Eren's eyes widened in horror as he stared at the Titan in front of him. Its meaty hand wrapped around the form of a dark haired woman. The monster's hand tightened and he heard the sickening sound of bones cracking mingled with a piercing scream that erupted from the woman's throat.

"Mikasa! No!" He cried out searching for Levi, Armin, Jean, Sasha, anyone that could help him help her, but there was no one.

She writhed in the monster's grip using what was left of her broken sword to hack at the beast's arm but to no avail. The monster lowered her into his mouth and she twisted in its grip fighting with everything she had to escape it's jaws. Her deep grey eyes met his and a small smile touched her lips.

"Stay alive, Eren!" She shouted just before the Titan's jaw snapped shut and she was bitten in half.

"NO!" He screamed tears streaming down his face. "MIKASA!"

The monster lifted the upper half of her body by the head and swallowed the rest and grinned before turning and walking away igniting white hot fire in his veins. Again those monsters had taken the one he loved most. He'd kill them for it! Every last one would die by his hands-

A hand roughly shaking had him bolting upright his eyes wide and wild, his hands balled into fists ready to take down any enemy, man or Titan.

"Easy there kiddo." Levi's low voice murmured. "Take a deep breath."

Eren's eyes snapped to the Captain who stood at his bedside dressed in a button down shirt and a pair of black pants with slightly mussed hair. The dark circles under his eyes were darker than normal and a quick glance at the window confirmed that it was night time.

"Captain. What are you-?"

"I heard you shouting. When I came to check on you, you were steaming. I wasn't in the mood to clean up the mess you turning Titan in your sleep would cause though I'm sure Hanji would have loved every second of it." Levi explained.

Eren's brow furrowed trying to remember why he'd been so upset and the vision of Mikasa being devoured right before his eyes had his feet hitting the floor.

"Mikasa! Where is she!?" He demanded his gaze sweeping the room.

"In the infirmary sleeping, which is exactly what the two of us should be doing." Levi muttered raking a hand through his hair.

"Let me see her." Eren demanded.

The captain cocked a brow at that. "Brat, it's literally three in the morning." He grumbled.

"Please." The Titan Shifter begged. "I just…"

Levi sighed rubbing the back of his head, "Fine. Let's go."

Eren quickly pulled on his boots and followed the Captain out of the room and down the hall to the ballroom that had been turned into an infirmary. He quickly strode across the room to the bed closest to the windows protected by a curtain and stepped around it.

The sight that greeted him stole his breath. Mikasa lay in bed, her skin nearly the same shade of white of the sheets she laid in, her hair splayed out like an inky cloud around her head. Her shoulders were bare with a few purple splotches marking her ivory skin and he could see bandages that were wrapped around her torso stopping just an inch below her collar bones.

Her breathing was shallow and labored. Sweat clung to her skin and he could just make out the crease in her brow an indication of her pain. It made his heart clench to see her so weak and vulnerable. She hadn't looked anything like this since the day his family had taken her in.

"Excuse me. Who are you?" Came the clipped voice of a medic. "Visiting hours are long past." The grey haired woman said appearing next to him with a tray holding several rolls of fresh bandages and a syringe.

"He's with me." Captain Levi said appearing at the foot of Mikasa's bed. "I apologize for the inconvenience but he insisted on seeing her."

"And you are?" The woman asked studying Eren with wary eyes.

"Eren Yeager mam." The green eyed boy replied automatically.

The woman's sharp blue eyes softened a little at that. "Ah, you must be the one she was crying out for." She said her eyes drifting to the dark haired girl. "We had to perform a procedure to set her ribs and repair her punctured lung. She reacted poorly to the sedative we used and part way through the operation woke up screaming for someone named Eren."

Eren's eyes widened in shock and he collapsed in the chair at her bedside.

"Shit!" Levi hissed his eyebrows knitting together. "Is she going to be alright?"

The medic nodded. "We managed to restrain her and finished the procedure without injuring her further but we weren't able to get another sedative in time. The poor girl had to endure the pain. She did so well though."

Eren reached out with shaking fingers and clasped Mikasa's hand between his own tears stinging his eyes. I was horrible, she'd endured so much pain for his sake. It made his heart ache so intensely it nearly took his breath away.

"Mikasa." He whimpered his voice cracking with emotion. "I'm sorry." He bowed his head lifting her hand and pressing his forehead to it. "I'm so sorry, Mikasa." His jaw clenched as tears slid down his cheeks and dropped onto the white sheets below.

He didn't notice when the medic left pulling the curtain to give them a little more privacy, nor did he notice when Captain Levi moved to stand at his side. All he could think about was how much she'd suffered following him. He was a man. He was a man with the power of the Gods damn it! Why was it impossible for him to protect one woman with so much power at his disposal? What the Hell was wrong with him!?

"You're the reason she's here you know." Levi said shocking him out of his thoughts.

Eren's eyes widened in horror at that. It was the truth. If he hadn't insisted on joining the scouts. If he hadn't been so obsessed with the Titans then she wouldn't-

"If you hadn't set the Titans on that smiling creep using your powers and then ridden like the wind back here, she'd be dead right now and so would nearly everybody else." He elaborated glancing down at the young man. "You protected her as well as you could given those shitty circumstances."

Eren's grip on her hand tightened at that. He felt a little comforted by the words but…

"It wasn't enough. I wasn't strong enough and she suffered for it." He said looking at her face.

"Then get stronger." Levi replied. "That's all you can do really."

Eren nodded and then tensed when Mikasa stirred, a whimper of pain leaving her lips as she shifted her body. Her dark lashes fluttered and she glanced over at him, her dark eyes glassy with pain as he studied him,

"Eren?" She whispered,

"Hey there." He replied offering her a little smile.

"Captain?" She muttered her attention shifting to the man standing next to him.

"How are you feeling kiddo?" Levi replied gently.

"Ok." She replied wincing when she shifted again. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to check on you." Eren replied.

"Oh, Thank you." She replied reaching for her neck. Upon finding it bare her eyes widened and darted around the space before she struggled to try to sit up.

Eren realized right away what she was looking for and sighed carefully pushing her back down when she tried to sit up. He picked up the scarf from where it laid folded on the table next to her bed and gently lifted her head enough to wrap it around her neck.

"Remember what I told you?" He said softly. "I'll do this for you as many times as I need to." He brushed her hair away from her forehead. "Try to get some sleep. I'll be back to check on you again tomorrow ok?"

She nodded her eyes closing gently as he rose from his seat. "Alright. Goodnight Eren. Goodnight Captain. Thank you, for everything."

"That's my line." He replied giving her hand one last squeeze before leaving the space with Levi close behind him.

His green eyes sparked in the dim light as he walked with firm determined steps towards his own room. "I will become stronger." He vowed. "I'll do whatever it takes to make sure she's never in the state again."

Levi nodded. "I know you will."

Author's Notes: Another one shot focused on Mikasa and Eren…. What can I say? I love relationships that develop the way theirs does over time.