Year 854

Three years had passed and now Lara was 17 years old.

Lying on a bed of the Survey Corps' infirmary, she grimaced at the sharp pain in her right foot, bandaged all the way up to her shin, with a splint to keep it in place.

"I hope the medicine takes effect soon..." she thought, biting inside her mouth. "I gotta go to Liberio... Eren, how did you get yourself into this situation?! You're such an--'' Lara couldn't finish the sentence, feeling anger rising inside her.

Next to her, sitting on a chair, with his head resting on his arms leaning on the bed, Armin was sleeping. Just by looking at him, Lara felt calm again and for a brief moment, she thought about stroking his blond hair, but she didn't do it. He slept soundly, but still had a worried expression on his face.

Lara gave a little smile and then looked out the window. It was a pretty late afternoon and soldiers were training in the distance. Watching the clouds, she began to replay in her mind everything that had happened in the last three years.

Levi's comfort on that stormy day was very effective. Somehow, a great peace got into her heart as Lara hugged her father, which helped her a lot to move on, even though she knew there was no solution to the problem of Armin's "curse". Even knowing he would die.

Eventually, the Survey Corps thought it was better to establish a military base in that port they visited on the beach, because at any moment, some nation could attack Paradis. Then, one night, when Hange, Levi, Lara, and everyone else were at the base, they all spotted a fleet of ships approaching the island.

They were ships from Marley, the place that most wanted the destruction of Paradis and that had sent the Armored, Colossal, and Female Titans earlier on.

To everyone's surprise, new allies arrived from those ships, who wanted to help them - the Eldians - to get rid of the threats. Of all the new people who came to live with them, the one Lara most grew fond of was a man named Onyankopon.

Lara chuckled softly on the infirmary bed, remembering the first time she had met him. He was telling the Survey Corps soldiers a few things about what the world was like beyond Paradis.

"By the way..." asked Sasha at one point, looking curious, "Why do you have dark skin?"

Lara was indeed very intrigued as well. There was no one inside the Walls with a skin color like Onyankopon's. It was an incredibly beautiful shady, shiny, and darky brown color, looking like it was made straight from the soil of the earth. Onyankopon boldly placed his hand on his chin.

"Because the Creator thought the world would be more interesting if we were different from each other," he replied.

Lara gazed at him with a gleam in her eyes, and felt her heart swell with emotion, just as everyone else also looked perplexed. Armin was beside her, as impressed as she was.

"And that's how you were born too, subjects of Ymir," continued Onyankopon. "We exist because we were wanted by Someone."

"But then..." said Armin, astonished at his words, "Who is our Creator?!"

"The One who gave the power to Ymir, your ancestor," Onyankopon then raised his arms in the air, "It's God!"

Right away, practically everyone turned to Lara. Onyankopon was surprised by the soldiers' reaction. It was no secret that she was one of the most spiritual people in the group and, at least once in their lives, they all had already caught her saying a prayer in her laboratory, or muttering something as she looked up to the sky.

Lara was startled at seeing that all eyes in the room were on her and blushed a little. She looked at the corner of the room and saw that Hange and Levi were gazing at her with a twinkle in their eye and she dared say, with a bold smile as well. But what surprised Lara was that Armin was also looking at her with a kind smile. Of all the people in there, Levi and Hange were the ones who had witnessed their daughter's spiritual behavior the most. However, Lara did not know it, but Armin was the third person who had also witnessed this side of her the most. He just never mentioned it to her, fearing he was disturbing her.

Lara felt a warmth in her heart for finding someone with a faith similar to hers and couldn't help but smile, as she exclaimed:

"I knew it!"

Starting with Hange, little by little, everyone also started chuckling and to Lara's surprise, Onyankopon approached her and ruffled her hair, giving her a very heartwarming smile. From that day on, he became a very close friend of her family, with the right to several lunches at their home on Sundays. Lara thought that if there was any possibility of having another uncle besides Erwin, this person would definitely be Onyankopon.

Hange practically adopted him. Every time he visited her house on the weekends, she and Lara would bombard the poor fella with questions about the technologies of the outside world. With all patience and calm, Onyankopon would answer them everything: about how they had planes, airships, cars, huge ships, and even different kinds of foods. One of the things that Lara wanted to try the most was something called "ice cream", which was a flavored frozen dough.

As Levi served Hange, Lara, and Onyankopon some tea on the porch, he listened to all with attention and was pretty thrilled when he discovered that where Onyankopon had come from, people had running water and many people had access to electricity. He imagined how this could make cleaning and bathing much easier. Levi sympathized with Onyankopon, for they had very similar tastes in teas, which led them to long conversations about different blends, while Hange and Lara watched them with boredom.

Pulling her out of her thoughts, Lara got startled to see Armin squirming in his chair. He must have been having a very restless sleep and she felt her heart sink. Looking at his tense expression, Lara couldn't help but think about her parents and how she wished they were there with her now, especially Hange, for whom, in the last few months, Lara had begun to nurture a great sense of care and protection.

