Damon
Four days. Four long days without seeing my wife open her eyes.
I'm no man without Freya by my side. Without her, I have no purpose. If my wife would've died four days ago, the streets would've turned red. She keeps me sane, steady.
She's the beat of my heart. The reason I wake up in the morning. Everything I do is for her. There's no me without her. I simply refuse to accept a reality where she isn't in it.
With that comes the acceptance that my line of work is what caused this. I'm the reason my wife is unconscious in a hospital bed. Yes, she was born into this life, but I can't help but to blame myself.
I'm torn between leaving her side and hunting down the person that sent those men to harm my wife, or staying here to see the moment she finally opens her eyes again.
The first time she woke, she wasn't ready. A panic attack had gripped her body. The staples holding her abdomen together had popped. She had to go back into another emergency surgery to fix the damage.
I'm a mess waiting for her to wake. I'm nothing compared to the kids, though. Andrea is a mess, drinking through his pain. Davide has taken to the gym at home, taking out his frustrations on the punching bag until his knuckles are split open.
Gianni hardly talks and refuses to eat. My heart aches the most for Alessandro. He's miserable, either sitting in his room or at the hospital. All he does is mumble to himself or rock back-and-forth in threes.
Getting him to eat anything is a challenge. He would rather sit next to his mother, his eyes glued to her vital signs. I've tried to comfort all my children. Yet, they want nothing to do with me.
Their mother is their rock. I never realized how much Freya holds this family together until it was too late. All my sons are their mother's boys.
I can't forget about Arella. Freya told me how torn up she was when I was in the hospital. How she laid her tiny body next to mine and cried. If that was bad, this is ten times worse.
My baby girl, my heart, refuses to leave her mother's side. She's even gone as far as trying to attack anybody that tries to separate them. I know it isn't healthy to keep my daughter in this room for days on end, but I can't separate them.
Every time I tried lifting the baby from her mother's side, Freya's heartbeat would spike to dangerous levels.
So, we all sit, waiting for the moment she finally opens her eyes.
She looks like sleeping beauty. I've made sure to brush and braid her hair to keep it from getting tangled. Her normally tanned skin is pale, dark circles under her eyes.
She's still the most beautiful woman I've ever had the privilege of laying my eyes on. Freya has a one-of-a-kind beauty. The type of woman who doesn't need makeup to enhance anything.
From the moment I saw her I was a goner. I no longer cared that I was being forced into an arraigned marriage. All I could think about was protecting her, loving her, and giving her anything her heart desired.
I would give up all my riches, my own life, just to make Freya happy.
As I grip her hand in mine, I give it a squeeze and bring it up to my mouth. She doesn't move as I press a kiss to her knuckles.
Arella wiggles from her spot next to Freya, rubbing her eyes. My baby frowns and gently turns over, nestling her head under her mother's chin.
"She'll wake up soon, baby bee." I promise.
My words are ignored as Arella strokes Freya's cheek. Alessandro sits in the corner of the room, his hair messy and tangled in several spots. He's wearing a pair of sweatpants and a white tee-shirt.
I've never seen him look so... sloppy. He's always so meticulous about his appearance. His body hasn't seen a shower since the day after the accident. One thing I know about my boy is hospitals and germs don't mix.
He doesn't care about that right now. All he cares about is his mama. That all we care about right now.
"I'm going to go use the bathroom. Keep an eye on your mother for me." I announce, carefully placing Freya's hand back on the bed.
Dro doesn't take his eyes off the monitor showing Freya's stats. He just nods and leans back.
In the tiny hospital bathroom, I relieve myself and step up to wash my hands. One look in the mirror shows exactly how I'm feeling on the inside.
My facial hair has grown out from not being shaved, red and tired eyes with dark shadows underneath them, and my hair could use a brush.
Sighing, I finish washing my hands and walk back into the room.
Arella is sitting up in bed and signing with Alessandro. I'm not fluent like my youngest son, but I know enough to get a baseline.
Most of what the baby is saying isn't making much sense.
'Mama sick'? She signs.
Dro shakes his hand and signs back, 'Mama hurt'.
Arella sniffles and points to where a bandage is loosely wrapped around my wife's abdomen under her white hospital blanket.
'Yes, there. Mama hurt'. Dro confirms with a nod of his head.
More babble is said from Arella before she just signs, 'Sad'.
'Me too'. He stands, perching himself on the edge of Freya's bed.
He holds his hand out to the baby and she places her tiny one in his palm. He rubs her chubby knuckles while hesitantly reaching towards Freya with his free hand.
Ever so gently, he lays his palm on top of her head, stroking her hair.
Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Stop, repeat. Always in threes.
My heart stutters in my chest as I take in the scene in front of me. Dro is touching not one, but two people. Two of his favorite people. Not only that, but I just watched Arella communicate clearly.
