Amelia ☾ [L. Ackerman X OC]

Eighteen

Levi titled his head as he studied her lifeless frame carefully. He even reached his hand out to touch her pale cheek, forcing himself to pull away at the last second.

Chocolate hair clung to her damp forehead for dear life, the curls disheveled against the pillow she'd been resting on. Her eyelids were delicately closed, fluttering every so often and giving him false hope that she'd wake up soon. Only bandages wrapped her torso, leaving her still blanched shoulders and arms exposed. Her lips were barely parted, moving slightly with each rise and fall of her chest.

Basically, she looked terrible, which made Levi uneasy.

"What are her injuries this time?" He quietly inquired, not removing his intense gaze from the Lieutenant.

"She took a bad hit, resulting in a flail chest injury." The person bluntly told with a sympathetic expression.

"Explain." He ordered plainly, not quite understanding what they exactly meant.

"A segment of her ribcage has become detached from her chest wall. Corporal Amelia fractured five of her ribs in total." They started, "but that's not all, she also suffered from cardiac tamponade and a massive hemothorax."

"Meaning?" He felt his anxiety rising with each word the tending nurse spoke, but didn't let it appear on his stoic features.

"Her ribs punctured one of the walls in her aorta, causing extra fluid to build up in the space around her heart. This puts pressure on it, which prevents it from pumping correctly. The other downside is from her other injuries, she lost a lot of blood from the chest issue, hence the massive hemothorax I mentioned."

"So, will she live?" He blatantly asked, clenching his fist at his sides.

Please, say yes.

I don't care if something permanent damages her just- let her keep breathing.

"Her surgery, unfortunately, should have been done much sooner for the damage she sustained. Even without that, though, her chances of survival are very low. I wouldn't count on any miracles."