Marrying the Mafia

Revival

Aria's POV:

        My heart thumps loudly as adrenaline courses through my veins. Derek squeezes my hand.

"Derek!" I exclaim as I stand up. I grip Derek's hand, a wide, relieving smile on my face.

"Dr. Xiango! Nurse! Someone, Derek's awake!" I yell towards the hall. Dr. Xiango files into my room with another nurse in seconds.

Dr. Xiango flips open Derek's eyelids, checking his pupils. He gives my hand another firm squeeze, restoring hope within me that I had no idea I still had. With every heart beat, I feel as if my heart's going to run away without me. 

I can't stop my tears from flowing down my face as Dr. Xiango and I observe Derek. He slowly opens his eyes, and I want to pounce in him and hold him as tight as I can, but I restrain myself. The last thing he needs is me making his injuries worse. 

"Hi, sweetheart, welcome back," I say, barely above a whisper as Derek's eyes land on me. I gently stroke his hair, smiling at him. His eyes blink slowly as he registers where he is. 

"Are... you okay?" Derek mutters, his voice barely audible. There he goes, always worrying about everyone but himself. 

"I'm okay," I whisper, tears flowing down my face as I sit down at the foot of his bed. Derek reaches his arm out to touch my face, his fingers grazing my scarred cheek.

"I'm sor...sorry, prezioza," Derek apologizes, his throat dry as he tries to speak while his eyes close again from being exhausted.

"Don't apologize, baby, you saved my life," I reply, kissing the back of his hand as my tears continue to race. He's alive. I have never been so afraid in my life. I've had practically nobody for my entire life, so damn near losing the only man I've ever truly loved in not in the books for me.

"I could hear...you while I was...asleep. You never left," Derek says, smiling the best he can. 

"Till death do us part."

        Derek tries his best to laugh, but he can't. I miss his laugh, his smile, everything that makes him. However, he'll be better in no time. He's out of the woods. 

I can feel my entire being coming back to life with every breath Derek takes. He is alive. He's stable. I was lost for so long, but having him back gave me my home back. 

"Derek, my name is Dr. Xiango, I'm your lead surgeon. Your stats look good, and I'll be back later to administer more medication," Dr. Xiango finally stops writing on her clipboard and engages with Derek. She starts to walk away before Derek calls after her. 

"Thank you for taking care of her," Derek's head tilts towards hers.

"Of course. She's a doll," Dr. Xiango compliments me sarcastically.

"What did you do to the poor doctors?" Derek asks, his voice slowly coming back as he cocks a brow at me. 

"Oh nothing, just threatened all of the staff any time they asked her to leave the room, even got physical with one of them, no biggie," Dr. Xiango teases, nudging me. Derek makes a broken sound like a laugh and my heart leaps. He's okay. That laugh tells me that he is okay. 

"Are you okay?" I ask, trying to make sense of his emotions.

"I'm fine, doll," Derek replies with a weak smile.

"If you say so," I reply softly, kissing his cheek. I sit on the edge of Derek's bed and hold his hand. "I'm really glad you're alive."

"Me too," Derek rasps, so I quickly pour him some water. "Is he really dead?"

I stop mid-pour and set the pitcher down before facing Derek again. "Derek, it's not your fault. I pulled the trigger."

"Had I just protected you better-," Derek says in a strained voice. I cut him of by shushing him.

"Shhh, you did everything you could. It's not your fault," I whisper, caressing his cheek. Derek looks up at me with his crystal gaze. There's something new there though. Tears.

Without a second thought, I sit on the bed and pull Derek into my arms and kiss the side of his head. "It's okay, I'm right here."

"You should go," Derek says, his voice breaking.

"I'm not going anywhere," I whisper, hugging him tighter.

"Aria, I mean it," Derek says, trying to fight me, but I don't give in.

"Derek, it's okay to have emotions. You can cry," I reassure him, stroking his hair.

That's all it takes. Derek sobs in my arms, his cries muffled by my shirt as I hold him close. All of these pent-up emotions have been eating and eating at him. Derek never talks about any of his other family members, but I can only imagine what they're like. In his family, emotions and love don't exist. Only power and wealth. Too bad for Derek, he was born with a heart. 

"I've got you," I whisper as Derek keeps a firm grasp on my shirt. I kiss the side of his head and let him cry it out. His brother was killed by his wife. That hurts. I know at one point in their lives, Ryder and Derek must've been close. I know some part of him is suffering, and it is... it's my fault.

Although, I did what I had to. I did what I had to to save us both.

And if I could do it over again, I'd save Derek every single time. No regrets.