Ymir wasn't sure if the sun had risen yet, it could have for all she knew. The sky was a blanket of grey and had been for well over an hour by this point, the light surely only possible from the sun behind it. It would have been all too easy to simply look at the clock in the kitchen, but Ymir had no intention of moving from where she sat, arms wrapped around a sleeping Krista, their baby beside them in a makeshift crib. She hadn't even bothered trying to sleep, for now, she couldn't close her eyes as long as her girlfriend was asleep; it would likely be a long time before she would be able to.

Krista… Historia?

She had definitely heard the name, more than once as well, uttered by both Frieda and Florian. If they really were her sisters, they had known her far longer than Ymir had, but she couldn't think of why Krista had given herself that name, if it was indeed false. She wouldn't have done it without a reason, but it was difficult not to assume that the reason had been selfish. Why else would someone change their name, without informing the people closest to them?

It doesn't matter right now.

Ymir told herself this as she sighed. She couldn't believe that, of course it mattered to her, but in the broader scheme, she had to keep her focus elsewhere.

The hillside shack was blissfully silent. Florian had practically collapsed upon the mere sight of the couch and no one had even considered moving her after she had fallen on it. She had spent several minutes shaking with silent crying before falling into a deep sleep, one that Ymir envied. Sasha had been just as incapable of speaking of what had happened upon their arrival and Levi had looked nearly ready to beat the truth out of her, before shaking his head and exiting, giving Jean simple instructions and leaving him in charge. Sasha had fallen asleep face down on the table, having been sitting there, picking at the back of her hand to the point of bleeding, Jean having gone upstairs to keep lookout. Ymir wouldn't have been surprised if he too had fallen asleep, but he had moved with a responsible fervor that she had never seen in him.

Ymir turned her head towards the bedroom then, feeling an involuntary frown cross her face.

Him.

Levi had immediately taken Joe to the bedroom upon their arrival and bound his hands and feet tightly to the bedposts, despite Mikasa insisting she could watch him. Despite his ignoring of her capabilities, she remained in the room with him and before going to sit with Krista, Ymir had looked in on them, an hour or so after arrival and around the time everyone had gone to sleep. Mikasa had been sitting with her back against the wall, fingers intertwined with his, her head bowed as sleep drew deep, long breaths from her. Ymir hadn't wanted to leave her there, but had known that there was very little she could have done to move Mikasa, let alone persuade her to stay elsewhere. Ymir was convinced that Joe was dangerous, so much so that she hadn't trusted herself to fall asleep.

God willing, no one else will get hurt… but if it comes to it, he dies before anyone else in this shack.

Ymir spent the rest of the morning before everyone began to stir, trying to convince herself that he would deserve it.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Historia walked delicately around the edge of the table that rested in the small kitchen, baby in one arm, coffee in the other. The world was tremendously grey outside, almost perfectly reflecting the mood of everyone inside. Easing out a chair with the squeak of wood on wood, she sat slowly; she was trying her hand at breastfeeding as there was little else to tide her child over, at least for the moment. The only smile she had managed was a half-hearted ghost of a grin when she had caught Ymir looking at the baby with an air of envy. She only wished the single second of amusement that had distracted her from what had happened could have lasted for so much longer.

"Could you pass the salt?"

Hearing the voice of anyone was an almost alien sound, so quiet had the entire morning been. Regardless, Historia rotated in her chair and slid the shaker down the table to Jean who gave her a nod of thanks. Her gaze shifted to her left where Sasha was picking at her breakfast, so very unlike her; Florian, while awake, had refused to move from her place on the couch and while she faced away from them, Historia knew she had been crying for the better part of the morning.

"Hey, Mika."

She looked up as she heard Ymir's greeting to Mikasa who had finally left the harbor of the room Joe was secured in; the raven-haired girl only nodded in response as she walked to the coffee maker, opening a cupboard in a search for a mug. Ymir continued to watch her carefully.

"He awake?"

Mikasa shook her head as she filled the mug she had found and pulled up a seat along with the rest of them. They were surely all a sorry sight, not a one of them looking to do anything more than breathe and blink. For minutes, they sat in relative silence, the only sound coming from silverware and glasses scraping against the wooden table; Historia finally felt the need to break the silence, if only for the sake of those not present.

"… Sash… ?"

The brunette snapped her head as though someone had just caught her in the midst of committing some terrible crime; she swallowed and her breathing began to become deep and shaky. Ymir reached to the side and took her friend's hand in an exceedingly uncharacteristic move, and Historia knew that she knew what she wanted to ask.

"At… the cabin… what happened?"

