Day 4: Hospital

Yawning, she opened her locker with a lazy hand. Running on 6 hours sleep and about to start a 36-hour shift. How lovely.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." Mikasa turned around and smiled half-heartedly.

"Morning, Ymir," she greeted. "Been here long?"

"Always. I heard an amazing case was just admitted. Heart transplant scheduled for 8 this morning, I wonder who Petra is assigning it to." Mikasa shook her head.

"Did you bring her a dark roast to try and increase the odds in your favor?" Mikasa asked tugging on her scrubs.

"No." Mikasa raised an eyebrow, tugging her shirt down. "Okay, yes. But I don't want to miss this!"

"Come on, rounds are in 5 minutes."

The 5 interns gathered around their resident, awaiting instructions.

"All right guys." Petra turned toward them with a clipboard in her hand, pager on her hip.

"Leonhart, you're in the pit today." Annie nodded and headed out. "Braun, Dr. Zachrius. Reiss, Dr. Hange. Ymir, you'll be with Dr. Smith. Ackerman, your cousin requested you for his service."

"Isn't he doing the heart transplant on the new admit?" Mikasa asked.

"He is, indeed," Petra responded.

"Is there any chance Ymir and I-"

"It's fine, Mikasa. Dr. Ackerman requested you. I'm not one daring enough to defy him." Ymir winked, and threw an arm around her shoulders. "But, tell me every step in detail afterward." And with that, she walked away to find Dr. Smith.

Mikasa walked through the halls in a hurry. She had just received her patients room number and medical information from the nurse's station, and now she was to meet her patient.

Room 231 was a private room, so walking in as suddenly as she did, didn't disturb too much.

"Ah, Dr. Ackerman, so nice of you to join us," Dr. Levi Ackerman said, not looking up from the chart in his hand.

"My apologies, Dr. Ackerman."

"What do we got?" Levi asked handing her the chart. Mikasa turned to the patient once she read over the chart herself.

"Eren Jaeger, 19 years old. Came in 2 weeks ago for a pre-op for his heart transplant. He's been on the list for a new heart for 3 years now, because of Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy," Mikasa explained.

"What is the condition?" Levi asked, writing notes.

"It's a condition in which a portion of the heart becomes thickened without an obvious cause, resulting in the heart being less able to pump blood effectively."

"Symptoms?"

"They vary from none, to feeling tired, swelling of the legs, and shortness of breath. Chest pain, fainting, heart murmurs, rapid heartbeats, are the most common."

"The risks?"

"Atrial fibrillation, sudden cardiac death, obstructed blood flow, dilated cardiomyopathy, mitral valve problems, and heart failure."

"Well done, Dr. Ackerman. Now, Mr. Jaeger, my intern here will be doing your post-op and any questions you have will go to her. I'm needed in a meeting, so I will come and check on you two later." With that, Levi left the room.

Mikasa unwrapped her stethoscope from around her neck, started to check his heartbeat.

"How are you feeling today, Mr. Jaeger?" she asked, jotting down notes.

"Couldn't be better since a very pretty intern was just assigned to my service. Every man's dream, you know?"

Mikasa simply laughed.

"I'm just going to check your blood pressure, and then they want to take you in for a ST just to make sure your condition hasn't progressed."

"Fine by me, make sure I'm in there before my dad arrives." Eren leaned back against the bed.

"I'll will do my best. Have you experienced any lethal pains, or harsh shortness of breath as of late?"

"Not really. Nothing I'm not used to, that is. I've been living with this for 3 years, how has this not killed me yet?"

"Well, it's possible that this certain condition grows at different paces for different people. Luckily for you, most of the symptoms hit you noticeably very early on, so we had ways to slow it down. Sadly, your heart also was deformed from birth, so it won't be strong enough to fight off the condition in this state."

A couple minutes went by, and Mikasa was finished with her check up. She moved to the foot of the bed and put the chart back.

"I inherited it from my mother. Her symptoms weren't so noticeable. We found out she had it because of her sudden cardiac death," Eren said. Mikasa looked up.

"I'm so sorry."

Eren shrugged. "It was hard, her leaving so suddenly, and now…" He gestured to his body and Mikasa shook her head.

