Keira's POV:
After the Netherlands game, we returned to SGP and we recovered and began our training again for our game against Switzerland 🇨🇭. Today we received our official squad numbers, it was mainly for the players who it's their first major tournament with the team and they are Lotte, Lessi, Tooney, Hannah, Chloe, Jess, Beth England, Hempo and Roebuck. I got my usual number 4 and Lucy got her number 2.
Tomorrow we travel to Switzerland ahead of our game against them. This evening we all headed to dinner. Lucy was trying to keep Ellie from running too far ahead as we walked downstairs and Charlie was of course encouraging her little sister to run faster. I walked with Leah beside me. As I walked into the dining room, I felt two little arms wrap around my legs. I swiftly turned around and saw Ellie in tears. I picked her up immediately and she cuddled into my chest, gripping onto my t-shirt with her little fingers and continuing to cry. I moved out of the way of people going into the dining room and walked up and down the hallway, trying to calm Ellie down. Unfortunately she had started to cry louder and wouldn't calm down as much as I tried. I continued walking up and down the hallway, rubbing her back, whispering to her and kissing her head. "Kei, what's wrong ?", I turned around and saw Lucy walking over to me worry written all over her face as she looked down at Ellie who was still crying loudly. "I don't know, I was just about to walk into the dining room when she wrapped her arms around my legs, and when I looked down she was in tears", I told Lucy as Ellie continued to cry. "I've tried calming her down but it hasn't worked", I told Lucy. "Let me try", Lucy said. I tried to hand Ellie over to Lucy, but she was having none of it and started to cry louder and gripping my t-shirt. I looked at Lucy as we both looked down at the now almost screaming toddler in my arms. "I'll go to the room and grab it and the blanket", Lucy said and rushed off, up the stairs, as I continued to try and settle Ellie. I saw Leah come out of the dining room and walk over to us. "Is everything ok ?", Leah asked me looking at Ellie who was slowly calming down but not a lot. "No, she seems upset about something, but she won't tell us, Lucy has gone upstairs to grab her stuff", I told Leah as I continued to rock Ellie. "I'll go back inside and grab you guys a plate of food" Leah told me, "thanks Le", I replied. She turned around and walked back into the dining room, just as Lucy came into view. She quickly hurried over with a bunch of stuff in her hand. I leaned down to Ellie and said to her, "look what mumma has got you", she turned her head to look at Lucy, stopping the crying. Lucy whipped out the blanket and a dummy, which we only used when we truly couldn't calm her down. Lucy popped the dummy into Ellie's mouth and she immediately quietened. Lucy wrapped the blanket around her and showed me that she had grabbed the bottle too. We both slowly walked into the dining room, and we slid into two seats beside Leah and Demi. Leah turned to me as we were eating our dinner and said "I thought you were trying to get rid of the dummy ?", I replied, "we have been but we only use it when we can't calm her down", Leah nods her head in understanding and changes the subject to the flight tomorrow. "Have you heard we have to get up pretty early tomorrow morning to get to the airport", Leah says to me. I look at her and reply "I did hear something about that, I'm not looking forward to waking Charlie and this little one up any earlier than we usually do", Leah laughs softly. "Oh I'm not jealous of you". My plate was whisked away once I was finished with my dinner and I turned my head to see Lucy and Demi walking away with a stack of dinner plates. I continued chatting to Leah about the upcoming game and the travel day when I felt Ellie squirming in my lap. I looked down at her and she mumbled something I couldn't quite catch because of the dummy in her mouth. "You need to take out the dummy, mama doesn't understand what you're saying baby", she then pulled out the dummy but still holding tight onto it and mumbled "bobble, mama ?", before the dummy went right back in her mouth, "mumma will get it for you", I replied gently, just as I said that I felt two arms lean down on my chair and I instantly recognised it as Lucy. I turned my head around and looked up at her waiting patiently for her to finish her conversation with Demi. Once she was finished she looked down at me and I asked her "can you make Ellie a bottle ?", "of course I can", she replied back smiling and then leaned down to give Ellie a kiss to the top of her head. I watched as she walked away and then saw in the corner of my eye, Charlie racing over to me. She stopped right in front of me and then plopped herself down on my