The Mafia’s Good Wife
Chapter 79

~ Damon -

"Damon. Finally,"

Liam stood up from his seat as soon as Damon walked into the waiting area. It was like Damon's presence was a force to be reckoned with. Well, obviously. Damon was walking into the hospital with twenty men following him. These were the backup and they came right after Damon finished the job. He sent some of them to do clean-up work, and he took the rest of them with him to meet Liam at the hospital. "Where is she?" Damon said impatiently.

"She's ok. She's resting, but the doctor said she..." Liam glanced away like it was hard for him to speak.

"She what?" Damon pressed again, fully prepared for the worst.

"She lost a lot of blood, Damon," Liam sighed and took a deep breath. "Her heart stopped for eight seconds. The doctors had to resuscitate her,"

Damon paused for a beat. It was like his breath was caught in his throat.

"I need to see her,"

Damon and Liam exchanged a look. Liam took a quick look around before whispering into Damon's ear, "She's not supposed to have visitors, but I told them who you are and they're ok with that. The rest of the guys should wait here though,"

Damon glanced at his men, signaling them to wait. All the men took a step back as Liam and Damon began walking down the hallway. It was definitely not a good look when you had twenty men dressed in black suits all sitting around in the waiting area of a hospital, but this was the Jersey City Medical Center. They knew just who Damon Van Zandt was.

Damon and Liam walked past a group of nurses and doctors and none of them said a word. They went through a row of rooms until Liam stopped at the last room. He pushed the door back slightly and said, "Remember, she's still resting,"

The moment Damon saw Violet lying in that hospital bed, his heart broke in two. She was hooked up to all these machines, looking pale and frail. Damon's chest started heaving as he stepped inside. When she was finally within arm's reach, Damon reached for her face. She felt cold. Damon couldn't stop the tears that began to fall from his eyes.

"Violet... Violet..."

Damon couldn't stop saying her name out loud. His hand went to caress her cheek and he noted how her chest rose and fell with each breath she took. It pained him to think that for eight long seconds, she wasn't breathing and she was gone from this world. That part broke him.

"Damon..."

Suddenly, through his blurry eyes, Damon saw Violet's eyes fluttering open. Damon held her tighter and buried his face into her neck, crying his heart out.

"Oh, God, I don't wanna lose you," he said through labored breaths. "I can't live without you..."

"I'm here," she whispered. "I'm right here..."

Damon couldn't explain the relief he felt when he heard her voice and felt her fingers running through his hair. For eight seconds, he had lost her. He couldn't even imagine what would happen if she didn't come back.

"I love you, my sweet girl. I love you so much..."

Damon never felt this much emotion before. Yes, he'd been through a lot these past years. But this... this one was the biggest one of all.

"I love you too, Damon," Violet said as she held onto his hair. "More than anything..."

Damon pulled back and stared deeply into her eyes. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue and purple. It never failed to take his breath away.

"Please don't ever leave me," he said.

"Please don't ever leave me," she said.

Damon pressed his forehead against hers. He wanted as much skin contact as he could. Violet looked up at him and tears were streaming down her face too. Damon's hand reached up instinctively and he wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry you had to go through that," he whispered.

Violet closed her eyes and more tears were streaming down. Damon could feel her pain. Over the past seventy two hours, she had been through hell and back. He did the same thing too, but going to hell was nothing new to him. He didn't want any of that for Violet. She didn't deserve all that.

"I saw her..." she croaked.

"What?"

"Celina," she said. "She's dead, isn't she?"

Damon opened his mouth as he was about to answer, but the door suddenly creaked open. They turned around and saw a doctor walking in with his clipboard.

"Hi, excuse me, I'm Dr. Wright, head of surgery at Jersey Medical," the doctor said, stretching his hand out at Damon. "Are you Mr. Van Zandt?"

"Yes, it's me," Damon took his head and gave him a knowing look. "How's my wife doing?"

"She's doing great. The surgery went well and we're able to stop the bleeding. We're just going to monitor her for a few more days to run some tests, but you have nothing to worry about," "That's great news,"

"Um, doctor, where's my baby?" Violet interjected, stretching her neck out.

"Your baby is doing fine. We're keeping him in the NICU for now, but you can see him whenever you're ready,"

"I'm ready," she said eagerly.

The doctor smiled and nodded his head.

"Okay, I'll call a nurse in for you and she'll help you find the NICU,"

"Thank you, Doctor," Damon said as he stretched out his hand again. Dr. Wright took a moment before shaking his hand. The two men were under complete acknowledgment of what happened here. He knew Violet was involved in something horrible, but he knew better than to ask what.

"Of course," Dr. Wright nodded and leaned closer into Damon's ear. "Also, Mr. Van Zandt, I'd need you to fill out some paperwork regarding your wife's... condition,"

Damon glanced back at Violet before muttering, "Sure, of course,"

Violet just stayed there with a confused look. Dr. Wright then excused himself and called for a nurse. Damon turned around and lent his hand to her, helping Violet off the bed.

