Third person's pov
Flashback
"Vedi, te l'avevo detto che sarebbe stata in cucina", (See, I told you she would be in the kitchen), Kevin said as soon as he and Ilaria entered the kitchen, seeing a three-year-old Ellie holding cherries in her hand. While decorating them on the cake, she would occasionally eat one, but due to her clumsy, tiny, and cubby hands, the juice would get smeared on her mouth.
Eleonora picked her up and made her sit on the baby chair. "MUMMMIIIII", she squealed, her pigtails bouncing as she shook her head, wanting to get down. "Tesoro, hai fatto abbastanza casino per oggi. Ti ho appena fatto un bagno", (sweetheart, you have made enough mess for the day. I just gave you a bath. Eleonora chuckled, looking at how her previously white sundress now had red splatters on it.
"Il mio bambino disordinato", (my messy baby) and then fed her a strawberry and then ate one herself.
Kevin and Ilaria skipped their way to Ellie. Where Ilaria kissed her red, sticky cheeks, Kevin wiped her mouth clean. "Ellie, andiamo, abbiamo delle anatre per te", (Ellie, let's go, we've got ducks for you), Kevin said while lifting her from under her arms and setting her down on the wooden floor.
"DUCKIIIEE", Ellie squealed again and was about to run towards the garden when Ilaria caught her arm. "No, no, aspetta. andremo insieme", (No, no, wait. we will go together.) "Lascia che la trasformi in qualcosa di comodo", (Let me change her into something comfortable), keeping the cake in the refrigerator, Eleonora turned around and picked little Ellie up.
Soon Ellie came down dressed in an oversized blue t-shirt and white shorts. Placing her down, Eleonora left for a chat with Camilla. "Andiamooooo", (Let's goooooo", Ilarie shouted and ran towards the garden. "Ragazza stupida," (Stupid girl) Kevingrumbled, holding Ellie's hand as he led them to the garden.
Upon entering the place, Ellie let out a sweet giggle and ran towards the ducklings. When she suddenly tripped and mumbled an "Uh oh", without caring about her scraped knee, she stood up again and dusted the dirt off, again running towards the ducklings with the same passion who were quacking and roaming around their mother. Kevin, who saw this, was about to run towards her, but as he saw his sister, who only cared about the ducklings, he sighed and walked towards them.
The flawless white duck sat in the middle of the garden; very ignorant. She held her neck up high and ignored Ilaria who was poking her neck with a stick again and again. However, when the teasing got too much, she would occasionally quack, as if asking her to stop. "Ragazza stupida", (Stupid girl), Kevin grumbled yet again.
As Ellie approached them and sat, the duck stood and snuggled close to her. "Hehe...Ari, guarda", (Ari, look). Ellie pointed out to the duck. Ilaria in return smiled and smooshed the chubby cheeks of the young one. Ellie then caught a duckling who went around her.
Soon it was evening, and Killian and the men of the house were back. "Zia Eleonora, dov'è Ellie?", (Aunt Eleonora, where is Ellie?) Killian said when he entered the living room and saw none of the younger ones in sight. "Deve essere in giardino con Kevin e Ilaria. Puoi chiamarli dentro, è quasi ora di cena?", (She must be in the garden with Kevin and Ilaria. Can you call them inside; it's almost dinner time?), Eleonora asked as she and Camila went to the kitchen.
Nodding, Killian left for the garden, and when he reached it, his heart swelled with happiness. Ellie laid on the ground with one of the ducklings on her arm, the other trying to climb up. While an irritated Kevin was trying to pull Ilaria away from the white duck, who was still poking her neck. The duck was quacking and trying to move away further.
"Ilaria, ti correrà dietro, se non la smetti di punzecchiarla. Kevin portala dentro", (Ilaria, she will run after you, if you don't stop poking her. Kevin take her inside), Killian said and approached Ellie. He shook her and she woke up with a bright smile. "Kian", she mumbled and leaned closer and rested her forehead on his chest. "Guarda quanto sei stanco. Andiamo, ceniamo e poi dormiamo", (Look how tired you are. Let's go, we are going to have dinner and then sleep), he said standing up and supporting a sleepy Ellie.
