15 Years Later
Omniscient POV:
Aaliyah laid there in a pool of her and Damien's blood. She always knew it would more than likely end this way for her and her husband if they didn't end up in prison for the rest of their lives, but she was strangely content. Damien reached out and grabbed her hand with the little bit of strength he had left to give his wife some reassurance. Sadly, she knew they were more than likely going to die. She could hear the traitors celebrating until she her multiple gunshots sound off.
"Mom! Dad! Hang on!"
All Aaliyah could think of in that moment was 'Not my babies.'
Aaliyah didn't train them in self-defense for them to be like her. She could hear Alek yelling in Russian and Jason yelling in Italian.
"Bella, Boss, lets get y'all out of here and to the underground hospital." Was all Aaliyah heard before she lost consciousness.
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"Kitai, how is mom and dad?" Isabella asked.
"They're on life support. No response."
"What are we going to do if they don't make it?" Melanie asked.
Melanie was the youngest out of the Arden Clan and she was smart as a whip.
"Mel, mom and dad are strong. They'll make it." Ezra, the second eldest son stated.
Over the years Aaliyah and Damien managed to have 8 children including Isabella and Kitai. Rumor was that Aaliyah was pregnant with their ninth but no one knew how true that was other than Aaliyah and Damien.
Isabella and Kitai were 23 and were only back in Italy because their parents had a graduation surprise for them, but yesterday when they'd gotten the phone call that something had gone wrong at the docks they knew that they would probably be in Italy for a while. They rushed to the docks when Jason got the phone call from Alek that he had heard gunshots at the dock and their parents weren't coming out. It was one of the most devastating sights to see to Alek, so, Alek could only imagine how the twins felt seeing their parents laying in their own blood with multiple gunshot wounds.
Everyone of the Arden kids were equip in self defense even little Melanie. When the children became a certain age, Damien and Aaliyah taught them about mafia business. Aaliyah was very reluctant at first but eventually she and Damien came to an agreement that it was in their kids best interest to know what they were involved in just in case they were ever in danger. The Magic number was 15, so, Arabella and Ezra had just begun to learn certain things. Gabriel and Gabriella were only 10, so, they hadn't learned anything yet except how to fight. Then there were the two youngest; Andres who was 8 and Melanie who was 5. Both Andres and Melanie could fight as well.
Jason strolled into the room with a somber look on his face and Isabella's heart dropped. Christian, Alek, and Giovanni all filed into the room after him with sorrow filled looks on their faces as well.
"Uncle Jason, what's going on?" Isabella asked.
"Your mother's heart is failing. I don't know if I can stop it or slow it down. I don't know if she's going to make it this time."
"What about dad?"
"No Progress in him at all but no declines either. But let's be realistic if he pulls through and Aaliyah does not I don't think Damien will ever be the same."
Damien and Aaliyah had been inseparable since they had been together and marriage had only made them stronger. They ran the Italian mafia together, they ran their businesses together, they slayed their enemies together, they raised their children together; what one parent said went and that was all she wrote. Aaliyah and Damien had the kind of love that many people could never find but spent their life searching for. Therefore, everyone knew if one died then the other would more than likely follow closely behind.
"How are we supposed to live without them?" Arabella asked. Her parents and family were all she knew. Damien and Aaliyah were very rarely away from their children. When they went on vacation so did the kids and when they had to fly to the states for business they brought the children to the states with them. There was no question that everything was a family affair to them. Aaliyah and Damien never yelled at them, they talked to their children with reason, which is why they knew everything that went on in their children's lives.
Christian, Damien's brother knew that if the children lost both parents they would all spiral but even if one parent lived how beneficial would that truly be?
If Damien lived and Aaliyah died then Damien would more than likely spiral into depression and commit suicide, If Aaliyah lived and Damien did not then the world would see vengeance like no other if she didn't die from heart failure first.
"What are we going to do? What can you do?"
"Aaliyah's heart was already weak. It's been weak for years. She should have never been in the line of fire. EVER. There is nothing I can do to stop her heart from failing but I may be able to slow it down if she lives. I mean if she lives it'll be a miracle and she will not be able to over exert herself anymore. She would have to be on bed rest for a while before she would even be able to resume regular, everyday activities." Jason explained.
"I've never known my mother to have a weak heart." Isabella piped up. Kitai placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her.
"It's not his fault, Bells."
"Your mother suffered extreme heartbreak with your biological father. He literally broke her heart and although she found Damien and they are in love and love one another, her heart physically never healed completely. That is why Damien is so overprotective of her emotions and mental health. She never wanted anyone to know but now we're here and you have to know."
Jason's beeper went off. "That's the hospital. It's your parents. I have to go." Jason rushed out. Christian, Gio, and Alek following closely behind.
