Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki No Kyojin / Attack On Titan nor its characters.

"Well… where do I even start?" Eren smiled a little.

And that was when the story began.

Before Eren knew it, he was basically pouring out every single humorous and touching moments and memories that had happened during Mikasa's pregnancy, in hopes of proving his daughter that Mikasa had indeed loved her—in hopes of her knowing that she was never a mistake, to know that she wasn't a burden or a pain, to know that she is worthy to live this life.

He had told her, that the day when the couple had found out that they'll soon be parents had simply excited them. Ever since that day of wonderful discovery, Mikasa and Eren had been going around, asking for advice. Though, Mikasa had done a little extra more despite it just being the few weeks of her pregnancy, such as purchasing books on how to care for a baby. Eren had told her it wasn't necessary, that they could've just searched it online. But Mikasa being herself, she insisted that it was necessary, wanting the best for her child—their child. Not only that but, a few months into the pregnancy Mikasa had already started planning for the theme of the baby's room, despite the fact that the two had agreed that the baby's bed would be in their room for convenience. When Eren had asked about it, Mikasa had said it was for when their child would be old enough to have her or his own room. How ahead was she exactly thinking? Eren didn't know, nor did he decide to question it. Just seeing Mikasa excited for the baby was enough to shut him up on his complaints about Mikasa being 'a little' too ahead of time.

"There was this one time where we went shopping for baby stuff. We had planned to just buy milk bottles… we came out with way more than that." Eren laughed a little, as he looked down at his hands that were fiddling with one another. "The extra things we bought was all due to your mother's insistence, like magazines about dieting. She wanted to eat healthier, which was ridiculous—your mother already had a healthy enough diet." Eren chuckled slightly.

"Because of that, she didn't really give in to her cravings. Oh, but there was this one time where we went to the grocery store to buy food, I caught her eying at ice cream for a long time and when I asked her about it, she grudgingly and admitted she had been craving watermelon and cheese ice-cream… weird, right?" Eren laughed, "Regardless of that, she didn't give in to her cravings much. She ate so much healthier… maybe this is why you turned out so strong." Eren had smiled, searching for more things to say.

He then recalled that the two had made another trip to the mall to shop for some pregnancy clothes since Mikasa's bump was slowly becoming a little more obvious. It was due to Eren's persistence for her to get appropriate clothes. He wanted her to feel comfortable, and had mentioned something along the lines of, 'tight clothes squishing the baby'. Mikasa, though having many questions about that peculiar statement, went along with it, considering Eren had been pestering her in a worried matter about that for a few days non-stop.

"Eren, I think this is a too baggy for me." Mikasa spoke, holding up the shirt Eren had tossed to her and had asked her to try it on—which she didn't, it was obvious to her that it probably would slip down her shoulders or act like a mini dress instead of a shirt. She didn't want to wear such clothes in public, knowing it would just attract unwanted attention. "I don't know what you're talking about." Eren spoke, clueless, as he searched for more baggy clothes. Mikasa sighed, shaking her head as she was about to place the shirt back, but had accidentally dropped it. Just before she could've bent down and pick it up, Eren had turned, eyes widening, as he rushed over to her and stop her from doing so. "Woah, woah, woah! You are not bending down." Eren spoke, which Mikasa frowned at, "Why not?"

"It will affect the baby… like the baby may feel dizzy if you do..."

"Eren- how does that even work—look, I've already told you it doesn't strain me—"

"Yeah but… I don't know but it might affect it."

"Eren—"

"Actually, you know what? Let's just go home and end our trip here. You must be tired. We got enough baggy clothes anyway."

"Eren—" Mikasa had cut herself off when she noticed Eren's pleading look, which clearly expressed his over-concern for her—for both of them, her and the baby. Eren being this overly-concerned and well, protective was rare and unusual for the brunette, but it was understandable. How the tables have turned, Mikasa thought.

Though, Mikasa had a major amount of questions to ask, such as how bending down would affect the baby considering from what she read, wasn't exactly the case. She had told Eren on several occasions that as long as she felt uncomfortable, uneasy or unwell when doing so, she wouldn't bend down since she didn't want to strain herself. But she had also told him she was able to still do some physical things, like bending down, considering she felt not much of a strain, since it was still more or less the early months of her pregnancy.

