Seven Days Ch. 10

Jimmy had always come through for Nic, ever since they were little kids, and now was no different. Nic saw his best friend and Raymond waiting in the SUV. He walked over and hopped in the front passenger seat.

"Good to have you back," Jimmy stated, as he pulled onto the street.

Nic turned to him. "Do I even want to know?"

Jimmy kept his eyes on the road. "Well, Amber had a change of heart. I guess being sedated and waking up in a cold morgue drawer can do that to you. I think she thought because you're out of the business, that you've changed your ways—gone a little soft, and she wouldn't be in trouble for being disloyal. Well, I told her...as I opened up the drawer every now and then, that just because you were out of the biz, didn't mean I was. So, I said that this time I would be friendly and let her out if she promised to play nice. Next time...I told her I might be forgetful."

Nic faced the windshield. He tried to feel sorry for Amber...but he couldn't. Not one ounce of remorse. She was a vindictive bitch, and she was lucky that it had been Jimmy who 'persuaded' her to play nice. The old Nic...maybe even the new Nic, would have dangled her ass upside down from a building until she got the message...and still, the thought of letting her drop eased his mind.

"And by the way," Jimmy said, in afterthought, "Detective Marsh's car was blown up, and he was beat up and mugged. Crazy world we live in."

"When did this happen?" Nic asked.

"Oh, it hasn't happened yet. I'm psychic, didn't you know?" he smiled over at Nic.

Nic nodded. Karma was certainly a bitch.

Nic's palms started sweating the closer and closer they got to Jimmy's house. He had asked everyone not to tell Victoria that he had been released. He wanted to surprise her.

But at the moment, he could hardly swallow or keep a single coherent thought in his head. He would be seeing his son, Sebastian, for the first time. And he had to laugh at the fact that he didn't want to disappoint him. Although Sebastian was less than three days old, the thought of not being the father he wanted to be, frightened the shit out of Nic. He had already missed one important event, and he swore to himself that he wouldn't miss another.

When they pulled up to Jimmy and Isabelle's house, Nic exhaled, and wiped his palms over his pants.

Jimmy patted him on the back. "You'll be fine. I'm telling you, you have a handsome kid, man." Nic nodded and got out of the car.

When Nic walked in, several people quietly greeted him, including his mom, who couldn't stop hugging him. Everyone was trying really hard to keep quiet, so they wouldn't alarm Victoria who was in the back room with Sebastian. Nic removed his coat and followed his mom towards the back, his heart beating a hundred miles a minute.

Nic exhaled again and gently pushed the door to the master bedroom open and walked inside. He saw Victoria sitting on a small sofa, nursing their baby. She quickly glanced in his direction, and then back down at the baby. But obviously something registered in her head that this wasn't the regular perons checking in on her. She immediately did a double-take, her eyes growing wider, as she tried to stand. "Nic!" she squealed, but then quieted when he put his finger to his mouth. He could see that Sebastian was bundled up and at peace, and he didn't want to disturb him.

Victoria quieted, but was smiling from ear to ear. Her glassy eyes housed tears that were at the brink of spilling over and down her face at any moment. Nic walked over to the sofa and kneeled down in front of her. He finally broke eye contact with her to stare down at their son. Sebastian's eyes were closed, but his little jaws flexed in and out drinking as much milk as he could.

If someone offered to pay Nic a billion dollars to explain how he felt at that moment, he would have lost out, because he honestly had no words. Nothing came to his mind, as he sat watching in awe at this beautiful moment. He looked back up at Victoria. She was staring at him, and then quickly wiped a tear away with her free hand.

"Hey baby," he whispered, as he leaned over his son and kissed his wife.

"Hey," she whispered back, returning the kiss, and feeling empty again when he had to pull away. She could have continued kissing him for the rest of the afternoon.

After a few more tugs, Victoria felt Sebastian let go, and his little mouth opened. They both could see his tiny little pink gums as he fell back to sleep.

"Wanna hold him?" Victoria asked.

Nic looked up at her. "Um, sure. But I've never done this before, you know," Nic nervously said.

"I know, but you have to learn, right?" Nic sat down beside her on the sofa, and Victoria smoothly passed a sleeping Sebastian to his father for the first time.

