Forbidden love for a Barkley

Part Thirty Two:

"Change of Heart?"

Nick and Carmine discovered that at the bottom of the cliff, there was a motionless child laying on the ground before getting engaged into another war of words, the latter saying that the Barkley son wasn't worthy of Stefania among other things. The war of words would come to an abrupt end when the ground beneath Nick would go out from under him, causing him to fall and roll down the cliff, landing next to the child. Just as Carmine screamed: "Madre di misericordia!" (Mother of mercy), Jarrod and everybody else came rushing to the scene, indicating that the Mangano patriarch's exclaimation was loud enough for them to hear. Carmine and Stefania would engage in a back and forth for a brief moment with the latter starting to cry and blame herself for what all has happened & the former telling her not to blame herself only for Jess to interrupt and ask if either Carmine or Nick have seen Mavis. As usual, the Mangano patriarch would perceive the Chaney patriarch as a threat only to be informed by Stefania that the man was looking for his missing little girl to which Carmine said he and Nick saw a child laying motionless below the cliff which led Jess to run and nearly fall over himself. Luckily, Carmine pulled Jess back, preventing him from falling which surprised everybody and caused Jarrod to remark about the surprise before grabbing his rope off of Jingo's saddle and his own belt, tying the two together. This was joined by everyone else, Paulie Mangano and his friends included & pretty soon, a long rope was constructed with one end tied to a nearby tree. Now, with a human chain formed, Carmine was tasked with tossing it down to Nick and the child, but seemed very hesitant to do so due to pride and prejudice. The questions that remain are as follows: Will Nick and the child be saved?, Will Jarrod finally reveal his plan?, Will old grudges be put to bed for good?, and most importantly, will Carmine put aside his pride and prejudice & toss the rope and belt? Stay tuned and find out!

Author's Note: I do NOT own The Big Valley or its characters. I ONLY own this fic and the characters of: Stefania Mangano, Carmine Mangano Sr, Carmine's friends, Paulie Mangano, Italia Mangano, Chet and the men Heath rounded up, Jess and Mavis Chaney, the Animal Team, Leonard Barkley, Seth & his gang, and the Mangano family.

WARNING: There may be some instances of profanity/intense language in this chapter a life or death situation. If it makes you uncomfortable, I understand and...you get the idea by now when it comes to the "WARNING" label :D

(Flashback to part 31)

"Carmine, with all due respect, you can't prevent your daughter from being a woman and if she has fallen for me like I have for her, you can't stop that either." Nick ran a hand through his hair.

"The hell I can't! You just watch me, Nick Barkley! You...just...watch me, because no man on this Earth is worthy of having my daughters & nieces and no woman is worthy of having my son, Junior. I would say sons, but it is a little late for Vincent on that aspect and when they get old enough to get into the game, no man will ever be worthy of my precious granddaughters, Cara and Mariah." Carmine slapped a nearby bush, "And you...you are not even worthy of being in my presence and I'll have you know that nobody...nobody will ever ever love my nieces, granddaughters, sons, and daughters more than I will!"

"Not even worthy of being in your presence? Good lord, that sounds eerily familiar." Nick was not too surprised at hearing that, having heard it many times in the past.

"Oh? Another papa got wise to you, eh?" Carmine raised an eyebrow.

"Well, not exactly. You see, the last person who said that to me in so many words was Marquis De Lacaise during that forest fire a couple years ago. He ruined my dream of being with his daughter, the lovely mademoiselle, Michelle De Lacaise." Nick started to think about that ghastly forest fire, the Marquis, and Michelle.

"As much as I hate French aristocrats let alone France, I can't say I blame the Marquis. You probably got too friendly with his precious Michelle and he stopped you before anything bad could've happened to her." Carmine assumed.

The bear roared from where it was standing down below and the peacock squawked, clearly reminding them that there was still a child needing their help.

"That's not how it happened and I'll go into details later. Right now, there's a child who needs us!" Nick quickly shifted topics and got closer to the edge.

"Again with the 'us'?" Carmine said to himself while very reluctantly joining him.

"Okay, Carmine. You go down there and-" Nick was cut off.

"Why do I have to go down there?! Just why do I need to be the first one?!" Carmine angrily waved his hand.