Most of what she said was babble. Except she conveyed emotion. She sad she was sad. Even Dro couldn't do that at her age.
I'm happy and sad at the same time. Freya would love to see this. Her two youngest children, making milestones. She would've probably jumped for joy upon seeing this.
I have to keep reminding myself that she'll wake up soon. The doctors said as much. We just have to wait. To be patient.
Fuck being patient.
***
A large squeal wakes me from my fitful nap beside Freya. My back is screaming from being bent over to rest my head on the side of her hospital bed.
Jerking upright, the first thing I see is deep green eyes. Freya smiles weakly at me while I rush to stand.
"You're awake. Beautiful, you're finally awake." Cupping her soft cheeks, I bend down to place a kiss to her chapped lips.
Freya slowly lifts one of her hands, placing it on my scruffy cheek as I kiss her. She holds me like I hold her. If she didn't need air, I would probably stay with my lips pressed to hers forever.
"Are you okay? Let me call a doctor in." I say against her pillowy lips.
I just can't get myself to pull away. That is until a little hand pushes me back with a grunt. Not budging, I keep my face pressed against Freya's. Arella can have her turn with my wife later.
Another shove and a louder grunt.
"Me Maaa-mah!" A tiny, sassy voice yells.
It takes me a second to process. Truly process what the hell I just heard. Pulling back, I look down at Arella with wide eyes.
She doesn't care about my reaction. Ignoring me, Arella throws her arms around Freya's neck, snuggling her cheek against my wife's.
"Did you hear what I just heard?" Freya's voice is scratchy and quiet. Yet, she managed to convey so much emotion in so little words.
All I'm capable of is a nod.
That's when the dam breaks. Tears start to shine in her eyes and she whispers, "Yes, your mama. I'm your mama, baby."
Her arm strokes up and down Arella's back. That's when I realize her other hand is in Alessandro's. He's squeezing it like it's his personal life raft.
I see the second realization hits her. She tries to move her other hand, Alessandro not letting go. Her eyes jerk to the firmly held appendage.
If I thought she was crying before, now she's outright sobbing. She squeezes our son's hand, bringing it up to brush against her cheek. He lets her, not flinching or running off into a bathroom to scrub his skin.
"Mama." Dro whispers.
He leans down, placing his cheek against hers. There's not a lot of room with Arella still holding her arms around Freya's neck. That doesn't matter to them.
"My boy." Freya sobs.
It's then I realize that his back is shaking. He's crying. I can see how all of this is hurting her. She doesn't care. Whispering platitudes into Dro's ear about how she's okay now.
He doesn't move to get up. Instead, he manages to wiggle his hulking frame into the bed beside his mother. He nestles into her side while continuing to cry.
I'm not sure how much time passes. Eventually, his tears dry and his chest moves up and down in even motions. He must've fallen asleep.
Arella's arms have gone lax around her neck. I can hear her soft breaths as she dreams.
Freya's hand is still linked with Dro's. Even in his sleep he's clinging to it.
"Maybe I should've let Andrea shoot me when he offered if I knew this was going to be the outcome." Freya whispers.
And that's exactly when I break.
Hysterical laughs come from me, until I'm bent over and gripping my stomach. A culmination of little sleep, worry, and shock has me laughing until I feel like I'm going to pass out.
Is this what going crazy feels like?
"If you wake these kids and ruin this moment, Damon, I will kill you." She snaps.
That has me jerking back into reality. Straightening, I go for another kiss, careful of the kids.
That's when the doctor walks in. I can see the displeasure on his face at Dro being in the bed.
"Mrs. Maddon, that bed is for you. Not your children." He comments, heading straight towards the side of the bed Alessandro is resting on.
"You touch or try and wake him, I'll detach your balls from your body and feed them to you on a silver spoon."
Instantly the doctor pales and steps back several feet. He throws his hands up and whispers in a quivering voice, "Do I need to call security?"
"Call whomever you like. That doesn't change the fact that I won't be in trouble and you'll be missing your balls." Shrugging like this is an everyday conversation, I stuff my hands in my pockets.
He gulps, sweat breaking out along his hairline. "That won't be a problem, Mr. Maddon."
"Glad we understand each other." Glaring down my nose at him, I watch has he examines Freya.
He works around the children, careful not to disturb them. As soon as he finishes, he runs out of the room like his ass is on fire.
"You know, scaring the man that's caring for me isn't a good idea."
I shrug. "I was watching him the whole time. If he tried anything I would've killed him on the spot."
She rolls her eyes and goes back to staring down at Dro.
"Thank you for not letting him touch them. I don't know if he'll ever sleep on me again after this."
"Anything for you, beautiful."