Hey guys! Oh my gosh, I got so many great reviews on my last chapter! Thank you guys so, so much for sticking with me! Here's chapter 5!

Mikasa quickly makes her way back onto the practice field, dripping with sweat and covered in grass stains. Despite the chill of early February, her body is covered in a thick layer of sweat, thanks to the amount of running drills from her soccer coach, Mr. Shadis. The first game of the season is only a week away, so he's pushing them to their limits.

After one last round of laps, he blows his whistle. "That's it for today, ladies. Be back out here at what time tomorrow?"

"Three thirty, sir!" Mikasa and her team shout in unison. He nods in approval and dismisses them.

"Hey, Mikasa!" Sasha calls, "isn't your birthday coming up?"

"It is," Mikasa smiles softly, somewhat surprised that Sasha remembered, "why?"

"Are you having a party?"

Ymir joins them on the walk to their cars. "You just want to know so you can eat the cake," Ymir chides teasingly, earning a glare from Sasha.

"Probably not," Mikasa shrugs, "I'm only turning seventeen, it's not like you gain anything from turning seventeen."

"What about Jean, is he not gonna do anything with you?" Sasha asks, wriggling her eyebrows like she did when she discovered that Jean and Mikasa were dating.

Mikasa frowns. "I'm not sure, I haven't had a chance to talk to him much since baseball season started." She realizes they haven't seen each other outside of school since the snowstorm, which was nearly two weeks ago.

"Well, there's a home game tonight, and other sport players get in free, why don't we go?" Ymir suggests. Sasha nods excitedly, no doubt thinking of buying something at the concession stand. Mikasa agrees as well, hoping to get to talk to Jean after the game. They sit in the student's section directly behind home plate and get a view of the home team's dugout, but Mikasa can't find Jean in the mass of green and white uniforms.

The game begins and Eren is first up to bat. He hits on the first swing, making it all the way to third base. Mikasa and her peers go berserk from the stands as the next batter walks up to the plate, hitting a double, and allowing Eren to slide into the home plate for the first point of the game. His teammates swarm out of the dugout to congratulate him, and Mikasa finally catches a glimpse of Jean sitting in the corner of the dugout, staring at something on the ground.

"What the hell…?" Mikasa mumbles to herself, feeling pangs of worry tugging on her heart.

"What's the matter?" Sasha asks, leaning over and following Mikasa's line of sight, "oh…"

"I don't know what his deal is," Mikasa grumbles, finding herself a bit angry that Jean isn't happy for her brother and his team. She thought he was past the whole jealousy thing…

"He's been in a funk the past few days. No one's really talked to him," Ymir says, "he's in my second block and he's usually a chatterbox, but the past day or two he's…" She trails off, fumbling her hands around, trying to find the right word.

"Yeah, and he didn't sit with Connie and I at lunch yesterday…" Sasha informs, then turns to Mikasa, "did something happen?"

"Not to my knowledge…" Surely he's not upset me saying no that night, right?

A few minutes later the bases are loaded and Jean goes up to bat. Mikasa offers him a smile and waves at him as he walks up to the plate, but it goes unnoticed. She frowns, I could have sworn he was looking right at me…

Jean hits it out of the park on the first pitch and the crowd goes wild. Even Eren pats Jean on the back after he rounds the home plate, and for a brief moment Jean looks happy again, but when the game ends an hour later and Mikasa runs up to congratulate him, his happiness seems to falter.

"That was a great hit!" Mikasa applauds, standing close, expecting him to wrap an arm around her or hold her hand like he normally does, but tonight he doesn't.

"Thanks," the smile he gives her looks forced, "I have to go to the locker room and get my things, I'll see you later."

"You want me to wait?" She asks, slightly alarmed at how distant he's suddenly become, "we can go get milkshakes or-"

"No, I've got homework I need to finish," he says quickly and starts walking away.

He's lying. She's starting to get angry now. "Jean!" She calls out as she follows him and grabs his arm, "are you alright?"

For a moment, he looks as though he's going to answer her. He opens his mouth, but when he looks into her eyes he closes it again, his lips forming a thin line and curving downward. There's obviously something on his mind that he can't seem to tell her.

"I'll talk to you about it later," is all he says before turning abruptly and walking into the locker room. She's angry, yes, but now she's worried as to what 'it' might be. What could have happened that would make Jean suddenly turn so cold?