"Carmine, I'm ju-" Nick was cut off, again.

"What's wrong? You too pretty to go down there?! Too full of pride in your looks to get yourself dirty?! Hmmmmm?!" Carmine asked in a very nasty way.

"No, I'm not. I'm trying to think of a plan and I need your help, but then again, if you wanna talk about pride, are you too full of pride to put aside your differences with white people in order to lend a helping...haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand!" Nick shouted the last part after being caught off guard off when the ground beneath him collapsed, causing him to fall and roll down the cliff, landing very hard on the ground next to the motionless child.

"MADRE DI MISERICORDIA! (MOTHER OF MERCY!)" Carmine shouted while the look of shock and horror spread across his face.

Then, as fate would have it, right after he shouted, Jarrod and everybody else plus a team of animals came rushing to the scene.

"Mr. Mangano, thank God!" Jarrod had a smile on his face and breathed a sigh of relief only to look around for Nick.

"Papà! Papà! Oh, papà, grazie a Dio! (Dad! Dad! Oh, dad, thank God!)" Stefania ran over to her father and hugged him before slowly pulling back and looking around, "Dov'è Nick? (Where's Nick?)"

"Oh, ho capito. Ora inizio a capire il quadro completo, Stefania. Mi vedi, ma subito chiedi di Nick Barkley! Nel caso te ne fossi dimenticato, sono tuo padre e sono quasi morto anch'io! (Oh, I get it. I'm starting to get the whole picture now, Stefania. You see me, but right away you ask for Nick Barkley! In case you have forgotten, I am your father and I almost died, too!)" Carmine folded his arms.

"Papà, non sei giusto. Non hai idea di quanto tempo abbiamo cercato te e Nick, e di quanto ci siamo incolpati. (Dad, you're not being fair. You have no idea how long we all have been searching for you and Nick plus how we all have been blaming ourselves.)" Stefania's eyes started to glaze over, "Non hai idea di quanto mi incolpi per questo! Papà, tu e Nick siete il mondo per me! (You have no idea how much I blame myself for this! Dad, you and Nick mean the world to me!)"

"Stefania, figlia mia, bambina, non dovresti incolpare te stessa. Non è colpa tua. (Stefania, my daughter, baby girl, you shouldn't blame yourself. It is not your fault.)" Carmine's tone went from being brash to gentle after he saw his daughter's eyes glaze over.

"Non è vero? È per colpa mia che Nick è stato ferito. È per colpa mia che tu e Nick siete stati spazzati via! (Isn't it, though? It's, because of me that Nick has been hurt. It's, because of me that you and Nick were swept away!)" Stefania quickly wiped away her tears.

"No, bambina. No, no, non piangere. (No, baby girl. No, no, don't cry.)" Carmine wiped another tear away from Stefania's eye with his thumb.

"Papà, per favore, dov'è Nick? I Barkley meritano di saperlo e...lo voglio anch'io. Per favore, papà, per favore. (Dad, please, where is Nick? The Barkleys deserve to know and...so do I. Please, dad, please.)" Stefania pleaded.

"I hate to interrupt this conversation, but have you seen my daughter?" Jess spoke up as he made his way to Carmine.

"Chi è quest'uomo bianco?! Perché è qui?! (Who's this white man?! Why is he here?!)" Carmine got into a combative pose, clearly perceiving Jess as a threat.

"Papà, non è una cattiva persona. Si chiama Jess Chaney. Stava cercando la sua figlioletta Mavis. È scomparsa. (Dad, he's not a bad person. His name is Jess Chaney. He's been searching for his little daughter Mavis. She disappeared.)" Stefania quickly explained.

"Please, mister, have you seen my little Mavis?" Jess pleaded.

"I think so, because a bear, raccoon, deer, and chipmunk led Nick and me to right here. We also got met up by a peacock. The peacock and bear showed us that there's a child down below." Carmine reverted back to English.

"A child down-Mavis!" Jess ran over to the edge, looked down, and saw both the motionless child and Nick, who was barely coming to, nearly falling over the cliff himself only to be caught just in time.

"Are you insane, man? You could've fallen down there like Nick and that child did!" Carmine pulled him back, surprising everyone.

"Carmine, did you just pull somebody back and prevent their fall?" Jarrod spoke up.

