Giuliana spun around expecting to come face to face with her brother-in-law. However it was her husband that was leaning against the door with his hands in his pants pockets. He cocked a dark eyebrow at his wife's stunned expression.
"What are you doing here?" Giuliana gasped, trying to catch her breath.
"I believed I asked you first," Giovanni replied walking into the exam room and closing the door behind him and locking it. When she still didn't respond he let out a loud sigh, "I want an answer Giuliana, and I want it now. Dr. Bianchi isn't your regular doctor, so what business do you have here."
She recognized the edge in the tone of his voice as barely restrained frustration, so she relented and gave him a vague answer, "I'm here with a friend."
"A friend? I don't see a friend in here with you," he made a show of looking around the room. "It looks like you're in here by yourself."
"They had to step out," Giuliana mumbled feeling like a child being scolded by her father.
"Another question," Giovanni stood right in front of his wife and looked down, "Why is your car parked in the back alley and not out in front? It looks like you didn't want anyone to see you coming in." He was smirking but his eyes were hard to read.
"I told you I came here with a friend," Giuliana was trying her best to be vague and not mention her cousin. The last thing she wanted was for Laura to be humiliated in front of Giovanni.
"I believe that part," Giovanni responded and then his eyes dropped to her stomach.
Giuliana let out an incredulous laugh, "You can't be serious!"
"Why else would you leave the house in a hurry and not take your guards with you? Fuck Giuliana, you didn't even tell them where you were going!"
"This is ridiculous, I'm not pregnant! How could I be? I'm still sleeping in the guest room, we haven't had sex in months."
"You could have gotten pregnant before our...issues, and now you've just realized that you haven't been feeling well and you're period is late." Giovanni shrugged, obviously sure of himself, "I'm not mad about the baby, but you can't leave the house without guards. It's not safe for you to be out by yourself, especially when you're pregnant. A mob war could happen at any time and I don't trust that you won't be a target."
Giuliana huffed, "You're being a jackass! I already told you that I'm not pregnant, I'm on the pill."
"Then who is this friend that you've brought here, and where is she?"
"Why are you so sure that my friend is a woman?" Giuliana smirked as the tips of Giovanni's ears turned red and he clenched his jaw. "Do you think I can't have any male friends?"
"If you ran out of the house and put yourself in danger for another man, I'll gut him like a fish and you can watch." Giuliana gasped and stepped back as she took in her husband's serious face, his face was devoid of emotion but his eyes said he would make good on his promise. "Do you want to continue playing this little game, or are you ready to tell me the truth?"
She shook her head, "You aren't being fair."
"I don't have to be fair, I just have to make sure you and my child are safe."
Giuliana snapped her head back up to glare at him, "Are you seriously still on that? I told you I'm not pregnant!"
He shrugged, "I don't know what else it could be. You run out of the house, drive off at top speed and don't tell anyone where you're going. Besides all that, the guards told me you looked panicked. We still aren't on great terms, so I have no doubt that you wouldn't want to tell me right away. How does all that look to you?" He leveled her with a penetrating stare as he awaited her response.
"It looks like I'm trying to hide something, but it's not what you think. If I thought for even for a second that I was pregnant I would tell you first. Besides I wouldn't come to a clinic that is specifically for the Graziano Family, I'd go to my gynecologist." Giuliana rolled her eyes, "You're treating me like someone who's betrayed you."
He let out a humorless laugh, "I do much worse to those that betray me."
"But you don't do anything to those that try to kill your own wife," she retorted before she could think.
Giovanni rubbed a hand over his face and let out a tired sigh, "My hands are tied where Tiffany's concerned."
"Don't say her name! I don't want to ever hear you say her name again!" She felt the familiar surge of anger rise, and tears prick the back of her eyes. "After everything you did you should know better than to mention her to me!"
"Now who's not being fair?"
"Excuse me?" Giuliana was incredulous.
"I've apologized for what happened and I've tried to make it right. I want the bitch dead as much as you do! I'm not the Boss yet, if I was she would have been gone a long time ago. I get shit for my fuck ups from my fucking father and now from you!"
Giuliana didn't know what to say, she felt terrible that she was adding to his mounting stress but she couldn't help the way she felt. "We should just drop it," she mumbled. She sank down into a chair and tried to get a handle on her emotions. He took the chair next to her and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
They sat in silence for several minutes before Giovanni broke the silence. "I love you Giuliana, I really do. I'm doing everything I can to make up for what I've done, but I need to know if you'll ever forgive me."
"I-I will forgive you eventually, I just don't know when that will be. I don't mean to make your life harder, I know sometimes I can be immature but it's not intentional."
Giovanni nodded his head, "I remember what I was like at twenty years old. I just need to know that when shit finally hits the fan you're going to do what I need you to do."
"I will," she risked a glance at his side profile and took notice of the look of worry on his face. She knew that he hid his stress away from the men that he commanded and from her. "I'm not going to get in the way, I'll do whatever you need me to do." When he didn't respond she leaned over and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, earning a half smirk. "We all make mistakes, but I promise that I won't mention that nasty bitch again as long as you don't."
