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~The City~
Roy Mustang and Trisha Elric were high school sweet hearts, married at the age of 20. Two years later Trisha discovered she was pregnant.
Problems started ensuing between the couple, she hadn't wanted kids but she also didn't have the heart to tell Roy that, he was ecstatic about having a child. So she went along with it, it was only one right? But soon they found that their house in the city wasn't very safe to raise a child.
So Roy suggested they move to Resembool to live near the Rockbell's, they were good friends who had moved away after high school.
It would be a safe little town and if they ever needed babysitters the Rockbell's would be close by.
Trisha of course wasn't happy about the move, she liked living in the big city with all of the life. So switching to the countryside with a town with such a small population was going to be hard. But yet again she didn't complain so that Roy would be happy and feel at ease.
About the same time they moved in to neighbor the Rockbell's Roy and Trisha discovered that their friend Sarah was also pregnant, it was a slight comfort for Trisha.
~Resembool~
Months later the two were getting more comfortable and being able to call this place home, then Edward joined their family.
He was a strange little tike who didn't look anything like his parents, when he started growing hair it was pure blond, and the same went for his eyes. Somehow these two parents had gotten gold out of lead from their baby boy.
For awhile Roy joked that this must have been fate if two dark haired people could make a golden haired brat.
For awhile Trisha was happy with this life, content with living with Roy and Edward, having the neighbors. And their little girl who Edward liked to play with in the play pen, Winry was her name. She also had blond hair but it was a fairer shade than Edward's.
And yet their family wasn't done growing, it was soon later that Trisha discovered that yet again she was pregnant. And soon yet again they had a baby boy in their arms once again whom they named Alphonse.
His eyes were brown like his mother's and his hair was a golden brown. The father of the two always like two watch them and Winry play together because they all had golden yellow hair. Winry's was lightest, then Edward's, then Alphonse's was darkest.
That was when she really started hating her life. Somehow she had come to love these children but it wasn't enough to keep her satisfied in this boring little town.
Finally she was fed up with everything, children that favored their father and that she had never wanted anyway, the neighbors which had died in the war and left their own brat to come over all of the time whenever she wanted, a husband that paid more attention to the boys than her, everything.
So when the boys were three and two she decided she was going to leave. Better leave sooner so that they didn't become more attached to her.
It was dark and late at night when she tried to sneak out but there was Roy stalking down the stairs and rubbing his eyes to see where his wife had gone to.
"Trisha..where are you heading at this time of night?"
"I'm leaving Roy."
"You mean leaving leaving? Why!" his voice was distressed.
"I can't stand any of this anymore. The kids, the neighbor kids, you don't listen to me anymore." she listed.
"That's not true I always listen to what you have to say!"
"Don't bother Roy there's nothing you can say to make me stay."
"But-!" he was cut off by the sound of smaller feet pounding down the wooden steps.
Edward holding Alphonse's hand coming down, also rubbing sleep out of their eyes.
"Boys what are you doing down here?" Roy asked his voice a bit shaky.
"Al had to go potty but we didn't make it in time. Sorry Daddy."
"It's ok, you both did a good job trying your best. Go to the bathroom before bedtime tomorrow." his smile was shaky and he lifted Al into the air but holding him just right so not to get the pee on him. He would have to change the boy before bed.
All of the males looked over at the one female whose hand was still on the door, the boys eyes were asking what was going on and the mans was pleading for her not to go.
Roy hadn't even seen her leave, the next thing he knew he heard the door shut and the house was woman free.
Right now he wanted to cry but that could wait until he was in the safety of his own bedroom away from these fragile children who didn't know they were motherless yet. He carried Al upstairs and held Ed's hand on the way, he changed his sons underwear and tucked the two of them back into their beds.
Alphonse fell asleep almost right away but a voice stopped him from leaving the room.
"Daddy, where was Mommy going?"
Better tell him now than to get his hopes up, at leas those were Roy's thoughts. He walked back over and knelt by the small bed of his first born son.
"Mommy...left us, she..didn't want to live here anymore." his voice was once again shaky but he tried his best to hide it.
"Why don't we just move then?"
"Because the places Mommy wants to live are very dangerous and I didn't want you or Al to get hurt. She couldn't understand that, so she left us."
Edward's eyes filled with tears, they sparkled in the moonlight from the window across the room, "Mommy's never coming back?"