"Yes, lawyer boy. I did and I hate myself for it." Carmine answered in a rude way.

"Mister, please let me go down there! My little Mavis is lying down there and heaven only knows whether she is okay or not. Please!" Jess pleaded some more.

"It is too dangerous to go down there! We need rope. Long rope or something." Jarrod told him, before grabbing his rope off of Jingo's saddle, taking his belt off, and tying one end of the rope to the middle of the belt.

Heath and the other men followed suit in grabbing ropes, tying them together, and tying one end to Jarrod's rope and the other to a nearby tree. Then, one by one, Stefania, Jarrod, Victoria, Jess, Heath, and company grabbed the rope, forming a human chain, Paulie and his friends joining in.

"Okay, Carmine, toss this end down there." Jarrod handed Carmine the end with his belt on it.

Carmine took it and stared at it for a while, looking a bit hesitant.

"Carmine, what are you doing? Throw it down there." Heath was a bit thrown off by this.

Carmine didn't say anything or move a muscle, still staring at the rope and belt combination.

"Papà, per favore! (Dad, please!)" Stefania pleaded.

"Oh, Carmine, you can't be too prideful to offer any help, can you?" Victoria spoke up.

"He must be, mother." Heath replied.

"Carmine Mangano, this has gone far enough. Now, come on, put your hatred for white people aside and please lend a helping hand." Jarrod told him, "You know deep down inside that it is the right thing to do, but it seems painfully obvious that your judgment has been clouded by both pride and prejudice. Two things that can be one's downfall at times."

"What good will it do me if I lend a helping hand?! You know how your kind is!" Carmine finally spoke up.

"Oh, really? How do you think others will react?" Jarrod folded his arms.

"They'll think I pushed Nick and that little girl over the edge and saved them out of guilt. Then, I'll be lynched just like Santo!" Carmine replied.

"Carmine, you've got that all wrong. Nobody will think that." Victoria shook her head.

"Yeah, Mr. Mangano, sir. Nobody will lynch you, especially for saving lives." Jess added.

"Just how do you all know?!" Carmine asked.

"We're all witnesses." Heath added.

"Papa, they speak the truth. Plus, this could be a moment where it'll be hostibus sociis or in our language, da nemici ad alleati." Stefania told him.

"What did she say?" Jess turned to Jarrod.

"Hostibus Sociis is Latin for enemies to allies." Jarrod told him, before turning to Stefania, "What was that second part?"

"The second part was Italian for enemies to allies." Stefania replied, before turning back to her father, "Papa, please toss the end of the rope with the belt down. Please."

"Carmine, I hate to admit it, but Stefania may be right about these people." Paulie chimed in.

"Please, Carmine." Victoria said, a pleading look spreading across her face.

(Now)

Carmine looked around and by the looks on everyone's faces, Paulie, Massimo, Vito, Arturo, Enzo, and Luca's included, knew he was the only hesitant one there henceforth, he was outnumbered. He was surprised to see that his own brother and their friends were siding with Barkleys, the men Heath rounded up, and Jess. Never before had he seen his brother and friends side with anybody except him, so this was definitely a sign of something.

"Per favore, fratello. (Please, brother.)" Paulie nodded to Carmine.

"Odio essere gentile! (I hate being nice!)" Carmine shook his head.

"Fratello, stai andando-(Brother, are you going-)" Paulie was cut off.

"Dio, perdonami...(God, forgive me...)" Carmine looked up at the sky then looked down and did the sign of the cross, "Non so cosa sto facendo. (I know not what I am doing.)"

"Carmine..." Massimo spoke up.

"Padre Dio, perdonami. (Father God, forgive me.)" Carmine tossed the belt and rope over the edge.

"Grazie, papà. (Thank you, dad.)" Stefania smiled.

"Figlia mia, non sei la benvenuta! (My daughter, you are not welcome!)" Carmine put his head in his hands, "Cosa ho fatto?! (What have I done?!)"

*Down below with Nick and the child*

Nick not only started to regain consciousness, but he also started to get his footing when the belt and rope came flying down, hitting him smack dab in the forehead in the process.

