A/N: This is set after the events of Chapter 70 (in which Marie becomes jealous over Stein) and Chapter 79 (where Stein risks his own body to protect her when Noah/Justin have attacked her). This draws heavily on the manga from that chapter forward, and contains major spoilers. I don't own Soul Eater, and this is just head canon of mine :3

The last thing she remembered after Noah slammed into her and flung her backwards was Stein's voice screaming her name. A moment before everything went black she was certain that she felt arms wrap around her waist and shoulder and a long body curve itself protectively around hers. The blood was running down her face and in her eye and she couldn't tell if she was imagining it or not.

But in the brief second before the blackness consumed her she knew she wasn't. Stein had cushioned her body with his own, and in that brief second she could feel the touch of his soul on hers. She wasn't afraid as she slipped into unconsciousness.

She lay wherever she was, in pain, afraid to open her eye. With the amount of pain that she was in she was afraid that she was going to open her eye and find herself in a torture chamber of some sort. She was even more afraid that she was going to find her meister there with her, the two of them being used against each other in some nefarious scheme. She forced herself to remain motionless even when she heard the movement in the room.

When something touched her arm she reacted violently, pulling back and swinging out without opening her eye, tears already falling down her cheeks. A strong hand pinned her wrist to the table and she finally focused on the voice that was gently but firmly speaking to her.

Her eye opened to focus on him. "Stein?"

"Perhaps you should open your eye before you attack next time?" he chided, taking a step backwards. "I'm glad that you're able to fake being unconscious well enough to nearly fool me, but I was simply going to give you another shot of a pain killer."

She focused on her surroundings then. She was lying on an operating table, and she realized belatedly that she was still in a hospital gown. She could feel a tenderness on her left side and Stein's hand grabbed her arm as she tried to sit upright.

"Stay lying down. I had to do surgery. You were injured quite badly. You wouldn't want to tear any of the stitches." He helped her settle back onto the table and she realized then that there was a pillow under her head and that he had draped a blanket over her. "I didn't want to move you until you had regained consciousness. You were unconscious when we made it back to the lab and this is the first time since the surgery you've awoken."

"Did… did the Spartoi?" she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"They won."

"Justin is?"

"Alive. He fled," Stein said simply and this time Marie didn't try to resist as he slid the needle into the IV that was already set.

Marie sighed as her eye slipped closed for a moment. "It was all for nothing then…"

"No. Justin knew the whereabouts of the Kishin. Noah has been defeated, and Kid recovered. Relax; the medication should put you to sleep soon. I'll move you to your bed while you're asleep; it'll minimize any lingering pain." Stein's voice was already becoming distant and Marie blinked a few times.

"You were… injured… too…" her voice trailed off into a sigh.

"I'll be fine," his voice reassured her as she found herself unable to open her eye again. The touch of his soul was gentle, but reassuring, and she gave herself to unconsciousness.

She opened her eye sometime later, and had to stifle a yawn. True to his word, Stein had moved her to her own bed while she was unconscious and she blushed when she realized that he had also changed her into sleep clothing.

'Get over it, Marie,' she scolded herself, 'he operated on you, it's not like you have anything to hide at this point.'

Before she could work up the energy to move out of the warm cocoon of stitched blankets that she was in she heard a sharp knock on her door a moment before it swung open. Stein was standing in the doorway, a tray in his hands.

"How are you feeling?" Stein's voice was almost warm, and Marie found herself wondering if it was an act that he was putting on for her benefit.

"Tired," she said truthfully.

"Any pain?" he inquired.

She paused for a second before shaking her head. "I feel fine."

"That's good; it means the medication is doing its job." He sat down on the side of the bed, balancing the tray on his knees. "Now then, you need to eat. You've slept the majority of the last three days."

"Three days?!" she almost screeched, and Stein had to adjust as she started to sit upright. He ended up sitting the tray on her nightstand and helping her.

"You were injured rather severely, Marie. I felt it important that you rest after the injuries," he said as he replaced the tray in front of him. "You'll have to pardon the food, but I don't want you eating anything that is going to be hard for your body to handle after surgery and three days without anything solid."

"Thank you for it, though," she said quietly as she looked down at the tray.

He just smirked and picked a spoon up, dipping it into the bowl of broth that sat beside a bowl with a bit of jello in it. "I don't generally spend so much time with my patients. I really should get a nurse for this type of involved work."

His voice was the same neutral that he always used, but Marie could hear the difference in it. He was joking with her. She smiled as she realized it and a smirk crept across the man's face. She opened her mouth obediently and let him feed her. She was falling asleep again before she even finished the broth.

She felt wonderful when she woke up the second time, and she stretched. Her side was still tender, but she didn't feel any pain. She stood carefully and realized that she had to pee like crazy; it was then that she realized that she had had a catheter in the last time she had woke up. A blush spread across her cheeks at the thought of Stein having to insert it. She had her legs swung over the bed and was almost standing when her door opened and Stein stepped into the room.

