"Not so fast," Nathalie's voice echoed in Levi's ears, and he was afraid to turn around. Terrified of what she was going to say, and what had happened in those last moments.
Was Anya dead? Had he lost her? Now that he had everything they had ever wanted, was he going to lose her, just as he had lost her so many times before?
"it's what she's going to want," Nathalie smirked, as she flung open the door further, as the nurses behind her rolled an unconscious Anya into the room. She watched as they moved her on to the bed, and Levi stared in front of him with his mouth agape - not able to fully process what was going on. Nathalie walked to the side of Anya's bed, and cupped her cheek for only a moment. "You gave me hell, you fucking stubborn bitch, but I love you,"
Levi's breath hitched as he looked down at her unconscious form. He couldn't believe his eyes. Just as he had accepted her death, his worst nightmare - the nightmare was over. She was there. She was alive. All the monitors and machines she was hooked up to showed signs of life. She was still connected to an array of tubes and monitors - but she was alive.
As he turned to look at Nat, he could see the exhaustion on her face as she crashed her body into Zeke's arms, and let out a sob as she wrapped her arms around him, "I thought I was going to lose her... I thought I was going to fucking fail,"
"Is.. she..." Levi started, tears flowing from his eyes and down his cheeks as he reached his hand down to hers, picking it up with such gentle care, as if she was made of glass, and placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand, "She's... going to live?"
Nathalie let out a sob, and nodded furiously, "she's going to live," Nathalie looked into Zeke's eyes, and then turned her attention to Levi, "She's going to lead a long, happy life,"
Zeke took a sharp breath in, "so... the- the curse..."
"It wasn't the damn curse," Nathalie started, blowing her nose in a tissue and tossing it in a nearby trash can, "It was all the trauma from however she miscarried the first time, and the rape, and ... just everything... the scar tissue... it had built up, and it ripped back open, and... God damn it," Nathalie gritted her teeth, her jaw clenched tightly, "when it ri-ripped open... it ripped everything open. She was gonna bleed out. It caused an obstruction in the uterus, we almost didn't get them all out...And then, then she started hemorrhaging... If it wasn't for Mikasa..."
Levi turned his attention to his cousin, still weak and sitting in one of the chairs. He choked back a sob, "thank you, thank you so much, you-you saved her..."
"It was nothing," Mikasa mumbled as she played with her hair, twirling it between her fingers
"Sh-she's gonna be in and out for a few days," Nathalie mumbled, "at least 5 days of being in and out, maybe more. Her body went through so much, she needs rest. I'm keeping her for the next two weeks minimum - the babies too - I'm assigning you a few nurses to help with them,"
"And we'll be here of course," Zeke chimed in, and looked down at his wife who was clearly exhausted, "Is there any way to get a room for him...He hasn't rested..."
"I can sleep in the chair," Levi sniffled, "I-I have to be able to watch over her..."
"That's what the nurses are for," Mikasa piped up, "you've been through a lot too, you should rest,"
He knew she was right. He knew that it was nearing 36 hours that he hadn't slept, and that the emotional exhaustion of everything was going to hit him soon enough. But still, he couldn't bring himself to leave her side for even a moment. What if something went wrong, and he wasn't there for her? What if something happened, and no one else noticed until it was too late? What if she woke up, and he wasn't there? "No," he shook his head, and placed another gentle kiss on her hand, "I have to stay with her,"
"I can't risk it, so I'm staying here too, " Nathalie said with a sigh "so is Zeke. Mikasa, you need to stay too... I'll have a few gurneys sent up, they aren't comfortable but it's something. Levi, we'll press your's up next to her - then if she wakes up you'll feel her moving,"
Levi nodded in response, and once the gurney was brought up to the room and lined up next to Anya's bed, the nurses took away the bassinets with their children - explaining that they would be watching over them, and that the next morning they could be brought back in. He quickly climbed onto the gurney, and laid next to her, staring at her frail, sleeping body. She had been through so much, and was so weak. She was so close to death. So close to leaving him, and his children, forever. And somehow, she fought. She survived. She was so much stronger than he could ever imagine. He lifted a hand to cup her face, and gently caressed her cheek with his thumb. Her skin was no longer cold, and some of the color had returned to her face.
