The Baciami Sibling Choir

Posted on Wed Jul 16th, 2025 @ 3:51pm by Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami

2,225 words; about a 11 minute read

The Baciami estate glimmered under the night sky, the vast vineyard rolling out like a dark, endless sea. The grand Italian mansion stood at the heart of it all, its golden stone glowing softly in the moonlight. Out on the patio, the family lingered around the fire pit, the air filled with the scent of grapevines and basil. The children had long since been tucked into bed, leaving Tanina and Dario surrounded by their eight sons, their daughters-in-law, and Adrianna, who sat quietly beside Vance.

The firelight flickered on their faces as the conversation meandered through stories of the past. Laughter rippled across the group as tales of youthful antics and mischief were shared, each brother eager to outdo the others with their memories. Adrianna refused to partake, only throwing the odd comments in and correcting a few story points once in a while.

For Vance and Tanina's sake, they were wearing translators. It made for neither to miss out. Not all of Adrianna's in-laws spoke Italian too well, especially after a few glasses of wine.

Tanina, seated beside Dario with a glass of wine in hand, smiled fondly at her children. “Do you remember when you all decided to start a band?” she said, her voice rich with nostalgia.

Dario chuckled low in his chest, remembering it in part. The group erupted into knowing smiles and chuckles. Giovanni, the eldest, leaned forward with a grin. “How could we forget, Mamma? You pushed us.”

“Yes, you encouraged us to sing at every waking moment because of your favourite film: The Sound of Music. You were our biggest fan though,” Marco teased, “and that’s putting it modestly. We weren't bad though.”

Adrianna laughed softly but said nothing, her gaze flickering towards Vance. She had never mentioned her brothers’ musical talents to him before; it seemed strange now to realise just how little of her childhood she had shared with anyone, let alone him. She spoke of some stories, but quite a bit of it had to be tweaked so that no-one would look into it and discover her actual surname and, in turn, identity.

Tanina’s eyes sparkled as she looked at her sons, “you truly were. It wasn’t just noise– it was art. The workers here even came by with their families to listen sometimes.”

“Ah, but Marco is right– you were our biggest fan, Mamma,” Luca said, his tone warm, “you never missed a single performance.”

Giovanni glanced at Luca, a glint of mischief in his eye. Without warning, he began to sing, his voice rich and effortless:

“Che bella cosa na jurnata ’e sole...”

Luca immediately joined in, his smooth tenor harmonising perfectly with Giovanni’s baritone. One by one, the brothers followed, their voices rising and weaving together in a flawless, hauntingly beautiful rendition of ‘O Sole Mio’. Even Matteo, who was usually shy about performing, sang with passion, his voice adding a powerful depth to the harmony. Their wives looked on, astonishment– none of them had known about the musical talents of the Baciami siblings either. Tanina’s eyes glistened with tears of pride as her sons’ voices carried into the night, silencing the crickets and other nocturnal animals.

Adrianna remained silent, her hands folded in her lap. She had sung with them countless times as a girl, but tonight she stayed silent, her heart racing. She had never sung in front of Vance before, and somehow, with him sitting so close, the thought of it made her hesitate.

Vance, for his part, sat utterly mesmerised. He leaned slightly forward, his eyes moving from one brother to the next, his expression a mixture of surprise and admiration. When the final note faded, he exhaled as though he had been holding his breath.

“Wow, that was incredible,” Vance said, his voice hushed.

Giovanni laughed, clapping Vance on the back, “family dinners are the only stages we perform on now.”

“You should join in next time, Adie,” Matteo said with a grin, “you’ve still got the best voice out of all of us.”

Adrianna felt Vance’s curious gaze shift to her, but she shook her head, her cheeks warming. “No, no, no. Not tonight,” she murmured, taking a sip of her wine.

Tanina’s knowing smile lingered as she glanced between her daughter and Vance. She said nothing, but her look spoke volumes. The fire crackled softly, and the conversation shifted again, but Vance couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Adrianna.

Under the starlit sky, with the echoes of her brothers’ voices still hanging in the air, Adrianna felt her heart stir in a way she hadn’t expected. For now, she kept her silence– but something told her it wouldn’t stay that way forever. Between Vance's eyes on her, her mother making passing comments and her brothers discussing treason and further stories of her singing with them, it was only a matter of time. The laughter and chatter around the fire pit had begun to settle, but Tanina wasn’t ready to let the moment pass. She turned her warm, motherly gaze on Adrianna, a sly smile playing on her lips. “Adrianna, cara mia,” she said, her voice teasing, “You’ve been far too quiet. It’s been years since we heard you sing.”

Adrianna froze, her glass of wine halfway to her lips. “Mamma, no,” she said quickly, shaking her head, “I’m not singing.”

Franco, ever the instigator of the siblings, leaned forward with a grin, “Come on, Adie-doo. You can’t let us steal the spotlight. You always had the best voice out of all of us.”

“I don’t know about that. Either way, flattery will get you nowhere,” Adrianna muttered, glancing at Vance, who was watching her with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. She sighed, her shoulders tensing. Adrianna let out a whine like a reluctant teenager finding excuses, “it’s been a long time and I’m out of practice.”

Tanina waved her hand dismissively, “nonsense. A voice like yours doesn’t just disappear.” The other brothers chimed in, encouraging her with playful teasing. Even Dario joined in, his deep voice carrying a tone of gentle persuasion.

