This chapters not the best but I tried to make up for it with pictures 🙈

Enjoy ✨

~ Luciana' POV ~

"Are you ready?" I shook my head causing Alessio to let out a small chuckle just as the door opened and the nurse pushed a small crib through the door.

"You'll be okay." She gave us a quick smile before she left thanks to Alessio who told the nurses exactly how he wanted this to happen. He wanted to be the one to introduce me to our daughter, and he didn't want anyone else to be in the room. At all.

I was excited of course but I was also extremely nervous. I had no idea what to expect. She wouldn't even know who I was, she'd been here in this world for a month and I'd still never met her. I knew the bond she had with Alessio was strong because of all the time they'd spend together so she probably wouldn't develop anything like that with me for a while. A long while.

I watched as Alessio went over to the crib and gently picked up the baby inside, before coming over to me. The whole time I couldn't take my eyes off her, she was so small. Even though she was a month old, she was still tiny. He pressed a kiss on her forehead before placing her in my arms, supporting her weight underneath just in case, not that she was even heavy.

My eyes instantly filled with tears when I saw her face for the first time.

She was absolutely perfect.

Her eyes were closed as I admired everything about her - her tiny nose, her chubby cheeks, her small plump lips. From what I could see she was already the spitting image of Alessio, but then she opened her eyes. Finally the tears began to fall when I locked eyes with hers which were identical to my own while she continued to stare back at me innocently.

"Hi baby." I gave her a soft smile while stroking the soft skin of her cheek causing her to lean into my touch.

"She's so beautiful Alessio." I couldn't take my eyes off her as she just continued to stare back at me, blinking every few seconds. She didn't seem like she knew what was going on, but she wasn't crying or uncomfortable, she was just content. "She is. Just like you."

We sat in silence while I just held her in my arms until she eventually fell asleep. I can't even describe how it felt, it just felt right. Like everything was finally complete the second she was in my arms and Alessio was next to me.

"We need to give her a name." I nodded in response to Alessio and smiled down at her as I placed a kiss on her forehead, knowing exactly what I wanted to call her. I looked through many many lists of baby names but I never did decide on what I would call my girl or boy, but I always had a few favourites. This one just seemed perfect for her.

"Alana." I turned to look at Alessio to see what his reaction was, but he was just staring at her deep in thought before he slowly nodded and tested out her name. "Alana Del Russo. I like it."

"Why does she get your surname?" I playfully rose an eyebrow at him causing him to smirk at me. The same smirk that I'd completely fallen for all those months ago. "Because I don't like Donato."

"You don't like my name?" He shook his head and leaned closer to me so that he could whisper in my ear, the whole time still staring down at our sleeping daughter in my arms.

"Del Russo would suit you better too."

I knew exactly what he was trying to suggest and the second he said it, once again I felt my cheeks heat up. Alessio chuckled at my reaction before placing a kiss on my cheek.

I knew I loved him, and he was the father of my child, but it really was a bit quick to be hinting at marriage.

Not that I was complaining or anything.

"We need to choose a middle name, and the godparents too." Alessio glanced at my face taking his eyes off Alana for a moment to gauge my reaction to his words while I attempted to keep a neutral expression. I knew exactly who he wanted to be the godfather. It's ironic really considering the movie was about the mafia but anyway, I wasn't sure about his choice, Tomasso hasn't always been my favourite person. But from the things Alessio has told me that he did while I was in the coma, I could tell he cared about Alana which was the most important thing.

I knew Alessio definitely had to have a say in who the godparents would be too, and there also weren't many other choices if we didn't choose Tomasso. But I just didn't get along with him most of the time. Yes he's the closest thing Alessio has to a brother, but naming him as the godfather to our daughter just meant his place in our family was pretty much guaranteed for life.

"We'll have to think about the godparents Alessio I'm not sure yet and her middle name. I've got a few ideas but I'd rather think for a bit." I could tell from his facial expression that he wasn't exactly happy with my response but he didn't argue which was good, probably because it really wasn't the time or the place to start another one of our arguments.

Especially after the consequences of the last one we had.

"Are you okay with some visitors today? My parents and Tomasso wanted to come."

Honestly I really didn't want to see anyone, but I also knew they wanted to come and see Alana, and I didn't want to stop them from doing that. I never wanted to be the sort of mother that would stop people from seeing their child and from what Alessio told me they hadn't seen her since I woke up which was a week ago.

Once I agreed he sent them a text to let them know it was okay to come and we spent the next hour just talking and playing with Alana. Well, as much as we could play with her since she could barely keep her eyes open for more than a few minutes. It was about the middle of the afternoon when Tomasso finally strolled in holding a huge bouquet of flowers covering his face.

He awkwardly put the flowers down and turned to look at Alessio first before nodding to himself in relief. "I was worried I went into the wrong room, I couldn't see past the flowers."

A small chuckle that escaped my lips caught his attention and he finally turned to look at me, coming to a stop when he saw me sitting up. He held my stare for a moment before he looked away from me and cleared his throat. The next time he looked back at me my eyes widened when I saw his eyes were slightly red.

