Chapter 33: What was I expecting?

Emptiness...

That was the first thing I felt when I woke up. The feeling that I had felt inside of me for the past few months was gone. It has been replaced with a dull pain thatw as almost numb. I couldn't hear anything going on around me.

Earlier, there was shouting. Mecicine induced numbness. I never even heard Dantè cry. I could only assume that my baby didn't make it. I didn't want to wake up, but I knew I had to. If I didn't, then I would leave Antonio alone. He couldn't be without me. If I died, then he would die too. On the inside.

So I had to wake up, and I tried. The closer I got to the light however, I seemed to be pulled into the darkness.

But now I feel fine. I just feel really tired. Like when you wake up from a nap or something and all you want to do is go back to sleep, tired.

I can hear whispering. Soft, gentle whispering with a spanish accent. I know that voice. I know it better than anyone else. No one else would whisper like that. So lovingly, and gentle, and sweet. No other man would fucking giggle either. It was Antonio, without a doubt.

I was still to tired to move, so i sat there and listened to his voice for a while. It wasn't long before I could feel his hand grabbing mine. He interlaced out fingers and kissed my forehead. I could hear his voice so much clearer now.

I didn't know if I wanted to wake up just yet.

"Please? For me? I can tell you're awake, you know." Antonio whispered again. His head was right next to mine. I just can't catch a break with this guy can I?

Finally, I slowly opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was Antonio's smile. Why is he smiling.

"Good morning, beautiful." He said, kissing my nose.

"'Morning." I replied, moving a little. I let out a sigh and looked around the room. It was pretty much empty. There was a chair where Antonio was, and some kind of shelf thingy pretty close to him, not to mention the shit load of machines that were surrounding me.

"They'll put you in a normal room later, but right now you're being watched closely." Antonio commented when he saw my eyes glues to the screens. I looked at him for a moment then back at the heart monitor. I was a little zoned out when I heard a soft, high-pitched grunting noise from Antonio's side of the bed.

I turned to look at him, but he was paying me no attention. He was looking at something else.

"What is it? Do you want Mamí?" He asked. That's when it finally hit me. Dantè was alive. He was okay. My little baby was laying there behind Antonio and he was healthy enough to let him be in here with me.

Antonio reached down and picked him up, holding him close. He shot me one of the brightest smiles he could manage. I nearly melted at that sight. My fiancè holding our Dantè.

"Here." He whispered, carefully transfering Dantè into my arms when I held them out. (I had to be careful because they decidedd to put a fuvking needle in my arm!)

I looked at the baby in my arms. I had waited so long for this. All of the trouble, all of the failures, the millions of doctors visits, the pain, the morning sickness, and even the cravings for potatoes and shit. All of it led up the this moment right here. The time I get to look at him. A smile made its way onto my face, and a tear streamed down my cheek.

"Ciao, bambino." I whispered. "I'm glad to see you." As if on cue, he opened his eyes. Antonio took a deep breath as I let out a sigh of awe. He had Antonio's irresistably green eyes. Part of me wanted to remove his little hat to check for the Vargas curse. But I didn't because I had done my research and found that premature babies can't keep warm because they never built enough fat up to insulate themselves.

I pulled the bundle of blanket and Dantè closer to me. I kissed his forehead and let out a sigh. "You're perfect. You know that? You really were worth waiting for. I'm glad you're here, Dantè, and I hope I can be the 'Mama' you deserve."

I looked up at Antonio who could only grin with a face that seemed to say "I told you so!"

In the next hour or two they eventually did move me to a normal hospital room, and took Dantè to do some kind of health check on him. (Which I was fine with because I don't want anything to be wrong with my baby!)

It was probably eight in the morning when Antonio called Feliciano because he had been too out of it to think of it. He put the phone on speaker so I could here the conversation as well.

"Pronto?"

"Hola Ita!" Antonio chirped into the phone. "You'll never guess where we are right now."

"Eh? Where?! Outside?! Nope I don't see you outside. Where are you?"

"We're at the Hospital, fratello." I said loudly.

"Ve? Oh ciao frate- WAIT WHY ARE YOU AT THE HOSPITAL IS SOMETHING WRONG?"

Antonio chuckled a little bit as we heard the Potato bastard in the background calling to ask Feliciano if he was alright, after he answered his question Antonio said. "Everything is just fine. Our little Dantè decided he couldn't wait to see us. He was born about two or three hours ago."

"Really? Is he okay?" Feliciano asked, he sounded seriously concerned at this point.

"They're both perfectly okay, Ita~ Everyone is healthy right now. I called now because I didn't want to wake you up. Everything just settled down, actually." Antonio explained while I stared out of the window at the sun that had just risen up above the lake that was outside of my window. Very interesting.

"That's good to hear~ I'd come and see but I can't exactly go anywhere right now~ Call me when you guys get to go home okay?"

"No problem, Ita."

"Okay~ Bye big-future-brother-in-law-and-father-of-my-nephew Spain!Bye fratello!" Feliciano yelled into the phonae taking a deep breath before the word fratello.

"Bye~" Antonio hung up the phone and grabbed my no-needle arm. "Not long until we can go home, mi amor. Not long at all."