That earned a laugh from Giovanni and he turned to look at her, "Deal."
"I'll always be by your side Giovanni, me and our nonexistent baby," she said.
"Nonexistent huh, that's probably for the best."
"You seem like you wanted me to be pregnant, I thought we decided we'd wait awhile," Giuliana cocked her head to the side.
He ran a hand through his hair, "We should wait, that would be the logical thing to do. You can't be pregnant and give birth in the middle of a mob war."
"But?" Giuliana prodded him, knowing there was more that he wanted to say.
"But with all this shit with my father, it would feel good to show him that I could be a better father than he ever was. My kids wouldn't try to hide when I walked through the door, they'd run to me. They wouldn't hide underneath their beds or behind you whenever they saw me."
Giuliana wrapped an arm around his bicep and leaned into him, "You're going to be an amazing father when the time is right, I'm going to be the clueless one. I've never even held a baby."
"You're going to be a natural, our kids are going to love you."
"They'll love you too. If we have a boy he'll be your shadow, and if we have a girl she'll have you wrapped around her little finger."
Giovanni looked over at her with a small smile and opened his mouth to say something when a loud, hard knock came from the door. Giovanni stood up and locked the door, then he calmly opened the door.
"Giuliana I think I just saw-oh umm. . .I'm sorry," Laura looked flustered and stared at Giuliana with wide eyes.
"Hello Laura, come in." Giovanni eyed the panicked woman in front of him, "You must be Giuliana's mysterious friend."
Laura remained silent, her face turning red as Giovanni's narrowed eyes did a quick scan of her battered and bruised form. Giuliana went to stand next to her cousin, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders.
"Hello sir," Laura mumbled as she kept avoiding eye contact with the imposing man in front of her.
"Are you alright?" Giovanni questioned.
Laura nodded. "I'm fine, thanks. I'm sorry that I dragged Giuliana into this."
Giovanni nodded, "It's fine. Have you seen Dr. Bianchi yet?"
Laura shook her head and then swayed back and forth. Giovanni reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her. "Sit down," Giovanni commanded and led her over the exam room table, with Giuliana clutching her other arm.
"I'm sorry to be such a bother," Laura said as she perched on the edge of the table.
"Stop it," Giuliana gently admonished. "This isn't your fault."
"I know but I shouldn't have involved you. This is my problem and shouldn't have put you in this position."
"I want to help you Laura, I don't want you to go through this by yourself."
Giovanni stood watching the two women hugging each other. He was contemplating what he should do with Laura, honor dictated that he return her to her husband Matteo. However, he knew that would be like sending her to the executioner and it would only cause Giuliana to stress over her cousin's wellbeing. The thought crossed his mind that he could contact Salvatore Bellucci, after all Laura was his niece and Matteo was one of his soldiers. But he needed the Bellucci's focused on the impending mob war with the Santorelli's, not on Laura's marital problems.
"Laura," Giovanni interrupted the cousins ongoing conversation. "You can stay at our home."
"Oh no, I couldn't," Laura started.
Giovanni held up his hand to silence her. "I insist, you're in no condition to go back home." Laura gave him a nod and a grateful smile, while Giuliana beamed at her husband.
At that moment a knock came from the door, followed by the elderly doctor poking his head into the room. "Hello all, I have Mrs. Ricci's test results," he greeted. "You are not pregnant and your vitals look good. However, judging by your symptoms; nausea, vomiting and dizziness, I think it's safe to say that you have a minor concussion. I recommend that you rest and drink plenty of fluids, you may take ibuprofen if you need it. Will you be returning home, or will you be staying elsewhere?"
"I'll be staying with the Graziano's, they've offered me a place to stay," Laura said barely above a whisper.
Dr. Bianchi nodded with a kind smile, "Very good. It's important to be around supportive people after a traumatic event. Now if you'll excuse me, I have another patient to see." He turned to leave, then paused and turned around and addressed Giovanni, "Mr. Graziano may I have a word with you?"
Giovanni nodded once and followed the doctor out of the exam room.
"How are you feeling?" Giuliana asked, gazing at her cousin.
"I'm okay, I just don't know what I'm going to do," Laura murmured.
Giuliana gave her a confused look, "You're going to come home with me."
"I mean when I'm well enough to go back home. Giovanni was kind to offer me a place to stay, but it's temporary, I'll have to go back to Matteo eventually."
Giuliana shook her head vehemently, "Absolutely not! I can't let you go back to him Laura, he's a monster!"
Laura nodded solemnly, "I know that, but I can't avoid him forever. I'm going to have to see him again, and when I do I know that it'll be worse than what he did today."
"Why don't you go to my father and tell him what's going on? He wouldn't allow for this to happen!"
"Matteo is a snake, he knows too much about Zio Salvatore's business. I have no doubt that he would turn on him and I don't want to be the reason that happens."
