Levi's head snapped towards the sudden sound coming from the other side of the wall. He could hear the distress in Oruo's voice as he repeated Petra's name over and over again, with silence being the only answer. His muscles sprang in reaction, launching himself to the edge of the wall so he could peer over it. He watched in horror as her body was flung into the thick bark of a nearby tree, the crack of her bones colliding with force caused him to flinch involuntarily. Each of the senior members made a move towards the edge but he cast his arm out to stop them. Time was not on their side, but they could not afford to be reckless.

She was wedged between two branches, unconscious from what he could tell. The titan's attention had returned to Oruo and the recruit he had within his grasp, as they dangled from the edge of the wooden lift.

"Eld- Gunther, get Oruo and the kid up here. Mike- the abnormal is yours."

"With pleasure." The man mumbled before shouting out orders to the rest of his team.

The words grew incoherent as his focus honed in on Petra's mangled form. He scanned for a way down, and readied himself to launch. "Levi, wait-" A firm hand clasped his shoulder.

His head whirled around to stare it's owner in the eyes, a threatening look etched within his features. He was met with Hanji's concerned gaze and knew that whatever she had to say was important for him to hear.

"There's no way to know what's broken, but it's best to assume the worst. If you move her on your own, you'll risk making things worse."

"Figuring out the best way for me to get her up here is your job." It was a harsh reply, but his mind was focused on only one thing and that was getting to her.

Returning his gaze to her figure below he plunged himself over the wall and scaled his way down to her. Her body was covered in abrasions, her copper hair a tangled mess; but the trickle of blood seeping from a gash above her brow is what alarmed him more than anything else. Tearing a piece of fabric from his uniform, he applied pressure to cut; waiting for the bleeding to slow before attempting to move her. Carefully he laced his arm around her back and began the task of freeing her from her wedged spot. As he worked, she began to stir. Her amber eyes fluttered open, revealing the confusion etched into them.

"Levi?"

Her voice was hoarse and his name missing a title. "Don't move, Petra."

Her jaw clenched tightly as she made an effort to lift herself. "Dammit I said don't move."

It was clear she was ignoring him as she slid a delicate hand underneath her, crying out sharply at the action. "Holy shit-"

His slanted eyes widened at her choice of words for a moment before returning to their permanent scowl as he interupted her chain of curses. "I told you not to move."

"I'm fine." She hissed out through clenched teeth.

It was clear from the unnatural angle of her shoulder that it was dislocated. Reaching for her hand on that same side he carefully took it into his grasp, examining her almond nails for discoloration. The light purple creeping in told him how serious the injury was.

"Can you tell me where the majority of your pain is?" He asked studying her expression. If she was awake, it was possible they could make it to the lift without putting anyone else at risk.

"Just my shoulder." She grimaced and lowered her gaze. She was lying.

He felt his muscles tense at that but before he could question her further she was shifting her weight to stand. Using her uninjured arm, she pulled herself up; staggering from the swiftness of the motion. She was standing, but he could see that the full intensity of the pain was beginning to take effect. Her flushed cheeks began to drain of their color and she looked as if she was going to be sick at any moment. Careful to avoid her injured side, he picked her up bridal style, ignoring her moans of protest. "I'm not going to risk you passing out while we're trying to scale a wall. You'll just end up killing us both."

She stopped trying to fight against him and let her body relax so he could focus on the task at hand. Hanji had lowered the lift further so that the distance was no longer as great as before. Still, it wouldn't be easy. He was mindful of her injuries and of not wanting to make them any worse. How exactly she was awake at all was a question he could only guess the answer to. Perhaps it was the adrenaline from being thrown into a tree, or something like that. Either way he wanted to avoid injuring her further.

He glanced down to see her doe eyes staring back up at him. "Any suggestions?" He asked not expecting a response.

"I've survived a lot of things Levi, I'm sure I can survive this. Just do it fast, okay?" The corners around her swollen lips turned up slightly and he gave a curt nod.

Moving towards the edge of their branch he decided talking to her might keep her mind from focusing on the pain of her wounds. "You must really feel like shit, Ral."

She sucked in a tight breath from the jostling of their walk. "What makes you say that?"

Positioning himself as close to the edge as possible he glanced over to their destination. Hanji was standing on the wooden surface waiting to assist him when they reached it. "I've never heard you say just my name before."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Captain."

He felt something close to a laugh form in his chest but forced it back down. "Hm. Hilarious."

Pushing himself from their branch he launched them both into the air, using the gas mechanism to help propel them forward. They landed hard, but he positioned himself to take the brunt of the impact. Setting Petra down carefully he captured her eyes with his. "Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head to each side before releasing a shaky breath.

"I need to take a look at that shoulder" Hanji mumbled to herself while removing a small knife from her belt. "It'll be less painful if I cut your shirt instead of trying to get your arm out."

