Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 768 : Home at Last

*Cat*

I glanced at the mirror in the hospital bathroom, staring at the ugly red and swollen scar lining my lower belly. The stitched-up wound would scar something fierce, but I wasn’t quite as worried about the appearance of it as I thought I might be.

It felt more like a battle scar, like the ones on my shoulder and waist that had faded away with time. I was more proud of this scar, a symbol of having brought my beautiful daughter into the world rather than having holes shot into my body.

“Ready to go?” I heard Elio knock on the door, sounding worried.

I smiled, re-dressing my stitches and then pulling on my shirt. The hospital gown I’d worn for the past few days was the worst part of the visit, and I was glad to be in my regular clothes again.

I exited the bathroom, grinning as I spotted Elio carrying little Emilia in her brand-new car seat. She was surprisingly quiet now, gripping onto her first stuffed animal, a little purple fox that doubled as a mini blanket with a ribbon.

She sucked on its ear absent-mindedly, staring at the world around her wide-eyed.

“Discharge papers taken care of?” I questioned as Elio kissed my temple, his hand on the small of my back as he led me out of the room.

Elio carried our bags filled with everything we’d brought in his other hand. The nurses looked as we exited the room.

“Leaving so soon?” My nurse, Margot, smiled, waving to little Emilia. “Here’s all your discharge papers, and a little keepsake packet from us.”

The first packet she handed over had ‘Postpartum Care for Mommy and Baby’ written on it and a very detailed and itemized list of things to do once we got home, including a wide variety of numbers for whatever type of doctors we might need.

The next was a little white box with the name of the hospital on the front and in bright purple letters, ‘Emilia.’ Inside were copies of her little handprints and footprints, her cute hospital birth certificate since we’d need to go to the county for the official one later, a little pink hat she’d worn right after being born, and various other helpful items.

But my favorite was a beautiful sterling silver rattle with a silver duck at the end. It made the most beautiful bell sound when shaken and even had ‘Emilia’ carved on the back.

“That was an anonymous gift.” Margot smiled. “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?”

“Beautiful,” I breathed in awe, then glanced at Elio to see if it was safe.

He shrugged, attempting to look like he had no idea but I could see the small smirk curling up his lips. He certainly knew who had gifted it to us, but he wouldn’t be telling.

I laughed, bending down for a moment and ignoring the slight pull of my stitches as I did, and I beamed as I was face-to-face with my daughter. Emilia’s eyes went wide as she saw the little rattle and immediately reached out her tiny hands for it.

I happily handed it over, beaming as she shook in her little fists, and for the first time since she was born, saw a little smile on her lips.

I looked up at Elio teary-eyed, and his shock melted into adoration.

Her first tiny smile.

Maybe it was just gas, but I didn’t care.

We left the hospital with our new precious bundle and Elio pulled the car up to the sidewalk so I didn’t have to walk as far. It was a bit of a struggle as we tag-teamed to get the car seat set up and working properly, but we managed to get it in the end.

Emilia was just absolutely obsessed with her rattle and little fox plushie, needing nothing else to entertain her.

“Ugh, I’m going to be so happy to be home,” I said, laying a hand over my belly on instinct before remembering that she wasn’t in there anymore.

She was behind me.

Elio sent me a soft grin, having caught the movement, but I just stuck my tongue at him.

“I took the week off at the company, Leo’s handling the legit side of things and I told Franky not to call me unless it was an absolute emergency, so I’ll be free the whole week to take care of you two,” Elio told me casually like it was no big deal.

But it was for me.

“You took the whole week off?” I asked with wide, misty eyes. “For us?”

“Of course I did,” He gave me an incredulous look and a slow smile. “I want to focus on the both of you as much as I can, especially since you still have stitches. Your restrictions are pretty strict and it’s gonna drive you nuts. I can already hear your whining.”

“Excuse me?!” I gasped.

He laughed, bright and beaming and I realized this is how we should always be, free from everything–all the worries and stress of life. I reached out to grab his hand, slotting mine in where they fit together like puzzle pieces, the missing halves to one another.

He grinned, raising my hand to his lips for a gentle kiss. I glanced behind us to see Emilia, who had been quiet for a long time. I was glad we had the little mirror so I could see her when her seat was facing backward because when I looked back, her little head was cocked against her fox plush, rattle clutched tightly in her palm and her eyes closed as she slept peacefully, seemingly more relaxed than she had been since she had been born.

