Risk: Chapter Thirty-Three

Getting Lily somewhere comfortable was Rose's first priority, and Levi seemed to agree, helping her carry with Lily's arms over either of their shoulders her sister to her room that she shared with Sasha. Sasha was out training, so at least Lily had some time to rest before the other girl came in, to undoubtedly ask her a million questions about where she'd been.

Rose liked Sasha's curiosity, it was sweet, but sometimes she had to admit it was mildly annoying.

Once Lily was settled, Rose and Levi returned to Levi's office, Levi taking his rightful place behind his desk, but not picking his pen up to begin narrating paperwork. He looked to Rose instead, as if anticipating her to say – well, anything.

She did have a lot to say, considering what just occurred today.

Taking a seat on the bed, smoothing the sheets beneath her hands to bide herself time, she finally said, "My uncle was killed."

There was a tense silence, and Rose dared to glance at Levi, to see what he could be thinking – if she could read him at all. But his expression revealed nothing, as expected, and that was so frustrating to Rose, to say the least.

At last, Levi simply asked, "Are you okay?"

She didn't say anything at first; she had to think on that. Her uncle was a drug dealer, a big one in the city, and though he spent a lot of their money on meaningless things like clothes, jewelry, the like, he still cared for Rose to some degree. And she had to admit, despite what he did for a living, and how distant they had become in recent years, she still loved him.

"No," she admitted. "I now have to figure out what I'm going to do about my home, about my school situation, about funeral arrangements…" She sighed, burying her face in her hands. "I feel like I just lost Bunni. Now this. I just… don't know what to do."

She felt too young to be dealing with this much responsibility. However, she'd grown quite a bit over the past few months – or couple of months, she couldn't really keep up with time anymore.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Levi asked, having not moved from his desk to comfort her. She didn't expect him to, but she could really, really, use a hug right about now.

"I… want to… sleep. For just a… awhile. I don't know. I feel like that will solve all my problems."

"Then do that."

She removed her hands from her face, eyes finding him, searching him, trying to find the meaning behind his words – if there was anything else behind them at all. But he was a pretty straightforward man, so she didn't think he had a hidden meaning to what he said.

"Are you leaving?" she asked after a moment, still not having moved to crawl under the comfort of the blanket underneath her.

"Do you want me to?" What a loaded question.

"Of course not," she answered matter-of-factly, eyebrows knitting together. "I want you to… just watch me while I sleep. If that's okay," she added quickly. She didn't want to impose on whatever he was about to do. He was a busy man, after all.

Instead of protesting, or offering a quick quip in response, he returned to his chair and sat down, leaning forward, grey eyes watching her.

Rose ignored the blush on her face as she proceeded to curl under the blanket, closing her eyes, and waiting impatiently for sleep to consume her. She didn't know if it was the exhaustion of the day, or the comfort of the man she loved in the room, but either way, she finally, finally, fell asleep.

It was a few hours later that she felt it – that pull.

No way.

She shot up, staring at the wall opposite the bed. There it was, the dreaded portal, white and illuminating the entire room. Why now? She hadn't even been here that long? But she assumed her purpose was to bring Lily back to her home, and now she had to fulfill her duties in her own timeline.

"I can't…" she whispered, shaking her head.

"Let's go." Levi's voice from the side startled her, and she looked over at him, watching him stand up from his chair to approach her. "We'll go together."

Rose wanted to cry, she felt a tinge of happiness at those words of reassurance. Nodding affirmingly, she held out a hand for him to take, which he firmly grasped, then they headed to the portal, stepping in and through, falling, falling, falling for just a short time.

They crash-landed in her bedroom, hands still gripping each other, backs on her bed. She looked over to him to ensure he was alright; he was, in fact, completely – and handsomely – intact. He was doing the same, it seemed, searching her for injuries. Finally, after a moment of staring at one another, they released their hold on one another, getting up from the bed. Rose went over to her desk, where her old phone was charging: 5:34 PM.

She had a missed call from an unknown number, and upon listening to her voicemail it was the coroner, asking her to come down to the station to re-confirm her uncle's body.

"Damn," she muttered, setting her phone down.

"What is it?" Levi asked, joining her at her side.

"I… have to go. To the police station." She sighed. "Here it starts."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing. "Rosemary, I came with you for a reason. You're not doing this alone."

Levi was right, she knew, and she was grateful for his companionship. She just felt bad that she was going to be an emotional mess the entire time they were here, and he would have to carry that baggage. Either way, she smiled at him, uttering a simple, "Thank you," before leading the way out of her bedroom and toward the front door to where her car keys were hung up.

"Ah, right, that car thing." Levi did not like Rose's driving; he felt she steered like a maniac, going way too fast – he also felt everyone else drove like idiots, getting too close to her vehicle.

That was Los Angeles traffic for you.

"We could always take the bus, but it'll take longer," she offered, trying her best not to giggle.

"No, let's get this over with." He wasn't saying this for himself, but for her, she knew, but he drawled it out like he was bored with the situation anyway.

What a bizarre man.

