Chapter 10:

The following day, Levi made sure that Alena took things easy. The mention of the headaches that night before already had him on edge – he worried that she had sustained a harder blow with her injury then previously thought by Hanji. Perhaps she had a concussion or something. He was tempted to postpone their trip to see Natasha if Alena mentioned anything else about a headache. Yet seeing the excitement in Alena's eyes as the day continued made him rethink those plans.

Alena was excited about the fact that Natasha's dream was going to come true the next day – she was going to meet her father.

So he kept his worries to himself. Besides, he too was excited about meeting his daughter. But he wouldn't admit to it since he did have a reputation to keep in the eyes of the public. When it came to Alena on the other hand – that was a different matter. With her, he let his emotions show.

When Alena had first told him about Natasha a few days ago, so many emotions surged through him – anger, resentment and even curiosity. Anger because his chance for a real family had been stolen from him. Resentment because he had not been able to watch his own flesh and blood grow up and experience things that he was never able to do where he grew up. And curiosity because he wondered what his daughter was like – sure he had been told about her personality and what she looked like, but what things was he not told?

Yet with all these emotions, a new emotion had taken over the closer the day came for him to meet her.

Excitement.

Not the kind of excitement that Alena had. No, the excitement that Levi was experiencing was more a nervous excitement – the excitement of the unknown.

As the day wore on, his excitement only grew. And even though several members of his special operations squad had stayed behind for the furlough, he never let his excitement show to them when he had seen them at various times during the day. Hell, they didn't even know that their captain had a daughter. In fact, Levi had kept them and Erwin in the dark about many things recently.

It was his personal life and not the scouts. While he offered his beating heart for humanity, he was still only human. Situations change.

Yes, he would still defend humanity against the Titans until the last beat of his heart.

But now he had other matters to tend to. He knew several soldiers who were loyal to whatever regiment that they had joined along with having a family. And now he joined their ranks.

He and Alena had talked about this issue the other day while they were in the forest clearing – how were they going to proceed as both a couple and members of the scouting regiment. The agreement they came up with was simple – behind closed doors, they were a couple; yet when it came to matters dealing with the scouts, like training or expeditions, their feelings would be set aside for the sake of humanity. Hopefully this agreement would work. Not only to keep his and Alena's private life private, but also to avoid showing favoritism.

Only time would tell.

Bright and early the next day, Alena was giddy as they rode north from the scouting headquarters towards the Stohess District. It had taken her longer then normal to fall asleep the night before and Levi had even threatened to kick her out of the bed if she couldn't stop tossing and turning. After that, she had settled down. But now, her excitement was evident to everyone. The twins could not believe the difference that had occurred in Alena since her memories had begun to come back to her since her injury a few days ago. This was a completely different side that they had never seen in her before.

Alena was happy.

"Just a few hours to go!" she cheerfully said as she, the twins and Levi stopped to rest and water their horses for a bit.

"Who are you? And what did you do with Alena?" Jakob jokingly asked.

Levi, still a bit wary about displaying any type of affection around others, stood by and listened. It wasn't like he didn't trust the Hendrich twins – it was the fact that he didn't know them. Besides the twins had walked in on a kiss that was being shared by him and Alena, so it wasn't like they didn't know that the captain and major was a couple.

"I agree." Jayson added. "You're never this cheerful in the mornings or ever on the trek home. So why now?"

"I have my reasons," Alena said with the smile still on her face as she stood from her sitting position on the ground then made her way towards her horse Max, to make sure that he was ready to ride again. Everyone else followed suit.

As they began their journey once again, Levi couldn't help but worry a bit. What if Natasha didn't believe that he was her father? What if she resented him? Or worse, what if she didn't want to have anything to do with him? While the idea of being a father was still a new notion, Levi couldn't help but worry about these things. He knew that he wanted a future with Alena – he had wanted one with her when they had been together in the underground and he wanted it once again since they had been reunited. And the fact that they had a daughter only made him want it more.

"Don't worry," Alena said as she moved Max closer to Noir, Levi's black stallion.

Levi looked over at her as they continued to follow in the direction that the twins were riding in. "How can you tell I'm worried about something?"