"Luciana..." I gave him a meek smile as he came over to me, leaning down to give me a gentle hug. "How are you?"

"I'm okay I guess." Tomasso let go of me and stepped away after placing a kiss on my forehead. I really didn't think he would care about me as much as he was showing considering the nature of our relationship. I'm pretty sure the last time I saw him we were arguing in the kitchen of the mafia complex, over a month ago now.

But I guess after the things Alessio told me last night that he did for me while I was out I shouldn't be surprised.

"You've finally met her?" I nodded as my smile increased when I looked down at the sleeping baby who was now in the crib by my bed, next to Alessio and I. "We gave her a name."

Tomasso kept his eyes on her, taking her small hand in his as he waited for me to say the name. "Alana."

He lifted his head to look at me after a moment of digesting the news before a smile stretched across his face. "I like it."

Before I could say anything else Alessio's phone started vibrating in his pocket causing him to let out a small sigh when he read the name before standing to his feet. "Sorry I need to take this."

He leaned down to kiss my cheek before he left the room leaving Tomasso and I in silence. He moved over to the chair previously occupied by Alessio and leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees.

"So how are you really?"

"I told you I'm o-" Tomasso shook his head to cut me off, a sad smile on his face. "I know you're not Luciana. I know you're playing it cool on the outside, but inside it's not so easy."

It's not like I could really be mad at him for saying that, I'm sure it was pretty obvious to everyone what I was trying to do. Especially to Alessio since I'm sure by now he was expecting me to have had some sort of breakdown.

At that point I hadn't but no doubt it was pending.

"I just can't believe I missed so much of her life already."

"You needed the rest Luciana and so did she. Don't think about the past too much. It was unfortunate but it's done, nothing will change it, focus on the future instead."

I let out a small sigh while keeping my eyes trained on my sleeping daughter next to me. "You're right. Alessio told me you helped a lot and I wanted to thank you. I know it was hard for him so you being there really helped."

"It was nothing, he would've done the same for me."

My eyes lingered on Tomasso for a few seconds longer than needed causing him to raise an eyebrow at me. I remained deep in thought my mind going back to the earlier topic about the godparents when his eyes started to become amused.

"Is there a reason you're staring at me Luciana?" I couldn't help but roll my eyes a small smile tugging at my lips at the familiar teasing tone he used. At least some things were slightly normal.

"No, I was just thinking, sorry." I gave him a sheepish smile causing him to roll his eyes just as Alessio came back into the room, dropping down on the seat next to me again after Tomasso moved over. The room fell silent for a moment while the three of us were lost in our own thoughts or watching little Alana in the crib before Alessio's parents knocked on the door breaking the silence.

Tomasso called them inside and soon there was another large bouquet of flowers next to the ones Tomasso brought, along with a basket full of things for Alana.
I could tell neither of Alessio's parents really knew what they were supposed to say to me after everything that happened but they tried. I heard Alessio's mom cried a lot when she first saw her granddaughter, and now she cried even more when she found out her name. I'm sure Ricardo also shed a few tears when he first held Alana too but Alessio didn't really go in to detail on that, I'm sure he's trying to keep up his father's image.

They came a few more times after that day to see Alana while I was still in hospital until I was eventually discharged. It only took a few days for the feeling to return in my legs after I woke up and they still kept me in for another week after I met Alana for the first time so it was two weeks to the day since I woke up when I was discharged.

Alessio spent every moment with Alana and I in the hospital room and at nights he slept in my bed with me like he did the other night. We didn't really talk much about anything else to do with what happened, Alessio was just more concerned with letting me recover as quickly as I could so that we could finally leave the hospital with Alana.

She was still absolutely perfect, every single day she was changing. Mostly because she was born premature so it felt like her growth rate was just faster. She was keeping her eyes open for a little bit longer now and she was feeding more too. It was good for her but sometimes I just needed my sleep, and on top of that I was still struggling becoming a new mother. It was all so different having to be responsible for someone else but I was grateful I had the nurses there to get me through all the first feeds and diaper changes that I had to do. They even helped Alessio change her diaper and let me tell you, he didn't find it as easy as people say it is.

Another thing we had to deal with was getting her into the car seat for the first time.

"You're doing it wrong Alessio." I was working hard to keep my laughter in when Alessio lifted his head to glare at me before going back to buckling Alana into the car seat. Well, trying to anyway.
It took Alessio a solid 6 minutes to finally figure it out while I sat next to the car seat in the back of his car. "Stop laughing, I don't see you helping."

"Oh I'm sorry Mr 'I've got this, you rest baby'. I thought you had it sorted." Alessio just rolled his eyes before he gently closed the car door careful not to wake Alana before getting into the drivers seat. I put the window down next to me enjoying the fresh breeze as we drove, something I hadn't felt for over 6 weeks.