"Is this good?" Nic whispered to her, his arms feeling like steel bands, although his son felt surprisingly light.

Victoria giggled. She wasn't used to seeing Nic so unsure of himself. For the most part, he had been the most cocky, arrogant guy she had ever met. Now to see him looking to her for help, amused her. He was so cute when his guard was down.

"Yes, but just relax. You aren't going to hurt him," she said, sliding closer to the two men in her life.

Nic finally took a breath and relaxed. He gently pulled Sebastian away from his chest, so he could get a good look at him. His eyes roamed over every inch of his son's tiny fragile body. From his dark hair, to his cute nose, tiny feet and even his fingernails. Everything about his son was perfect.

Funny, he had just met Sebastian less than ten minutes ago, and already Nic knew in an instant without thought that he would give up everything he had, including his life, for his son. That was the truest statement he'd thought in a long time.

Nic gently rubbed Sebastian's forehead and his soft, full cheeks. He lightly tapped his nose and then he bent down to kiss him. "First time I ever kissed a boy," Nic joked. Victoria laughed and leaned over to kiss Sebastian as well.

Sebastian surprised both of his parents by suddenly waking, staring up at Nic. He gave a small yawn and continued to stare.

Nic's eyes widened. "He has blue eyes," he whispered in surprise.

Victoria looked down at Sebastian. "Yeah, for now. There's no guarantee that they will stay that color, but who knows."

And for a moment, it looked as though he smiled at them, before he closed his eyes, yawned again and went back to sleep. Both Nic and Victoria looked up, when they heard the door close. Nic chuckled. No doubt his ever-watchful mother looking in on them. But he was happy for her. This was something she had wanted for a long time.

"I hope Marianna hasn't driven you crazy," Nic said.

Victoria smiled, "No. She definitely smothers, but you know what...I haven't had that for a long time, so I welcomed it."

Nic continued to look at the little bundle in his arms. "God, he's just so amazing. I can't believe we created this. We definitely have to do this again."

Victoria scoffed. "Slow down there, buddy. I'm still healing up down there, and you're talking about more? Um, nope...you don't get to mention more until a few years from now."

Well, that would be up for debate, but for now, Nic would let her think she won.

"Whoa, whoa," Nic said, getting tense again. His son's face was contorting and turning red, as his legs started moving all around. He sucked in a few breaths of air before he belted out a strong cry. "Oh, shi—crap, what did I do wrong?" Nic didn't know what to do, so he just handed Sebastian back to Victoria.

She stood up from the couch and walked him around.

Nic leaned back observing his wife. He watched her cute full hips sway back and forth, as she lightly bounced Sebastian. He couldn't think of a more beautiful sight.

How the hell did life bring him here? A little less than two years ago, he looked at people differently. In one glance at Victoria, he thought he knew exactly who she was. Someone who would never matter to him, and who was weak. Someone he could prey on. But Victoria sliced and diced that version of Nic Andretti to shreds, and amazingly she didn't do it by force. She didn't do it by being more cunning, or by any other sneaky methods. She accomplished a feat no other had, and she did it with love. Selfless, generous, unwavering love.

He remembered thinking that he had planned to teach her a lesson the first night they met, for trying to throw a temper tantrum in his restaurant. But boy, did he find out he was the one being schooled.

He had been such an asshole back then. Nic got up and walked over to Victoria. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you, Victoria. I'll never forgive myself for that."

"There's nothing to forgive. I don't blame you for that, Nic," Victoria whispered back to him. "All that matters to me is in this room right now."

Nic smiled down at his wife, before he captured her sweet lips. "Ti amo, bella."

"I love you, too," Victoria whispered back.

****************

Life back in California had really changed. From the moment Sebastian was born, Victoria had been constantly surrounded by people, but now...the scariness of being a new mom started setting in. Luckily, Marianna had practically moved in with them, so she was a tremendous help. Especially on those days when Victoria cried herself to sleep from lack of sleep.

And Nic was amazing. Even though he had to get up early in the morning for work, he took turns with her when Sebastian would wake up in the middle of the night. One night, she had woken up, and Nic was gone. She walked to her son's room, and Nic was leaning over his crib, just watching him.

But tonight was a different story. Both of them had been worn out, when Sebastian flexed his little lungs and belted out a cry.

