The Saint Rose Regional Hospital is located right in between the cities Trostaria and Sinashina and has been responsible for saving thousands of lives, thanks to their most esteemed doctors Levi and Hange. At first glance, Levi and Hange appear extremely incompatible with each other (and Hange just annoys the hell out of Levi to begin with), but the two have an incredible aptitude for fixing the human body. While Hange is constantly in the lab researching and discovering new ailments to the most bizarre diseases, Levi is running around the hospital, checking up on all of the patients and is occasionally called into the ER to perform heart surgeries on those affected by the toxic pollution lurking around the dirty streets of Trostaria and Sinashina.
Pollution hasn't always been this bad. The population within the cities has increased so much so that the cities themselves have not been able to expand quick enough, leaving people in the slums and having no way to clean up after themselves. Levi deemed this blasphemous, helping in every way that he can to treat those affected by these conditions by going to the cities and handing out bars of soaps so they have a means to clean themselves. Nowhere near up to his expectation of cleanliness, but what other alternative do they have? A bar of soap will have to do for now. Slowly but surely, he thought, if people are better able to take care of themselves, the filth and pollution will decrease and I won't have to tend to the wounded as much as I have been.
The hospital was of moderate size. It stacked about 4 stories high and had an ivory green tint around the borders of the building. Though it was a place of grief and rehabilitation, the place was made to look and feel a bit like home. Four gardeners would tend to the vibrant colored tulips around the base of the hospital everyday. Hange insists on having these flowers tended to in order to take the stress and pain of those entering and leaving the building, and also because they smelled lovely. Though Levi doesn't care much for them, Hange swore she saw the corner of his mouth curve upwards one rainy morning as he glanced at the tulips as they that colored the ground.
As of late, the hospital has been very slow. There have only been a couple of patients that have come in to be looked at, but most of them were only suffering the more common illnesses like having a stomach virus or a strong cold. Though this was an indication that people have grown to be a lot healthier, Levi was beginning to be bored out of his mind. Most days, Hange was down in the lab in the basement of the hospital identifying infected tissue and was not able to entertain Levi with her shrill laughter and odd interest in deteriorating flesh. So his days usually consisted of sitting at his well-organized desk, typing away reports and reading any current events updates. For the next several days, this had been his routine until one morning, driving to work, Levi passed by a house with an ambulance sitting right outside and an emergency staff carefully placing a young woman onto a stretcher. An older man stood over her, holding her hand for a brief moment before the staff carried her into the ambulance and turned on the siren. Levi knew his hospital would be the one to take care of her, quickly changing gears in his Audi R8 and rushing to the hospital as quickly as he could.
"Oi, Hange." Levi's face was more stern than usual, tightening the muscles around his eyebrows as he told her what could happen within the next half hour. She hadn't seen him so worried and tense since the time a patient by the name of Erwin Smith had been taken to the ER in need of surgery for his punctured intestine. Maybe it's because he hasn't had anything exciting to do for the past couple of days. It's not like he knows what actually happened. The girl could have just sprained her ankle or something. Nevertheless, she saves her solitaire game and grabs her coat, sprinting after Levi who has already reached the double doors of the ambulance.
"Dr. Levi! We are in need of medical assistance right away!" The staff was swift and efficient, moving the girl from the stretcher onto the hospital bed Nurse Krista brought with her. Levi was now able to see the young woman who lay helplessly on the hospital bed. She was no older than 25, very petite in stature and had lovely brown hair that grew slightly passed her chin. It was hard for him to tell whether or not she was breathing and immediately instructed the staff to wheel her into the ER and told Hange to do whatever was necessary to keep the girl breathing.
Her name was Petra. Petra Ral.
The man that had held onto Petra's hand was her father. Levi had asked him several questions while the man filled out the necessary paperwork. Petra meant the whole world to her father. Her mother had recently died of an illness her father hoped was not hereditary. Petra was home for break from medical school and had gone to visit her father who lived alone. That morning, Petra was fixing her father breakfast when she collapsed suddenly onto the floor, hard of breathing, clenching at her heart.
"It happened so quickly. On the way over here, I was thinking of different reasons why this could have happened but nothing came to mind. I was unable to help her. Please, Doctor, try everything you can to help my daughter. She's all I have left in this world." With that, Levi placed his hand on the father's shoulder, reassuring him that he will do everything in his power to help his daughter, for Levi has lost many family members due to generations of low immune systems. He remembers the funeral of his mother and father who passed away from tuberculosis, leaving Levi under the care of his uncle, who soon passed away from pneumonia. He became a doctor to save the lives of those who have become prey to these weapons of mother nature, and with that thought, he turned on his heel and raced to the ER, stethoscope in hand.
