Coming Back Home

Bad Dreams

"Well, that's something you don't see every day."

Matteo POV

After being in my office for hours, I decide to take a break to stretch my legs and check on my family. As I leave the office, I hear a loud, deep laugh coming from by the front door. Curious, I head over there. When I see what's happening, I can't help the smirk that forms on my face. "Well, that's something you don't see every day," I joke. Xander, Xavier, and Giada all turn to look at me. Xander's smile quickly falls into his usual scowl. Well, so much for that, I guess. "I must have missed something quite funny," I continue, ignoring Xander's annoyed look.

"Bubba!" Giada calls out to me. "Down pwease, Xan," she looks up at Xander with a cute smile on her face. He sighs and rolls his eyes, but puts her down anyway. She runs over to me, and I pick her up in my arms, giving her a hug. "Hi, Bubba!" I look down at her with a soft look on my face. "Hi, principessa," I greet her. "So, what did I miss?" I ask gently. She looks at me with her mouth slightly open and a confused look on her face. "Uhhhh, me forget." she shrugs. Xavier chuckles at her. "We were talking about ranch, remember?" he reminds her gently. She gasps and smiles brightly.

"Bubba, you no like wanch, wi-right?" she asks, wide-eyed. "Well, no, I don't like it," I reply, quite confused. "I no like it too! And papa too!" Giada giggles happily. "Well, of course. You're my little baby," I kiss her all over her face. Her raucous laughter echoes throughout the room. "Gotta love that sound," I hear dad's voice coming from the doorway to the living room. "Hi, Papa!" Giada calls out from my arms. "Hi, dolcezza. How are you? Did you have a nice nap?" he asks. "Uh huh!" she nods happily.

She gasps again, "Papa! You no like wa- oh, wait, it's ranch, wi-right, Bubba?" She looks at me and tilts her head in that adorable way she does. "That's right, principessa. It's called ranch," I explain. She nods in understanding. "Papa, you no like ranch, right?" she tries again. Dad chuckles at our exchange and her silly question. "That's right. I don't like the taste of ranch. Matteo doesn't like it either," he says, pointing to me.

Giada looks at me like 'what the hell?' making me laugh. "That's my name, remember?" I joke. She shakes her head, "nuh uh. You is Bubba." Everyone laughs now. She gets an annoyed pout on her face. "That's right, principessa. You call me Bubba, but my name for everyone else is Matteo." Her pout turns to a sly smirk. She clearly learned that from Riccardo. "So, I'm spesha?" she asks, clearly feeling smug. "Yes, principessa. You are special."

I hear her whisper "special" under her breath. "Did you hear dat Papa? I'm spesha-lll, special," she boasts. Dad chuckles and, unfortunately, takes her from me. "I heard. But I already knew you're special, dolcezza. After all, this is the King family. And you're the princess." His words leave us all speechless.

The first to speak is, surprisingly, Xander. "Dad's right, tesoro. You are our princess. Our treasure." Giada gives him a sweet smile. "You a treasure too, Xan Xan. And Xavi. And Bubba, and Papa, and Riccy and Franny too. We all treasure! Right, Papa?" Dad hugs her tightly. "You're such a sweetie aren't you? Yes, we are all treasures in this family. Everyone's important."

And, of course, Riccardo and Francesco arrive to ruin the moment. "What's happening? You all having a party without us?" Riccardo shouts. Never one to be discouraged, however, Giada cheers at their arrival. "Riccy, Franny, you are treasures!" Francesco presses his hand against his chest dramatically. "Who, me?" Giada, not realizing that he's being dramatic, simply answers him. "Yeah, Franny. We all treasures!"

For the rest of the day, we all enjoy spending time together. This never would have happened even two weeks ago. Giada is the glue that brings our family together. Xavier and Francesco tried their best these last four years while she was gone, but it never went anywhere. Xander immersed himself in training and honing his torture techniques. I kept myself busy with mafia work. And, dad, well... After he passed on the mafia to me, he started drinking heavily.