Morning everyone!

It is officially the first day of the New Year, and presently I'm still regretting my decision to actually stay up and celebrate. It seems I'm just too old for these things now, because even after finally getting to bed and getting to sleep, ugh. I think Imma need an IV drip of caffeine just to get the day going.

None the less, I am happy to see yall an extra day this week, in honor of the holiday season – and it does somewhat work out well, as I know last chapter isn't the funnest one to have ended on. I don't do a lot of cliffhangers per say, but I do feel there is a time and place for them, and last chapter was most certainly it.

Either way, lets get to it so yall don't in fact, lose your hair :)

…

…

When Petra came to, the first and only thing she could register was pain.

There was pain everywhere. It wasn't localized, it wasn't a specific spot – it was all but a state of being it seemed. She hadn't even opened her eyes yet and she felt her every muscle tense and coil in immediate response. She felt as though she were going to throw up, but that required more energy than she had and she knew the sourness in her stomach wouldn't be going away any time soon. She gave a groan and curled tightly into herself, hearing a muffled sound that slowly began to resonate until she could recognize it as a voice that was calling out to her.

"Petra are you-"

The sound went a little fuzzy again and Petra tightened her still closed eyes all the more, finding it was difficult to think outside the pain she was experiencing.

"-to answer me if-"

The noise was there again, and she felt a sort of jarring which only caused the fiery sensation to build and intensify within her. She felt a moan of pain exit her throat, more than she actually heard it, and she opened her eyes slowly. It was hard to make things out; at first it was just bright blinding light, but then shadows and shades slowly returned, bits of color – and finally definition.

She was pressed against the ground she realized, and while she mentally was aware that she needed to get up off the ground, that required a great deal of strength that she didn't have. She settled for turning her head ever so slowly toward the repetitive noise that kept grabbing her attention instead.

It was Levi…at least, she thought it was Levi anyway. It looked like him, and yet, his eyes were wide and distressed; an expression across his face that reminded her nothing of the stoic Captain and controlled Captain she had seen over the years. She wasn't sure if she had ever seen him look so alarmed before, she mentally noted to herself in exhaustion. Her thoughts were sluggish and hindered from pain and it wasn't long before she lost focus and gave up trying to determine if it was Levi, or someone, or something else.

She exhaled and closed her eyes again as exhaustion blanketed her thickly, and once more the jarring sensation came over her, earning another groan as pain overwhelmed her as a result. With it however, a sort of clarity finally came over her and Petra blinked as she could not only hear, but actually register what she was hearing. It wasn't noise or commotion; it was a voice.

She was being spoken to.

"-need to stay awake. Can you hear me? Petra."

The voice, the person speaking to her, was Levi.

It took her a few moments to register what he was saying, and she gave a slow nod as a way of response, feeling her forehead rub into the dirt as she shook her head slowly. She had to focus past the pain, frustrated as she realized that each action took an exhausting amount of effort on her end. She had to intentionally focus on responding, each word difficult to think of and even more difficult to actually speak, "I…hear you, Captain."

She heard a sigh of clear relief, more than one in fact.

She opened her eyes fully and very slowly, moved one arm beneath her chest and carefully pushed herself off the ground to sit up slightly, feeling her arm tremble beneath her from the simple task of lifting herself into a sitting position. Her head was spinning and she blinked a few times as she sat upright, having to focus on her breathing as a sort of cloud still slowed her thoughts considerably.

Damn, she was dizzy.

She looked around in confusion, seeing Levi first, then her squad mates who were a few feet behind him, each wearing similar wide-eyed expressions. Why were they looking at her like that? She tried to recall what had happened – she knew, some part of her, but it was all kind of hazy, and she looked around at a loss as to what got her here, splayed out on the ground like this. She looked up first, then down around her and noticed there were broken branches and pine needles, various leaves and scattered bits of displaced forest from where she was sitting.

"I fell…" she mumbled, half in realization and half in recollection.

