Distant crying cut her story off. It was as if she had fallen into a trance. Out of all the scouts, only sweet little Armin was still awake and tuned to her story. Jean, Sasha, and Connie were all asleep squished against each other. Even Mikasa fell asleep kneeling. Flora stood up and straightened her gown. "Sorry, my youngest must be awake." She left the coziness of the living room for her bedroom and found, indeed, her youngest son Rowan awake and crying in his crib, crawling to the bars.

Eros, cozy in Flora's bed, woke at the noise. "Mom?" He asked in fear once he realized she wasn't with him. "Mom?!"

"I'm here," she said in a reassuring tone, kissing him on his head. Flora turned her attention to the baby. "My tiny love," she crooned warmly and scooped him in her arms. He wrapped his pudgy arms around her neck and gripped handfuls of her curly hair before burying his poor tear-stained face into her chest. Introducing solids was going great...

"Go back to sleep, love," she reassured Eros, pulling the covers tightly over him and brushing his dark hair out of his eyes—it was desperately due for a cut. "I'll be right back."

Flora sighed and gave in to her crying baby, giving him what he ultimately wanted. She pulled her arm out of her nightgown to expose a half of her chest and latched the wriggling child before covering him with a blanket. She didn't mind if anyone saw her, but she didn't want the scouts to be uncomfortable, especially on the first day.

Flora walked back to the room and found the scouts awake. All of their jaws dropped simultaneously. "Levi has a baby?" Sasha squealed, jumping to her feet. "Can I see him?"

Rowan wriggled ferociously in her arms. She swore he was going to suck the life out of her. Flora sat back into her chair. "He's eating right now, but sure."

Sasha walked over as Flora lowered the cover. The young girl's brown eyes nearly boggled out of her head. "He's so cute!" She reached out and touched his wispy hair strawberry blond hair. "How old is he?"

"Six months. So still pretty young. He's glued to me all the time, I swear.

The boys were too terrified to even look at her. Flora shrugged the cover back over her shoulder. "There are three rooms down that hallway, so you'll have to buddy up," she gestured with her chin. "And a washroom at the end. There's even indoor plumbing."

Flora once again stared at the unconscious Eren and tried to ignore the Compulsion making her spine tingle. "Are you sure he'll be alright?"

"He'll be fine," Armin reassured.

The scouts stood up and stretched with massive yawns all around. The taller once, Jean, almost looked like he was flexing. Flora hid a smile. He walked over to Eren and scooped him up. "Lose some weight, fat-ass," he muttered.

"I'll stay with Eren," Armin volunteered.

"And I guess I'll share with Connie. Unless, Mikasa..." Jean's suggestion was met with eye rolls all the way around.

"If you need anything I'll be here for a bit. See you all in the morning."

The night along with following day passed uneventfully. Her children terrorized the scouts while she cleaned and cooked her hands virtually bare, and not to mention the laundry. She stole each grime covered uniform while they relaxed in the wood fired sauna outside and replaced the boy's shirts with Levi's, and the girls with her own clothes. Flora drained and filled the outdoor wash basin several times over with detergent and sent a prayer to the person who did this as a full-time job. She thought Levi's were bad, but by the titans...

The scouts took the day to recuperate. She didn't blame them after everything they went through, and it was nice for her boys to have some other people to play with besides themselves. Eros particularly took charge. "There's the goats," he said, his little legs leading all six scouts into the barn and pasture like a little commander. "And the chickens. Watch out for the rooster though, his name is sonofabitch-he'll get you. And there's the cows..."

Finally, just before the sun was about to set, she hung their uniforms out to dry and returned inside to prepare dinner. The task was comparable to feeding a small army. Flora, with Rowan snug and babbling in his sling on her back, set about simmering the water, adding the herbs, and then the vegetables. She even had dehydrated beef cubes she tossed in. Unfortunately for them her pantry was fairly bare to begin with—she would have to go into town tomorrow, it seemed.

Flora sung to herself as she popped the rolls into the stone oven. Now they just had to wait. Speaking of waiting...She had yet to seen that Eren emerge from his room. Flora tiptoed to her lab and made a tray of the basics in first aid along with a tall glass of water. Laugher trickled in from the yard outside as the scouts and Eros kicked around a ball; Mikasa was suspiciously absent.