"It's your turn, baby," Victoria mumbled, digging her head further into the warm comfort of her pillow.

"No, he's calling for you," Nic mumbled back.

"What?"

"You can't tell the difference in his cries? This cry is for you, not me."

Victoria raised up and stared down at her husband with one eye still shut. "You are so full of shit."

"I have to get up in four hours...that trumps your card," Nic retorted, and turned over facing away from her.

Victoria slid closer to Nic, and pushed him right out of the bed. She had to hold in a giggle, when she heard him hit the floor with a thud. "Fuck," she heard him whisper.

"First off, you didn't carry an entire other person inside your body for nine months, and you damn sure didn't squeeze a watermelon through a hole the size of a lemon like I had to do...so that does, and will ALWAYS trump any card you throw my way. Now...I think your son is calling you," Victoria spat out, folding her arms across her chest.

She didn't hear anything for a few moments. Shit, maybe she pissed him off. She was just joking.

"Nic?"

"It's actually comfortable down here. Can you hand me my pillow?" he asked, yawning.

Bastard. Victoria grabbed his pillow and leaned over the bed to hit him with it, when he quickly grabbed her wrists and jerked her down on top of him. She shrieked as she slammed into his hard chest.

Nic hugged his wife tightly. "See, I told you it was nice down here."

Victoria couldn't quit laughing. She slowly rose up and straddled him, placing her hands on his chest.

"You could have hurt me," she said, looking down at him.

"Never," Nic whispered, as he raised up to kiss her tender lips. He placed his hand behind her neck, forcing himself deeper into her mouth. She moaned while his other hand slowly inched further up her thigh.

Then her eyes widened as she pushed him away. "Oh my God, we're awful parents," she said, as she hopped up from Nic, realizing that Sebastian was still crying his little head off.

"I'll get him," Nic said, grabbing ahold of her.

"No, I'm up now. I'll go. He's crying for me anyway, remember," Victoria spouted sarcastically as she pushed past Nic.

Nic beat her to the door, and quickly entered into his son's room, with Victoria laughing and cursing behind him. He walked over to his crib, and found his son staring up at him. His cries had turned into hiccups and little tears were drying on the side of his face.

Nic quickly picked him up and held him close. "It's okay, daddy's here. Mean mommy tried to keep me away, but I'm here now," Nic said, looking over at Victoria as he kissed his son's cheek.

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide her smile. "He's probably hungry, so mean mommy needs to feed him." Nic sat down beside her, and gently rubbed his son's tiny feet, watching in wonderment as Victoria fed him.

***************

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon when Nic and Victoria received some disturbing news. Victoria had just finished up an online test from a local community college. It was much harder than she thought it would be. She had to be extremely disciplined to do online courses. She had thought they would be a breeze, but with the lack of attendance in class, they made up for in homework assignments, quizzes and tests that were almost every other day—including weekends.

But Sebastian was such a good baby, which was a plus during this time. He either slept or just amused himself by staring at different things, while she did her work. He rarely cried anymore, which Victoria tried to attribute to the fact that she could anticipate his needs before he felt the need to cry. But she needed to give him a bath before she started on her next assignment.

"Nic?" Victoria called out, as she walked into the living room. "Nic," she said again, before she quieted. Nic was lying on the couch on his back, while Sebastian rested gently on his chest. The two of them looked so much alike, that she snickered, remembering a joke her mother had told her. Olivia had said that it's a good thing James was gone now to rest in peace, because he would have had a fit with that boy's complexion. But over time, Sebastian was getting a little bit darker in tone. Victoria didn't care what color he was, she just loved him more than anything. And what she was staring at now, was quite possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Victoria wasn't sure how long she lovingly admired her two boys, but she couldn't take her eyes away from them. Nic's eyes were closed and his chest was slowly rising up and down. And Sebastian's little face was turned to the side resting on his father's chest. His tiny little pink lips made an 'o' shape as he yawned, never once opening his eyes.

After what seemed like forever, Victoria quietly backed out of the living room and went back into Nic's study to open up her last timed quiz. She glanced at the photo by his computer. It was a picture Isabelle had taken of her that first day in the hospital, with Sebastian in her hands. She personally hated the picture because she had just woken up, and with all the pushing, sweating and lack of makeup ...she swore she looked hideous. But Nic wouldn't let her change it. He said it was his favorite picture.

