Good morning everyone, and what a GREAT morning it is.

So aside from the fact that I have made a lot of updates over the past few days, things go back to normal and I'll be sticking true to the Sunday updates as usual. But. Getting to upload so much material – at least so much for me anyhow – was a nice change of pace and I'm glad that as always, yall showed up to support. Made me smile!

What's more, for mah boys in Red, wow it has been a CRAZY last few weeks regarding the NFL and through a great string of events, the Chiefs aren't playing this week of the playoffs because we got the second seed for our division. Very good thing, because that really increases a team's odds for going to the Superbowl. What was even better than that? Watching the Titans upset the Patriots last night and get kicked out of the running – yes. So much yes.

And more good news? I found four authentic sinistea pokemon, and a shiny shiinotic in my quest for a shiny sinistea, and after only three hours of grinding, I'd say those are some serious results. 2020 is starting out to be an amazing year yall.

…

…

"How are we feeling now Mrs. Ackerman?" the Doctor and his entourage finally returned.

"Better." Petra confirmed as she looked toward him, "Still in pain, but it's tolerable. My head's kinda…fuzzy." She admitted in a sort of frown, watching as the staff moved around the room in preparation.

The doctor nodded and watched her sternly, "Yes, that is a bit of a side effect that you may find gets worse over the next few hours, but it comes with the territory. Now I want to remind you outright that just because you aren't feeling the pain doesn't mean it's not there. I've found that pain medicine is a drug that tends to give people a rather audacious sense of false confidence, so don't make the mistake of thinking you're fine and go about your day like normal because you are in fact quite injured and need to rest properly. Straining yourself will only prolong your recovery and could have lifelong impacts, so don't you dare push it."

She could only nod in return at his stern warning, and he continued a bit more lightly, "Alright, well now that your leg is taken care of, let's patch your side up and get you on your way."

The small team moved around her, and she felt a line of cold metal at one of her wrists, the sensation grabbing her attention as she tried to focus her mind on what was happening around her. The nurse began cutting the sleeves off her arm with a pair of metal scissors, and she caught Petra's wide eyed stare and explained, "With so many injuries, we'd rather just take this approach then risk injuring you further with the buttons and moving you around as you may have other injuries we can't immediately see."

"No that's fine, I understand it's just…" Petra was suddenly blushing immensely as she responded, which surprised Levi to some extent. Considering that she had no qualms about being seen by complete strangers in nothing more than an impossibly small pair of shorts and simple sports bra, he wouldn't have guessed that she would be so outright shy regarding the medical staff. It wasn't until her worried stare connected with his and her blush deepened exponentially, that he realized it wasn't the medical staff at all – it was him. It was the fact that he was there, watching as they cut the bloodied fabric from off around her.

His eyes narrowed as her stare lingered on him all the more, and begrudgingly, with a loud sigh, he turned his back toward her; away from her and the medical team, resting back against the frame of the hospital bed with an aggravated scowl. There was a giggle that came from the nurse that had watched this wordless interaction, apparently finding Petra's reservations to be a source of outright entertainment.

"Oh, don't worry Captain Levi," she laughed, which only soured his mood all the more, "Believe it or not but this is actually very common for married couples! Regardless any previous comfort or intimacies they share, people tend to get really self-conscious about their bodies after being injured, women especially. Give it time and I'm sure things will go right back to normal; you'll see."

Levi rolled his eyes, finding the well-intended nurse had no damn clue what she was talking about, because while yes they were married, they were certainly not your run of the mill couple and there was no 'normal' they would 'get back to' in terms of intimacy, because to date he had never seen Petra in any compromised state of dress. If he were being honest, he had assumed that seeing her exposed considerably, if not completely naked, would be unavoidable due to the nature of her injuries and the work the medical staff would need to see to, but considering the fact that he was both her Captain and her husband, he didn't see that to be a problem. Petra knew he was a professional, same as her, and had seen more than his fair share of skin and injuries and everything else in between – but it was just that Petra was seemingly so taken back by the mere notion of him seeing her like that, so her haunted, begging look made him reconsider. He was certain now that just standing and watching as they undressed her would make him feel like some sort of creep because she was so obviously mortified with just a single sleeve gone, let alone being seen in even less.

As he stood now, with his back to her where he could see absolutely nothing that was happening behind him, he found he was thoroughly frustrated. He wanted to see her – but not like that or because of some desperate, perverse reason. He wanted to see her injuries for himself – to know the extent of the harm that had come to her and to know what they would be up against in terms of future rehabilitation and immediate care. He knew instinctively that he would be the one caring for her - even if she didn't want his help, she really didn't have a choice in the matter because he…perhaps some part of him needed to be there to make sure that she was healing, to watch her body repair itself and to know that things were on the mend and that no permanent damage had been done to her.