From in front of her, Levi nodded once and she sighed sadly, "Oh…"

She winced and spoke through clenched teeth as a sharp pain ran up her spine, disappointed in herself for causing them all trouble like this, "I'm…sorry Captain."

He shook his head, a dark look falling across his face as he turned over his shoulder, "It's not you who should be sorry, Petra."

She followed his gaze to Oluo, who looked absolutely terrified. The Captain's voice was low as he addressed Oluo directly, "And I'll deal with you in a minute."

Petra sighed and adjusted herself, confused by the Captain's obvious irritation with him. Oluo? What did he do? At her internal question, memory slowly came back to her now that she was conscious again and she could eventually see it all in her mind - the formation, the clanging wires, the falling, the tree branches, and finally, that sound when she hit the ground – what had that been? It was like a cracking or…

Petra looked herself over, noting with wide eyes that her right foot was resting at an unnatural angle below her, limp against the ground in a manner it shouldn't ever be. Seeing this and realizing what actually happened as a result of her long fall, a wave a nausea overcame her and she dry heaved as pain started to overwhelm her at once.

There were multiple people at her side in an instant, "Petra don't look, you'll only make it worse." Eld said quickly, his hands hovering out around her as though he wanted to help her but had no idea how or where to put his hands. Gunther was at her other side, a hand placed on her shoulder gingerly, "You gotta breathe through it Petra; you may have a concussion so you've got to stay awake until the doctor can look you over. Stay sharp, we'll get you taken care of in just a sec."

She gave a weak nod and closed her eyes tightly, but the damage was already done. Being aware of where the pain was localized, having actually seen her grotesque and obviously broken ankle, the pain was exponentially worse and Petra clenched her teeth, hanging her head as an unwanted cry tore through her throat unwittingly.

Gunther grabbed her arm, "Listen Petra, you need to see the doctor. Eld and I can-"

Petra shook her head quickly as she spoke through tightly clenched eyes, "No, where's Levi, I want-"

From somewhere in front of her, she heard a grunt and it grabbed her attention. She opened her eyes in time to see Oluo falling backwards to the ground, a result of likely being kicked in the gut based off the Captain's extended leg. Before he fell too much further, Levi had grabbed his collar and hoisted him back up, his expression twisted into something ugly and feral as he looked down at him, not caring as his subordinate flinched beneath him in outright fear.

Levi's voice was loud and menacing, "Do you have any idea what could have happened? When I give orders, I expect you to fucking listen. Petra could be dead right now because of you!"

"Captain!" Eld called out firmly as he stood up from the ground with a snap, already moving toward the pair in a hurried fashion, "It was an accident. The formation was new to everyone and mistakes are bound to happen." He placed his hand around the Captain's wrist, clamping down firmly and forcing Levi's grip to weaken from around Oluo's collar, "Let him go."

Levi's attention snapped up to Eld darkly, attempting to tighten his grip all the more but unable to as Eld continued to press on his wrist stubbornly, "But he-"

"Will be dealt with." Eld finished his sentence firmly, "Levi, I'm your second in command for a reason right? Trust me to handle this. You are in no position to be addressing Oluo right now – you're not in control of yourself."

Levi looked back to Oluo menacingly, unable to respond to Eld's accusation because he knew full well that he was right. He was angry, enraged even, but unlike Eld, he didn't see why that was a problem. That was to be expected, his reaction was justified even. The fact that Oluo hadn't even thought to look around, hadn't checked his surroundings, hadn't looked first before shooting off his 3DM gear – new formation or not, Oluo knew better, and what was worse, his mistake hadn't harmed him – no, someone else paid for his negligence and Levi simply intended to even the pain ratio between the two.

An eye for an eye, so to speak, and when the person that had been harmed just so happened to be his Petra, well, it made him see red faster than he had thought possible.

Eld tugged at the Captain's wrist again with a fierce shake, forcing him to look at him directly as he shouted, "Levi! Fucking snap out of it and listen to me! Petra needs to be seen by a doctor immediately. Are you seriously going to leave her on the ground in the terrible pain she's in, just so you can beat Oluo to a pulp and make yourself feel better? Explain to me how two injured subordinates are better than one - what will that accomplish in the weeks to come, when only myself and Gunther can actually report for duty?"