At the hospital, they walked into a massacre. Before Jason even got to the room, he knew. Damien sat in the corner with Aaliyah in his arms, her body limp, but her corpse still warm.
"I do not want to live without her." Damien whispered.
"Boss, you have children."
"Did you know she was pregnant?" His hand slid over her small baby bump.
"Boss, Aaliyah wouldn't want you like this." Jason tried to reason.
"She was my world apart from our kids. However, I cannot raise them without her. We were a team." Damien sobbed.
"Her heart was already failing, D."
"Stupid woman. She never listened. She always thought she was invincible."
Jason's heart broke for his friend. Especially after all of the shit Damien had been through in life. He found his happiness only to lose it.
"You need to save her." Damien sniffled.
"Damien, she's gone."
"FIX IT!" He roared.
Giovanni and Christian rushed into the room to restrain Damien as Jason took her body from him.
"GIVE HER BACK! YOU CAN FIX THIS. BRING HER BACK!"
Jason couldn't stop the tears forming in his eyes. Christian or Giovanni either.
"Please..... Just bring my wife back....". Damien whisper sobbed.
Being that Jason didn't know how long Aaliyah had been dead, he was not quite sure if he could bring her back but he was going to try. He hated to see his friend in pain.
He took her into another room and grabbed the defibrillator.
"Please, Aaliyah come back. Damien cannot live without you. CLEAR." Jason shocked her body and nothing happened. So, he set the machine again.
"CLEAR." He called out shocking her body again. And just as Jason thought he had failed he heard the heart monitor begin to beep and her chest began to rise and fall. Aaliyah wasn't ready to die after all.
"Thank God." Jason knew that they weren't out of the woods yet. Aaliyah would more than likely need a few surgeries to repair some of the valves in her heart as well as a heart pump to keep her heart pumping and loads of heart medications.
Jason began to get her comfortable. He grabbed the transducer and placed a little gel on her belly and began to look for the baby and it's heartbeat. When he found the baby, he heard two heartbeats which meant there were babies not a baby.
Jason found a nurse and a doctor, the only two left in the facility alive. Damien had killed all the others. He made sure to give the nurse and the doctor clear instructions on taking care of Aaliyah before going to check on Damien.
Jason found Damien in the same room in his bed fast asleep. Christian and Gio looked drained.
"How is she?"
"Fine. I got her heart back to beating and the babies are fine."
"Babies? She's pregnant?"
"Yeah. Around 5 months to be exact. But she's not out of the woods yet. I need to know what happened here tonight. So, I'm going to run the cameras back."
Jason made his way tot the camera room to watch what he thought was impossible unfold on camera.
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Damien's POV:
Aaliyah and I were in complete bliss walking the Villas of Florence, Italy. The yellow dress she wore complimented her chocolate skin so well, she looked like an absolute goddess.
"I love you, Mrs.Arden."
She turned and smiled. "I Lo....."
Her face went blank as she disappeared. All I could hear was a long beeping sound....
My eyes opened and I was met with a white light. I looked over to my left and there she lay, her heart monitor showing that she had flat lined. I got up out of the bed with no issues, snatching every wire attached to me. The nurses and doctors ran in but nobody could stop me from getting to her and I blacked out.
The only thing that ran through my mind was not my wife, not my children. I need her to breathe to eat, to sleep, to function.
When I finally came to there was blood everywhere and several dead bodies. Aaliyah was in my arms. Next thing I knew Jason was walking in attempting to calm me down, attempting to get me to see reason but I didn't want to hear it. Aaliyah was strong, the strongest woman I had ever known and there was no way she was leaving me like this.
"I don't want to live without her." I whispered.
"Boss, you have children." Jason tried to reason.
"Did you know she was pregnant?" My hand slid over her small baby bump.
"Boss, Aaliyah wouldn't want you like this."
"She was my world apart from the kids. However, I can not raise them without her. We were a team." I sobbed.
"Her heart was already failing, D."
"Stupid woman. She never listened. She always thought she was invincible." Stupid me because I knew about her heart problems and I knew I should've sat her ass down along time ago but she always insisted to be with me and she always insisted that she was okay. Not that it's her fault because had I made her stay home then this would've never happened.
"You need to save her." I sniffled.
"Damien, she's gone."
"FIX IT!" I roared.
Giovanni and Christian rushed into the room to restrain me as Jason took my wife's body.. I struggled against them but they had me locked in tight.
"GIVE HER BACK. YOU CAN FIX THIS. BRING HER BACK." I sobbed.
I watched as tears spilled over Jasons cheeks as well as Christian and Giovanni's.