Some part of him felt responsible for the accident. Perhaps he should have known from the start that the formation was a bust. If not that, then he should have been able to find a way to get to her faster, he should have protected her but…he hadn't, and here they were. He figured that the least he could do now was to see to her recovery – something that would be infinitely more difficult if he couldn't even fucking see her injuries to start with!

"There's a lot of blood here," the doctor commented from behind him, "Alyssa, go ahead and work on cleaning the right side up from all the bark and splinters. She'll keep bleeding like this until we get the stitches in place, so put some gauze on her side to keep that blood loss to a minimum."

"Yes, sir."

There were some footsteps heard, "Any tenderness here?" the doctor asked from somewhere behind him, and Petra responded with a light, "No."

"Alright good, here?"

"Uh, maybe a little."

"Alright and he-"

There was a sharp hiss that came from Petra, followed by a sort of whimper, and while Levi's curiosity was perked and he had to fight his initial response of turning around, he hesitantly remained facing ahead toward the empty expanse of the room, clueless as to what was going on behind him and frustrated all the more.

The doctor spoke after a slight pause, "Hm, the tenderness suggests an injury, and there is some rather prominent bruising. If I place my fingers right here, on a scale of one to-"

There was a loud and pained gasp that came from Petra, and again Levi had to fight his immediate response to turn around and see what the hell the man was doing that was causing her even further pain. Had he missed something? There was her side, her head, her ankle, but to his immediate knowledge there weren't any further injuries that would cause such a response. Fuck, he wished he could see what was going on. What the hell was happening back there?

"Hm," The Doctor said as Petra panted loudly, "The bruising is consistent with previous cases I've seen before, so I'm going to have to say you broke a rib here as well. Based off my experience, it's just the one rib, and luckily for you, it's low enough in your rib cage that you won't have to worry about a punctured lung if you move the wrong way." The doctor gave a small chuckle, "I must say, you certainly know how to go all out when you have an accident, don't you? Missing half your side, broken ankle, broken rib, concussion, various abrasions, soft tissue damage – the works!"

Petra didn't respond, and the nurse spoke from the other end of the bed, "I'm all cleaned up on this end. The gauze is already starting to bleed through, so we'll need to either be diligent about keeping it changed out, or get to stitching it closed quickly."

"Thank you, Alyssa. Go ahead and clean up the other cuts on her arms, then set to work on the gash on her head. Her hair is getting pretty saturated so I can only assume she'll need a few stitches there as well."

"Yes, sir."

There was a silence that fell over the room as the medical team worked in a controlled chaos of reporting the various injuries they found, gauze here, will need stitches there - and after what seemed like forever, they had finally cleaned her injuries sufficiently that they were able to move to the next step.

"So we're all set?" the doctor asked, breaking the previous thick silence, and finally a nurse responded.

"We're all ready and prepped for stitches, sir."

"Alright if you will, let's get a few anesthetics for the larger skin abrasions prepared – Alyssa if you can administer those shots please? And while that's happening, let's get a sheet here for Mrs. Ackerman; make her a little more comfortable now that she's cleaned up a bit." The direction of the Doctor's voice changed and Levi could tell he was being addressed directly, "I can't help but assume we have a very anxious Captain that wants to know the wellbeing of his wife."

"Right away, sir."

Though Levi hadn't said or done anything further that would have given his irritation away, it seemed the Doctor wasn't fooled by his silence in the slightest, and Levi found that he was both grateful and relieved that the Doctor was so adept because the not knowing was driving him mad.

As the nurse hovered around her, injecting her body at the various sites where she would be needing stitches, Petra's voice broke through the silence and based off the trajectory of her voice, it was likely that she had turned toward him directly as well. "I didn't think of that. I'm sorry Captain, I don't mean to…"

"It's fine. It's okay if you're self-conscious right now." He stated simply, and considering the Doctor was suddenly busying himself at the opposite end of the room where Levi could actually see him for once, Levi could tell he was intentionally trying to at least look busy in attempts to give them even the smallest sense of privacy.

He sighed as he stared ahead, pensive as he tried to explain his thoughts to her and trying his damndest to remain patient, even though he sure as hell didn't feel an ounce of patience left within him, "I suppose this is as good a time to say this as any, but I hope you know that I would never take advantage of a situation like this. That's not…that's not what I'm after here Petra, and I would hope that you already know that."