Petra's jaw tightened once again but she agreed.

Hanji wasted no time slicing the white fabric of her shirt off of her body, leaving her in only a plain black sports bra. If it weren't for the deep purple of her skin covering her entire side, he might have stopped to admire the curves of her figure.

The lift lurched as they reached the top of the wall. To his relief, the recruits had been led back to the barracks and all that remained was his squad and Moblit.

"That looks terrible." Oruo muttered under his breath.

"That's because it is." Hanji snapped before returning her attention to Petra once more. "I need to set it before it gets worse. If you try and make it back to the barracks, you could risk more tearing."

"Do it now then." She forced out through clenched teeth.

"Levi- keep her still." Taking Petra's slender arm in hers she gave her an apologetic look. "This is going to hurt like hell."

With a calculated pull on her arm, Petra cried out in pain before an audible 'clunk' could be heard.

Petra's brows furrowed in concentration as her lashes fluttered slowly.

"She's going to pass out." Levi spoke, hoping to alert Hanji.

He watched as she tried to argue, her voice growing distant. "No I'm-"

"Oh!" Hanji's eyes grew wider as Levi moved to support Petra's weight, her head coming to rest against his shoulder. "Well that's to be expected! Probably best that she stays out too."

Reaching a steady hand out towards the bruised skin over her side, Hanji sighed. "Looks like a few broken ribs. The cut on her head doesn't look too bad- should be able to clean it and leave it to heal on its own."

"Are we done here?" He asked, his voice teetering on the edge of annoyance. Not that his fowl mood was directed towards anyone in particular.

"We are. Not much else we can do. The fractures in her ribs will heal in time. She'll need a sling for the shoulder to keep it stable..." The woman paused seemingly lost in thought. "I'll see if I can track down something for the pain."

Levi studied her as she trailed off. He had rarely seen Hanji in such a serious mood. In most cases she was only ever like this when discussing her beloved titans. "Oiy. What's gotten into you?"

"Huh?" She blinked a few times. "Nothing... It's just- Well its Petra. Sewing you up doesn't bother me much but for some reason seeing her like this is... difficult."

He decided to leave her be with that response. She was right after all. Seeing anyone else battered and bruised was far easier than seeing her. It made his nerves tense up even though he knew she would be fine after a few days.

Placing her down on a cart they began the trek back towards their barracks. The crowds that usually gathered at the gate had long since disbanded, and their journey home was relatively calm.

Once they arrived Hanji mumbled something about going to fetch a few items for Petra's arm. "I'll bring them to her room in a few."

She turned to leave and he grabbed her wrist stopping her movements. "You can bring them to my room."

Before she could react he released her from his grasp and sent her on her way. Turning to scoop Petra's sleeping form from the cart he remembered the rest of his squad still standing behind him. "Clean yourselves up. We'll talk later."

Her entire body radiated in intense pain. It was difficult to know what parts of her were even injured with every nerve pulsating within her. She attempted to move her stiffened fingers, her eyes struggling to open as she felt the soft bedding beneath her.

It was clear that she was in a room, but it didn't belong to her. The smells were different from her usual lavender scent; it smelled clean, much cleaner than her own, but it was calming all the same.

As she tried her luck at lifting her body she felt strong arms restrain her. "I'm surprised you're awake." His voice was stern but he helped her sit up fully.

"Are we in your room?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

She looked down in horror at her bloodstained pants. She was filthy. Suddenly the pain was of little concern.

"How could you let me get in your bed looking like this?" She groaned before allowing herself to lean back against him again.

Her body was exhausted, and the fact the she was in such an intimate position with her captain didn't seem to register. Pain has a funny way of simplifying things, and she was grateful for that now. She would allow herself to show weakness in front of him for once. She was tired, and he had been the one to bring her here.

"You're not in my bed. You're on top of it."

It was true. They were laying on top of his bed; she said a silent prayer of thanks for not creating a mess of dirt in his clean sheets. She was surprised to see that he was also still in his clothing from the last few days.

"I need to clean up." Her voice was hoarse and cracked near the end, but he didn't argue. Instead he slid himself from behind her and made his way to the bathroom. She had forgotten that he had his own private one within the barracks. All of the high ranking officers did.

She listened as he turned on the water and felt herself slowly began to slip back out of consciousness, until more arms slid around her uninjured side lifting her carefully from the bed. "You can sleep in the bath."

The heat rushed to her face at the realization that he was going to help her bathe. She groaned again. "There's no way in hell you're going to see me naked in this state." Her words began to dip in volume as the dizziness rushed to her head.

Not only was he going to see her bruised and battered body, but she was going to pass out as well. Great. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and Levi stopped.

"Are you... crying?"

"No." She snapped. Her head was pounding. It would make sense if she had a concussion after being thrown through the air like a lifeless doll and smacking into a tree. It still didn't help the situation but she would use it as an excuse anyway.