After dinner, it was as if Ellie had gotten her energy back and got super active. "DUCKIEE", she would shout around the house wearing her night suit. Camila and Killian tried to catch her. She wanted to go outside and play with the ducklings again, but it was already night, and Eleonora had denied her puppy eyes.
"Sto diventando vecchio. Killian, vai a prenderla da solo", (I am getting old.Killian, you go catch her alone), Camila stated when she felt her back ache due to constant running for an hour.
"Angelo bambino? "Puoi uscire per favore?", (Angel baby? can you please come out), Killian used the softest of voices and soon saw a pair of pink socks peeking from behind the curtain near the big window in the hall. Tip-toeing, he caught her in his arms. However, he stilled as he heard soft sniffles. "Aww.. piccolo angelo, cosa è successo?", (Aww.. baby angel, what happened?) he said and wrapped her in his arms.
"Duckie...boo-boo", She sniffled and leaned on his shoulder. Reaching her room, he sat her on the bed and grabbed the first-aid box. "Boo-boo...dove?", (where), he asked and wiped her tears. Inspecting her arms and legs, he saw her scrapped knee and wiped it clean before placing a frog band-aid on it.
He laid her down on the pillow and turned the nightlight on. "Kian... Duckie", she mumbled and grabbed onto her brown bunny.
"Lo faremo domani, lo prometto", (We will go tomorrow, I promise) and kissed her cheek. Running fingers through her hair, Ellie was soon sound asleep and after a long day, Killian also fell asleep holding her close to him.
Flashback over
Present
They all sat patiently waiting for their order while Killian went to take a call. "Boba... Can I have an ice cream after lunch?", Ellie asked as she tugged his sleeve. "No, Ellie, you already had a tub in the office", Kevin replied.
"Ilarie...", she mumbled, hoping she could help her. "No, it's not going to work, babygirl", Kevin said and turned towards Ellie. "Now stop showing them those eyes. And Ilaria, don't and I repeat, never fall for that trap", Kevin said sternly.
Color bloomed on Ellie's cheeks, and she snuggled into Kevin. "Aww, look at her", Ilaria cooed from across the table. As the restaurant was quite empty, heavy footsteps resounded throughout the room. Killian came and sat beside Ellie, who was now playing games on Kevin's phone.
"Ti ho portato qui per parlare e qui stai usando il telefono. Ellie mi hai fatto male.", (I brought you here to talk, and here you are using a phone. Ellie, you hurt me), Alessandro said as he sat beside Ilaria and fake pouted. "Hai un aspetto orribile, non farlo", (You look horrible; don't do that), Kevin said and glared at him, making Ellie burst out laughing.
Soon, a waiter placed their orders and asked, "Do you people need anything else?", and kept glancing at Ellie again and again. Which didn't go unnoticed by Killian. "Another waiter", Killian clenched his jaw and glared at the guy who realized who Killian was and run away.
Paying the bill, they stepped out and went to their respective cars; however, Killian grabbed Ellie's arm and pulled her towards him. "Piccolo bambino", (small baby), he whispered. Ellie scrunched her nose and turned around. "I am not small", she said, stomping her foot, her ears turning red. "Then you agree you are a baby?", Killian asked. Pouting, Ellie replied, "I am not a baby". Chuckling, he grabbed her and pulled her into a hug, snuggling into her neck and letting out a content sigh.
"Are they going to come or should we leave?", Alessandro asked Kevin, who slapped him on the back of his head.
_______________
Reaching his office, Killian sat on his desk when he noticed a brown envelope. Opening it, he came across pictures of him and Ellie outside the restaurant, at the airport, and at McDonald's.
He reached for his phone and called the number he knew would do the needful.