AN: Oh wow. It's been almost a year since I updated this. I have no real excuse except that I kinda forgot about it. I hope I made it up to you guys with this chapter though, it's long, and the long awaited event finally happens. You all get to find out the name and the sex. Again, I'm sooooo sorry for leaving it for so long!! I missed you guys!
The next day they arose early and boarded the train. It was a long trip back to central. Ed tried to sleep, but the baby wouldn't' be stilled. Roy tried to keep conversations going, to avoid boredom. They soon arrived at the central station. Hawkeye, in an awaiting car, drove them to their house, all the way asking questions about the wedding. She dropped them off, told Roy she expected to see him at work the next day, and drove off. Roy helped Ed inside and guided him to the bed upstairs.
"How do you feel?" He asked, pushing an unpacked suitcase under the bed. Ed kicked off his boots and pulled himself farther onto the bed.
"Tired…" Ed replied. His hand moved across his stomach. Toy watched him with concern.
"Well, you rest. I'm going to go make some phone calls." He said Ed nodded and lay back on the bed. He heard the door click closed, then was lost to sleep.
Ed woke the next morning to sun shining on his face. During the night, Roy had somehow changed him into one of his shirts. Ed sat up and looked to the empty spot next to him. There was a note on the pillow.
Ed,
I know how little sleep you get, so I won't wake you to say good-bye before I go to work. If you have any problems whatsoever, any pain, discomfort, anything at all, please don't hesitate to call me. I'll rush right to your side. Please rest today, and don't do anything that would stress you or our child out. I wish I could stay with you until it's born, but I'm afraid Hawkeye will shoot me if I don't do this paperwork left over from when we were gone. I love you Ed, and remember, call me if you need me.
Roy
Ed smiled as he read the note, and he put it on the bedside table. He looked around the room as he tried to decide what to do. He rested his hand on his stomach.
"So I guess you're hungry huh?" He asked the unborn child. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, got up and made his way carefully downstairs. He turned the corner to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. The child kicked him hard.
"You're certainly active today." Ed spoke softly. He looked down at his swollen stomach under the white fabric of his lovers' shirt. He finally decided on cereal for breakfast, something light so that he wouldn't just end up throwing it all back up. He ate slowly, interrupted often by jolts from the little legs inside him. When he finished he rinsed his bowl and waddled to the living room, sat on the couch and rubbed his stomach.
"Well…this is boring…" He said, blowing his bangs from his face. He looked around the room and spotted the book shelf.
"I guess I could catch up on some reading." He said pulling himself up from the couch and tottering over to the shelf. He scanned the books, then finally chose one and pulled it out. He turned to move back to the couch when a sharp pain hit him. He dropped the book and grasped his stomach.
"Not again." He whispered. Another pain wracked his body. He collapsed to his knees and let out a whimper. It hurt worse than before. He looked up. He had to call Roy. He began to stand up and slowly made his way to the phone. He ripped the receiver off the hook and dialed the number. A tear made its way down his face. After three rings a voice finally answered.
"Central Headquarters Col. Mustang speaking." Roy's voice sounded from the other end.
"Roy…its Ed…" The blonde said breathlessly.
"Ed? What's wrong?" Roy asked, his voice becoming wrought with concern.
"Roy…I think I need he-" He was cut off by another pain, worse than before, that made him cry out.
"Ed, stay where you are, I'm coming, I'll be there soon. Ok?" He said hurriedly.
"Roy, please hurry…" Ed's strained voice replied from the other end.
"I will Ed. I'm hanging up now ok?" He said. Ed made an understanding noise from the other end and the dark haired man dropped the phone and ran from the room, ignoring Hawkeye's questions.
Ed put down the phone and sunk to the floor. His forehead was dripping with sweat. He leaned against the wall as another pain shot through him. He clenched his teeth, trying to avoid screaming. It was a grueling seven minutes (he counted) before he heard the door open.
"Ed?" Roy's frantic voice called from the hall. He didn't have to wait for a reply though. Ed screamed as another pain found him, and Roy followed the sound. He ran to the younger man sitting on the floor. He brushed some sweaty hair out of his reddened face.
"Ed. Ed. I'm here now. We're gonna get you to the hospital now. Ok?" He said trying to sooth the blonde. Ed nodded. Roy wrapped his arm under the smaller man and pulled him up. Ed tried to help, but another pain grasped him, and his legs collapsed out from under him.
"Sorry…" He whispered to Roy through tears. Roy shook his head and pulled the boy into his arms bridal style. He wasn't all that heavy, and Roy took the shaking figure outside to the car. He got him buckled in, then got in the drivers seat. He turned to Ed.