"I don't think so Ed. But you still have me right?" he brushed a hand through his sons golden hair.
"I want Mommy!" shouted the little one.
"Shhhh shhhh" his father rocked him and rubbed his back as he cried for his mother quietly. Luckily nothing loud had awoken the youngest boy.
Finally Roy got up to back to his room, which was now his alone, but a hand caught his own this time instead of a voice. "Daddy, you're not going to leave too are you?"
"No Edward, I promise I'll never leave you two. I love you both so much." he patted the little ones head once and headed back to his room, tucking himself in.
~Night 1~
The bed was so empty without another person and finally he could cry himself. He let out all of the tears he never thought he would have shed, he had never seen this coming. Trisha had never complained much about living here or having kids, sure she hadn't looked happy but neither had she been upset.
What had he done wrong? Was he really that bad of a husband?
All he could do was try to sleep and hope that maybe Trisha would come back tomorrow.
~Day 1~
The next day was the worst of all of those to come with the little family of three, first he had had to explain this all over to Alphonse and deal with his crying, and Edward's too who was still sensitive about loosing his Mommy. Then he had had to explain it all over to Winry when she asked where Trisha was and why the boys had started crying when she mentioned her.
Soon he had a room of three crying children and no time to cry for himself.
He had to comfort them all, and when they all finally stopped crying he himself was exhausted. It was almost as hard on Winry as the boys, Trisha had been almost like a second mother to her after her own parents had died in the war. Now it was almost as if these three children only had one parent and one grandparent, Winry's grandmother Pinako who took care of her.
Time went by that day and he needed to take Winry home but the two boys refused to let their father go without them, yet they were too tired to walk anywhere.
Carrying Edward on his shoulders, then Al and Winry in each arm he walked over the hill to the Rockbell residence. Once again he explained everything to Pinako.
"Roy, if you ever need anything let me know."
"I will, thank you." he hung his head almost in defeat of the day.
During that night though Roy was awoken by his children.
"Daddy can we sleep with you?" muttered Alphonse.
"Of course you can sleep with Daddy, come on you two." he lifted the smallest one into bed next to him and let Edward climb in on the other side by himself. The two boys snuggled up to him and for awhile he felt that he could do this.
That he could be a single parent as long as he had his children. When they eventually moved out and had lives of their own he couldn't say.
For along time Ed and Al slept with Roy in his too big for one person bed, and after awhile they went back to their own. But every once in awhile they would return. Sometimes just one of them and sometimes both, it had only happened twice but Roy had found that the two of them were snuggled up in each others beds as well.
As the two got older they stopped coming to their father's room in the middle of the night. And though it made Roy happy that they were slowly healing from their mother's absence he wasn't, and it was comforting to have one or both of the boys with him at night to remind himself why he was here. Now it was hard for him to sleep at night.
~Edward-3 Alphonse-2, Day 10~
At this time the boys still crawled into bed with Roy and tonight none of them could sleep. The two little blonde's couldn't sleep because they were upset still, and Roy couldn't sleep because his boys couldn't sleep. What could he do?
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear how much I love you, so please don't take my sunshine away." he sang terribly. His voice wasn't one for singing but he had heard that children enjoy the sound of their parents voices singing even if it wasn't beautiful.
Somehow it was supposed to calm them. So he continued singing and soon his children were fast asleep, and with them soon he was as well.
~Edward-4 Alphonse-3, Day 412~
The three of them were wrestling out in the tall grass, Al on his back and Edward underneath him trying to fight for the top spot. All of them rolling around in the soft green grass that would later make their legs itch from rubbing in it too hard.
When they were all tuckered out Roy lay in the middle of his boys, Ed to his right and Al to his left who was cuddled up to him and sleeping. He and his oldest son were staring up at the clouds pointing out different shapes.
"That one looks like the circles in your books Daddy!" he pointed at a circular cloud with a few lines going through it.
"You're right! They're called alchemy circles and they do very cool things!" he joked not knowing that this would spark Edward's interest in alchemy for a life time.
"Daddy..." the child's voice was lower and less enthusiastic as he felt Ed cuddle up to him like Alphonse had already done, "I'm glad you're here."
There was no need to ask what he meant.