She texts him after she gets in her car.

-Look, I don't know what's bothering you, but you know you can tell me anything, right?

She expects him to respond by the time she gets home, but to her astonishment he hasn't. She waits before texting him back and eats a small dinner, deciding that he probably didn't check his phone before he drove home, but when she returns an hour later her phone screen is still blank.

Maybe he just needs some space, she concludes as she flicks her bedroom light off, hoping it will give her some piece of mind before trying to go to sleep.

XX

Mikasa checks her phone before she gets in the shower, after she gets out, after she eats breakfast, after drying her hair and brushing her teeth, and by the time she's completely ready for school she still hasn't heard back from him.

"His phone's probably just dead," Eren shrugs, noticing her agitated state.

His advice calms her a bit, "you're probably right." She forces any thoughts of him out of her mind while she drives to school, but can't help but check her phone once she's parks her car. Still nothing. It's not until she's sitting in class, waiting for the tardy bell to ring, that her phone finally flashes his name across it's screen.

-Jean K: Hey, I need to talk to you. Can we meet up right quick? I'm at the entrance to downstairs A-Pod.

-Yes, I'll be there in a sec. Mikasa all but jumps from her seat, telling Annie to watch her belongings as she goes out the door. She walks as quickly as she can down the halls, hoping to finally get some answers out Jean. She pushes through the set of double doors that leads to where they agreed to meet up and searches for him, but he's gone. She checks her phone, it only took me two minutes to get here, where is he?

-I'm out here, where are you?

The five-minute-warning bell rings and Mikasa clenches her fists. She's not going to be late because of him, no with how he's been acting. She turns around furiously and goes back to her first block class, her mind swirling around all the possible things that could have happened. Is he mad at me? Did I do something wrong? Annie watches her with tranquil eyes as Mikasa returns to her seat beside the short blonde. Only when she notices the looks in Mikasa's eyes does she speak.

"What did he say?" She asks carefully.

"He wasn't there." Mikasa sighs as she looks out the window, watching the morning sun be devoured by an entourage of ash colored clouds. Thunder rolls in the distance as she pulls out her phone, but nothing has changed.

-I must have missed you, I'm sorry. Is everything alright?

She decides to play nice, for something truly could have happened that was bad enough to make him act out in such a bizarre manner. Now, she has no idea what that could be, but there's still a chance. Throughout the rest of the school day she checks her phone, but to no avail. As her fourth block ends, she's a nervous wreck.

"Annie, I think I did something," she insists, her mind going back to that snowy night by Jean's fireplace, "why would he suddenly be avoiding me? He's never been like this…"

"Maybe he's the one who screwed up and is to afraid to tell you," Annie suggests, packing her things before the bell sounds.

"Whatever it is, I don't even care anymore. I just want him to be normal again." Mikasa sighs deeply, her heart suddenly feeling heavy.

"I'm sure it's just something silly, like he forgot your birthday was coming up and didn't plan anything, and now he feels bad about it." Annie reaches over and rests a hand on Mikasa's shoulder, pulling her down to her level, "don't stress about it. Meet up with him when the bell rings and talk to him. He's my ride home, so he won't go anywhere until I show up."

Annie's rare act of affection makes Mikasa smile. She can hear the rain thrashing against the outer walls of the school, as it has been doing since morning, just before the announcement that her soccer practice has been cancelled for the day. She pulls out her phone, this time not for Jean.

-Practice got cancelled, I'll be coming in for work early today.

The bell rings and she feels a vibration from within her pocket.

-Levi: Good, now I won't have to deal with your sweat stinking up the place. See you at three thirty.

She rolls her eyes as she tucks the phone back into her pocket. Annie tugs on Mikasa's arm and points forward, where she notices a familiar, tall figure leaning against one of the concrete pillars. He turns and watches them approach, hardly responding when Mikasa offers him a smile.

He reaches into his pocket once they arrive, pulling out his keys and holding them out for Annie. "Go ahead and start the car," he says, then after a moment adds, "I need to talk to Mikasa."

The two friends exchange a look before they part. Mikasa takes a slow, cautious step closer to Jean, who can't seem to bring his eyes up from staring at the ground.

