A few weeks passed, and the summer sun broke out in all its radiance and intensity. Hange's shrieks rang out through the open meadow swaying with grass and cornflowers as Eren's titan came crashing to the earth in a shockwave of dust and debris. She never seemed to tire of her experiments... if anything, she only got more excited about them.

"MOBLIT!!" Hange whipped around, fingers stiffly curled with anticipation. "Did you get that??!"

"Yes, Section Commander, I got it." Moblit rubbed his perspiring brow with his sleeved forearm before hastily adding the finishing touches to his sketches.

"Excellent!!" Hange thunked both her fists against her hips. "We've got some things to work with here, I'd say! Let's go again, shall we??"

"Uh... Section Commander?" Moblit hesitantly pointed to where Mikasa and Kuro were pulling Eren out of his titan form. The boy was completely unconscious.

Hange sighed, her disappointment only clouding her enthusiasm for a split second. "Ah, well! Good work today, everyone! I guess that wraps it up!"

Kuro and Mikasa worked carefully to extract their unconscious friend. Despite knowing that Eren wouldn't have any lasting injuries, Kuro noticed Mikasa flinch a little when he pulled too hard or cut too close. It was clear how much she cared about Eren. It had always been like that.

Once he was fully out, they carefully lowered Eren down to a few other soldiers who took him over to the wagon.

Hange was twittering orders to her subordinates, always so fascinated by the rapidly decaying corpse. But then abruptly, she stopped. Lips still parted mid-sentence, she took a step backwards and brought a hand to her head.

"Section Commander?" Moblit looked on with concern. Then, seeing she was about to pass out, he dropped his notebook into the grass and reached her in time so that she went down on one knee instead of collapsing into a heap.

There was a bit of commotion at that, and Kuro felt stuck to the spot for a second. Breathe, he thought. Don't panic. He took a deep breath and hurried over, hoping it wasn't anything too serious.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. "What happened?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Hange held her hand up, but her head was still hung.

"She just-- passed out!" Moblit stammered, looking up at Kuro from where he was knelt at Hange's side. He was visibly distressed.

"No, no, I just got a bit dizzy is all!" Her eyes were shut, and she ticked her head to the side as he brows furrowed together. She suddenly felt completely overcome by nausea. "I'll be alright..." she added, a bit more quietly.

"I think it's best if we get you sat down in some shade for a bit and get you something to drink," Kuro suggested calmly. It seemed like heat exhaustion, which was to be expected in this scorching weather.

"Should I go for the Captain?" Moblit queried.

"No, there's no need," Hange insisted. "Some water will do me well, I think." She stood up slowly, Moblit assisting her, but she shooed him away once she was on her feet. Sighing, she put a hand against her stomach. "I do tend to neglect my water intake," she admitted.

Moblit glanced concernedly at Kuro for support. "Still... Section Commander, I think Captain Levi should at least be informed..."

"Oh, he'll just lecture me about my unhealthy habits!" Hange argued.

"I agree with Vice Captain Moblit," Kuro put in. "Captain Levi should least be informed, just to be on the safe side." It was always better to be safe than sorry. Kuro looked over Hange, going through a mental checklist Dr. Lewis had been teaching him. "We still should get you into the shade, Section Commander, as well as something to drink."

Hange put both her hands up in surrender. "Fine," she huffed. "But I have you two to blame if Levi is pulled away from some important meeting for something as trivial as this!" She turned on her heel and began to march off toward the shady trees, but she quickly slowed as another queasy wave hit her hard.

Kuro was quick to catch up to her as Moblit ran off in search of the Captain. "Please take it easy, Section Commander. There's no need to rush. That's only going to make things worse."

She waved away any assistance he offered her, placing her hand on her stomach again as she walked more slowly. This was so sudden and so unusual... it had hit her hard and fast and completely out of nowhere. She didn't say anything more as she moved into the shade and leaned one shoulder against a tree trunk. The whole world was tilting and swirling, and her insides were no exception.

Kuro was going through a mental checklist for signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke, but some things didn't seem to be adding up. It felt like putting two and two together and repeatedly getting five. Kuro was either getting himself confused and not remembering things properly, or... this was something else entirely.

"Section Commander," he began as he handed her his canteen of water. "Do you usually struggle with the heat?"

Hange shook her head as she unscrewed the cap and then took a small sip. As much as a long, cool drink sounded refreshing with the midday sun beating down, her stomach was rejecting the idea of putting anything into it. "No," she reaffirmed. "I must have eaten something bad. I feel like I'm going to be sick."

This had to be something else, and there was an... idea that Kuro had, not that he wanted to say it. He was nowhere near qualified for dealing with anything like that.

"Although I believe this is nothing serious..." he spoke cautiously, "...since it's unusual for you, it might be worth seeing the doctor about this."

"The doctor?" Hange wrinkled her nose. "Now, this is getting ridiculous, Kuro. People don't just run to the doctor every time they feel queasy."

"I agree with that, Section Commander, but..." He stopped to try to think of the best way to say this. "I think... there might be another reason for your symptoms, rather than the heat or something you ate..."

