This was something that he really should have been expecting, when he looked back on it. As much as Hawke wanted to deny it, he was biologically capable of having a child; that had already been proven once. But that had been so much different from now. He'd been in love, and he and the father had wanted Lira so badly.

This time, it was different. He was pregnant again, but had no idea who the father was, and didn't know what he was going to do this time.

He knew that the father had to have been one of the guys who'd abducted him, but hell if he knew who. There was no way to figure it out, either. And this time, he was totally alone; his family were too far away to help now, there was no father, and no support system. There was also a lot more at stake this go-round. He had no idea what he was going to do...

Well, there might be someone who could help him. Turning to the phone mounted on the wall, he dialed a number, and listened until it picked up.

"Hello, Violetta? I need your help. Can you come to my place, today, preferably? We need to talk."

[tagging ViolettaDiSalvo ]

(OOC: Just a bit of advice, if your story relies heavily on prior stories you might want to include that or a bit of helpful information in a preface of some sort. The fact you're using a male pronoun with pregnancy is a bit confusing for many readers and you'd likely find a more common ground with readers if you at least mentioned the fact your character is a female pretending to be a male, or that identifies themselves as male, whichever it is. It's impossible for a person biologically born a man that has just an X and a Y chromosome to get pregnant as far as I'm aware of and it's most certainly going to confuse your audience.)

[ Memento_Mori that's true, I'll be sure to do that in the future since it seems like we can't edit our posts]

[For anyone who's confused, read this; https://mafiareturns.com/comm/thread/674140#111398928 ]

What are you folks rambling about? A button man should KNOW better than speak such nonsense in the streets. Yes, I'm talking directly at you Memento_Mori.

After a long day chasing down that two timing punk, Efisio Milano, Violetta tossed her keys down on the table beside the front door.  The soft click of the lock echoed through the empty foyer.  The hardwood floor gleamed under the hallway lighting, and her black suede Oxfords reverberated as she headed towards the kitchen to wind down with a glass of wine.

Luca was still in Detroit tending to some business, so she wouldn’t be cooking tonight.  Perhaps leftovers something light would be the best choice.  As she poured a glass of the Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Violetta slipped her shoes off then strolled to the living room to relax on the sofa.  She curled up on the soft plush sofa, barely sinking into the cushions.  Vi took a sip of her wine before leaning her head back and closing her eyes.  The shrill of the telephone ringing jerked her eyes open suddenly.  Sighing softly she leaned over to pick the receiver up then spoke softly.

“Hello?”

Violetta recognized the caller, and smiled at hearing her friend’s voice.  She took another sip of wine as she listened to his urgent rambling.  Vi and Hawke had been friends for some time now, so she was able to sense something wasn’t right by his tone.

“Slow down.  What’s wrong?”

Hearing the desperate plea for her to visit made Violetta sigh softly to herself.  She had been through a long, exhausting day, but she also couldn’t turn a friend in need away.

“When do you want me to come over?”

Hawke slowed down a bit at Violetta's request, forcing himself to take a few breaths as he repeated his message. Thankfully, he didn't have to repeat himself again, as she seemed to understand him this time. Swallowing heavily, he forced himself to continue, ignoring the churning feeling in his stomach. He had to do this. There was no way he was going to get through something like this by himself. With a dry throat, he answered;

"Now would be great. I need us to be alone. Lira's on a playdate right now and she--doesn't need to hear about this." He'd been careful to hide the details of what had happened to him from his daughter. She was much too young to understand what was going on, and he had no idea how he was going to explain her having another sibling when the time came.

If the time came.

"It's very urgent. I'm very sorry if you're busy." He found himself apologizing before he could stop it, something he'd been doing a lot more recently. It was an after-effect of what he'd been through.

[ ViolettaDiSalvo ]

As Vi cradled the telephone against her shoulder, she briefly closed her eyes at the thought of going back out, but the mention of Lira’s name softened Violetta’s facial expression and tone as she glanced to the clock and replied.

“Sure dear.  Luca is still out of town, so he won’t be able to come, but I can be there in 15 minutes.”

Hawke began to apologize, but Vi interrupted him quickly.

“No.  It’s fine.  I’m not busy.  Just got home after a busy day.  Let me fetch my shoes, and I will be on my way.”

Speaking for another moment before replacing the receiver down, Violetta dragged herself from the plush sofa then headed towards the kitchen with her glass.  As she slipped on the Oxfords, she took one last drink of the wine then set the glass down.  As she reached the foyer, Vi grabbed the keys off the table, then locked the door behind her.

About fifteen minutes later, she turned the sporty, red 1930 Cord-L’29 into the driveway.  Vi walked with haste towards the front door, glancing around trying to figure out what the issue could be.  Violetta knocked firmly three quick taps then waited until the door opened.  The look on her friend’s face caused Vi to become instantly concerned even more.  She entered as Hawke stepped to the side allowing her to come inside.

“How long until Lira comes home?”

Violetta followed a nervous looking Hawke towards the living room, and sat down beside him.  She smiled softly hoping to put him at ease knowing she wasn’t in any rush.

When they took a seat on the couch, Hawke couldn't help but fiddle a bit nervously with his hands. Trying to remind himself that there was nothing to be afraid of, he turned so that he could look at Vi's face, her smile putting him at ease, if only for a bit. She was his friend, and she wouldn't harm him -- right?