"Well of course, you've already proven that, more than once in fact." She whispered quietly, "See it's not so much that, it's just…"

She groaned weakly as she tried to organize her thoughts, finding that while her overall pain level had greatly reduced, she was now just starting to feel exhausted. What was more, her thoughts were starting to run away with her and it was hard to keep focused on any particular line of thought. Her head continued to get more and more…fuzzy…was the only word she could think of to describe it, though she tried to remain vigilant and respond true to how she felt about it.

She frowned and looked toward him, even though he wouldn't be able to see her worried expression as she spoke through a sigh, "Levi, you're always so perfect. You're so good at everything and the fact that I'm in this condition from stupid training," she sighed and looked toward the ceiling as she continued, an undeniable sadness to her voice, "It's embarrassing to me. I train so hard and then this happens and…I don't want to be seen by anyone while wearing a cast, don't want to be seen as weak or broken, but especially not by you of all people. I want to be seen as strong and competent and skilled and-"

He blinked in utter confusion, turning his head back over his shoulder where his voice would be more clear, but not enough where he could actually see her, "Petra, the fuck are you even talking about right now? You realize that if it weren't for how strong, and competent, and skilled you are, we'd be loading your fucking corpse into a body bag this very minute?" He paused as irritation continued to come over him, because her inability to see the obvious was a marvel to him, "Fucking hell, woman. I don't know what else I can do to get it through your thick skull that the only one who thinks that you're weak is you. Half the damn Regiment is more afraid of you now than they are of me."

Before Petra could respond, there was a musical "Here we are!" from the nurse, who shot Levi a smile as she walked back into the room carrying a baby blue sheet. She stood beside him for a moment and spoke as she worked to splay the sheet out around Petra carefully. "There we go. Little bit more privacy for our more conservative patients." She gave a giggle and Petra gave a quiet 'thank you'.

There was a familiar hand on his shoulder, and he finally looked back toward her hand with a quirked eyebrow.

"Can I actually turn around again?"

"Yeah."

He wasted no time and redirected himself then and there, and while he was grateful that he wasn't staring aimlessly into the hallway, he supposed looking at her bloodied head and a large blue sheet that covered the rest of her…wasn't all that much better. Even though the sheet had just been placed on her, it didn't escape his notice her right side was already bleeding through the fabric, and when the Doctor caught Levi's concerned and alarmed gaze, he nodded.

"Captain," the Doctor motioned with a curl of his fingers, and Levi moved around the table to stand beside him. The man placed his hand just at her side, right beneath the swell of her bustline to ensure that the sheet didn't get raised unnecessarily high, and pulled the sheet up to reveal her injuries, "In terms of damage to her skin, this here is the worst of it."

Levi gave a nod, frowning at once as the sheet was lifted to reveal a gruesome series of abrasions and torn skin. Like the doctor stated, a majority of her skin was just rubbed off, severed heavily, and bleeding profusely even now. The doctor spoke as Levi continued to survey the damage in solemn silence, "We'll stitch the skin together here and here, which will take a while due to the limited tissues that are left. We should have enough to not need to rely on skin grafts though, but you'll need to be diligent about keeping the wound clean because an infection from an injury with this much surface area could be…devastating."

He walked around the table again, Levi in tow, and nodded simply toward Petra's head, "You can see the gash there now that we've got her hair separated from the injury. There's a lot of blood, but headwounds bleed a lot; just a few stitches is all she'll need there." He paused at her other side, again placing his hand across her torso strategically as he revealed her opposite side, "And around here, where the bruising and swelling is, right about here," the doctor motioned with a pointed finger, looking at Levi as he explained, "Is where her broken rib is. We'll have to treat that last by wrapping her chest tightly so that it forces the rib to remain and heal in place."

Again Levi nodded, more than grateful that the Doctor had found a way to show him her more prominent injuries that didn't leave Petra feeling so exposed and vulnerable – in a way that made her feel so outright uncomfortable. The man sighed and gave the Captain a single nod, "We'll get to stitching her up in just a second, then when we go over the paperwork, you and I can talk about care in the days to come as well, and how long I'll be putting her out on leave."

Petra's voice rang out, "Wait, on leave?"

Both Levi and the Doctor looked toward her with wide eyes, and the older man was laughing, "Wow you are a tough one, aren't you? Well Mrs. Ackerman, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but yes – I will in fact be putting you on a medical leave of absence for a minimum of six weeks. Potentially longer if your bones try to heal out of alignment. We'll decide that sort of thing later, based on how your follow up appointments go."

Petra almost sat up from her bed in alarm, though as her skin pulled and her ribs ached from the motion, she relaxed at once, hissing from the pain she had caused herself as she laid back against the hospital bed. She took a sobering breath and looked back toward the two men in agitation once the pain subsided, "You're trying to tell me that I'll be off duty for six weeks?"