Levi sat her on the edge of the tub as he helped to undo the various straps on her pants. "Don't look, okay? I look awful."

His slate eyes seemed indifferent as he continued to help her. "There's nothing wrong with the way you look, Petra." He grumbled, focusing on removing a buckle that was proving to be difficult.

She sniffled. "My body is purple, Levi."

"Fine-" He cut her off. "Alright- Just don't start crying again. I can't handle that shit."

She nodded silently before speaking up once again. "You'll have to cut my bra."

He froze then, "What?"

"My bra... you'll have to cut it-"

"I know what you said. I was just hoping you didn't- For fucks sake, just forget it." His eyes furrowed in concentration and he pulled a knife from his belt.

"Why do you have a knife? Hanji had one too..." Why the hell didn't she have one?

"What?"

"Nothing-"

"Are you feeling alright?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I feel like I was thrown into a goddamn tree." She murmured with an agitated frown.

"Put your hand here." He said placing it on her breasts for her so that the fabric would stay up. "I can't not look and cut the straps."

With a quick motion he sliced them both and she released the breath she hadn't realised she was holding. Helping her to stand he angled his head away from her while she shimmied out of her remaining clothing and stepped into the bath. The bubbles from the soap helped to obscure her body from sight. She could see now the red tinge on the tops of his ears and couldn't help but release a comfortable sigh.

There was a sound of someone running into the door and then a hushed string of curses before a light tap sounded.

"Its Hanji. Just stay here and try not to drown."

Moments passed and she felt herself growing dizzy with exhaustion again. Drowning in her captains tub didn't seem like a terrible idea for a moment, but an overly hyper Hanji bounded into the small bathroom jostling her from her slumber before she could.

"Petra, I'm glad to see you're doing better. Levi tried to keep me out, but then he mentioned you were-" She leaned her head out of the door and called to the short agitated man waiting outside. "How did you say it, Levi? Oh! Right." She returned to her place and kneeled in front of the tub. "He said you seemed out of it and kept crying."

The scowl returned to Petra's face. "Yes, something like that."

"Well, with the speed you went flying into that tree with, I'd say you probably have at least a mild concussion. It shouldn't kill you."

"Thanks Squad Leader-"

"Oh! I brought you some medicine that should help with the pain. Though I'd probably say you should wait until after you're done bathing to take it. A girl your size will be out in minutes from that stuff."

"Thank-"

"And I brought you a sling. You'll definitely want to keep that on-"

"Alright that's enough. Your voice is giving me a headache." Levi interrupted before pushing her from the confined space.

She could hear them continue going back and forth for a while longer before the door finally shut. The pain radiating through her body was growing in intensity and being knocked out seemed like the best thing that could happen. Sliding herself forward with a groan of agony, she lowered herself into the water further so her hair could soak. There was no way she'd be able to use her hands to clean it any since one was useless and the other was keeping her from slipping under completely.

"Are you done?"

"I think so." She pulled herself up grimacing as she did.

Levi stepped nearer to her, keeping his eyes averted and held out a towel with one hand while holding her hand with the other.

"You'll have to wrap it around me." Her voice came out as a tired whisper.

Wrapping the towel around her fully, she flinched when he skin brushed against hers, but he seemed not to notice. Instead he simply helped her to his bed and sat her down on the edge.

"You'll have to help me with this part." He spoke to her gently. The calm tone of his voice caused her to gape at him in surprise, but she nodded still. He carefully laced her injured arm through a large shirt and then over her head, while she pulled her other arm up and through the remaining hole. As she sat there he helped to dry her hair more with an extra towel she hadn't noticed before, her eyes resting on his chest in front of her.

"Your shirt is ruined." She said as she traced the blood stain that had undoubtedly come from her the wound on her head.

"It's just a shirt."

"No." She placed her hand back in her lap. "This one is your favorite. You wear it more than the others."

She knew she wasn't wrong but her face still heated up at the fact that she had even mentioned it.

Choosing to ignore her observation, Levi helped her slip into the sling Hanji had brought for her and then lowered himself once more. He lifted each leg carefully into a pair of shorts and then motioned for her to stand so he could slid them up the rest of the distance. Once they were secure she let the towel fall to the floor and he took her hand leading her to slide under to blankets of his bed.

"Are you sure this is a good idea- I mean, me sleeping here." She asked hesitantly.

Placing a small tablet in her hand she lifted it to her mouth, grabbing the glass of water he held out for her and swallowing. "I doubt you sleeping in my bed would be considered the main issue of this evening."

Right. Of course. She had just bathed in his tub and he had helped her. Even if he had kept his eyes focused on other things, the entire ordeal was far more intimate than it should have been. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't help the fact that you were injured." He moved from the bed and made his way to the door. "I have to go but I'll be back. Get some rest."

And she did.