At the police station, she pulled out her ID, stating that Levi didn't have one because he forgot it. They allowed him in anyway, but not before he wrote down his name and birthday. Rose watched closely, mostly for his birthday – she was truly curious as to what day he was born. 'Levi Ackerman', he wrote, 'December 25th'.

She stared at his last name first; she knew of the origin of that name, had heard it from the other Scouts as well as Levi himself. It carried a lot of weight, people who defied the King, who couldn't be controlled by his memory erasing ability, and thus couldn't be controlled, period. They were considered reckless, and once served beside the King because of their capabilities – then were shunned because of how rebellious they'd become.

Levi exhibited some of those behaviors, but he also proved he could be rather loyal as well. He had done so with Erwin, with Hange, and even with Rose.

Then she blinked at his birthday – what a special day that happened to be. Did he know that? She would tell him about that later. She also wondered if their star signs lined up; knowing her luck, probably not.

She recently learned of her real birthday, which made her feel a little more decrepit than she already did. Before, she thought it was July 19th, making her a Cancer. Lily revealed that it was, in fact, June 12th, making her over a month older – and a Gemini.

Besides the point – not relevant right now.

"This way, Miss Aer," said the officer behind the concierge desk, waving a hand toward where the coroner's room would be.

Rose's heart beat with each step as they approached the basement room, and she found herself shivering a bit – due to how cold it was, or due to nerves, she didn't know.

Inside the glass room, the body bag that held her uncle lay on a metal table. The coroner placed a hand on the zipper, looking to Rose for a signal to unzip the bag. She nodded, and slowly, the coroner moved the zipper down, just enough to reveal the face.

His eyes were closed, face serene, long hair slicked back inside the bag. She nodded, a little robotically, as if she still couldn't believe who she was looking at.

"I'm sorry, Miss Aer, but I need you to say who he is," the coroner instructed.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "This is Charles Aer."

"Thank you." The coroner zipped the bag back up, stepping around the table and heading to the door. "I'll allow you some time." Then he left.

Rose didn't say anything, just stared at the body bag, appearing dark and ominous on the slick metal table it lay on.

She was reminded of the fact that he taught her how to drive. That he took her to her first day of kindergarten, as her parents died just before they were able to take her, of the times they made each other birthday cakes even though they were small. Yes, her uncle made some mistakes, but he cared about her – she knew that deep down, despite the distance, he loved her.

Rose was crying. She didn't know it, but tears had fallen down her face and onto her shirt. She didn't sob, though; she didn't have the energy to do that right now. She had a lot of business to take care, and she needed to buckle down. Wiping at her face, she faced Levi, feeling slightly determined. "Let's go."

They drove back to her apartment, where she sat down at her desk and made some phone calls, Levi sitting patiently on the bed behind her, waiting for her to be finished. First, to her boss, letting her know what happened. He gave his condolences, then offered her paid leave for the rest of her shifts for the week. After hanging up with him, she called a couple of funeral homes; she knew her uncle wouldn't want some big old funeral, so she settled on cremation and an urn. Then she had to call his life insurance company and let them know what had occurred.

After being on the phone with insurance for nearly two hours, confirming who she was in relation to her uncle, and confirming that, yes, she was his beneficiary Rosemary Aer, they revealed some surprising news to her.

"I get how much?" she nearly choked. "Are you serious?"

"That's what your uncle signed up for," said the insurance broker on the other line. "Is that… okay?"

"I mean, yes, but… I don't… when? That's crazy –" She was starting to ramble, and she made herself shut up so the other person could answer her question.

"It'll take a couple of weeks to process the check and send it, but after that time it should be in your mailbox." Then the broker added, "I'm sorry about your loss."

"Thank you. And… thanks for telling me." She hung up the phone, setting it down gently, as if her excitement was enough to break it.

"What was that all about?" Levi inquired, leaning forward on the edge of the bed.

"My uncle signed me as his only beneficiary on his insurance… and, under the circumstance that died… his policy left me $500,000." She met his eyes, and noticed his had widened a little. "What… am I supposed to do with that?"

"Whatever you want," he answered simply. "What do you want to do?"

"I… wish that my currency worked in your world," she admitted, then she said, "I'll buy a house. In the middle of no where. With a lot of land." She could picture it now. "Maybe… I could plant lots of pink flowers in the field?"

"Is that what you want?" His head tilted to the side, eyes searching her for an answer only he could see.

"Yes, and…" She felt her face grow red as she opened her mouth to speak again, "I want to share that space with my most special person. I want us to grow there like the surrounding flowers. I want the house to be big enough for our love to spread all over it, like a wildflower. I want…" She realized she was rambling and she stopped herself, shaking her head. "I'm sorry."

"Why? Aren't those good goals to have?" For once, he wasn't trying to make fun of her. She appreciated that. But maybe that had to do with the fact she recently had a death in the family, so instead he felt sorry for her.

That somehow, instantly, made her feel worse.

"I suppose." She sat beside him, folding her hands neatly on her knees. "Thank you again. For coming with me."

"Don't mention it." Then he added, "Really."

"You got it."