Alana's New Life

Chapter 26

Xander's POV

I take my seat next to Alana who seems to be in a good mood this morning, however, I have noticed that she seems to be wanting to cling to dad, not that it is a bad thing if anything it is a good sign, I am just happy she is happy, that is all that matters right now. We are roughly an hour into the drive, Alana had fallen asleep roughly 20 minutes in and the rest of us have been chatting away about things we can do while we are up at the holiday home. We know that there is danger and that is why we are leaving home for a little while, but that does not mean we can't do anything fun. Close by there is actually quite a lot we can do, there is a park that has a mix of different things in it such as a zoo, rides, play parks, places to eat and they even have some performance shows in the evenings so there is a good chance we will take Alana out to that a few times.

My dad did bring up the whole threat to the family once he knew Alana was out cold. We made sure we kept our voices low when talking about it just to be sure she did not wake up. The conversation was more to let us know that we will be staying here until the rat is found and they can get fully on top of the English mafia, there is no way that they are getting what they want and if they do try to take this further then we have all agreed to get the Irish to help us since they owe us a favour and we would rather keep our men alive.

We were just wrapping up the conversation about the English when Lana begins to talk in her sleep, "mum no please" she almost whispers, she then screams "I'm sorry mum" before jolting up, wide awake and now in tears. "PULL OVER" dad shouts threw to Sergi who is driving and in seconds we have pulled over and Lana is pulled out her seat and into dads arms who then opens the door and gets out clearly to give her some privacy and try to calm her down. Hearing her cry is by far the saddest noise I have ever heard.

I know the last few nights she has been waking up crying but my parents had no idea why or what she was dreaming about since she refuses to talk about it, but now is another story, she is clearly having dreams about her mum, but what is happening that is causing her to get so distressed over it? I look over at my mum and see a sad look coming from her. "Are you okay mum?" I ask knowing she is not "Yes, it just hurts to see her so upset and now I think we know why and I hope she will talk about it now, I am going to go check on them maybe yous can go to the station over the road and grab some snacks while I check on your sister" she says before heading out the limo. I ask my grandparents if they would like anything then Luca and I go over and grab a few different bits before heading back to the limo and putting the bags inside for everyone to grab what they want. I look over before getting in fully and see my parents talking to Alana who has tear stains down her face, resting her head on dad's shoulder and they cutes part is her thumb is in her mouth. I catch my dad's eye and smile at him before taking my seat again.

Antonio's POV

The minute Lana starts to cry, I get Sergi to pull over and I quickly pull her out her seat and make my way outside. "Princess, you are ok" I say as I bounce her slightly she shakes her head and rubs it against my shoulder then hides her face there too. This seems to be a regular thing, hiding with her face buried in my shoulder or chest, depending on if I am standing or siting. My blood boils as I hear her cry, she is basically sobbing and now we know why, what has this woman done to make her so upset that she is now dreaming about her and getting distraught over it. I know when I got her file it said that she was neglected and her mum was rarely home but when she was she always had company, but apart from knowing she lived in bad conditions with her mum rarely around we were basically in the dark about the rest.

"Love you have to talk to me, I can only help if you tell me why your dreams make you so sad" I say in a gently tone trying to get her to see that I do want to help and that she can trust me. That's what this all is, a trust game, and she needs to learn to trust us. She shakes her head again making me sigh, "Is it about you mum?" I ask knowing full well it is, my response to this is a nod of the head, well at least it is something. "Please tell me" at this point she has calmed down a lot to the point that her cries are down to sniffles and she does begin to talk "my mum hates me, she use to hit me sometimes an...and her friends the..they were horrible an...and sc..scaryy and im scared it w..will happen a...again here" by the end of this she is a sobbing mess again and Maria has just come put to check on us. "Love can you grab the wipes please" I ask knowing that little miss here will need her face washed after this once she has calmed down again.

