A.N. MY SECOND GIFT STORY!!!! Yes and it is the same pairing as the last one, too. I recommend the other one if you like this one!!!
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"Momma, Momma I dreamt bad things again," a little girl in the hallway sniffled, rubbing her eyes. She wore a little blue nightdress, and a fluffy teddy bear hung from her hand, touching the ground. It was almost as big as her. Her long black hair hung in waves to her waist, and her eyes were a beautiful brown with a hint of gold along the edges.
"Come here, sweety," her mother said, suppressing a sigh and reaching her arms out for her daughter. The little girl ran forward on her bare feet and clung to her mother.
"Momma, Momma," she cried into her mother's night shirt.
"Tell Momma what happened," she picked the girl up and cradled her in her lap.
"The monsters were hurtin' Daddy and mista' Ed," she sobbed. "And I couldn't help 'em, cause I was in a bird cage," she looked up at her mother with a tears stained face.
"It's alright, it's alright," she patted her daughter's head. "None of that is real. Ed's alright, he's at home in bed fast asleep," she reassured the four year old.
"What about Daddy?" she asked, wiping her eyes. Her mother remained silent, not sure what to say… and she knew she had to say something.
The little girl bit her lip, looking worriedly up at her mother. "Daddy is in a good place, right?"
"Right, that's right! Daddy's just fine," she wiped the tears from her daughter's cheek. "And nobody's going to stuff you into a bird cage."
"Alright, Momma," the girl snuggled down into her mother's bed. Hugging the teddy bear she fell asleep almost instantly against the soft pillows.
"I guess you're sleeping here tonight," the woman laughed lightly, finding it humorous that she didn't even ask anymore. She slept in here most nights, anyway. "Goodnight, Amber," she smiled at the toddler.
"Night, Momma," she yawned.
Laying back down, she wrapped an arm around the girl, and closed her eyes to try and sleep again. But she couldn't manage to keep the thoughts from her head.
Rolling onto her back and opening her eyes, she stared up at the dark ceiling.
"Oh, Roy," she sighed sadly. "It wasn't you time to go, it really wasn't. If I had the chance to go back to that day…," the woman whispered, slowly drifting back into sleep. Her clock read 3:34 A.M.
"I'd trade anything to get you back. Amber needs her Daddy," she said, a single tear slipping down her cheek and into her blonde hair as she fell asleep.
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That night, dreams tormented Riza, threatening to wake her up at any moment. Most of the time, she was crying in the dreams, and she saw him, battling for his life. Another dream was of Ed… and he was dying, too, but he was still trying to save Roy.
The worst dream of all was of herself, in a birdcage, shrunk down to miniature size, and the monsters were holding herAmber. She screamed for them to release her daughter, but all they did was laugh evilly, and in one split second, a beast opened its mouth, and dropped the tiny girl into gaping blackness.
Riza heard her daughter's screaming, and moaned with pain, and then, she was awake.
Sunlight was streaming through the window, birds were chirping outside, and the curtains were blowing from a slight breeze.
Amber was beside her, safe and sound, and she was normal size.
"Thank God that it was all a dream," Riza sighed, sitting up slowly as not to wake Amber. She quietly left the room, and walked down to the kitchen, stretching and yawning in the meantime.
Opening the front door, she picked up the paper and waved to her neighbor across the street. Returning to the kitchen, she made a coffee and toast, and sat down to read the paper.
Somewhere in the middle of the paper were the words IN MEMORIAM.
Riza's eyes scanned the page, and her eyebrows shot up at reading the article.
Today marks the eigth anniversary of Brigadier General Maes Hughes' death. He is most noted for…
But Riza's eyes were attracted mostly to a picture of the man, standing next to herself, Fury, Havoc, Armstrong, Breda, Hughes, Falman… and Roy.
Her eyes crinkled in the corners as she smiled at the picture of the group. She was the only woman… but that had never mattered.
She stared at the picture for a long time, until the timer on the oven beeped, signaling that it had heated up enough to start the roast she was going to cook today. Of course she had realized that it was eight years ago today that Hughes died… she just hadn't expected there to be an article on it.
Going to the refrigerator, she pulled out the already prepared meat, and pushed it onto the oven rack. Turning around again, she almost jumped when she saw Amber at the table eating cereal.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she asked, laughing.
"Why?" Amber asked, her eyes big as she looked at her mother, chewing a new spoonful of the cold breakfast.
"You're always so quiet when you come in here," she laughed. "Do you want some orange juice?" she offered, pulling the carton out and shaking it.
"Yes please!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. Riza smiled and handed the glass to Amber.
"Momma's gunna go get dressed… you be good. Don't get into trouble and finish your breakfast," Riza ordered.
"Okay!" the girl nodded.
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"I just don't know what I'm going to do," Riza shook her head and sighed to Maria Ross.
"You can always get a loan from the bank," the woman offered.
"No, I did that last month. We're going to lose the house! I can't join back with the military, either," she said before her friend could suggest that.
"Well, why not? You were great before! I'd bet that you could make a great income if you just tried!" Maria exclaimed. "Why don't you give it a chance, Riza?"
"If anything ever happened," Riza shook her head. "What would Amber be left with? She'd lose a mother and a father," Riza sighed, defeated.
"The military has been paying you for Roy's retirement though, right?" Maria asked.
"It's not enough. I need a different solution," she blinked twice holding back the tears.
"I feel like I'm failing her," she cried. "I'm a terrible Mum."
"Of course you aren't! You're taking care of her just fine! It's just that you need a smaller place, is all," she patted her friend's shoulder.
"I can't buy a house, anymore. My credit score is awful, and the bills need to be paid. Nobody in their right mind would sell a house to me," she smiled sadly.
"I dunno," Maria could think of nothing to say.
"Look, I need to g pick up Amber, now. Al's been watching for her, she really likes him," Riza smiled sincerely.
"Everybody likes Al! He's one of the friendliest people in the city," Maria laughed. "I'll see you later, then?"
"I'll call you when I get a chance. Thanks for listening, Maria. It means a lot," Riza thanked her
"Hey, what are friends for?" she laughed.
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A.N. That is chapter one!!! Yaaaaay! I know it was short… but that's okay, right? Amber is not mine, she actually belongs to Swordsman of Fire and this is a gift fic for him! Yay!!! Buahaha! How will Riza manage to pay the rent? WILL she pay the rent? And what happened to Roy a few months ago? All will be answered in the coming chapters! Please review!!!