Any hopes of going back to bed were slashed as soon as that message came through. Sure, it said it was from an unknown number. Sure, technically it could have been anyone, even one of our mutual friends. It could have been a prank. It could have been from a different Kenny, and the intended recipient could have been a different Levi. Stranger things certainly had happened before.

However, we both knew damn well who it really was.

There was no way it could be anything else from anyone else to anyone else. It was Kenny.

It could only be Kenny, his uncle who had abandoned him out of the blue one day in his past, leaving him alone as a child, stranded and penniless and alone. Kenny had taught him to fight, to steal, how to be an efficient vagrant in society's underbelly. Kenny had taught him his morals, that he could trust nobody, that he himself could not be trusted. Kenny had taught him that hurting people was necessary to get what you want, that people were only out to get you in the name of self-preservation. Kenny taught him that everyone was drunk on something that got them through life and if you did not have one, you were lost, but if you did, you were blind.

Kenny taught him all that he had known and had impacted him down to his very soul, but could never quite reach his heart. He had chipped away nearly everything that made him human and damn well reached what made him Levi.

After his mother Kuchel died, it wasn't like Levi had much of a choice when Kenny popped in to say hello to her, only to find her dead and with a kid and offered to teach him the ins and outs of his lifestyle. The lifestyle Levi did not ask for. The mindset, the skills, the know-how that he did not want.

The very first present Kenny had given him had been a knife with a worn wooden handle, a serrated edge, and a bloody past. In turn, it had worn Levi himself down, giving his very personality a serrated edge, and a bloody past.

The very first life lesson Kenny taught him was how to hurt someone before they had a chance to hurt you first. And for a long time, it was the only life lesson that had mattered to him, because it was the only one that Kenny had cared to explain.

And one day, when Kenny deemed him ready, he'd abandoned his only nephew, leaving him to fend for himself. It was disgusting. I could hardly stand to think about it, even now, without growing so incredibly angry at this man that I had never met. At that point, when Levi had pulled along by his uncle, he had still been only a child, a young one at that. He was a child, still so lost in grief from the loss of his mother. He was a child so willing to do anything for who took him in, to "care" for him.

Kenny was a despicable human being.

I had never met him, but I could say that with stunning clarity.

For him to have done what he did... For him to try to undo what his mother had taught him of life, of family, of love... And for him to try to come back into Levi's life now, only weeks before his wedding, when his life was arguably going incredibly well? 

He had incredible timing. Incredibly awful. And it was suspicious, to be frank. Why now? Why not before? Why exactly at this very moment in time? Life worked in mysterious ways, I knew that. I knew it well, and I knew it by experience. But why did it pick now and not, say, a month ago? Or last week? A year from now? Never?

Levi and I spent that night trying to figure out Kenny's angle, because he had to have an angle. What could Kenny want that Levi could possibly offer him? And why the hell did he have the audacity to call me a whore? Please. Like all the bastard children he pumped into however many women who would have brought him in for a night would agree with him calling me a whore.

"I'll kill him," Levi had hissed, sitting up in bed and staring daggers at his phone.

"If he wants to meet with you," I said, though I was damn well considering it myself, "don't you think you should?"

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"It might be dangerous for us if you don't," I said warily. I was angry, yes, but I was scared, too. "He clearly knows where we live. If not the apartment building, then he at least knows our street, and even that is knowing too much."

"We don't know that for sure."

"Really? Levi, come on. We can see that gyro place from our window."

"It could be-"

"It's not a coincidence," I said, "and that's not a chain restaurant. I know Paulie personally. This is serious, Levi."

"I know that," he practically growled, shifting his attention from the phone to me. I must have accidentally let my shock show on my face, because all signs of anger fled his face and his gaze softened. "Sorry. I'm not upset with you."

"I know," I said gently. "I know you're frustrated and angry with him and I'll admit, I'm scared too. But if we don't listen to what he wants, it might get worse. You know him better than anyone, I'm sure, no matter how long it's been. I doubt he's the kind of guy to change. So, does he seem like the guy to take kindly to someone not listening to him?"