"You're not going to die, Eren." He smiled.

"Do you normally call your patients by their first name?"

Mikasa stopped a second. "No. I don't know why I did that, sorry."

"Fine by me. Mr. Jaeger doesn't sit right with me. Plus, I like the way you say my name."

Mikasa raised an eyebrow, cocked out a hip. "Are you flirting with me, Mr. Jaeger?"

"Maybe. Who wouldn't?"

She simply laughed again, and explained that she was going to take him to a ST for farther inspection.

"So, Dr. Ackerman, you related to the big man?" Eren asked as Mikasa pressed the third elevator button.

"I am, in fact, he's my cousin."

"Your cousin? But he's so…" He stopped and looked around.

"He can't hear me, can he?"

"Why would he hear you?"

"I don't know, he seems like the guy who knows everything said about him, even when he doesn't actually know."

Mikasa laughed. "That's because whenever people talk about him, see him, they get nervous and he knows that something was said. Usually he ends up forcing it out of them," Mikasa explained, pushing forward when the elevator doors opened.

"So he's like this…demon?"

"Oh, I bet he could consider that a compliment."

Eren laughed, as she led him down the hallway.

Eren laid in the giant machine, while Mikasa sighed and entered the observation room.

"This boy is incredible. He's so full of life, even when Death hovers."

Mina Carolina, the nurse, simply smiled.

"Got to hand it to him. But it's sad, isn't it? So hot, young, desirable. And he can barely get out of bed without feeling like a hot blade is stabbing him in the heart. Not the life he's destined for, absolutely."

Mikasa laid back in one of the chairs as the two girls waited for the images to show up.

"He's strong. He seems like the guy on the Bright Side of things. I mean, he's made it this far."

"Couldn't agree more. So, I heard you got some last night…who with?" Mina turned to the other black haired girl. "Was it an Attending?"

"Mina…"

"Hey, a girl's gotta know. Tell me!"

"It wasn't with an Attending. I'm not that stupid, it was a fellow intern." A beat of silence.

"Specifics? Don't make me guess."

"Fine, Dr. Kirstein."

Mina gasped and laughed. "Oh, my God! How did he manage that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Girl, he's been in love with you since day one."

"He most certainly has not!"

"Has to! It's so obvious! Did he have to get you drunk? Were you roofied by Horse-Face?"

"Mina, for Christ's sake! No! We were just-"

"Dr. Ackerman, what the hell is that?" Mikasa stopped talking, and faced the computer monitor. Her eyes widened.

"Holy shit…okay, page Dr. Ackerman now! Now!"

Back in Eren's room, Levi and Mikasa gathered around the foot of Eren's hospital bed with looks of mourn and bad news.

"Mr. Jaeger, during the ST we found that because you lived so long with this condition with noticeable symptoms, we weren't needed to perform ant drastic measures. Only a few hospital visits a year and the condition is contained. But, unfortunately, your condition has caused a tear in your left ventricle causing a rupture and internal bleeding."

Eren looked at them bewildered. "Okay, what…what does that mean, exactly?"

"Dr. Ackerman," Levi said, looking at Mikasa. She nodded.

"It means that we need to get you into the OR sooner than we originally thought, so your scheduled for 6 instead."

"That's in half an hour."

"Yes, but the heart was prepped last night for your surgery. We were hoping to monitor you more closely before the surgery, but two hours shouldn't make a difference," Mikasa assured him.

"You're going to be there right?" Eren asked.

"Of course." Mikasa walked to his bedside and grabbed his hand. "I'll be right beside you the entire time." Eren nodded and took a breath.

"All right, my father just went down to the cafeteria, he should be here any minute."

"Right, Dr. Ackerman, if you don't mind, I would like you to hand in these test results, I'll stay here and talk to his father," Levi ordered handing her a folder.

"Right away." Mikasa left the room and couldn't help the small ache in her own heart. His condition had gotten worse, and it was a surprise he was alive.

No, he's strong, of course he is alive, she thought. She leaned against the counter of the nurse's station and filled out the intern section of the forms. She might grab a coffee before going into surgery, just to wake her up so her performance is top notch for Eren.