"Ouch! Dad-blast it! How many times have I told Jarrod to be careful when he throws things to me?!" Nick muttered to himself before turning his attention to the still motionless child and gently tapping their shoulder, "Psst. Hey, kiddo. Hey. Hey. Come on, you'll be alright. Come on now. Come to."

No movement.

Nick gently turned the child onto their back, revealing them to be a little girl not only with long dark hair & bangs in the front, but a bad head wound that was still bleeding. This alarmed him.

"Great heavens!" Nick got bug eyed for a moment before composing himself, ripping off his bandana, and wrapping it around the little girl's head as best as he could.

"Nick, are you alright?" Jarrod yelled from above.

"Just fine, Jarrod. Next time, be careful when you throw things! Also too, there's a child down here and she's badly hurt!" Nick yelled back.

"That's Mavis! That's my daughter!" Jess yelled.

"Nick, send her up now!" Stefania yelled.

"I'm just about t-" Nick paused when the black bear approached him.

"Nick?" Heath spoke up.

"Easy, fella. Easy, now." Nick said to the bear.

The bear let out a high-pitched bark, stood on its hind legs, and outstretched its front paws towards the child, as if to gesture "hand her over to me".

"Look...ummmm...I need to send this child up to Jarrod and everyone else. I don't know what you're-" Nick was cut off when in a surprising move, the bear snatched the child out of his arms with its mouth, "Hey! Wait a minute! Wait! Don't you dare take her off as a snack!"

The bear started climbing the cliff, Nick taking off after the bear in an attempt to get the child back before it was too late or so he assumed.

"You brute! Why not take me as a snack instead?!" Nick was on the bear's tail and close enough to where he could grab the child, but lost his footing and fell, "Dammit!"

*Up above with Stefania, Jarrod, and everyone else*

As everyone else waited with great anticipation, Stefania's attention would be taken from the edge to another side of the cliff, as she saw something that appeared to be rising to the top.

"Look!" Stefania pointed to that particular side.

"Not now, Stefania." Jarrod told her.

"But there's a...a...bear!" Stefania got a good look at what was coming, "And it has a child in its mouth!"

"Child in its-Mavis!" Jess turned his attention to the approaching bear.

"Well, I'll be-" Heath was cut off.

"Mavis! Mavis, my little-" Jess went to run towards the bear only to be pulled back.

"Jess, are you nuts? If you run to that bear, you'll live to regret it." Heath held onto Jess's arm very tightly.

Before Jess could say anything, the bear approached him and gently set the little girl down onto the ground.

"Mavis, honey!" Jess gently picked his daughter up, lifted Nick's bandana back, and gasped at the sight of the wound.

"Jess, you better get her to Dr. Merar, immediately." Victoria spoke up.

"No kidding, but before I do. I just want to thank all of you. Thank you all so much and-and I'll be sure to return Nick's bandana." Jess told her, gratitude in his eyes and voice starting to break.

"Speaking of which, where is he? If the bear brought Mavis up here, then-" Victoria was cut off when she heard the sounds of groaning coming from the men and turned her attention to them, eyes getting big for a brief second before shaking her head.

"Thanks for pulling me up, fellas." Nick chuckled as he laid on the ground for a little bit before breathing a sigh of relief.

"Nick, just how much do you weigh?" Heath asked while breathing heavily.

"How much do I weigh?" Nick got a funny look on his face.

"You are very heavy, Nick." Jarrod tried to stifle a chuckle, but was failing miserably.

"Oh, be mature, will you?!" Nick groaned.

"And here I thought Carmine was a little on the heavy side." Paulie reverted to English and got to laughing before abruptly stopping when he saw that Carmine was giving him the eye.

"Ohhhh! Take me home! Please, take me home!" Nick groaned some more.

"That makes two of us, because while I am at it, the truce...is over!" Carmine reverted to English.

"Well now, wait a minute, Carmine. Wait a minute." Victoria held her hand up, "You and my son have been through so much as we all have and-"

"Signora Barkley, I'm not agreeing to anymore stuff. I agreed to a temporary truce and now, it is over." Carmine cut her off.

"Carmine, in case you forgot, Jarrod started to tell us of a plan he has in regards to papa and Santo. Maybe we should-" Paulie was cut off.

"Paulie, don't tell me you have gone soft!" Carmine shook his head.

