Under Her Wing

Chapter 104

Danielle POV

"Great Danielle, thank you for coming in to chat today," Stacey said as we all stood up from around the table.

"No problem at all. I'm excited about this," I smiled, relieved that the meeting went okay.

"So you're gonna shadow Peter on his next episode yeah?" She confirmed.

"Yeah, sounds good," I agreed, opening the door to leave.

"Oh Danielle just a quick one before you go," she called back as some of the writers and producers left.

I turned back around and smiled.

"How's Amalia getting on? Is she ready to film next week?" She asked, genuinely concerned about Mali.

"She's doing well, it's a big challenge but she's working really hard. She'll definitely be up for some scenes next week," I informed her.

"That's great, I'll send you all the schedule as soon as possible to prepare her," Stacey assured me.

"Thank you, Stefania and I are so grateful for everyone's support. It's made things so much easier for Amalia," I said, reflecting on the last couple of weeks.

"Just let us know if there's anything else that we can do on set," she smiled.

"Thank you, I'll catch you later," I said warmly, heading out the meeting room.

I quickly messaged Stef to let her know the meeting went well and I was feeling so much lighter afterwards. I checked the time and headed straight back towards my trailer, not wanting to leave Amalia waiting for me any longer. I owed my baby girl a nap.

As I crossed the lot and approached my trailer, I could see someone sitting outside.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion until I realised it was Carter.

"Hey buddy, everything okay?" I asked when he was within hearing distance.

He sat with his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. He looked up from gazing at the ground when he heard me.

"Oh, hi Danielle," he said, looking instantly more relaxed when he saw me.

"Carter is everything okay?" I asked him again, wondering why he was sat out here.

"Ermm yeah," he nodded quickly.

"Just waiting for Amalia," he added.

I crouched down in front of him and rested my hand on his knee.

"Tell me," I said softly.

The young boy met my gaze and a tear trickled down his cheek. He wiped it away as quickly as possible and shook his head, almost to tell himself to shake off whatever was bothering him.

"I just needed to make sure she was alright," he told me.

"You've been keeping guard?" I asked, putting all the pieces together.

He nodded guiltily.

"I knew Mali would be on her own with her therapist, she messaged me yesterday. I saw you leave and had to make sure Amalia was safe. I'm sorry," he said, avoiding looking at me.

"Do not apologise. Thank you for protecting my little girl," I smiled, resting my hand on top of his.

"You're a really good friend to Amalia, she's lucky to have you Carter," I added.

He smiled weakly and nodded.

"Please don't tell her," he said anxiety.

"Your secrets safe with me," I smiled.