She knocked on Eren's room before cracking it open. The girl, Mikasa, sat on the lower half of his bed, the bags under her eyes a testament to her concern for him.

"Hi Mikasa. Can I come in?"

She nodded curtly.

Flora set the tray on the nightstand and brought a chair next to Eren's bed. "You should really take a break. Why don't I sit with him until dinner is ready?"

Mikasa appraised her suspiciously but ultimately gave in. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

Rowan squirmed and squealed in his sling. Flora sighed, unwrapped him, and allowed him to crawl on the floor-but not before throwing a cloak over the ODM gear. She handed him a cookie from the tray to gum on while she attended to Eren. She wasn't wrong before; there was indeed steam coming from his body. Was that a side effect of his healing process? Grabbing the washrag, Flora dipped it into the warm mint lavender water and cleaned the poor boy's grime coated face, neck and hands while humming, feeling the tingle of the Compulsion in her periphery. Flora poured her energy into him anyway despite his accelerated healing through each touch. Eren was so plagued with anger it was palpable, and although Flora attempted to quench it like water, there was not enough water in Paradis to soothe his spirit. Before she was entirely done his eyes flew open with a gasp.

"Mom?"

Flora retracted one her hands away, diminishing her power. His emerald green eyes stared at her in wonder. "I'm Flora. Levi's wife. You're safe—everyone's safe—in my house. You've been out for at least a day. I've got some background as a healer and wanted to take a look at you for myself."

Eren looked dazed. Perhaps she had gone too far with her healing. Flora pulled her other hand away to hand him a glass of water, which gave him the time he needed to regain clarity and sit upright, gratefully accepting her offering and downing the entire glass before grimacing. "Thank you. I don't suppose you have a bathroom?"

Flora scooped Rowan into her arms and showed Eren to the washroom before glancing back to the room. "Use the rest of the mint water to freshen up if you need. Dinner will be done soon if you feel like it. Are you...are you sure you're feeling ok?"

"As fine as I'll ever be. You said you are Levi's wife? Captain Levi? And that's..." He trailed off looking at Rowan.

"Our son? Yes. One of them. When you're done you should check on your friend Mikasa-she barely left your side the entire time you were out."

Eren only grunted, closing the door behind him. Flora frowned and returned to putting the finishing touches on dinner.

The scouts were halfway done with their meal by the time Eren and Mikasa joined them. "Welcome," Flora said warmly with a wink. "I think Sasha saved you something."

Flora recognized food insecurity when she saw it. All the scouts had it to a degree, but Sasha particularly, as evidenced by the hording and binging behavior. Eren sat down at an open chair. His demeanor felt off, almost like he was conflicted about something. "Thank you."

"When was the last time we had an actual homemade meal that wasn't gruel?" Sasha gushed.

"You'll make yourself sick," Connie frowned, taking away her sixth bread roll, causing Eros to erupt in a fit of giggles.

"It's ok," Eros smiled from Sasha's lap. He reached over and handed her a roll from his own plate. "You can have mine."

Sasha smiled and hugged him. "Finally, a man who understands me. Although this one I'll save for later," she said with a smirk.

"What are you brats doing here?"

The entire scout regiment choked on their food and drink simultaneously. It was strange how quickly the joy was sucked out of the room by the mere sound of her husband's voice. Flora had not even noticed him come in.

"Levi!" She exclaimed, taking a moment to wipe off Rowan's face.

"Daddy!" Eros squealed. He squirmed himself free from Sasha's embrace and beat Flora to him. Levi chuckled and scooped him up before giving Flora a peck on the lips.

"My boys haven't given their mother too much grief?"

"Erwin had a message for you before you get too mad."

"If it's Erwin's doing, I can only imagine. Let me guess, he could think of no better place to hide the runts aside from my house?" He sighed, putting Eros on the ground. "There's nothing this job won't take. I'm going to get cleaned up; don't wait for me." Then, turning to the recruits, he added, "I expect my wife's hospitality to be appreciated. And make sure to clean up after yourselves. She already has two kids; she doesn't need six more." Somehow there was a hidden threat along with that sentence. His tension was palpable.

