AN :okay, my b, i forgot about a chapter for jessica and james' kid D: thank you IxiaLiliana for reminding me! .

i hope this makes up for it...

shoutout to waddiwasiwitch and tasia for help with the kid names

'cause your love is all i ever wanted, set my heart on fire, i needed something

this is all i wanted to be, you and i

hello my love westlife

"Oh my god," Riza whispered. Roy watched as a hand rose to her mouth in shock and he was instantly alert, listening intently, and straining to hear what was being said on the other side of the phone. If it caused this much of a reaction from Riza it must have been something big.

"Riza?" he asked uncertainly after she was silent for a few moments.

What Roy didn't expect was Riza waving her hand at him irritably, signalling him to be quiet. "Okay. We'll be there as soon as possible." She hung up the phone and sprung from the armchair.

"Riza?" Roy asked worriedly. This behaviour was most unlike her. Uncertainty and dread pooled in his stomach. She paused in the doorway, as if remembering Roy was in the room with her. A slow smile spread across her face and he noticed her eyes were wet. "What's wrong?" he asked, rising from his chair.

She shook her head. "Nothing's wrong," she replied, appearing to be in a daze. Her voice wavered and Roy's dread abated slightly when Riza took a deep breath and grinned. "Are you ready to meet your grandson?"

Roy blinked.

His what?

Riza's tears fell as she smiled, pulling him into a tight hug.

"My what?" Roy replied stupidly. He had heard Riza's words just fine but his brain refused to comprehend them.

"You're a grandfather, Roy," Riza grinned against his shoulder.

"I… Jessica… The baby… Now?"

Riza laughed, kissing him. "Yes, now. That was James on the phone. Jessica delivered the baby an hour ago. A beautiful and healthy baby boy."

"Oh my god… Oh my god!"

Roy lifted a laughing Riza off her feet and spun her around in the middle of their living room. He didn't care that Mia was (supposed to be) asleep. It was almost midnight and she had gone up to bed around ten however they were no doubt making enough noise to wake her up.

"We're grandparents," Roy said softly after placing Riza back on her feet. He smiled tenderly at her, feeling his love for this woman grow exponentially. She had welcomed him into her family which now had a brand-new member. Roy was aching to meet him already.

"We are," Riza confirmed.

"Are we going to the hospital now?" Riza laughed at the excitement in his tone. She kissed his nose.

"Of course we are."

"I'll go and wake Mia!"

Roy all but sprinted up the staircase, the sound of Riza's amusement following him. He knocked on Mia's bedroom door but received no answer. Half the time when he checked in on her he caught sight of her phone screen shining through her duvet cover. Roy had half a mind to scold her, but ultimately decided against it. The seventeen-year-old would quickly come to learn that she needed her sleep. She was usually very good during the week, it mostly only happened at the weekend, so he let it slide.

"Mia?" he whispered quietly. No answer. Roy creeped in and noticed she was, in fact, asleep, for a change. Her dark hair was loose in its ponytail, little hairs sticking up in places where it had been moving against her pillow. Smiling down at his daughter he perched on the edge of her bed so not to scare her when she woke. "Mia?" he tried again. She stirred and her eyes opened blearily before promptly shutting again. Her only response was a grunt that made Roy chuckle. After a while he eventually coaxed her awake.

"Dad?" she whined tiredly. "What is it?"

"James has been on the phone."

"Uh hu," Mia replied, not paying attention and curling back in on herself.

"Jessica had her baby."

Mia was silent and she sighed quietly. Then, comically, her eyes shot open despite the fact she was still fighting sleep. "What?" she screeched, voice cracking.

Roy nodded excitedly. "You're an Aunt!" he cried. Mia squealed and threw her arms around his neck while Roy laughed. "Do you want to go and meet him?"

"Him?" Mia asked in wonder.

Roy nodded enthusiastically. "As soon as you're ready we can go."

