Levihan Family Fluff

Blood Red Roses Pt. 4

She wasn't the nurse-ly type. Hanji was a soldier and a warrior and researcher and a scientist. Not a nurse. She could field dress a wound or carry a screaming halfdead corps member back to base, but that was different. That didn't usually involve sitting at the bedside of someone she loved and hoping they didn't die while she attempted to take care of them.

Still, she didn't trust anyone else to take care of her daughter. That was her job.

Hanji gently patted Ava's forehead with a cool, damp cloth, trying to calm the fever that was ripping her baby apart. It had been a day and a half since Levi had left for the faraway village that still had a chance of having the right medicine, and Ava kept getting worse. Her cough had deepened, and the mark on her collarbone was spreading, an ugly bloom draping over her shoulder and crawling up her neck.

Sending Remy away had been a hard choice, but Hanji had done it for his own good. It would've killed her if both of the kids had caught the illness, so she had asked Sasha and Connie to take Remy for a few days. Sasha's younger brother Kostya was his best friend, so he wouldn't be alone, and the two Corps members could take both of the kids out of the city.

Remy had acted like Hanji was cutting his arm off. "I won't go," he had snarled, his tone going dark and cold. Tears glinted behind his glasses. "You can't just send me away. She's my sister."

"And you're my son."

Levi would have agreed with her decision if he had been there. In the end, Remy had gone with Sasha and Connie and Kostya, but he hadn't even said goodbye to Hanji before leaving. He had refused to speak to her entirely.

Sighing, Hanji ran her hand over Ava's pale arm, feeling the heat that rose from her baby's skin. She was just trying to do the right thing by both her kids, whether Remy understood that or not. He wanted to be here, but that put him in too much danger.

Ava's eyes squinted open for a moment, looking around the room. Lately, whenever she was awake, she didn't seem to always know where she was or what was going on. This time, her grey-blue eyes went wide, and she grabbed Hanji's arm.

"Are they coming?" she whispered, her voice hoarse from all the coughing.

"Who's they?" Hanji asked, forcing herself to smile a little, trying to reassure Ava.

"The Titans," Ava said, her fingers tightening around Hanji's arm, "They're hungry."

"Sweetheart, Titans don't get hungry." Hanji brushed Ava's hair back from her face and slipped into the bed right beside her. She gathered the eight-year-old against her, pulling her close. "And they're not coming here."

"Yes, they are," Ava said, tears welling up in her eyes, "They're coming, they won't stop."

"Shh," Hanji said. She shook her head and pressed a kiss to Ava's forehead. "They're not coming, but if they were, I'd kill them all. So don't cry, okay?" She rocked her daughter back and forth, wishing that she could automatically make her feel better. After this was over and Ava was better, she was going to go to every doctor in the district and give them a loud, obnoxious piece of her mind. It was just plain irresponsible to allow a medicine supply to become so low when it was as important as this one.

Ava coughed into the inside of her elbow and rolled away from Hanji. "I'm hot."

"I know." Hanji picked up a cold cloth from the bowl on the nightstand and pressed it against Ava's neck. It wouldn't help all that much, not in the long run, but it might at least make Ava more comfortable.

Ava whimpered and curled up tighter, an expression of misery on her face. Hanji stroked her hair.

"It's going to be okay. Your dad will be here soon."

0000000000000000

Frost was gathering on Levi's hood as he and Mike rode through a mountain pass, heading back toward their home district. The wind and the weather had not been merciful, and snow had piled into the valley since yesterday when they had first ridden through. If it had been a normal trip, they would have taken shelter for a few hours at least in one of the caves, but there was no time for that. If anything, they needed to get home faster than they had arrived.

Two additional saddlebags hung from Levi's saddle, and the spare horse had new packs as well. They were bringing back a whole new supply of the medicine so hopefully no one else would fall victim without a real hope of recovering. Ava was going to get the first dose.

Levi pulled his scarf up over his mouth and nose, trying to cut down the bite of the winter wind. He and Mike were trying to be careful of frostbite, or at least Mike was. Levi was far more focused on getting home as quickly as possible. Mike was the one looking after him this time, though he was loathe to admit it.

"We need to take a break," Mike called out over the wind. Even though he was riding right beside Levi, the wind whipping through the pass made it hard to hear anything. "The horses can't take much more of this."

Levi ignored him. They couldn't stop now, they didn't have time for that. The horses could press through, they were made for times like this.

"Levi."

He glanced over at Mike and shook his head.

"If the horses die from exposure, we'll never make it in time."

That made got a fierce scowl from Levi. He didn't want to talk about it, he didn't even want to consider that idea. But Mike had a small point. "Fifteen minutes." After that, they would be right back on the road.