<h4>Chapter 445: Chapter 445 : Wee to the World</h4>


    *Olivia*


    “Congrattions, Mr. and Mrs. Valentino.” Dr. Schmidt smiled, holding a swaddled, squirmy baby in her arms. Sticking out through the folds of the nket was a tiny, chubby arm, red and angry skin but undeniably a baby. My baby.


    My mouth opened, no wordsing out as I stared at the little bundlepletely speechless. Gio’s arm around my waist tightened, and I could feel the tension in his body, the nervousness he was trying to hide.


    It had been a long nine months.


    I opened up my arms, hesitantly reaching for the bundle. I’d been dreaming of this moment for over a year, waiting to meet our baby, but now that he was here, now that he was right in front of me, I couldn’t bear to take another step.


    Doubts flooded my mind, but before I could act on those thoughts, a high-pitched wail pierced the air, and as if on sheer instinct, I lurched forward to tuck my hands under the nket. Dr. Schmidt smiled, passing the baby over to me, and I held him in my arms, gently peeking through the fabric to spot his little red, scrunched-up face.


    His wails stopped as soon as he saw me, his wide dark eyes staring at me like I was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen. Tears trailed out of my eyes as our eyes met, identical to one another.


    “Hi,” I breathed, halfway between sobbing and smiling.


    His hair was a shockingly bright blond,id thinly over his potato-like head, and I brushed my thumb against his cheek, unable to take my eyes away from him for a single second.


    Awe and happiness welled up inside of my chest, inting like an over-filled balloon until I thought I might explode with how much love had been stuffed inside of me for this tiny little creature.


    “Hi,” I repeated, nothing elseing to mind as I greeted him. This didn’t seem like the first time we had met. It was like I had always known him. He blinked slowly, his face still swollen and bloated froming out the narrow birth canal, and there were huge shiny trails down his face from his tears but the only thing I could think was ‘He’s beautiful.’


    “He looks just like you,” Gio murmured into my temple, pressing his lips there as he held the both of us protectively in his arms. “He’s got your eyes.”


    “He’s red,” I said, a bit dumbfounded. “Like a tomato.”


    Laughs burst out among the staff who had helped deliver the little bean, and I could feel Gio’srge grin but I didn’t care.


    Oh... the realization set in... this was our baby.


    Like thest piece of a puzzle clicking into ce, everything suddenly made sense. All of the fear and anxiety over the surrogacy, all of the hurt and disappointment over theck of being able to carry our own... even the uncertainty of my rtionship with Gio at the beginning when we first met–all of it had led right here–to us.


    “He’s ours,” I said, half in surety and half with a protective quality I didn’t realize I even had. Was this the maternal instinct they talked about?


    “That’s right,” Gio chuckled. “He’s ours, carina.”


    I exhaled all of my excess thoughts and emotions, letting them fly away until I only felt the euphoria of this moment basking over me like the sun. My heart was overflowing with love and gratitude for the little one in my arms.


    I tore my eyes away from our baby, ncing at Gio with teary eyes but arge smile blooming across my face. He was smiling, so much adoration in his gaze that it hurt. He kissed my forehead, beaming just as brightly as I was.


    We wereplete, our family finally together after so many hardships–a quiet, peaceful moment... until he opened his little mouth, his eyes crinkling shut as he let us listen to his brand new set of pipes.


    “He’s been through a lot,” Dr. Schmidt reminded us. “Let’s get him cleaned up, and then you can try feeding him. He’s not hungry, but sometimes sucking is calming to newborns.”


    I nodded, d that I’d get to feed him. While it was too bad I’d never be able to breastfeed him, I was still d I’d get to hold him close and be the one to be there for him as he ate the form that would help him grow and provide him nourishment.


    “Fed is best,” the doctor had told us firmly. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”


    The staff let us go with the baby down to the room where they cleaned him up and ran some routine tests. He fussed through a lot of it, but he was perfectly healthy, at a good weight and length. After that, they dressed him in a little white onesie with a hat, and I got to hold him while they prepared the bottle.