It took close to a minute for Sasha to muster the strength to talk and as she relayed everything she had witnessed, her voice remained low and steady, her gaze locked on anything other than the people who sat around her. She spoke of Petra and Marco with no effort to hide what she had seen; Jean's face became so utterly steeled that Historia wondered if he hadn't just gone into a coma. She talked about Annie and the conversation they had in the woods; it was incredibly obvious that Sasha was hiding something about the words they had exchanged, but no one pressed her beyond what she was willing to say. Who knew if she would be willing to say anything beyond what she already was. Her voice shook heavily when she spoke of the Klansmen who had stormed in, killing Marco and Petra, and shooting Annie, so much so to the point where she actually had to stop talking. When she began to speak of running from the clearing and leaving Annie behind, complete with the gunshot she had heard as the left, Historia had reached over to squeeze Mikasa's hand, as the girl looked up, clearly ready to start shouting. As Sasha looked over to Mikasa as she spoke, tears welled in her eyes with alarming speed and Ymir had scooted her chair ever so slightly to put an arm around her. By the end of her story, she was shaking so much so that it was a miracle she wasn't sobbing. Ymir clearly was leaning towards trying to keep looking skyward.

"You didn't see her die. We don't know what a gunshot means."

Historia nodded, but only was halfway through opening her mouth when Mikasa stood from the table abruptly and kicked her chair away hard enough to send it into the opposite wall. Sasha have both a gasp and a sob, putting a palm over her mouth. Ymir turned away and mouthed a swear word and Historia blinked at her in confusion as she rocked her baby gently as the noise had brought it away from the harbor of her breast to wave its small fists around in confusion. No one dared say anything else as Mikasa strode to the window and stared out at the cold endless tundra that seemed to overlap with the grey sky. It remained silent as the minutes ticked by, with every single person trying to wrap their heads around this other bombshell that had just been delivered. Historia watched Jean carefully, but he seemed to not be reacting whatsoever beyond his newfound lack of movement. She retreated into her own head, doing everything in her power to keep from breaking down.

How… how could this happen… Ilse… Petra… Marco… Annie…Frieda, oh God, why, why, why would you…

"We… we've lost too many people."

Ymir's voice didn't sound emotional like Historia would have guessed, but rather it sounded… calculating. As Ymir spoke, the blonde realized she wasn't taking her eyes off Mikasa's back.

"We need to… make sure no one else gets hurt. And I know this may not seem like the time to talk about this, but… "

She swallowed.

"We should talk about Joe."

As she spoke the name, Mikasa didn't move. And that may have been more terrifying than any motion she might have made otherwise. Sasha looked at her, face still wet with tears as she chewed on her bottom lip.

"What are you talking about?"

"You all saw what happened. What he did. What he… said."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that there is something very wrong with the boy in that room. And we need to take precautions to make sure that whatever happened back there doesn't come close to happening again."

Historia watched her girlfriend carefully.

"You think he's dangerous to us."

"I'm not saying anything beyond I think we need to make sure he's not put in a position where he could be."

Jean spoke without moving his gaze from the table, voice cracking.

"He's already tied down. Levi knew he was dangerous and I think we all do as well. What more do we need to do?"

Ymir leaned forward.

"We need to know that it's really Joe in that body down the hall."

Jean opened his mouth, brow furrowing, but before a word left his mouth, Mikasa spoke without turning or seeming to move at all.

"You seem to be confused as to what a person is. That is Joe, that is his body, that is the person who saved us."

Historia saw Ymir fidget and could tell she was trying hard to keep herself from standing up or losing control of her emotions.

"If that's so, it's also the same person who called you a cunt, threatened you with a gun, and caused Frieda to die."

Mikasa gave no reply, as Florian gave a silent shudder from the couch. Ymir continued to stare and after waiting several seconds, she leaned back, clearly wanting to choose her words carefully.

"I'm not saying we do anything drastic, at least not immediately… "

Whipping her head around with her dark hair swirling around her face, Mikasa gave Ymir a glare that caused her to shrink slightly, but she didn't back down.

"… I'm just saying we wake him up and… see what greets us."

Jean crossed his arms; the weight of what had happened was clearly still plaguing him, but despite his low voice, he spoke with conviction.

"Levi gave me strict orders to not do anything beyond protect you lot until he comes back. I don't think we should… "

Ymir turned to him, with this obviously not being the response that she wanted.

"Don't tell me that you're… "

He looked at her and swallowed, mouth flattening into a determined line.

"He's tied down. He's unconscious. We're watching him. Whatever… whatever might have been wrong with him, we can handle it if it comes to that."

Eying him in mild disbelief for several seconds, Ymir turned to Sasha who shook her head quickly.

"Ymir… don't… please can we just… not fight… "

She slammed a fist on the table then and Historia slid her hands over the baby's ears.

"HAVEN'T WE HAD ENOUGH OF THAT?!"