He shot the recruits one last dark look before stalking off to their bedroom. Flora sighed. "Mikasa, do you mind holding Rowan for a moment? I'll be back shortly."

"Uh, sure."

Mikasa's expression made it look like Flora passed her a stick of live dynamite. It would only be for a minute, Flora justified, following in Levi's footsteps to their room, hesitating in the doorway for a moment. "Hey. They've behaved themselves you know."

Levi stripped out of his shirt. "It doesn't matter how well they're behaved. They shouldn't be here at all. When I see Erwin again, so help me...if you only knew the danger of what he has brought here." He continued ranting while removing articles of clothing. "I've done everything to keep you and the kids safe, but what does he do? Waltzes in and dumps a titan shifter on your lap? Alone? Unbelievable. You and the kids, you have to leave. Maybe with your brothers."

His ranting went too far. Flora stepped out of the doorway and closed it behind her. She walked to their open washroom and started running a warm bath for him. "We are fine. If I'm honest, it's been nice having some company here. Ever since Eros was born, I've been a hermit. Maybe it's time to change. To be involved back in the survey corps again."

"I've kept you away for a reason. It's always been dangerous, but now...things have changed. The world is changing. It's more dangerous than ever."

"Then the world is fortunate it has Levi Ackerman to guide it through these changes." She wrinkled her nose as he walked closer to her. "The world is fortunate it cannot smell Levi Ackerman right now."

He grunted, unamused, and stepped into the foaming tub as it filled. Flora pulled her vanity stool to the head of the bath and placed a folded towel on the tub's lip. "Lay back," she commanded. "Everything is alright. Take a minute to wind down and relax."

"How can I relax with six recruits at my dinner table?"

"You can relax in your bath." Flora saturated his hair and began to massage in soap, taking extra care to slightly scratch with the tip of her nails. "With your wife by your side," she cooed into his ear while she scrubbed. "With your children who are happy and healthy. You made it back safe and alive." Flora continued her affirmations while massaging Levi's head, then moved onto his neck, his shoulders, back and chest. Every muscle group visibly released under her touch. A great lion he may be, she thought with a smile, reduced to a purring cat by solely her hands. Just as she was about to explore more interesting areas beneath the water, she heard wailing from the living room.

Flora tiled Levi's head back and kissed his mouth upside-down. "Poor Mikasa. I don't know if that girl has ever even seen a baby."

Levi caught her hand before she left. "Hey. I love you."

Flora bend down and kissed him again, this time more lingering. "I love you too."

She left him to finish his bath alone and attended to her crying baby. Mikasa looked panicked with him on her lap while Jean made funny faces in an attempt to humor him.

"My poor baby," Flora said with exaggerated grief, plucking him up. "What is wrong my little love? Are you hungry?" She turned to the scouts. "I'm going to feed him quick. I'll be back to clean up."

"We can clean up," Armin urged. "Don't worry about it. It's the least we can do."

"Hey—I have to run into town tomorrow to pick up some groceries, if you guys want anything specific you should make a list for me."

Rowan's hungry wails only intensified. Flora whisked him away to her room and quickly got him latched on the bed. It wasn't long after Levi came out of the bathroom. He laid on the bed with a sore groan and observed for a moment. "You're an amazing mother, you know. I wish I could be around more."

"You go crazy being cooped up. Just don't spent too much time away and keep coming home."

"I do my best. The threats out there only grow bigger by the day. Maybe one day Rowan and Eros will be able to grow up without the fear of titans." Levi abruptly frowned. "I better go check on those kids."

Flora swatted his arm. "Hey, be nice to them-they look terrified of you. What have you done to them?"

"I may have kicked Eren's teeth out—for his own benefit of course. They grew back."

Flora rolled her eyes. "Very funny. Be nice, they're just kids."

"They're soldiers," Levi corrected, rolling out of bed. "And while they're relatively untested, I trust they're damn dangerous ones." He walked over to her side and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll handle clean up duty. You stay here and relax; I'll be back in a minute."

