Alana's New Life

Chapter 34

Maria's POV

It has been 5 days since Antonio went back home, 3 days since last contact and everyone is struggling having him gone. Xander has taken on the lead role of protecting the family while he was gone and was doing a good job at keeping us positive. I know my husband will be fine but there will always be that pit in your stomach of worry when he is gone for so long, with no contact, doing the job he is doing. Everyone has also pitched in as much as they can to help me with Alana who is taking not having her daddy here really hard.

Alana's fever broke 2 days ago and has slowly started to get back to normal again, eating and drinking more, more playful, and almost her usual bubbly self. I am glad my baby girl is feeling better as there was nothing worse than seeing her struggle while being so sick. We have stayed home the whole time Ant has been gone thinking it would be safer just in case but my little girl is getting restless being stuck in the house so today we are going to go back to the theme park even if it-s only for half a day, it will be better than staying home with a stroppy little one and 2 boys who are also in need of getting out to do something, even Alice and Jack are wanting out so that is todays plan, we will head there after lunch.

I am currently sitting on the floor in the living room with Alana, who I have managed to distract for a little while with a small puzzle while we wait on lunch being ready. "You are such a clever cookie" I say as she places the final piece of the puzzle, she gives me a small smile before looking away, something is bothering her, it has been for the past few days, sure she has her bubbly moments, but she always goes back to looking a little sad. "Mummy when is daddy coming home" she asks as I see some tears fall. I pick her up and kiss her head before responding "I don't know baby, but if it wasn't really important for him to be away then he would be here with us" "Want my daddy" she says before crying, a loud heartbreaking cry which has Xander come running in looking worried before he sees the cause.

"I know baby, you're a daddy's girl, aren't you? He will be home soon enough, and I bet you anything in the world he misses you and wants to be here just as much you do and want" I say holding her close. I knew this is what has had her down over the past few days. Despite the way she came to our family and how much she hated it and hated Antonio when she came, he is and most likely always will be her safe place and I do not mind that. I get to have lots of moments with her and she loves it but when she is tired, sad, or scared then Antonio is the one she feels safes with. As she cries her little heart out, Xander comes over with her paci and offers it to her. The moment she sees him, she raises her arms, and he happily picks her up and sits with her on the sofa.

"I am going to go see if lunch is nearly ready, back in a minute baby" I say kissing her head and leaving hoping that Xander may be able to calm her, he seems to have taken on the role of Ant and Alana goes to him or Jack a lot when she needs comfort. I head through to the kitchen asking when lunch will be ready, after being told in 10 minutes I head out to round everyone up for lunch. Xander brings Alana in and tries to sit her in the highchair but has no success. "Babygirl, you need to sit here so we can fill our tummies" he says but she just wines and buries her head in his neck. "It's fine Xander pass her here" Jack says going over and taking her into his arms.

Jack's POV

Walking into the dining room I see Alana clinging to Xander as he attempts to sit her in her seat. I can already see that he will not win this one, so I decide to pipe up, gladly taking her from him. "It's fine Xander pass her here" he passes her over and I take her to sit with me at the table. Maria had said when she come to get us for lunch that Alana had finally broke down about missing her daddy. We knew it was coming and I am surprised that she held it in for so long, hopefully heading out this afternoon for a few hours will distract her for the rest of the day. It is nice to see the bond Alana and my son have, it is one that I don't think would break.

I grab a plate of mac and cheese for us to share knowing I am not very hungry at the moment so will only eat a small amount of it. Once I feed myself and Alana, I grab her milk and pass it over for her to drink while I finish my coffee. By the time I am finished my coffee, I look down and see my little squish has fallen asleep with only half a bottle drunk. "Someone clearly needed a nap" I say to the family while chuckling. "Bless, we will still go and when she wakes, she will be able to go straight on rides if she wishes it" Maria says before standing up to get herself and Alana's stuff ready.

I stay seated with her and just held her close while she sleeps peacefully. She really is a beautiful little girl and any of the staff guards or maids alike that has looked at her all show a softer side even if it is a quick ghost of a smile before going back to their own stone-cold postures again. While I sit and stare at Lana, my wife comes up with her blanket and my coat saying it is time to leave, so as carful as I can, I stand and make my way out to the car. I place Alana down in her seat and strap her in, but the movement causes her to stir so I grab her blanket, paci and rub her tummy, lulling her back into dreamland.

The journey is quiet, everyone in their own minds. There is a notable difference in everyone with Antonio having been gone for so long, but everyone understands that this is needed, all except Alana who is too young to understand this life, the life she had been brought into, but we will do everything we can to ensure that she stays as innocent to this part of our life as much as possible. Once we arrived, I went over to pay everyone in while the others got what they needed and got Alana settled into her buggy. I head back over once I got our tickets and helped get Alana out her seat since she was still in there.

Once everyone was ready to head on in, we proceeded to the entrance to swap our tickets for the stamp on our hands. I made sure they were very careful when placing Alana's stamp on, I did not want them to wake her up. Once everyone was stamped, we headed on in and went to the bigger rides with the boys until Alana was ready to wake and go on some of the smaller ones.

Narrator's POV

The family spent a good few hours at the park having fun and just enjoying one another's company and having a thrilling time on the rides. However, the same can not be said for their missing piece, the man who is hours away from them fighting to keep his family safe. The man who would risk anything for them and at this moment in time while his family are happy, he is standing face to face with his enemy. Maverick Anders, the head of the English mafia.