Roy leaned over and placed a kiss on top of the kids golden mop of hair resulting in a normal reaction of "Eew Daddy!"
~Edward-4 Alphonse-3, Day 550~
"Bath time!" he called through the house.
It was one of their favorite times, ever two days or so they would all take a bath together to reserve water from the well. They had a huge bathtub so they all fit easily into it together.
Sound of two pairs of feet running up the wooden stairs was audible and soon there were two pairs of hands also tugging at his shirt in eagerness.
"Go get undressed boys I'm filling the tub." he chuckled out at his children.
Sounds of ruffling clothes was heard behind him and soon he had two naked children in his midst. Soon their tub was filled and he checked the water to make sure it wasn't too cold or too hot, nope it was just perfect. Both boys climbed in on their own.
"Daddy hurry up!" "Yeah Daddy!" they giggled from the tub.
Roy stripped himself and joined his beloved boys in the bathtub on the opposite sides.
"Bubbles, bubbles!" they chanted.
Crap he'd forgotten the bubbles before getting in. Oh well, he got up and slipped out of the tub. The floor would have to be mopped later.
He grabbed the bubbles and dumped a handful into the bath water. Resulting in happy sounds from his sons.
The three of them plaid in the bubbles for awhile, meaning mostly the boys putting bubbles on Roy to make him have a beard or hair how they wanted him to.
After rinsing their hair of shampoo and conditioner he dried the children and put them in fresh clothes.
He loved spending time with his boys.
~Edward-4 Alphonse-3, Day 557~
Roy had made cookies and handed each of his sons two of them. Of course being little kids they munched away quickly and were soon left with none.
Almost in unison they shouted, "Can I have some more!"
"What do you say?" Roy pried.
"Please?" Alphonse asked and was handed a cookie then ran off to play with his toys. But Edward crossed his arms and pouted, little tike didn't like being polite when he didn't really have to be.
"What do you say Edward?" he stared into his sons eyes intimidatingly, resulting in the golden ones to widen.
"Please!" he shouted but it wasn't really asking, it was just a shout of the word.
Either way he was handed a cookie, the blond smiled and shouted, "Thanks Dad!"
Roy watched his sons retreating back with his own wide and sad eyes. Dad... No longer was he Daddy, he was Dad now. His boys were starting to grow up and get too old to call him Daddy.
He felt like soon enough it would be "Father" instead of "Dad" as well. And now his ears almost burned every time for the next two weeks whenever Edward called his name.
~Edward-6 Alphonse-5, Day 1103~
They both came running up to Roy, who was hanging the laundry outside to dry, to show him small metallic horse they had both made.
"Alchemy?" he smiled, "I knew you liked to read my books but I didn't know you'd understand them."
"Did we do good Dad?" the older brother asked with a smile.
"Very good Edward, you too Alphonse." he knelt down in front of his children and individually took each horse to examine them and then hand them back.
"Brother is really good but I can still only do this one."
"It's still wonderful. If you wanted to learn alchemy why didn't you just ask me?"
"We wanted to surprise you, are you proud of us!" Al asked enthusiastically as Ed blushed and looked at the ground.
"Yes! I'm very proud of both of you!" he hugged them both into his chest and quickly released them. "Do you want me to teach you more alchemy?"
"No we'll try to learn on our own so we can surprise you!" Edward shouted determined.
Roy smiled brightly, "Ok but if you need help come get me."
With that his children ran off to play, but had first handed the two horses to their father. And he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Alchemy huh? Definitely my boys."
He used to do alchemy for Trisha, she had always loved it when he had made her flower crowns or little trinkets from seemingly nothing. She would always smile brightly and hug him, even when she had been here with the boys she had loved it. She probably would have loved seeing the boys learn it too.
That was the day Roy first got a painful head ache, and slowly after that they started becoming more frequent.
~Edward-7 Alphonse-6, Day 1497~
Roy and Edward had been arguing over everything today, why Al got to leave the table early because he had finished his food and Edward hadn't, why he had to drink milk, why he couldn't go to Winry's in the pouring rain and lightning outside, everything.
Alphonse watched from behind the nearby doorway.
Finally the little ones temper got too much for himself to handle and he punched his father hard in the stomach. They were glaring back and forth and finally Roy had to get stern with his child.
"Edward Elric Mustang, you do not and will not hit your father! Apologize now!" he yelled with pure rage.