"Jean, what's the matter?" She asks gently, linking there arms together. The crowd is clearing when she leans in to kiss him, her lips brushing against the corner of his mouth. He looks up, noticing they're pretty much alone (minus of few of their peers still making their way to the parking lot) and finally breaks his silence.

"Are you…happy?" he asks, peeking at her through the corner of his eye.

That isn't what she was expecting. "Well…yes, of course I am," she answers as if it was obvious. Well, to her, it was.

He sighs deeply, then, and pulls away abruptly. He leans his head up against the wall and his shoulders slump.

"Jean…please, talk to me." She comes close again and gingerly touches his shoulder. He turns and leans against the wall with the other shoulder, his gaze stuck on something in the distance as he speaks.

"I'm…unhappy, with this relationship."

Mikasa can feel her heart clench within her chest. Slowly she retracts her hand, her senses going numb as he finally looks her in the eyes. He looks devastated, as if speaking his mind to her had been some sort of torture for him. She swallows the lump in her throat, feeling it go dry.

"I was happy in the beginning," he says bleakly, "but now, I just…"

"How long?" She manages, not proud of the dryness in her voice.

He looks back to the ground, "a bit…"

A bit? How long is 'a bit'? "Is there something…specific, maybe, that we could try and-"

"I'm sorry, Mikasa, I…" He clenches his teeth and steps away.

"Jean, wait," Mikasa grasps his hand, "talk to me, you know I'll listen. We can work this out."

He downright yanks his hand from her grip and treads into the rain. "I'm sorry, I can't. I have to go, I'm sorry."

Mikasa calls to him again, just loud enough to be heard over the rain, but he doesn't turn around. She feels the lump in her throat once more, and the sinking feeling in her heart returns as well. She absently walks to her car and climbs in, staring at the rain streaming down her windshield.

She doesn't notice the tears until she feels one slide past her lips and tastes the salt on her tongue. What went wrong? She asks herself, trying to think of all the things she could have done. Images of their passionate kisses by the fireplace flood her mind. She remembers how he looked at her, how his eyes begged to go all the way, despite their lack of protection.

"It's not the right time," she had told him, but the look on his face clearly showed how he felt differently. But, surely, there has to be something else behind it all. Jean isn't the type to dump a girl because she said "no". Still, Mikasa can't help but think that had something to do with it.

She sighs loudly and puts the car in reverse and pulls out, struggling to keep her focus on the road, and not the empty feeling consuming her heart.

The rain picks up momentum as she drives, furiously wiping at her eyes. How the hell could I have been so blind? She curses, taking a right turn onto the road that leads to the library. After a mile she comes up to a yellow light and she stops, watching the other cars drive by from her left as her light fades to red. It hits her, then, that it was raining on the day she first messaged him when she was at Annie's.

Oh, Annie, her bottom lip quivers as she thinks of the things her shorter friend had said to her on that day.

"I was just wondering…Has he mentioned me at all lately?"

"Well, I can't remember exactly what he said, but he's talked about you before. He think's your gorgeous, not that that's some big secret." Annie shrugs nonchalantly.

"So, you think he may still, uh…Like me?" Mikasa asks. She can feel her cheeks burning as Annie turns her way and raises a brow ever so slightly.

"Probably," she answers slowly, "why? You wouldn't happen to be interested, would you?"

She clenches her teeth, watching the red orb of the stoplight become blurry as the tears blur her vision. The rest of the cars have all driven off, leaving her alone at the intersection. Alone…

"He's never been anything but nice to me, we get along great, so why not, y'know…at least give him a chance?"

Give him a chance, the words ring inside her head as she stares at the light, as if focusing on it would ease her agony.

"I'm sure it's just something silly, like he forgot your birthday was coming up and didn't plan anything, and now he feels bad about it." Mikasa tightens her grip on the steering wheel, her once reddened hands now turning white.

"Don't stress about it. Meet up with him when the bell rings and talk to him. He's my ride home, so he won't go anywhere until I show up."

You couldn't have been anymore wrong, Annie. The light turns green and Mikasa presses down on the gas petal.

Had she been more alert, she may have seen the two headlights headed for her car and sped up, escaping an accident, but there's no warning before the other car crashes into the drivers side of the car. The airbag explodes in her face. Her left arm slams against the door, followed by a nauseating crack. Pain shoots up her leg as her car skids across the road, tires screeching in resent, until they give way and the car rolls over and over. Finally, there's a pause, the car lays on it's passengers side, until a loud creak signals the car rolling down into a ditch.

