Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 775 : Green Light

*Two Months Later*

*Elio*

“Ready to go?” I asked with a smile, leaning against the door to our bedroom.

“Almost,” Cat whispered, glancing up at me from where she lay on the bed, on her side with our sleeping daughter tucked sweetly to her chest. I chuckled at her reluctant expression, the adoration she felt for Emilia able to be seen by anyone who saw this heartwarming scene.

But this tender moment was only for us.

“I don’t wanna leave her.” Cat sniffed, brushing her tears from her eyes with her free hand.

I understood her emotional response. After all, this was the first time she’d be leaving Emilia since she was born.

I brushed my hand over Emilia’s soft hair. She was conked out, holding her mom’s hand tightly and stuffing it into her mouth, a habit she had yet to break. When it wasn’t Mama’s hand, it was my curly hair.

Emilia had grown so much, now three months old, but she was still our adorable curious little girl. I had noticed her clinginess to Cat had grown over the past few months, probably due to how often I was away and it was just them during the day.

Things were finally calming down though.

“I know you don’t want to leave her, but we got to get to your appointment. Your mom will take great care of her. You know she will.” I reassured Cat as best as I could, knowing that this was hard for her.

“I know.” She sighed, giving me a grumpy look like I was the one who was trying to separate them.

I just shrugged helplessly, letting her be mad as she slowly disentangled her hand from Emilia’s mouth.

Her careful movements were in vain, though. As soon as she moved, Emilia let out a whine, her eyes blinking open with a dazed expression.

“Hey, princess,” I whispered, scooping her up into my arms.

She was much better at her control now, able to keep herself upright in my arms without my help. She yawned, rubbing her eyes with a chubby fist as she looked around.

Cat got up, changing real quick as I stepped over to give Emilia to Matilde, who beamed at the sight of her.

“Alright, hand over my beautiful granddaughter.” Matilde didn’t even wait a second as she snatched my baby girl from my hands, and Emilia burst into giggles as Matilde cooed at her, tickling her belly playfully.

I smiled, shaking my head at how easily Emilia had won over everyone in the family. I could have sworn that Matilde and my own mother loved her more than they did me and Cat. Though I supposed it was just a grandma thing.

“Ready to go?” I asked Cat as she appeared, biting her bottom lip worriedly as she looked at Matilde and Emilia.

“Are you sure you’ve got it, Mom?” Cat asked, looking for any excuse to stay.

But Matilde wasn’t having any of it. She put Emilia on one hip, her hand on the other as she huffed. “Please, I raised you practically by myself half the time. We’ll be fine,” Matilde said sternly, “Now go. Your health comes first.”

“I know,” Cat groaned, looking despondent as she glanced at her daughter. “But my baby–”

Before the waterworks could come, I mouthed, “Thanks,” to Matilde and grabbed Cat by the shoulders, fully pushing her out of the door. Cat glared at me as I locked the door behind me, her arms crossed and fully looking like she would fight me right here in the driveway.

“Come on. The sooner we go, the sooner we’ll get back.”

Her eyes lit up at that and she finally got into the car. Who knew it was so difficult to get to one doctor’s appointment?

I shook my head with a sigh as we both climbed into the car, ready to go. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“The stitches are out, so I don’t see why I have to go,” Cat said as she rolled down the windows. I pulled out of the driveway, heading to Dr. Manning’s office to check out Cat’s progress after the birth and C-section. “I feel so much better and everything’s all healed.”

“That’s for the doctor to decide,” I said firmly ignoring the glare she sent my way. “I just want you to be safe, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” She sighed.

Right as we paused at a stoplight, I felt my phone buzz with a text. I kept one eye on the road, checking my phone while we were waiting, and then frowned as I saw it was Leo.

‘Last guys got out today,’ Leo had said.

“Everything still quiet?” Cat asked with a frown. “MS13 hasn’t been causing any trouble since Leo got taken, right?”

“They’re laying low, as we are,” I said, tightening my grip on the steering wheel as I thought about the bastards who had caused us so much trouble. “With the Feds on both of our tails, there’s nothing else they can do, especially with so many of our men still behind bars.”

Cat picked up on my bad mood straight away.

“Elio,” she said sadly. “Most of them have already gotten out on bail. They’re back in Italy with new identities. There’s only a handful still in jail, and there’s nothing more you can do for them. You know that.”

“Doesn’t make it right.” I grit my teeth. “They’ll probably spend the rest of their lives in jail because of this.”

“Honey, you’re the leader of the American sect of the Italian mafia,” Cat said bluntly, giving me an incredulous look. “Nothing you do is ‘right.’” She made air quotes with her fingers. “Besides, all of those men knew what they were getting into. It’s just part of the life they chose. And I’m sure they know you’re doing the best you can to make their lives comfortable, even behind bars. It’s why they’re still loyal to you.”