He let out a deep sigh as he watched her chest rise and fall, her breathing now calm, steady, and rhythmic. As much as he had loved her before, words could never be enough to express to her how much he loved her now. He had thought he lost her once, and then again, and then one more time - but now, just as she had always returned to him, she returned once more. She returned from staring death in the face yet again. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her, and he knew there was nothing she wouldn't do for him - she had given him everything he had ever wanted that she could give, she had. She had given him her unconditional love, her loyalty, her dedication, her hand in marriage, and now - three perfect little children for them to raise together. She had given him everything, and yet he was so close to losing her - to losing it all.
And by some miracle, he didn't lose anything. She was there - exhausted and weak - but alive. Their children were safe, and perfectly healthy. They would be adding one more to their perfect little family, and they had all the love in the world to give to those children and to each other. And now, nothing and no one could ever take them away from each other again. He wouldn't let it. Not now, when they had finally come back together and built all they had ever hoped for. Not when they had their whole lives to look forward to, and four little ones to raise and watch grow.
Not when he had almost lost her not once, or twice, but now three times.
Nothing could take him away from her, and nothing could take her away from him.
He watched her breathing, and let his hand rest there on her - his fingers, behind her ear as his thumb lay on her face, rubbing small circles on her cheek. When he fell asleep start to drift him off, he leaned in closer to her, and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
"Levi?"
Her voice was barely a whisper, raspy and weak, He could tell she was in pain, yet somehow she still had a hint of a smile on her face. Her eyes weren't even fully open, her eyelashes barely fluttering, but he caught a glimpse of those blue eyes that not long ago he was sure he would never see again.
"Anya," he could feel his heart in his chest, beating so hard it could have burst out at any moment. He felt a tear slip down his cheek, and he let out a soft sob, "I love you so much,"
She hummed, and fluttered her eyelids closed, "I love you too," she motioned for him to come closer, and when he was as close as he could be, she turned onto her side, groaning in pain as she did so, and laid her head on his chest, "I'm sorry I worried you,"
"Shh, my sweet, my precious baby, you're here now," he smiled, pulling blankets over both of them and wrapping his arms around her, "you need to rest,"
She let out a small yawn, and nuzzled her face into his chest, "goodnight,"
He recognized that her breathing immediately changed slightly, closer to the way she normally breathed when she was asleep - calmer now that his arms were around her, he nuzzled his face into her hair, and breathed her in as he felt a tear slip down his cheek. She's going to be okay. "Goodnight, my love,"
The Next Morning
Levi fluttered open his eyes, and felt the movement beneath him as the weight on his chest shifted, and the arms around him pulled him in closer. He could feel her short nails clutching into his shirt, threatening to scratch him if she held on any tighter. He could hear her whimpering, and immediately looked down at her.
"Baby?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper
She nuzzled her face into his chest in response, still whimpering in pain. Searing pain that she could feel throughout her entire body. "Hmm?"
He frowned, and placed his hand to the back of head, caressing her softly. "Hey, What's wrong?"
"She's in pain, you dumbass, what do you think is wrong?" Nathalie groaned. Her eyes were still closed, finally regaining her strength after all that shit from the previous day. She knew she had work to do and patients to take care of but... fuck.
Anya nodded at Nathalie's words, barely whimpering. She could feel the burning of the stitches holding together not just her skin but so much more. She could feel the searing pain of being ripped in two from the two children she had delivered with no pain relief whatsoever. She was hungry, thirsty, and nauseated... all at once. She could feel the sweat in her hair, the blood still caked to her legs and torso. She clung to him tighter, as she felt a cramp radiate through her lower abdomen, followed by a sharp stinging pain. She groaned, and felt the tears slip from her eyes down her cheeks and create a small puddle on his shirt.
Nathalie sighed as she forced herself up. She was aware of the mess that her hair was in but she barely even cared. She needed some coffee, and she needed it black and as bitter as possible. She looked down at Anya. She certainly had bloodstains everywhere and pain that she must have been in was most possibly excruciating.