“She’s asleep,” I whispered to Elio, and at the next stop-light, he glanced over his shoulder, sighing with relief as he saw it.

We stopped at a drive-thru for lunch before heading home, just some sandwiches and fries. I sipped my first sugary drink since I had started labor, sighing in relief as the caffeine I desperately needed seeped back into my bloodstream.

It had felt like a thousand years and not just the few days it was. Even then, I’d kept my intake of caffeine low for the baby and planned to continue that while breastfeeding.

We arrived at home and I noticed immediately the changes to the security that had been made. There were more guards posted over the compound, and even the gate to get inside was more secure than before, with multiple alarm systems set up along with the in-depth camera.

There wasn’t an inch of the outside area that wasn’t covered by some form of camera or wire trap. I glanced over at Elio with raised eyebrows, thinking that maybe he had gone a little overboard.

Until I saw the serious look on his face and I remembered when Olivia and Giovanni had told me that Elio had been kidnapped as a young child, barely even a year old. My heart clenched as I thought of that happening to Emilia.

I glanced at her sweet little face, her tiny arms and legs, and the curious, wide-eyed look she had as she explored the world that was so new to her.

Elio’s precautions didn’t seem so overboard anymore.

It took a minute to get inside, and once we parked, Elio made sure to grab Emilia, who immediately woke up as soon as she started moving and of course, her tiredness made her start wailing as loud as her little lungs could.

I sighed, giving Elio a wry grin as we entered the house. It was different in a way I couldn’t name, probably due to all the windows now having reinforced bullet-proof military-grade one-way glass and the various security that was now set up.

Elio set up a comfortable area for me and Emilia on the couch so I could feed her as he got the rest of our stuff inside. Once she was fed and happy again, I glanced around at the living room and how it had changed. Emilia’s stuff was sprawled out now, and Elio came in with a glass of my favorite iced tea, and three ice cubes as well.

“They said to make sure that you don’t climb stairs at least for the first week, so I moved all the essentials down here. I set up a bedroom for us and Emilia’s bassinet in our of the guest rooms too,” he said, sighing as he took the seat next to me, leaning his head on my shoulder tiredly. “If you need me to get anything else from upstairs, then I will. Your mother should be here soon too, and she’ll be staying in the main house for the first week at least, right?”

“Yep,” I smiled, thanking him quietly as I gave him a soft kiss.

I had told Mom she didn’t need to move in since she was already close in the cottage. But once she knew I was going to have to have a C-section, she insisted that she be under the same roof.

Elio did all of the hard work with Emilia, carrying her and swaying her when she refused to sleep, changing her diaper like a master at this point, and though I wanted to take a more active role in helping, my stitches had been particularly deep and long, which was why the doctor told me to take such precautions.

Elio was amazing with Emilia, letting her see the world and watching the cartoons just the three of us. Mom came a little while later, loaded up with presents for both me and the baby. I protested once she made a third trip inside, but she just hushed me.

“I’m not going to let my baby do this on her own. It was just me and your father when you were born, so the least I can do is make sure you are stocked up on absolutely everything you might need. So count your blessings and let me do this,” she said, fully taking charge on that point forward.

I laughed, beaming in happiness with my family around me, just glad to spend time together. Everything had turned out okay despite all the bumpy roads we had to travel on to get to this point.

But I knew I wouldn’t change a thing.

As night fell, Elio and I tried putting Emilia to bed on our own for the first time. Mom was on standby if we needed her, but I wanted to make sure we could do this ourselves. We were her parents, after all.

I hummed a lullaby Mom had used to sing to us, Emilia laying on my chest as I stroked her soft short hair. Her eyes were closed for now, mouth open as she snored and Elio was right beside me, chuckling softly as he rubbed her back.

For now, it was working.

“She sounds just like you when you sleep,” I whispered teasingly to him.

“I don’t snore.” He rolled his eyes just as his phone went off.

He panicked, flipping onto his side. I watched Emilia calmly, hoping it wouldn’t wake her up. Elio got to his feet, answering his phone in a whisper.

Luckily, we escaped the wrath of our newborn this time, and I sighed in relief as she only reached out her hand to grip my fingers and then quickly fell back asleep.

“We’re in the clear,” I grinned as Elio came back, but my smile fell as I saw the panicked look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“Leo’s been taken,” he said with a pale face.