Mikasa had recalled just then, on a different day, when she was carrying the two cushions on the couch, wanting to bring it upstairs to her room, she had felt the need for more pillows. When Eren saw her carrying them up, he had told Mikasa not to strain herself by carrying those cushions—which were light as a feather—before snatching them away as he carried it to their room, whilst helping Mikasa up the few steps. It was clear Eren had been overreacting way too much—his overreaction phase had started a few weeks after the revelation of her pregnancy. Mikasa didn't mind it at first, she wouldn't say anything about it considering she had understood the brunette's reason for worry. But when his assumptions became ridiculous like the two cushion case, where he called those pillows, 'heavy', she had to often remind or rather, nag at him that she was still able to take care of herself and that he was worrying too much.

Mikasa now wondered how these crazy assumptions did come to exist, was it just a 'father thing'? Sighing, she wore a smile that clearly had the, 'what am I going to do with you?' sort of teasing look. "Alright, alright." Mikasa finally complied, as her hand reached out, gripping his before her fingers laced with his gently "But when we go home, I want you to rest too." Mikasa spoke softly.

With a smile of relief, Eren had gave a nod with a smile as his fingers laced with hers as well. The warmth of her touch seemed to have soothe his worries away, for that moment.

Eren had told Sachiko this, he wondered what expression she was making. Had she thought her father was acting silly back then? Well, Mikasa obviously did. He had been too focused fiddling with his hands to look up. He then recalled the warmth he felt whenever he felt Mikasa's hand touching his—her touch. Before he knew it, his focus went towards the wedding ring he still wore till today. When his focus went towards the ring, he felt a certain ache in his heart which he pushed away for now.

"You know, your mother could never stop talking about you… 'This child will grow up to do amazing things', was what she kept saying. You weren't even born yet and she already said these things… 'I love this baby already, it makes me so happy.' was another thing she had said before—"

"But this was all before she knew she was going to die because of me!" Sachiko had finally spoke, in a pained way. When Eren had finally looked up, the pain that resonated in her voice was also shown on her expression. "She didn't know she was—"

"She did, kind of." Eren had cut her off, his eyes softening at Sachiko. The tone he used now was much calmer than before, he didn't want to startle her again. He wanted her to feel safe, to feel reassured. "She had a feeling it would happen, but when we went to the doctor a few days before her due date, they said there was nothing wrong. So, she told no one about the vision she saw in her dreams." Eren added in a sullen tone, "But... regardless of her knowing or not, one of the final words she spoke before she left the world was, 'Eren…and my lovely daughter…I love you two…'" Eren had spoken, as he started to tear up unknowingly.

The thought that he would no longer hear Mikasa's voice again had suddenly dawned upon him. The realization that the stories of him and Mikasa which he told to Sachiko would never be able continue had just came to him. He already knew Mikasa wouldn't be able to come back so many times, but as these sudden thoughts came in, it just ached him completely. Mikasa could only live in his heart and memory, but not with him physically. All these sudden thoughts just crashed into his mind as if he just realized them for the first time. And because of that, he started to cry.

"I-If… she had more time, she would have said so much more, she would've… she would've said so many things." Eren spoke, trying his best to keep his tone steady while fighting through his tears—he didn't want to break down completely yet.

Sachiko remained silent as she listened to Eren's words which attempted to convince her that her mother did love her, that she deserved to live. When she had noticed Eren's sudden tears, she suddenly felt so… sad. She didn't know why, she didn't know how to describe this sort of feeling. Just like laughter, it seemed sadness and crying were contagious as well. And before she knew it, she was crying along with her father.

"I asked your mother countless of times, 'do you think I'll be a good father?' She said yes, that I would. I believed her, because she wouldn't lie about that. I was reassured that she thought so and I was reassured at least she'll be there to help me raise you..." Eren spoke suddenly, the atmosphere seemed to have darkened a little as the conversation went to a gloomy route when Eren had brought up such a topic. "So… when she passed away, I wasn't sure if I would be able to be a good father… But, she told me to take care of you, so I did her that final wish. Of course, that wasn't the only reason I wanted to take care of you. You are our daughter—my daughter after all… Levi had told me that if I couldn't raise you well, he would take over. I… couldn't let that happen. I wasn't able to let go of you. From the moment you came out from your mother's stomach, I knew I wouldn't be able to be separated from you, I couldn't bear the thought of losing you..." Eren spoke, as he tried his best to find words that would convey how he felt whilst fighting through his tears. All these years he had been hiding his emotions, he didn't want to hide them anymore. It would do no good.