"No," he answered, and unfortunately he seemed to be being honest. His shoulders slumped as he sighed. "I just... Fuck, why now? We've got more important things to worry about than this shit!"

"Which is why we should take care of it quickly," I offered. A sigh escaped me, less of a real sigh and more of a quick huff of emotions being let out, and I let my gaze wander to my lap, to my hands that were anxiously picking at the lint in the comforter. "It's a damn good thing we decided on a new place, huh?"

"He's a jackass," he sneered, but then his eyes returned to my own, seeing me clearly now, and not through the red-tinted lens of anger.

I lifted my eyes to meet his gaze, and I did what I could to smile at him, but he saw through it right away. It was just scary, knowing that someone knew where you lived, or at least a general area. He might not have been a stranger to Levi, but he was a stranger to me, and neither of us had handed this address out to him.

This is the kind of shit that leads to those awful stories on the news, of people being stalked and then abducted and killed or worse. For now, I was willing to bank on Kenny seeing Levi as family. Perhaps once he had what he wanted, he'd leave us alone? That was about the only hope that I could cling to right now, because Levi had only ever been truthful when talking about Kenny and that meant he was dangerous, based solely on what he had said. And if Levi thought he was dangerous...

"I'm sorry," Levi went on to say, his voice as gentle as he could make it before he took my hand into his own. "I know you're scared. I'll take care of this, alright? I won't let him do anything to you, to us."

"We'll take care of it," I said. "Together."

"What? (Y/n), no, I don't want you anywhere near him."

"You need someone with you," I pressed. "You're in a wheelchair, Levi, and I know you can take care of yourself but what if he tries something?"

"He won't try anything in public."

"But what if he does?"

"(Y/n)," he said, "if you think he's dangerous, then that's just another reason that you shouldn't go anywhere near him. In my time knowing him, never has he tried to hurt me. I'll be fine."

"But what if something happens to you?"

"You can be close, just in case," he said in compromise. "I don't want him to meet you if I can help it. If he's up to the same shit he was when I was with him, then he's with dangerous crowds and even knowing him is too much information about him."

"How about I wait just outside the restaurant and pretend to wait at the bus stop that's right there?"

"And then not get on the 12:05 bus when it comes, when I'll be meeting him for noon?"

"Um..."

"New to covert operations, are you?"

"I was never taught to do... reconnaissance or any of that," I said with a laugh, picking up on his teasing tone. "I wasn't raised by a mobster or a gangster or something like that!"

"Clearly."

"What if I just wait at the coffee shop next door? And oh, we can wear wires so I can hear the conversation!"

"And where, exactly, would you get those?"

"Um. How about walkie-talkies?"

"(Y/n)," he said firmly, "I'm going in alone. If all he wants to do is talk, then I'll be fine."

"I'm just worried about what might happen if he doesn't just want to talk."

"You'll be the first one to know if I feel like I'm in trouble. Alright?"

"Alright," I relented, knowing that was as good as I was going to get. "Just promise me that you'll be careful, ok?"

"I can't promise I won't kick his shit in if he says anything I don't like."

"Levi!"

"...I promise I'll be careful."

"Thank you," I said.

And with that, well, we both tried to fall asleep. Really, we did. However... extenuating circumstances made it a bit difficult to. But at least we tried.

---

That next morning, we rolled out of bed after a completely restless, sleepless night. And to think, it started so nicely!

I mean, we'd gone to bed after a calm evening and a wonderful dinner, then got to bed and got to work, work meaning of course... Well, you know. And after getting cleaned up from our activities in bed, we'd shared quiet pillow talk for hours until... that message, and everything got derailed. And now, our calm plans for this wonderful Saturday morning were thrown out the window and we were preparing for him to head out to meet with Kenny.