"Facial expressions. You don't like to share too many emotions, but over the last few days I've slowly remembered that I had always been able to tell your feelings by your face."

"That's true," Levi said as the memories of his past with Alena drifted into his thoughts. "You were the only one who has ever been able to do that."

Alena smiled before asking, "So what is it that you are worried about?"

"Natasha."

"Why?"

"Just her reaction to meeting me."

Alena continued to smile. "Levi, since she could talk, she has wanted one thing in life – to meet her father. Eventually I explained to her that a lot of bad things had happened to me, which caused me to loose my memories after she was born, including the identity of her father. She understood as well as a child could. Yet I always knew that she wanted to know who her father was. That's why I am so excited about the two of you meeting. Not only does it mean that my memories are returning, but also Natasha can know who her father is. Plus there is something you should know."

"What?" Levi asked, a little worried.

"She is determined to join the scouting regiment. She has wanted to for the longest time. She would hear stories from the other children in the village about how the strongest and bravest soldiers were the scouts. She would also hear stories about humanity's strongest solider and how he could take down any number of Titans on his own. She told me when she was younger that she wanted to be just as strong and brave as the scouts, as well as becoming stronger than the famed Captain Levi."

"You're joking aren't you?"

Alena shook her head no. "Just you wait and see. I think you will be surprised."

This new revelation from Alena about their daughter only made Levi's excitement grow.

The journey seemed to drag on as the sun dipped lower in the sky. After several more stops to rest and water the horses, the small group arrived at a homestead that sat just north of the Stohess District, just as the sun was setting. There was a village nearby, but this seemed to be more of a farm.

"The Hendrichs provide the military with some of their food stuffs such as grains and a little meat," Alena whispered as the group rode down a path towards a house in the distance.

Levi said nothing as he watched the house grow closer and closer. He could feel his heart threatening to come out of his chest with how fast it was beating. His daughter – his little girl was in that house. It was now only a matter of minutes before he would see her for the first time.

Suddenly the front door to the house opened and a figure started running towards them. "Mommy!" a little voice could be heard yelling. "Mommy's home!"

Alena picked up the speed of Max as she moved ahead of the twins. Levi sat back and watched. She rode until she was almost to the house before stopping Max and dismounting him. She opened her arms wide as she took the full brunt of Natasha running in to her. A small smile spread across Levi's face as he watched the interaction between mother and daughter.

Knowing about the reunion that was about to happen, the twins quickly said hello to Natasha before making their way up to the house, where their own mother was waiting for them on the front porch. That left Levi the only one remaining. He had dismounted from Noir before moving closer to Alena and Natasha. Silently he watched the woman he loved hold the daughter that he had never known about in her arms. Alena looked up at him and smiled.

"I brought home someone to meet you," Alena whispered to Natasha as their hug continued.

The little girl looked up at her mother, who Levi noticed wasn't that much shorter then Alena was, with a smile beginning to spread on her face. "Did you remember who papa was?" the little girl asked hopeful.

Alena nodded as she turned Natasha around to face Levi. With bated breath, Levi did not say as word as he looked upon his daughter's face for the first time. Alena had been telling the truth about Natasha's eyes – they were the exact same color as his, only slightly bigger in size to match Alena's. Yet her face shape matched his with its sharpness and angles. She was beautiful, just like her mother. This was his little girl.

Tears were welling up in the corners of Natasha's eyes as she looked at her father for the first time. This was better than anything that she has ever dreamed of. Her hero, Captain Levi, was her father!

Levi took a hesitant step towards Natasha before reaching out and touching her cheek. After days of worrying and wondering, here was his daughter – his own flesh and blood. And she was perfect. Then without warning, Natasha flung herself against him and hugged him tightly. A bit taken back, it took Levi a moment before he wrapped his arms around his daughter and hugged her tightly as well.

Alena stood the side and watched the first interaction between father and daughter with tears in her eyes. Not only had Natasha's dream about meeting her father come true that night – but Alena's dream had as well.

Her family was whole once again.

And for now, life was perfect.

AN: Awww happiness! It would have been a longer chapter, but I wanted to give ya'll something since it had been a few days. So enjoy and look for another update soon!