"H-hanji?!" Sasha was freaking out, "I-I don't know what to do, you're the doctor! There is blood everywhere! I can't get the cord off!"
Connie screamed at her, "Stop eating, first of all, that's gross, and just listen to her!"
Hanji was oscillating between laughing and screaming, "You need to use both hands to support the baby- GAH!"
"I don't know what I'm doing!"
Levi, pale and panicking, took over for Sasha, the reluctant midwife for the first part of this ordeal, "You're making that abundantly clear right now! And, like Connie said, stop fucking eating for once in your life!"
"It's comfort food, I'm freaking out right now!"
"We're all freaking out, but you don't see Connie and I shoveling down food right now, do you?"
"You're not pregnant!"
"Hanji is!" Levi's rebuttal was punctuated by another scream from Hanji.
"She's giving birth, it doesn't count! The baby is already halfway out!"
"How does that make a fucking difference, Potato Freak!?"
"Goddamnit, where's Erwin when you need him!?" Connie was hyperventilating.
Hanji had been checking in on Sasha's little distended stomach, 4 months along, when her own bulge decided a month earlier than the usual 9 that it was ready to go. Connie had been sent to find Levi, luckily nearby. Having just dropped off a young Michaelis at the Kirschstein's, Levi had just been on his way back to work when Connie ran into him, dragging him back to his house.
Hanji responded to Connie's concern, "I don't think Erwin would be much help at the moment- AH!" She cried out, "Oh goodness, that was bad, you need to unwrap the cord or it will kill her."
Levi, terrified, looked at the point upon which all their fear hung, the little child had its umbilical cord wrapped around its neck tightly. "Sasha, I thought you helped birth animals or something, so wipe your hands and get over here now! I need you to hold her while I undo this!" He paused, shaking, "I-I've never done something like this."
Sasha gulped down the rest of the bread she was devouring and did as told, "I'm sorry, human babies are different that horses and cows!"
Shakingly, Levi began to unwrap the cord as quickly as he could while the baby wiggled and Hanji's contractions attempted to push the child out the rest of the way "Goddamnit, it's so small…"
Finally the cord was removed, a soft red mark lacing the child's neck, and the three at the foot of the bed breathed a sigh of relief as they delivered the baby, a girl, the rest of the way. Levi, under Hanji's directions, cleaned and wrapped the little girl up. "Hey, Petra, you gave me quite a scare-" He jerked when Hanji let out another cry, sending everyone spiraling back into panic.
"Han-Hanji what is that?!" Connie screamed at the sight.
"Another baby is crowning!" Sasha gasped.
"That's what it looks like?! It's so weird!"
"Weren't you here the first time?!" Sasha asked.
"No! I was out getting Levi!"
"I guess that's why you never answered me when I told you to hold my sandwhich."
"Shut up you pair of idiots!" Levi cried.
"Aw!" Hanji grinned, "It's just like a little surpri-AH, DAMN! Oh, sorry, sorry for the language, wasn't expecting this one." She laughed hysterically before crying out in pain again.
"Damnit, Shitty Glasses!" Levi's heart was pounding, two? Two newborns? Erwin and he only wanted a third child, now they had four?! He handed Petra to Connie with care and returned to Sasha's side. This time the baby was born without incident, but certainly with a lot of screaming from all four adults. Petra was sobbing softly, waiting patiently through the storm for her twin, another little girl, to come into the world.
This time after the birth there were no screams of pain and Hanji relaxed. "Ah, all done now? No little shy triplet in here?" she patted her stomach. All of them spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb the newborns any more than they already had.
"Don't jinx it, Hanji…" Levi was finally catching his breath as he held his second baby girl, presenting a finger for her to grip, "Hey there… I'm sorry, but your dad and I didn't have a name planned for you… and I'm all out of ideas...and energy." While Sasha and Connie cooed over Petra, Levi frowned over the little surprise and looked to Hanji, "What do I do?"
"You didn't have an extra name?"
"For a boy, yes. But not another girl… Should I wait for Erwin?"
"Naw, let's think of something."
"Let Hanji name her," Sasha offered from behind them, "She did have to deal with us the past couple hours, after all…"
Fearing the result, but conceding the point, he handed the surprise over to Hanji. The exhausted woman peered at her birth child, "Hey there… why…" She blinked, "I think I know exactly what to name you.." They all held their breath, "Ilse." and released it.