Flora followed his advice and ended up relaxing a bit too much. Between the children, the animals, the scouts, maintaining the house, she hardly had enough energy to unlatch, change Rowan, and set him into his bedside crib. Eros will be fine, she thought to herself, laying back in bed, half drifting off to sleep. I'm sure Levi will get him ready. And if not, well, he's only five...it's good for them to be dirty every now and then...

A sudden change in weight startled her. Levi slid in next to her under the sheets. "Eros—" she said in a sleepy daze, throwing the sheets off her.

"Shh," Levi hushed, pulling her back to bed. "In bed along with the scouts. Come here."

The tone of his voice was hungry. The room had only the faintest hint of moonlight through the window, filtered purely by the sheer drapes let down from their beds canopy. Her body's curvature relaxed into his own as he cradled her from behind, face nuzzling away her mass of hair to rest behind her neck. His warm breath tickled her skin and elicited goosebumps. "Hmm," he moaned contently. With one arm under her head, his free arm wrapped around her waist and rested on her chest. "The older I get, the more I realize all my suffering is only made bearable by you."

She could hear the echoes of grief in his voice. Flora couldn't imagine experiencing the level of loss and pain as he did on a daily basis. She twisted her body in order to face him and ran her nails up and down his shirtless back. As expected, he nearly melted in her arms. "My wife," he whispered. "My children. My life." She felt him grow hard from her touch.

Flora kissed his lips, savoring his smell, drinking from him like she was parched and he was a lake. Their passion only intensified. His fingers trailed the hem of her nightgown and teased her inner thighs with their touch. She tried hard to stay silent with Rowan sleeping happily in his crib—at least the canopy was let down—but small gasps escaped her lips. Her gasps were devoured by Levi's mouth until he released her in a breathless haze.

"I missed you," he said in his sweet, low seductive voice while pinning her underneath him.

"How much?" Flora smiled. She lifted her scrunched nightgown over her head.

Half his mouth raised in his signature smirk. "This much."

He surprised her by moving lower, lips trailing down her stomach until his head rested between her parted legs. Without hesitation his mouth claimed her. Flora's hands flew to her mouth to stifle her moans while his tongue, trained by years of practice, expertly darted, rolled, and stroked her most delicate of areas. His hands wrapped around her hips to hold her in place while he continued his consumption.

Sweet Maria, Rose and Sina. Her muscles were already beginning their build. With one hand still covering her mouth, the other snaked to his hair and gripped tightly. His tongue continued its onslaught until her muscles finally released and pulsed.

"You're too fast," he panted. "I wasn't finished."

Flora could barely stay on the bed as his tongue continued and matched every pulse of her orgasm. The sensation was overwhelming and heightened, and before she knew it, she could feel another orgasm building off the back of the last one. Her entire body was coated with sweat as the next one hit, causing waves of pleasure to course through her body.

Levi worked quickly and released her from his mouth. With her body still spasming, he placed her ankles on either side of his head and wasted no time in claiming her with his shaft. The entire bed groaned with the strength and passion of their love. He eventually released her ankles and dropped his torso against hers, allowing her nails to rake up and down his back. "Harder," he panted into her ear. "Make it hurt."

She dug her nails in deeper, far more than she would like, but his response was immediate. After only a few more thrusts it was his turn to release. He collapsed on top of her, still inside. Flora's hands turned gentler and stroked his hair and back. There was reconnection in the following silence, although if she knew Levi at all, he was surely chewing something over in his head.

"Hey," she whispered, hugging him more deeply into her body. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head and rolled off her. Flora embraced him from behind before kissing his neck. "I love you. You are strong, you are powerful, you are kind. You have a heavy burden on your shoulders, but you are not alone." Flora continued her quiet affirmations until she felt his body go slack with sleep.

Hours passed and Flora, however, found herself unable to follow suit. An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach, one she decided could be quelled by at least doing a check on the house. Levi didn't stir as she snuck out of bed and through the canopy. Rowan was still sleeping soundly in his crib, and to her surprise Eros must have crawled in sometime during the night as well. Or maybe Levi put him there. She hoped it was the first option.