Eren voice had went soft now, pained and sorrowful, "Till now… I still wonder if I was actually a good father… haha… probably not. After all… I've hurt you so much without realizing, and now look where we are—"

"That's not true!" Sachiko exclaimed suddenly, causing Eren to be slightly startled at her raised tone.

"Sachiko—"

"You're the best Papa I could ever ask for!" She sobbed, her body began to shake. "I…I'm the worst daughter. Even if Mama loved me…I still took away her life." She cried. Eren remained silent, knowing she had more to vent out. "I… she gave me life, and I nearly threw it away! I... I don't deserve this life…"

"Why is that…?" Eren asked quietly, referring to her last statement. He had already known the answer, he wanted to make sure.

"Because it's my fault that Mama died… I took Mama away from Papa!" She cried out.

"That's not true." Eren spoke softly, "It's not your fault. It was never your fault, because that was unavoidable… this wasn't your doing, it wasn't your choice."

"I…I..."Those words seemed to have struck something in Sachiko. Choice? That's right, she didn't have an option of letting her mother live instead. She didn't have that particular choice. Now, she realized that. But regardless, she still felt so… guilty.

"Sachiko…" Eren spoke softly as he pulled her into a gentle hug. "Mikasa nor you had a choice during then—whether who lived or not. I know if Mikasa had a choice, she would save you anyway. Because she loved you Sachiko, so much." Eren spoke softly, reminding her of her mother's love. "I can tell you a hundred times that she loved you, but that wouldn't be enough to express the love she had for you… Before you were born, she was so excited and happy, she already was planning way too ahead of time. She kept telling me to stop overreacting and worrying… yet ironically, she still worried in her own way—because she wanted you to come out as a strong and healthy baby. When you came out of her stomach… even though she knew then she wouldn't be able to live for long, her eyes were only filled with love when she saw you, she was still happy—so happy that you came out healthy and strong like she hoped for… Mikasa…she… your mother, she loved you so much…she loved you till the end, Sachiko. You have nothing to feel guilty about."

Sachiko remained quiet again, she was speechless. The way Eren made it sound like was as if Mikasa did indeed, genuinely love her. There was nothing but truth and love that she picked up from his tone. But despite some of her doubts being reassured, questions remained, and without knowing, she blurted them out.

"D-Do… I really deserve this love—her love? Do I… deserve this life that she gave…?" Sachiko muttered out, stuttering slightly as if she were afraid of the answer, hesitant to accept such things.

Eren had pulled her even more closely when she had said that, unhesitatingly, he spoke, "Yes. You deserve them both. Because you've done nothing wrong, and that… this love and life, was what your mother gave you out of her own will…" As she heard those words, her body began to relax and had stopped its shaking. In an instant, she melted into Eren's warm and loving arms.

Sachiko remained silent as well, glancing off for a moment as she recalled the stories Eren had just told her, her mother did indeed seemed very excited about her, she did indeed seemed like she loved her. "Mama…so she really did love me…?" Sachiko uttered, as she recalled the things Eren had said about her—how she cared for Sachiko, how she loved her till the end.

Slowly pulling away, the little girl's orbs met a pair of similar teary eyed emeralds. "Yes, yes she did."

There was another moment of silence, except it felt less tensed as compared to the previous ones. The two found comfort in that silence, considering almost everything had been settled. Though, that silence was soon broken.

"Do you feel better now?" Eren had asked her suddenly, Sachiko gave a nod, about to question why he had asked such an abrupt question, but before she could, Eren continued, "Do you want to visit Mama…?"

Sachiko's eyes widened as she heard those words. Now wiping her eyes, she wore a genuine smile, an excited one.

"Yes… I want to see her."

Author's note: Sigh, I hope this chapter is okay :/ I was on a major writer's block for this one, this is my third attempt at writing it before deciding it was 'okay'. (I hope it is okay ;-;) Please leave a review! Thank you for reading!