"Who said I'm going soft? All I'm saying is that maybe we should listen to Jarrod and hear him out on his plan." Paulie lightly suggested.

"On the contrary, Paulie. Maybe it is best that we discuss it later. Right now, I think we all can go on home, get treated for wounds and anything else, then get some rest in order to refresh ourselves." Jarrod told him.

"Maybe you're right, Jarrod. Maybe." Paulie nodded.

"You gentlemen are more than welcome to our home." Victoria added.

"Exactly and in the study where I do most of my thinking and reading, we can discuss the plan. How does that sound?" Jarrod suggested.

"I'd say-" Paulie was cut off.

"Question..." Carmine held his hand up, "How do we all know that there won't be a mob of people with torches and ropes waiting for us in your library?!"

"Papà, per favore. Non essere ridicolo. (Dad, please. Don't be ridiculous.)" Stefania shot a glare at her father.

"Stefania, con quelli come loro non si sa mai. (Stefania, you never know with their kind.)" Carmine fired back.

"Papà, non ti farà male dargli una possibilità. Jarrod ha detto che ha un piano per quanto riguarda zio Santo e nonno Emilio. Perché non gli dai una possibilità di spiegare? Io sono disposto a farlo e Nick. Nick è stato una manna dal cielo e mi sto davvero innamorando di lui. Davvero, davvero innamorandomi di lui. Puoi dire che lo adoro. (Dad, it won't hurt you to give them a chance. Jarrod said he has a plan in regards to uncle Santo and grandpa Emilio. Why don't you give him a chance to explain? I'm willing to do so and Nick. Nick has been a godsend and I'm really falling for him. Really really falling for him. You can say that I adore him.)" Stefania insisted.

"Stefania, conosci a malapena Nick Barkley. Come puoi adorare un uomo bianco?! Per non parlare di adorare qualcuno che conosci a malapena. Non ti ricordi cosa è successo l'ultima volta che hai adorato e ti sei innamorata di qualcuno che conoscevi a malapena?! (Stefania, you barely know Nick Barkley. How can you adore a white man?! Let alone adore someone you barely even know. Don't you remember what happened the last time you adored and fell for someone you barely knew?!)" Carmine shook his head.

"Ricordo cosa è successo con Pasquale, ma Nick è diverso. È dolce, gentile, bello, e qualcuno che vorresti al tuo fianco se mai ti trovassi nei guai. (I remember what happened with Pasquale, but Nick is different. He's sweet, gentle, handsome, and somebody you would want in your corner if there was ever a time you were in trouble.)" Stefania walked over to Nick, sat on her knees behind him, and held his head in her hands, "Non vedi che Nick e la sua famiglia non sono come tutte quelle altre persone orribili? Non vedi che mi importa di Nick in più di un modo? (Can't you see that Nick and his family are not like all of those other awful people? Can't you see that I care about Nick in more ways than one?)"

"Non credi di procedere un po' troppo in fretta con gente come lui?! (Don't you think you're moving a little quickly with the likes of him?!)" Carmine folded his arms.

"Ai tuoi occhi, forse lo sono, papà. Forse lo sono e se è così, cosa c'è di sbagliato in questo?! Posso entrare in sintonia con Nick in molti modi in cui non riuscivo a entrare in sintonia con Pasquale. (In your eyes, maybe I am, dad. Maybe I am and if so, what's wrong with that?! I can connect with Nick in many ways that I couldn't with Pasquale.)" Stefania stood her ground.

"Madre di Dio, Stefania. Hai detto esattamente la stessa cosa di Pasquale! Hai detto che era meraviglioso, bello, comprensivo e quello giusto per te tra tante cose, solo per poi essere delusa e con il cuore spezzato e giurare di rinunciare al romanticismo. Come puoi passare da questo all'essere affascinata da un uomo bianco dopo averlo incontrato a malapena?! (Mother of God, Stefania. You said the exact same thing about Pasquale! You said he was wonderful, handsome, understanding, and the one for you among a lot of things only to be disillusioned and broken hearted plus vowing to give up on romance. How can you go from that to being charmed by a white man after barely meeting him?!)" Carmine couldn't understand how Stefania went from giving up after getting her heart broken by Pasquale to admitting that she adored Nick and cared about him in more ways than one despite the fact that she barely knew him. Who could blame Carmine? A possible whirlwind romance would raise a red flag, because usually those kind end in disasters and naturally, Carmine didn't want that for his daughter. Not a repeat of Pasquale.

