serendipity

40: "my promise to you"

(ser's pov)

dad.

this is the first time ezra has called alessandro "dad". it also happens to be the day he gets admitted to the hospital.

we run through the entrance to the attendance desk and ezra rushes out, "alessandro bianchi!"

the lady looks up at us and says, "room 127."

by the time we make it to the room, max and i are panting, out of breath and ezra looks like he's on the verge of a breakdown. he stands there, looking at the door while his eyes glisten. i rest my hand on his back and faster than i can comprehend, he has max and i in his arms.

we stay like that for a few minutes, just listening to our harsh breathing. ezra eventually pulls away and kisses our foreheads before nodding and whispering, "it's gonna be okay."

i nod with him and we step forward to the door. as we walk in we see most of the family and valentina sitting around alessandro. he has a weak smile on his face but just by a glance, you can tell he's just getting worse.

everyone turns to us and they smile sadly when they see ezra. he makes his way to his dad and hugs him like his life depends on it.

i close my eyes and swallow the lump in my throat. max tugs on my hand, silently asking me to hold him, so i do. i cradle him like a baby as he rests his head in the crook of my neck.

the chatter starts up again and i head over to ezra. he sits at alessandros side, holding his hand and looking down at his lap with glossed over eyes. i run my hand up and down his back to get his attention. when he turns to me, i lean down and press a kiss to his nose and whisper, "i'm proud of you."

he kisses my nose and whispers back, "i'm sorry we didn't get to finish our conversation, but we will soon. i promise."

i bring my free hand up to rest on his cheek. "don't worry about it right now. we'll be okay," i firmly state before turning to alessandro. "hey," i smile sadly and hug him gently. he returns it with as much strength as he can. max hugs him too and when he snuggles back into me, i notice the tears he holds back. run my hand up and down his back to provide as much comfort as i can.

"i'm sorry that i won't be able to come for christmas, ezra." alessandro frowns.

"we'll be here. all of us," ezra says as he grips alessandro's hand tighter.

------------------------------

we sit and talk for a few hours until the doctor comes in telling us that alessandro needs to take some tests that will last around 2 to 3 hours.

once he gets wheeled out of the room, dante says, "he thinks he ruined christmas."

we all frown until ezra offers, "we could decorate the room with lights. make it festive since we'll be here for several days. ser and i can run and get all the presents and lights. we can get a mini christmas tree to stick in the room."

you can see everyone get excited while we get ready to leave. we have about a 3 hour window to get everything here and decorated.

max wanted to stay with dante and help get the mini tree to decorate so ezra and i head back to my apartment to get some decorations and the gifts. valentina is going to get the rest of the gifts that we don't have and then we'll all meet in the room.

as we pull out of the the parking lot and i'm about to turn in the direction of the apartment when ezra says, "can we make a pit stop at my house so i can grab something?"

i nod and switch directions before saying, "i'm sorry that i got mad at you earlier for something that i should be happy about."

he places his hand on my thigh and gives it a reassuring squeeze. "please don't apologize, ser. i understand, my love. i just wish we could see eye to eye on it."