In the hallway, through the surprisingly spotless kitchen and living room, Flora stopped for a minute to light a candle and carried it with her as she checked on the scouts in their rooms. In the first door to the right, Sasha and Mikasa slept quietly with Mikasa on the far left of the bed and Sasha sprawled out in the middle. Flora stifled a laugh and closed the door before moving on to the next room. Jean and Connie slept in bed as expected, but little Armin was squeezed in the middle. Flora frowned and checked the last room, where Eren Yeager must be alone.

There was something wrong with that boy. Perhaps wrong was a poor word; troubled, more like it. Anger and angst boiled just below the surface like an infected wound. Opening the door as quietly as possible, Flora peered into Eren's room. It was empty. His ODM gear was still here, which was a good sign, but Flora's face pinched with concern. Was he in danger? Her instinct told her no, but still...

She debated waking Levi but ultimately decided against it. He needed his sleep, and who knows what verbal tirade awaited Eren if Levi caught him out of bed? Flora patrolled the perimeter of the house, checking its other empty rooms, but ultimately found no trace of the boy. Her concern only mounted when thunder rumbled outside. Rain peppered the thatched roof for hours now, but between the thunder and increasing wind, Flora suspected the mountain was sending her a storm.

Flora tread to the front door and donned her shoes and canvas raincoat. From the stash of torches, she picked the smallest one and lit it from the candle before pinching the candle flame out and heading out into the rain. "Eren?" she called softly, looking for any sign of light, tracks, anything. She walked to the stables first and found all horses accounted for. Her next thought was the barn. Flora was halfway there before she noticed the faintest glow through its glazed windows.

"Eren?" Flora called over the thunder. Bleats of goats, clucks of chickens, and the grunts of pigs greeted her as she opened the barn door. True to her gut she found Eren in the sheep's pen. His eyes were wide in horror, looking like he was caught doing something. "Is everything ok?"

"I-I'm fine," he stammered, brushing his hands against his pants.

"What are you doing?" She asked. But as she processed more about the scene, she began to figure it out for herself and started to laugh, as beneath his feet, lambs tottered on their new legs. "They're pretty cute, huh?"

His face turned redder than a tomato. Poor Eren looked...sheepish. "I should probably go inside. I'm sorry."

Flora set her raincoat on a hook and put her torch in a sconce. "Don't apologize." Flora stepped into the pen with him and scooped up their smallest lamb. "I don't think she has a name yet. Care to help?"

A small smile spread on the boy's face. He ran his hands over the lamb's wool. "She's a girl? Well...what about Carla."

"I think that's a beautiful name."

"It was my mother's."

"Even more beautiful."

Flora knew enough from Levi to know how his mother met her end. She knew all about the pain and suffering seeing your loved ones consumed by titans right before your very eyes. Flora cleared her throat and tried to lighten the mood. "Did Eros show you our calf?"

His face lit up.

Flora regaled Eren with the sights of the barn. The pigs, the chickens and their chicks, and lastly their new calf Mr. Moo. A name of Eros's choosing, even though Flora told him several times it should be Miss Moo.

Eren's eyes bulged when he saw the size of the cows. They had a pretty small stock, but healthy and well loved, valued for their milk. The pair watched from the wooden fencing as Mr. Moo nursed from her mother. "It's nice out here," Flora said absently. "Peaceful. I don't know if I miss the cramped districts."

Eren only silently watched the calf and her mother. Flora nudged him. "Hey. I'm quite the experienced healer, and can heal more than just the body. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"It's nothing."

Flora kept her hands to herself—even if all she wanted to do was to cradle the poor boy in her arms. "At least come inside and get worm. Quite the storm is stirring out there."

Outside the barn, the rain was blowing nearly horizontally. Flora made the boy put on her rain coat, to his protests, and grabbed his wrist sleeve and raced with him to the alcove of the entryway where she quickly ushered him inside. Even the relatively short jog left her soaked. "You should have taken the raincoat," he said quietly as he shook it off. "Levi would kill me if you got sick."

Flora snorted in amusement. "Levi may be Captain of the scouts. But I am Captain of this house."

It was short work igniting the brick fireplace. The living room was cast in a cozy glow despite the storm that raged outside. "Sit," Flora urged. "I make a special brew for Eros when he can't sleep. You'll have to tell me what you think."