Levi heard him, and some part in the back of his mind registered that Eld was right, that at the absolute least Petra came first - yet even so his arm was shaking from unresolved thoughts and Eld's unwanted restraint as he struggled to control his raging temper. He paused for a long moment before looking back toward Petra, frowning as he saw her hunched over form. Her body was also visibly shaking, but for a different reason entirely. She was bleeding and disoriented, and in that moment as she looked up and locked eyes with him – she watched him with a frightened sort of expression that made the air leave his lungs. Her gaze dropped to the ground as though she was too intimidated, too scared to see what was going to happen next and Levi's mouth fell open as a sort of shame came over him in waves.

Eld's voice was suddenly quiet and he leaned closer to Levi as he spoke, also seeing the wordless interaction as well as the Captain's sudden hesitation. "Captain…you're scaring her. Look, we already offered to take her to the medic ward but she…" Eld sighed, "You know she doesn't want me, doesn't want Gunther – it's you she wants. I'm not trying to meddle, but I'm telling you as a friend: You need to let this go and take care of your wife, she needs you right now. It has to be you."

Levi gave a low sigh and looked down to the ground as he spoke, eyes narrowed as he forced control over his body and vengeful mind, his muscles so taut and coiled with the need to strike that it physically pained him to remain still. "…You'll take care of it?"

Eld nodded, even though the Captain wasn't looking at him to see, "You have my word. You're not the only one who is upset by all of this. Go take care of Petra; I've got things covered here."

Levi ground his teeth together and opened his hand fully, one finger at a time, allowing Oluo to fall to the ground in a heap.

He didn't look at Oluo, knowing that he didn't have the control to see him and not want to retaliate just the same. He instead turned toward Petra, walking toward her quietly and frowning as he looked her over again, noting the blood and the dirt and the mess that she was. As bad as her ankle was, that wasn't even half of it. She was absolutely cut up from head to toe, small bleeding abrasions were all over her arms and legs where her uniform had been shredded and torn from the various scraping and impact, and most of her right side was bleeding heavily from where she slammed against the tree and slid to the ground some twenty feet.

He crouched down in front of her, trying to figure out the best way to get her off the ground without harming her further. Unfortunately, he knew full well that moving her at all would cause her immense pain – a certain degree of pain was unavoidable no matter how careful he was because fact of the matter was she was severely injured.

Petra returned his stare with wide eyes, unfallen tears making her eyes red and glassy. He exhaled through his nose and nodded toward Gunther, his voice a whisper, "Get the 3DM equipment off of her and take her blades away. Mine too if you will. I'll take her to the medic ward."

Gunther nodded and Levi grabbed Petra's shoulders carefully, holding her up and stabilizing her while Gunther unlatched the metal canisters from around her waist. As gentle as her teammate was being, the metal pushed her hips just right and she whimpered, rolling her head back and biting her lip in attempts to muffle her cries.

Levi waited for Gunther to finish and he stood up after him, taking off his own gear and handing everything to Gunther in silence. His subordinate grabbed the additional metal canisters from Levi, his hands rather full with all the components he was tasked to carry. Gunther cleared his throat as he grabbed the last gas tank off the ground, nodding toward Levi seriously, "Alright. Can you handle it from here or do you want me to come back and help you carry her?"

"I'll be fine. Thank you."

Gunther walked away without another word and Levi sighed, crouching back down to Petra and lightly squeezed her shoulders, just enough to grab her attention. She pulled her head back up and looked at him with questioning and fearful eyes, breathing heavily from the pain; a sheen layer of sweat glistening over her forehead.

His eyes softened at her frightened expression and he ran a finger lightly down the side of her face in a gentle caress, moving a piece of bloodied hair to the side. "I'm taking you to the medic ward now." He stated quietly, leaning close to her as he spoke so only Petra could hear his hushed words, "Brace yourself. I can't support your ankle so the weight of it hanging while we walk might be a little abrasive, to say the least. You'll just have to endure it."