"Okay! Give me five minutes."

Roy kissed her forehead before closing the door behind him. Adrenaline and excitement coursed through him and he hopped down the last two steps in an attempt to exert some of that energy. Riza raised an amused eyebrow at his choice of descent. Roy simply grinned in response. True to her word, Mia was dressed and down the stairs in five minutes but Roy was still hopping from foot to foot impatiently.

"Calm down, ants in your pants," Riza admonished, amused. How she could be so calm and collected, Roy didn't know. Currently Riza was leaning against the wall in the main hallway, her ankles crossed casually. Like Roy, she had been to restless to sit and wait for Mia.

"Ready?" Roy asked Mia, ignoring Riza's comment. He was excited to meet his grandkid. So, sue him.

"Ready!" Mia announced brightly.

It took them twenty minutes to reach the hospital. A nurse escorted them to Jessica's room.

"Jessica?" the nurse called softly. "Your visitors are here if you are up for it?"

"Of course," she replied and Roy saw her smile at the trio as they stood outside the door.

Roy's gaze was instantly drawn to James who was holding his new-born son in his arms, lightly bouncing the baby up and down. Roy was instantly teleported back to seventeen years ago when Mia had been born. Tears sprung into his eyes.

"Hey guys," Jessica greeted tiredly.

"Hello, Jessica," Riza greeted, walking over to her daughter-in-law. "How are you doing?"

"I'm all right. Just tired."

"Welcome to the next fifteen years of your life," Riza chuckled with a wink. She gasped as she laid her eyes on her grandson. "Oh, Jessica, James," she whispered, looking at the new parents. "He's beautiful." Roy was still stuck in place, unable to tear his eyes away from the baby. He snuffled in his sleep, tiny mouth opening in a yawn. Roy gasped. He barely noticed that James had transferred his son – Roy's grandson – over to Riza. Roy couldn't take his eyes off the kid.

"Would you like to hold him?" Riza asked with a knowing smile. Roy felt a tear track down his cheek but made no move to wipe it away.

Rendered mute by his grandson, Roy nodded. It was so unlike him to become speechless but this was his grandson. For the last nine months they had known he was coming, obviously, but now he was here. In Riza's arms. This was exactly like when Mia had been born.

The baby stirred in Roy's arms as he shifted from Riza to him. Roy instantly fell in love. He was so perfect. There was a small tuft of red hair atop his head, the tips of it lighter than at the roots. Long eyelashes fell across his tiny cheeks and his eyebrows there a shade lighter than Jessica's, but still red, like his mother's.

"He's beautiful," Roy whispered, bouncing his grandson lightly as he shifted once more. "Do you have a name?"

James and Jessica looked at each other. "We like the name Jeremy."

"Come on, Granddad!" Jeremy called, exasperated.

Roy huffed quietly to himself. "I'm coming!" he replied, panting as he walked up the slope which was currently covered in snow. His fitness had taken a turn in recent years and it frustrated Roy no end. Being sixty-two was no joke when trying to hike up a snow-covered mountain. Also, trying to keep up with his twelve-year-old grandson was a feat. Like the boy's father, Jeremy was a ball of energy that could not be tamed. It didn't help that the snow was hindering his progress and his knee was acting up again. His shoulder ached in this cold but Roy grinned and bore it for his family's sake.

Breathing heavily, Roy finally made it to the top of the hill. They were high above the trees now and the view was spectacular. Roy remembered walking up here with James years ago. It was nice to know the view hadn't changed one bit.

Riza arrived next, breathing heavily as well. She rested her hands on her hips as she tried to catch her breath while gazing out across the mountains. James and Jessica brought up the rear, seven-year-old Jake in between them, one parent each holding a hand of their youngest son. Ten-year-old Josh re-joined the path shortly before the summit, having wandered off to run in the forest and dart in between the trees.

"We did it!" Jake called excitedly, swinging in James and Jessica's hands.