"No! I hate you! I don't want you as my Dad anymore!" the blond screeched and ran up to his room and slammed the door shut.
Roy was silent, his eyes covered by his bangs and Al slowly came out from his hiding place behind the wall.
"Dad?" he asked quietly in concern, his father looked quite upset.
"Go check on your brother Alphonse, I have a very bad head ache." he said quietly in a low tone as he rubbed his temples and took a seat on the couch.
Edward did not come down for dinner or for the rest of the night, and when Roy had attempted slipping him food through the door once Edward saw it was him he shut the door. He had let Al through the door though...
The next morning after breakfast without Ed Al was sitting in the living room playing with toys, Roy was in the kitchen washing dishes. He had neglected Edward's which still had food out and water instead of milk. he had made breakfast like normal and even neglected making Ed drink milk today but no little Edward had shown up.
So the saddened father stood at the sink washing his and Al's dinner with droopy eyes with bags underneath them.
He hadn't heard the small foot steps come down the stairs and open the fridge. He did though by chance hear the gulping of a liquid from his back but just assumed it had been Al getting something to drink.
But a moment or two later he felt a tug at his pants, looking down there was Edward with sad eyes to match his own.
"Dad..I'm sorry." the boy begged and lifted up his empty glass. The glass was empty accept for a few stray drops of white milk at the bottom, Edward had drank milk for him. His most hated thing, milk.
He smiled softly down at his child, dried his hands and picked Ed up in his arms, also taking the glass and placing it on the counter.
"Thank you, Edward. I promise no milk tomorrow ok?"
It was never more easy to get Ed to drink his milk than after a fight.
~Edward-8 Alphonse-7, Day 1925~
Edward and Alphonse were walking over to Winry's house at a slow pace and when they just got down the hill there house a man stopped them. Started offering them things if they came with him, but they refused knowing their father would not like it if they trusted this man without his ok.
Soon this dark man became frustrated with the children and grabbed for them, trying to cover each other their mouths but only succeeding in covering Al's, the more quiet of the two. Panicking and not knowing what to do Ed yelled for help.
"DAD!" he yelled over and over.
Somehow he got free but seeing Al in danger and still grappling with the man he tackled the stranger, letting Al go free to stumble backwards and sit on his butt on the cold ground panting with fear.
Alphonse yelled for help seeing that his legs weren't going to obey him. But his eyes were stuck on his brother who was having trouble and was now almost pinned to the ground.
The next thing the youngest knew was that the stranger was yanked off of his brother, punched in the face twice, and pinned to the ground.
Pinned by Roy who was panting pretty hard from racing down the hill with such adrenaline. He cuffed the man's wrists with old cuffs he had from his job as a cop when him and Trisha had lived in the city, he had kept them only because he was a paranoid single father. He had always carried them in his back pocket for who knows why. And now he was glad he always had.
His hands were turning white from pressing the man into the ground with such force, even though the punches had seemingly knocked him out.
Roy tried taking in a few deep breathes and and ran one hand from his hair, shakily with adrenaline still pumping through him he rolled his knees to the other side of the man, got up, and walked over to Al. He pulled Alphonse to his feet and gently nudged him over to where his brother was still laying on his back with his beautiful golden eyes wide in fear just staring up.
Letting go of Al's hand he reached down to scoop Edward up and place him on his feet as well. "Are you both ok?" his voice was deep with concern.
He recieved shaky nods from both boys.
Ed walked over to the body on the ground and kicked him hard in the sides once, he would be feeling that in the morning, Ed had a very strong kick. Which Roy had personally experienced through tantrums and wrestling.
"Edward"-Roy panted-"Don't go near him."
Al was the first to dive for his father's embrace and was tightly hugged back. Roy waited and looked at Edward to make sure if the same treatment was wanted from his oldest, there was that look in his eyes again. The look saying that he wanted something but wasn't going to ask for it.
So Roy lifted one arm from the golden brown hair and reached towards the older boy offering the hug. Ed's eyes widened a little, almost as if realizing that he was still scared stiff, and jumped into that safe aura around his father. Arms were curled around both children in a safety lock, his boys were safe here in his arms and no where else.
For that night Roy had his bed filled once again, though a little more cramped than he remembered.
And for the next half of a week both of them refused to walk to Winry's without their father.