Eren gingerly sat on the couch, almost like he was afraid to wrinkle it. Flora quietly traipsed to the kitchen and prepared the beverage. It may not be healing to the body, but it was certainly healing to the soul which was equally important in her eyes.

Flora brought the kettle of milk to a near boil before taking it off and pouring it into the ceramic cups before breaking off small pieces of chocolate from the larger brick, throwing them into the milk, stirring it until melted along with a pinch of sugar and cinnamon bark, served with a side of day-old sweetbread. Eren starred at her with wide green eyes. "That's the most chocolate I've ever seen in my life." He took a measured sip, unable to hide the joy in his expression the moment the liquid touched his lips. "I can't believe this."

"It's good right? My kids love it."

"Too much of this and even my titan form might turn fat."

Flora sat back in her chair. "Titan form huh? That's a crazy amount of power...it must be difficult for you."

Eren chewed on a piece of hot chocomilk drenched sweetbread. "Yeah. It is sometimes." She let him eat in silence until he was ready to talk. "I'm still surprised Levi has a wife. I mean, he never talks about you, no offense."

"None taken. Back in the day I used to be quite involved with the survey corps on the sidelines as a medic of sorts. I nearly lost my life when wall Maria fell, though, and I didn't complain much when Levi urged me to go into hiding. I had a newborn after all. And besides, a man like Levi has quite a few enemies. It's better sometimes to keep your biggest weakness in hiding, and although I never wanted such a quiet life, but there is something nice in the quaintness of everything, of the simplicity of raising children and maintaining a house. I'm sure that probably seems quite boring to you lot."

Eren starred at his cup. "It seems...nice. If there weren't so many titans to kill."

Flora refilled his cup. Her maternal instincts ached for this poor boy. She wanted to clutch him tightly to her chest and shield him like one of her children from the outside world. "You could come here in your free time if you wanted. We could always use the help here, if you were ever aching for at least a taste of a simple life. Even titan killers need a vacation."

Maybe it was a trick of the light, but it looked as if tears gathered on the bottom of his green eyes. He cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. "I'll keep that in mind."

A particularly bad clap of nearby thunder shook the house. Flora eyed the roof and prayed it would stay intact. It wasn't too long before a trail of sleepy scouts trickled into the living room. "Hey guys," Flora greeted. Her keen ears were suddenly aware of distant crying. "Excuse me. Stay up as long as you want, but don't forget we have to go into town tomorrow."

They bid her goodnight in unison. She glanced back a final time and saw them all curled in front of the fire like a litter of kittens. Eren, caught looking at her, turned as red as a tomato.

Flora was three doors down from their bedroom when their bedroom door exploded in a shower of splinters. She screamed at the sound while Levi, moving faster than a whirlwind, tumbled out of their bedroom, an expression of pure panic twisting his face. He was shirtless, pants loose at the waist, and wielded a knife in each hand.

"Flora," he gasped, seeing her figure in the hallway. She surged forward as her children screamed in unison. Levi caught her by the shoulders and analyzed her whole body for a brief second before he pushed her into the wall and shielded her with his body.

"Hey!" She cried, trying to get him to focus. The kitten that fell asleep was gone and replaced by the lion. "Levi!" She snapped, putting her hands on either side of his face. "What's wrong? Are the kids ok?"

Before he could answer, the scouts sprung into action. Each one wielded a makeshift weapon and crowded into the hallway in concern.

Levi blinked in confusion. "I—Is there someone in the house?"

"It's just thunder. I was checking on the scouts, everything is ok-the kids?"

His grip on the knives and her body loosened. Flora squirmed free and ran to the bedroom where the boys huddled in the crib underneath a coat Levi must have thrown to hide them. "My loves," Flora said softly, picking them up and rocking them side to side. "It's ok. Daddy was scared by the storm. Mommy was checking on the lambs. Shhh shhh shh." Outside the room Flora could hear Levi appraising the scouts on their responsiveness, especially Mikasa who had the only sense to bring a knife.

"A pillow Connie? Really?" Levi frowned. "Whatever. I guess I'm on edge more than usual. Go back to bed."