Petra gave a weak nod, adjusting herself slightly across the ground in preparation. Levi gently placed an arm beneath the crook of her first leg, then gently grabbed her other leg and pulled it into his grasp, the small action earning a sharp hissing sound from Petra as the movement jarred her ankle slightly.

He placed his other arm around her back and grabbed her side, frowning to himself as he realized just how bloodied and cut up she really was. He had no idea how bad her cuts were – if they were actual cuts, or if it was more like raw skin that had been scraped off as she slammed against the rough bark and slid down some twenty feet – but he knew full well she was going to need a lot of stitches with the amount of blood he was feeling underneath her shirt. He exhaled and looked forward, his face a few inches from Petra's.

"You ready?"

She nodded once, her arms moving to his chest and grabbing onto the leather straps of his harness securely.

He leaned back into his heels slightly and tried to be as smooth in his movement as possible, pulling Petra off the ground and into his arms without much jarring movement, but the second her ankle moved from off the ground and hung limply in the air – a loud cry tore out of her and he could feel her hands tighten against his harness further in an immediate pained reaction.

Her eyes were wide at first and she released one hand, bringing it over her mouth in attempts to stifle her cries, a sort of whimpering still coming from her as he walked. She clenched her eyes shut, pants coming out of her mouth and she tried to keep breathing, wincing again as her ankle was consistently jarred with each step taken.

He sighed as he walked, feeling Petra trembling in his arms as though still trying to hold back her tears and appear brave. He was tempted to laugh, but the graveness of the situation sedated his initial amusement of watching his very injured subordinate, still trying to impress him - even at a time like this.

His voice was gentle, "Petra, it's okay to cry. You don't have to put on such a brave face in front of me – I already know how brave you are."

He wasn't sure if he had said something right or wrong, because a sort of squeak left her mouth and she turned her head into his chest, refusing to look at him or acknowledge that she had heard him at all. Even still, he could feel hot tears well into his shirt continuously, and part of him was suddenly tempted to start running so they could get there faster. He was fairly certain that Petra would be in even greater pain from the jarring and bouncing motion that running would bring, and he simply couldn't put her through that when she was already this miserable.

He continued walking cautiously toward the opposite end of the grounds where the medic ward was, reminding himself that they would be there soon enough, he just had to be patient and not let his nerves overwhelm his sense of logic.

As he walked, various Scouts saw him carrying a very bloodied and obviously wounded Petra, and they stopped dead in their tracks, looking in horror as he walked by. Some would just gape, others would walk with him for a few steps and ask if they could do anything – to which he responded that, yeah, they could get the fuck out of the way – before they scurried away in fear.

When he finally did get to the building, he kicked the door open wide enough so he could walk through with Petra still in his arms – his kicking action causing her to tense and cry out as she held onto him tighter still, her grip leaving actual indentions in the leather of his harness from her deeply embedded nails.

He walked to the desk and the receptionist's eyes widened at what she saw. She was instantly on her feet, "What the – what happened here?"

"Get the doctor right now." Levi stated firmly with unquestioned authority, "She needs immediate attention."

"Right." The receptionist came around the desk, waving her hands, "Follow me this way. I'll have you set her down in one of the rooms and while you're doing that, I'll grab him and tell him its urgent. You're Levi, right?"

"Yeah."

"Thought so. In here please, this will be her room for now." The young receptionist stated, walking into a small room and adjusting the bed in the middle of the room so it laid flat, "Set her down here if you will. Is she conscious?"

It was Petra who actually responded, still having her head buried into his chest. He could feel her hot breath through the fabric of his shirt as she spoke, her voice strained and tense, "I'm conscious."

The receptionist nodded, "Good. He's going to lay you down across the bed here, and I'll grab the doctor and a few nurses. It'll only be a few moments okay? You hang in there."

