Levi rode with Mike and Nanaba to the hospital since Hange had to go pick up Moblit. Levi had climbed into the back seat of the truck, assuming Nanaba would want to sit up front with Mike. To his chagrin, she slid in the back next to him. She seemed happy and excited, which made him happy and she tactfully didn't ask or say anything about Erwin. Levi was thankful for that.

They exchanged pleasantries and then Nanaba took out a bit of folded paper. "I want to show you something."

She handed the paper to Levi who unfolded it and peered at it.

"What am I looking at?"

"It's our baby!" Nanaba smiled like the sun coming out.

"What?"

"Our baby! It's the ultrasound. We got to hear the heartbeat!"

Levi had never heard of an ultrasound in his life and he stared hard at the grey blobs on the paper.

"They do it with sound waves. See? That's him, there." She pointed at a pale grey blob. It looked like a pinto bean.

"They can do all that?"

"Yep!"

"Is it … I mean he … is the baby OK?"

Nanaba patted his leg. "Perfectly fine."

Armed with food, the gang all trooped up to Eren's room. Eren was awake and Erwin was reading. They both looked up at them.

"McDonald's! Thank god! Gimme!"

Mike and Hange heaped the bags on the bed. "What do you want kiddo?" Hange asked.

"I think we got three of everything they make," Mike groused good-naturedly.

"Chicken nuggies?"

Hange chuckled and took in Erwin's little frown of disapproval. "Hey," she told him, "I call them that too! I got them in here somewhere …"

Levi, who had sort of hidden himself in the middle of the group of friends, was suddenly exposed when Moblit and Nanaba moved oway. Eren caught sight of him, his mouth forming a surprised 'O'.

"LEVI!"

Levi looked up and grinned sheepishly and everyone else froze, gazes riveted on Erwin's startled face.

"Well get over here and hug me, dude!" Eren yelled, holding his arms weakly out.

Now Levi did not like being touched and did not like touching others. He hesitated for a second then walked over to the bed, awkwardly but thoroughly hugging the young man.

"Oh my god, Dude! You're here! You came! You look great! Dad, doesn't Levi look great?!"

Erwin was silent. Several emotions flitted across his face, happiness, fear, anger, guilt. Mike slowly put down his bags in case Erwin did something stupid. Erwin could ask them all to leave or ask Levi to leave but, technically, only Eren really had that right. Eren was nineteen and grown and could say who and who not could visit him.

Erwin opened his mouth and closed it again. He didn't know how to feel, what to do, what to say.

Eren's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Erwin caught the look and tried to rein himself in. He really really wanted Levi in his life but his emotions were all over the place at having him here, having him so close, looking so good. He also realized that he was a teensy bit jealous of Levi having patently come to see Eren and not him. He dialed it back a bit with effort. It was good seeing him.

"He … he does look great."

Eren made expectant puppy dog eyes at Levi and jerked his head toward his dad.

Levi cleared his throat. "Erwin. How've you … uh, been?"

Erwin put his bookmark in his book and closed it, setting it on the table. "Getting better, getting better. My mind's in a better place, frankly."

Levi nodded. He was grateful for that statement. Grateful that Erwin's mental state was better and grateful that it seemed almost like an apology. "I'm glad. Really. I know it's been … well, fucking hard."

Hange nodded her head approvingly. Just the right thing to say.

"So, kid, how're you feeling? I mean, I know like shit but is it getting less shitty?"

Eren nodded eagerly. "I've started PT and it fucking sucks but they've got me on the oral meds now and taken my drip out—that thing was shit—and my external staibiliser's due to be removed and—"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Levi sat down on the edge of the bed. "What's PT?"

The mood in the room had relaxed noticeably and everyone grabbed food. Erwin moved over to the guest sofa (it served as his bed at night) and sat down. He looked over at Eren and Levi talking. "I can't believe he came. What did you have to do?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"Nothing," Mike said, "he asked to come."

"He said he'd behave himself. Mind that you do too," Hange warned.

"I will, I promise. It's weird seeing him." He rubbed at his chest absently. "It makes me feel funny."

Hange elbowed him gently. "Funny in a good way?" they asked with a leer.
Erwin looked puzzled. "I don't know."