"Such as??" Hange asked pointedly. But then she realized what he was getting at... and her face paled even more. She looked down to where her hand rested against her stomach. Quickly, she removed it. "I'm sure that's not--" Flustered, she shook her head. "There are plenty of reasons to feel nauseous and dizzy on such a hot day," she reasoned firmly. "But... if it makes you feel better, then I'll stop in to see Dr. Lewis. If I have time." She nodded once, clearing her throat and making herself stand up straighter. "Anyway, I feel a bit better now." (If anything, she felt even more ill at the thought.) "...so you can return to your duties. Thank you, Kuro."

"You're welcome, Section Commander," Kuro said as he stepped back. "And, please remember, there's a good chance I'm wrong. It's just as a precaution," he quickly added before saluting and turning to leave. He knew he wasn't qualified to make a diagnosis of any kind, and he felt better knowing she was going to see Dr. Lewis, even if he was wrong.

Hange watched him walk away, desperately searching her mind for reasons he could be mistaken. The only thing she could come up with was how careful she and Levi had been, so surely... surely there was another explanation.

Turning on her heel, she stomped off down the wooded path toward the town, pausing once to lose her lunch behind a tree before stubbornly continuing onward.

*****

When Levi found Hange, it was only after an hour of looking. After Moblit had informed him of what had happened in the field, he'd excused himself from Erwin's office to follow the Vice Captain back to the shady spot where Hange had rested briefly. She wasn't there now, of course, and so he'd dismissed Moblit and gone in search of Kuro. Finding him working out with his squad, Levi was then informed that Hange had gone to see the doctor.

"The doctor?" Levi had asked, unease coloring his tone.

Kuro had quickly explained that it was just a precaution and that nothing seemed serious about the situation.

And so Levi had then headed to Dr. Lewis' office, naturally to miss his wife by only a few minutes. There, he was told that she had been sent home to rest (quite against her wishes, as the doctor added with a chuckle), and that Levi shouldn't worry. He should, however, find her and speak with her, and that was all the information Levi had when he found her sitting at their kitchen table with her head in her hands and a forgotten cup of tea at her elbow.

"Hange?" Levi shut the door quietly behind him, his eyes flickering with concern as they took in her discouraged figure.

Hange bent her arms down to fold her hands on the table. "I'm alright, Levi," she said softly. "Moblit needn't have bothered you."

Pulling out a chair, Levi sat down and scooched it a bit closer to her. "You look pale," he observed, gently putting the backs of his fingers against her forehead and then her cheek. She didn't feel feverish. "Have you eaten anything today?"

She nodded. "It came back up, though," she admitted. Her gaze was on the tabletop, avoiding him.

"What did you eat?"

"It's not that."

"Hange." Levi touched his fingers to her chin, turning her head to look at him. There was something in her eyes he'd never seen there before... Fear? Helplessness? He really couldn't find a word for it, but it worried him. "What is it? Did Dr. Lewis tell you something?" Was she sick? Had something happened?

"He--" Hange looked away and reached to pull the teacup closer to herself. Her fingertips toyed with the handle. She nodded, swallowing hard.

"Well..." Levi exhaled, not liking the suspense. "What was it? Damn it, Hange, just tell me." His words held an edge, but his hand was gentle as he placed it atop hers.

Hange's eyes moved to their hands before lifting to meet his direct gaze. "...Levi, I'm pregnant," she whispered.

Levi's eyes widened, and he felt his heart drop into his stomach.

The silence that followed was cold and palpable. They'd never wanted this... How could they? Their world was cruel and ugly and wrought with horror and suffering. To bring a child into such a life was unthinkable to two soldiers who had already dedicated their hearts to the glory of humanity, no matter the cost. But now...

What felt like several minutes was really only a matter of seconds.

Levi breathed out slowly, blinking his drifting eyes. "How...? We always..."

"I know." Hange turned her forehead into her curled fingers, her other hand still held in Levi's atop the table. "I don't understand how this happened, but it did, and... gods, Levi! What the hell are we supposed to do now??" Her hand slid out from under his, and she dropped her head into her palms as her fingers gripped her hair.

Levi just looked stunned. His own hand didn't even move. He just sat, eyes wandering with slightly parted lips. "...holy shit," he uttered at last, standing abruptly and causing the chair to scrape against the wood floor. He took few steps away from the table as he raked all of his fingers back through his hair.

"Damn it..." Hange murmured, shaking her head against her clenched fist. "--dAMN IT!!" Forcefully, she struck the teacup, sending it smashing into the wall with a splatter.

Levi turned quickly at the commotion, instantly moving to take a knee before her.

Her breathing was sharp and unstable, and she was visibly shaking.

"Hange, stop it! Stop!" He took her head in both his hands just as hyperventilating sobs began to hitch in her throat.

She looked at him with gritted teeth and brimming eyes, her fingers gripping the edge of her chair.

"Hange..." Levi's voice was aching, his expression vanquished and vulnerable as he slowly brushed some hair away from her face.

Exhaling into surrendering lament, she dropped her head onto his shoulder and let the fear and pain claim her. Her shoulders shook as tears swelled her eyes and soaked Levi's jacket.

And Levi just held her, his own heavy heart mirroring the sound of her sobs.