Chapter 5

Levi was allowed a couple of hours of peace until he heard giggles down the hall. He quickly got up to see what the commotion was about. After walking to the door of Isabel's room, he saw the source: Petra was reading Isabel a book, adding voices in to make the characters come alive.

He quickly ducked out of sight, careful not to distract their reading. Petra continued, using a low, menacing voice when speaking for the troll guarding the princess' castle. Isabel beamed, having the time of her life while she sat on Petra's lap. The book was held in front of her so she could see the illustrations.

Levi quietly crept away, leaving the girls alone as he resumed his paperwork. About 10 minutes later, Isabel burst through the door, her hair now up in a braided crown.

"Look!" She exclaimed, pointing to her hair. "Pretty hair!"

Levi smiled. "You look very beautiful. Did Petra do that?"

"Nope. Oluo!" Isabel beamed.

"Oluo?"

"Sir!" Oluo burst through the door. "Oh, there you are Isabel."

"I see you did her hair. Nice handiwork." Levi teased.

Oluo's face turned red with embarrassment. "Oh, well...I have little sisters…I just picked some stuff up along the way."

Petra appeared beside him. "Oh don't be embarrassed. It's nothing to be ashamed of." She laughed, making Oluo even redder.

"What ever happened to that paperwork, cadets?" Levi squinted.

Both of his soldiers went pale. "We...haven't finished it, sir." They hung their heads in shame.

"Well give her to Eld and Gunther then. They actually finished, unlike you slackers. As you can see, I'm up to my arms in stupid documents and can't give her the time of day." He looked down at Isabel and she smiled.

"Okay. Come on, sweetie. It's time to go play with Gunther and Eld. Would you like that?" Petra said, taking Isabel's hand in hers. Isabel nodded excitedly and followed the two soldiers out of the room.

Levi let out a quiet chuckle and resumed his paperwork, giggles being heard from the hallway every so often. From what he could gather, Eld had a fiancée and definitely needed the practice before he had his own kids. Hopefully, Isabel could show him what true parenthood would be like. He continued his paperwork in silence, listening to the laughs from both the three-year-old and his cadets.

…

(Quick perspective skip to the cadets)

Eld decided to practice dancing with Isabel, letting her stand on his feet while they spun around. He needed some form of practice for his upcoming wedding, and Petra currently wasn't available to help him out. From time to time he would pick her up and twirl her in the air, making the girl burst out in a fit of giggles.

"Did you ever dance before, Isabel?" Eld asked as Isabel twirled around on her own, her dress billowing out as she did so.

Isabel paused for a moment, deep in thought. Her trauma didn't leave much room for past memories, but they tried their best to bring back anything.

"M-music." She said.

"That's right. You dance to music." Eld said, kneeling beside her. He silently cheered her on as she thought harder.

"Mommy and Daddy dance."

"You would dance with your Mommy and Daddy?" Gunther asked.

Isabel nodded vigorously. "Where are they?"

Both men stopped. "Where is who, sweetie?"

"Mommy and Daddy?"

"Uh…" Both men were at a loss for words.

"Mommy and Daddy here? Mommy and Daddy play?" She asked, her blue eyes looking up at them expectantly.

"We...we don't know where your Mommy and Daddy are, sweetie. I'm sorry. They can't play with you." Gunther frowned.

Isabel's posture drooped. "Not here?"

"No Isabel, they aren't here," Gunther said.

Isabel's eyes went wide with fear, and all of the sudden, she whispered, "B-b-blood." She hastily burst out of the room, right in the direction of Captain Levi's office.

...

As if there was a drawing force to him, Isabel opened the door to Levi's office yet again, coming in to sit quietly beside him. Levi said nothing.

"Play?" Isabel asked, quieter than usual.

"Not right now, Isabel," Levi responded. "I have a lot of work to do."

A pause. "Where's Mommy and Daddy?"

Levi froze, his eyes widening in shock. He looked at the girl sitting on the floor. She held her stuffed horse tight, tears streaking down her face.

"They...they aren't here, Isabel." Levi managed.

"I want Mommy and Daddy!" Isabel cried, sobbing into her toy. Levi was shocked at her grammar. This was probably the first full sentence he had ever heard from her. No babbling whatsoever; she knew exactly what she wanted.