She dangles upside down, her head pounding and her vision blurry. Something warm trickles down her face and into her hair, and she realizes she's bleeding. She tries to reach for her seatbelt and release her self, but her entire left arm throbs in protest.

Mikasa pushes the release button, managing to grip the belt with her other hand just in time to not land on her head, but her legs slam into the ground, sending waves of torture up her body. She tries to crawl out of the shattered window, but most of her limbs are overcome by a numbing sensation. She collapses, one arm reaching out the window as though there was some way she could pull herself out.

She sees black dots as she lays her head down, suddenly feeling tired. Blood flows from her nose and a wound on her forehead, and another on her cheek. Just as her vision fades to black, she hears the screeching tires of the other car speeding away.

XX

Levi paces around the empty library, pulling out his phone for probably the twelfth time this minute. Three thirty. I told her to be here by three thirty, and its already ten past four. He clicks on her contact again and calls, only to hear the same voice machine he's been hearing for the past half hour.

"Mikasa, if you don't call me back within the next two minutes, I'm calling you parents. You're over thirty minutes late, so if you don't call back with a good excuse, I'm calling them."

He refuses to let himself worry. This is very odd for Mikasa Ackerman, the girl who always showed up at least fifteen minutes early for work, prepared for anything he needed her to do. Today he was probably just going to have her dust the shelves or vacuum the children's reading area, since no one ever showed up when it was raining. If it was anyone else, he'd assume they just decided to not show up.

He walks over to the front door and looks out the window for her car, only to find the lot empty. The fact that she told me she would be coming early is what's bothering me, Levi admits to himself. He pulls out his phone and calls a number he hasn't had to call in quite some time.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Jaeger?" He asks, still staring out the window, hoping she'll show up before he breaks the news to her family. "This is Levi, Mikasa's boss. I was just wondering if you had heard from her within the past hour? She told me her practice got cancelled and that she'd be coming in early, but she hasn't showed up."

There's a long pause before she answers. "No, I'm afraid she hasn't called. Have you called her?" She asks, a hint of worry in her tone.

"I've called her about three or four times since three thirty," he clarifies, and he hears Carla mumble something, either to someone or to herself, he isn't sure.

"I'm going to get my son to try and get in touch with her friends. It's not like her to do this, but surely one of them knows where she is."

"I agree. Call me back if you hear from her, and I'll do the same."

"Yes, I'll let you know if I hear anything."

XX

Carla hangs up the phone and walks over to her husband, who is checking his phone to see if Mikasa had maybe messaged him.

"Nothing," he sighs angrily. Carla runs her fingers through her hair anxiously.

Eren sits upstairs on his bed, scrolling through his contacts and calling anyone he can think of who might now where Mikasa is. He calls Jean first, figuring he may have somehow convinced his sister to skip work. He answers after the first few rings, his voice heavy.

"Figured I'd be getting this call pretty soon," Jean huffs from his end.

"Oh, so you do know where Mikasa is?" Eren asks, any worry he felt now gone from his body.

"Wait…what?"

"I said, 'so you do know where Mikasa is,'" Eren repeats, slowly.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"Uh, no…?"

"Uh, Eren, have you talked to Mikasa since we got out of school?"

"…No?" Eren stands, then, "what happened after school?"

"I…" Jean sighs again, "I broke up with her."

Eren must have misheard him, surely. "Tell me you didn't…just say what I think you said."

"Hate to tell you, but I did."

Eren stomps his foot in fury. "Are you fucking kidding me? I swear, if this is your fault, Jean, I'm gonna-"

"Is what is my fault?"

"No one has seen or heard from Mikasa since school let out! And I swear, if I found out you had anything to do with it, I'm going to drill your fucking horse-face into the ground!" Eren growls into the phone, rage pulsing through his veins.

"Now listen here, you little bastard, I don't have a fucking clue where she is. You try Annie? Maybe she's with her! I don't know what else to tell you, but I don't know where she is!"

Eren hears the abrupt click of the call ending and nearly throws his phone against the wall. He just about cracks his screen when he clicks on Annie's contact, hoping that Jean's assumptions were correct.