I was extremely wary of this, and all but certain that something would go wrong, but Levi continually assured me that he would be fine and that he'd have his phone ready and in hand to call me if ever he felt he'd need it, which made me feel better. And with me being just next door, it made me feel a lot better. Still not great, but better. All I'd do was assist him into the shop despite knowing damn well that he was more than able to get there himself, and I'd just stop in for a coffee next door.

So now, I focused on just getting ready as though this was any other day.

"You know," I said nonchalantly, acting a hell of a lot more composed than I really was as I gathered my shirt into my hands, "at least he was considerate enough to make the plans for noon, and not like, eight in the morning. Perhaps he is a changed man."

I pulled the shirt on, smoothing it out as soon as it was on and then chancing a glance over at my reflection in the mirror. "I doubt it," Levi replied. "He's still the same piece of shit I knew."

"He's older now, anyway," I said. "Maybe he's mellowed out."

"We'll see."

Now dressed, I grabbed a light jacket for myself then crossed the room to crouch down beside him in his wheelchair. "Listen," I said gently, "I may have a bad feeling about this, but I've been wrong about these things before, so... Maybe he'll be able to tell you about your family? Maybe you've got other family members out there, just waiting to meet you."

"A bit too late to show that they care, no?"

"Well, maybe," I said, considering it. "It may be late, but no family is perfect. Nothing in this world is, and families are always complicated." I shared a meaningful look with Levi. He knew what I meant. I, of course, never knew my own and Levi's... Well, that was obvious. "You and I both know that, better than most. But I think it's worth a shot."

"I think you need sleep."

"Maybe you're right," I said with a shrug and a wide smile, "but still, I think family is worth it. And especially for us, never having known ours."

A coy sort of smile appeared on his lips then, and he tucked his hand under my chin. "Sure," he said quietly, "but I've got all the family I need."

"You're sweet," I said with a smile. "Even so, if you've got cousins out there somewhere, I want to meet them and tell them all sorts of embarrassing stories about you."

"Brat."

Only minutes later, we left the apartment together to head outside and across the street. It didn't take long to reach the gyro place, nor did it take long for me to help him inside and to a table. We made sure to get here early just for my own peace of mind, so that I could make sure he was alright with my own eyes.

It was early enough so that Kenny wasn't here yet... or at least, I didn't think he was. I didn't know what he looked like to be able to say for certain, but I did know for certain that Levi would tell me to leave right away if he did see him, so I got myself some food and left, only stopping to drop a quick kiss to his cheek before finally heading over next door.

Only, I didn't do that.

I never made it to the coffee shop.

Only a second after stepping away from Levi, offering him a quiet good luck after kissing him and coupled with a sweet I love you, I got a call. I slid my phone from my pocket, intending to let it go to voicemail if it wasn't anything important.

But it was important, because it was a call from Eren.

He never called.

He only ever texted or facetimed or spammed me on social media. Never did he call.

Alarm bells went off in my mind just as a tall man brushed past me to enter the restaurant. Levi called after me just as I pressed the phone to my ear. I knew he could tell by my body language alone that something was wrong.

"Eren," I said, breathlessly even though I'd been standing stock-still. My eyes were unfocused as I tried to redirect everything to my ears, to hear what he had to say. My heart was in my stomach. There was a lump in my throat. My hands were clammy and my tongue was dry. I felt like I was going to throw up what little food I'd eaten for breakfast. And he hadn't even spoken yet.

I very suddenly had an incredibly awful feeling that something was about to happen. Something far worse than what I had originally anticipated.

"Hey, sis," Eren said, his voice forcibly calm. My eyes narrowed, a pinch formed in my brow, and a wad of nerves balled up in my stomach, joining my heart.

Levi called my name again.

"Eren," I said. "Are you ok?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Yeah. But..."

"But? Eren, tell me. What's wrong?"

"Dad is... he's in the hospital."

---

I don't think I'd ever taken a drive quite so quiet as the one in which I drove to the hospital to see my father.

Usually, I would hum or sing if alone, or otherwise make conversation with whoever I was driving with. But never would there be pure silence. Well, maybe I was making noise. To some extent, the human body was always making some kind of noise, whether by breathing quietly or by actively making sound, but... 

