Sorry this chapter took so long. I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed, and feel free to shove some feedback my way. I Really like this chapter but you might not. Just let me know either way. Now, without further ado...

Ymir screamed with all the venom she could muster, kicked her legs and tried and tried to sink her teeth or focus on the scratches she was no doubt gaining at the hands of the militia, but for it all she couldn't shift. A broad man in a leather apron, brandishing a butcher's knife like a magic wand as he directed the others to capture her, had knocked Historia straight to the ground.

'Do you know who she is?' Ymir had screeched. 'She's your queen, your queen you miserable fuck!' They hadn't listened.

Mikasa had been restrained by Levi, since attacking civilians was hardly encouraged among officers, but she kicked and shouted too, and just before the coarse bag was pulled over her eyes, Ymir saw her deflate, settle back against the captain and let her head hang. That was the moment the fight left her own limbs, and her teeth stopped gnawing at the butchers rag they'd stuffed in there.

'Hang her high!' Someone shouted, and the crowd took up the call. They rushed to find rope, then slung it over the branch of a nearby Oak. The noose was snug against her neck already and she focused on the burn against her skin, tried and tried to shift.

The gunshot was intended to calm the people, but instead there was a panick. Mikasa shook herself loose, ignoring the military police in favour of weaving through to the tree. The butcher, face stretched in a grotesque smile, had already kicked out the stool, there wasn't a lot of time, and the bastards at the bottom were hanging from her feet. 'Get off her!' She heard herself hiss as her shoulder made contact and knocked two of the bastards to their own knees. She grabbed Ymir around the middle, and Levi slashed at the rope with effortless grace. As they lowered her down the mob formed a circle around them, baring their teeth and murmuring their excitement.

With a slap to the face Ymir coughed, her throat burning and head too heavy, as if someone had pumped it full of water. It thumped so loudly she couldn't hear the crowd, the people next to her, and fuck, she could only see the blinding sunlight, nothing beneath it. 'His... Krista...'

Someone stroked her damp cheek, but she didn't think it was the heiress. The hands were too big, too steady. Mikasa then, she guessed.

'What is the meaning of this?' Levi hissed at a fairly tall guard, who flinched despite the size difference.

The man looked back to the crowd. 'They want them dead sir, the Titans you have.'

'How did they know we were coming back?'

With a whirr of wires Jean landed down in the square, wasting no time in parting the ranks and seizing Levi by the shirt. 'Why the fuck weren't we told you were returning.'

Mikasa watched, more than a little awe struck. Jean had only ever spoken to Levi with a fearful respect, and would never dare touch him like that.

'You were told to remain in hiding!'

'Then a forged letter was sent.' Mikasa frowned down at the now unconscious Ymir.

Jean looked at her, and for an instant his expression softened, then she felt it rush up, the guilt, the inability to hold his gaze, and he stiffened again. 'Return them to the scouts. Ymir is to be taken in to the neutral custody as,' his voice raised 'agreed by the council, and a trial will be arranged. Now go to your homes.'

Jean, Mikasa thought as she watched the man growl at some lingering mob members, had changed quite a bit.

Eren kept his hood up, and he hated it. The inn was crawling, and the mysterious stranger act was attracting attention. People were tugging at the cloth and the asking if he was ugly, scarred, a fugitive (not really, no, and depends who you ask). The cloth was heavy against his head, heating his ears, irritating his neck. That night though, he tried not to leave the room, for the conversations among the drunks were more interesting to him than he could let on.

'... They managed to tie the noose and string her up before that black haired bitch, you know, the one with the funny eyes, she cut her down see, and then the police arrived and took them all away.'

'Ah well, at least we know where one of them is. If we can find that other cunt...'

'He should have been there. Thought they'd all be together.'

'Information was bad then?'

'They were together when they left the village. The boy wouldn't lie after we broke his arm like that.'

Eren clenched his jaw.

In the mornings Sasha liked to sit on the little wooden swing at the side of the house. With Summer almost there, she found her blood running too hot to do it any other time but the mornings and nights, and it gave her a great perch on which she could watch Connie trying to hammer together the crib.

'It's too small.' She warned, rubbing a hand over her slightly rounded stomach. 'I'm telling you, we're going to have a bigger baby than that.'

'Well you're eating for two not twelve!' He hissed, throwing the hammer to the ground.

'Connie springer!' She feigned offence. 'Is that any way to talk to the mother of your child?'

'When she's being a bitch you can talk to her however I like.' He grumbled, then, as if being possessed by the ghost of some loving husband, he jumped the little garden fence and rushed to her, falling at his knees to deliver an exaggerated kiss to her stomach. 'Besides, it's not like I'm talking like that to you is it? Just your stupid mummy.'

Sasha frowned down at him but didn't move. 'That feels nice.' She shifted slightly. 'It's moving.'