"Yeah?"

"Annie, have you seen or heard from Mikasa in the last hour?"

"Not since right after school, why?"

"Shit, her boss called and said she never showed up for work, and no one can get in touch with her. I called Jean to see if he knew anything, but he apparently dumped her and he said she might be with you."

"No, I haven't talked to her…" Annie breaths out, "but, surely she's just really upset and doesn't want to see anyone… You know how she gets when she's upset."

He can tell by her tone that even Annie doesn't have true faith in what she's saying. "I hope you're right. I'm going to try and call Armin, see if he knows anything."

"Okay, I'll keep my phone close incase she calls. Let me know if you hear from her."

"I will, bye." He hangs up, sighing deeply as he taps his phone screen. His anger has melted away, worry taking it's place as his heart slowly begins to pound a heavier beat. After several heart wrenching phone calls, he returns to his parents, hoping that they've had better luck than him.

"Did you have any luck?" His mother asks. He shakes his head and she curses under her breath.

"What did Jean have to say?" Grisha inquires.

Eren nearly growls at the name. "I called him first…turns out, he dumped Mikasa right after school."

His parents gasp in unison before he continues explaining. "He said to try Annie, but she hadn't heard anything. By the looks of it, Jean was the last one who saw her…" He trails off, unable to finish the sentence without the feeling of bile rising in his throat.

"Her phone must be dead, it keeps going straight to voicemail." Carla's hands shake as she brings the phone down from her ear. Thunder roars from above, nearly shaking the house. Carla looks out the window, her eyes wide.

"You don't think…she may have-"

"Eren, call Levi back from your mother's cell," Grisha doesn't let her finish before he whips out his phone, "if she still hasn't showed up, I'm calling the police."

Eren nods, taking his mother's phone from her quivering hands and scrolling through her recent calls until he finds Levi's name.

"Hello?"

"Uhm, hello, sir. This is Eren, Mikasa's brother. My parent's are about to call the police, but we wanted to know if you had heard from Mikasa first. None of my friends have heard from her, either."

There's a sigh from the other end of the conversation, followed by a mumbled curse. "No, she still hasn't called."

Eren turns to his parents and shakes his head. He's about to speak again when he hears Levi talking from his end.

"If no one has heard from her, she's…" Levi pauses again before huffing out, "I'll go drive around and see if I can find her. She probably just pulled over because of the storm."

"Okay, good idea." Eren can hear his parents on the phone with the police, "my parents are calling the police just in case."

"Good. I'll call you back if anything happens." He can hear Levi starting up his car through the phone.

"Yes, sir, good luck." He sighs as he hangs up, running his fingers through his thick brown hair. Surely, Levi is right. This is Mikasa, after all, his seemingly indestructible sister. With that thought in mind, he walks over to his parents and holds his mother's quivering hands.

XX

Behind a thick layer of smoke colored clouds, the sun just barely rests its base along the horizon as Levi drives through the storm. The rain falls with such ferocity that the headlights of his vehicle give him less than ten feet of visibility. His eyes thoroughly scan what little is provided, searching for any sign of Mikasa or her car. Aside from him, the roads are virtually empty.

Up ahead, he makes out the glow of the stoplight at an intersection. The light is green, but before he makes it the light suddenly switches to yellow, then red. He stops and observes his surroundings when a bolt of lightning dances across the sky, brightening the road before him.

Then he see's it.

Shards of glass, skid marks, a destroyed side-view mirror, a horrible scene that was absent when he drove down the same path after his lunch brake a few hours ago. The road that leads to the library is rarely used, with his library being the only building on the road (and being about two miles down said road) so the odds of this scene being young and undiscovered are high.

He follows the trail of skid marks with narrow eyes, until they disappear down into a ditch. He makes a U-turn and pulls his car over to the side of the road above the trench, where he see's the silhouette a vehicle lying upside-down in a puddle of water and debris. He turns his car slightly and shines his lights on the wrecked automobile. His hear nearly drops to his stomach when he lays eyes on a familiar set of black hair and crimson scarf.

"Mikasa!" He screams, jumping out of his car and climbing down the near ten foot embankment. Just as he makes it to the bottom of the hill, he slips, and feels an excruciating snap in his left ankle. He grits his teeth as he hobbles over to her car, grabbing hold of her ice-cold hand and checking for a pulse. After what feels like an eternity he feels a relieving thump against his fingers. She's alive!