Just as my eyes began to flutter closed I felt the car stop and expecting to see Alessio's house, I forced my eyes open, only to be greeted with completely unfamiliar surroundings. Alessio turned the engine off and came around to help me out the car, ignoring the confusion on my face as he then took the car seat out, carrying Alana in it.

"Who's house is this?" I followed slowly behind Alessio admiring the large gates we drove through guarding the huge house.

"Alessio." Instead of responding to me, all he did was turn to give me a small smirk just as he put the car seat carrier down by the front door. I rolled my eyes at his proud smirk, wrapping my cardigan around myself as the April breeze of New York picked up around us. "I just wanted to go straight home Alessio, I wanted to take a shower before she needed another feed and-"

"We are home." My words were cut off by Alessio's sentence and all I did was stare at him in utter confusion as he pulled out two sets of house keys, handing me one while gesturing towards the front door with his head.

"Go on, open it."

"Alessio wha-"

"Open the door."

Since it was already pretty late I had no energy to argue with him so I just took the keys from him, tiredly pushing the key into the lock of the heavy black door and turning it. The door opened smoothly revealing the fancy interior of the entry hall as we stepped inside.

"Can you please explain what's going on." Once I was done admiring the hallway I turned to look at Alessio who was already smiling at me.

"Silvana told me you wanted to move house. So here we are, this is yours."

"Mine?" Alessio nodded his head before lifting the car seat up so that we could both clearly see our daughter curled up inside. "For my queen and my little princess."

His words successfully managed to bring tears to my eyes as he stepped closer to me, his eyes softening when he saw my glassy orbs. "You gave me the greatest gift I could ever wish for Luciana, nothing I could do for you would ever equate to it, but I promised I would do whatever I could to make you happy. I will honour that promise till the day I die my baby."

All I could manage at that moment was to step closer to Alessio, wrapping my arms around his waist. He returned the hug with his free arm and the two of us stood there together for a moment before I eventually pulled away.

"What about the other house? And all our things?"

"Don't worry about all of that. We still own that house, and this one too but all our things have been moved here. Come on I'll show you." Alessio started walking upstairs while I was still busy admiring the house as we passed it.

"Don't worry I'll show you downstairs too, I just need to put Alana down first."

Is it bad for a moment I completely forgot she was even here? Parenting takes time to get used to, especially since I've had nurses making sure all the little things are done for the past two weeks.

We eventually stopped outside a door which opened revealing a white nursery. All the furniture and the walls and floor were white and the rest of the decorations were pink. Along with the huge ceiling to floor windows the room was light and airy but also fit for a new born baby girl.

"I chose all of this didn't I? I recognise it." We both stepped inside as I continued to look around at all the things around the room while Alessio put Alana into the huge crib in the middle of the room.

"A lot of it is what you ordered for the nursery in the old house while I was gone. Silvana helped me with this room."

"You really thought of everything didn't you?" I gave Alessio a smile as he turned to look at me, a more serious look on his face than my own. "That's because I had a month to think of every possible way I could make you happy again."

"Alessio..." I really didn't know what else I could have said to him about what happened, I couldn't imagine how hard it was for him. Ever since that first night when he opened up to me telling me what happened, he hasn't done it again. He's gone back to being more closed off like before, just not as bad now that he's a lot nicer to me.

"Come on let me show you the rest of the house."

Once Alana was settled in the crib we walked around the rest of the house going downstairs first. We looked around the beautiful kitchen, living rooms and dining room on the ground floor before going to the basement where there was a gym and a small cinema room.

Although Alessio kept going on about how he wanted to make this one more homey for us, it was still much more extravagant than what I was used to. But I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, no matter how much our relationship has changed, he hasn't changed. He's still a mafia leader and he's still filthy rich.

Once we finally managed to get through seeing the whole house, we finally made it to our room which I was absolutely in love with. I was in love with all the house but our room was perfect. It also felt more perfect since I was finally in our own room and not the hospital room I'd been stuck in for six weeks.

"You don't need any help in the shower do you?" I shook my head at Alessio who was busy sorting out the Moses basket next to our bed for Alana to sleep in. "I'll be fine, I'm just going to have a quick shower then I'll feed Alana again before I go to sleep."

He nodded before coming over to me, wrapping his arms lightly around my waist, being extra careful not to put too much pressure anywhere.

"I'm so proud of you Luciana. I know this doesn't make up for everything that happened-" He looked around at our new bedroom before looking back at me. "But I'm trying."

As much as I knew that what he was saying was true, it was still going to take time for me to get used to the whole situation. Although I'd been awake now for two whole weeks, the severity of the situation still hadn't hit me fully. I never had time to fully accept the things that had happened and get over it myself.

My fight with Alessio.
The Russian mafia coming after my baby.
Going into a coma for a month - a whole month which my baby spent without me.
Having to cope with a baby after coming out of the coma.
My mom not coming to visit me.
My depression.

It was all a lot for me to process and it was something I knew I would have to do in my own time.
I just had no clue how long that was going to take, or if I ever would.