by Serena Light
In the morning, Marco had decided to take over and once again they tried to convince her to go back home, but she stuck fast to her decision and stayed. She didn't sleep then either, too scared for Salvatore, and rightfully so because a team of medics had rushed into his room around 2 p.m., none of them telling Nicole anything until she had exclaimed that she was his wife and had every right to know what was wrong.
"He just had a minor rejection episode," The doctor sighed tiredly. "It's all been taken care of,"
"A rejection episode?" She asked in fear. "What does that mean? His body is rejecting the heart?"
"It would, given that it's a foreign organ, and the body thinks it to be a bacteria and is attacking it. So we have given him an immunosuppressant to stop that from happening,"
"Will he be alright?" Marco asked, noticing the distraught expression across Nicole's face.
"I can't say until he wakes up,"
"Alright, thank you," The younger Regnante took Nicole away, settling her down on a chair before getting her a glass of water.
It took two more days for them to convince her to go home, and that also when Rosalie and Renzo had intervened, telling her that she needed to rest and eat. Eventually, she had allowed the guards to take her home, and once back she had gone up into their room, seeing how everything the way she last remembered it, nothing touched, but everything clean, and it even smelt fresh.
Going to the washroom, Nicole decided to take a long and warm bath to relax her muscles, leaving her phone in the room. She had even fallen asleep in the bath, waking up when the water was getting cold. Getting out of the tub, she grabbed a towel and dried her pruning body. Leathering lotion onto herself she picked out a pair of skinny jeans and a knitted woolen sweater.
Drying her hair, she stepped into the room and grabbed hold of her phone, clicking it on before freezing to see the numerous missed calls from everyone, and messages asking for her to come to the hospital immediately.
Instantly panic welled in her throat, pulling on a pair of shoes, she grabbed hold of her car keys and phone, rushing out the estate, not caring that her hair was wet and that she didn't have a coat in the snowing November. She met her guards calls with a deaf ear before settling in her Audi, revving the engine before driving away from the estate, going as fast as the road allowed for her to reach the hospital, the traffic having her groan in frustration as tears of fear blurred her vision.
Parking haphazardly, she ran out of the car and into the hospital, pushing people aside as she sprinted up the stairs, pushing herself more than her recovering body would allow.
Skidding to a stop, her heart sank into her feet as she found both Arcangelo and Rosalie clutching each other, sobbing, with her father sitting on one of the waiting chairs, his head in his hands and Angelica crying into her hands.
"No," Nicole managed to choke out, rushing towards her husband's room.
The sight before her had her knees tremble and forced her to take a step back as the tears began falling, a choked sob escaping her as she fell to her knees, and covered her mouth.
Chapter LI: End of the Line
Nicole choked on her sobs, unable to breathe as she clutched her knees, throwing her head back to inhale deeply, a trembling hand against her chest as she tried to regain her bearings.
"Nicole," Her father called out behind her softly and tried to lift her off the floor, stumbling back when she lost her footing.
The lump and tears made it difficult for her to breathe, forcing her to wheeze as she pulled herself away from her father, making her way forward. Both Marco and Arsenio took a step back, allowing her to walk towards the bed, watching her shoulders shaking with her tears before she fell on his chest, gasping for breath.
A hand stroked the back of her hair as she cried into his chest.
"Breathe," He croaked beneath her, stroking her hair with drips connected to the back of his palm. "Breathe, Nicole,"
Shaking her head, she pulled back her head to look at him, a broken smile forming across her lips as the tears wouldn't stop and made her choke.
His blue eyes shone brightly against his pale complexion with his black hair an unruly mess, his lips chapped but pulled into a smile, forcing his eyes to crinkle at the edges and forcing a tear to leak down and disappear into the shaggy black beard across his jaw.