Just as she handed the nurse her folder, someone placed a coffee beside her on the counter.

"Medium roast, two cream, one sugar, the Mikasa specialty." Mikasa took it and gave a warm smile.

"Morning, Jean." The brunette male grinned.

"Morning. How is it you manage to look beautiful even at the early hours?"

"Oh, shut up. How was your surgery?" Mikasa asked, sipping her drink. Jean shrugged.

"Long, but very interesting. We saved the guy, so it went pretty well."

"That's good. I'm in Dr. Ackerman's transplant today."

"Really? Man, lucky. That kid looks like toast to me. Mina was telling me about the ST results. Let's hope he makes it through the surgery," Jean said, taking a sip from his own cup.

Mikasa's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? He's smiling and laughing. He's in good spirits."

"Exactly. That's what happens when a patient knows they're not going to make it. It's just a way to show us they aren't scared to die. And his odds of survival is just 30%, so I hope you're prepared."

Mikasa stared at him, horrified. She snatched her coffee and hurried into Eren's room. His father and Levi were making their way down the hall, so Eren was alone.

She walked in, closed the door behind her. Eren looked up from his book and smiled.

"That was fast. Wanted some alone time with me?" he teased.

"Do you think you're going to die?" she demanded. Eren's smile faded, and he looked down at his lap.

"Mikasa-"

"No! Eren, you're not going to die. I'll make sure of it." She walked to his bedside, wrapped both her hands around his cold ones. She tried not to flinch at his freezing fingers. "Levi is the best cardiac surgeon in the country, you're going to make it."

"Mikasa, why are you taking my surgery so personally?" he wanted to know. Mikasa could only stare at him, trying to read his eyes. Emotional met curiosity. "Why…Why do you care if I die, or not?" She shook her head.

"I…" Eren tipped her head up, so she looked at him properly. "I just think…" Eren held her chin more firmly so she wouldn't look away. "I just think you deserve the life this condition stole from you…Is that so bad?" Eren gave her a sad smile.

"Mikasa, I've lived with this condition because I had to. My mother lived her life with it, before it took her. And I have lived with it, and of course I'm hoping I don't die, but Mikasa, when you have a problem with something that keeps you alive, you must consider the worst. You must prepare yourself. If I can do it, you can as well."

"I don't want to. My job is saving lives, not assuming the worst, and knowing that the patient won't make it. If I believed that, if you believed that, if Levi did, or any doctor in this hospital believed that your situation is hopeless, that there's no point in this surgery? You wouldn't BE here," Mikasa said. "And you're here, and I, we, are going to save you." Eren smiled down at the blankets covering his lap.

"Okay…Okay, Mikasa. I get it. I will fight like hell. Only way to win right?"

A moment of silence passed, and Eren fingered the maroon blanket that warmed him.

"Dr. Ackerman." Mikasa turned to see her cousin. "Can you come here?"

"Be right back," she said to Eren. She gave his hand a squeeze, before following her cousin into the hall.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, once Eren was out of earshot.

"What?"

"Why are you acting like Mr. Jaeger is your boyfriend instead of your patient?"

Mikasa took a second. "I-"

"You know the rules of this place, Ackerman. You are not to socialize on a personal level with patients. It's forbidden. If you can't act like a doctor around him, you're off this case," Levi said. Mikasa gave a shocked face.

"But, Levi-"

"It's decided. You can wait in the waiting room until we grab you." Levi turned to walk away, before Mikasa grabbed his arm.

"At least let me choose the intern that scrubs in…" Levi gave her his usual disinterested face.

"Fine…"

"I want Ymir scrubbing in. She is one of the best of us…I want Ymir."

"All right, Mikasa. Now, make yourself scarce. I'll see you after surgery."

The blackette nodded. "Just don't tell Eren I'm not on the case. He wants me there."

"I will do my best, but he doesn't really get a say on who's there and who isn't, but if it will make you leave me alone so I can do my job, then I will. If I see you anywhere near the gallery or the surgical floor, then no surgeries until further notice."

"Yes, Doctor."

And with that, Mikasa headed toward the elevator to wait for the news that would change her life, unwillingly.