"Please just bring my wife back...." I whispered with tears flooding my cheeks.
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When I came through for the second time today my wife was back in the room beside me, her heart monitor beeping. I saw Jason tending to her softly, pressing on her small bump to make sure the baby was positioned correctly.
"She's fine. The babies are fine."
"Babies?" I asked.
"There are two."
"How's her heart looking? Is she going to be able to carry with her weak heart?"
"Her heart is still quite weak, I have her on some medication that's safe for her and the babies. She'll be fine. I have a team of cardiologists coming in tomorrow. Once she gives birth she's going to need heart surgery though. She should be fine until then as long as she takes it easy. She can no longer be involved in Mafia business and realistically neither should you. The amount of injuries you have sustained as well as the amount of blood lost it's time to sit down, Damien. I'm telling you this as your doctor and as your friend. The next time I will not be able to save you or her." Jason stated as he walked out.
I slipped off of my bed and sat down in the chair beside Aaliyah's bed
"You can't leave me, Micio. I need you. When we depart from this world we have to depart together. I can not live without you." I whispered.
"You lived without me for 37 years, you can do it again." She stated softly.
"Micio." I stood.
"Arden." She fluttered those beautiful orbs open and cracked a weak smile.
"I'm so sorry." I cried as I laid my head in the crook of her neck, hugging her without putting all of my weight on her.
"For what? You didn't do anything. It's my fault. I let my guard down." She wrapped her arms around me.
"No. I should've sat you down a long time ago."
"We should've sat down a long time ago." She corrected.
"Do you feel okay?"
"As good as I can considering I was shot multiple times and died." She chuckled.
"We're having twins again."
"Last set of babies, Arden. We're getting too old. Especially, you old man."
"Hey, I'm only 52."
"Eleven years my senior so you're an old man." She giggled. It was music to my ears.
"Ma, Pa." Isabella walked into the room.
I raised up from Aaliyah and I's embrace and saw all of the children filing into the room.
"We're so glad you're okay."
"Thanks to y'all. Butt when we go home we need to discuss somethings as a family."
"Umm, Ma, Pa, I go back to the states today." Isabella stated sheepishly. Isa was always attached to her mothers hip when she was younger but as she had gotten older and she had learned of mine and her mothers dealings, she'd stepped back a lot from us. Not that she didn't love us because we knew she did. But I knew she didn't look at myself and her mother the same as she used to, so, she kept her distance. Aaliyah noticed a great deal. She knew all of our children like the back of her hands but she would never address Isabellas distant demeanor.
"That's fine. Kitai can feel you in." I stated.
Isabella nodded.
"Mommy, when are you and daddy coming back home?" Mel asked.
"As soon as mommy feels better." Aaliyah held her arms out for our youngest baby. Mel ran over hugging us both.
After a few hours the kids left and Jason returned.
"You know for Isabella to be so concerned about your well being she sure does keep her distance." Jason stated.
"I know. She's grown and if she feels the need to love me from a distance because of the things I've done then who am I to blame her. I can't tell her how to feel or......" Aaliyah paused trying to catch her breath.
Jason grabbed her oxygen and placed it in her nostrils. She inhaled deeply and then proceeded to finish her sentence.
"make her feelings seem invalid."
Aaliyah was an amazing mother. That was one thing for certain. She always considered her children's feelings. She never made them feel as if their feelings didn't matter because they were human and they had a right to feel however they felt about whatever. Including her or myself.
2 Months Later
"Let me help you, Micio."
"Arden, Move." She pushed my hand out of the way.
This woman here never learned. She was now 7 months pregnant and she looked 9 months but she refused to let me help her with anything.
"Aaliyah, you should let Damien do that." My mother, Lila rushed out of the house.
"I'm fine." She huffed.
I rolled my eyes and walked off. So fucking hardheaded.
We had left Italy and moved back to the states. I'd bought a mansion in Sacramento, CA. After stepping down as Don and passing the torch to Christian, we had been packing up the mansion. We decided to move and stay under the radar for a while.
It had been years since I had lived in California, so, why not live here for the next 10-15 years. We had just arrived and Aaliyah was trying to grab bags. My mother stayed back scolding her like it was going to make a difference. My mother and Aaliyah had grown quite close over the years. They had a lot in common.
I watched as Aaliyah finally huffed and threw her hands in the air waddling off.
"I told you." I stated as she waddled up the driveway where I was.
"Shut up." She slapped my chest as she walked right past me into the house.
I chuckled. You'd think dying and coming back to life would've extinguished some of the fire she had but honestly it only made that fire burn that much hotter.
We had been through so much since we'd been together but it only made us stronger. Sixteen plus years together with hopefully another 50 years to go..
The END!