Adrianna glanced helplessly at Vance, who merely raised his hands in mock surrender. “Don’t look at me for help– the people have spoken,” he said, his lips twitching into a somewhat teasingly cruel smile, “but I have to admit, I’d like to hear this.”

Adrianna groaned, covering her face with her hands, muttering something not quite loud enough for ears or the translators, but it was derogatory to say the least. “Fine,” she said finally, her voice muffled. She dropped her hands and sat up straighter, “but if I’m doing this, you’re getting a story first: During my undercover mission– just before I met this guy…” She nudged Vance playfully.

The group fell silent, watching in with intrigue. Adrianna didn't tell stories often, and she most certainly didn't tell tales from her time in the field.

“I was on Freecloud, helping out a fellow operative. He was working as security in a seedy little bar, trying to keep an eye on some high-profile targets. Problem was, he needed backup– an extra pair of eyes as there was supposed to be a volatile transaction going down. So, I had to pose as a singer for the night.” What she didn't mention was that it was Constantine. It may have been family, but she wouldn't out his job role.

Luca whistled, “You? A lounge singer in a dive bar? That I’d pay to see– you're such a snob with bars, principessa.”

Adrianna smirked. “You laugh, but I wasn’t half bad. The crowd loved me. It’s a good thing, too– his targets got sloppy, and we were able to gather all the intel we needed before the night was over. From the stage, I could see everything and could guide him, with subtle hand gestures. Not to mention that it was also the night that I almost got a new tally–”

Adrianna paused and looked at Vance, “it was Lutz that saved me, actually. He was also the reason I almost died, but that's not the point. He'd come to find me to offer me an interview for the Pendragon as a translator. So, one bar, two shots.”

“Lutz?” Vance asked quietly, “I knew he'd offered you the interview, but he didn't say what happened.”

Tanina beamed, “I always knew you could handle yourself, but I never imagined you’d use your voice like that.”

Adrianna nodded, looking back at the group, her expression softening, “There was this one song I really liked. It was called ‘We Climbed a Mountain,’ by Top House. I hadn't heard It until the rehearsal just before. Apparently It was an old country, folky, song from the early 21st century. They slowed It down though and made It more romantic sounding. It stuck with me, even after the mission because the lyrics were so sweet.”

Her voice started softly, warm and rich, as she sang the opening lines, almost as if telling a story that would build:

“We climbed a mountain,
And I picked wildflowers and put them in her hair,
And at the top we found a meadow,
And danced barefoot in the grass,
And I'm not lying there were bluebirds in the air...”

As she sang, the patio fell utterly silent. Her voice was steady and clear, with a depth of emotion that drew everyone in. The flames of the fire danced, casting flickering shadows across her face, but her gaze remained fixed on the stars above as she tried to remember the lyrics in full.

“It was a long one,
There was a time or two we felt like giving up,
But every fall and every stumble made us
Stop and see the wonder,
With your hand in mine we pushed on towards the top...”

She smiled, relaxing into it a bit when she got to the chorus, closing her eyes:

“Why do people climb mountains?
Is it just to reach the top and see the view?
Well I'll tell you something:
Every rock and every river,
Every sore and every splinter,
I would climb every mountain with you...”

By the time she finished, the silence lingered, heavy with awe. Tanina’s eyes glistened with unshed tears having found the words to be a reminder of the struggles that love stories held– her own included. Giovanni was the first to break the stillness with a soft, appreciative whistle. Vance, who had been reclining comfortably in his chair, now sat rigid, his gaze fixed on her. His expression was unreadable, his usual cocky grin replaced by something softer, almost reverent.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet but tinged with awe. “That was... I didn’t think you could surprise me anymore, but you’ve just proved me wrong.”

Adrianna ducked her head, a self-conscious smile tugging at her lips, “it’s just a song, Vance.”

“Not when you sing it,” he said, leaning forward, his eyes catching the firelight. “It’s more than a song. It’s... you– us. The strength, the heart. I don’t know how I’ve never heard this before, but now I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”

Her brothers exchanged amused glances, clearly delighted to see Adrianna flustered for once. Luca couldn’t resist chiming in. “See, Vance? We told you she had the best voice in the family.”

Vance barely seemed to hear him, his focus entirely on Adrianna. “You’ve been holding out on me,” he teased gently, a smile finally curving his lips, “what other secrets are you keeping?”

Adrianna shook her head, the warmth of his gaze unnerving but not unpleasant. “None that you need to know about tonight,” she quipped, her voice lighter now.

“You’ve always had a gift, my darling,” Tanina encouraged, her voice thick with emotion, “Even as a little girl, when you thought no one was listening or watching, whatever you tried, you could just master.”

“Except DIY,” Dario snorted, “if it had an engine or needed to be straight and sturdy, this girl was not for you.

Adrianna felt a lump rise in her throat at her mother’s words but managed a small laugh at her father's, “Now that's true. I mean, I learned a bit whilst undercover– but it was out of necessity. The moment the information was no longer needed, I dropped it from my memory– now I don't know the difference between a spanner and a warp core.” An exaggeration, but an amusing one that made her point.

Vance’s smile widened, the easy charm returning to his expression, but there was still something deeper in his eyes as he watched her. “How about, I update our quarters with all mod cons, and in return you provide me with music?”

Adrianna couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips, shaking her head at him, “don’t push your luck, Captitano.”

Under the stars, with her family’s love and Vance’s admiration surrounding her, Adrianna felt a rare and profound sense of belonging. For once, she allowed herself to bask in it, even as her heart raced in the quiet thrill of being truly seen.

 

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