"Hange. What's the status of Ms. Ral?" Levi asked as he put his mask and gloves on. The room was brightly lit and crowded, filled with the emergency staff from earlier hustling around to get Petra hooked up to IVs and getting out the necessary equipment for Levi so he could get to work. "She is barely breathing and from what I can infer, her right lung is failing at a very high rate," Hange managed to explain to Levi as she was fiddling with a needle. "We are going to have to run several x-rays and CT scans to find out what could possibly be the cause of this. I need to run and get a few things from my office. I will be back and by then, I expect a full report on what you've found. We can't let this woman die." Hange notices that Levi hasn't been himself ever since he talked to the man that accompanied Petra to the hospital. "I wonder what happened to grumpy gills earlier…. he seems less apathetic than usual. You hear that Krista? Let's get to work!"
When Levi returned to the ER, Hange had managed to put up several x-rays and CT scans up for Levi to look at. Most of the color in Petra's face was gone and her body was also losing color slowly. Levi was pressed on time and as he inspected the pictures that were hanging on the wall, Levi noticed that her right lung had been inflamed and filled with fluid that shouldn't be there. Did she have a weak heart to begin with? Her father mentioned in her medical records that she led a very healthy lifestyle, free of asthma and was on the competitive swim team at her school for quite some time. "Tch. This doesn't make any sense. Hange, we are going to have to perform surgery on Ms. Ral. Her right lung has been steadily filling up with fluid and I believe it's because her heart isn't strong enough to pump her blood like it should. Please prepare for surgery in the next hour and I will make her father aware of what has happened. I will assist you in draining her lungs." He glances over at Petra's limp face. Please stay with us for a little while longer. Please.
Levi and Hange had been in the surgery room for hours, having the nurses come over and wipe the sweat dripping from their faces as they sat under the brightly lit surgical lamp carefully tending to Petra's right lung. They had inserted a draining tube for her lungs to try and return them to their normal state and another tube feeding her body antibiotics to fight the infection that has caused her lungs to become inflamed.
"Doctor, are you okay?" asked Hange as she noticed Levi's hands start to shake slightly during the latter half of the surgery. "You're shaking and I've never seen a steadier pair of hands than the ones you've got, Levi. Do you know this girl?"
"No. All I know is that she's a medical student and had recently lost her mother. Death shouldn't be an option for those that have such promising futures. I can tell this girl has greater aspirations than most patients I've tended to and I'm going to make sure she can fulfill her hopes and dreams." This was an entirely new Levi sitting across from her.
The operation was a success. After 8 labor-intensive hours in the operating room, the doctors were able to treat her lung back down to its normal size and drained of the fluids that were not welcome. However, there was now a greater issue that Levi realized during the surgery. While her lungs may be repaired, her heart is still very weak, causing her breathing to become irregular and strained. Just as Levi was about to walk out of the room, Petra's heart monitor beeped rapidly and fell into a flat line. "Shit. Hange. What happened? She was fine. Check her vitals." Her heart was not responsive. It was too weak to function on its own after her surgery. Hange immediately reached over in attempt to shock Petra's heart back into life and after 3 big jolts, her heart monitor came to life and a spike was shown where the flat line used to lie. This was too strange. She should have been dead. Is her heart stronger than they thought? "We can't risk that happening again. Make sure to regularly check her heart while Hange and I discuss how to cure this. Krista, please look after Petra and make her father aware of what has happened. Hange, come with me. We are going to fix this shitty problem." For her.
Petra had been in the hospital for about a week now and Levi had not left the hospital since her arrival. Of course he couldn't go a week without bathing so he asked Hange to stop by his house to grab several pairs of clothing and he showered at the hospital when he could, usually around 4 AM, right before his 2 hour power nap. He spent most of his waking hours researching different alternatives to fixing her weak heart, but when he started to feel drowsy from looking at the computer screen too long, he would pay Petra a visit. She was in a state of comatose now and on life support so her heart was not entirely given the heavy burden of keeping her alive. He pulled a chair next to her hospital bed and sat down, rubbing his tired eyes. He mentally traced the feeding tube that led his eyes to Petra's pure and innocent face. Why did this happen to her? Petra's hands were rested on her stomach as he watched them bob up and down slightly, reassuring him that she's still here. It's as if she's asleep. She'll wake up soon. I hope. He had been so used to saving all of the lives that have come to him in need that not having a cure ready for someone shocked him. He couldn't help but feel responsible for her life. Out of guilt, he rested his hand on hers, being careful to not break this body that has already gone through so much. He had been so dedicated to saving Petra's life that he became accustomed to the idea of taking care of her for as long as she needed, even after she wakes up. If she wakes up.
"DOCTOR LEVI!" shouted Hange as she barged into Levi's office during his 2 hour power nap that early morning. "Oi, Hange. Can't you see with your shitty eyes that I'm trying to take a nap here? I've been up all night trying to –" She stopped him midsentence. "Trying to find a cure right? I have been working in the lab at home and have created an antidote that could potentially give Petra's heart the amount of adrenaline it needs to wake it back up significantly and progressively increase its strength in a little over a month! However…. I want to mention that the results are not absolute. I believe, through all of the calculations I have made and the results of the experiments I have received, it will either work beyond our imaginations or…."