That week was especially painful and filed with head aches for Roy.
~Edward-11 Alphonse-10, Day 3011~
The boys were starting to worry about their father, the rings under his eyes were starting to grow and he was starting to smile less. He didn't want to play with them as often and he hadn't asked about Winry in a long time.
He wasn't himself and they knew it, but neither of them had the courage to ask the man what was wrong.
Later that day after coming home from the Rockbell residence they found Roy leaning against the wall with his eyes covered like he had been dizzy or drunk. But to tell the truth there was no alcohol in the house, Roy made sure that the environment around his boys was the safest it could possibly be.
Though on holidays he would go further into town and by a small bottle of beer and let the boys have a small sip each. He figured that if he sheltered them completely from these things they would get too curious and hurt themselves. But neither did he want them to get drunk off their horses around him just to teach them a lesson.
They rushed over to Roy and tugged on his sides.
"Dad, something wrong?"
"Huh, no boys...my...eyes just hurt a bit."
Ed and Al exchanged worrisome glances.
~Edward-12 Alphonse-11, Day 3385~
Being just about a year later from that incident Edward and Alphonse were returning from the market place and when they opened the door it was worse than a flashback to that day. Their father was passed out on the ground.
The boys rushed forward and knelt next to their father, "Dad! Dad!"
Each of them grabbed under a shoulder and lifted him to the couch, covering him in a blanket. He was breathing hard and his face was flushed, it looked to them like he was sick and had just passed out. But the rings under his eyes that were severely darker than before told them otherwise.
"Al go to Winry's and get Granny Pinako to call a doctor!" and so his little brother did.
"Dad...how long have you been sick?" he mumbled to himself.
Later that day the doctor came. Roy was on the couch spread out and covered, the three children and Pinako were standing to the side waiting for the diagnosis.
"Well it's a virus that is only very deadly when the body is almost constantly under stress. Otherwise it would have passed him like a small cold. He must have been hiding it for a very long time, did you boys not notice?"
"W-We just thought...he was tired now and then." Al muttered.
"That's perfectly understandable" the doctor said, "well there is medicine but it's very expensive and I'm not sure you country folk can afford it."
"How much?" Edward asked confidently.
The doctor set the price at the highest it could be just to be careful and everyone elses faces in the room pales. It was a lot, almost all of the savings that their father had would have to go into the medicine if they were to take it. And that might not even be enough, they might have to ask Granny Pinako for a little help as well.
"Wha-what if we don't get the medicine, how will he be?" Ed asked hesitantly.
"Then, he will most certainly die. It's a miracle that his body has lasted this long. Now you say that your mother left when you were little, that's probably the cause to his stress. Taking care of you boys is probably what kept the stress away from him long enough as it was. But being as it's approximately going on nine years of this stress if he doesn't get the medicine it is only a matter of time before he dies, the maximum that could be would be two months."
The doctor left, telling them they knew how to contact him if they somehow got the money for the medicine.
Pinako and Winry stayed the night to look after Roy, but while they and Alphonse were sleeping Edward was sitting next to his father.
"You bastard, you can't do this to us." he hissed out with tears clogging his vision, "You promised you wouldn't leave!"
"Ed...M'sorry.." came a soft voice and hand brushing at the blond's cheek.
"No, no this will all be fine! We have the money right? And even if we're down a little we can beg Granny Pinako for a little!" he said loudly gripping his fathers shirt between his fingers.
"That money was supposed to be for you two, for whatever you planned to do in the future when you left me." came the raspy voice.
"You're sick, you don't have a choice. Al and I would rather save up the money ourselves than live the rest of our lives without a father."
"No Edward, you're not allowed to use that money."
"Dammit you bastard!" Edward shouted and punched the mans chest, resulting in Roy gasping in pain. "I-I'm sorry!" he buried his head into his father's chest and cried. It seemed even when it was his father hurting he was the one being comforted.
"You are my sunshine...my only sunshine...you make me happy when skies are gray..." came the shaky and sick voice.
Rubbing his eyes of the rest of his tears Edward looked over to his father, "Stop singing..Dad..you bastard."
"I don't remember raising such a potty mouth Edward."
"Were you...happy with the two of us? Even if we made our mother leave?"
