"Petra."

"H-Hei...Chou..." she mumbled softly, in a dreamy whisper.

He waited, but when she said no more, he sighed.

"Levi," the corporal felt a hand on his shoulder. He was surprised, he had been wrapped up in his own little world.

"You should leave her alone for now. She's still... Recovering."

Levi shot a death glare at her, and jerked her hand off his shoulder. "I don't need your help, Hanji."

She examined him through her glasses, her lips tightening as if to restrain her next words. "If you want what's best for her, you'll leave her be for now. Your presence will only make it worse."

He internally winced at that last sentence, but reluctantly placed Petra's hand down and stood up to leave the room, silently walking a few paces behind Hanji. Her words echoed through his head. Your presence will only make it worse.

The next few days the captain sat by her bed, propping her upright to literally spoon-feed her, watching her while reading some books. Every now and then she'd let out a weak moan, which Levi took as a somewhat good sign that she could tell he was there. At night he simply fell asleep on the chair, not wanting to leave the room.

One morning though, Levi was surprised to wake up in Petra's room to find her gone, the sheets crumpled under him. In horror, he spun around the room, seeing no sign of her. He nearly busted down the door of every room to find her, but to no success. At last, he made his way down to the kitchen when he smelled the scent of black coffee, his favorite, drifting through the air. He bustled downstairs as quickly as his damn ankle would allow him. When he entered the kitchen he saw Petra stirring cream and sugar into a mug of coffee, her apron tied around her waist neatly. She turned around and smiled at him. "Good morning, Heichou," she said happily.

"Petra," he said, locking eyes with her intensely. "What happened?"

She looked confused, even flustered by his sudden concern. "What do you mean? And where's everyone else? They should be awake by now," she asked. For a moment her eyes widened, as if remembering something horrible, but then shook her head and beamed.

"Sit down please, I'll bring the coffee to you," she chirped. He did as she said, and she began to walk over. Many thoughts raced through Levi's head, replaying the deaths of Eld, Oluo, and Gunther in his head repeatedly. What happened to her? How was he going to tell her?

These thoughts were interrupted by the shattering sound of the mug and Petra's scream.