Levi watched the receptionist leave and took a few steps toward the medical bed. He set Petra down, first in more of a sitting position, and Petra slowly released her grip from him, her actions slow and purposeful as she exhaled, bringing a hand to her head as though she were dizzy, before finally placing her arms behind herself and pulling herself more fully onto the bed, trembling weakly as she lifted both her legs upward. Though she was clearly trying, she was weak and extremely uncoordinated, her movements slow and ineffective regardless her effort.

Levi was already at her side however, helping her adjust her body to lay out across the bed, him being the one to forcefully lengthen her legs and pull them out over the bed, grimacing in response as Petra's voice cracked in another pained cry as her ankle was moved to lay flat across the expanse of the bed.

"All done." Levi stated quietly as she was properly adjusted, and Petra gave a shallow nod before laying back against the bed fully, quiet tears still streaming down her face as she tried to somehow ignore the pain that was consuming all of her senses.

True to the receptionist's word, it was only a few moments later and the doctor came in – the same one that had treated Levi previously – as well as a few nurses.

"Well, I'd have to say you've certainly seen better days Mrs. Ackerman." The doctor stated as he came into the room and looked over her, shaking his head at her ankle that was obviously broken even with the concealment of her riding boot, "But not to worry. We'll get you patched up and feeling better in no time. If I may, what happened here Captain?"

The doctor began putting on a pair of gloves, the nurses bringing a tray of metal utensils toward him as he continued to get ready. Levi looked toward the older man and nodded once, "It was a training accident. Her wires clashed with someone else on my squad and she fell an estimated, I'd say, seventy feet as a result. Smacked a few branches on the way down, slammed hard against a tree and slid down to the forest floor; I'm assuming that's why her right side is so torn up like that. Somewhere in that she broke her ankle, and I'm certain she's got a concussion as well, due to the fact she was unconscious for a good minute or so before she came to."

While the pain limited her ability to respond, Petra was surprised to hear Levi's account of the event. She knew about the falling and the scraping and the pain but…had she really been unconscious for that long? She supposed that certainly justified why her squad had been so worried before. She couldn't imagine the thoughts that would have been running through her head had Levi been unresponsive for over a full minute.

The doctor raised his eyebrows and looked at Petra in surprise, "Seventy feet huh? That's quite an accident. I know you may not believe it right now, but you're lucky to be in this good of shape after a fall like that. Most people would have died."

Petra gave a weak nod, face still contorted and her breathing irregular.

The doctor looked her over, then looked toward the agitated Captain who was watching his wife with a critical stare that never left her for even a second – an action that spoke to the depths of his concern for her. The Doctor took a breath of preparation, "First things first. Captain, if you will-" he nodded toward Petra and the Captain nodded back in silent understanding, turning toward his wife and grabbing her shoulders, pressing her down into the mattress and locking his arms in preparation for what was to come.

Petra looked up toward Levi in alarm, his sudden and painfully tight grip worrying her, "Levi what's he-"

The Doctor wasted no time and pulled her riding boot off while a nurse cut the pant leg and harness off her from the knee down. He grabbed Petra's ankle, pulling it taught and making a face as the young girl's scream echoed across the walls of the small room in a gut-wrenching manner.

While it wasn't anything he couldn't handle, Levi was reminded that Petra was deceptively strong for someone of her small stature, her initial reaction almost being enough to lift her broken body clear off the table. He had held her upper body down well enough, but as Petra began kicking at the Doctor in a knee jerk reaction to the extreme amount of pain she was going through, Levi knew he needed to intervene or the process would take even longer. He pressed her upper body down firmly with his forearm and leaned over her in attempts to hold her legs securely, using a combination of his body weight and free arm to hold her steady while the Doctor worked to set her bones back in place.

"It'll be just a moment, Mrs. Ackerman, try to stay as still as you can!" the Doctor grunted out, speaking above her loud cries as he tried to work as quickly as he could to end her suffering.