"Of course, I love you two so much. Didn't you hear the doctor, you both pretty much kept me sane all of these years." there was such confidence in that sentence.
"You were awake!"
"I drifted in and out."
~Edward-12 Alphonse-11, Day 3386~
The small family of three was left alone for the day, they had some decisions to make about money and how to spend it. Roy of course was laying in bed with the boys constantly fussing over him, asking if he needed anything and replacing the cool wash cloth on his forehead. It was helping to keep the head aches away and he was grateful for it.
It was late afternoon when the door opened without a knock. There in the doorway stood Trisha who was all dolled up, make up, in a dress, and with a flashy purse. The city life sure was treating her well like she had hoped.
"Wow I'm surprised you're not dead yet Roy. Pinako called me and told me you were dieing."
"She had your number all of these years?" Roy grumbled out.
"Yup I'm surprised she never told you or the boys. These are them? Yes I see the resemblance."
"Who are you?" Edward asked sternly.
"I'm your mother boys. It's nice to meet you two. I've come to take you with me now that you're old enough."
"You're here to...take them from me? That's why Pinako called you...because I'm already dead."
"Yes, now come with your mother children!"
Alphonse being completely confused walked over to the woman and smiled, this had been his fantasy since he was little. To meet his mother.
"Al! We can't just leave Dad! He's sick!"
"Edward honey that's exactly why I'm here."
"No! I'm not leaving until he's dead and in the ground, and I'm not going to let that happen!" Edward shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Ed...go with your mother." came the low voice behind the oldest boy.
"Dad? No I can't leave you. You're the most important person to us."
"Just go."
"Fuck you!" screamed the boy who ran up to his room and slammed the door just like he had all of those years ago.
"I'll get him." muttered Roy who stumbled up from his laying position and up the stairs.
His knuckles racked softly on the door to his son's room. The door for once opened without much of a hassle. "Dad! You shouldn't be up!" Edward helped his father down the stairs and back to his original position on the couch. "Don't get up!" he shouted angrily at the man.
"Well if either of you want to come with me and have somewhere to live when he dies you'll come now." Trisha stated.
"I already know I'm not going." Ed said.
"Edwar-" Roy tried to argue but was cut off.
"No! I told you no and you can't do anything about it! What about you Al? Are you going with this-this woman who abandoned us all and caused Dad to get sick in the first place!" he pointed to the brown haired woman.
"N-No I can't do that to Dad no matter how much I want to get to know Mom."
"Well congratulations Roy you've raised potty mouthed brats that are loyal to you." she grumbled in defeat and slammed the door behind her. No one would ever see her around these parts again.
"You...stupid children..." gasped out their father.
"What?" both boys asked close to the same time.
"Now you're going to be sent away when I die with no one to take care of you, Pinako can't possibly take care of you both. You stupid children!" he yelled the best he could with his dry throat.
"He'll be fine brother!" Alphonse said eagerly holding up a handful of a lot of money.
"Alphonse! Where did you get that money?" Roy tried to parent from his laying down position.
"I stole it from her purse." Al smiled almost evilly.
"Haven't I taught you boys right from wrong?"
"I say it's a right, she left us and never did anything for us. She caused all of this and now that money of hers is going to make everything better. Besides you can barely get off of that couch, by the time we pay for that medicine with this money and half of what you have saved away it'll be too late for a refund. By then you might as well take the medicine." Ed's smile matched Al's evil one.
The two of them were going to wait for the doctor to return on his appointment in three days but the day after Trisha left Roy started getting worse with the stress from the previous day. It took all day to run to the doctors office in the next town over but they made it and paid for the medicine and ran back home.
When they got there it was almost the next morning.
Quickly Edward read the directions and in his head thanked any god that might be there that Roy had been ok while they were gone, in their rush they hadn't thought about having someone watch the man. After reading the bottle over he took out the dose, got some water and forced it down his father's throat.
~Edward-12 Alphonse-11, Day 3440~
It was about two months later, almost the time when Roy would have normally died, when he was finally getting back to normal.
Nowadays Roy was more lively, smiled more, and even wrestled with them again from time to time again. He was back to his old self.
"I love you boys so much." he said to them both pulling them into a tight hug one day, which they both knew it was a thank you for keeping him alive even when he hadn't wanted to get the medicine.
"We love you too Dad!" they shouted in his ears and started another wrestling match.