Hey there everyone. Decided to go ahead and put up the next chapter. I've been so bad about updating and I don't have too much of an excuse because technically I have this story completed and edited. But before I put each chapter I go through it one more time to add in the proper paragraph breaks and make last minute changes. Hope you guys are enjoying this so far!


"Ina, it's time for bed." Levi tries to set her down.

She shakes her head and refuses to let him go.

"You've had a very stressful day. You need to rest." Armin tries to coax Ina down.

"No." She wraps her arms tighter around her Papa's neck.

"Ina…"

"I want to stay with Papa." She whimpers.

Armin glances at the Captain. He imagines that this day has worn levi out too.

"Ina, we haven't seen you all day, your brothers and sisters would really like to see you before you go to sleep." Armin tries again.

"No." Ina barely acknowledges him. "Please, let me stay."

Armin looks to the captain again, who appears to be very distant.

"Ina-" "Enough." Levi huffs. "I'll keep her tonight."

"Yes, captain." Armin salutes. "Sleep well, Ina. We'll see you tomorrow."

"I'm sorry, big brother." Ina doesn't look up from Levi's shoulder. She can't.

"You've got nothing to be sorry about. I'll see you tomorrow, Ina." Armin leaves the captain's office.

"I won't cause trouble. I'll be quiet. I just wanted to stay with you." Ina rambles on.

Levi shushes her. "It's okay." He whispers. "I know, Ina. It's okay."

"Thank you, Papa."

"But the next time we tell you to do something, Ina, you do it. Understand?"

"Yes, Papa."

Once Levi wraps up his paperwork for the night, he straightens out his office and prepares to leave. Ina can't seem to stand being separated from him, so she remains in his arms the whole time.

After grabbing some clothes for Ina they head to Levi's sleeping quarters. When Ina is dressed for bed, she refuses to lie down. She fears that if she lets him go, he'll go away. So Levi sits on the bed with her, hoping that she'll fall asleep eventually in his arms. Today has been such a stressful day for her. He understands why she's behaving this way. It breaks his heart to see her so afraid.

"Don't leave me. Don't leave me. Please." If Papa goes away, the monsters come back. She doesn't want them to come back. Not ever.

She begs and pleads with him while she holds onto him, grabbing little fistfuls of his uniform.

"Ina will be good. Ina will be really good." She sobs on his shoulder. Afraid and very ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry, Papa. I don't want to bother you."

"Ina, look at me." It's hard for him to put space enough between them to make eye contact. He places gentle hands on the sides of her head to try to keep her focused.

"You are safe here. I'm not going anywhere, okay? You can stay with me as long as you want, Ina. You're not a burden, don't apologize."

Her brown eyes are still wide with fear and shedding tears.

"Come here." He kisses her forehead and hugs her close so her head is resting on his chest. She mentioned that she liked his heartbeat. Maybe the rhythm will calm her.

Levi thinks back to his past. Back when he was a confused child. Back when he still had a loving parent. How was it that Kuchel always managed to calm him down when he was upset? What did she do? Levi tries really hard to remember.

It comes back to him soon enough.

Her lullaby. She would hold him close and rock him and sing to him until he fell asleep. It's one of his most cherished memories with her. One of his only memories of her.

Levi has never attempted to sing before and imagines that he's probably not very good at it. But it shouldn't matter. It's the words he wants Ina to hear. The feelings he wants to convey. He takes a deep breath and just goes for it.

"Baby mine, don't you cry

Baby mine, dry your eyes

Rest your head close to my heart,

Never to part, baby of mine."

He notices Ina grow quieter, but she still holds onto him tightly. Still tense. Still afraid. He brings up a gentle hand up to run through her dark brown hair.

"Little one, when you play

Don't you mind what they say

Let those eyes sparkle and shine

Never a tear, baby of mine

From your head, down to your toes

You're so sweet, goodness knows

You are so precious to me

Cute as can be, baby of mine

Baby mine, baby mine."

She's gone completely still, her breathing slow and even. Her hold on his uniform has loosened and all the tension in her body seems to have melted away. Levi hums the tune of the lullaby for a little while. He didn't realize it could work this well. But he's not complaining. She's no longer crying. No longer looks afraid.