Before the test, she decided to browse really quickly online, when suddenly she gasped and then screamed, "Oh my God! Oh no! No!" She quickly read over the story, and it appeared to be true. Her first thought was of Paul. Her heart went out to him.

Nic jumped when he heard Victoria's scream. He quickly stood up, holding Sebastian close to his body as he walked into his study.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"Sonny...he's dead," she cried, still half in shock.

Nic sighed and kissed the baby's head. "I know," he said as he walked over and sat down on the chair opposite of her.

"You knew?" Victoria questioned, wiping her nose. "How did you know? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Jimmy informed me a few hours ago. I didn't want to upset you before you took your test," Nic explained, wiping his wife's tears away with his fingers.

"That article said that there weren't any suspects yet. Do you know who did it?" Victoria asked.

"No. But I'm sure it will come out eventually."

Victoria covered her face and groaned. But then she realized she needed to call Paul. She quickly stood and grabbed Nic's office phone.

"I have to call Paul. I know this is just...just killing him," Victoria sobbed, dialing Paul's house. She and Sonny had never really gotten along, but she knew how much Sonny meant to him. It was the only family Paul had left.

"Hello?" a voice answered.

"Hi. May I speak to Mr. Marcone?"

"May I ask who's calling?"

"Victoria Andretti."

"One moment."

Victoria stared over at Nic, who was looking back at her.

"Hello Victoria," Paul said, as his voice came through the receiver in his usual soft manner. Although she could tell immediately that he sounded tired.

She quickly sniffed, and then answered. "Hi, Paul. Oh, I'm so sorry. I just heard."

"Thank you. It's not really been a good day for me. I still can't really believe it, but..." he started, but never really finished.

"If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know," Victoria stated. Nic motioned for her to hand him the phone. "Paul, hold on one second, Nic wants to speak with you."

Nic handed Victoria the baby, as he grabbed the phone in return.

"Paul?" Nic asked, as he started walking towards the kitchen and then out into the backyard.

"I'm here. How are you, Nic?"

"I'm okay. I just wanted to let you know that Sonny and I didn't always see eye to eye, as you know, but I'm truly sorry for your loss. And if there's anything I can do...people I can put you in contact with regarding who's responsible for this, just let me know."

"Thanks Nic. That means a lot...and I might have to call you on that favor. They...he was, um...bad things were done to his body. Not much to really identify. I stood there staring at this slab of burnt flesh...not believing in a million years that this was my son."

Nic immediately felt his pain. That was one of the worst things he had ever had to go through in his life. And even though Sonny had been a pain in the ass most of his life, Paul didn't deserve this. He was a well respected, old school type of man in their game, and whoever did this, would pay.

"I'm really sorry. I'll ask around and see what I can find out."

"Thank you. I appreciated it, Nic. If you find out anything, give me another call. Tell Victoria I said thanks, and I'll talk to both of you later." Paul then hung up. He sat behind his wide desk, staring over at Renny.

"Sir, we're not sure yet, but some of our sources are saying that it was the Russians. That Sonny had gotten mixed up with them, and Anzor put a hit out on him," Renny said.

Paul sat there thinking about this new information. He had felt deep down that it had been the Russians. That Sonny had been in trouble, and Paul wanted to kick himself for not saying something to his son when he had the chance. He knew it wasn't like Sonny to up and fly to Amsterdam without letting him know. He knew something wasn't right with that story—but he said nothing, other than fuss at him for being irresponsible. And now his son was dead, and he could have prevented it.

Paul swiveled his chair around so that he was facing his window. He thought about Sonny as a young boy. He had been a funny kid. Always smiling and telling jokes. He kept his mother laughing, even on her deathbed. He remembered the day his wife took her last breath. Paul had thought he was dying right along with her. He wanted nothing more than to curl up on the bed, and close his eyes too. But it was his son hugging him from behind that brought his mind back, and he realized he still had family. His son, and he had sworn to his wife that he would protect him...and he failed. But one thing he would not fail at, was avenging his son's murder.

"Renny," Paul said, still staring out of the window, "let all of our guys know that we are on the hunt for the Russians, and to bring in Anzor, preferably alive...so I can deal with him myself."