"Longer." Levi stated flatly, his expression gravely serious and communicating wordlessly that it was not up for discussion when Petra's mouth fell open in outright dismay, "You may be on medical leave for six weeks, but once that is completed I myself will be putting you on leave for the purpose of rehabilitation. I don't know how long that might take mind you, but you'll need time to rebuild your strength and I won't be able to pair you back with the squad just because your cast is off. I'll work with you myself to ensure that you are ready, but that will take time and I won't hear a word of your complaints along the way, is that understood? I want an affirmative answer, Petra."

Petra gave a tense sigh, trying to compose her suddenly frustrated and agitated self, and gave a single disappointed nod, mumbling a dejected 'Yes, Captain.' and falling silent again.

The doctor had watched this interaction with a quiet smile, saying nothing more on the matter and turning his attention toward his medical team, "Alright everyone, if we're all set then let's get to our stations and get focused."

…

…

It had taken over an hour of constant, intensive work for the medical staff to stitch Petra back together – literally – but finally, the doctor cut the last and final thread with a metallic snip of the scissors and stood up fully with a smile.

He gave Petra a grin and nodded, "And that takes care of that. I'll have Alyssa wrap you up nice and tight so we can get that rib well on its way to healing, but that's it! While she's doing that, Captain, I've got those release forms I'll need you to fill out as well as forms to sign for her leave, so if you'll come with me, please?"

Levi said nothing but followed after the man quietly, and one of the nurses came to Petra's side, offering her a hand to carefully pull her from off the bed and into a seated position, "Alright now, carefully gonna move you up here," she explained as she guided Petra's movement upward and Petra blinked at the strange sensation, struggling to understand what was being said to her. "For the next few days at least, you'll need to move very slowly while your skin adjusts to the stitches and starts to heal up on its own. We don't want your stitches to break nor your skin to tear, so take it easy, okay?"

Petra gave a nod, more for politeness sake than actual understanding, bringing a hand to her head and mumbling through a groan, "Ugh, my head. I'm so dizzy. It's like my brain has slowed down or something because it's hard to focus or think clearly. I feel weird. Is this normal?"

The nurse nodded, "Yeah, that tends to happen to our patients that are suffering from a concussion, and like the Doctor said, strong pain medicine tends to come with those side effects as well. I can't imagine how you feel, having both impact you at the same time." She moved across the room as she spoke, "Not to worry though - the doctor will put all the aftercare instructions in your release papers that he's reviewing with your husband, along with your prescriptions by the way, but in short for your concussion, get a lot of rest, drink a lot of fluids, avoid any strenuous exercise and you'll be fine. If you develop any light sensitivities or experience migraines in the next seventy-two hours, let us know."

Petra nodded again at her words, and the nurse moved toward one of the desks, grabbing a large roll of white fabric bandages and returning toward her side dutifully, "Alright, now pay attention because this is how you'll need to wrap your chest for the next three weeks - and you'll need to do it right or your rib may not set properly."

The nurse demonstrated the proper technique, explaining what she was doing and why as she wrapped the thin fabric around her securely, starting from below the dip of her ribs, all the way up to just underneath her shoulders. She explained techniques of how to know that she was wrapping it tight enough to keep the bone locked in place, but not so tight as to cause discomfort or shortness of breath, and finally, she wrapped the fabric in a sort of knot and smiled toward her, "And that's how it's done."

As the nurse was finishing up, a knock was heard on the door, and Levi's voice came through the door, "It's me. Can I come in, or you not done in there?"

Petra looked up toward the door, "It's fine, Captain."

While it was a little unnerving to know that she was essentially wearing nothing more than glorified chest bindings that felt as thin and sheer as paper mache, she supposed that her sports bra concealed even less (at least, that's what she told herself, even though it certainly wasn't true) and she tried not to think too much about it when Levi came into the room. She knew full well that as he gave her a simple head nod, he was making a point of being intentionally casual, although to his credit - it did set her a little more at ease as he came to stand beside her without a prolonged glance or a surprised stall in step.

He held up a manila folder, "I've got all your discharge paperwork right here. As soon as you're ready, Doctor says we can go."

Petra nodded and looked herself over, still feeling the room sway with every little move she made, and eventually frowning when she thought about being seen by the entire regiment in such a state. The Captain – one single man that she happened to trust immensely – was one thing, but the entire regiment was another. Due to the injuries being mainly sustained on just her torso, they had neglected to cut off her pants, save for just the one leg from the knee down, so she supposed it wouldn't be that big of a deal, and yet…

She cleared her throat and looked toward the nurse still in the room, "Hey uh, Ms. Alyssa was it? By chance do you all have spare uniforms or something? I know it could be worse, but I don't want to be paraded around the campus like this. It's a little, uh…lacking. And…sheer."

