A/N: This is a very old fic that I'm finally posting here as well as on AO3. I'm sorry if anyone was hoping for a brand new story in this fandom. :(

Warning: This fic has been scientifically proven to be so sweet it causes tooth decay in rats. Please - read at your own risk! :)

Written for the love_bingo challenge. This was intended to be a series of unconnected one-shots. It...didn't turn out that way...*cough* However, while these are all connected, follow a timeline and form a "complete" story, I didn't make sure every beat/detail of the story was covered. There are gaps, and some of the parts...hmmmm...don't really "resolve" anything. That was deliberate and was done as an experiment. Hopefully it worked...

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"Would you like to hold her?"

Beck looked at Mary, startled. He glanced at Eric, and to his surprise, Eric gave him a small smile and nodded.

Beck tenderly took the baby, Johanna, from her mother and cradled her carefully in the crook of his arm. The baby stared solemnly up at him, and he smiled at her, his usually stern expression softening as he gently stroked her cheek and allowed her to grasp his finger.

For a moment, Beck forgot he was in a room surrounded by the Green family and their friends; forgot about the devastated country outside the room; the pending second civil war, and the day-to-day struggle to survive and ensure his activities against the ASA escaped detection.

He forgot about his own lost family: a beautiful woman; a lovely child. He forgot about his guilt at his growing feelings for another beautiful woman who had stayed by his side when no one else would. Who'd believed in him and forced him to face the truth - whether he wanted to or not. Who'd never stopped believing he was a good man, trying to do the right thing.

For a moment, the only reality was the hope embodied in the tiny bundle he held in his arms.

He smiled again at the power in Johanna's grip, and settled her a bit more snugly in his arms.

"You're a natural," Mary said softly.

Beck didn't raise his eyes from the baby's face as he said, "I've had a lot of practice. My daughter's been missing since the Attacks. Along with her mother."

Everyone except Heather drew in a startled breath.

"I'm sorry," Mary said. "How old?"

"She'd just turned ten." Beck kept his eyes trained on Johanna's face and tried not to see another newborn baby's face superimposed on hers. She yawned widely but she didn't release her death grip on his finger. "I'm still looking for them. Hoping -" he sighed. He glanced up and met Heather's sympathetic eyes.

He quickly glanced back at Johanna, whose eyes were fluttering closed.

"This little one is ready for a nap," he said affectionately.

Mary received her baby back in her arms, and she and Eric looked at their baby with besotted eyes.

Beck looked at them with happiness mixed with a bit of envy and sadness. Almost against his will, his gaze darted to Heather. Their eyes met, and he felt a small burst of heat when he saw the look in her eyes mirrored his own. He felt a stab of longing, a desire for a future and a family of his own that he wasn't free to pursue. He glanced away quickly, hoping no one else had noticed the naked emotion visible on his face.

He couldn't - wouldn't - think of Heather in the context of a baby - of love. He wasn't free to give her the future she deserved; to make any promises to her.

He turned away.

It was the only thing he could do.