Petra's previous cries were somewhat stifled from Levi leaning over her firmly, and she tried to calm herself and work through the pain as the Doctor continued manipulating her ankle. She pushed her head back into the mattress in attempt to focus, her grip on Levi's arm tightening from the sheer agony she was being subjected to. A few moments of tense silence passed that was only marred by her heavy panting; the Doctor continued to pull her ankle this or that way, and Petra could only clench and unclench her grip around the Captain's arm while she tried to keep quiet and not thrash around too much.

Try as she may, she was becoming certain that it was just too much. Her vision was getting spotty, she could hardly breathe, she wanted to swallow but her throat was so tight and – she was going to pass out. She wanted to tap Levi's arm, alert him to the fact that she was mentally losing the battle, but as her thoughts got more and more unsorted she realized she wasn't even sure how to get his attention anymore.

"Got it." The Doctor stated finally, and while Petra was expecting a sort of relief to wash over her, hoping that the violent waves of pain would cease now that the Doctor wasn't tilting her broken ankle every which way, she felt a sort of despair as the violent and fiery pain didn't let up in the slightest like she had been expecting.

She gave a whimper in realization that the pain wouldn't be letting up and clenched her hands even tighter around Levi's arm in frustration, biting her inner lip until she tasted blood. Her entire body was aching, her stomach was churning, her head was pounding so hard she was certain her skull would crack; she wasn't even moving and even still she was extremely dizzy. Petra cleared her throat and tried to speak, but her voice cracked and she almost choked on her words as her senses began to dull and fade in and out all over again, "I think I'm gonna…throw up."

Her eyes were still clamped shut, but she could hear Levi's voice very near to her, "They're putting a brace over your leg and preparing a cast for you. The worst part is over now, you're doing well."

Petra gave another whimper as she nodded, pleased initially to hear Levi's encouragement, although it only lasted for a moment as pain continued to overwhelm her thoughts and lessen the impact of his words. She exhaled in a sort of exhausted, broken manner as the medical staff began to secure the cast around her leg, and Petra wondered how much more she could take before her sanity snapped. She had been trying to mentally stay on top of it all, but she knew she was reaching the edge of her limits.

The pain was unbearable.

As if sensing this, the Doctor looked up and addressed her directly, "We're almost done Mrs. Ackerman. Once the cast is set, we will get you some pain medicine and that will make you feel a lot better, very fast. We've just got to get this taken care of first and then it will all become nothing more than a bad memory."

She nodded again and continued holding onto Levi's arm for support as she could feel the heavy sort of material pressed against her calf and a steady motion that caused the material to compress around her leg – the cast she realized internally, though her thoughts were consistently muddied and unclear as exhaustion and over stimulation continued to bite at her weary and overloaded senses.

Time seemed to pass by impossibly slow for Petra as they continued to wind and secure the cast around her, but finally the Doctor gave an exhale, "Alright, and we are done with that. Alyssa, go ahead and inject her directly please, forty CC's should do the trick." The sound of the Doctor's voice was moving and soon his voice was much closer to her; Petra assumed he had walked around the table to address her directly, "The nurse has the pain medicine, and the injection will also contain a high dose of muscle relaxant. We'll give it a few minutes to kick in, prepare some supplies for stitches, and we'll have you cleaned up and ready to go in no time."

There was a large hand on her shoulder, one that felt different from Levi, and she was tempted to look up toward the Doctor that had assisted her, but couldn't find the ability and remained in place with her eyes shut tightly, "You did great by the way. Not many people can stay conscious through something like that – you're one tough Scout to be sure Mrs. Ackerman."

As the doctor spoke, Petra could feel her arm extended and a sort of pinch in her skin, though it hardly even phased her due to the level of pain she was already experiencing. There were a number of footsteps, and finally the room went silent.

As they left the room and a sort of silence began to extend, Petra realized that – she wasn't sure when it had happened now that she thought about it – but Levi's previous hold across her body had completely disappeared. The only thing left that was proof he was still there at all was his forearm that was placed across the base of her chest; although there was no pressure behind it now, his arm was simply resting there. Petra suspected that the only reason it was still there at all was because she was currently holding onto him tightly, even now.