Hange had left two boxes of ten-piece chicken McNuggets on the bed and Eren dragged them toward himself, opening one and two sauces (BBQ and Honey Mustard.) He arranged his sauces on the movable hospital bedside table, which he'd pulled over his lap, and began eating voraciously, dipping alternately into each sauce.

"Jesus, don't they feed you, kid?" Levi asked.

Eren shook his head vigorously, mouth full.

"He eats all of his meals too," Erwin offered from the couch.

"Fucking eating machine," Levi said fondly. "Can I have some?"

Eren pulled his nuggets toward himself and growled theatrically like a dog.

Hange stood up and brought Levi a box of nuggets.

"Thanks," Levi said.

Hange petted his hair. "Well! Normally the best I'd have gotten is a grunt. Awww, the South is rubbing off on my little Levi!"

Mike snorted.

"Fuck the fuck off, all of you." Levi took out a nugget and bit into it.

"Oh, eww! You don't use sauce?" Eren said, mouth full.

"That shit is nasty," Levi dismissed, snagging another nugget. "Don't talk with your mouth full, you animal."

Levi fished a napkin out of a nearby bag and leaned forward to wipe Eren's mouth. Eren grinned and let him do it. It was a sweet gesture, a parentlike gesture. Erwin stared, fascinated. Eren, his face now clean, looked triumphantly at his father.

Everyone ate in silence for a while. Nanaba finished first and took a large fry over to Eren's bed.

They spoke briefly then Eren uttered a yelp of excitement.

"Oh my god, Levi have you seen this? Dad, come look at this!"

Eren had Nanaba's ultrasound image. Erwin dusted his hands off and rose, going to the bed.

"It's Mike's and Nanaba's baby!" Eren said enthusiastically. He pointed at the image. "Look. There she is!"

"Wait," Moblit said, "I thought he was a 'he.'"

"Well, there's no way to tell yet,' Nanaba pointed out, laughing. "We just call him 'he' right now." She smiled warmly at Mike who beamed back at her.

"Well, I say she's a 'she,'" Eren said firmly.

"What if she's a 'they'?" Levi asked mildly.

Hange laughed. "Well, I'm sure they will have a lot of time to decide that!"

Mike looked faintly concerned.

"I don't care," Nanaba said decisively, "so long as the baby is healthy."

That ended that conversation.

"So … how is the … uh, set coming?" Erwin said. He was clearly talking to Levi.

Levi toyed with a fry, drawing out the time. "It's going OK."

Moblit's phone buzzed and he excused himself to the hallway to take the call.

"'Scuse me," said Nanaba suddenly. "Call of nature." She disappeared into the bathroom.

"I'm, uh, gonna go hit the machines for something sweet," Mike said.

"I'll join you," Hange said.

Abruptly it was just Erwin and Levi and Eren in the room.

"Tch."

Eren and Erwin looked at Levi.

"What?" Eren asked innocently.

"You know. They fucking did that on purpose." He ate the fry he'd been fiddling with.

"So what?" Eren said. "They want you two to talk. We all want you two to talk. Gimme the curtain rod and I'll pole myself out into the hallway." He mimicked poling a boat and Levi snorted. Erwin chuckled.

"So, you been OK? For real?" Levi asked Erwin.

"For real," Erwin reassured him. "What about you? How are you doing? What have you been up to? I feel like I've lost touch being holed up in this room."

"Hey!" Eren said.

"You know what I mean," Erwin said, ruffling his hair. Eren ducked away and pouted adorably.

"Brat," Levi said and ruffled his hair as well.

"Aww, geez! I'm nineteen years old, Dudes!"

"Wanna … uh, sit down?" Erwin asked.

Levi shrugged and stood from the edge of the bed.

Eren, already bored—or pretending to be—opened his laptop.

Erwin carefully sat at the far end of the couch and Levi sat at the other. Erwin clenched his hands together, relaxed them, then clenched them again. Levi didn't seem to know what to do with his. He really really needed a cigarette.

"Eren was right. You do look good."

Levi pinked up a bit. "Yeah, thanks. You look much better. Have you been eating?"

Erwin patted his belly, "Like a horse. I should be back to my fighting weight again in no time."

"Good," Levi said truthfully.

They settled into an awkward silence.