"Don't worry," he said. "Everything will get sorted out,"

~ Violet -

Violet didn't know what Damon meant when he said everything will get sorted out. But as he was wheeling her down the hall in a wheelchair, on the way to the NICU, Violet passed by the waiting room where twenty men in black suits were on standby. Then she also passed the nurse's station and she noticed the way they were looking at her.

Oh. Yes. These people must know who Damon is. And they're not sure of what to do...

Damon, Liam, Violet, and a nurse arrived at the NICU area. The nurse went into the room and gestured for them to wait outside. Moments later, she came back with a little baby boy wrapped in a white blanket. Violet's eyes lit up in excitement as soon as she saw him.

"Here he is," the nurse said as she handed the baby to her. "He's born healthy, seven pounds, eight ounces,"

Violet's eyes turned glassy. Her hands were shaking as she held her baby. This was the first time that she could properly hold him and it felt amazing. In his hand was a little nametag and it had his name on it: Zachary Van Zandt. Violet broke down in tears when she read that name.

"God... he's so... little," Damon croaked. Violet looked up to see Damon's eyes also turning glassy.

"He's so beautiful, isn't he?" she said. "I think he looks like you,"

Damon kept looking at the baby and he didn't even blink. He was speechless. He didn't know what to say, but a big smile was forming on his face.

"Do you wanna hold him?" she asked.

Damon paused for a beat before nodding his head eagerly. Slowly and gently, Violet handed the baby over to Damon. Damon's hands were shaking too now. He swallowed hard as he pressed the baby against his chest.

Violet watched how Damon looked at the baby and he kissed his tiny forehead. That image brought a smile to her face.

"His skin is so soft," Damon chuckled. He kept his eyes on the baby and it was at that moment that something clicked for him. He never held anything this precious in his life before.

"Hey Zach..." he whispered.

As if Zach knew his dad was talking to him, he opened his eyes to greet Damon. That moment when Zach opened his eyes, Damon felt the warmest feeling in his chest. That moment made him realize everything he had gone through was totally worth it and he would do it all again in a heartbeat.

"Damon...?" Violet asked, studying his face. She looked concerned because Damon started shaking.

Damon bent down and pressed his head onto her chest. Violet looked at him in confusion, but she held the back of his head, stroking his hair.

"I love him," Damon breathed. "I love him so much,"

Violet let out a smile and a sigh of relief. She thought something was wrong, but it was just Damon being overwhelmed by his emotion.

"I promise you, from here on out, nobody's gonna hurt our family again," Damon said reassuringly. "I promise you that,"

Violet nodded her head and tried her best to keep her eyes dry.

"Is it over...?" she asked cautiously. She was referring to the Celina situation, but not just that. This question was about everything. This whole life that Damon was leaving behind.

Damon let out a sigh and nodded his head.

"It's over and will never start again,"

Violet could feel the sincerity and honesty in his voice. It was really, really over. Just as Damon said in the beginning, the moment baby Zach enters this world, it would be the end of his old world. "Violet!" Suddenly, a loud yell was heard.

Violet looked up and saw Dylan, her mom, Talia, and Ivy running down the hallway. Violet turned to Damon and he nodded at Liam.

"Oh my God, the baby's here!" Talia squeaked.

"Oh, sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Barbara raced over and hugged her daughter.

"I'm feeling great, mom," Violet said as she hugged her back.

"We're so glad you're alright," Ivy went in to hug them too.

"We came as soon as Liam gave us the call," Dylan said. He let out a big sigh of relief when he saw Violet and the baby were ok.

"Oh my goodness, that's my grandson!" Barbara yelped as she went over to Damon. "Look at him! He's gorgeous!"

Barbara was over the moon at the sight of Zach. Damon let her hold the baby and he quietly slipped toward Dylan.

"Thank you for saving her," Dylan whispered under his breath.

"Of course," Damon said knowingly.

Dylan was never more grateful to have Damon protecting Violet. Tears began filling his eyes as he saw how happy his mom was, holding her grandson.

"Congratulations, Vi," Dylan said as he bent down, kissing his sister's cheek. "I love you and I'm so proud of you,"

"Thank you," she replied. "I love you too,"

"He's so beautiful, sweetheart," Barbara said as she came closer. "I think he has your nose, but he's got Damon's eyes,"

"And he's got Damon's hair too," Talia added.

"But he's got Violet's lips," Ivy chimed in.

Everyone was crowding around the baby, showering him with hugs and kisses. Violet let out a smile and glanced up at Damon. Damon caught her eyes and he put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. Violet's heart never felt more full. She looked at the sight before her and everything made sense in the world. Everything she had been through was well worth it. And if she had to do it all again, she'd do it in a heartbeat.