All I could hear was the pounding of my heart, the tapping of my fingers against the steering wheel, and the rumble of the car below me. I couldn't hear the radio. I couldn't hear the other cars. I couldn't hear my phone go off with a hell of a lot of notifications that I wouldn't see until later.

All I could think about, and all I could focus on, was getting to the hospital Eren told me to.

All I could do was hope that he was alright.

I couldn't lose him.

I couldn't lose the man who had so kindly taken me into his home. The man who welcomed me so readily into his family. The man who went above and beyond what being a parent meant. The man who never made me feel like I was adopted, but like I was his own flesh and blood. The man who loved me as though I'd spent my whole life with him and his family. The man who... made me believe that I really was a cherished member of the family.

The man who firmly believed that I was family.

And the man who was family to me.

I never knew what having a father was like until he came along.

Growing up, I'd had an inkling of what it was like to have a mother. Ms. Fields had stepped into that role for every child that entered that damn home with the warm smile and kind heart that I knew were qualities of a loving mother. She was patient, nurturing, caring, the same qualities that my adoptive mother had, right from that first day we'd met.

But never had I known what it was like to have a father.

I didn't know what it was like to have someone to go on bike rides with me, teasing me playfully when I'd fall behind. Never had anyone taught me to throw or catch a baseball, how to perfectly spiral a football, how to make sure I maintained good credit and how important it was. He taught me to make recipes that his father had used, and because I was the oldest, I got to learn them first. He taught me to balance a checkbook. He taught me to be fiscally responsible and how to drive and how to change a tire and more, so much more.

He taught not only the big lessons of life, like how important it is to believe in something, to believe in yourself, to dream big and chase after them, and how to love yourself, but he taught the smaller lessons too, like how to unclog a drain or the all-important lesson of leaving some dishes overnight to soak instead of washing them right away because they were such a pain in the ass to wash and really, who'd want to do them right after eating?

Sometimes, he was a bit harsher with the rules, and occasionally he wasn't the greatest with controlling his temper. Where it counted, however, was in how he cared for us. And god damn, did he care for us. Everything he did was for us three kids that he'd adopted with his wife and... and...

Now I might lose him.

All Eren had told me was that he had fallen. Whether it was at work or at home or elsewhere, whether it was a slip or down the stairs, he hadn't specified, but it didn't matter, because he knocked his head something good and suffered a head injury. Maybe he had specified, but I hadn't heard it, because all his words had gone fuzzy after he said that dad was in the hospital.

Head injuries, no matter how minor, were no joke. You could survive a broken arm. You could survive a sprained ankle. You could survive a head injury, however... usually not with repercussions, long-lasting consequences...

Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion.

Maybe he's fine.

He's at the hospital. Our family has money. He's getting the care he needs.

Unless there's nothing to be done...?

Stop thinking like that! Focus!

At a red light I dialed Eren's number. He answered quickly. "(Y/n)? Are you on your way?"

"Yeah," I said. "Listen, I'll just need the room number, ok? I'm five minutes out."

"Alright," he said. "He'll in 203. Right now I think he's in the Emergency Room, so they're not letting us see him right now."

"What are they doing to him? Emergency surgery? What's wrong?"

"All I know is that he fell," Eren answered. When next he spoke, it was not into the phone, but it was like he was speaking to someone else. I soon found out that he was talking to someone else. "What? Mikasa, I'm explaining it fine. She's on her way so-"

"(Y/n)," Mikasa said into the phone now, likely having snatched it right from Eren's hand, "he fell at work."

"So it'll be a hefty lawsuit," I could hear Eren chime in quietly.

"He hit his head bad."

"And is he stable? How is he doing?"

"He hasn't woken up yet," Mikasa said quietly. "A nurse told us that they don't know if he will."

"What do you mean, if he will?"

"He's not dead," Mikasa clarified quickly. "Only unconscious. But there's the possibility that he's fallen into a coma."

"A coma," I repeated, unsure of what else to say. "Is mom with him?"