    Gio helped me into the rocking chair set up in the corner of the private room they took us to, and I gently rocked back and forth, hushing our newborn son. After so many sses and training with several experts, it was a breeze to fix him into an easy position.


    Hetched onto the bottle right away, the milk warm in my hand, and I beamed as he sipped down his very first taste of milk. Gio kneeled in front of me, awe in his eyes as he gazed at our son with all the love he showed me every single day.


    After a few sips, our son utched from the bottle, giving a big yawn and iling his little arms around. I knew newborns usually weren’t that hungry when they were born, so I wasn’t surprised he didn’t eat much of it. I maneuvered him to my shoulder, beginning the long and arduous task of patting his back to make him burp. He struggled a bit, clearly not liking the position at first, but eventually, he settled, leaning into the crook of my neck.


    Eventually, he let out a loud burp, almost like a hup.


    “There we go,” Dr. Schmidt smiled, breezing into the room. “That should do it for his first feeding.”


    “Thank you so much, Dr. Schmidt,” Gio got to his feet, offering his hand for her to shake. Sheughed, bypassing his hand entirely as she patted him on the back like an old friend.


    “No need for formalities, Daddy. We’ll be seeing a lot more of each other since I’m now the primary doctor for the baby, too.” She winked at his dumbfounded expression and turned on her heel, heading back to check on Elena onest time before she left.


    “Did you know she was a pediatrician as well?” Gio asked with a frown.


    I shrugged. I didn’t know that, but I was d because it made everything simpler. I settled our baby back into my arms as he yawned, his little pink tongue pping around. I hummed, rocking back and forth as Gio stepped behind me, taking a seat on the arm as he cuddled me close.


    A little whileter, they wheeled Elena in. We’d asked for her to be in the same room as us now that we were on friendly terms. I nced at her where shey in the hospital bed, looking utterly exhausted. The birth had taken a really long time, but even with her sweat-soaked hair clinging to her forehead and the hospital gown practically soaked with other fluids I didn’t want to name, I could honestly say she had never looked more beautiful.


    I slowly got to my feet, making my way to her side.


    “Thank you,” I told her, tearfully, my heart finally relinquishing all of the resentment it had built up toward her. She had given me the greatest gift anyone ever could–a son.


    She nodded, a ghost of a smile ying at the corners of her lips.


    There was a soft longing in her eyes as she gazed at us, and I knew how hard it must be. She’d told us all she had wanted was her own family, and I smiled, stepping closer to her and shifting the weight of our precious son into my other arm.


    I leaned down, grasping her mmy and warm hand in mine.


    “Elena.” Gio spoke up, and Elena met his eyes with a hesitant look, “thank you for protecting our son, for giving birth to him, and letting us have the family we always wanted.”


    “Of course,” sheughed, a bit dryly as she gave us a relieved look. “I’m just d everything worked out the way it should be. You two will be amazing parents to the little bean.”


    I was startled as the nickname flew out of her mouth, the same one I had been calling him for all this time, and I melted against Gio’s chest. Stars aligned, and I beamed, gazing up at Gio with wide, pleading eyes.


    He smiled, shaking his head as he nodded silently to my request. I knew what he would say if we were alone. ‘There’s no need to plead,’ he’d tell me with a mischievous smirk. ‘I’ll give you everything you want, amore.’


    I stood on my tip-toes anyway, leaning up to press my lips against him, just a sweet peck before I turned back to Elena. Gio’s arms fell away from me as I stepped forward and sat on the edge of the hospital bed.


    I leaned down, holding our baby out for Elena to be able to gaze at his sweet face. His eyes were closed, his little hands sped in tight fists as he slept away. The birth must’ve exhausted him as much as it did Elena.


    “We were hoping,” I said as I smiled kindly, “that you would stay in his life still, Elena.”


    Her eyes widened, and she stared at me in sheer disbelief as I sent her a reassuring look. This was real, not a joke.