Levi sat on the side of the bed as Sasha handed back Petra to move on to observe Ilse. "Isn't that the name of the girl who's journal we found?"
"Yes… She was a very brave soul, and I can see that spark in this one. Ilse. Ilse Sonny Smith."
"Oi, Shitty Glasses, that was one of your titans."
"Yeah… Yeah I know. But I like it, Ilse Sonny."
Levi smiled, shaking his head, "I like it too." The near silence of the room was broken as they heard frantic movement from the front of Sasha and Connie's house and all four occupants of the room stared dazedly at the sudden appearance of Armin and Erwin at the door, gasping for breath.
"Oh right… I forgot I sent Armin to find Erwin…" Connie said softly, seeming confused at the memory that felt like forever ago, the ordeal having taken a large toll on them all.
The men who had just arrived took in the scene and Erwin felt like something was off, "There… There are two?"
Levi nodded and sighed, smiling, "Two baby girls."
Erwin moved to kneel on the floor by Levi and Hanji, each holding a small girl. Armin entered and moved to help Sasha and Connie finish cleaning up, letting the parents have some time to themselves. "What do we name the second?" Erwin's voice dipped to match the softened tone of the room.
"Hanji already named her, and I approve." Levi nodded to the smaller of the two girls, with black hair instead of mousy brown. "Her name is Ilse Sonny Smith."
Erwin greeted his two twins for the first time and smiled over them, "I rather like that name as well."
"Damn, Erwin, what are we gonna do with two girls?"
"I'm sure you two will do fine," Hanji assured, "My Lewin girls have the best parents around I know, excepting Marco." She handed Ilse to Erwin, "Here's your little surprise."
"Hey Ilse, you've been sneaking around in there, haven't you…" He smiled up at Levi, "They're so beautiful...and so tiny..."
"Shut up, Asshole. They were born a month early, it had nothing to do with me."
"Well…" Hanji began, "Petra seems to be perfectly normal sized for having been born a month early, but Ilse is terribly small… I'm thinking she's about four pounds...maybe four and a half if she's lucky.
"That seems about right…" Erwin sighed, "Will she be okay?"
"She's doing great, so I'm thinking yes." Hanji waved at Petra when the girl blinked over at her.
Levi handed Hanji Petra and sighed, "I was five and a half when I was born after nine months…" They all looked to him. "At least that's what the local midwife told me one day."
Erwin peaked up at him, "That's adorable."
"Shut up, Asshole. I was just saying that Ilse will be fine."
"...We're going to need a bigger house, soon." Erwin muttered.
"Yeah… four kids… what the hell are we doing?"
"Speaking of which," Armin interjected, "Eren and Marshall are over at the park, would you like me to get them?"
"That would be wonderful, Armin." Erwin looked over to Connie and Sasha, "And thank you so much for your help."
Hanji, Levi, Connie, and Sasha all laughed in their own way at that. At Erwin and Armin's confused look, Levi elaborated, "None of us were helpful to Hanji, she was the only one of us that did anything right."
Sasha laughed nervously, "Yeah, if it wasn't for Levi, Petra might have choked to death."
"What?" Erwin's peaceful demeanor melted.
"She decided her umbilical cord would make a good scarf, is that what it was, huh?" Hanji nudged Petra's little nose with her own.
"Terrified the shit out of us…" Levi sighed. "Then little Ilse decided to make her presence known… some sandwich flinging and screaming later we ended up here."
"We missed quite the event then," Armin chuckled, "Let me go get your son."
"Thank you, Armin." Hanji yawned, before Erwin handed Levi Ilse so he could take Petra from the exhausted woman. "I'm going to sleep a bit, is that okay?"
"Yes, you deserve it, Hanj" Levi stood up and everyone exited the room so Hanji could rest.
Marshall and Eren arrived, both exceptionally excited about the twins, each one taking a little girl as they sat together on the couch. They leaned on each other, quietly making observations about how cute each one was and how amazing they both were.
This left Erwin and Levi to relax. Erwin took a seat in a chair, with Levi sitting on his lap, resting his head over his heart.
No more words needed to be spoken between them, all that mattered was that their family had expanded today, and it was wonderful.