"Papà, se non sbaglio, non era così anche per te e la mamma quando vi siete innamorati? (Dad, if I'm not mistaken, wasn't it like this for you and mom when you two fell for each other?)" Stefania asked with a smile.

"Stefania Lucia Mangano, non osare contaminare l'amore che provo per tua madre e paragonarlo all'evidente desiderio che provi per Nick Barkley! Sai una cosa? Per quell'insulto, dovrei-(Stefania Lucia Mangano, don't you dare taint the love I have for your mother and compare it to the obvious lust you have for Nick Barkley! You know something? For that insult, I should-)" Carmine was cut off.

"Chiamalo come vuoi, papà. Tuttavia, ricordo che tu e mamma vi siete incontrati per caso ed è stato amore a prima vista. Nick e io ci siamo incontrati per caso. Abbiamo una relazione che cresce lentamente e se tutto va bene, potrebbe essere amore a prima vista anche per noi. (Call it what you want, dad. However, I do recall you and mom met each other by accident and it was love at first sight. Nick and I met each other by accident. We are in a slow growing relationship and if everything works out, it may be love at first sight for us, too.)" Stefania affectionately rubbed Nick's head with one hand and shoulder with the other.

"Look at Nick. Look at Nick!" Heath whispered to Jarrod.

"Well, that's just like Nick. Milking the attention of a lady and getting relaxed in the process." Jarrod chuckled before turning to Victoria, "Mother, get a load of this."

"Get a load of what?" Victoria asked.

"Nick. Stefania's tenderly rubbing his head and shoulder & o'l Nick is milking it." Jarrod smirked.

"Milking i-" Victoria paused before turning her attention to Nick, getting a smile on her face, and shaking her head, "Well, whaddya know. Haven't I been saying it all along?"

"What's that?" Jarrod asked.

"Nick takes after your father in more ways than one. This is one of those ways." Victoria nodded.

"How so?" Heath asked.

"When we first met which was by accident, your father and I fell for each other and connected immediately. Just like Nick and Stefania. Then, as our relationship was growing, we would go around the countryside and be in nature. While doing that, your father and I would sit under a tree to rest. I think Nick milking Stefania's attention explains the rest of it." Victoria had a sparkle in her eye and smiled a little more as she remembered those days with Tom.

"You know something, mother..." Heath looked at Nick then back at Victoria, "I believe it does."

"Carmine, Stefania ha ragione. Tu e Andrea vi siete innamorati molto velocemente dopo che entrambi avete sofferto relazioni fallite e, ancora oggi, siete entrambi follemente innamorati. Forse Nick è diverso da Pasquale. Forse non è male come pensavamo. L'unico modo per chiunque di saperlo è di lasciarli crescere nella loro relazione al ritmo a cui stanno già andando mentre parliamo. Inoltre, devi ammettere che è da molto tempo che Stefania non è felice con un uomo che non è imparentato con lei. (Carmine, Stefania has a point. You and Andrea did fall for each other very fast after you both suffered failed relationships and to this day, you both are still madly in love. Maybe Nick is different from Pasquale. Maybe he's not bad like we thought. The only way for anybody to know is to let them grow their relationship at the pace they already are as we speak. Plus, you have to admit that it has been a long time since Stefania has been happy around a man who isn't related to her.)" Paulie took Carmine aside.

"Paulie, perché ti stai ammorbidendo?! I Barkley ti hanno corrotto? (Paulie, why are you going soft?! Did the Barkleys bribe you?)" Carmine grabbed Paulie by his shirt.

"Calma, Carm. Nessuno mi ha corrotto e non sto diventando tenera. Sto solo giudicando da come Stefania e Nick interagiscono e da come lei lo difende. A proposito, mi è venuta in mente una cosa. (Take it easy, Carm. Nobody bribed me and I am not going soft. I'm merely judging by how Stefania and Nick interact and how she defends him. Speaking of which, I have come to think of something.)" Paulie held his hands up in a "calm down" motion.