Petra had whispered the last word, as though it were some great secret, and the nurse nodded and gave a laugh of her own, "Yeah, I could see where walking around like that might raise a few eyebrows or gain some unwanted attention." She paused and seemed to think the request over, "I know we don't have full on uniforms but if you give me a second I can check for-"

"No need," Levi's voice grabbed both women's attention and he was already unbuttoning his white dress shirt, agreeing outright that he did not want Petra to be seen by others in her current state of dress. Even if she had been okay with it, he sure as hell wasn't. The wrapping clung to her breasts, was thin and sheer and so tight to her skin that had he taken a longer glance earlier, he knew full well there would be little he couldn't see – so the mere thought of other men looking at her so exposed and vulnerable, seeing her body in ways they had no right to, made him more than happy to provide her with some much needed coverage.

His voice was low and even, betraying none of his thoughts, "You can use mine."

When Petra merely stared at him with wide eyes as he worked on his shirt, one button at a time, Levi's eyes narrowed at her suddenly flustered gaze as she blinked a few times as though outright confused, "What? Not enough for you? Wait, don't tell me you need the whole damned sheet again. Since when have you been such a prude?"

Petra shook her head and felt a heat rising to her face, "No, no that's fine, it's just-"

She watched as he pulled the fabric upward, untucking the shirt from beneath his pant line, his muscles flexing and pulling taut across his arms and back as he pulled his arms out of the sleeves, freeing himself from the fabric completely. Petra took a long breath as she tried to not allow her mind to wander from having watched such a thing, irritated that a mere moment ago she couldn't focus on anything, but now all of the sudden, she couldn't stop focusing on his bare chest. What the hell was wrong with her? She forced herself to look across the room before he caught her stare, praying that somehow Levi would not notice her intense blush.

She mentally groaned as her mind traitorously replayed the image through her mind - Why now of all times?

She had seen Levi shirtless perhaps more times than she could count in her life and it never bothered her, never really distracted her or made her mind start racing with less than wholesome thoughts – but perhaps, she supposed it was only natural, considering she was starting to know him in ways she hadn't before, considering she had felt the weight of his body pressed against her, considering she had run her hands over his chest, clothed granted, but even still she could still remember what it had felt like to intentionally touch him in ways that didn't relate to training or their roles within the military…

She blinked as her thoughts, which were normally so innocent and contained, ran away with her all the more.

Considering she had just watched him remove his shirt, one damned button at a time before slowly pulling it off his chest – again she allowed a groan to build within the safety of her mind, and she rubbed her temples in aggravation, because if this was how it was going to be, she was in big, big trouble with a capital T.

"Oi, you gonna put this on, or just keep staring into space like that?"

Petra looked back toward him with narrowed eyes, the blush on her face actually intensifying the effect of the irritated glare she shot him, and Levi waved a hand in sudden frustration because her glare was rather intimidating as he mistook her expression for actual anger. He exhaled defensively, "The fuck did I do? Look, fine. Fine. If you want a sheet that bad then you'll just have to ask her because-"

Petra rolled her eyes, pleased that Levi didn't seem to catch onto the fact that she was actually extremely distracted by his current state of dress, while at the same time, mortified that she was in fact…extremely distracted by his current state of dress. She snatched the fabric out of his hands curtly, "I don't need the damn sheet, Captain, but thanks," she somewhat waved the material at him, "For this I mean. For the shirt. Thank you."

Petra began to splay the shirt out around her in preparation, and as she pulled the fabric over one of her arms while trying to twist so she could pull the other arm through, she winced as the action stretched her skin taut and a whimper left her lips as she paused midmotion from the pain and burning sensation that ran over her side.

"Petra," the nurse chastised lightly, "That's what I'm talking about. The simplest day to day actions, even something like putting on a shirt, can cause the stitches to rupture so you've got to be more careful. Slow it down and realize that you'll need a bit of help, maybe even a lot over these next few days."

She nodded breathlessly, speaking through clenched teeth, "Right. Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Before she could readjust or reposition herself, Levi was directly in front of her, hand already on her shoulder to keep her from twisting further and he directed her to move back to a more natural position where she wasn't twisted off to one side. He grabbed the empty sleeve, wordlessly guiding her arm through the fabric in a way that didn't require her to move further and exhaled quietly as he worked.