"Ed we'll be there in a minute alright? You'll be ok." He said soothingly. He started the car and peeled out. It was a five minute drive to the hospital. Roy parked and ran to the other side of the car, pulling Ed out and carrying him into the building. The nurse at the desk quickly summoned Dr. Okian, and within ten minutes Ed was in a room with a mass of doctors around him. Roy was catching snippets of the conversation. They finished talking, and all but Dr. Okian was left. Roy gave him a questioning look as he sat next to his lover.
"We think we'll have to do a C-Section. It's early, I know, but we won't be able to stop the labor this time, and if we don't do this, they both may die." He said, watching the machines monitoring Ed. At that, Ed let out a cry of pain and tensed under the blanket of the bed. Roy grabbed his hand.
"Can't you give him something until then?" He begged. Dr. Okian looked at him sympathetically.
"We can't. We don't know all the things that could go wrong with this, and we don't want to throw any extra variables in. We'll be getting him to surgery soon." He said. Then turned and walked through the door. Roy watched him leave, and then turned his attention back to the blonde.
"Don't worry Ed. It'll all be ok soon. We'll be one big happy family." He said, squeezing the younger man's hand. Tears rolled down Ed's face.
"Roy…It hurts so much…" he whispered. Roy ran his hand along Ed's cheek, wiping away tears.
"I know Ed. It'll be just a bit longer. I know you can do it." Roy said, tearing up himself. Seeing the love of his life in this much pain was killing him. He leaned over the bed and placed a tender kiss on his lover's lips. He felt the man beneath him relax. Roy pulled away just as Dr. Okian reentered the room.
"We are going to take him to surgery now. If you follow the nurse she'll take you to get scrubbed in so you can be there." He said gesturing to a woman next to him. Roy looked at Ed and mouthed the words "I love you" to him. Ed smiled. He followed the nurse to a room with a few sinks and some medical outfits. She told him how to wash his hands all the way to his elbows, and then gave him some scrubs to put on. As he pulled the shirt on, he noticed how bad he was shaking. He was going to be a dad soon. A million things were going through his head. First and foremost, was Edward going to be alright? Then what about their child? The nurse then handed him a face mask, and told him to follow her. He did, and she led him through two double doors, and into a brightly lit room. Ed was in the center, a partition put up in the middle of his chest. He put on the face mask and walked towards Ed. He leaned over the man, and stroked his forehead.
"How do you feel?" Roy asked. Ed blinked at him and gave him a slight smile.
"I can't feel anything past my chest." He said, apparently delighted that the pain was gone. Roy smiled under the mask.
"That's good." He said quietly, watching as the doctors gathered around them. Dr. Okian was the one with the scalpel. He looked at Ed.
"Ok. Throughout the procedure, you may feel some pressure. That's normal. But if you feel any pain, tell us." He said watching the blonde. Ed nodded.
"Ok. Making first incision." He said to the other doctors around the table. Roy winced as he watched his lover's stomach get sliced. The surgery progressed well. The dark haired man looked back and forth from Ed to his stomach. It wasn't long before they pulled a blood covered infant from Ed. It was limp. Roy's heart raced. The doctors cut the umbilical cord and whisked it away. Roy looked down to Ed. His eyes were closed. A machine behind Roy suddenly made a high pitched whining noise. He looked up at the doctors. They looked at each other, and then at Ed. Dr. Okian called to him.
"Edward? Edward can you hear me?" He asked. Roy began to panic. Ed didn't answer. Roy stroked the blonde's forehead.
"Ed?" He asked quietly. No response. Dr. Okian began to spit out medical jargon to the other doctors. The room suddenly became active. The nurse grasped Roy's elbow.
"You have to come with me sir." She said. Roy gave her a disbelieving look.
"No…I can't leave him!" He said, almost yelling. Dr. Okian looked to him.
"You need to go so we can have some space to work. We'll do everything we can. Please go with her." He said calmly. Roy reluctantly followed the woman from the room. She took the scrubs and mask from him, and pointed him to the waiting room. He walked, seemingly in slow motion, through the door and into the waiting room he had grown to know so well. To his surprise, Hawkeye, Havoc, Gracia, and Elicia were all there.
"When you rushed out of work so fast, I figured something must have been wrong… Is everything alright? You look like hell." Hawkeye asked. That's when Roy lost it. He let the tears flow freely.
"I…I don't know…They took the baby…And Ed…" He said quietly. Hawkeye and Gracia's faces melted to looks of horror. Havoc looked down, and then put his hand on Roy's shoulder.
"Is he…gone?" Gracia asked. Roy looked at her.
"I…don't know." He sobbed. Hawkeye led the man to a chair and sat him down. The group didn't talk; they only looked solemnly at each other, each praying the worst didn't happen. Gracia had begun crying, and Elicia looked questioningly at everyone.
"Where's big brother?" She asked innocently. Her mother looked from her to Roy.
