Under Her Wing

Chapter 61

Danielle POV

"Mali sunshine, wake up sweetheart," I whispered softly, gently rubbing her arm.

"Amalia baby,"

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, a smile appearing on her face when her eyes landed on mine.

"There's my beautiful girl," I said gently, moving her hair out of her face.

"Morning," she said sleepily.

"Sorry to wake you Mali, we need to leave soon for the airport," I told her.

She looked at me nervously, the reality of us travelling starting to set in. Wordlessly, I climbed into bed with her, allowing her to cuddle into my side.

"There's still time for snuggles," I smiled, resting my head atop hers.

"What time is it?" She asked, tracing her finger over the pattern on my shirt.

"5:30 sweetheart, we've got an early flight," I replied.

"Is Stefania awake?"

"She's been up since 4:00am. She's too excited," I grinned.

"We need to drop Jeff off at Stef's friends on the way to the airport as well," I added.

"Will we be together on the plane?" She asked anxiously.

"Of course sunshine," I assured her, kissing the top of her head before climbing out of bed.

She followed my lead and and tiredly made her way into the bathroom to shower. I left her to get ready and went to go grab a coffee.

"Is Amalia okay?" Stefania asked, packing a bag for Jeff.

"Yeah she's fine, just half asleep still," I chuckled, using the last of the oat milk in the fridge to make us both a drink.

"She can sleep on the plane, it's a long enough flight," Stef smiled.

"Actually how long is it?" I asked, taking a sip from the mug.

"Just over 12 hours bellina," she informed me.

"What!?" I asked, almost spitting my drink out.

"How long did you think it was?" She laughed.

"I don't know, like 7 maybe," I shrugged.

"It won't be just the bambina sleeping on the plane," Stefania smirked.

"Remind me to buy some activity books or something at the airport. I'll need to keep busy," I said, leaning back against the counter.

"Are we grabbing breakfast there too?" She asked.

"Yeah, I don't want to force Mali to have something before we go," I nodded.

She agreed and finished organising Jeff's things. I finished my drink to go and bring the suitcases through to the front door.

"Hi lovely girl," I smiled, seeing Amalia appear all ready to go.

"Buongiorno bella," Stefania greeted, quickly pulling Mali into a hug.

"Have you got everything ready?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think so," she nodded, gesturing to her case and backpack.

"Good girl, let's get going then," I said excitedly, starting to switch off all the plugs and lights.

The three of us and Jeff climbed into the car, Jeff settling beside Amalia.

Once we arrived at the airport, we parked the car in long stay and headed to check in.
Stefania stood at the desk, organising all the boarding passes.