Once her sleeves were in place and the shirt rested against her lightly, he pulled the fabric together lightly so she could button it, admittedly amused because even though he was more of a lithe build and relatively on the smaller stature for the average male, even still the shirt was notably much too large on Petra. He nodded toward her as he looked at her evenly, "You can get the buttons, right?"

He was standing so close to her, voice low and quiet as he watched her with a weighted stare that made her mind empty of all thought, again. She wasn't quite sure what he had said, but damn…his eyes were blue, so blue. She knew they were blue, but in this light, they appeared to be more of a light sky blue instead of the darker steel or cobalt she was used to. Had his eyes always been so light? It was only when Levi's expression changed and he quirked an eyebrow at her, that she realized she had yet to respond. What had he asked her? Oh right, the buttons? Something like that?

She could only nod a few times, because her thoughts were still so muddied – a mix between pain, exhaustion, the various instructions that had been given to her throughout the duration of receiving stitches, and most recently, Levi's blue, blue eyes – and she hoped that a nod actually answered his question, because she really couldn't be too sure of what he just said.

At her response, or perhaps lack thereof, Petra could only imagine the expression on her face because Levi slowly smirked and gave a light chuckle, his own expression warming into something smug and knowing, "Oh. Well, unless you want my help?"

At the outright enjoyment in his tone, her mouth fell open and she could again feel blood rushing to her face, because as he watched her with a sudden arrogance and a beckoning, smoldering look in his eye, there was no doubt in her mind that he was well aware as to the cause of her rather delayed responses, and was all out enjoying her embarrassment – once again resorting to teasing her about it.

Although, perhaps it wasn't all out teasing as much as…flirting, Petra realized silently; something intentionally said to get her mind running and heart pounding, and oh boy was it working. There was no denying that their relationship had been steadily getting more and more intimate as they both seemed to hesitantly, reluctantly explore the chemistry between them, but it wasn't often, if ever that Petra could recall Levi saying something even remotely suggestive to her.

When her face only grew all the more red and her thoughts continued to revolve solely around the very shirtless man in front of her, Levi leaned closer to her, "Just let me know."

She gave a sort of squeak and nodded once, looking intentionally down into the shirt and fumbling slightly with the button's as her nervousness made her movements less precise and sloppy. As she finished buttoning the shirt, the nurse made a few more passing remarks about what to expect in the next few days – what was normal, versus signs to watch out for that indicated improper healing; things that were not normal.

When the nurse finished, Petra was more than ready to go. Ready to get out of the hospital ward, ready to get some sleep, and most of all, ready for Levi to stop staring at her like that. Smug or not, deserved or not, she just couldn't handle it all because it was too much to process, too much to think about, and more than anything, all her thoughts were a blurry, thick mess that somehow just kept getting worse and worse as time continued to pass by.

It was as he reached toward her, preparing to carry her back in his arms again to take her back to the compound, that Petra gripped onto the bed tightly and shook her head stubbornly, "No, no please I already had to get carried here once and I'll never live it down."

Her reasons weren't dishonest – she already felt silly enough after being in such bad shape from a training accident, but what was more, she couldn't imagine being pressed up directly against Levi's bare chest for a solid fifteen minutes where he would undoubtedly tease her the whole way back to the Compound.

She bit her lower lip and shrugged, "I can…I can walk myself."

At her stubborn insisting, Levi's eyes widened and he made a face, "Can you?"

From beside her, the nurse shook her head sternly with a roll of her eyes, and Petra sighed dramatically, "Well I mean, I'll…" she paused in thought and finally looked at him seriously, "I'll hobble or something. I'll make it work."

When Levi quirked an eyebrow and gave her a less than impressed stare, she explained further, feeling as though she were grasping at straws, "I can walk with my one leg, and then lean on you and…hop forward."

"Hopping." Levi repeated flatly, and Petra nodded.

"Yeah, that would work; I can hop there. You know, slow and steady wins the race."

Levi scoffed, "Oh yes. Because hopping on one leg like some retarded fucking rabbit is so much more dignified than just being carried."

Petra stared at him in agreement and Levi rolled his eyes, "No. I was being sarcastic. Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not just going to stand there and be used as a human crutch so you can spend all night trying to get there, one fucking jump at a time. I'm carrying you."

She groaned and gave a contemplative sigh, "Captain…Maybe…can you at least carry me on your back then? It's a little more dignified and less damsel in distress-y. Please?"

He gave her a long stare and Petra gave him, what she hoped, was a cute smile, "You know, like a piggyback ride? It could be fun."

"…Fine."

He crouched just below where she was seated, and the nurse quickly came to Petra's side, guiding her legs around the sides of his waist and waiting as he stood up slightly to guide her off the edge of the bed and onto his back solidly. He wrapped his arms beneath the bend of her knees and smirked as she hesitantly, cautiously, slowly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his chest, blushing as she did so.