Her soft little snore is the telltale sign that she has finally drifted off. Levi sighs with relief. Now she can finally rest. He lays her down in his bed and tucks the thinner of his blankets around her. He recalls Hange and armin both mentioning Ina's night sweats, typically due to bad dreams. Levi doesn't want her overheating so he pulls back the thick comforter to keep her cool.

Levi watches her for just a moment before getting up. He grabs a change of clothes and heads to the restroom to wash up for the night.

Ina is still sleeping soundly when he returns, much to his relief. She deserves a peaceful night of sleep. He sets his chair right next to the bed and reads until he too starts to drift off.

Levi was never a heavy sleeper to begin with, so when Ina starts to cry ever so quietly he's up in an instant. He can tell just by listening that she's trying her hardest to stifle her fearful cries. She's afraid to disturb him. It's a habit Levi knows she's never broken.

Levi moves to the edge of the bed and takes her hand. Ina just starts to cry harder, her entire body trembling.

"Ina." Levi whispers in an attempt to wake her gently. At the sound of his voice she cringes. "Ina?" The little girl just cries and shakes her head.

She starts coughing, softly at first, then much harder and louder. It doesn't take Levi long to realize she's choking. He feels himself panicking despite the fact that he's sure what must be done. Levi takes Ina into his arms and rushes to the bathroom. He gets her to the toilet just in time. Ina groans quietly in between retches as she throws up her dinner. The sound of her suffering makes Levi feel a type of misery that's completely new to him. He just holds her and rubs her back, waiting patiently for it all to be over.

Ina coughs and retches repeatedly long after there's nothing left in her. The groans of pain and exhaustion subside only so she can resume her crying.

She's still not awake.

Levi wets a small towel with cool water and wipes down her face and neck. Her sweat has drenched her nightgown. He picks her up and starts to walk around his bedroom with her while quietly humming the lullaby. She still doesn't seem to be fully awake but she wraps her arms around his neck and her legs around his middle.

"It's okay." Levi whispers as she holds on tighter and tighter. "You're okay."

Ina just continues to cry in pain. Levi wishes he knew what to do, but he's very out of his depth. He knew that from the start.

He feels something damp on his nightshirt. The wetness just grows in area on his shirt and drips down his shorts. Ina, who still doesn't seem to be awake, continues to cry. She's completely unaware that she's just wet herself. Levi wonders why he's able to remain as calm right now. A few months ago he would have been completely repulsed had someone just emptied their bladder all over him. Now he could care less. Sure it's gross and it feels disgusting, but he has bigger fish to fry. His daughter is having a night terror that she can't escape. His discomfort is really minuscule in comparison to her pain.

Levi just makes his way back to the bathroom. He turns on warm running water and sits on the edge of the small tub. The sound of the water is what finally wakes Ina from her awful night terror.

"Papa?" Ina loosens her hold around his neck enough to look at him. Her face is red and wet with tears, while her eyes hold both fear and confusion.

"Papa? What happened?" Ina looks down and gasps loudly. She did not. No this didn't happen.

No. No way.

"Ah! Oh no! I'm sorry!" Ina tries to separate herself from him. She doesn't know which feeling is worse. The embarrassment of having just peed all over herself and her Papa? Or the fear that he might become angry and punish her.

"I didn't mean to." She doesn't intend for it to come out as quiet as it does.

"Hey, hey, calm down. Just breathe."

She stops struggling with him and practically goes limp in his arms. He's going to punish you. Just accept it. Fighting makes it worse.

"Ina, it was an accident. It's alright." Levi comforts her.

What?

"I'm sorry, Papa." Ina mumbles. "Sorry." She just continues to apologize. Unsure what he'll do next.

"I told you, it's okay." Levi holds onto her while he reaches to shut off the running water. "Don't worry, Ina. Let's just get washed up."

She barely moves.

"I'm sorry."

"Shh… The sooner we wash up, the sooner we can go back to sleep." Levi reminds her. He tries to set Ina down only for her to crumble to her knees on the floor. She's beginning to shut down and it only scars Levi more.

"Look at me." Levi looks into her brown eyes. She stares straight ahead, her expression blank.

"You're okay, Ina. Everything's going to be fine." He gently holds her face in his hands. "Here, lift up your arms."