For a moment, it looked as though Ymir wasn't going to back down and start fighting back, but after staring at Sasha's red, furious, and tear soaked face, she put her hands up and leaned back.

"Fine."

Heaving a shaky sigh, Sasha put her head down and began to cry quietly; Ymir reached out tentatively and began massaging her friend's neck gently.

"Sorry, Sash."

Sasha leaned into her shoulder, burying her face and shaking. Within the next minute, each of them began to rise silently, one by one, Jean to the second floor, Ymir taking Sasha to her room, and Historia stood to carry her baby as best she could to the bathroom. As she did, she caught a glimpse of Mikasa's eyes on Ymir as she exited the kitchen.

The look she gave her was enough to make Historia shiver violently enough to cause her baby to look at her in newfound confusion.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

As insults raged in her head as Ymir's form disappeared through a door frame, Mikasa turned back to the window, cursing the girl for everything she had just suggested.

Who the fuck does she think she is, saying something like that.

Just as quickly, she turned on her heel, realizing that if Ymir really had intentions of interrogating Joe, he shouldn't be left alone. He was just as she had left him as she burst into the room, tied down and fast asleep, head turned to the wall. She pulled her a chair over to him, sitting slowly, watching him closely for any signs of movement, but he remained passive and motionless save for his deep breathing. Lowering her head, she swore silently at Ymir, not for what she had said, but because she very well could have been right.

The words he had spoken to her, the glare that had seethed on his face, the emotionless violence he had perpetrated, none of these were things Mikasa could deny, and that was what she hated the most. But he had sounded so different, so hateful, so much so that it couldn't have been him. He had spoken as though he wasn't Joe, he had definitely been struggling with something internally. And that something was immensely dangerous.

Fuck it all.

Ymir was right, he was dangerous, they had no idea what was going on within him. But Mikasa had no intention of letting anyone other than her be the one to find out the truth. If there truly was someone else in his body, then perhaps letting him kill her would be for the best.

I… I can't lose him. Not again.

She lowered her head and closed her eyes, putting a hand on his chest. Only one heartbeat resonated within him and as she felt his warmth, his life, she found herself holding in tears.

"… Mi… Mikasa?"

She leapt to her feet and spun as a tentative and quiet voice spoke from behind her; Florian was standing in the doorway, looking thoroughly terrible. Sleep had done her no favors, as Mikasa saw her untidy hair, her beaten and exhausted face, her battered body, and the way she wobbled as she stood. Levi had done as quick a job of addressing her wounds before leaving, but they could never fully prevent the pain she was surely feeling. And of all the people that Mikasa would have liked intruding at that moment, Florian was not one of them.

"What?"

Her reply came out curt as she had expected it to, but as Florian looked down meekly, she began to regret it.

Who am I to judge her now?

She reached out and pulled the blonde into the room, guiding her to the other chair that remained available. Florian sat in it, wincing as she did, and Mikasa followed suit, feeling the same pain that the blonde must have felt. She waited patiently for the other girl to speak; wounded or not, this girl had claimed Joe, and that was not something Mikasa took lightly.

"I… I'm scared of him."

This hadn't been what she expected, and she looked up in surprise. Florian was watching Joe with tears in her eyes, hands shaking in her lap.

"When I met him, I was fooling around. Playing. I hadn't… hadn't thought I'd be drawn to him like I was. Hadn't expected that… I'd fall for his stupid sense of humor and cute smile."

She turned her head, the real question already framed in her eyes.

"Before… before he came to my town… he was with you?"

Mikasa nodded.

"Did… did you love him?"

Did I love him.

"Yes."

Tears began to slide down the blonde's face.

"You still do."

I still love him.

The four words dug at her gut, enough that her words came out shaky.

"I'll never stop loving him. No matter what happens to him, no matter what happens to me."

Florian closed her eyes, as fresh tears passed through her eyelids and she nodded firmly.

"I won't pretend I don't have feelings for him, even… even after what he's done. But… when this is all over, I won't stand between you."

The confession had not been something Mikasa would have ever expected to hear, and she was so overcome for a moment that it was all she could do to stare. Florian began to cry into her hands as her head lowered and Mikasa stared at her, still mystified over what she had heard.

She… she didn't fight. She didn't even try.

It was then that she knew what Florian wanted, what she had wanted all along, but had never said it or had the time to.

She wants what's best for him.

A tear fell into Mikasa's lap.

"Thank you."

She couldn't remember the last time she had said those two words. Without any motive to do so, she rose and knelt by Florian pulling her into a tight hug. She had to keep herself from crying as Florian sobbed into her chest and Mikasa closed her eyes.

"Well... that's rather adorable."

Her heart froze then as she opened her eyes, spinning her head in time to see Joe rip his hands free from the restraints, smiling.