Chapter 12

Rui had no idea where she was going. She had no idea if Levi was still alive or if he could find her when he managed to escape. The wind chapped her cheeks, the snow getting heavier and heavier as she rode. The wind was picking up snow from the ground, making it impossible to see in any direction. Already there was quite a bit of snow on the ground, making it hard for her horse to run.

A snapping sound was heard and her horse stopped sharply, causing her to tumble from its back. The snow broke her fall, pillowing her in ice. She grunted, trying to lift herself up when the horse let out a blood curdling sound.

"Oh, no...shit!" She shouted, seeing the blood in the snow. She tried moving closer to the horse, wanting to try and help it in some way. A metal claw trap had snapped onto its leg. It flailed around in the snow, not giving her a chance to help it.

"Stay still, stay still!" She cried, trying to calm the animal. But it wouldn't work. It was too scared and in too much pain. There was no stopping her tears as she took a step back, hating what she would have to do. This horse had been so good to them. She covered her face in sorrow. She hated to abandon such a good animal. But she had no other choice.

"I'm so sorry..." She whimpered. Just as she turned to leave, she felt something trickling down her leg. She gasped in shock. Was she...wetting herself?

"What the..."

She hadn't felt the urge to go, so it didn't make sense. She kept a steady pace, moving as quickly as she could. Her lower half was getting cold from the dampness and the chilled air. Then, a wave of pain cramped up her back and around her belly. It wasn't terrible, but it was enough to make the trickle a little more severe.

"No...not here...not freaking here," she moaned. She clutched her belly, breathing as well as she could through the pain. Once it was over, she moved, trying to find any form of shelter at all that would help her. Her feet dragged as she waddled through the snow and wind. She stepped on something, flinching as an arrow shot towards her and sliced into her arm. She yelped, grabbing her shoulder. The arrow had slit her skin, but hadn't stayed in her. Though the injury was incredibly painful.

"Damn..." She cursed, trying to move forward again. Her belly, once again, started cramping up. She dropped to her knees, cringing and feeling the wave of pain tighten around her before leaving again.

A strange feeling welled inside her. It was the dead of winter. During a blizzard. The Farmhouse burned down. There were titans all around and the military police were attacking Levi at that very moment. He might even be caught or dead. The horse was gone, she'd been hit with an arrow and now...this. Obviously now she would be going into labor. Alone.

She laughed. What else could she do? The laughter came up through her body and, usually a merry sound, did not fill her with joy as it typically did. But it helped.

"What a day..." She whispered before standing back up and forcing her legs forward. If this were basic training, Levi would add pushups just to be an asshole.

She laughed harder.

She found the strength to keep moving faster, new found strength stemming from the memory of falling in love with her Captain. How had it even come to this? He was such a prick and every moment he was training her was misery. But then he'd pull her behind closed doors and have his way with her. So how...how had she fallen so hard? How had he become kind and loving? How had they spent her entire pregnancy in romantic bliss just for things to end up like this? And at the end of the day, even after the worst time possible, thinking of him still made her smile.

Through the snowy wind, she could barely make out a small village. A few houses were spattered along a snowy trail. She sighed in relief, looking for a house that wasn't too dilapidated. Another wave of pain struck her, freezing her to the spot yet again. Hopefully there were no titans around. She would be completely helpless.

Her shoulder was dripping blood from her injury, but it was almost numb after her contractions. She hardly felt it in comparison. She felt her way to a door, deciding on a small house and pulling with all her strength. It slid open and, although there was no heat source, the lack of wind warmed her up right away. The liquid between her legs had not stopped coming out. She didn't know what it was, Zoe had not mentioned this. But it wasn't blood, so she didn't worry.

She moved about, trying to find blankets to get warm. There were a few scattered about. A draft in the ceiling kept a chill in the air, but it was far better than outside. Her breath came out in thick clouds.

The pain started up again and she had to sit down. She couldn't take it anymore. She bundled a few pillows she'd found under her head and draped the blankets around her, closing her eyes. Hopefully, Levi would find her before she really needed help.

000

The snow was getting high. He was having trouble walking in it. It had gotten so deep so fast. But he was afraid he would lose her trail if he tried using the gear. He squinted, seeing a brown lump in the distance. His mind screamed in panic as he realized it was their horse. He shot a line into a nearby tree, getting to the animal quickly. He landed next to it, looking all around for its rider. The horse had stepped into a trap. It's head was laying in the snow. It was breathing heavily, its eyes glazed over. He looked around to try and find footprints, but the snow had fallen too quickly. He couldn't see anything. He looked back to the horse, angrily gritting his teeth at what he had to do. He hated this. But there was no other option. He could not let it suffer for the hours it would take to bleed out or the days it would take to starve or freeze. He slid out his blades and stood over the animal, closing his eyes and bowing his head in respect. She was a damn good horse.

His blade lifted high before coming down swiftly, ending the innocent life.

He couldn't linger, turning in every which way to attempt to find some sort of trail. Rui had been here, that much was certain. But which way had she gone? When he did find her trail, it was more bitter than sweet.

"Blood?" He mumbled. Red droplets in the snow stuck out alarmingly. There was no missing them and the snow melted around them. She had gone this way, but there was no telling how she was doing. He prayed she hadn't been injured from falling off the horse.

