his head in time to see Riza's leg move again. Roy bit his tongue and stifled the laugh that had begun to bubble in his chest, all at once feeling his worry subside. It seemed that her reaction was a normal, albeit unusual, reaction to their child's kicks. He checked her expression again and found that she was still sleeping as peacefully as she had been before, perhaps a little more so.

Roy turned toward his nightstand and picked up the alarm clock he had set, finding that it was quarter-past six. Just fifteen minutes' shy of when they were supposed to get up. Deciding to forgo waking her in favor of granting her the few extra minutes of sleep she so desperately needed, he decided that it would be advantageous to begin brewing their morning coffee and tea. After all, they would need something to discuss the whimsical development over.