"Baby, breathe," Salvatore choked out, cupping her face into his trembling hands as a laugh bubbled in his chest, seeing her struggling to catch her breath. "I'm the one who's asthmatic and you're the one struggling to breathe," He teased with a laugh, a choked chuckle escaping Nicole before she threw her arms around him, hanging off the bed and cried into his neck, Salvatore simply content with holding her and allowing her to cry before placing a kiss on her temple.
"I'm here, I'm here," He murmured into her ear. "I'm right here, Nicole,"
"I thought I lost you," She sobbed brokenly, as Salvatore noticed both his parents standing in the doorway of his hospital room, tears staining their cheeks but smiles on their lips.
"I'm here, now," He held her as tight his feeble strength allowed after surgery.
It took him some time to appease her, eventually moving to the side to allow her to get on the bed so that she could snuggle into his chest, careful about the surgical scar down his sternum.
Salvatore had been stroking her hair and murmuring soothing words to her when his eyes caught sight of the person in the wheelchair.
"Serafina!" He exclaimed with a relieved breath, wanting to get up and go to her, but the wires and the pain inside his body refused to allow him to do anything.
"Hey, Salvi," His twin chuckled with tears streaking her cheeks, allowing her father to push her towards him as she grasped his hand in her own and gave it a squeeze, given that he couldn't lean down to hug her, something which he so desperately wanted to do. "How do you feel?"
"Uff..." He exhaled with half-lidded eyes. "Like I've been blessed,"
"Look at this mom," Serafina turned to look over her shoulder at her mother. "He feels blessed,"
"I feel blessed," Rosalie shook her head at her children, wiping at her cheeks.
"When?" Salvatore looked at his twin sister.
"About the same day Major was going to pull the plug," She informed, her expression turning somber. "How dare you?"
"Serafina, not now," Arcangelo spoke behind her. "You're just recovering from the coma and Salvatore just woke up after a heart transplant, both of you just get your bearings and we'll talk,"
"If you didn't think about yourself, you should have at least thought about mom and dad, or Nicole, or me, or Marco and Arsenio, and the kids! Are you really that blind to see that your loss would break them?" She ignored their father, looking at her twin in disbelief. "How could you have been so selfish?"
"Hey, Serafina, that's enough," Their mother spoke from the doorway. "I mean it,"
She sat back in the wheelchair, and inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself.
"I'm glad you're alright," She sighed after a moment of silence, her twin brother giving her a nod in response.
"How are you feeling?"
"Confined," Serafina shook her head. "Twenty months being comatose has left my legs atrophied and I need physiotherapy to regain my strength. Do you have any idea how sad that is? My legs were the best part about me,"
"Hey, at least you don't need a new heart which your body decides to reject every once in a while,"
"Bro, you took being 'heartless' to a whole new level," Serafina laughed, her twin chuckling before they both fell silent to see the disapproving looks on the people's faces. "Too soon," She concluded while clearing her throat.
"I'm sorry to disturb," The doctor appeared in the doorway, everyone turning back to him. "But it's time for Salvatore to rest,"
"Alright, come on, let's go," Arcangelo spoke, taking hold of Serafina's wheelchair.
"Why don't you guys go home and sleep?" Salvatore suggested. "You all need it,"
His family looked at
him before chuckling.
"Who's going to look after you then?" Rosalie stepped forward, combing her fingers through his messy hair.
"How about the entire medical team occupying this floor?" He inquired with a smile. "And my household guards? Are they fine?"
"Hmm..."
"Please, mom, go home and sleep. I'll be fine," He took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
"Okay," His mother shook her head, feeling the exhaustion wear down on her. "Okay," She relented and placed a kiss on his forehead, before making her way out.
Arsenio and Marco hugged him before leaving, and Angelica kissed his cheek while Serafina flicked him off, his father hugging him as well before walking out. That left Nicole in Salvatore's arms on the bed and the doctor standing in the doorway.
"You too, ma'am," He spoke up.
