Eren's eyes fluttered open and he let them adjust to the room. His eyes looked around the room for a moment studying the environment. The room looked familiar, but it clicked that he wasn't in his bedroom.

He went to move his head only to feel that he was leaning up against someone. He opened his eyes to see Levi laying next to him. Levi moved his head and let out a yawn before looking up. He seemed to have just woken up as well.

"Why are we downstairs?" Eren asked with a slight smile.

Levi looked down towards their lap at the blanket that was thrown over the both of them and then saw the two kids still sleeping on the other couch. "Guess we all fell asleep down here. Levi said gesturing his head towards the kids causing Eren to look at them.

Eren turn his head and felt a sharp pain in his neck. His hand shot up and rubbed at it.

"You okay?" Levi said seeing Eren wince.

"Major kink in my neck," Eren said. "Probably from staring up at the ceiling for hours," Eren said with a shrug.

"I'm going to get you a warm towel you could put on it," Levi said before disappearing into the kitchen. Eren checked the time sing that it was quite early in the morning, but he was relieved that at least it was Friday. He sent his phone down and looked over at the kids. He noticed something he hadn't noticed the first time that made him sit up and lean his head forward to try and take a closer look.

TJ had tears silently streaming down his face. His face was normal, yet he still managed to look so sad. Eren was wondering what he was dreaming about that would cause such a reaction, but he didn't have to think long because he started to stir in his sleep. His head rolled over and he a moment later he sat up wiping his eyes in the process. He looked around the room and let out a small depressed sigh before realizing he wasn't alone. His eyes met Eren's and he flashed a smile that, though it looked genuine, Eren could tell was fake.

"Morning," TJ said in a raspy voice as he was still out of it from sleep.

"Good Morning," Eren said back giving him a smile. He dropped the smile when he noticed the bandage on TJ's cheek looked as if it was starting to come off.

TJ must have noticed it too because his eyes flicked down to where the bandages were before his hand went to try and fix it, even though it was a fruitless tasked. The bandage kept falling.

"I'll have Hanji come over and put on a new one later, but maybe we should put more disinfectant medicine on it and let it breathe for a while?" Eren asked and TJ nodded. Eren stood up and headed to the bathroom to grab the medicine while TJ carefully pulled off the bandage without wincing too much when he winced it caused it to hurt.

TJ put his hands up covering the wound on his face. It had just started healing over, and though it wasn't as painful as before he still had trouble making any major expressions with his mouth. As he lightly ran his fingers over it he thought back to the face his mom had made when she swung the pair of scissors. He flinched and snapped back to reality when her hand came down at him.

Eren was walking back into the room and paused in the halls doorway when he watched how distant TJ looked. He watched as TJ's fingers lightly grazed over his wound before he flinched his hand away pulling his hand down to his side and he clenched his eyes for a minute before taking a calming breath. Eren took a breath and stepped forward and TJ looked up at him with and thanked him as he handed him some medicine to put on the wound.

Eren nodded and sat down grabbing his phone that was close to dying and sent Hanji a message asking her to stop by when she woke up. Eren set his phone back down and Levi came into the room with a warm towel for Eren's neck. "Here, it might be too hot," he said before looking up at TJ, "good morning," he said eyes glued to the wound on his cheek inspecting it to make sure it hadn't gotten infected.

"Morning," TJ said back. As he put some of the medicine on his face.

Eren thanked Levi and put the towel against his neck feeling as some of the pain went away.

Levi excused himself and headed up the stairs realizing not only was he still in yesterday's clothes, but he still had bed head. He went up the stairs to go and freshen up and get ready for the day ahead of them.

Eren stayed sitting down relaxing his neck. TJ had no choice but to sit there since his sister was still sound asleep leaning up against him, not that he really minded all that much he had nowhere to go anyways.

"After school gets out today Thomas is welcome to come over if you want him to," Eren suggested. He wanted the kids to feel at home, and he wanted them to feel comfortable here, but also he knew that seeing another familiar face would help with that.

TJ nodded, "I'd like that," he said giving Eren a little smile.

A little while later Alex sat up still in a daze from sleep with her hair sticking out in every possible direction. She looked around the room and was greeted with a smile from Eren and Levi and a chuckle from her brother.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," TJ joked.

"Morning," she said with a yawn sitting up and stretching her back.

"I'll get breakfast started," Levi said standing up and heading into the kitchen.

Eren's phone buzzed and he yelled to Levi, "add one more plate for Hanji," after reading her text that said she would be heading over to fix TJ's bandage. 

While Levi cooked breakfast TJ and Alex had headed up the stairs to get ready for the day ahead of them. After they had finished getting dressed they were about to head down the stairs when TJ stopped Alex for a second. She closed the slightly opened door and sat down on the bed next to TJ. 

"I think we should call dad and try and meet up with him today," he suggested. 

"I don't know," Alex said still hesitant about seeing him. TJ had explained that he wasn't like mom, but Alex still had a hard time forgiving him for all the times he didn't stand up for them, all the times he ran away to work instead of dealing with the psychotic bitch they had for a mother. 

"I want to get to know him the real him, not the one mom forced him to be," TJ said looking at Alex, he could tell she was uncomfortable with the idea and he sighed. "if you don't want to see him you don't have to," he said, "But I do."

"If you go," she hesitated for a moment, "then I'll go," she said with a nod.

TJ typed in the number off the strip of paper that his dad had written it on and they listened as it started ringing.