"He's sick. But he'll be better soon." She said through her tears. Elicia nodded. An hour passed without any news. Then Dr. Okian appeared from the doors. Roy stood quickly and the group followed suit.
"Ed should be fine. He's resting comfortably. We don't know what happened exactly, but his heart stopped. We got it beating again, so he should improve quickly." He explained. Roy's heart leapt. Ed was going to be ok. But what about the baby?
"What about the baby?" Gracia asked first. She looked at Roy apologetically. Roy looked to Dr. Okian.
"The baby…The baby is in the intensive care unit. Her condition is…not promising. She has a condition we call Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome. It happens when babies are born too early and their lungs can't process the oxygen correctly. She's on a ventilator for now. We'll know more tomorrow." He said quietly. Roy's face sunk.
"Can I see Ed?" He asked. Dr. Okian nodded.
"It's probably not best for him to have a lot of visitors right now though." He said gesturing to the rest of the group. Hawkeye nudged Roy forward.
"Go. But keep us posted ok?" She said smiling a bit. Roy saw that she had let a few tears fall down her face. He gave her a small smile and followed Dr. Okian. He led him through a few doors and down a hallway, and finally to Ed's room. The blonde looked to be sleeping. Roy sat beside him and took his hand. Dr. Okian watched him.
"I'm going to go check on the baby. I'll be back in a bit." He said. Roy nodded, his eyes never leaving Ed. The doctor left the room. Roy looked at the small man lying in the bed before him.
"Please Ed…Please be ok…I need you…Our…our daughter needs you." He said, letting the tears fall again. He closed his eyes and listened to the heart monitor echo through the room.
"Roy?" The blonde's quiet voice said. Roy opened his eyes and saw Ed looking at him.
"Oh thank God you're alright!" He said, almost jumping on the younger man. But he remembered his stitches and didn't.
"Roy…where's the baby?" Ed asked. Roy looked into his eyes.
"Ed…There's a problem. They don't know if she'll make it or not. She has…I don't remember what he called it, but it's a breathing problem. He said they'll know more in the morning." He said quietly letting the tears fall once more. The amber eyed man let his eyes well up as well.
"You mean…she might die? Our daughter might die?" He asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
"That won't happen. She's too much your kid to die. She'll make it." He whispered to the blonde. Ed hiccupped.
"Roy…" Ed stated quietly.
"Yes Ed?" Roy replied.
"I love you."
"I love you too Ed."
"Roy?"
"Yes Ed?"
"I'm tired."
"Go to sleep. I'll wake you if anything happens."
"Ok."
The blonde man closed his eyes and in a matter of minutes his breathing had slowed and he was asleep. Roy leaned on the bed next to Ed and closed his eyes. Before long, he was asleep as well.
Roy was awakened by a loud noise in the room. He opened his eyes to see Hawkeye and the others standing at the end of the bed. Ed was awakened as well, and gave the group a weak smile. They smiled back.
"Dr. Okian told us to come in here." Gracia said. Roy looked to the door as Dr. Okian and a nurse walked in the room. The nurse was holding a pink bundle.
"Edward. Roy. I want you to meet your daughter." Dr. Okian said, watching the nurse walk to the bed and hand the tiny bundle to Ed. The baby was small. Very small. With a swatch of dark hair on her head, and the purest honey colored eyes. She was quiet, her tiny body writhing in the blanket. Ed looked at the baby in his arms, then to Roy. Roy was gazing in amazement at the little thing his lover was holding.
"After a night of being on the ventilator, she can breathe on her own now. She only weighs three pounds, so we're going to have to keep her until she reaches five pounds. She seems healthy enough though." He said. The group was letting out squeals and gasps. Ed looked from the baby to Roy again.
"Do you want to hold your daughter?" He asked the older man. Roy nodded and carefully picked up the squirming bundle. She was so light and small, it almost scared the man. He looked down at her and smiled. Hawkeye and Gracia took turns holding her. Havoc graciously declined, saying he needed to go out for a smoke, and Gracia told Elicia she was too young to hold the baby, but she could look. When the excitement wore down, the group said their goodbyes and left. Roy and Ed were left with their daughter, still swathed in the pink blanket. Ed was holding her, gently bouncing the small infant.
"So…you need a name don't you?" He asked the baby. Roy laughed.
"Have anything in mind Ed?" He asked. Ed thought for a moment.
"Yeah. I did. I was thinking Nina." He said quietly. Roy remembered the little girl of Shou Tucker's. He remembered how attached Ed had been to her. He thought a minute. He quite liked the name.
"I think its perfect Ed." He said quietly. Ed looked up to him, then back at the baby.
"Hello there Nina Mustang. It's nice to finally meet you." The blonde said.
AN: Don't worry, I don't think I'll end it there. Maybe an epilogue chapter, and maybe even a sequel story! Tell me what you think! Please don't be angry with me for leaving it so long! I'm really sorry!