[Sam260]

Romeo shook his head and wave a hand aimlessly through the air in obvious dismissal of Larry "Go and find Accardi.  He will give you further instruction." Romeo told his foot soldier, looking directly at his son "You, on the other hand, need to stay - we have many things we must discuss." Romeo said, smiling at his son lightly - there was no malice to his words, only the kindness that a father could bestow upon his children.

Aryin nodded slowly, glancing at Larry as the man stood up and walked out of the greenhouse.  Aryin was uncomfortable - to say the least - being the sole audience of his father, but he had no choice in the matter.  Even years removed from the mafia, he was still a soldier under his father's thumb; just as everyone else was - it was just the way life was.  It was inevitable and a part of life in the mafia, and in their actual blood family as well.

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It had been an entire month since the meeting with Aryin's father.  Aryin was now just two and a half months pregnant and already starting to get very pudgy around the middle - it wasn't soft flabby fat either.  It was firm and definitely very rounded; he already looked like he was in his third or fourth month of pregnancy and the child had barely grown bigger than the size of a Kumquat.  It was embarrassing to be this big already - and uncomfortable for his body to be expanding as it was.

His co-workers at the police station had definitely started noticing the roundness and Aryin's captain had restricted him to desk-duty for the duration of "this thing that's going on with you" the man so delicately put it - It made Aryin tear up, but he didn't start crying that day until he got home.  His hormones were shot, his attitude was all over the place, some days he would be happy, others he would be completely down in the dumps.  He'd cry at the simplest little things - Larry got a paper cut when flipping through the newspaper one morning, Aryin cried about it.  He'd also get really pissed off, for no apparent reason - Larry was late by five seconds and Aryin yelled at him and claimed that dinner had now gotten cold.  The mood swings, were definitely the worse.

Unfortunately, however, it seemed that the morning sickness that Aryin had been experiencing was only getting worse.  He'd be lucky if he could go through the day only vomiting five times.  More often than not, he spent eighty percent of his time hunched over the toilet, and the other twenty percent sitting on it to pee.  He was weakening, unable to hold food down for more than a few hours at a time, he had lost weight everywhere except for his stomach.  It was worrisome, but he still looked relatively healthy despite the vomiting - he was able to stay hydrated through all of it.  Drinking the plethora of Gatorade's that Larry had purchased or water kept his boy hydrated and replenished what little nutrients and energies he lost.

The doctor that Aryin was recommended to for the duration of his pregnancy had diagnosed Aryin with Hyperemesis Gravidarum - a hereditary condition in which includes constant all-day and all-night vomiting.  Aryin had that in spades, it seemed.  The doctor recommended a high-protein diet to keep weight on Aryin, and they - he and Larry - started doing just that, together.  There were small improvements to Aryin's weight but it was not significant anywhere except his stomach.

Aryin resigned himself to the fact that he'd just be carrying heavy, despite the fact that their child was growing properly and proportionally as any other pregnancy - by men or women's standards. Aryin sighed and rubbed his belly - yet another day off and he had nothing to do but relax on the couch and watch TV - he wished he had more activities, but because of his already popped out size, he didn't quite feel up to going out and venturing the world.  Comfort of home was his middle name at the moment.

He just wished Larry were here to make the loneliness of the penthouse go away - maybe they should get a pet... He'd talk to Larry about it, when he got there.