Rowan was significantly more difficult to console than Eros, but together the two fed off of their energy and hysterics until Levi returned, appraising the damage to the door. "You scared the shit out of me," he said grimly, returning the knifes under the mattress. "I thought the worst."

"I'm sorry," Flora said between baby wails. "I went to check on the scouts and then the animals."

Although Levi wanted to say more, he turned his attention to their children first. "Eros. Be a good example to your little brother. If you were in danger, you have to hide, not cry. Can you do that? I'm sorry for scaring you."

"Go to your dad," Flora commanded. "I need to feed your brother."

Eros allowed Levi to pry him off Flora's chest. Levi tucked the young boy in next to him in bed while Flora settled beside them and finally got Rowan consoled at the breast. With both boys quiet, Levi rolled into his side and played with Flora's hair while Rowan nursed. "I am sorry. I'm on edge having the scouts here. You never know who will come looking for them."

"I should have told you where I was going, it's just that you were sleeping so soundly." Flora reflected on how fast everything happened. "You looked frantic."

"I was," he agreed. "I can keep my cool in situations that make regular men shit their pants. But just now, it's like I couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. If anything happened to you, or the children, walls help me..."

They fell into silence for a few minutes as Rowan slowly fell asleep. Just as Flora moved to tuck him into bed between herself and Eros, he woke up and fussed until she put him back to breast. "I feel like this kid is glued to me."

"If I would have known how good of a mother you are I would have given you children over decade ago."

"We tried. Once. Or twice...or was it four times?"

He snorted. "You know though, you can't be a mother to the scouts."

Flora paused. Levi was perceptive, she would give him that. "I can try to give them some semblance of normalcy. Of comfort. Of motherly love. I doubt they see much of that in the survey corps."

"Don't baby them too much. They'll get soft. I think I saw a chocolate mustache on Eren's upper lip."

"What are you, a detective? Sheesh. Besides, you don't see yourself like a father figure?"

Judging by how his entire body froze, Flora caught him completely off guard. "Me? No. Not really. It's not something I've thought about. I try not to get attached to anyone—for obvious reasons."

Flora dropped it. She didn't feel like pushing the matter. "Alright. Go to bed mister, for real this time."

"Yes Commander Flora," he yawned, wrapping his arm around Eros. "Seriously though, tell me the next time you get the itch to do any night wandering."

The next day was a blur of chores and damage control from the storm. With Levi and six scouts Flora wondered how she ever managed without them. They were surprisingly happy about shoveling sheep shit. But as Flora looked at her barren pantry, she could lie to herself no longer. She needed to go to town.

"Town?" Levi frowned, then grimaced as Eros pulled his hair from his perch atop his shoulders. "I can go."

"I don't trust you with the list. Besides, with all you here, I can actually get a break from the kids." She shifted Rowan to her other hip. "Not that I don't cherish them. But a mama needs her break."

Levi's frown only deepened. "I'll go with you."

"I think you should stay here with the scouts. Make sure they don't burn the place down."

"I'll go," Eren volunteered. He paused his wheel-barreling for a moment and stretched his back until Jean came running from behind with his own wheel-barrel. Eren was spurred into action to keep ahead of him and race to the compost pile

"Oh no you don't," Levi snapped. "You're staying where I can see you."

"What about me," Armin suggested. "Levi and Eren are a little too recognizable."

Flora wrapped her arm around Armin's shoulders. "I would love you to go Armin. I would take Sasha but I don't have an unlimited budget. Mikasa? Jean? Connie?"

"I'll stay with Eren," Mikasa said quietly.

Jean dumped his wheel barrel contents into the compost pile. "Yeah, I'll go. If it's alright with the Captain."

"I'll stay with Sasha," Connie yawned from his spot on the ground. "Just get more chocolate—all the chocolate. Please."

"Great!" Flora passed Levi Rowan, much to Rowan's protests. "He can eat solid food even though he hates it. He should be fine until we get back."

The look on Levi's face was priceless as Flora virtually sprinted to the stables to prep the cart. Armin and Jean went to follow her until they were recalled by Levi—probably for a pep talk.

Once the cart was ready Flora excused herself to prepare a day's worth of provisions and retrieve her coin before making her way back to the open carriage and positioning herself in the driver's seat. "Ready?"