That part was true. Despite being locked up, none of the men we couldn’t get out had sold us out, not even one. They remained steadfast in their loyalty. It ate at me that they were imprisoned and that there was nothing I could do about it though. But Cat was right.

We’d set up systems and bought prison guards to make their lives more comfortable, providing them with amenities and contraband that the guards would overlook at the right price.

But they did send a few odd requests from time to time like Barley, who only asked for microwavable fish sticks. Apparently, from our reports, he ate them straight cold. I still couldn’t believe he was a real Italian, but as long as he was happy with it....

Many of the guys of MS13 who had been captured were in a much more difficult spot. I made sure to use whatever connections I had to make their lives a living hell, even with the Feds on our asses. It was the least I could do.

Dr. Manning’s office was quite close to us, so it was all too soon that we pulled into the parking lot and headed inside. As soon as we walked inside, Cat headed for the staircase with a grimace, not wanting to climb two flights.

The last few times I had to carry her cause she almost tore her stitches out. And the times before that, she was pregnant, so I understood her hesitance when it came to the stairs.

“They really need an elevator,” Cat grumbled, standing on the first step when I grabbed her hand, giving her a small grin as I pointed down the hall. She raised an eyebrow, but let me lead her toward the bathrooms.

And there, in between gender-neutral bathrooms, was a shiny brand-new elevator.

“They may have gotten a surprise donation for their wonderful care.” I smirked at the wonderstruck look on her face and she turned to me with teary eyes.

“Thank you.” She happily hugged me and then raced to the buttons, always having to be the first to press them.

I was happy with the elevator I had funded, sleek and fast as we stepped inside. Cat loved all the fancy lit-up buttons as it automatically took us to the second floor.

It still had that metallic smell in it, not having been used too often, which made sense since I had it put in only a few weeks ago.

Bethany the receptionist greeted us as we got to the lobby, giving us a huge welcoming smile. “You look wonderful, Ms. Leone,” Bethany gushed as she checked us in. “I can’t believe you had a child only a few months ago.”

I beamed with pride at my fiancee, who laughed off the compliment. But it was true. Her complexion glowed much brighter after giving birth, and all of the weight she had gained had melted off of her naturally, which both of our moms had expressed jealousy about.

Other than the scar across her belly, it was hard to tell she had been pregnant, let alone given birth only three months ago.

It took only a couple of minutes before Dr. Manning’s nurse called us back, directing me to the room while they got Cat’s height and weight. The room was more colorful, clearly having gotten a new paint job, and there were plenty of more colorful toys now in the little cubbies on the wall.

I picked up a picture book of a little fox, making a mental note to find the series for Emilia later.

Dr. Manning stepped in and looked over the blood work they’d taken earlier when a nurse came to our house. “Alright, everything looks good,” she said. “We just need to check that scar out, and you’ll be ready to go.”

Cat nodded as she climbed onto the examination table, lifting up her shirt. Where the stitches had been was still red and visible, but the wound had fully closed by now.

Dr. Manning pressed around the wound, checking for any sore spots but when she found none, she smiled.

“Congratulations, you officially have the green light for full activity,” Dr. Manning happily said.

I breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing now that I knew she was healthy and okay.

“I told you so,” Cat stuck her tongue out at me.

I just rolled my eyes, “Yeah, yeah. You were right.”

Cat excitedly held my hand all the way home, chatting about everything she wanted to do now that she was cleared for walking and running and doing whatever she wanted. Once we got home, Cat happily took Emilia, lifting her high in the air and twirling around.

“Mama’s all good now!” she cheered.

Matilde went back to her cottage as Cat fed her and soon after, put her down for a nap in the nursery in our bedroom suite upstairs, having moved from the bassinet to the crib not long ago.

I lay on the bed, happy that things seemed to be normal now that we could be in our regular suite and not downstairs. We had moved back up there about a month ago after the doctor had assured me that one flight of stairs would be okay for Cat.

I sighed as my phone buzzed with more work that needed to be done. I knew I would have to go to the office soon. I shut my eyes, hoping to relax for just a minute or two but clearly, someone had other plans.

She plopped straight on top of me and instinctively I grabbed her hips to make sure she didn’t topple over. Cat grinned at me from above, eyes brimming with mischief.

“I have to go back to the office,” I told her, amused.

But she just rolled her eyes, leaning down as her long hair fanned around us and she took my lips, biting down and pulling on my bottom lip teasingly.

“You can be late,” she whispered, smirking as she ran her hands over my collarbone, opening my shirt button by button as she playfully coaxed me into giving her what she wanted.

“Well,” I smirked back. “A gentleman shouldn’t leave a lady waiting, should he?”

She groaned as I fully rolled us over, pinning her to the bed as all of the pent-up desire we’d kept under lock and key for the past few months came bursting out.