"Wow!" Josh hasped in wonder as he looked out at the view. "This is awesome! I can see the whole mountain from here!"

"Is this the same place you brought Dad when he was young?" Jeremy asked, neck craning to look up at his grandfather.

Roy nodded. "Brought him to this very spot."

"It hasn't changed at all, has it?" James grinned.

"Nope," Riza replied. She made her way over to Roy, grasping his hand tightly.

"Okay, group photo time!" James announced, whipping out his phone.

"Just give us a second," Riza replied. "I don't want to look exhausted in any photos."

"Okay!" James replied, turning to wrangle his three boys into some kind of order.

Roy thought it was hilarious both he and Jessica had continued with the "J" theme while naming their children. Jeremy was very athletic and excelled in most sports he took part in. Roy often joked Jeremy got that from him, which caused Riza to roll her eyes, but grin. In truth, he took after Jessica. He was very strong minded and took charge of almost every situation. He had often bossed them all about, especially when it came to playing board games in the lodge. Jeremy liked to maintain order, much to Roy and Riza's amusement and James and Jessica's dismay. There was a concern that Jeremy's brothers wouldn't be happy with such a strong leadership, but in all honesty, they looked up to their big brother and would follow anywhere Jeremy led them. In return, Jeremy was very protective of them both.

Josh was more into his books and art, like James was as a child. Roy remembered the boy approaching him with a very serious look on his face when he was three and hopping into Roy's lap, pressing a book into his hands. "Read," he had commanded and ever since then, the boy had been hooked. Roy had bought him a set of books from an old fantasy series he had read when he was a kid and Josh was besotted with them. It made Roy feel proud that he could share a big part of his childhood with his grandson. Josh would grow up reading about Harry Potter like he had and Roy couldn't be happier.

Jake was a mix of both. He would join in with whatever held his interest in the moment. He leaned more towards reading and colouring with Josh, but if Jeremy asked for someone to help him practice, Jake was always eager to join in. Josh would eventually make his way over to their game and the three would play together.

It warmed Roy's heart to see them get on so well. That was all he had ever wanted, to see them happy and healthy. His wish had come true.

"Hey, there's Aunt Mia!" James called, waving to his younger sister.

"Sorry we are late," she panted. "Somebody didn't want to sit still while we put her shoes on," she looked pointedly at the four-year-old sitting atop her father's shoulders. Lilly giggled to herself, wiggling her feet. Geoff - Mia's husband – winced as the heel of his daughter's boot caught him in the shoulder.

"Get in here, we're taking photos!" James called.

Mia rolled her eyes. James was the photographer of the family, for sure, and made sure to bring out the camera at every family gathering. It reminded Roy very much of Maes and he grinned. Hughes had gotten even worse now he was a grandfather. If that was even possible.

As the eight of them organised themselves and took silly photos, Roy and Riza looked on fondly.

"We did well, didn't we?" Roy asked his wife.

She turned to look at him, hands hooking onto his arm. She grinned, nodding. Her short hair was almost all grey now. There were only a few strands of blonde streaked through it and Roy found himself missing her long hair once more. Oh, how he had loved to run his hands through it. His hair was greying too, but he was lucky to sport the salt and pepper look rather than a full head of grey hair. In his old age, Roy had opted to keep it slicked back permanently. He had no time or patience these days for hair falling over his eyes. Plus, in order to keep an eye on four excitable grandchildren he didn't need anything obscuring his vision. A few strands escaped more often than not but Roy allowed it because it gave Riza the excuse to brush them out of his face

Riza's eyes crinkled at the edges as she smiled. "We did really well."

"We have had some life," Roy commented as he watched a mischievous look appear in Jeremy's eyes. Just what exactly was that young man up to? "I mean, we went through a lot."

"We did."

"And I know at times I wasn't… great, especially at the start, but I'm so lucky to have fallen in love with you. I'm so lucky you gave me that chance. Thank you."