Giuliana pulled Laura in for a hug, "I don't want you to worry about that now. You just need to recover and then we'll figure out what we're going to do." Laura sagged into her younger cousin's arms, grateful to have someone who would be by her side. She had felt isolated and alone for so many years, she had forgotten what it was like to have someone that would stick up for her.
"Giuliana, Laura," Giovanni's voice sounded from the doorway. "It's time to go."
The two women followed behind the tall, dark and imposing mafia successor. They passed nurses and various patients, most of whom had gun shot wounds. It was obvious to both of them that tensions were rising around New York, and that a mob war was on the horizon. They went out the back alley and were loading into Giuliana's awaiting Range Rover, with a Graziano soldier at the wheel. "I'm going to have one of my men drive you two back to the house. I don't want you leaving unless it's an emergency," Giovanni instructed while he held the car door open for his wife and her cousin.
"Do you know when you'll be home?" Giuliana questioned as Laura was buckling her seat belt.
Giovanni shook his head, "I'm not sure, but if it's late you don't need to wait up. Just stay safe." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before shutting the door and watching as the white SUV made its way out of the narrow alley and into the city's traffic.
"Who was that?" Vinnie opened the door behind Giovanni.
"Giulia," Giovanni answered as he turned to face his older brother. Vinnie was covered in the blood of several of their soldiers, had lost his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves.
"What was she doing here? Is she hurt?"
Giovanni shook his head, "She brought her cousin to see Dr. Bianchi. You remember her cousin, Laura? Her husband did a number on her and she called Giulia."
Vinnie remained silent for several seconds before he spoke again, "Where is she going to go, back to her husband?"
"No, I told her she could stay with me and Giuliana for as long as she needs to."
"That's good," Vinnie shoved his clenched fists into his pockets. "Let's get back in there, I'm still questioning some of our men." Gio nodded and followed Vinnie back into Dr. Bianchi's clinic, they spent the rest of the afternoon getting the details of a recent ambush from the Santorelli Family that left several of their men with bullet wounds.
Meanwhile, Giuliana was back at her home tending to her cousin. Laura was mentally and physically exhausted. She was asleep in one of the guest bedrooms as soon as her head hit the pillow, after she had a shower and ate a light lunch that Cynthia had prepared. While Laura napped, Giuliana was finalizing the last minute design details for the casino in Atlantic City. She had taken possession of Laura's cell phone so that her cousin could put Matteo out of her mind for the time being. So far in the three hours since they had returned to the Graziano Mansion, Laura had received fifteen missed calls and countless text messages, each more threatening than the last. Giuliana hadn't bothered to answer the phone or respond to the messages, but she had taken the liberty of turning off the phone's location services. 'Laura deserves at least a few hours of reprieve from that monster,' Giuliana thought.
Several hours later, Laura was just waking up and had joined Giuliana at the dining room table, when Gio and his older brother came strolling in. As they took their seats, an awkward silence descended upon the room. Laura was making it a point not to look in Vinnie's direction, while Vinnie was staring at his plate, clenching his jaw. Gio was completely oblivious to the awkwardness between his brother and Laura.
"Laura, you remember my brother Vinnie," Gio said by way of introduction.
Laura nodded before replying softly, "Yes. It's good to see you again Vinnie."
"You as well Laura, how are you feeling? You look like hell." The harshness of Vinnie's statement was not lost on the others at the table. Gio shot him a quizzical look, obviously not understanding where Vinnie's agitation was coming from.
"I'm feeling better," she murmured from her seat next to Giuliana.
Giuliana took note of her cousin's uneasiness and gave her an encouraging smile before she said, "She'll be staying with us for awhile. I think it will be nice to have another woman in the house."
Vinnie grunted in response as he continued to eat.
Laura cleared her throat before standing. "I think I'm done eating, if you'll excuse me." She quickly walked out of the dining room.
"What the fuck was that?" Gio demanded from his brother. "Where did that come from?"
Vinnie just shrugged, "It's been a long day. I'll apologize to her later."
Giuliana threw her napkin on the table and stood up. "Laura's home life is hard enough, she doesn't need anyone else adding on to it. If you're going to keep coming over here then, you'll need to change your attitude." Giuliana turned on her heel and marched out of the dining room and in search of her cousin.
Giovanni released a long sigh before glancing towards his older brother. "Giulia's right, you need to watch what you say to Laura. She's going to be staying here for the foreseeable future so that she will have a place that will make her feel safe, where she won't be judged or ridiculed."
Vinnie hung is head, he was ashamed of what he had said. It wasn't Laura that he was mad at, he was mad at himself, but he wasn't about to tell Gio that. It was bad enough that his sister-in-law knew about his secret relationship with her cousin, he certainly didn't want his brother/future boss to know as well.
"I said that I would apologize, it won't happen," Vinnie responded.
Gio nodded his head, satisfied for the time being. "Good because as far as I am concerned, as long as Laura is under my roof that means she is my responsibility. I won't have her being mistreated in anyway as long as she lives here."
Vinnie fought to hide the relief that he was feeling in that moment, so instead he simply nodded his head. "Understood."
"Good."