Annie had never considered herself a good person. She was out for herself. She was to trust nobody. But, when she accidentally became pregnant with Armin Arlert's child and his eyes lit up with glee at the thought of having a family, she felt like she should be considered a good person for agreeing to go through with the ordeal.

Armin decided that he wanted to try to make things right and he proposed the idea of marriage. It was nothing fancy. A few friends (Eren, Mikasa, Reiner, and Bertholdt) were the only people they had with them for the small ceremony. Armin seemed so happy during the event, but Annie only wondered what she was doing. She was by no means wife or mother material; she had never pictured her life being this way. Still, Armin's happiness of becoming a husband, a father never once faltered, and that made it worthwhile.

It was not an easy pregnancy. She suffered from morning sickness—a complete lie, actually. She found herself nauseas during the entire day. Her breasts grew and they ached. Her body was constantly sore. Her feet became swollen. She constantly craved hard to get foods. She increasingly had the urge for sex. She was moody and angry and emotional the whole nine months. But still, Armin stayed by her side. He offered foot rubs; he gave back rubs; he would run out in the middle of the night and find whatever she was craving.

She did not enjoy the experience. What really kept her going, though, was Armin. He just became so happy. He chattered on about how he was so happy to be a soon-to-be father, how he wanted to teach the child all that he knew, how one day he would accompany them to the outside world, how ishe/i would make a wonderful mother. Annie was surprised how happy her new husband was at the prospect of being a dad.

There were times when she did not feel too good about her body. Before the pregnancy, she was fit and in shape; during the pregnancy, she felt fat and bloated. Still, just like with everything else, Armin was still there, telling her how beautiful he thought she was. When she was especially feeling bad about her newfound, temporary appearance, he would take her to the bedroom and would make love to her, being absolutely gentle while also catering to her wants and reminding her of how gorgeous she was, which made her feel beautiful. He was so gentle, so thorough, and it made her feel so much better.

She had gone into labor a couple of weeks after her expected due date. During those last few weeks, she was especially irritable. She had just wanted to be done with the entire thing. She was miserable and yet, he was there the entire time, reassuring her of it all.

Just like her pregnancy, Annie's labor had not been easy. It had lasted nearly twenty hours; Armin sat through it the whole time, grasping her hand, cooling her with a cold cloth, brushing her bangs out of her face, massaging and rubbing painful areas. He supported her every moment.

When it came time to push, he cheered her on every moment, encouraging her to keep going. It did not take long before the midwife declared another push and the baby would be there. There was an exclamation of "It's a girl!" before the baby let out a wail, causing both of the new parents to smile. The midwife laid the newborn on her mother's chest. The midwife cleaned the baby as Annie got her first good look at her newborn daughter. The midwife handed a pair of scissors to Armin and he cut the cord. Once their daughter had been wiped off enough, the midwife left the new parents alone together, saying that she would be back in a bit to instruct Annie on how to breastfeed.

Something clicked inside Annie when her daughter was placed in her arms. Originally, she had no desire for the child, yet she fell in love instantly and she would do anything and everything to make sure she was safe, sound, and happy.

Armin brushed his wife's bangs out of her face once more, placing a kiss on her glistening forehead. "You did great, Annie."

She did not say anything and instead continued to stare at the newborn. She had light blonde hair and bright blue eyes—they found this out once she opened them for the first time. But then again, how much variation could there be when both parents were blond with blue eyes?

"What do you want to name her?"

Annie had done a bit of digging, finding names that came from one of the older, northern countries. Her heritage tracked back to this place and had found that it would be a good background for a name for their son or daughter. "Alisa," She answered. She said nothing more and continued to take in the little details of her daughter. The little girl appeared to have Armin's nose while she had her mother's lips. Despite the extra time growing inside, the little girl seemed to be small, just like her mother.

"Alisa," Armin repeated, interrupting her thoughts, "I like it. It's Russian, isn't it?"

Annie only nodded.

Armin reached a hand out to his daughter and smiled as the little girl grasped one of his fingers. "She's strong," He remarked, "Just like her mother."

"I would hope she is."

He smiled wider. At that moment, everything seemed perfect. He was so happy. He had a lovely wife and a wonderful newborn daughter. Everything seemed to be absolutely perfect at that moment.

Within the next couple of days, the new parents had visits from many of their friends from their trainee squad. Eren and Mikasa were the first to visit. Armin was about to pass baby Alisa to his childhood friends when he heard Annie say in a serious, cold tone, "Hand me my child. I don't trust them with her."

It was then that Armin was wondering if keeping the child had been a bad idea.