She slowly opened her eyes, biting her lip in a grimace as she squinted at the light before blinking fully and looking at the arm she was still clutching onto. While there were various specs of blood…well, everywhere from the close contact they had had across the fabric of his shirt, Petra noticed in an instant that there were small patches of blood placed exactly where each of her nails were pressed against his arm – she knew it was far too precise to just be chance.

That wasn't her blood she was seeing, it was his.

"Oh shit, Levi – I'm so sorry!" Petra stated in alarm. The shock of realizing that she had actually drawn blood with her tight grip was unknowingly distracting her from the pain, a mix of surprise and guilt overwhelming her instead as she looked up toward him in horror.

She pulled her hands away in an instant, eyes locking with the Captain's as he stared down at her with a strange sort of expression. He was somewhat leaning over her to accommodate her prior hold on his arm, and he gave a shrug as he stood up fully, setting his now free hand down on the bed near her shoulder.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Regardless his nonchalant attitude, Petra's eyes trailed up his arm where there were numerous bloodied crescent moons that littered the expanse of his sleeve. Levi followed her gaze, sighing as Petra's eyes began to turn red and glassy as she continued to stare at his arm with wide eyes, hesitant to just let it go apparently. He leaned down back toward her, trying to catch her attention as he attempted to convey sincerity into his words, "Petra - It's. Fine. They're just scratches that will heal over in a few days; you really should be more concerned for yourself. Is the pain medicine kicking in yet?"

Petra felt tears pricking her eyes, a dull ache throbbing in the back of her eyes as she tried to fight off the sensation. She wasn't sure if it was the pain, or if it was the guilt that was causing her eyes to well up, but she felt her lip tremble and she turned her head away so she didn't have to look at him directly. She attempted to consider his question, noting that while she was still in a great deal of pain, it wasn't all consuming any more. She could think more clearly, her stomach wasn't in so many knots, her breathing was only slightly labored – she adjusted herself across the bed and gave a halfhearted, miserable nod - still mulling over the fact that she had actually harmed her Captain. Pain or not, she should have had better control of herself. She should have realized that she was digging into his skin and-

She heard a heavy sigh, "Petra. Look at me."

Hearing his words, the soft tone he was speaking with, Petra slowly turned her head back toward the Captain, frowning all the more as she caught another glimpse of his arm, a tear rolling down her cheek as she tried to muster up the courage to face him. While some part of her knew it wasn't that big of a deal, it just didn't seem to register like it should have. Even if he would heal, even if they were just small little scratches, she felt terrible.

Levi sighed at her obvious internal struggle and crouched down even further so he was eye level with her. A half chuckle left his throat as he watched another tear slip down her face. He found himself reaching toward her, running his fingers down the side of her face lightly and wiping her tears away with a sweep of his thumb.

"Gods woman…" he whispered, shaking his head as he watched her cry, a guilty expression still marring her features as she returned his stare with large, remorseful eyes. A more pronounced cry left her that caused her shoulders to heave and her face to contort even further from her escalating tears, and he watched her evenly, "Now let me get this straight - your wires get snagged with Oluo's, you fall through the air, you intentionally shoot off the one wire you have, knowing that without the other to counter balance it, it's going to hurt like a bitch when you get rocketed to the one side, you slide down a tree, break your ankle, half your body is rubbed raw – and yet you sit here, crying for me…because of a few scratches?"

She gave another muffled whimper and nodded her head miserably, not at all seeing the point he was trying to make, and Levi gave a sort of laugh as a sincere smile pulled at his lips. He watched her in a sort of wonder, knowing that only Petra would get stuck on such a small detail to the point of actual tears. Of course she would be more worried for him than she was for herself, she had always been like that, yet even still…

He looked to the ground and mumbled, speaking more to himself as a sort of warmness washed over him, "You know, you're really…" he paused as though trying to find the right words and exhaled in defeat, a true smile pulling at his lips. "…Something else."

When he looked back up at her, there was that same strange look in his eye and Levi's smile only grew brighter as he watched her for a prolonged moment, finally reaching back toward her and mussing her hair with a playful sort of nudge.