"Ah, you're awake. That's good. I have to leave, Marie. I've explained to Shinigami-sama that you're still on no condition to go on a mission, and he agreed that you need to stay here. I've done enough shopping that you won't have to leave the lab until I return." He crossed to her and handed her a note. "That is a list of the times you need to take your medication. It's mainly a pain killer, but it is also an effective antibiotic. You need to sleep as much as you can, and try to avoid doing anything strenuous."

"Where are you going? And I'm more than fine enough to go with you," she argued.

"It's not up for debate, Marie. I'll be leaving to go to Russia with Maka, Soul, Kim, and Jacqueline. Crona was spotted there, and it appears that something has happened to Tsar Pushka and Feodore. A call for assistance has come through, and Shinigami-sama has decided who was going."

"I'm your weapon, Franken. How are you going to go into combat against Crona or Medusa if you don't have a weapon?"

"I can easily wield Jacqueline or Soul. We're leaving in less than an hour. I need you to make sure that you take your medication as prescribed until I return, do you understand?" his tone brooked no argument and Marie just looked down at her hands before finally nodding.

"Thank you."

Her head jerked up just in time to see the tails of his lab coat disappear around the corner of the doorframe. 'Did he really just thank me for agreeing?' she wondered.

She stood, a bit unsteadily, and left her room, following the trail of fresh cigarette smoke and his retreating footsteps. She found him making last minute preparations in the lab and he stopped as he brushed past her to leave, her hand tangling in the sleeve of his lab coat.

"Promise me you'll come back, Franken." His eyes widened slightly as she continued, "I can't be there to do my job as your weapon, so you'll have to be careful."

"I'll be fine, Marie."

She wanted to kiss him, to make him say that he promised, but she just let the fabric of his lab coat slip through her fingers as he walked past her. She waited until the door had shut behind him before sliding down against the wall of his research lab, tears streaking down her cheek.

He was gone for nearly 4 days, and they were the longest days of Marie's life. She had never worried so much over anything, and by the fourth day had nearly forgotten to take the medication that he had left for her. The wound in her side didn't bother her at all, and he had supplied enough food to last for at least a week.

She had cleaned the entire lab multiple times, taking great pains not to interrupt any experiments that he had started, and was careful to take a break if she felt like she was getting tired. She did feel certain that one of the experiments in the research lab was watching her the entire time that she was in the room, and cleaned it only once.

As per his instructions, she had tried to sleep as much as possible. She had managed to sleep most of the first two days, still exhausted and slightly sore from her encounter with Noah and Justin. That left the other hours of the days long and unfilled. She tried to read some of the books that were sitting scattered across the lab, but found herself getting lost in the convoluted scientific terms and gave up.

So when she heard the creak of the lab door open and the unmistakable sound of the screw in Stein's head turning she didn't bother to stop to think. She rushed out of the sitting area she had claimed and before he could say a word, she had her arms wrapped around him, her head resting against his chest.

"I was so worried…"

"I told you I'd be fine." She could hear it, past the neutrality that he always seemed to have. She could hear the warmth in his voice that he reserved only for her. A smile settled across her face as she felt his arms settle around her.

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Shinigami-sama added sweet little Crona to his list, and sent Spartoi off to find the child. Marie grew more and more worried about Stein after the announcement of the Kishin's location.

"Franken?"

He was chuckling about taking command of the squads, of giving the Death Scythes commands in the upcoming battle. He was too happy, too excited.

'It's like he's found a place to die…' the thought sent shivers down Marie's spine, and Stein must have caught on to her discomfort.

"Don't worry, Marie. I'll be fine."

She wanted to believe him.

They were fighting together, and Marie felt the madness surging through him as he slammed her fully transformed length against Justin. She screamed out her agony and pain as she channeled Stein's entire wavelength through her weapon form, Justin's body literally exploding on itself.

They couldn't rest. The clowns were still coming, and they flowed from one combat to the next, their souls in perfect resonance. They were both getting tired though, and Marie was beginning to worry again.

Then the order came for Kid to return to Shibusen.

Stein told her to go with him, his arm outstretched in front of her, an army of clowns advancing towards them.

"But…" she started.

He reached out, his hand just barely touching her and smiled. "I'll be fine."

She would believe him because he always was. Turning she left him behind her, conscious of the tears that wanted to slip down her cheeks.

"Let's go, Kid."

Marie put on a happy face the entire time they were gone. She encouraged Azusa to the best of her ability, and when they arrived back on the moon, after nearly dying before the witches appeared, she felt a surge of relief at seeing Stein safe and sound, Spirit at his side. She didn't get an opportunity to get near him though; her and Azusa were too busy fighting back their own clowns.

Then Crona appeared, and with the child came the Kishin's madness and Ragnarok's scream.

So Kid ordered the retreat. All of them were teleported to the surface of the Earth; Marie was surprised to see Stein among the number, Spirit left behind on the Moon. She stepped closer to him, worried for Spirit, but relieved that Stein was there.

That he was with her.

She threaded her fingers through his, the two of them standing at the back of the group, and to her surprise she felt him squeeze her hand gently before allowing her fingers to remain threaded through his. He leaned in close to her and her cheeks heated up slightly.

"I told you I'd be fine, Marie," he whispered.

"I'll always worry, Franken," she replied quietly.

His response was so low that she almost missed it. "I know, thank you."