Carla woke up with a start, the scent of her son's clothes filling her nostrils as she found herself slumped over on Eren's bed. She raised her head groggily as sunlight filled the room. She felt warmth around her right hand, and glanced down, noticing two smaller, softer hands gripping it tightly.
"Mikasa…" Carla whispered, her vision blurry.
"Mrs. Jaeger?" A small voice said softly.
That jolted Carla wide awake. She looked up and saw the young girl's scared eyes on her, studying her expression.
"Mikasa!" Carla exclaimed. She quickly moved the back of her left hand onto the young girl's forehead, trying to gauge her temperature. "How are you feeling?"
Mikasa stayed silent for a few moments. Carla watched the raven-haired girl's expressions closely as she took in her surroundings.
"You're in Eren's room right now, sweetie. He brought you up here, do you remember?" Carla said. She removed her hand from her forehead. Mikasa seemed to recovered quite well over the night.
"Eren?" Mikasa's head snapped right toward Carla's. "Where is he?" She asked.
Carla noted the girl's sudden attentiveness at her son's name. "He's in the next room over, sleeping with his father. He's alright." She responded, feeling the necessity to stress Eren's well-being. She watched as Mikasa's shoulders slumped with relief.
"I'm hungry…" Mikasa said after a few moments.
"Of course, I'll bring you something." Carla said, standing up. She moved toward the doorway, feeling the weight of her day clothes slowing her down, having slept in them by the bedside. She looked back at Mikasa. "I'll be right back."
Carla hurried downstairs and into the kitchen. She splashed her face with water and lightly rinsed her hair, trying to wash away the night sweat. She immediately busied herself with something quick to feed Mikasa.
A while later, Carla stood near the oven, waiting as her rye bread baked. She suddenly felt large arms wrapping around her waist as a larger body pressed against her back.
"Hello, dear." Grisha said, softly kissing Carla's temple.
Carla leaned back into Grisha. "Good morning," She responded softly.
"Mom!" Carla heard Eren's voice call out. She turned around, watching him bounce toward her. "How's Mikasa?"
"She's alright, just hungry," Carla said, giving her son a kiss on his forehead. "I'm bringing her some bread."
Grisha let go of Carla and moved upstairs. "I'll check in on her." Carla nodded in response.
Eren watched his mother as she stood in front of the oven. She was hunched over, shifting firewood to keep the flames burning. She pulled back and stood up, placing her hands on her hips and letting out a deep breath she'd been holding.
Carla turned to look at her son, who quickly looked away.
"How'd you sleep?" She asked.
"Fine. Normal." Eren said, before stealing a glance at Carla. He noted the slight dark circles under her eyes, long strands of her hair sticking to her face and neck, and her skin still covered in a sheen of sweat. "You look like you really need sleep." He said bluntly.
Carla let out a chuckle. "Aww, aren't you so sweet to worry about me."
Eren looked away again and huffed, crossing his arms. "Yeah, sure."
Carla opened the oven door and carefully lifted out the heated pot. "How about you help me," She began, her voice straining as she kept her focus on not dropping the baked bread, "by taking this up to Mikasa for me?"
Eren watched as Carla began slicing the bread into portions. "I'll do it." He said.
"Thank you, honey." Carla said as she placed a plate of bread and a mug of warm honey tea onto a tray. "Here you go."
Eren carefully lifted up the tray and walked over upstairs, passing by Grisha as the latter came down. Carla watched as Eren disappeared into his room.
"No fever, she's much better now." Grisha remarked, pouring himself a glass of water. "You did well."
"No, I didn't do much," Carla said as she began preparing the larger share of the dough she had kneaded for the rest of her family's breakfast. "Just cold compresses like I'd do for Eren when he got sick."
Carla felt Grisha approach her again, and looked up at him.
"Are you sure about this, taking her in?" Grisha asked quietly.
Carla hesitated for a split second, understanding her husband's concerns.
"I know offering her our home was the right thing to do, she was alone and head nowhere else to go," Carla said. "Obviously this isn't a situation any of us wanted, but I do believe fate has a hand here. Had you and Eren not gone to visit them, had Eren not disobeyed you...Mikasa wouldn't be…"
She faltered, not wanting to finish that sentence. Grisha grabbed her shoulders, steadying her.
"This is the story we started, we can't walk away from it." Carla said firmly. "Mikasa is part of our family now."
Grisha looked at her intently, her words reminding him of what someone else told him regarding his greater mission.
"The moment you and your sister crossed that wall….you started this story, didn't you?"
To Carla's amazement, Grisha's face broke out into a look of genuine happiness, an astonishment that she had never seen before from him.
"Grisha…?" She asked, jolting her husband out of his trance.
"Oh, nothing," Grisha said, still smiling. "I'm glad you see it that way."
"Also," Carla began, "She's Yui's daughter, and she and I had always been close. This is what she would have wanted, us taking care of her, as opposed to her heading off to a group orphanage."
Carla paused, looking at her husband.
"Had something ever happened to us, her family would have welcomed Eren with open arms. That's just the type of person she was."
Carla felt tears welling in her eyes again as she remembered her longtime friend. Her happiness, her radiant personality.
"Carla…" Grisha said, pulling her into a hug while she sniffed, a few tears leaking.