During all those three years, Lara and her parents went through a quite dark period: Hange couldn't get pregnant by any means. She and Levi even sought medical help, to try to find out what the problem was, but unfortunately, they didn't have enough technology to know whether the infertile person was Hange or Levi.

However, with the arrival of Onyankopon and the new Marleyans allies, some military doctors came on the ships and, as time went by and a part of them became friends with the Eldians, Hange managed to go through some appointments with doctors who had a knowledge way more advanced than the ones in Paradis.

According to them, Hange was really the one with the problem. Having gone through aggressive fights against the Titans for so many years, her reproductive system got very compromised, thus making a pregnancy difficult. But even if Hange managed to get pregnant, it would be a risky pregnancy and she would need to be very careful.

Upon receiving that news, the atmosphere in the Ackerman Family house began to become very heavy and even quite depressing. Lara noticed that, since the last appointment, Hange and Levi always seemed to be sad and downcast. Gradually, Hange lost her typical cheerful mood and Levi became more and more silent, having meals in which the couple did not say a single word.

That situation saddened Lara's heart in such a way that she decided to do something about it, to try to help them. So one day, she went to Hange's office, where she found her mother leaning her elbows on the desk, holding her head. When she saw her daughter walk in, she tried to wipe away some tears from her eyes, but Lara obviously noticed.

"Mom..." said Lara, stroking her hair, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, baby," Hange sniffled.

"Are you and Dad okay? I mean, as..." Lara blushed, embarrassed, "Husband and wife?"

Hange's eyes widened and she also blushed a little, lowering her head. Slowly, she looked up at her daughter.

"Oh, sweetie," she said, caressing Lara's cheek, "don't worry about it. I confess that lately, your father and I are not... You know... But, it's because every time we try, we get false hopes… So what's been happening is that we both just stay facing each other in bed. Levi hugs me until I--"

Hange couldn't finish the sentence, but Lara could tell she was going to say "until I start crying". She recalled that lately, she had already found Levi with his eyes much red and swollen, where he had probably gone to a private place to cry.

Tears came out of Hange's eyes, and Lara promptly hugged her. It was the first time the daughter had to comfort her own mother, doing the same thing she did, rocking her back and forth, kissing the top of her head.

"Mommy..." Lara had tears in her eyes, "I cannot imagine how hard it must be for you both..." she took Hange's face, making her look up, deep into her eyes, "But don't give up!"

Hange started crying louder, bouncing her shoulders, and laying on her daughter's chest.

"I don't know what else to do, Lara! I'm like a dry leaf, not able to bear a life here inside!"

"Whoa, whoa!" exclaimed Lara, quickly making her mother look up at her again. "Where did you get that from? You're not a dry leaf at all! Get those bad thoughts out of your head. Come on, let's repeat what the doctor told you?" Lara began to imitate the doctor's deep voice, "Commander Hange, you do have, indeed, some little problems that can make a pregnancy difficult, but in my opinion, as a doctor..."

"... I believe you shouldn't stop trying, because it's not impossible," completed Hange, wiping her nose.

"And..." added Lara, "He finished saying that...?"

"It's just a matter of time," concluded Hange, nodding. "That sooner or later, it can happen."

"Exactly, see?" Lara wiped the tears away from her mother's face, with affection. "Now, I wanna see you and Dad very happy, 'cause I'm about to prepare you something quite special to cheer you both up!"

"What are you gonna do?" asked Hange, very curious and already starting to get excited.

"I wanna give you a second honeymoon as a gift," Lara gave a big smile. "Look, next Sunday, I'm gonna prepare a very romantic dinner just for you and Dad, and soon after, I'll come here to the Headquarters. I'm gonna stay and sleep here for a week. During that time, I want both of you to just enjoy yourselves, cool off, make a lot of love, and have fun together!"

Hange was open-mouthed.

"But pay attention," warned Lara, raising an eyebrow, "I don't want you guys to feel pressured to finish this second honeymoon with my little sibling in the oven. I just want you to relax and…" she then began making dramatic and exaggerated gestures, "Rekindle the flames of passion!"

Hange started laughing so hard, she clapped her hands.

"But baby," she wiped a tear, "I don't know if Levi and I can take a week off like this, out of nowhere! We have our responsibilities."

"Don't worry about it," Lara pretentiously waved her hands in a playful way, "I've already talked to Darius and it's all set up. Next Monday, you and Dad don't have to come to work."

Covering her mouth, Hange shook her head in disbelief.

"You don't exist, Lara!"

"If I don't exist, I think you'd better look for a psychiatrist, because it's clearly a sign that you're seeing a ghost!"

They laughed and Hange affectionately hugged Lara, pressing her against her chest, and giving her daughter many kisses on her cheek.

Levi was very surprised by Lara's sudden gesture and for the first time in a while, he genuinely smiled. As promised, on Sunday night, Hange and Levi were surprised by an excellent romantic dinner with candlelights, and Lara soon ran off the house to go to the HQ, leaving the couple alone.

For a few minutes, Levi and Hange were very shy in each other's presence, as if they were alone for the first time again. But soon they started talking and the food was so tasty, they soon felt more comfortable.