"They won't let anyone into the room," Mikasa answered. "She's... not doing well."

"I'm almost there," I said. "Stay with her. I don't care what she says, she needs someone with her right now. Just talk to her, I don't care what you say or what you talk about. Just talk to her."

"Ok," Mikasa said hesitantly. "I'll try."

"Thank you," I said. "Try to make her smile. She'll need to right now. She needs to get her mind off what's happening."

And then, silence, as she took my words in. Until at last, she spoke: "He'll be alright. I know he will."

I shook my head, not that she could see it. I didn't allow myself to believe it. I didn't allow tears to form in my eyes. I didn't allow my fears to get the better of me. Not right now. There was a time and place to cry. It wasn't now, and it wasn't here.

Save it for the pillow. The bathroom. The privacy of my home. The car on the ride back.

Be strong for my mother, who can't think of anything right now but the possibility that her husband is dying. Be strong for Eren and Mikasa, who are too young to be going through this and are unsure of how to be there for our mother. Be strong for my father, fighting so hard to stay alive.

Be strong for myself.

He can't die here. He can't.

I took a turn onto a sloped road heading upwards. Far ahead of me stood the hospital, stark white against the blue of the sky, foreboding and ominous despite the beauty of the day. Somewhere in there was my family, in such an unsure place.

If ever there was a time to be there for them, it was now.

And that's exactly what I would do.

---

Days Later:

Once, when they were dating, my father took an internship opportunity and unfortunately that meant he had to leave his campus for quite some time and consequently, he had to leave his girl behind. 

It nearly broke his heart to go but it would've broken his heart more if she'd decided to break up with him instead of doing long-distance. Similarly, it'd have broken his heart if he didn't go, for it was such an important stepping-stone in his career that it would've been dumb of him not to take it.

However, very much like a real breakup, he began to understand sad songs a lot better. He felt like a part of his heart had been ripped out and left behind, and it had been, for as much as those two were in love.

His music taste went from rock, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and Def Leppard and Bon Jovi to... sad, sappy love songs.

He'd made a CD for himself while on that trip away. And one day, when I was younger we took a day trip - I think we were going camping at his childhood campsite, just for a few days one summer - and he decided to play it. Songs by U2, Roxette, Foreigner, and... Elton John. A lot of Elton John.

And today, not in his honor but in the hopes that it might wake him up... I sat at his bedside and played that old mixtape for him on an old radio he used to use all the time.

We were alone in the hospital room.

It'd been days since his accident, and he still hadn't woken up yet.

He was in a coma.

The doctors didn't know when... if he was going to wake up.

I sat at his bedside day after day, holding his hand and listening to those old songs, humming them quietly, occasionally singing, hoping and wishing and praying that his voice would join mine like it once did.

The door to the hospital room opened just as the final song of the playlist began but I did not look up or acknowledge whoever had come in. Elton John's iconic piano began, followed by the voice I'd know anywhere, and largely because of him. This song was one of his favorites. It always had been, and he'd told me as much. 

My body instinctually started to sway only slightly in my seat, wanting nothing more than for him to wake up and adorn a goofy smile and say that yeah, being away from his family for so long made him understand why they called it the blues, much more so than when he'd been away at that internship.

It would be so cheesy. So dumb. And yet I wanted to hear him say it. No, perhaps I needed to hear him say it. I'd go insane otherwise.

Just living in this uncertain place...

Going to work, worrying all day about him, leaving work only to come here and check on him, spending what little free time I could spare here at his side, going home and telling Levi that there had been no changes only to repeat the cycle the next day...

He was in a coma. He might wake up. He might not wake up ever again.

There was no way for sure to know what would happen until... it did. Until we reached one of those conclusions, we would never have an answer.

The waiting was agonizing. I could only imagine what it felt like for him.

One of the nurses was on the other side of the bed now, checking in on him. "Visiting hours are almost over, miss," the nurse said.