"No," Salvatore shook his head, taking hold of her hand on his stomach. "I can't sleep without her," He told the doctor, placing a kiss on her palm before looking down at her puffy and bloodshot eyes, finally having calmed down enough to give him a gentle smile.
"But sir-"
"-My wife will stay right here with me," He stated in finality, not even looking up at the doctor. "And I'm afraid that is non-negotiable, doctor,"
The elder man sighed before shaking his head and closed the sliding door behind him.
They both lay in momentary silence as Nicole allowed everything to sink in, her husband content with feeling her warmth next to him, remembering the three months he spent unaware of her whereabouts and the state he had found her in. Unimaginable relief flooding him to see the color back in her face with her back on her feet and not dying.
"Salvatore?" Nicole murmured quietly, her husband humming and looking down at her, momentarily taken aback to feel her lips on his. "I love you," She murmured against them, placing a hand against his prickly beard as it scratched at her cheek and chin.
"I love you, too," He exhaled against her mouth. "I love you so fucking much," Salvatore grunted and deepened their kiss, a guttural sound escaping Nicole as she wound her hands into his hospital gown, unable to contain all the emotions surging through her as a tear leaked down.
Feeling the wetness against his cheek, Salvatore pulled away and noticed the tears he wiped them away before placing a kiss on her forehead.
"I have a confession to make," He murmured against her forehead, leaning back to settle against the pillows as his wife looked at him in confusion.
"What?"
"Katalavaíno elliniká," He spoke as Nicole looked at him in silence. "I understand Greek,"
"You-"
"-I just let you think I didn't understand or speak it because you always said unusual things when you thought I didn't get it,"
His wife blinked up at him in silence for a moment as he looked down at her, giving a startled jump when she burst with laughter.
"Oh, I love you," She chuckled, wrapping her arms around his waist and tucking her head under his chin.
"I love you, too," He found himself smiling at her as he placed a kiss on the top of her head.
After two weeks of being in the hospital, Salvatore was being discharged while Serafina had been discharged three days before him, but came every day to attend physiotherapy sessions, and was slowly regaining strength in her legs. Everyone hadn't officially moved back into their homes yet but were slowly recovering from the events of the past two years.
The twins, on the other hand, had been taken back to their own home, and had come to visit Salvatore and cried when they were being taken away; they haven't fully adjusted as of yet but were slowly acclimatizing to their old-new surroundings. Aurora and Irene had been sweethearts throughout Salvatore's hospitalization and made a get well soon card for him and Serafina and even baked cookies with the help of their mother.
Arcangelo and Rosalie were recovering from the whole trauma of the entire situation and just two days before Serafina's discharge, they had brought up a thought which they had been wanting to share.
"Your mom and I are looking into therapists," Arcangelo had revealed when they had their entire family in Salvatore's room six days before his discharge. "We think it’s best that we all go to a psychiatrist for all the trauma that we have been put through and wanted to see you guys think about it,"
"I don't think it's necessary," Both Marco and Arsenio had stated, Rosalie looking at them with raised eyebrows since she had assumed for them to be on board with this whole situation.
"Here," Salvatore tapped on his phone, everyone's devices pinging one by one. "That's a list of reliable psychiatrists and the highlighted ones do family therapy too," He stated as everyone looked at him in shock.
"I've been compiling this list for the past four days since I wanted to suggest this myself," He revealed. "I'm completely on board with this, so is Nicole," He stated, looking towards his wife nodded.
"So are we," Serafina nodded before everyone turned to look at Marco and Arsenio, the oldest and the youngest stammering before relenting.
"How does next month sound?" Salvatore inquired with a smile, everyone nodding in agreement since there weren't a lot of days left to December.
And today, he was finally getting discharged. In the two weeks he had been in the hospital, he had regained his strength and could walk around just fine, but the doctors insisted that he doesn't overwork himself and provided him with a list of medications.
Nicole had gone home to get Salvatore clothes as he got changed into navy blue dress pants with a white button-up beneath a black sweater and a long black overcoat. She wrapped his muffler around his neck while he wriggled his fingers through the leather gloves, smiling at him before placing a kiss on the tip of his nose.