Once Maria comes back with the wipes I calmly tell her what Lana said and she is quick to comfort her the best she can "Honey we would never ever hurt you, abandon you, or let anyone who would hurt you anywhere near you, I give you my word, you are too precious to us and all we want if for you to be happy and settle into our family because she may be your mum but you belong here with us" I smile at my wife's words and back her up on it "your mummy is right princess, you will never be hurt here and if someone were to try and hurt you, just come tell daddy and he will stop them ok" I feel her nod against me and I look down to see she has brought her thumb up to her mouth. She is just the cutest I think in my head.

"Princess, do you want your paci, fingers are yukky" I say taking her thumb out her mouth, we were going to try and get her to start using them to see if it could help as a calming method and I am not expecting her to go for it but offer anyway. "Yes please daddy" she says surprising both Maria and I. "Why don't you go to mummy and I will go get one ok" she nods her head and reaches out to Maria and is quick to relax against her making me smile at my beautiful girls.

Walking over to the limo I open the door and head to my seat where her small travel bag is and grab a paci that matches her outfit, "How is she dad" Xander and Luca say at the same time causing me to laugh at them as they look at each other, "she is okay, I will explain it all later" "I am glad she gave us a little fright there" my mother says, I'm surprised that my parents sat back and did not try to help. "Indeed she did but she is fine now I will be back in a minute" I say before heading out back to my girls. Taking the paci our of the clear box it comes in to keep it clean when not used I bring it up to Lana's mouth and she lets me put it in before reaching back over to me.

My wife looks a little sad at this but lets her come to me and I hold her close. In the seconds of being passed to me and arriving at the limo she has fallen back asleep. Opening the door I ask Xander to sit were I was so I can be near her as it seems that she I a daddy's girl today and that is okay but I would rather be beside her when she wakes in case she needs me again. I place Lana down gently and Maria passes me her fluffy blanket to cover her with, I tuck her in then take my seat. Everyone coo's at how adorable she looks. "Poor lass, crying has worn her out" my father says looking at her. I look back over at her and see her hand moving like it is trying to grab something, "Love can you pass her teddy over" she hands me Lana's teddy and I give it to her which she takes and cuddles into making everyone coo at her again.

This little girl has no idea how adorable she is and that she makes everyone's day better. 

Maria's POV

When Antonio told me what my little girl said, I was angry, I new she was left alone in a dirt home a lot but I was not aware of any form of actual abuse, no wonder she is worried and upset. I am glad she finally spoke up and I was quick to reassure her and when she was offered her paci and accepted it, I got a surge of relief flood threw me, knowing that it would help to calm her if she would use it and I feel like it is also a step in the right direction for us.

I took her into my arms when Ant went to grab her paci and she relaxed into me and cuddled me close which put a smile in my face. I rubbed her back and just spoke softly to her, enjoying the closeness and the cuddles she is willing to give me, I also quickly give her face a quick clean which of course she does not like. "Mummy, I'm sleepy" she say's and she begins to rub her eyes before relaxing back and putting her thumb back in her mouth again. I am about to take it out but see my husband coming back over, "I know honey, look here comes daddy" I whisper to her, knowing that she tired and I hope that she will sleep some more on the journey. Ant offers her the paci which she gladly takes and reaches out for him to take her which makes me frown.

I know I should not, but I do, I feel jealous. Alana seems to want to be with her daddy rather than me and it hurts slightly as I want to have a bond with her, but I know she is feeling vulnerable right now and maybe my husband is her safe place which I just have to get over and I also remind myself that is still early days. My husband must see the look on my face as he gives me a reassuring smile, almost like he understands how I feel.

Heading back we get seated and Ant sits beside our baby not before he makes her comfortable and tucks the blanket I give him in to keep her warm and her I pass her teddy over once it is requested. I am glad I brought it as I nearly put it in the suitcase instead of brining it in with us. Once again we are on our way once everyone is seated, only another 2 hours to go.