'Dont call it it.'

'It's kicking me, Connie! I'll call it far worse!'

'She!'

'Its a boy! I'm carrying it low!'

'Low means a girl...'

'Listen, my mother told me...'

'And mine did me, so its a girl so you should shut up.' He replied smugly.

'You carry it for a few months then. Ah my tits are killing me.'

He frowned at the offending appendages for a moment before smiling at his wife. 'I could kiss...'

'I'll kill you if you touch them.' She stated flatly and he nodded and stood up. 'Kill kill. Dead.'

'I'll make you some tea.'

The sound of hooves made them both bolt to the gate, Sasha's hand winding around the handle of a short hoe while Connie's rested reassuringly on the hunting knife at his belt. The hooded figure barely slowed in time to dismount at a run, hurling himself at the gate. 'Did you know?' It shouted, and once the hood was thrown back the jumble in Sasha's head straightened itself out.

'Eren!' She squealed, and before he could say anything else she had thrown her arms around his neck. 'Wait...' She pushed him back. 'You can't be here!'

'Sasha.' Connie sighed, letting go of his knife. 'Get inside before someone sees you. We're usually being watched.'

They swept inside, Connie taking a last look around the glen before following.

'Jean...' Mikasa paced the small office, ignoring Armin's calming words as much as she could. 'I thought you'd said...'

'If we try and take Ymir back through force they'd kill her just to prove a point, then disband us!' He rubbed at the bridge of his nose. 'I don't like it anymore than you, but we're stuck here.'

'Hange...'

The spectacled leader shrugged her shoulders. 'I've done all I could in delaying them, we were hoping to keep you safe in the mountains but they must have intercepted our mail.'

'We could have a mole.' Krista slammed her little fist down on the table.

'We?' Jean sighed. 'You're not in uniform anymore, Historia.'

Armin shook his head. 'It could be a courier, or someone who intercepted that courier. We should have been more careful with who we sent.'

'But...' She tried to strengthen her voice. 'If they catch Eren outside the city...'

'Oh no doubt about it.' Hange smiled. 'They'll kill him. The anti titan movement has sprung up to be quite violent, I'm afraid.'

'Oi, Hange.' Levi purred from his spot at the window. 'Its not an anti titan movement. There are only two titan shifters, so there has to be more to it.'

'Well at the moment the only thing the leader of the White Rose party wants is those two titan shifters dead. All of his other policies have been nonsense babblings about food, work and money. This is his only clear and consise point and unfortunately he's one hell of a public speaker.'

'The White Rose.' Mikasa frowned down at the back of her hand. 'They have this much support? They were just a fringe party...'

'The people are still bitter about the last few battles. There were many civilian casualties and they're keen to pin the blame on the shifters who fought with us.'

'Without them,' Levi growled from his seat. 'They'd all have died, the dumbfucks.'

'You should be a public speaker.' Hange beamed.

'They don't care. Eren was hardly a graceful solution, and Ymir may have been smaller, but she did no less damage taking down Titans than he did.'

'He fucking saved them.' Mikasa gritted her teeth. 'Now they want to hang him.'

Hange chuckled. 'No Mikasa, the mob tried to hang Ymir. The actual party wants them beheaded.'

'Hah!' Levi looked to the window. 'I'm sure their heads will just grow back.'

Krista stood, grimacing as Jean slipped an arm around her to steady her shaking legs. 'We're not going to test that theory, are we?'

Armin shook his head. 'If we get Ymir back it'll be the last time. The council are keen to keep the populace happy.'

'What's that mean?'

'They aren't safe inside the walls.' Jean explained softly, transferring her weight so that she leant against the desk. 'At least Eren's gone, right?'

Mikasa felt a little thrill shoot through her, starting somewhere in the middle of her chest. 'He had plans to leave the walls.' She agreed without looking up. 'He should be well clear by now.'

'Then if they don't give Ymir back, if legally we can't...' Historia cried, again wacking her fist on the desk, disturbing the papers.

Mikasa couldn't be sure that she had spoken at first since no one but Jean looked at her, but she heard her own voice all the same. 'Then we break her out, and we go after Eren.'

'I agree.' Armin smiled.

'I feel like we've done all we can do here.' Hange agreed.

'Tch. I've earnt my retirement.'

'You have.'Jean nodded to Levi. 'Hange too, we won't get you involved.'

'How shitty do you think we are?' Was Levi's sharp response.

Eren folded his hands on the table, eyes flickering from face to face as Connie and Sasha recounted everything they'd heard.

'... And just after you left they started showing up, watching us and... Well they won't come on to our land, but I've seen them in the tree line sometimes, and Connie found one at the gate a few days ago.'

'He outright asked me if we were expecting you back, and told me if we didn't say he'd run me through.'

'What happened?' Eren growled.

'I dislocated both of his shoulders.' Connie shrugged.