"Thank you," I said, standing up. The song was over, anyway. I began to pack my things up, preparing to join Eren and Mikasa who were out waiting in the hall for me to bring them home. They'd wanted to visit, so I had brought them; they just didn't know that I'd be here until I was all but kicked out.

It wasn't really my problem, nor one that I wanted to care about right now. If they were really that impatient, they could have called an Uber.

"He'll sing with you again," the nurse said gently as I gathered my things into my arms, a strange sense of sureness in her voice. Perhaps it was just so natural for her to say things like that to the families of patients? To let them know that everything would be alright? Perhaps by now it would be second nature for her to say such things?

Even so, to hear the words from someone else...

I didn't care if she believed it or not. I didn't care if this was just part of her usual procedure. I didn't care... I couldn't care, because it brought a sense of calm to my heart, one I hadn't felt in a number of days.

I smiled at her. "Thank you," I said again. "Goodnight."

With that I left, my few personal things I'd brought with me in my arms. As soon as I left the room, I found myself between two sides of an argument, one that I supposed hadn't realized I had walked out before a string of particularly terrible words found my ears.

"Well," Eren said firmly, and more than a bit snarkily, as though this was an argument he needed to win to maintain his pride, "what if he can't walk her down the aisle?"

That's when they saw me.

"Eren," Mikasa hissed.

"What? It's a good question, isn't it?"

I didn't take a step further, because I hadn't considered it. Truthfully, I hadn't. The wedding drew ever closer each day. I wanted him to be part of it. I wanted him to walk me down the aisle. I wanted us to share a special dance together.

I wanted my father to be part of my fucking wedding.

If we had to push it back, I would. But the thought that he might not see me in my wedding gown, that he might not be there to see me marry Levi, I just...

I handed Mikasa my keys. "Go to the car," I instructed.

Tears welled in my eyes. Mikasa's eyes widened. So did Eren's.

"(Y/n)," Mikasa tried.

"Go," I pressed. "I'll catch up."

I didn't.

I cried in the bathroom before a janitor found me and kicked me out.

---

I couldn't get Eren's words out of my head, not even days later.

Dad still hadn't woken up.

But I laid in bed, awake, late one night, mulling over those words that Eren so foolishly decided to say in front of me. The poor thing hadn't thought I was going to exit the room at that moment, so it wasn't his fault... but now I couldn't stop thinking about it. I'd have told him my piece, but Mikasa had told him off enough for the both of us.

I rolled over in bed. Levi's arm that had been around me fell to the mattress between us.

The doctors weren't losing hope yet. Mom was... kinda losing it, but she wasn't losing hope yet. Eren and Mikasa weren't losing hope yet.

So why should I?

Because I knew the reality of the situation.

Even if he does wake up, he may wake up agitated, confused, scared.

Even if he does wake up, there could be memory loss.

Even if he does wake up, there could be permanent damage to his brain.

Even if he does wake up, he may have disabilities he'd have to live with the rest of his life.

Even if he does wake up...

I think the memory loss was the scariest part for me. Would my father really not remember me, his daughter? His little girl, the one he'd seen in that orphanage and knew in that moment that he wanted me to be part of his family? I couldn't imagine my life without him. But if he wakes up, he might not remember me at all.

I wasn't sure what I would do with myself if he woke up and did smile that smile at me like he always did when we saw each other.

With a huff, I sat up and got out of bed. I crossed the room to go to the window. I pulled the curtains back, only enough for me to see out of it. The cool, blue light of night poured into the room from the small break in the curtain and I briefly wondered if the change would wake Levi up, but I knew better.

He wasn't really asleep. And when I looked back towards the bed at him, the fact that he was sitting up, fully alert and watching me carefully, confirmed that thought.

I wondered what he was thinking about. On the day it happened, I had nearly forgotten that he didn't have an easy way to get home, confined to the chair that he was, but he assured me that he could make it to the apartment. The elevators had thankfully been in working order, and with the hustle and bustle of a city at lunchtime, crossing the street had been easy among a crowd of many others, so it wasn't like a car wouldn't see him crossing. 