"Or it will kill her." Levi had anticipated this. But all of the work they have done up until now could not just be thrown away because of an antidote with variable outcomes. He had been staying up late night after night and relayed all of the viable information back to Hange to work on and he appreciates all that she has done but could he really proceed with Hange's antidote knowing there's a chance Petra won't make it? However, this was not his decision to make. Levi stood up and tried to relax in the shower before going facing Petra's father once more. Levi found her father sitting next to her on the hospital bed, holding her hand and praying she makes it out okay. Tears had slowly welled up in his eyes and before they got a chance to trickle down the old man's face, Levi knocked on the door and let himself in. "Excuse me, sir, I'd like to have a word with you. We have diagnosed Petra and came to the conclusion that she was infected with Coronary Artery Disease. It is, in actuality, quite a common lung disease but because her heart was so weak to begin with, the surgery only exemplified how weak her heart was. However, Hange has come up with something that might help your daughter." He explains to her all of the ramifications of the antidote and allows him a couple of hours to deliberate.
"Doctor Levi, I have made up my mind. I have missed my daughter too much and need her back soon and if this is possibly a good chance in the right direction, I am allowing you to do whatever necessary to bring her back. Please proceed with the operation."
And with that, Levi hesitated but nodded his head, leaving the room to let Hange know their next course of action.
Everything was set up. All he needed was the willpower to place the IV into her hand and let the medicine run its course. He was shaking again, something that Hange noticed only happen when he was around Petra. She knew Petra had become someone important to Levi, because even though she had been asleep the whole time, she made him nervous. She extracted feelings out of him that no one had ever seen before. He became more human around her and was more aware of the mistakes he could make during her operations. Hange laid a firm hand on his forearm. "Every second you wait is a second she's slipping away." He removed her life support briefly to make sure her heart was strong enough to make it through these next few moments and thankfully, the heart monitor was nice and steady. He carefully injected her with the IV and backed away, waiting for the results he presumed would come quickly.
All seemed hopeful for the next hour as they waited for something drastic to happen. Just as Levi was about to leave the room to deliver the news to Petra's father, he noticed the heart monitor gradually slowing down. No. No no no. It was working. It had been working for the past hour, what the hell could have happened? Why is this always happening? Levi was screaming internally and panicked. She can't slip away now. Not now. He was frozen in his tracks as he watched Hange rush over to Petra's side, trying to reboot her life support but it was too late. He heard the sound of the too familiar flat line on her heart monitor as he collapsed to the ground. He had run out of options. Krista helped Levi back to his feet, reminding him that he needs to keep a conservative composure when he goes back outside to deliver the news to her father. As Krista helped the limp Levi to the door, Petra's heart monitor let out a screeching beep, and before Levi had the opportunity to turn around to look at her, her monitor was racing faster than he had ever seen it. And that's when he saw them for the first time – Petra's beautiful light hazel eyes, wide open and shining under the brightly lit hospital room. And on that day, Hange received a heartwarming reminder that Levi had never lost the ability to cry.
Levi allowed Petra and her father to spend time together and clarify all that had happened within the past week. From the main desk, he saw that Petra had gathered enough strength to sit up and eat on her own. She had the most vibrant smile, having the ability to light up the room and the people in it. Trying to be discreet, Levi took a break from watching Petra laugh with her father by shuffling some hospital papers around and putting together clipboards for the patients in the waiting room. He heard a man clear his throat behind him.
"I know you're quite busy, Doctor, but my daughter insists she meet her savior. Could you maybe take a minute out of your busy schedule to meet her?" Levi could feel his face turn red but before he turned into a bright red tomato, he turned around and replied, "Of course, I will be there shortly. Thank you."
He knocked on the door and found Petra sitting up in her hospital bed looking out the window. Her father had gone home to find some clothes for her to wear when the hospital releases her later that day. He was speechless. The light from outside shone on her face at just the right angle as she glistened brighter than all of the diamonds he had ever seen passing by the local jewelry store on his way home from work.
"Doctor Levi, am I right?" Petra asked as she give her head a tilt to the side and let out a little chuckle as she said his name. It was music to his ears. "My father told me that you stayed at the hospital every night to make sure nothing had happened to me while I was in my coma. You even showered here? How silly!" In fact, his obsession with cleaning was not funny and he normally took offense when people had made remarks about it, but the happiness he had felt in his entire being was too overwhelming that even Levi himself let out a deep laugh. For the next two hours, Levi sat next to Petra as she told him stories about her adventures in medical school. She was so full of energy that everything prior to their conversation was as if it never existed.
Petra was later released but remained in contact with Levi as she returned to school to finish up her last semester of medical school. Around two months later, Levi bumped into Petra's father at the farmer's market one Saturday and at the end of their conversation, Levi was given permission to see Petra when she came home and ask for her hand in marriage. Until then, Levi and Hange spent their cafeteria breaks coming up with different ways to propose to Petra and Levi was looking forward to a lifetime with the one person that ended up saving his own weak heart.