"I'm sorry Isabel, but they're not coming back."

"Why?" She looked up at him, her blue eyes glistening.

"They're gone. They can't come back to you." Levi said.

"I WANT MOMMY AND DADDY!" Isabel screeched before sobbing even harder than before.

Levi didn't know what to do. He's never seen the sweet girl act like this. What had spurred this on?

He looked in the doorway and saw his squad staring back at him. He quickly walked over and shut the door in their faces before kneeling beside Isabel. He let her lean into him and he stroked her hair, trying to calm her down. His shirt became wet with tears and snot, but surprisingly, he didn't mind as much as he should have. He only held her tighter, letting her sobs slowly die out.

"B-blood," Isabel whispered.

"What?"

"Mommy and Daddy...had blood." Isabel's eyes went blank. The usual light that sparkled in her irises was gone, leaving them completely vacant. Levi held her close, wiping one of her tears away.

"My mother had blood too," Levi said, holding back a tear. Isabel looked up at him in shock.

"Your mommy?"

"I lost my family too. They're not coming back." Levi said. "But you know what?"

Isabel looked expectantly at him.

"We have each other. I won't let anything happen to you. You don't have a mommy and daddy anymore, but we'll make sure you're safe...and happy. Nothing bad will happen to you as long as I'm around. Do you understand me, Isabel?" Levi smiled.

Isabel wiped her eyes. "You take care of me?"

"Yes. I'll take care of you." Levi held her closer, and she wrapped her tiny arms around him.

"Like Daddy?" She muttered, her eyes slowly closing.

Levi froze once again. He looked down at her, and he could tell she had fallen asleep. The crying must have tired her out. He brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Yes. Like Daddy."

…

Petra had finally finished her paperwork and quickly went to her captain's office to drop it off. When she knocked on the door, there was no response. "Weird," she thought before letting herself in.

What she saw made her mind explode. Levi was cradling Isabel in his left arm while using his right to continue his paperwork. He looked up at her and motioned for her to be quiet. She nodded, quickly tiptoeing to the captain's desk and setting her paperwork in front of him. She left quietly and shut the door behind her, marveling at the sight she had just witnessed.

Entering the living area, she saw her comrades cleaning. She sat down, trying to digest the information.

"Petra, are you okay?" Oluo asked.

"I...I just saw Captain with Isabel. He...he's holding her." Petra said.

"He holds her a lot. It's nothing new." Gunther retorted.

"No. She was cradled in his arms while he was doing paperwork. She was fast asleep! It was almost...parental." Petra said, remembering the times her own father would rock her to sleep all those years ago.

"There's no way." Eld shook his head. "Captain Levi would never be that gentle."

"Go see for yourselves. You can all see once Oluo turns in his paperwork." Petra snickered.

"Fine," Oluo said before setting off to grab his paperwork. The cadets waited earnestly until he returned, presenting the papers with a smirk. They walked to their captain's office and opened the door softly, peeking inside. Sure enough, Isabel was still being held in his left arm while he was writing with his right. The men's eyes went wide and Petra stifled a laugh.

Oluo crept inside and laid the papers down on his desk before rushing out of the room. "Oh my gosh." He said, his jaw dropping.

"I told you!" Petra exclaimed.

"I don't believe my eyes...he's holding her." Gunther marveled.

"What was that cadets?"

The four turned around to come face to face with Commander Erwin. Their faces went pale.

"Oh...it's nothing, sir," Petra said.

Erwin raised an eyebrow. "...Okay then. I need to talk to Captain Levi, so if you'll excuse me-"

"He's busy right now. He's swamped with work." Oluo said, quickly guarding the door.

"I will only be a moment. Move aside, cadet."

"But sir…"

"Move. Aside." Erwin's stare bored straight into Oluo's soul and he backed away, his head hung low.

"Yes sir." He said.

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me…" Erwin opened the door and took in the sight. "Um...Levi...what are you doing?"

AN: Just wanted to say thank you to all the people who have taken time to read this story! You all are so kind and patient, especially since this is my first big story. Please comment if there is anything I need to improve on or if you want to see a certain scenario play out! I love hearing your feedback :)