Athos felt the exhaustion claiming his body and mind, making him almost paralyzed. After delivering the king's message, washing dishes and being on a stable duty, he finally found his peace of mind in his narrow bed, sprawling his long figure across it and closing his eyes with a sigh of relief.

Despite having the temptation to drink in the nearest tavern, the swordsman decided to obey his feet which were strictly guiding him towards his quarters. Well, he had nothing to lose. A few hours of deep sleep would definitely ease his fierce headache.

Athos was already dozing off, when someone knocked on his door quite loudly, making him shut his eyes tightly as the pain became nearly unbearable.

"Go away!" – He barked, covering his head with a pillow.

As the knocking continued and grew louder, Athos put on his best deadly glare and went to open the door.

"What the…" – He cut himself off, realizing he was talking to no one. Looking around, he found the street empty. Someone had tricked him, disturbing his peaceful slumber. Athos fumed at that, banging his fist on the door.

He was about to go back inside, when he heard a small whimper. The former count looked down to find a basket in front of his door. He raised an eyebrow, eyeing it critically and then, bending down, he carefully reached for the basket, roaming his hand in it, trying to discover what was hidden inside. Athos' hand fell on something soft and warm and soon the whimper turned into a quiet cry. The swordsman's eyes widened as something grasped his thumb. Growing curious, he looked down to find a pair of tearful blue eyes staring at him. Athos blinked repeatedly, pinching his arm several times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. A baby? At his door? Who would do that?

Athos reached down, trying to lift the crying infant in his arms, finding himself quite clumsy during the process.

"Shh, little one, you are safe, stop crying." – He soothed, bouncing the infant lightly. The former count would never admit that he was fond of babies and often dreamt of having his own. However, he had no experience in handling them.

Shifting the baby in his arms, Athos hurried inside, putting the little treasure on the bed and lighting the fire. Athos wasn't sure if he wanted to keep the baby or send it to the orphanage, but he couldn't leave it like that right now.

Once he was finished, he turned to the basket to see if he could find something important there. To his great surprise, it was a letter. Athos immediately recognized his wife's handwriting and grew concerned.

"Dear husband,

If you are reading this letter, then I am already in London. I can easily imagine your confused face when you saw her. She's our daughter, Athos, your flesh and blood and your miniature version. I asked a trusted friend of mine to bring her to you. Don't worry, she won't stay with you forever. A year or so will be enough, just before I finish my business here. You must be angry with me for not telling you, but I didn't want you to think I was trying to get you back by using our daughter, so I stayed silent. Her name is Olivia just as you chose for our future baby girl once. She requires love and care as she's only a few weeks old and already as impatient as you. I'm sure her father will handle her better than anyone else.

Your loving wife, Milady de Winter."

Athos stood still, trying to comprehend what he had just read. So, he had a daughter. A small daughter with her father's eyes and her mother's beauty. But why did Milady keep it from him? Whatever her reasons were, she had no right to hide their child from her father. It's all right. He had his daughter with him and had no intention to give her away. He would raise and love her like every parent in the world does. His mind started imagining her growing up in front of his eyes, learning to walk, talk, jump and run, having fun with his friends' children and cuddling with her papa at nights. A stinging sensation in his heart shook his thoughts away. What about Milady? She also deserved to be in their family. She was her mother after all and… And the love of his whole life. Athos had no strength left to deny his feelings for her anymore. Even now he was supposed to be angry with her, but he wasn't. He couldn't find any other feeling in his heart other than love and regret. If she were there with him, he would kneel in front of her and beg for forgiveness like he made her do years ago. She had been strong enough to face losing him, but he never was. His mind refused to imagine her with anyone else than him. He couldn't bear the thought of being away from her. He loved his wife and craved for her presence, but she was too far. Sadly, the distance between them wasn't only physical…

The baby started crying again and soon Athos found himself hovering near her, clumsily picking her up and bouncing her. She continued crying loudly, fisting her hands in his shirt.

"Are you hungry, my love?" – Athos whispered in his daughter's ear. His eyes watered at the sight of her cute round face, grimaced in a childish way. He could swear he had never seen anyone more beautiful. Athos found a sparkle of fierce love building in his frosty heart. He kissed her small forehead.

"Wait a second, I will fetch you some milk." – Saying so, he put her back on the bed and went to the kitchen.

Once the milk was warmed up and ready, he realized he didn't know how to feed her. Sighing audibly, he just brought it to her lips, hoping she would drink it, but nearly swore when she didn't. After struggling a lot, he gave up, running a hand through his unruly hair.

"I need to find Aramis". – He whispered. It was going to be a long night.

A.N. The end of the first chapter. Please leave reviews and let me know if I should continue.