Forever and Always

Chapter 50 - California

I gently shook my daughter's shoulder to wake her, having landed about an hour and a half later in sunny Los Angeles, though the sun was working on setting over the glittering Pacific Ocean, casting a brilliant orange sheen over the rippling waves.

"Poppy, Love. C'mon. Up, up," I murmured, shaking her shoulder and gently tucking a long patch of her little bangs behind her ear.

"Where are we, Daddy?" She groaned sleepily, rubbing her eyes with her tiny fists. I collected the contents of her little backpack and unbuckled her seatbelt.

"We're in California," I replied, enunciating every syllable slowly so that she could comprehend a long word like the one I had just uttered.

"Ca-li-for-nia?" She asked, repeating after me with curious eyes. The expression on her face struck me hard as one that Levi made quite frequently when he listened to me ramble on about something, interested but occupied internally.

"Yep," I nodded. "There's beaches here, Poppy. Are you excited to go to the beach?"

She nodded and I felt my heart flutter at the grin dimpling her cheeks and squinting her eyes. She was certainly adorable, and I was head over heels for her the moment I laid eyes on her.

"Alright, then. We gotta get your stuff and call Grandma," I smiled, making sure we had all of our things before leaving the plane, my daughter on my hip as I carried her towards baggage claim. I pulled out my phone while we waited for her bag, replying to a texts from Christa, Mikasa, Petra, and of course Levi. I sent him a picture of Poppy in my arms while I scanned baggage claim for her suitcase. He didn't reply so I shot my mother a text, to let her know we had landed safely and were needing a ride.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, Baby?" I asked, looking down at the toddler in my arms, staring intently at my hoodie.

"Isn't that Daddy's jacket?" She asked, deep in thought.

"Yeah it is. He let me borrow it for now," I answered with a grin and a quick kiss to her forehead.

"That was so nice of him!" She squeaked, bouncing up and down excitedly in my arms.

"Heck yeah, it was. Your Daddy's a real nice person," I said, walking up to the pink suitcase with purple flowers on it, checking the tag for a name. Poppy Ackerman was written in Isabel's neat penmanship.

"Mhm! And maybe now Farlan's gone Mommy can visit, right?"

I felt my stomach drop. "Sweetie, your Mommy can't come visit. I'm sorry, Honey."

"Why not?" Poppy asked, crossing her arms at me and glaring into my eyes with a ferocity that I had only ever seen in the eyes of her father.

"She moved way far away. Into the stars, Baby," I smiled, choking up. "She's right here, though," I nodded, patting her little chest. She narrowed her eyes at me, not buying my crap. She was a smart three year old, most certainly her father's daughter.

"Why? I want her to come visit." Cynical, like Levi, too.

"I know you do. But she does visit. Watch this," I sighed, trying to remain optimistic for her, but in reality I wanted to break down and cry. It was a thousand times harder to keep up a happy facade without my other half holding my hand. I set her down on the ground and knelt down in front of her. "Put your hand right here," I instructed, moving her small palm directly over her heart. "Do you feel that?" I asked. She nodded, focusing on the steady thumping of her heart. "That's your momma. She's talking very quietly, but if you listen really close, you can hear her say, "Hi Poppy. Love you."" I repeated the simple sentiment over again in time with her soft heartbeats. "Hear it?"

She looked up at me and grinned. "Yeah! You're a wizard, Daddy." I smiled back at her, my vision blurred by the hot tears in my eyes that I kept having to blink back. I lifted her up again, scanning the sea of cars, looking for my mother's little grey Mazda. Finally, it emerged from the zoo of vehicles, pulling up and parking in front of me. My mother climbed out of the driver's side, darting lithely around the car and up to me, an enormous grin on her face. Completely ignoring me, she went straight for Poppy, hugging and loving on my baby.

"Hi, Sweetie. You must be Poppy! I'm your Gramma Carla. It's so nice to meet you! You're such a pretty girl." She was glowing, but Poppy was stiff in my arms.

"Do we like her, Daddy?" She asked, tipping her chin up at me and tilting her head inquisitively.

"Yes, Poppy. We like her a whole lot," I chuckled at her general mistrust of mankind.

"Okay!" She chirped. "Hi Gramma Carla!" She extended her hand formally and my mom took it, shaking it gently before bringing it to her lips and kissing it.

"Eren, do you want me to put your stuff in the trunk?" She asked. I nodded, carrying Poppy along with her car seat to the back seat, buckling it into the bench and then fastening my daughter in.

"Mr. Wiggles!" She exclaimed, realizing his absence. I nodded and reached into her little backpack for the stuffed lion.

"What do we say?" I asked, holding it just out of her reach until she said the magic words.

"Please," she begged, reaching for the toy. I gave it to her, planting a kiss onto her head. "Thank you, Daddy!" she beamed, squeezing Mr. Wiggles tight to her chest. I closed her into the grey sedan.

My mother walked up to me and pulled me into a tight hug, kissing me on the cheek as she swatted the back of my head. Pulling back, she smiled. "That's your punishment for running off to Massachusetts in the middle of the night. I love you, Silly boy."

"Love you too, Mom," I nodded, rubbing the back of my head where she smacked.

"You ready?" She asked, motioning for the car. I nodded, starting for my door, sensing the strong excitement for the future that seemed to be held by all of us.