"Mikasa, can you hear me?" He squeezes her hand gently as he pulls out his phone and dials 9-1-9. The operator answers before she does.

"9-1-1, state your emergency."

"I need an ambulance, please! I have a woman who's been in a car accident and she's been out here for some time. I'm on the corner of Trost Avenue and Stohess Drive…" He trails off and squeezes Mikasa's hand again. He looks at her face for any sign of movement, only to be greeted by the fragments of glass jutting out from her cheek and forehead.

"Okay, sir, what's your name?"

"Levi."

"Okay, Levi, do you know the woman in the car?"

"Yes, her name is Mikasa. Mikasa Ackerman." It's then that he notices the bruising on her arm, and wonders if it's safe for him to continue holding her hand.

"Can you tell me if she is conscious?"

"Mikasa, it's Levi, can you hear me?" He asks again, reaching in the car and moving the hair out of her face as gently as possible, but there's no response. "She won't answer me. She has a pulse, but she's not responding to me at all."

"The police and ambulance are on their way, Levi. Can you tell me what happened?" He can't believe how calm this woman sounds. Then again, she must be used to receiving even worse calls than this.

"I don't know. I wasn't here. I just found her like this when she didn't show up for work…Shit, I need to call her parents…"

"I know this is difficult, but I need you to remain calm and stay on the line with me, okay?"

He tightens his grip on the phone, about to shout something he'd later regret into the phone when he see's the slightest movement on Mikasa's face. He nearly drops his phone.

"Mikasa! Mikasa, look at me, can you hear me?" Levi asks, brushing the hair out of her face, careful to avoid her facial wounds. Her eyes flutter half open, but remain unfocused.

"Sir, did she wake up?"

"I'm right here, Mikasa, look at me." Her head tilts slightly, as if to adjust so that she can look at him. Moments later, however, her head begins to slump back down and her eyes roll back.

"Hey…Hey! Stay with me, brat! The ambulance is almost here, just hang on for me-" thunder roars suddenly from the sky, echoing around him. As it finally begins to fade away, Levi can hear the faintest sound of the ambulances siren.

"I can hear the ambulance. I have to call her family now."

"I need you to wait until she is safely in the vehicle, Levi. Can you see the ambulance yet?"

"I can see the lights…" just barely, he thinks to himself. The rain has severely impaired his vision, but he can still make out the faintest red glow coming from down the road, and the siren is getting louder. He turns back to Mikasa, who has now closed her eyes again. He looks back to the road and sees nothing but flashes of red and blue, and he can just barely make out the sound of car doors being slammed shut.

"Their here, I'm hanging up. Thank you." He shoves his phone back into his pocket. "Hey! Down here!" Levi calls as loud as his voice can manage, "she's down here!"

Everything passes by in a blur. Then paramedics are down there in a flash, and suddenly, Mikasa's body is strapped down to a gurney and she's being carried up the hill. Levi tries to follow, but the injury to his ankle is suddenly brought back to his attention, and he nearly collapses after taking his first step.

"Sir, are you injured?" One of the remaining paramedics asks, "were you in the accident as well?"

"No, no, I twisted my ankle or something when I came down the hill." Levi steadies himself, assuring the man he can scale the hill on his own, but the man gives him a hand anyway.

"There's room in the ambulance for you, sir, I can-"

"No, Mikasa needs as much attention now as possible. I can drive myself there." He tries to get out of the mans grip upon making it back up to the road, but the man insists.

"I can't just leave my car running on the side of the road," Levi grunts as he's hoisted into the ambulance. His eyes fall on Mikasa. There's a neck brace around her and an IV in her arm.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Levi." A familiar voice says from outside the ambulance.

"Er-Erwin?" Levi asks, shivering violently, suddenly realizing how cold he is. He finds his answer when the tall blonde steps into view.

"I'm sorry, Sheriff Smith, but we have to get these two to the hospital." One of the paramedics says, reaching out to close the doors.

"I'll get one of my men to watch the scene, then I'll drive your car to the hospital." Erwin says, knowing that Levi would be in a fit for the whole ride without that bit of information. After that, the doors are shut, and the ambulance takes off.

