Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 173

My smile is very, very genuine when Daniel finally bursts into the examination room, because it has been absolute t*****e waiting here with Alessi and Natalia without him.

"Ah," Alessi says, giving Daniel a big smile and taking a minute to wrap his arms around his nephew and kiss him on either cheek. Daniel goes a bit pale when Alessi holds him tight, pressing his eyes closed, and I laugh a little to myself knowing that Daniel's hangover this morning was...fierce. It had taken everything Janeen, Jerome, and I could do to haul him out of bed and get him dressed, but eventually Daniel welled up the strength to do it because he knew he had to. It's a big day, after all.

Daniel gives Alessi a pained smile and then his eyes find me.

I raise my eyebrows to him in a silent question and he gives me the tiniest of nods, letting me know it's done. I lay my head back against the padded seat behind me, relieved. Good. At least this one thing went right.

"My Daniel," Natalia coos, moving forward to him next, taking his fac in her hands and tsking in disapproval. "What did they do to you last night - you look terrible, my little groom."

"I did it to myself, Natalia," Daniel says, giving her a soft smile. Natalia mumbles something about how she can't possibly believe that, lifting her fingers to his hair to push it into order, but before she can get very far the doctor comes into the room. "Ah," he says, smiling at Daniel. "So, the father has finally arrived."

"Apologies, Dr. Banks," Daniel says, tucking away his suffering and reaching out a hand to shake the doctor's. "I had to visit my father this morning and the traffic on the way back from the prison was heavier than expected."

"Sorry to hear that," the doctor says, his eyebrows going up. Of course, he knows who Daniel's father is - everyone does. Kent's arrest has been national news, and our wedding - to my surprise - made the media as well, making the connection between Kent and Daniel more apparent than it's ever been.

"Now," the doctor says, clapping his hands together and smiling between Daniel and I. "I understand that we're here for a paternity test!"

Daniel comes to my side now, taking my hand and beaming down at me. "It's not that we have any actual hesitations here, doctor," Daniel says, looking at me and not at him. "But, this baby has two families who crave...assurances. Still," he looks up and turns that charming Lippert smile on the doctor again. "We can all rest assured that the results will not be a surprise."

Natalia and Alessi say nothing as they stand quietly at the side of the room, Alessi beaming as if he has no hesitations at all and Natalia looking like she doesn't believe a damn word Daniel's saying.

The doctor, picking up on some of Natalia's tension, clears his throat. "Well," he says, "motives aside, the procedure is simple enough. Mr. Lippert," he says, nodding to Daniel, "we'll take a DNA sample from the inside of your cheek. And Mrs. Lippert," he says - I grin and laugh a little to hear my new name for the first time -

"We'll take a blood sample from you."

"Please, doctor," Alessi says, stepping forward now, his face curious. "Could you please explain to us how it works? I am...well, I do not understand how a sample of Fay's blood will demonstrate the paternity. Do we not have to wait until the child is born?" "You used to have to wait," the doctor says, turning to Alessi. "But technology has improved so that we now know that the mother's blood carries the unborn baby's DNA. We will use the blood sample to compare the baby's DNA to the potential father's," he says, gesturing towards Daniel.

"Amazing," Alessi says, his face breaking into a wide smile as he looks between Daniel and the doctor. "It is amazing what you can do now, with the medical technology." Daniel smiles back, but I shift my eyes to Natalia, who does not look nearly as impressed. The doctor murmurs his agreement with Alessi but then moves around the room, preparing the tests and then calling a nurse into the room to prep my bloodwork. Daniel obligingly opens his mouth, letting the doctor swipe around the inside of his cheeks with a cotton swab, while the nurse ties a rubber band around my upper arm and begins to locate a vein.

After the doctor has put Daniel's testing materials away, he comes and draws a vial of blood from me himself. That finished, he cleans the very tiny needle puncture on my arm and puts a Band-Aid over it.

"All set," the doctor says, giving us a smile all around.

"Doctor," I say, sitting up and smiling at him. "Would it be all right to add Mr. Bianci's email address to the account, so that they can receive results of the pregnancy test directly from your office?"

The doctor looks at me in surprise and glances towards Natalia and Alessi. "If you...consent to that," he says, turning back to me, "then sure, we can send the results to you as well as Mr. Bianci."

"Yes, why not," I say, turning to give Natalia and Alessi a big smile. "I want you to have all of your assurances in place. And, as Daniel said," I continue, reaching a hand out towards my husband, who immediately takes it, "we've got nothing to hide."

Natalia gives me a tight smile while Alessi presses his hands together towards me in thanks and then goes with the doctor to the computer to provide him with his contact information. When they've finished that, we all stand up and head for the door, murmuring our thanks to the doctor.

But, just before we can reach it, I stumble and catch my breath.

"Fay?" Daniel asks, shifting his hold on me and catching me at the elbow, helping me stand back up. "Are you - are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I murmur, looking up at him. "Um, I just got a little dizzy? Maybe from taking the blood?"

Natalia and Alessi stop in the hall before us, turning to see, and the doctor comes up behind. "That's not uncommon," the doctor says, gesturing back into the room. "Would you like to stay for a moment, Mrs. Lippert? We can have one of the nurses bring you a snack - bring that blood sugar right back up."

"Thank you," I murmur, and then I grimace at Natalia and Alessi, guilt on my face.

"You two go on," Daniel says, glancing at the Italians before turning his concerned face back to me and helping me back into the room. "She just needs to sit down for a moment

"Are you sure?" Alessi says, taking a worried step towards me, his eyes moving over me.

"I'll be just fine," I say, giving an embarrassed little laugh. "I'm just - you know, weaker than I thought I'd be, pregnant." I give a humble little shrug and a blush.

"Yes, come on, Alessi," Natalia says, placing her fingers on her forearm and stepping away. "We have things to do."

Daniel calls his goodbyes to them and helps me back into the room, where I sink into a chair and immediately clear my throat.

"You okay?" the doctor asks.

"Yup," I say, smiling up at him. "I wouldn't say no to that snack, though," I continue, turning my head to the side. I am hungrier these days than I usually am.

Daniel laughs and steps away from me. "Nicely done, Fay," he says, giving me a smirk as he folds his arms and leaning against the wall. "You even had me for a moment - I thought you were really going to fall."

"Drama camp, fourth grade," I say loftily, leaning back in my chair and grinning up at him. "We practiced prat falls for hours."

"So," Dr. Banks says, standing between us and looking at Daniel with a grin. "Were you able to get the hair sample this morning?"