You're dead to me

Chapter sixty-two: Heartbeat

*Two weeks later*

Giovanni held me in isolating for this long and doesn't seem to let me go anymore. I don't mind actually, it feels great to not workout or care about the underground. My family reached out to me, apparently they heard the news and were disappointed that I didn't tell them first. But Giovanni refused to let me talk to them, he said it'll just be bad for the baby. I asked him to tell Theresia that I'm fine, I still don't know what's up with him.

The door rings and Giovanni gets it, while I still chew on my breakfast, a bit later breakfast this time. The baby kicked throughout the night and I woke up Giovanni. When he held his hand over the little stumpy feet his face said it all. Pure and raw vulnerable love for something he didn't met.

There is a litte creature in me that share his and my heart.

"Caroline". Giovanni calls out and I get out of my seat. "Yes?". A women stands in the door, holding a thing in her hand, that's very big, it looks like a computer. "The doctor is here". My face brightens up and I hold out my hand to her. "Hello I am Caroline Matiss-".

"De'Bardi". Giovanni corrects me and pulls me, by my hips, closer to him.

Protective little shit

The women introduces herself as Taya and we lead her to our bedroom. I've waited weeks for this to happen, to finally see it and hear the heartbeat of our baby.

I lay on the bed and Giovanni helps supporting my head with some pillows. "Are you comfortable?". He asks like four thousand times, I just roll my eyes at him and look to Doctor Taya.

"So, don't be scared I will moisturize your stomach now with the needed gel. It only takes a few minutes, do you want the pictures already printed out?". Giovanni nods but not without locking our eyes, my heart stumbles.

Taya does her part and I wait patiently for her to pull the scanner over my stomach.

Her brown eyes fly over the monitor and Giovanni and I wait quietly. "There it is, wait I pull up the volume". Giovanni stares at me as we hear the sound.

Thum.

Thum.

Thum.

My eyes fill with tears and I smile through the grey net. "Oh my God". My hand shiver and I touch my lips in disbelief. I see him getting himself under control but there I see it.

A tear.

A real tear rolling down his cheek, his face completely unreadable.

"There it is". We swiftly break eye contact and look at the little moving fetus. I breathe out loudly, that's what we've created. I laugh when it looks like it waves at us. "Do you want to know the gender already?". We both shake our heads, we promised to leave it like that until the birth, but if we find out before it is totally destiny.

"I will now print out the pictures". Taya said.

When she left and I cleaned up, I stumble into our bedroom. Giovanni sits at the edge of the bed and holds the scan in his hands, his body is turned towards the balcony.

I walk up to him and stand beside him, placing both of my hands over his shoulder. He starts mumbling in Italian.

"Qualunque cosa mi sia successa, quando ero così vicino a morire, ho sempre avuto paura di non pro are mai questo tipo di amore per qualcosa di così fragile. Qualcosa da proteggere, amore incondizionato". (Whatever happened to me, when I was so close to dying, I always been scared to never experience this kind of love for something so fragile. Something to protect, unconditional love)

He continued to cry quietly and I just support him. There are no words to explain how happy I am. And the best part of it is, that Giovanni is it finally too. He deserves the love he had to fight for in life and I am more willingly to give it to him.