She waited and waited and waited. No news came from Eren's heart transplant. Was that a good or bad thing? she wondered. Good news hopefully, since no one came to update her, it must be going well.

A man sat beside her and smiled when she smiled back.

"Who are you waiting for, Doc?" he asked.

"A heart transplant patient. He's been in there for-"

"5 hours, yes I know. I take it your Dr. Mikasa Ackerman?"

Mikasa took a more detailed look of the man. Brown hair pulled back. Proud face, and eyes green, just like his son's. "You're…"

"Grisha Jaeger." He held out his hand, she shook it. "It's a lot, you know. First this condition takes my wife, and now my son is dealing with it as well."

"I can't imagine what you're going through, but Dr. Ackerman is the best there is. You won't get any better than him," she assured him. "Nothing to worry about…" she muttered. She couldn't tell if she was trying to convince him or herself.

"I was going to run to the coffee shop across the street, do you want something? Not going to do us any good sitting here and wondering."

Mikasa smiled. "It's all right, you don't have to-"

"I insist. What do you like?"

Mikasa sighed. "Medium roast, two cream, one sugar."

"Be right back." He ruffled her hair and made his way out of the hospital.

Mikasa watched him leave, before turning back to the staircase, awaiting the appearance of either Ymir or Levi. But instead, she saw a familiar face.

"Hey," she said, waving to grab her friend's attention. She smiled softly, before making her way over to the blackette.

"Hey, thought you were in the heart transplant surgery."

"I was excused…"

Annie raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"I…don't know exactly. I guess I got a little two attached, and you know the rules…"

"I see," Annie said. "Well, I'm sure it's going fine. It also explains why Ymir was shitting rainbows earlier. We didn't see you at breakfast this morning."

"Yeah, I was doing Mr. Jaeger's post-op."

"Good-looking, that Jaeger. Can't blame you for the attraction," Annie explained.

"I don't think it's attraction…"

"What? You think you've fallen in love with the sad, lonely heart patient?"

"Don't be a bitch, Annie. Well, I guess that might be asking too much…"

"Ha!"

"I'm not in love with him. Just…I just care about him, okay? Only care…"

"Whatever you say, also, I would prepare yourself, here comes Ymir."

Mikasa was up in seconds, and she hurried over to the brunette, walking towards her. Ymir took off her mask.

"Hey, is he okay? Were there complications? Is he alive?" Mikasa interrogated.

Ymir stared at her, before sighing. "There was complications. The bleeding was quite aggressive. The swelling of the heart was harsh and thick…"

Mikasa looked more into her eyes, trying to read them. "So…"

"We…did everything we could…but his heart just wasn't strong enough…"

Mikasa gasped, covered her mouth. "No, you can't…No, it's just not-"

Her eyes spilled tears too hot, too harsh, too painful for her to handle. Her heart ached, her brain ceased. She just wanted to lay down on the floor and cry.

"I'm…so…so sorry." Annie opened her arms and Mikasa fell right into them.

"He's…He's…" she sobbed. "He's dead!" she cried.

Ymir spotted Levi catching Grisha Jaeger as he walked in. Ymir hurried over to help break the news to the oblivious father.

"Oh, Mikasa…" Annie tried her best to be soothing. She wasn't the most qualified. "I know. It'll be okay."

Levi, Ymir and Grisha walked over. Grisha had tears streaming, but he handed Mikasa the coffee.

"Comfort drink. I'm sorry." Mikasa took it, sniffling.

"Why…Why are you apologizing to m-me?" she managed. "He was your son. I only knew him for a day."

"Well, Eren, he doesn't make friends easily. And he took a liking to you right away. He said instantly that there was something about you. You were special to him, despite only knowing you for a day. So, I am sorry about your friend."

Mikasa couldn't help the new rush of dread and sorrow. Grisha hugged her while she cried. Ymir and Levi made themselves scarce and went to deal with Eren's body. Annie thought it was good to stay nearby, because she was sure Grisha had a family to inform.

And as nurses passed with clipboards, families all around who grieved, or waited, or celebrated, Mikasa continued to cry, and all she could've thought, was what could've been.

I have been watching a lot of Grey's Anatomy lately, so I had quite the inspiration for this. Hope you enjoyed!