He somehow innately knew she was thoroughly embarrassed, and he couldn't help the smirk that pulled at his lips as he spoke softly, "How is it? You enjoy being up on top I presume?"

There was a sort of pause, an obvious moment of sheer shock at his words, but then she fell perfectly still, as though in deep thought. Levi almost frowned in suspicion, but before he could assess her intentions, all too late, her hands ran languidly down his chest, fingertips brushing over his abdomen as her nails grazed his skin ever so slightly. His breath caught in his lungs as she pressed herself against his back through her sheer, sheer bindings, her hands tracing even lower near his pant line, as her fingers traced the hem of his pants, back and forth across his abdomen in a languid, torturous line. Feeling both a mix of outright surprise and admitted pleasure, goosebumps rose over his skin from her light, ghost-like caress and his mouth dropped open in a silent question that he wouldn't find the words to ask.

Seeing Petra's wandering hands over his upper body, and then his not so upper body, the nurse blinked and gave an 'Oh' – instantly busying herself with some papers in front of her as a blush came to her face as Petra's hands trailed over the hollows of his hips, daring to dip her fingers underneath the seams of his pants as she traced his skin testingly. The nurse's embarrassment only grabbed his attention all the more, unable to believe that Petra was doing something so…fucking something like that in broad daylight, but point proven, because what could he do – drop her? Move his body in a way that would jolt her – risk rupturing all her stitches, and for what, just to prove a point of his own?

Prove what exactly? What she already knew? That he wanted her? That the smallest touch from her made his mind blank and his body ache wantonly?

Before he could think of a proper sentence, Petra's voice was in his ear venomously, "You tease me, and I'll tease you right back, Captain. Now either you behave with that damned smirk of yours and your fucking stupid innuendos, or I promise you that this walk back to the Compound will be the longest, most frustrating walk of your life."

He gave a low exhale as her fingers began toying with the band of his briefs – she wouldn't dare, would she? - and turned over his shoulder to give her a dirty look because with the nurse watching and the strange level of boldness Petra had seemed to find, he sure as hell didn't want to find out. "So now you can pick up on that sort of thing? There's a first fucking time for everything, isn't there? We're in public, woman. Get your hands out of my damn pants."

Well.

….There was a sentence he never thought he'd say to her.

"Oh, I'm overdoing it? Me? I'm tired, I'm shaky, I'm doped up on pain meds where my head is a fuzzy mess after falling right out of the sky, and you chose now of all times to constantly tease me, watch me with your bedroom eyes and strip down when I can't even think straight? Look who's calling the kettle black, Levi."

Regardless her obvious irritation, she mercifully pulled her hands up and rested them innocently on his shoulders, and Levi responded just as balefully with a roll of his eyes, "Yeah? Well you should have seen yourself earlier; had you been in my shoes, you would have done the same thing. Besides, I was only teasing, it wasn't meant to be taken seriously and then you come in and respond by literally shoving your hands down my pants-"

"I already said that I'm not myself!" Petra defended shrilly, "Look Captain, if you need your ego stroked that badly where you chose now of all times to try and bait me or get a rise out of me, then you know what…fine!"

Levi fell silent, wondering just what Petra was going to say next that was apparently going to 'stroke his ego'. He quirked an eyebrow as he tried to watch her in challenge, continuing to stare over his shoulder in admitted curiosity, and he groaned as Petra spoke again, his eyes going wide in dread as he realized what was coming.

"Hey Alyssa-"

"Oh for fuck's-"

"You think this man is super fine, right? Will you please look him up and down, for a long time, and tell him how attractive he is? He's apparently pretty desperate to hear a compliment. You could start with his baby blue eyes, or inky black hair. Let's not forget he's shirtless too, so be sure to take a nice long look at that, because, I mean, it's right there so how can you not want to, am I right?"

The woman turned around, at first with wide eyes, but she apparently found something to be amusing as she looked between an indignant, smirking Petra, and a clearly embarrassed Captain Levi, because her expression changed into a grin of sorts and she pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.

Levi was already repositioning both of their weights in preparation to leave the room, mortified when Petra just kept talking all the same, and now – shit, now the nurse was laughing at him! Petra slapped a hand over his chest and continued, rubbing her hand down his skin in demonstration and he groaned, "Lot to look at here - there's his chest, his abs, his high cheekbones that I would kill for. Damn, he's just quite a looker, isn't he? On a scale of one to ten, what are your thoughts? Maybe an eight, if you're being conservative? Nine and a half if you're being honest? No doubt he'd be a solid ten if it weren't for the fact he's so damn short, but I'm short too so it doesn't bother me at all."