They both had a wonderful night. They felt like they were having another chance, even though they knew it might not work out. After making love until late at night, Hange told Levi the words Lara had said to her and then the phrase "Don't give up!" started hammering in their heads more and more.

Finally, during that week, after a long wait, the couple was able to fulfill their desire to make love under the stars, lying on the futons. When Lara returned the next Sunday, she noticed that Levi and Hange were looking much different and that the sparkle in their eyes had completely returned.

Hange didn't get pregnant after the second honeymoon, but at least now she and Levi weren't depressed and down like before. On the contrary, it seemed that each month that Hange informed that she had had her period normally, they took it as a challenge to make the next one different.

Now, lying on that infirmary bed, Lara caught herself giving a big smile as she looked up at the sky, remembering what had happened about four months ago.

It was breakfast time on a Saturday morning and Hange had a horrible face, looking very sleepy. She then stood up from the chair.

"I'm gonna pee."

"Again?" asked Levi, from the kitchen, while preparing tea for them. "It's already the fourth time today, and we've just woken up. And please say 'number one', we're eating."

Hange shrugged and went to the bathroom. When she came back, she picked up the teacup and brought it to her mouth.

CRACK!

The teacup shattered on the floor with a loud crash, startling Lara and Levi. Hange immediately made an expression of complete disgust.

"Ew, Levi!" she exclaimed, "What did you put in this tea?! It's awful!"

Levi looked strangely at her and Lara began to sniff her own tea.

"Mom, it's normal, just like Daddy does every day."

Then, in a sudden movement, Hange stood up from her chair again and walked quickly towards the hallway of the house. With a forkful of omelet halfway to their mouths, Levi and Lara got the biggest scare when they heard Hange start throwing up in the bathroom.

In a jump, they both ran towards it. Concerned, Levi helped Hange up and carried her to bed. Lara brought some tissues to wipe her mother's mouth and sweat. Levi put his hand on her forehead, but Hange was at normal temperature. She massaged the region of her abdomen.

Immediately, Lara put two and two together.

"Mom..." she said slowly, trying to sound calm, "When was your last period? You still haven't told us, as we agreed."

Hange turned a little shy and avoided looking at Lara and Levi. She pressed her lips together and spoke, almost in a whisper:

"It's late."

"For how long?!" asked Levi anxiously.

Hange lowered her head, trying to hold back a laugh.

"About a month."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Lara and Levi.

Hange covered her mouth, looking from one to the other, still trying to hold back a laugh.

"Hey! Hey! Wait, wait!" exclaimed Levi. "Does that mean--"

"YOU'RE PREGNANT, MOM?!"

Hange gave a little squeal of excitement, which startled them both.

"Aw, I don't know! I didn't want to say anything, because it could be a false alarm, like it's already happened so many times, but," she gave Levi and Lara a big smile, "I've never felt these symptoms before, so… Yes, I-I think so!"

Lara practically jumped out of her parents' bedroom window to go out onto the lawn and shout from the rooftops that she was going to have a little sibling. Completely stunned, Levi stared at Hange, who was looking back at him, tears in her eyes.

"My love..." she said, putting her hand on his face, "I think we did it..."

Levi felt his jaw tremble and his eyes burn. Then, a smile slowly began to form on his lips and he pulled Hange into a completely passionate kiss, which she replied with the same intensity. Lara did a celebratory funny dance as she watched her parents kiss.

"AH!!!" exclaimed Lara, skipping towards them, "I hope it's twins, NO! Triplets!!! Quintuplets!!!"

Hange began to laugh, holding her belly and Levi's eyes widened.

"Whoa! Wait!" he exclaimed, making a stop sign with his hand. "Take it easy, 'cause it's a lot of mouths to feed. At your age, you already eat like a dragon. Imagine having to feed five more like the sister. We're gonna break!"

"That's true, sweetie," said Hange." If we have only one baby that's healthy, it's already great!"

Lara wrinkled her nose and sat up in bed.

"Hey, Tiny-Human-Bean," she said, caressing Hange's belly, "don't listen to them, 'cause I'll buy you all the chocolates in the world, and we'll both gorge ourselves on candies in my bedroom!"

Levi couldn't help but laugh and ruffle his daughter's hair.

"What if it's a girl?" he asked. "I'll have to put up with three women on PMS?!"

"You're gonna make the owner of the candy store become rich, babe," replied Hange, stroking his face.

"You could give me a raise, huh?" said Levi, now he was caressing his wife's belly.

"Oh boy," replied Hange, rolling her eyes. "Our budget is low, even more so now that Eren is going to Liberio next month, to try to make that peace treaty. We're spending everything to get him there safely."

"Mom's right," said Lara, still caressing her belly. "I hope everything works out and we can make a good deal."

That night, everyone went to sleep in pure happiness. When they were in bed, Hange and Levi stayed gazing at each other, smiling from ear to ear. Then he pulled her for a kiss. They kissed for a long, long time, with Levi caressing Hange's belly, as if he wanted that baby to feel all the love he felt for his mother.