"Here, sir, lie down." A gentle female paramedic ushers him onto an extra gurney, "I'm going to remove your coat and shirt so you can warm up quicker, ok?" Her voice is so calming, similar to that of the 9-1-1 operator's, only softer.

"I-I'm fine, ma'am, really. You should be helping them with Mikasa. I ne-need to call her parents." He pulls out his phone and tries to dial the number, only to find his fingers too chilled to carry out the act. He curses, then hands the phone to the woman.

"Dial the number and t-tend to me while I talk to them. They need t-to know that Mikasa's been found."

The woman reluctantly agrees, and dials the number he tells her. He holds the phone up to his ear, struggling to keep a steady grip.

"Have you found anything?" Carla answers the phone.

"I found her. She wrecked her car," he hears her gasp, "we're b-both in an ambulanc-ce now."

"Is she alright?" She asks, her voice cracking.

"Sh-she's unconscious, but they're t-tending to her now." And me, Levi thinks as the woman takes hold of his coat.

"We're leaving right now." He hears what sounds like the jingle of car keys, "Thank you, Levi."

"Yeah.." His hand has gone numb by the time he hears the click of the call ending. He then allows the female medic to remove his clothing, down to his boxers, and can feel another medic tending his foot as he's wrapped in a blanket.

"How is she?" He asks once his body begins to warm up, unable to see Mikasa through the bodies of the medics tending to her.

"She's pretty beat up, but, because of you, she's going to live." A man on the other side of Mikasa says.

A wave of relief washes over him. His body finally stops shaking as the ambulance pulls into the parking lot of the hospital. They wheel Mikasa out first, quickly, then slowly bring him in behind her. He figures they wont keep him long, probably just to X-ray his foot and get his body temperature up. He's sore, cold, and exhausted, but the realization that Mikasa would live was enough to keep him from complaining. Roughly an hour later, after he's redressed in a hospital gown and covered in thick blankets in one of the infirmary beds, there's a knock at the door.

"Come in," he figures it's his nurse coming back with the X-ray results of hit foot, but to his surprise, a very unexpected person enters the room.

"Grisha?" Levi nearly gapes at the taller man.

"My coworkers told me you'd hurt yourself when you found Mikasa," Grisha explains, "I came to apologize, and to thank you."

"There's no need." Levi adjusts his blankets so that they settle around his waist, "you did a lot for me back in the day, it's about time I repaid the favor."

Grisha frowned. "I would never have expected you to repay me for what happened back then. That was a very dark time for you."

Levi sighs loudly, averting his eyes. "How is she doing?" He asks, changing the subject.

Grisha doesn't press any further. "She's still in surgery. I suppose it's a good thing that today was my day off, I don't think I would have been able to be in that room." Levi nods, images of Mikasa's mangled body flashing into his mind.

The older man walks over to Levi's bed and grips his shoulder firmly. "Mikasa may not be my daughter by blood, but I love her every bit as much as I love Eren. One of my coworkers told me that if you hadn't found her when you did, she probably would have lost her fingers, and if she wasn't found until morning the cold and blood loss would have killed her."

Levi's eyes widen slightly at the information and Grisha continues. "Words can't describe how thankful my family and I are for what you've done. Which is why we're paying for your hospital bill."

"Wha-no, I'm sorry, I can't let you do that. The X-ray fee alone is-"

"Insane, I know. I work here, remember? Besides," the taller man grins and begins to leave the room, "I've already informed the nurses to send the bill to me. Let me do this, Levi. You saved my daughters life."

And you saved mine, once, Levi wants to say, but he doesn't want to relive that horrible night. And, although he hates taking charities from anyone, he can't bring himself to argue with Grisha. The taller man can see this in Levi's eyes, and he offers him a smile.

"I'll let you know when she's out of surgery. You'll be checking out in a few hours, right?" Levi nods, and Grisha smiles. "Take it easy and get your ankle propped up, it'll help ease the pain."

"Will do." Levi nods as Grisha leaves him. Levi sighs and rubs his face with his palms, glad to have feeling back in his fingers. His mind flashes to the image of Mikasa, lying unconscious in the rain, and another horrifying image from years ago hits him like a train wreck. He slams his eyes shut, trying to force the memory from his thoughts.

I may not have been able to save them, he realizes with a heavy heart, but I was able to save you, Mikasa.