I felt awful for leaving him alone like that, basically stranded, but he had told me not to worry, which was about the most useless thing he could have said. I had wanted to make it up to him - and I still did - but he had told me not to, because I had more important things to worry about.

He was so considerate, so thoughtful, I just... Goodness. He was too good for me.

Right now, the blanket was pooled in his lap, and he was leaning back on one hand as he looked at me. His hair was slightly tousled, of course from being in bed and trying to get comfortable. It was a cool night and so he was wearing a shirt, one that sit tightly against his body, hugging his muscles in all the right ways. Perhaps it was a bit tighter than a shirt I'd wear to bed, but it at least offered me a nice view.

But I hardly had half a mind to appreciate it right now.

I sighed, not even bothering to try to force a smile at him, turning to look back towards the window.

There was no point smiling. He'd see right through it anyway.

"(Y/n)," he called gently. "Come back to bed."

"I won't fall asleep anyway," I said. "It doesn't matter."

"Well I can't go to you," he muttered, "so get your ass over here."

Alright, fine. There was some truth to his words. And I didn't want to keep refusing him and push him to try to get to me himself, so I indulged him. I crossed the space slowly, letting the curtain fall back over the window, enveloping the room in darkness once more.

Even in the dark, I knew the path to the bed and once my eyes adjusted, it was an easy thing to turn and sit on his side in the bed. He turned to join me, getting out from under the blanket and letting his legs hang over the side of the mattress.

"You need sleep," he went on to say. "You haven't gotten a good night's rest in days."

"I know," I said. "But I can't sleep."

"You can't, or you don't want to?"

I hated that he knew me so well. That he was able to pick up so easily on nonverbal cues in my body language, the subtle hints of hesitance that betrayed my words, so that he could immediately pick out the true meaning of my words.

"I don't want to," I corrected myself. "The first night after the accident, I..." I shook my head and lowered my head into my hands, willing myself not to cry.

"Talk to me," he said. "It's alright."

"I had a nightmare," I said, just as stubborn tears welled in my eyes. I did what I could to control my breathing, to not allow myself to cry.

"About him?"

I nodded as best I could with my face buried in my hands. A warm, strong, yet gentle hand came to rest on my shoulder and he pulled me to lean against him. I did, without protest, and without hesitation. I twisted my torso to face him and threw my arms around him, starting to cry earnestly. I wailed against him, as the pent-up emotions were all suddenly released, as the dam was finally opened. All my emotions, fears, and hopes rushed forth, and I cried and cried and cried.

For his part, Levi stayed rather quiet. He allowed me to cry against him, and despite some small part of my mind telling me not to cry on him, to not dirty his shirt with my tears or snot or go into the other room so that he might get some sleep tonight...

I decided not to.

For as much as I needed this, he needed this as well.

We'd been in such an uncertain place lately; not that our love was in question, no. Never would my love for him or his love for me ever be in question. But since he came home, he hadn't been able to do any of what he usually would for me.

For him to be able to do this, though... it proved not only to me but to himself that he could still help me. That he could still do things for me. that he could still make me feel better, comfort me, and let me know that everything might be ok.

So, to that end... I cried. And cried. And cried.

"I'm here for you, sweetheart," he said, his voice low and soft, as soft as I'd ever heard him be. "Let it out. I'm here."

And eventually, I did stop crying. I cried myself to exhaustion in his arms, and as soon as my sobs subsided, Levi guided me to lay against him in the bed. He wiped my tears away gently, and dried the tracks they'd left behind on my cheeks. He didn't care about the wet stains in his shirt. He didn't care that he had to bring a tissue to my nose so I could blow it, half-asleep as I was. And he didn't care that his arm was asleep and tingling for the entire rest of the night until I woke up.

Because his words were true.

He was here for me.

So whatever might happen with Kenny, whatever might happen with my father, whatever might happen in our future together... he'd be here for me. I'd be here for him.

We'd be there for each other.

And that was enough for me to sleep soundly, at least for that night.