"Oh, davvero, Paulie?! E di cosa si tratta, oso chiedere?! (Oh really, Paulie?! And what is it, dare I ask?!)" Carmine raised his eyebrows.

"Se Nick fosse cattivo, se-(If Nick was bad, if-)" Paulie was interrupted.

"Paulie, fratello mio, tu e io sappiamo che non c'è "se" quando si tratta di quelli come Nick Barkley che sono i cattivi. Voglio dire, non dimentichiamo cosa è successo a Stefania o Santo o Allegra o Serafina o nostro padre. (Paulie, my brother, you and I know there's no "if" when it comes to Nick Barkley's kind being the bad ones. I mean let's not forget what happened to Stefania or Santo or Allegra or Serafina or our father.)" Carmine couldn't believe what he was hearing from his own brother.

"Carmine, nessuno dimenticherà. Tuttavia, alla luce di tutto quello che è appena successo e parlando un po' con una certa Victoria Barkley e Jarrod che menzionava un piano, ho riflettuto un po'. In effetti, ci ho ripensato e ripensato e ripensato nella mia mente. (Carmine, nobody will forget. However, in light off all that just happened and doing some talking with one Victoria Barkley plus Jarrod mentioning a plan, I have done some thinking. In fact, I have gone over it and over it and over it in my mind.)" Paulie replied.

"Paulie, smettila di fare doppi discorsi e di fare sottigliezze. Che genere di cose assurde ti sono venute in mente con cui non sono d'accordo, come faccio sempre?! (Paulie, quit the double talk and splitting hairs. What kind of outrageous thing have you thought of that I am going to disagree with as I always do?!)" Carmine wanted Paulie to get to the point.

"Sto iniziando a pensare che potremmo aver tutti giudicato male Nick. Ora, prima che tu ti arrabbi, ascoltami. Per favore. (Sto iniziando a pensare che potremmo aver tutti giudicato male Nick. Ora, prima che tu ti arrabbi, ascoltami. Per favore.)" Paulie took a long pause, "Se Nick fosse stato davvero cattivo come tutti pensavamo, l'avrebbe abbandonata come la maggior parte degli uomini tende a fare. Tuttavia, finora le è rimasto accanto e credo che sia molto sincero. Non un bugiardo come Pasquale. (Se Nick fosse stato davvero cattivo come tutti pensavamo, l'avrebbe abbandonata come la maggior parte degli uomini tende a fare. Tuttavia, finora le è rimasto accanto e credo che sia molto sincero. Non un bugiardo come Pasquale.)"

Carmine didn't say anything and just stood there with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Carmine, so che hai difficoltà a credere a quello che sto dicendo, perché io ho difficoltà a dirlo, ma forse ce ne sono di decenti come Nick. Forse. Inoltre, guarda il modo in cui lui e Stefania interagiscono e pensa a come quando lei parla di lui, le viene questo grande sorriso sulla faccia. Tutto questo accadrebbe se lui fosse così cattivo? (Carmine, I know you're having a hard time believing what I am saying, because I am having a hard time saying it, but maybe there are decent ones of Nick's kind. Maybe. Plus, look at the way he and Stefania interact and think about how when she talks about him, she gets this big smile on her face. Would that all be happening if he was so bad?)" Paulie put his hands on his brother's shoulders, "E se posso aggiungere, guarda come appoggia la testa sul suo grembo, lo facevi con Andrea quando avevate la loro età. Inoltre, come Nick e Stefania, anche tu e Andrea vi siete incontrati per caso. Le hai salvato la vita e dopo, vi siete innamorati. Immediatamente, potrei aggiungere. (And if I may add, look at the way he is resting his head in her lap, you used to do that with Andrea when you two were their age. Also too, like Nick and Stefania, you and Andrea also met by accident. You saved her life and afterward, you two fell in love. Immediately, might I add.)"

"Paulie, quella era diversa. (Paulie, that was different.)" Carmine scoffed, "In realtà sono stato io a salvare Andrea dai suoi aggressori. (I actually saved Andrea from her attackers.)"

"Ecco, questo è stato un colpo basso, Carmine. (Now, that was a cheap shot, Carmine.)" Paulie shook his head.

"Papà, come osi?! (Dad, how dare you?!)" Stefania spoke up.