She obliges just enough to pull her arms out of her nightgown, letting Levi do most of the work. Don't fight. If he hits you don't cry. You deserve it for putting him through all this trouble.

"Stand up. Ina? Good. Good job." She gets to her feet but hides her face in his shoulder. Despite how worried Ina is about when punishment comes, Ina is still embarrassed. No, she's mortified. Of all the ways she could mess up she does this? He's been so nice. So understanding. Ina knows that he'll have to draw the line somewhere. She knows Papa likes to be clean. There's no way he'll be okay with her making such a big mess.

After her clothes have been removed and are set aside, Levi lifts Ina and sets her in the tub. He grabs the soap and another clean washcloth and bathes Ina from head to toe. She barely moves the entire time. Even with her face wet with bath water he can still see the tears falling from her eyes.

"Lean your head back, Ina." Levi covers her eyes as he pours a bucket of warm water over her hair. He does it until she's completely soap free.

He lifts Ina out of the tub and wraps her in a large towel before draining it.

"Come on, Ina, I need you to stand." Levi is quiet. She has trouble holding herself up, but is eventually standing on her own. Levi leads her out of the bathroom and sits her on the bed.

"Wait here." He says after using another towel to dry her hair.

Levi grabs a clean change of clothes and returns to the bathroom to wash up again. He comes back to find Ina curled up on the bed, still wrapped up in the towel.

Levi searches his drawers and finds a large Tshirt for Ina. He dresses her and towel dries her hair once more before combing it out.

"Drink this." Levi holds his canteen to her lips and keeps it there until she drains whatever water was left inside of it.

"Papa?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you." Thank you for not getting mad. For not punishing me. For taking care of me. You didn't have to. You shouldn't have had to.

"It's okay, Ina." Levi takes her into his arms once again. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry, Papa." She sounds so ashamed.

"Don't you apologize."

Ina realizes how often Papa tells her not to say sorry. It's so confusing to her. What should she say then? What should she do? Why does Papa never get angry when she doesn't behave?

is that normal? Were the monsters just… Wrong?

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Ina."

She's so confused.

Levi lights a few candles and sets them on the floor. Then grabs an extra blanket for his shivering little girl. He sits on the floor in front of the bed, surrounded by the newly lit candles.

"Look at the light, Ina."

Something about light and warmth always used to make him feel better after a nightmare. He's trying it with Ina in the hopes that it'll calm her fears before going back to sleep.

"Think about what makes you feel good. What makes you happy, Ina?"

Ina stares into the light of the candle. She watches the flame and admires it's dance.

"Tea." She's so quiet he wasn't sure she'd spoken.

"Good. What else?"

"Sleeping sun. Pretty colors."

He grins just slightly. Just when he thinks he's used to her cuteness she does it again.

"Big brothers and sisters. Miss hange. Papa." She looks up at him. "Papa."

He rests a gentle hand on her cheek.

"Ina makes me very happy, too." He smiles at her.

She's noticed how his expression rarely changes when he's around people. It's only for her that he speaks softly and gentle. Only for her that he smiles. Ina likes Papa's smile.

"Thank you, Papa."

Levi just stands and tucks her back into bed and kisses her forehead. "Get some rest, Ina." He steps back and pulls his chair closer but Ina grabs his hand.

"Wait, Papa. Where are you going?"

"I'll be right here."

"Papa…" She whimpers, her expression pleading. She tugs lightly on his hand. Levi sits on the edge of the bed, their hands still joined.

"Don't leave me alone."

Levi gives in and lies down next to Ina, facing her. Just like when they were under the bed in the infirmary, Levi places a comforting hand on the side of her head, his thumb gently massaging her temple.

"Thank you, Papa." Ina finally closes her eyes.

"Anything you for, baby mine."


Thanks for reading. This was really a chapter that showed how Levi wasn't playing around when he said that he loved Ina and that he'd do anything for her. She was extremely vulnerable in this chapter and had no real control over many of the things that happened. If this doesn't convince her that Levi would move heaven and earth for her then shit... lol what will amiright? Jk i know how this goes. Tl;dr: Ina has Levi wrapped around her tiny little finger and he knows it but she's still figuring that out.