He moved fast, looking for the droplets and finding a tiny village. The blizzard was fierce, blowing snow all around him. The blood trail ended at a small house within the village. She was here. She had to be.

He shakily opened the door and jumped inside, shutting it behind him. The very first thing he saw took his breath away. She was here. Bundled in blankets and laying on the floor, she huddled with a pained expression. But she was alive.

"Rui!" He breathed, relieved and tired from worrying so hard. He fell onto his knees at her side. She opened her eyes and a hand shot out from under her blankets, grabbing his clothes.

"Levi!" She choked. He desperately kissed her, her lips freezing. She rubbed the side of his face.

"Levi...Levi, it's happening. I think it's happening," she weakly said in a tiny voice. He looked down her body, unable to see her belly through the thick blankets.

"You're sure?" He asked, not at all prepared for this. She nodded, sniffing and clenching as she went through what he could only speculate was a contraction. He looked around for a fireplace, finding it a bit too far away. As gently as he could, Levi dragged her across the floor and closer to the fireplace, standing fast to find wood. He halted in place, staring at the blood trail she'd made when he dragged her.

"Rui, where are you injured?" He asked. She flinched, trying to sit up.

"My shoulder..." She said softly. He moved around her, taking a look at her injury.

"It could be much worse. But we need to wrap it. You've lost a lot of blood and you need your strength," he said softly. Levi went to work. Before he could tend to her injury, he needed to start a fire. He scoured the house for wood, finding a few in a pile and using furniture as tinder. The flame was up and burning quickly, warming them both. He hoped the fire wouldn't attract titans. He couldn't focus on them right now.

Once her arm was successfully wrapped, her face twisted in pain. She hissed through her teeth and arched her back.

"Is it very painful?" He asked close to her ear. She grabbed his shirt, pulling him close to her face.

"Yes," she growled. He smirked, having never been able to take her anger all that seriously. He rubbed her good shoulder, not wanting to irritate her by touching the belly, but GOD how he wanted to. She took deep breaths, grinding her teeth down with every contraction. The floor beneath her was damp.

"Is that...I mean did you..."

"No, I didn't pee. But I might. I have no idea what's about to happen," she said tiredly in between contractions. "Saddle up, Levi, this is probably gonna get weird," she laughed. He smiled. Even at a time like this. What a woman.

The hours passed with the contractions getting steadily worse. She wasn't able to speak during them and they were longer and closer together. He brought her as many blankets and articles of clothing he could find, soaking up any fluids and trying to keep her warm. He set aside the thickest, softest, warmest blanket for the baby.

The baby...

"Oh...Rui...we're having a baby..." He said almost to himself. Rui nodded, not able to speak. Levi's heart began hammering in his chest. It had just truly hit him. There was about to be an infant in this tiny shack and it would completely depend on them for absolutely everything.

They had no clothes for it. They had no diapers. They had no crib or bassinet. They had no food...that did babies eat again?

"Levi...it hurts..."

And then there was that. What if she didn't make it? He held her upper body, smoothing her hair and fighting back his panic with all he had. They weren't ready for this. They had been, but now they weren't. This was not how this was supposed to go.

She screamed, his body jumped at the noise. He quickly undid the blankets around her legs, removing her underwear and looking at...what exactly was he looking at?

Regardless of how illprepared they were, the baby was coming. There was nothing they could do to stop it. Watching his own child be born was the most amazing thing Levi had ever witnessed. He didn't think there was much he could do to help, but his eyes were fixated on what was in front of him. He lifted her legs up, giving her a bit of stability as she did what every mother had to do.

Tears streamed down his face, his body shook as this tiny human came out of this amazing woman. He helped as much as he could, not wanting to hurt it. Once it was finally out, he wrapped the child quickly, using a knife to cut its chord. Hopefully that part didn't hurt.

The afterbirth was messy, sure. There were things all around him that, on any other occasion, would have sent him into a hysterical fit of cleaning.

But here it was...his child.

"Rui...it's a boy," he whispered. She didn't reply. His stomach dropped as he tore his gaze from the angelic face of his son to Rui's closes eyes. She was pale.

A pool of blood had slowly been building under her from her shoulder injury and neither of them had noticed.

"No...no, Rui, hey! Hey, wake up, you need to feed our son. Rui, he's hungry, look," he pressed the baby to her, though her eyes did not open. He swallowed hard, opening the blankets and ripping her shirt to get to her chest. He placed the child to his mother's breast, but he only squirmed and made a strange noise.

"Please, please, Rui, don't do this to me, please, I don't know what I'm doing," he wept, wrapping the child up with his mother. He stood, unable to bear it any longer. He stomped out of the small house, slamming the door behind him and throwing his fist into a wooden beam, shouting at the top of his lungs. He looked up to the sky, his fury and grief burning his throat as well as his spirit.

"Don't you dare!" He shouted at no one. "Don't you dare take her from me, you son of a bitch! You've taken enough!"

He dropped to his knees, the icy wind a numb feeling against his tired, burning body. How much more of this could he endure? How much more was the world going to ask of him?

He could hear his child crying. He wiped his eyes, standing and going back inside.