"I'll send two nurses over to clean you up and inject you with morphine and antiemetics. You need to eat. You need clean sheets, a new gown," Nathalie put her lab-coat back on and she brushed her hair with her fingers. Her hand reached for her glasses that she had tossed in her bag the night before. "And I need to get back to work. I'll check up on you in five,"
"Minutes?" Levi arched an eyebrow.
"Hours," Nathalie hurried out of the room and set off to get that coffee.
Within minutes, a nurse came in to do exactly as Nathalie had ordered. Levi pushed his makeshift bed out of the way, and watched as they injected Anya with a combination of painkillers, blood clotters, and anything else she needed to be comfortable before cleaning her up. They moved her effortlessly onto the gurney he had been on moments before, and changed her into a fresh gown. It only took moments before she was clean, and had enough of the pain relieved to be sitting up - propped on pillows, and motioning for him to lay next to her even though there was barely enough room for the two of them. Still, he complied - who was he to deny her, especially now, with all she had gone through? He would never, ever deny her of anything again. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her.
She nuzzled her face softly in his shoulder, as he slipped an arm around her. "Food?" she asked, her voice still shaky and raspy. "An-and water..."
"Whatever you want, my love," he replied with a smile, and instructed the nurses on what to bring her - all her favorite foods, he didn't care how - they would need to find a way to bring her at least one of them. That, and water exactly how she liked it - with crushed ice and a wedge of lemon. He watched as they scrambled to go get what he requested of them, and when they finally came back with a tray in hand, he wouldn't let her lift a finger. He fed her, and brought the water to her lips. He made sure she ate, and drank, and when she was finally fed and comfortable, she urged him to lay on his side and hold her.
He couldn't help but gently caress her hair, and feel a tear slip down his cheek as he looked down at her. He had come so close to losing her again. But there she was, in his arms and quickly falling back asleep. She was still, even after all those years and leaving the underground, that same determined fighter of a woman that he loved so dearly, and would give anything for. She had fought death countless times, and somehow always made her way back to him.
She sighed, and fluttered her eyes open again - looking right into his. "I saw our moms,"
"Wh-what?" he asked, stunned. How? How did she see their dead mothers, if she had made it back to him?
She hummed in response, "I'm not quite sure, but they were... something else entirely," she let out a soft laugh, "They said they've been watching over us,"
He chuckled. Of course, they had been watching over them. All those things that they had been through. He couldn't even imagine how it felt watching a loved one suffering and being unable to do something about it. But it was all over now. His Anya was alright now. She was alive and there with him and they had three wonderful little angels to raise and love and cherish.
"And your mom, she brought me to you," she sighed, and thought back to how it felt to be completely helpless. She let out a soft sob, "I-I could see you...I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry it was like this,"
He held her tighter, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "Shh, you're here now." He let out a deep sigh, "Just... please don't ever leave me again,"
"I promise I won't," she hummed in response, and buried her face in his neck. She breathed him in, and sighed as she let herself relax. "Wh-where are they..."
With almost impeccable timing, a nurse came in to check on Anya, followed by two more nurses - each pushing a bassinet that held two small little bodies. They both immediately perked up, and looked at each with soft smiles as the nurses handed them each two little children.
To Anya, they handed the two little boys - Furlan, and the unnamed adopted child. To Levi, the two little girls - Kuchel and Isabel.
Anya looked down, and let out a soft sob as she held them close, and placed soft kisses on their tiny foreheads, before looking at Levi - "Why is there a fourth?" she asked, not disappointed in the slightest at the development, but confused nonetheless.
"Because I knew you'd want him," And there he was, the last little piece of their family. As if it was some gift for all they had suffered, some compensation for the times they had lost a child in the past. A sweet little boy, with soft wisps of light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes that had the slightest hint of green in them staring up at Anya. Levi smiled as he looked down at him - the first time he was seeing this little one, and he immediately knew what he wanted to name him. Their last little miracle. "Hey... Eren,"