It was as Petra watched the Captain, surprised by his sincere, gentle smile that her tears stopped and she returned a sort of shy smile of her own, still feeling his lingering touch on her cheek as she absentmindedly smoothed her bloody and matted hair. The fact that he had been the one to be there with her through it all; he hadn't gotten angry or frustrated with her or blamed her for the misfortunate event – as she replayed things over in her mind, how he had carried her in his arms, how gentle his touch was at times, yet how stern and strong he was at others - there was a sudden spark of amusement in Levi's gaze, and he nodded toward Petra with a knowing, smug grin, "And there it is."

Her eyes widened as his statement distracted her from her thoughts and she gave him a confused look, silently asking a sort of 'there what is?' after his non descriptive announcement. Levi smirked and leaned even closer toward her, close enough that his nose was actually brushing against her ear. He heard her take a sharp, surprised inhale from his sudden proximity, though she didn't pull away from him, instead falling perfectly still in a mix of shock and curiosity. He lingered for just a moment and whispered in her ear gently, "You're blushing."

Well, that certainly did it.

Petra instantly pulled her head away from him in a self-conscious huff, her afore mentioned blush growing an even deeper shade of red after being called out so directly. Her mouth was open and she stammered for a few seconds as she tried to formulate a response. Her mind was instantly running a mile a minute, because of course she was blushing! Levi had been watching her with this look in his eye that made her stomach churn and her mouth feel suddenly dry - not to mention he had already been so close before, but after that he had come right up against her, his hot breath in her ear, his lips against her skin, his voice smooth and low as he spoke – how could that not get a rise out of her?

Realizing that she was still the subject of a certain Captain's amused stare, she coughed as Levi continued to watch her smugly. Petra still fought to find her words, which only added to her extreme embarrassment all the more. More than anything, she just couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that… "Are you…are you seriously teasing me right now, Captain? Now, of all times?"

Levi was still leaning toward her, not that far away from her face considering there was only so much room Petra could work with in her attempts to distance herself from him. He shrugged in amusement and watched her with a sort of feigned innocence. He quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head just slightly, "Of course. You're an easy target."

Petra rolled her eyes at his expression and scoffed, returning his stare with what Levi could only assume was supposed to be a reproving sort of glare, though with her red face and pouty lips, he could only laugh all the more before deciding to leave it be. He gave a final chuckle and stood up fully off the bed, though his smirk never fully left his lips.

They continued to watch each other in silence as a sort of amused stalemate fell over the pair, both taking comfort in the other's presence and unaware that they were simultaneously calming each other, now that the worst was finally over.

…

End of Chapter

…

And that will do for this chapter as well. Yall feel better? Hopefully you do. This is a good chapter, and man, there is SO much happening in here that – okay side note, but perhaps its unique to me as an author, but let me just say that I don't always know ALL the answers and each little detail of my characters and plot. Sometimes as I'm writing, a chapter goes a completely different direction and I have to decide if it's because I'm not staying focused, or if it's because while writing and trying to keep everyone in character, it would play out differently than the way I first envisioned it in my mind.

So all that to say, I mentally question here if Petra and Levi are both aware of how much they have changed over the past few months (I don't know!) – in a moment like this where things are a bit hectic and they are too busy to try and be a 'good husband' or a 'good wife' – they are just being each other but with all their changing interactions, their sheer default to how they relate to each other where they don't have the time to put their best foot forward and play the married couple game - In the hecticness of all that's going on around them, are they even AWARE that without even trying any more, they seem to all but hover around each other and function as a true, singular unit?

I don't know, but it's something I like to think about. I enjoyed seeing Levi's fierceness at the start of this chapter, Eld being Eld in a good way and showing everyone exactly why he's Levi's right hand man, and then just everything after that and their calm through the storm type relationship because they trust each other – I'll stop. I could write a novel off my thoughts on this chapter alone, and I doubt yall want that.

So. I'll wrap it up and say yall are the best, and I look forward to continue writing for yall in the year to come :)

~Midnight