Riza smiled, squeezing his bicep. "You gave me that chance too, remember?"

"Yeah, but you could have gone with anyone. You could have saved yourself the heartache I brought upon you. I often wondered if I was worth it, if I was enough."

Riza rolled her eyes. "Stop being so dramatic. I chose you because I loved you. Life taught me that it's painful and often unfair. However, if you work at something you will be rewarded." Like she had been with James. Like the pair of them had experienced when their relationship finally came to fruition. Roy grinned.

"Equivalent exchange?" Roy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Something like that," Riza replied vaguely. Perhaps they had been watching too many documentaries on old style medicine and science from hundreds of years ago.

"I suppose you're right," Roy sighed. After the amount of work they put in to get to this point, especially since they first met, this was more than enough of a reward.

"I'm always right."

"Of course you are, dear."

"Back then, all I ever wanted was you." Riza's smile changed and Roy wanted to kiss her there and then. They were interrupted by a squeal of laughter from Lilly, who, still on her father's shoulder, kicked her legs again and clapped her hands in amusement to whatever Jeremy had cooked up. Apparently, Mia wasn't very happy with whatever her nephew did and proceeded to chase him around the viewpoint while James sighed and placed his hand over his face. Jessica tried to keep a straight face but ended up laughing instead.

"I'm glad they are all so happy," Roy commented. "Those kids had nothing close to the upbringing we had and I'm eternally grateful for that."

Riza chuckled. "We went through some shit."

"They'll never even know the worst of it."

"Good," Riza replied honestly. "They don't need to know about all of that."

"Want to keep them in this bubble forever, huh?" Roy joked.

Riza nudged him with her shoulder. "You know what I mean."

"Mum!" James called, waving them over. "Dad! Come on!"

"Give us two minutes," Riza called back. "Anyway," she added. "Where's all of this stuff coming from?"

Roy shrugged. "It's just something I think about when we're all together. I still can't believe my luck to have met you, even to this day." Roy chuckled. "I always used to question why you were even with me."

Riza turned fully to look at him. "Really?"

Roy nodded. "Remember back then? When my father kept me in line?"

"Of course I remember," Riza replied, as if it was a stupid question.

"Well, I never really saw anyone. I didn't have very many friends out of the fear they could be used against me." Roy shrugged. "Happiness wasn't really something I was used to."

"You never told me." Riza's brow furrowed, eyes filled with sorrow.

"It wasn't that important. Like I said, you blew all of that out of the water the moment I met you." Roy grinned. "You could have fallen for anyone, yet it was me. Upon realising that, I vowed I would do whatever I could to make sure you were happy." Roy took her hands in his, squeezing them tightly. "I fell short of that expectation once or twice, but I hope you have been happy, Riza."

Riza's expression changed. It softened and she lifted one of her hands to his cheek, her thumb caressing the skin under his eye. They fluttered closed and he leaned into her touch.

"Do you even have to ask that?" she replied softly.

The pressure of her lips against his was her response. A chorus of "ew!" and "yuck!" sounded from their grandkids, but they didn't care. They loved each other and they were happy.

"Come on, lovebirds!" Mia called with a grin. "I'd like to get those pictures taken some time today. Preferably in daylight!"

Riza grinned against his lips and Roy couldn't help but copy her.

Yeah, his kids and grandkids were all waiting expectantly for them. Roy still couldn't even believe he had grandkids, never mind four of them.

He remembered thinking one day while holding baby Mia in his arms that the future looked good. The future wasn't just good, it was incredible, far exceeding his expectations, and Roy wouldn't have traded it for the world.

and there we have it! i have gone through all the ideas i had for additional oneshots for this au and tbh i feel like this is the perfect point to end it

of course i would love to keep writing more but i want to focus on other ideas and fics too!

thank you all for reading and keeping up with this au. it really means the world to me!