"A couple of hours. This -- it shouldn't take long, I hope." Taking another deep breath, Hawke closed his eyes, and then opened them again. "I know you know that Lira's my daughter, right? And I told you that her mother died in childbirth?" When he knew she was following, he swallowed and continued. "Well, that's -- not quite true. I'm her parent but I -- I gave birth to her."

His shoulders sagged at the reveal of the secret he'd kept hidden for so long. "I was -- born a girl, but I grew up as a boy, so I saw myself one. I still do -- I'm -- I'm not a girl," Hawke said, just so that they were clear. "But I can still -- carry a baby. And I just found out that I'm -- pregnant -- from a gang rape that happened a while back."

It was certainly a lot to process, so Hawke let the room fall silent, waiting for Vi's reaction.

[ ViolettaDiSalvo ]

Violetta was unprepared for the shock just given to her, and gasped softly, but the quietness of the room made the gasp echo louder than it actually was.  She was enraged at the discovery of the brutal attack against her friend.  Her brows furrowed as she spoke.

“Why didn’t you tell me?  You know you can trust me with anything.  Luca and I adore you and Lira very much.”

Violetta patted Hawke’s shoulder in a comforting gesture, hopefully reassuring him that his past changed nothing in their friendship.  She was indeed thankful his daughter wasn’t here at the moment.  Vi took a deep breath trying to speak calmly, but the thought of the assault angered her more and more.

“Do you know who did this?!  They will pay!  Mark my words.  With all the connections we have, they will rue the day they did this to you.”

Violetta stood up and paced back and forth in front of the sofa.  Her Oxfords clicking with a tap, tap, tap at the rate she was walking.  She was trying to make plans about those riffraffs then looked to Hawke’s tensed face.  Vi could see his inner agony and confusion about what will happen, with him,with Lira. This was certainly a very unusual situation, and one Vi has never dealt with before.  She sat back down on the sofa before speaking again.

“What do you need from us dear?  Money?  A place to stay?  We can help with Lira, too.”

At her words, Hawke flinched a little, even though he knew she wasn't intending any harm. He knew that she and her husband were very good friends of theirs, but Hawke hadn't really told anyone about what had happened to him. "I...I just didn't want you to think less of me." He was supposed to be strong, and resilient, and terrifying. He was a mobster, but look at him now; he looked as scared and as small as a little boy.

When she patted his shoulder, Hawke forced himself to relax as he rubbed at his eyes, breathing heavily. He just had to keep reminding himself to breathe, breathe in, then out, but it was getting harder, and his breaths were getting heavier. No. Now isn't the time. He rubbed at his eyes again, and then looked over at Vi, who was now pacing angrily.

"I know who did it, but -- listen, please, don't go after them. I don't want to see you and Luca take a hit for me." He wasn't worth that. He was barely worth their time, in his mind.

Blinking rapidly to clear the tears from his eyes, Hawke shrugged at her final question. "I need -- somewhere to stay, and -- an excuse for me not being where I should be." His bosses might start to get curious if he just up and disappeared, and he didn't want to risk his or Lira's safety if they thought he'd abandoned the family. "I need somewhere safe, somewhere I won't be found, for when -- when the baby comes."

[ ViolettaDiSalvo ]

Think differently of him?  Never.

“You know me better than that Hawke.  It is what’s inside a person’s heart that shows their true personality, and your heart is as sweet now as the first day we met and became friends.”

A place to hide out….Violetta thought immediately of her hotel casino in Las Vegas that she recently took over proprietorship.  There were plenty of job opportunities to keep him in the flow of money for his personal and business needs, plus the fact of a place to stay without being in fear for his life.

“Listen.  How would you like to stay in The Las Vegas Club for a while.  It is far away from here, enough distractions in the hotel casino itself, so you wouldn’t have to venture out far.  I can hire a couple bodyguards for Lira, and keep them stationed at your hotel suite 24/7.”

Violetta knew there would be plenty of privacy and protection, but if the Sin City wasn’t kosher, she was thinking on other places as well.  Her mind ran through the various cities she and LucaDiSalvo- had a foothold in, trying to see if anything would be more suitable.

Philly had their Zoo, but might be too crowded, even Lira would be most interested in the animals everyday, that only left for something at night. Detroit they had the auto garage, and Vi didn’t want to put Hawke into that situation with nothing but men there even if she trusted the guys at the garage.

“We don’t have to decide right this minute.  Let’s take a moment to relax and think.”

Violetta kept running over the choices in her mind as she held Hawke’s hand for calming reassurance.

Las Vegas? Hawke thought about ViolettaDiSalvo's offer for a moment. It was far enough away so that he should be relatively safe, if he and Lira were to go there, but there were also worries about the city itself. Las Vegas wasn't really known for its family-friendly atmosphere, and if they'd be staying in a club...he relaxed a bit when Violetta mentioned the body guards, but he said quickly,

"I don't mind guards, just -- please, I don't want anyone to know why I'm -- that I'm -- " He could only imagine how difficult it might be to explain the whole thing, and he couldn't deal with even more people knowing his secret. "This needs to be -- a secret. Nobody can know why I'm leaving."

When he was sure that was clear, his shoulders sagged, and he gripped Violetta's hand gently. Using his free hand, he rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand, and sniffed hard a few more times. This wasn't going to be easy; it hadn't been the first time, either, but things were so different this time around.

"I just need -- a solid alibi. If I just run off, the family'll come looking for me, and they can't know."