Turning around, he packed the final things into his overnight back before zipping it up.
"Let me take this," Major spoke, picking up the leather bag before he was stopped by Salvatore grabbing his wrist. "What?"
He was momentarily taken aback when Salvatore hugged him, clapping him on the back, Major releasing the bag before hugging him tightly. Neither one of them had to say anything, both of them just knew.
Pulling away, the older man smiled at him before picking up the leather bag once more.
"Leave it, Major," Salvatore insisted, taking it from his hand. "Matteo can load it in the car," He held it out to his bodyguard who chuckled and took it away.
"Take a breath, old man," He clapped him on the shoulder as the guard looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're officially retired, I promise,"
"God forbid," The older man exhaled as Salvatore laughed.
Wrapping an arm around his shoulders the older man did the same and walked out of the room, stopping before the nurse who had been bringing a wheelchair for Salvatore.
"Does he look like he needs a wheelchair?" Major laughed. "Despite just having had heart surgery, he's more in shape than most of us,"
"I'm good, thank you," Salvatore nodded to the nurse who gave an acknowledged smile before taking it away. "Let's go home!" The Mafia boss exclaimed, throwing his hands up in relief before pulling away from the guard and wrapping his arm around Nicole's waist, both of them walking across the hallway with Major besides them.
The Mafia Boss nearly had a heart attack when the entrance doors were swung open for him and everyone jumped out, screaming "Welcome back!"
Everyone came one by one to hug him as banners and streamers were hung from the wall, his staff there with broad smiles on their faces with Stephen jumping towards him and hugging him tightly, not having been allowed inside the hospital rooms due to their family-only policy.
"I heard they didn't let you inside," Salvatore stated as they pulled away.
"Yeah, family only,"
"You should get married to Marco so that you're part of the family, too," Nicole spoke up from beside her husband, everyone chuckling as the man in question raised an eyebrow.
"Nah," Stephen shrugged. "Salvatore is more my type
,"
Instantly Nicole's teasing smile fell as an uproar of laughter shook the living room, her husband wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his side.
"You're it for me, baby," He assured her, placing a kiss on the top of her head as she looked up to give him a smile.
They had settled in the lounge, talking for a bit before they started to discuss what to order for food. While everyone bantered back and forth, Salvatore had excused himself. Taking hold of Nicole's hand they both made a slow ascent up to their bedroom.
"You sure you don't want to shift downstairs for a while?" Nicole asked with one arm wrapped around his waist and the other on his chest as he slowly walked up with a grip on the banister.
"God no, there is zero privacy downstairs," Her husband shook his head.
"What do we need privacy for, you're not allowed to do anything for three months,"
"Says who?"
"The doctor," Nicole rolled her eyes. "Were you not listening?"
"No I was too busy thinking about you moan-" He began to say before she cut him off by clamping a hand on his mouth, giggling at his antics.
"Behave, you dog,"
"Hey, only for you," He winked.
Shaking her head at her husband, they finally made it up to the third landing.
"Victory!" Salvatore exhaled before making his way into his bedroom, a broad grin splitting across his face as Hades bounded over to him, greeting his owner enthusiastically and jumping up to lick his face. "I missed you too, my big bad wolf. What a good boy! Look at you!" He cooed and he crouched down to ruffle his wolf-hybrids fur.
Playing with him for a bit, Nicole took off her shoes and coat, before laying back on the bed, exhaling with exhaustion as her weariness was finally catching up with her. After some time, her husband came and joined her on the bed, rubbing at his chest before shaking his inhaler and taking a shot.
"We should go back down soon," She yawned as she watched Salvatore lay back on the pillow, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her to him. "Everyone is waiting."
"In a bit," He murmured into her hair, feeling drowsy himself. "Let me just enjoy having you back in our bed for a minute,"