'Are you safe here?'

Sasha laughed, leaning back to rest her hand on her stomach. 'Eren, if they touched us they'd be strung up. I don't know if you remember but I have quite a big and fiercely loyal family.'

'Besides,' Connie relaxed. 'We can handle ourselves.'

'It's Ymir we're worried about.'

'Mikasa won't let them harm her.'

'Mikasa?' Sasha sighed. 'She's probably pulling her hair out right now worrying about you. She probably thinks you're outside the walls.'

He grumbled something then straightened up. 'Jean'll keep her safe.'

Quite unexpectedly Sasha's hand came down on the table. 'Just admit it!'

'What?'

'I want to hear you say it!'

'Say what?'

'Shes hormonal.' Connie clicked his tongue. 'And she's been crying over that stupid scarf.'

'Oh for... It was just a scarf.'

'It wasn't! She loved that thing! It was part of her, and you let her throw it away!'

'She threw it to the ground Sasha!' He ran a hand through his hair. 'She walked away too.'

'She didn't sleep for weeks you selfish bastard!'

'Hey now.' Connie out his hand on Sasha's shoulder but she only brushed him off.

'She lived her life, every bit of it, for you, and after all those years you walked away. That was the most painful day of her life, and now you're leaving her again.'

'Oi, Sash, what should he do? Walk up and hand himself in? She's the one who went back.'

Eren let his forehead smack on the hard wood of the table. 'She's made a decision, she's gone back to Jean.'

'This is pathetic.' Sasha hissed. 'She fought for you every day, can't you do it once.'

He didn't move, his skin heating unpleasantly.

'Sometimes...' Sasha continued in a slightly softer tone. 'I wonder why I picked the fucking thing up.'

The ring was every bit as beautiful as she had expected it to be. It sat on her finger, a tiny jewel encased in the thin gold band, and sometimes it made her feel sick. That night, she sat up in bed, her thigh resting against the potential groom's hip as he slept beside her.

'With all this uncertainty... I want to make it clear, what you mean to me Mikasa.'

She felt her stomach flip beneath her palm As she thought of Eren moving between her thighs, Ymir swinging from the tree and Jean taking her hand in his all at once.

Her fingers twisted around a scarf that hadn't been there for years, and tears threatened to spill from her dark eyes. She should not be thinking about him at all. They were over and done with. The time to make a choice had come and he had turned and headed to the wall again, not looking back.

'Though I wouldn't know for sure since I didn't look back.' She thought stubbornly.

Armin had of course, known straight away. At her return, once the fuss was over and Ymir had been carted off, he'd let his hand rest on her shoulder, and with a gentle squeeze of his fingertips he'd told her he was there for her, and he would miss him as well.

'What if they go after him?' She had asked once Krista had been removed, thumb rubbing against the gold band on her ring finger.

Jean didn't look pleased when he had responded. 'There's nothing we can do. He's on his own.'

Looking down at him again she sighed, a soft sound that filled the small room. For once Jean was peaceful, and she wished above anything that he would remain that way long after she was gone, and that she could have done a better job at loving him. For what it was worth, she hoped he knew that he had meant a great deal to her too.

She slipped out of bed, careful to avoid the loudest floorboards. She slung on a basic shirt and dark trousers before shoving a few more in her dark leather pack. The ring slipped off quite easily, but she held it up to her eyes, closed them, and sighed again before slowly lowering it to the table.

Pher hand automatically latched on to the green fabric of her scouting cloak, but she shook her head clear and instead snatched up a tan leather jacket before sliding through the doorway, closing it silently behind her.

She was still slinging it over her shoulders when she turned in to the kitchen to find a candle already burning at one table, and Armin sitting with a cup of tea warming his hands. 'You were right.' He said humourlessly.

'Hm.' Was the reply from the kitchen, where Levi was arranging some jars of spices. 'Mikasa, tea?'

She nodded, dropping her bag and taking the chair opposite Armin. 'I...'

'I'd like to go too.' Armin smiled, but for it he looked all the more tired. 'When we get Ymir back I'll come with you.'

'Armin?' She smiled softly. 'Will you be okay?'

'You're no use here anyway.' He sighed, sitting back in his chair.

'You'll need me if Ymir must be rescued.' She frowned.

Levi sat her cup of almost black tea down with a thud. 'I'm still here Ackerman. Ymir will be fine.'

She took a sip and frowned as the liquid scalded her tongue. 'Jean...'

'I think he knows.' Armin nodded sadly. 'He'll forgive you.'

'He shouldn't.' She took another harsh sip.

'It suits you.' Levi scratched at his chin. 'Being a civilian.'

Mikasa smiled and returned the cup to the table.

It occurred to her as she rode through the dark streets that she probably shouldn't have taken the horse, but in the cold she buried her fingers in the dark mane and thanked the walls she had.