As she spoke, Levi admittedly did start to feel bad for giving her such a hard time earlier, because it was now clear to him that the medicine was actually having a legitimate effect on her. The 'normal' Petra would never behave like this - under any circumstances. She would never embarrass him, for one, but what was more, her own sense of embarrassment ran so deep that even if she wanted to 'get even' for his teasing her, she would have been unable to do so - as that would have required her to admit her attraction in the first place – something she had only done once, in the silence of the night and in a mere whisper, only when she had been certain he was 'asleep'.

He supposed that accounted for her wandering eyes earlier and her blatant approval of his physique – the pain medicine was causing her to relax more than just a little toomuch, but it couldn't be helped. He just had to get her out of there, and back to the compound where she would be safe from the public eye and ergo, unable to humiliate him any further like this.

"Oh this is great," Petra called out to the nurse as he walked out of the room in heightened embarrassment and irritation, finding his legs couldn't move them out of the room fast enough but not wanting to cause a bigger commotion by literally running out, "He's got a great ass, check out his ass! Honestly, I gotta say that I think his ass is my favorite because, damn. You be sure to check that out while you still can because, wow is it worth the trouble. Gods, he has such a nice ass."

He blinked at her words, because drugs or not…that was new. From behind him, there was a warm laugh, "Bye Mrs. Ackerman! You make sure to get a lot of sleep, okay?"

Petra leaned back slightly, her forearm pressing into his neck uncomfortably as she looked behind her to respond, "You think about it, okay? How about I send you a picture of him? Then you can write a whole…whole damn paper about him or something. This is a fine piece of man right here!"

"Oi, Petra, enough. Face forward or you'll rip your stitches."

"Oh, right." She leaned forward and allowed her head to rest squarely on his shoulder as they walked into the lobby and outside toward the path, her chin pressing against his collarbone as she spoke proudly, all out missing the various smirks and laughter that her previous words had earned from the various awaiting Scouts and the medical staff that had overheard her not so quiet, off color remarks about a certain, well known Captain, "There. Serves you right."

He rolled his eyes, though managed to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. Barely. "Oh, I learned my lesson alright."

And that, he did. He learned that Petra was more than a little…loopy from her high dosage of rather strong pain medicine, and if this was what she was like while her mental defenses were down, he had no interest in seeing her drunk. The normal Petra had no problem calling him out for his shit – but this Petra seemed to fucking live for it.

He realized with a sort of dread that in a few weeks, he would have to go back to the medical ward with her for her follow up appointments, and be subjected to their knowing smirks and stares because as he left, their thoughts were written so painfully clear across their faces:

Humanity's Strongest was whipped.

…

End of Chapter

…

*dramatic, boisterous laughter*

Okay, this chapter is one that has me rolling on the floor laughing, because pain medicine does funny things to people – myself included – and poor Levi didn't figure it out quick enough and got made into a bit of a spectacle after offending her. Ahhh, bless his heart. I love the knowing smile and the 'Byyee Mrs. Ackerman' from the nurse, I can hear that line in my head and for whatever reason, that's the line that just has me losing it.

And in more serious news, let it be known that while yes, last week, I was writing my mini holiday piece, I have been consistently writing new material for this piece and I wanted to give an update. I wanted to say that I don't think sixty chapters is going to be practical guys for me to actually tie things up, and in truth I feel guilty saying that because I know this story is ALREADY long, quite long, and me saying sixty isn't long enough feels almost rude. I personally thinkthat the story isn't dragging on and on, where yall will get to a place where you're like, seriously, Midnight? This could have ended twenty chapters ago and it would have been fine! In reading the material that yall can't see, I personally feel its still engaging and not where yall will feel that way, but all that to say, I think that closer to maybe…*sigh* eighty chapters?

I'm still hoping for closer to seventy, but I thought I would give that warning now. I owe it to myself, and yall to tie it up right. I won't be adding in extra things or fillers of any kind – only things that actually impact the plot and character development and actually matter – and if that takes those extra few chapters, I ask for your patience and understanding. I have the plot lined from A to Z, I have since the beginning, and as I'm fleshing out what I envisioned in my mind so long ago, its hard to properly gauge how long it's going to be until it gets closer to that time. But as always, I like to keep yall in on the loop so that come chapter sixty five, you're not like, and she's wrapping this all up in three chapters? No way!

I'll…try to be open. And fair with yall. The plot is great, and I for real think you will love it, but it…takes time guys :( Regardless, thanks for everything, and I hope to continue to make it worth your time investment, because I know that that's valuable.

~Midnight