    “I–” Tears flooded her eyes. “I would be honored.”


    “No contract this time,” Gio stepped forward with a smile, “We want to keep you in the family, and of course, that means you will be able to have a connection with him as well. We thought about naming you godmother, but Dahlia already imed that spot, so we hope you can settle with being his Aunt Elena.”


    “Aunt Elena,” she repeated with a happy smile, brushing away the tears that spilled out of her eyes. “I love it. Thank you. Thank you so so much.”


    “You get the fun part,” I teased her. “You get to spoil him to your heart’s content while we get to deal with the dirty diapers.”


    “Score!” Sheughed.


    “And speaking of the godmother. We’d better let the family see him and let you get some rest,” Gio said softly.


    “That would be great, actually.” She sighed in relief. “Who knew giving birth could be so exhausting?” she said sarcastically.


    I giggled, getting to my feet as the nurses surrounded Elena, brushing her forehead with a cool washcloth. Her eyes fluttered closed, letting the nurses take care of her as she began to drift off into sleep.


    We shut the door to the room quietly behind us, letting her get some well-needed sleep as we made our way to the waiting room. Our family was there, taking up a huge chunk of the room.


    Alessandro’s foot was endlessly tapping the floor as he banged his fist on the nearby vending machine, a pack of chips stuck on the ss. Tallon was doing one of the kid puzzles set up on a nearby table, frowning in frustration as he dug into an old container filled with mismatched pieces.


    Gabriele was leaning by the door, cool as a cucumber except for the furrow between his eyebrows, a clear sign of worry I had picked up over thest year and a half with him.


    But best of all was Dahlia, who was sitting very quietly and properly in her seat, staring down at herp as she tore apart thebel of a water bottle into itty bitty pieces. There were several half-empty bottles beside her and a pile of confetti.


    But she was the first to notice us standing at the entryway. She scrambled out of her seat, racing across the slippery floors and halting just in time to stop right in front of us.


    “That’s my nephew-sh-godson!” she panted, her eyes gleaming.


    Tallon, Alessandro, and Gabriele were quick on her tail, all of them surrounding us with varying expressions.


    “He’s ugly,” Tallon said in surprise.


    Alessandro smacked him on the back of the head, giving us a small smile as he said, “Don’t worry. He’s just an idiot.”


    “I already called him a tomato, so no worries,” I giggled.


    Gabriele leaned over to gaze at the sleeping baby, looking both horrified and fascinated by the mysterious creature.


    “Do you want to hold him?” I offered him.


    He reeled back as if I had just offered to have him decapitated. “Absolutely not!” he shouted, panic in his eyes. It was the most emotion I’d seen out of him that wasn’t anger, and it was a bit funny with how warily he gazed at our seven-pound child.


    “I called dibs anyway!” Dahlia scooted him out of the way, holding out her arms, and I gave her a few pointers as I moved our son into her arms. She cooed at him, melting in happiness. A lone finger poked his chubby cheek, and I nced at Alessandro with a grin.


    He tilted his head, looking entirely unsure, like our baby might shatter into a million pieces if he put more than a feather’s weight into the poke.


    “Having fun?” Gio smirked at him, and Alessandro blushed, coughing as he stepped away. But I could see he was already halfway won over by the baby.


    “What’s my godson’s name?” Dahlia asked, her eyes shiny with emotion. “I’ve got to know what to have it engraved on all of his gifts in the future.”


    I nced at Gio, who met my eyes with a smile. We had agonized over the perfect name for him, going through book after book to find just the one that matched him.


    And we had found it, one thatpletely resonated with both of us, the significance of the name symbolizing just how having our baby finally in our arms made us feel.


    The sheer sunshine and warmth he gave to our lives, the bright hopeful future we wanted him to have–all of it was there in a single name.


    I leaned over to press a soft kiss on my sleeping son’s forehead, just like Gio had done so many times for me.


    “Wee to the world,” I whispered to him, “Elio.”