"Come oso?! No. Come osano tu e tutti gli altri?! (How dare I?! No. How dare you and everyone else?!)" Carmine shook his head, yet again before walking off.

"Papà, aspetta! (Dad, wait!)" Stefania called out.

"Ah, lascialo andare. Sai com'è, Stefania. (Ah, let him go. You know how he is, Stefania.)" Paulie told her.

Stefania didn't say anything, only nodding in agreement.

*Three weeks later*

Despite trying to tough it out in their own ways, Nick and Carmine had suffered some terrible bruising all over their bodies plus broken legs to add to it. Meawhile little Mavis suffered a head wound and a broken arm. All three were thankfully on the mend and Mavis got to keep Nick's bandana. However, being on the mend meant staying in bed and for Nick and Carmine, to say it was a challenge would be sugarcoating it. They were usually very active and being told to stay put in bed was pure torture for the two men, but their families knew that eventually, they'd adapt and get so used to the attention that they would want to prolong staying in bed.

The rest and recuperation was also giving Nick and Stefania time to recover from what all they went through plus spend more time together. In fact, Stefania was dividing up her time with Carmine and Nick each and every day much to her father's chagrin. Then again, she had siblings who could fill in for her, so it was all good unless, of course, one spoke with Carmine.

Today, Stefania was visiting with Nick and tending to him after letting Allegra take over with their father. She was in the Barkley's kitchen fixing a sandwich for Nick when the door opened.

"Hey, Stefania." Nick greeted.

"Nicolas Barkley! What are you doing?" Stefania sounded like a mother.

"Coming into my kitchen, of course." Nick smiled.

"Well, I know that, but are you trying to hurt yourself further and risk losing your leg?" Stefania raised an eyebrow.

"But I-" Nick was cut off.

"Nick, we told you no moving. So did, Dr. Merar, but you keep moving around." Stefania waved her finger.

"Stefania, I just wanted to be near you." Nick replied.

"You could be near me when I bring you this sandwich and plus too, I'm getting kind of hungry myself." Stefania told him.

"Well, why don't we sit down at the table and have a snack together?" Nick started to limp towards the table.

"Unh uh. Don't you dare move towards that table. I'll bring you lunch in bed." Stefania shook her head.

"Oh, but I don't mind eating in the kitchen and maybe going outside to-" Nick was cut off, again.

"You are not going to do ranch duties today, mister. You are going straight up to your room and I'll bring you your lunch." Stefania said before starting to gently push him out of the kitchen, "Now, get going."

"But, Stefania-" Nick was interrupted by Jarrod coming in.

"Nick, I think you best listen to this little lady and head on upstairs." Jarrod guided him out of the kitchen.

"Jarrod, I don't need you playing nursemaid!" Nick was clearly annoyed.

"I'm not playing nursemaid. I'm being Pappy." Jarrod had a smug look on his face.

"Ohhhhh!" Nick groaned out of annoyance, "Don't you have something to do?"

"Yes. Help you up those stairs." Jarrod laughed.

"Oh, be mature!" Nick replied.

"Nick, we're only doing it for your own good." Stefania added.

"I know, Stefania and I appreciate it very much." Nick smiled.

"How come you don't appreciate it from me?" Jarrod asked in a joking manner.

"Simple...you're too Jarrod about it." Nick gave him a look before slowly making his way upstairs only to struggle due to his broken leg and the pain.

"Jarrod, could you bring this?" Stefania handed Jarrod the sandwich she made for Nick before going over to Nick and helping him up the stairs, "That's it. Nice and easy, Nick."

"Oh, thank you, Stefania." Nick replied before calling downstairs, "Jarrod, don't eat my sandwich."

"Don't worry, Nick. I already ate." Jarrod replied.

Just as Nick and Stefania disappeared upstairs, there was a knock at the door. Jarrod set the sandwich down on a nearby table and went to the door.

To Be Continued...

Merry Early Christmas, everybody! :D

December 7, 1941: A date which will live in infamy. Remember Pearl Harbor!

Nick: I wonder who's at the door.

Audra: Who could it be?

Stefania: Hopefully, it isn't anybody who will give any of us any trouble.

Jarrod: We shall see in the next chapter.

Nick: R&R, everybody. R&R!