"You've got to be strong for Mikasa, you know." Grisha said, smiling. "Eren's not the only one she's relying on. Speaking of which…"
The couple paused for a moment, listening. Eren's excited voice bounced off the walls from his room upstairs.
Grisha put a hand to his forehead and sighed, shaking his head exasperatedly. Carla chuckled in response.
"Unbelievable, this child." Grisha said, moving upstairs. "He should know better than to harass a freshly recovered patient."
"Wait, dear!" Carla said in a quiet voice, tugging on his sleeve. Grisha turned to her.
"Let's listen to what he's saying." She suggested with a smile.
Grisha paused, before deciding that his curiosity over what the two children could possibly be discussing overtook his strict concern for his patient.
"...there's some really cool spots for fishing inside the wall, have you ever gone fishing?"
"...my daddy took me once." Carla and Grisha heard Mikasa respond.
"Oh really!?" Eren exclaimed. "That's cool! Pretty much every girl here hates doing outdoors stuff. We should go sometime!"
"...that sounds really nice," Mikasa said.
Carla could already picture Eren bouncing in his chair, barely containing his excitement and energy.
"So-uh," Eren began, pausing for a bit. "Did you sleep well? I don't fluff my mattress often, so it's not really that soft."
"It was amazing," Mikasa said. Carla could hear the smile in her voice. "I slept really well, your bed's the softest thing I ever slept in."
"Oh, okay." Eren said. "I was always curious about living in the mountains, Armin told me a bit about them."
"Armin..?" Mikasa asked.
"He's a good friend," Eren said, happy to talk about his friend. "Super smart, book nerd guy, kind of a wimp but he's really cool. You two would like each other."
The two stayed silent for a while.
"So...what do you think about living here, huh?" Eren asked quietly.
Carla felt Grisha stiffen a bit. She held her breath, trying to listen closely.
"I…" Mikasa started. "I want to...but I don't want to bother your mom and dad." She finished softly, her voice shaking.
Grisha relaxed, sighing. Carla felt a wave of relief wash over her as well.
"Oh, you won't," Eren began, "Dad's super busy with doctor work and Mom's always talked about wanting a daughter. You'd be right at home."
"That's right, you would be." Grisha called out as walked right in, slipping Carla's notice.
Eren turned, startled. "Dad!" He watched as Carla strode in after him. "Mom!"
"Doctor Jaeger?" Mikasa asked, her eyes cast upward at his, looking hopeful.
"Call me Uncle Grisha," Grisha said. He walked over to the bedside and knelt, putting his hands on Mikasa's shoulders.
"Surely you remember what I told you last night, yes? You should stay with us."
Mikasa felt his lips quiver, shaking a bit.
"Yes," Carla said, kneeling at the opposite side of Eren bed. She pulled Mikasa into a tight hug. "We would love to have you as part of our family."
Mikasa burst into tears, sobbing openly as she clung to Carla, hiding her face in Carla's blouse.
Grisha put a hand on Carla's shoulder. She turned to him and returned his warm smile.
She slightly turned and saw Eren transfixed awkwardly, clearly not knowing how to react. She gestured for him to approach.
Eren walked over, and Carla threw her arm around him, pulling him close.
"Auntie Carla sounds nice, how about calling me that?" Carla said after some thought.
"Wait, Auntie Carla?" Eren said, slightly indignant. "How come she gets to call you by your name?"
Carla laughed, and felt Mikasa let out a soft giggle as well.
"You never mind when Armin calls me that." Carla said playfully,
Eren puffed his cheeks. "He doesn't live here though, it's different."
"How about Mom?" Mikasa asked hesitantly, her voice barely a squeak.
Carla felt her heart stop.
"O-of course honey," She said warmly, trying to steel herself from the tears that threatened to spill over. "You can call me 'mom' if you like."
"Ahem," Grisha suddenly said, clearing his throat pointedly.
Carla looked him and saw her husband shuffling in his position. She looked to his face, slightly puzzled, before coming to a shocking and hilarious realisation.
The calm, collected, and focused Grisha was...jealous?
"Mikasa dear," Grisha began. He paused as he felt all eyes on him, wondering how to phrase his words.
Carla laughed loudly. "I think he wants you to call him 'Papa.'" She said with a smirk, teasing her husband.
"Carla, please." Grisha said, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly in embarrassment. "But Mikasa-"
"Dad. I'll call you Dad." Mikasa said brightly.
Grisha broke into a wide smile, clearly pleased with himself. Carla put a hand to her mouth, stifling her laughter at her husband's uncharacteristic behavior.
"So uncool, Dad." Eren said, frowning slightly, still wrapped in Carla's embrace. "You sure with calling her Mom?" He said, looking at Mikasa.
"Well…" Mikasa said, blushing, "You didn't want me to call her by her name...and I feel more like a family member if I can call her 'Mom.'"
"Well now," Carla said, bringing both Eren and Mikasa close to her eye level.
"You're both my treasures." Carla said, nuzzling her nose against Eren's and Mikasa's soft little cheeks. Mikasa responded with a soft giggle and Eren protested in embarrassment but grinned in spite of himself.
"How about we go eat some breakfast, now?" Carla said brightly.
Reviews are love.