Flora waved bye to Levi and the scouts before setting off to town.

The going was exceptionally slow down the mountain. The path is untamed at the best of times, but after the storm it was near unpassable. Flora was quickly grew frustrated by the amount of downed tree branches and lack of progress.

"Maybe Eren should have come," Jean grunted as he and Armin heaved a downed sapling off the trail. "Put his titan form to good use."

The trip, one that would normally take three hours on a good day, quickly took five. Flora eyed the sky with concern. They would either be traveling in the dark or staying the night if they didn't hurry up.

"Flora!" The townsfolks greeted after finally reached the town. Despite coming to town mainly for supplies, Flora enjoyed its quaintness, lumber mills, stonework, and history. Flora navigated the streets and greeted her acquaintances warmly.

"Grocery day!" she chimed.

They were nearly to the center of town and markets when a stranger ran in front of the carriage. Her horses reared in alarm, but the man continued waving his arms. "Flora?"

"Yes," she hesitated. "Can I help you?"

"My wife."

Immediately his behavior made sense. The panicked look in his eye. The blood staining his shirt, knees, and hands. Flora pulled the carriage to a halt.

"Armin, can you and Jean please do your best to get what's on my list? I don't know how long this will take. I'll meet you back at the carriage. Oh, and here," she handed them her coin purse in it's entirely. "You might need this."

"Wait," Armin called as she dismounted. "I don't think Le—he—would want you going out alone. Do you want us to come with you?"

"No. I promise I'll meet you back here alright?"

Flora jogged after the man, cursing her foresight for not bringing her medical kit. She should have known that everyone in town goes into labor as soon as she arrives. It must be going poorly for word of her presence to reach him so quickly.

The stench nearly knocked Flora over as soon as she stepped into the house. "Flora," the local midwife said in a terse voice. "I sent word for you as soon as I knew you were here. I can't get the baby to deliver and it's been two days with broken waters."

Two days. Flora's heart sunk. There was a chance this baby was not even alive. Flora rolled up her sleeves and felt the swell of power within her. "Let me see."

Armin and Jean wandered from stall to stall checking the boxes off Flora's list. All the meanwhile Armin was alert for any sign of danger. What was Flora doing? He immediately regretted their decision to let her go alone. "Hey," Jean snapped. "Focus. Let's just get this stuff and get back."

"Right." There was enough money in the coin purse to pay for the groceries ten times over.

They had more than half of the groceries bought and loaded in the cart before the pair decided to split up. "You watch the cart and wait for Flora to come back," Jean suggested. "I don't want anyone stealing any of it. I'll get the rest."

"Alright. Holler if you run into trouble."

Armin sat in the cart and passed the time sorting the groceries by type. He was nearly done when a familiar voice made him shoot straight up.

"Armin?"

His eyes scanned the streets. Several people wandered the roads, but is mouth dropped when he saw a sorry sight-four sorry sights. Reiner, Bertholdt, Christa and Ymir sprinted to the cart. Christa nearly crushed Armin with the strength of her hug. "Oh Armin! I'm so glad you're here."

"Me?" The four of them looked like they've been through quite the ordeal with ripped clothes, unkempt hair and skin, and dirt head to toe. They looked like average civilians and didn't even have their ODM gear or cloaks. "What are you all doing here?"

"Erwin sent us this way," Reiner explained grimly. "He gave us instructions to a house from here, a house to go into hiding until further notice, but no one seems to know where that is. We've been begging for scraps for a day now."

"I think he means Captain Levi's house," Armin said quietly.

All four sets of eyes widened in unison. "Captain Levi has a house around here?"

Armin looked around. "I'll tell you more later. Jean is here too, getting supplies. Levi's wife is here as well, but she got pulled into some sort of emergency I think—"

"Wait," Ymir said, crossing her arms. "Captain uptight has a wife?"

"Yeah, like I said, I'll tell you more later."

Ymir sounded impressed. "Huh. And there I went thinking he was gay. The tension between him and Erwin—"

"Ymir!" Christa scolded.

Armin tossed each of them an apple. "I guess you're coming with us."