other knee and leaned against my chest. I chuckled and then said "who were you racing this time ?", she took a minute to catch her breath and then said "no one, the receptionist what's her name ?", I replied with "her name's Gemma", "yeah, she asked me to get mum and so I ran here to get mum, where is she?", Charlie finished telling me and began looking around for Lucy. "She's gone to make Ellie a bottle", I told her before asking her, "did Gemma say why she needed Luce ?", Charlie just shook her head before saying, "no, she just said she needed to talk to mum". We both waited until Charlie leaped up and ran over to Lucy who was just coming in the door. By this stage there wasn't many people left in the dining room, just a few sitting at their tables chatting to each other. Charlie came bouncing over with Lucy walking beside her carrying a bottle for Ellie. I stood up and Lucy looked at me confused. "I thought we could go to the chill room". Lucy just nodded and went to hand me the bottle before I shook my head and said "let me give it to her when we're in the chill room, so we're both comfortable", Lucy instantly hid the bottle from Ellie and we began walking to the chill room. I then remembered what Charlie had said and I turned to Lucy and said "Gemma is looking for you", Lucy looked at me about to say something when I got there first and said "don't know why but she just said she needed to talk to you", "oh, okay, well we can stop on our way to the room later", Lucy replied just as we reached the door to the chill room, where Charlie was stood waiting for us. "Mum will you play basketball with me ?", she asked Lucy as we walked in. Lucy replied with "yeah, let me help Kei with Ellie and then I'll be right over, you get it set up for us", and Charlie immediately raced over to the basketball machine. I walked over to the bean bags where some of the girls were sat chatting. As soon as I sat down, Lucy crouched down beside me and handed me the bottle and then leaned down and whispered to Ellie, "night night baby girl mumma loves you so much", and then gently kissed her head and stood back up and walked over to Charlie who was waiting for her at the basketball. I turned to Hannah beside me and asked her "could you hold this for a second ?", showing her the bottle and she instantly took it. I turned Ellie in my lap so that she was lying down cuddled into my chest with her side against my chest, I then fixed the blanket and then gratefully took the bottle from Hannah and showed it to Ellie, "look what mumma got you", she instantly looked at it and took out the dummy and I gently held it and placed it up to her mouth. She immediately started sucking at it, as I decided to hold it for her as she held onto the dummy and my shirt. I then turned and chatted to Hannah and Ellen.
Soon enough everyone was sitting around in some sort of a circle and Rach decided we should play 'Truth or dare'. I sighed at the mention of the game and Lucy chuckled beside me. It started off pretty tame and then Georgia was looking around to ask someone, I looked down at Ellie snuggled into my chest, still slowly sucking on the bottle, she looked up at me and then tried to grab more of my shirt in her tiny fingers. I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. Once I looked back up I saw Georgia had picked Meado who chose truth. Georgia began to say something before Lucy interrupted her and said "remember G, there's little ears around", G just looked at her and then said "who ?", looking confused, Lucy let out a sigh and pointed to Ellie in my arms and Charlie who was talking quietly to Leah. "Oh, yeah forgot about them", G replied before going back to think of another question for Beth. I turned to Lucy and whispered to her and asked her "how did you know G was going to ask something inappropriate ?", she turned to me and whispered back "it's G, she always does it", I just grinned and nodded my head, knowing Lucy was right.
The game continued until someone said "we should head to bed, it's 10:30pm and we have to get up early tomorrow morning", everyone agreed and we started to head upstairs to bed. I carried a sleeping Elleã and Lucy carried Charlie, after she had begged her. As we were nearly at the door to our room, I turned to Lucy and said "you never went to see Gemma", Lucy turned as she opened the door and let Charlie head into her room and collapsing on the bed, falling asleep instantly. "I'll go see her in the morning before we leave", i nodded my head and Lucy carefully took Elleã from me, while I quickly got changed and ready for bed and then took Elleã back while Lucy did the same. We both mutually decided to let Elleã sleep in our bed after her meltdown earlier. Lucy turned off the light as we lay in bed with Elleã lying between us, holding onto Lucy's shirt.
