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'Is she OK right now?'

That's what Roy thought as he lay in his bed, tired but too charged with worry to sleep. When he had gotten back to his apartment (after a quick stop to Riza's apartment to pick up Black Hayate since Roy had no way of knowing how long she would be in the hospital. Luckily, he still had the copy of her apartment key that he had made years ago), the only thoughts that went through his mind were about Riza. He had faith that she would pull through but that didn't seem to quiet his thoughts. They were going at a million miles an hour, which was a contrast from the peace and stillness of his room. His eyes drifted to his window, where the stars filled the dark sky, just like always.

The stars made a memory suddenly pop into Roy's mind. It was of something that had happened when they were both teenagers. He had been seventeen and she had been about to turn sixteen, the two of them both still living with Master Hawkeye. It was a memory that Roy hadn't thought of in a long time. Yet, it now seemed like one of the more precious ones he had of her.

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Roy passed by Riza's room, his eyes going to the door, which was slightly open. It was odd that her door was open, since she usually left it closed shut, whether she was vacating it or not. Curiosity getting the better of him, Roy looked through the gap in the door. He didn't mean to spy on her, exactly. He just wanted to know what could make the usually guarded young woman leave her door open like that.

Roy saw that Riza was sitting in a chair by her window, gazing out of it, a faraway look in her eyes. The look captivated Roy, since Riza never had never been the type, it seemed to Roy, to daydream. In that moment, Riza didn't look like a fifteen year old girl going on twenty, with all that she had gone through. She looked exactly her age, just a normal girl staring, literally, into space.

He stood there looking at her until Riza, who had noticed him out of the corner of her eye, turned her head to look at him. That movement broke the spell.

"Oh, sorry. I-I didn't mean to startle you. I can leave if-"

"Roy."

This stopped Roy, who had turned to leave. She had never called him by his first name, not since he had first appeared at her house five years before. She usually only called him "Mister Mustang". After Riza gave him a reassuring smile and a slight nod of her head, her signal that he could come into her room, Roy entered. He sat down in the chair across from her's.

"Roy, what do you think about stars?" Riza asked him, her voice still owning the soft quality that had been present when she called his name. Roy gave her a slightly puzzled look before answering.

"I think that stars are just stars. That's all they are; a bunch of gasses up in space that form little twinkling phenomenons. By the time we see them, they are already dead."

"That's a very pragmatic way of looking at them."

Roy gave her a curious look and asked her what she thought of stars.

"Well, I think that they are what you say they are. I also think, though, that they're the things that make the sky beautiful, like the crown jewels."

At Roy's once again puzzled look, Riza elaborated.

"Like, if the solar system followed the a monarchy, with a king and a queen and all that, then I think that the earth would be the king. The sky would be its crown and all the stars in the sky would be the gems in the crown. They're just as precious. The stars are like the final touches a painter puts on a masterpiece. The picture is already pretty without it but it's those very last touches you put on it that make it beautiful."

Riza gave the sky another lingering look. After a moment of shared silence, Riza spoke again.

"I know my views could be considered idyllic but, if you think of mundane things in a different way, it helps. It helps is not to lose faith in the world so easily." Riza locked eyes with Roy and gave him a small smile. "That's what I believe."

Roy returned the smile.

"I think that your outlook on the world is like the stars; beautiful."

Riza's smile grew and, even in the limited light, Roy could see the blush on Riza's cheeks. The two were quiet for a few more moments until Riza let out a small yawn.

"It's getting late. I'll let you go to bed." Roy got up to leave. "Good night, Riza."

"Good night. Oh, and Roy?"

"Yes?"

"Think about the stars."

From that point on, every time Roy saw the stars, he always thought of them as gems.

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Roy smiled weakly at the memory. It was things like that, beautiful things that she said that filled Roy with hope, that made him fall in love with her. This is why he needs her. Without her, things would be cut and dry. Without her, stars would just be stars.

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'Now its gone from black to white.'

That's what Riza thought when she opened her eyes. Even though the color was dulled and darkened by the lack of lights and sun outside, since it was, Riza figured, the middle of the night, Riza was still shocked by the drastic change of it all. She'd spent God knows how long in that permanently dark hell inside her head and then, with a just the opening of her eyes, it was white. After a few minutes, Riza realized that this place was a hospital. A look at her arm bearing the IV confirmed this fact. Riza was alive. She was alone in this room but she was alive.

The sound of the door opening slightly startled Riza and she turned her head to investigate. A doctor entered the room, smiling a smile smile when he saw that Riza was awake.

"Ah, Miss Hawkeye, I see you've woken up. I must say, I'm a little surprised that you've woken up so soon."

Riza cocked her head in confusion.

"Was I that serious?"

The doctor nodded. "You lost a lot of blood. For a while there, we weren't sure if you were going to make it. You easily could have died."

Riza thought back to that suffocating darkness. She realized that, had she given up, she most likely would have died. Had she not heard Roy's voice...

"Doctor, could you please call someone for me?"

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Suddenly, the sound of Roy's phone ringing broke the heavy silence in the room. He jumped out of bed and practically sprinted to the phone, Black Hayate on his heels. Roy picked up the phone.

"Hello?" He asked, his voice filled with urgency.

"Colonel Mustang?" Roy recognized the voice of the doctor. "I'm calling you about Miss Hawkeye."

Roy's heart started beating faster. Did something happen? Had she taken a turn for the worse? Had she...?

"Is she OK?"

"She's just fine. I'm calling to inform you that she woke up."

Roy almost dropped the phone.

'She's awake...she made it,' Roy thought as relief flooded his chest. She fought and she won. When will she ever stop being so amazing?

"When can I see her?"

"Seven A.M., sir."

"Alright. Thank you very much."

Roy hung up the phone and sat down in a nearby chair. He still had about two more hours before he could see her. Until then, he would just slowly watch as a new day dawned on the horizon.