You Are My Sunshine

Chapter Eight: Here to Help

Joe took a deep breath as he grabbed the plastic food container that his mother had given to him before he climbed out of his car making sure to pick up his bag as he did so, he moved quickly knowing that the paparazzi were around and would have a field day with this. 

Theresa had called Joe to tell him that she had sent Gabriella home from work since she wasn't looking well and she was worried about her friend; the last month had been far from easy on her. 

Joe was just glad that he had some time to come and see Gabriella, Manchester City were keeping him busy and his agent kept finding things for him to do so he couldn't come and see her or check on the baby. 

Joe ignored the shouts from the press, he had little interest in speaking to them and he knew that things were slowly starting to quieten down at last; he could only imagine what would happen when Georgina returned from her holiday in Italy. 

Not wasting anytime, Joe headed up to Gabriella's apartment and he was a little relieved that the press hadn't gotten past the front door; he could only hope that they wouldn't try to do so in the future. 

Knocking on the front door, Joe waited for Gabriella to open the door, he was nervous and he hoped that she wouldn't turn him away; he wanted to make amends for how poorly he had been to her recently. 

Gabriella opened the door and stared surprised that Joe was outside of her home, she hadn't thought that she would be seeing him again; especially since she hadn't heard from him since this had started. 

"What are you doing here?" Gabriella asked allowing Joe into her apartment and closing the door behind him, she tugged at the sleeves of her colour block tunic top; she was a little self-conscious about having him in her home. 

Joe set down his bag, he wasn't going to let Gabriella do this alone and he was determined to make sure that she didn't overdo it; he was here to help her and that was all that mattered to him.

Joe looked at Gabriella, she looked pale and he knew that this wasn't a good sign and he could see that she wasn't putting on the weight that she should have been while she was pregnant. 

"I came to see you," Joe murmured starting off simple, he clutched at the food that he was holding while he hoped that Gabriella wouldn't just throw him out; he was here to help and he wanted to look after her. 

Gabriella raised an eyebrow at Joe and looked down at the bag that he had brought with him, she highly doubted that he was just here to see her; she had a feeling that someone from work must have called him to tell him what was going on. 

"Okay, I might have come to stay for a while," Joe admitted with a smile, he knew this was odd but he wasn't trying to cause more trouble; he was just worried that Gabriella was overstressed and not eating right. 

Gabriella sighed nodding her head, she guessed that she should have seen that coming and she doubted that it was going to make the situation better; the press were going to love the idea that she was spending time with Joe and make things worse for her. 

"You're lucky I have a spare room," Gabriella told him, she had three bedrooms in her apartment and she was slowly starting to prepare the nursery that would be the baby's room. 

Joe sighed in relief, he moved his bag out of the way before he followed Gabriella into her main room; he didn't want to get in the way and he was glad that Theresa had sent her home and called him. 

"My mum made this for you," Joe said handing Gabriella the container, his mother wanted to meet Gabriella but was willing to wait a little while.

Gabriella took it curiously, she was a little surprised that Joe's mother had sent her something when she would have thought that the woman hated her like everyone else did right now. 

"She made grilled steak with sweet potato and butternut squash mash and broccoli," Joe explained knowing that his mother wanted to fatten Gabriella up a little, she needed to put the weight back on for the sake of the baby. 

Joe was sure that their midwife would agree, Gabriella needed to look after herself and Joe wasn't going to let her struggle; he was already planning out a statement with his lawyer to clear up things with the press and correct some facts. 

Gabriella nodded her head, she guessed that she had lost a little weight because of the stress and she was looking a little off; she guessed that Theresa had something to do with Joe's visit since she had been the one to convince Gabriella to go home and rest for a couple of days. 

"Why don't you sit down and I'll sort the food out," Joe insisted wanting to look after Gabriella, he wanted nothing more than to make up for how bad things had been; Georgina had been out of line and he wasn't going to forgive her for what she had done. 

Gabriella watched as Joe hurried into her kitchen area and started to get the food ready, she sighed sitting down at the table and watching him; she hadn't been expecting this when she had come home. 

Joe plated up the food and warmed it up, he was waiting to hear from his lawyer about his statement and he knew that it would only stir things back up; he couldn't let people continue to be cruel to Gabriella when she hadn't done anything wrong. 

Georgina was meant to be flying back to Manchester next week, she was in for a big surprise and Joe knew that she wasn't going to get away with what she had done. 

Setting the food down in front of Gabriella, Joe sat down across from her so that he could make sure that she ate it all; he wanted to make sure that she didn't throw it away when he wasn't looking.

***

"How long are you planning in staying for?" Gabriella asked curiously watching Joe unpack his bag, he had brought quite a bit of stuff with him and he had even gone back down to his car to get a suitcase full of clothes. 

Joe paused and looked back at Gabriella, he wanted to be around in case anything happened and being in her apartment meant that he could be around more when it came to the baby. 

"A few months," Joe replied wanting to be around to help Gabriella out, he didn't want to complicate things and he knew that the press weren't going to let up. 

Gabriella nodded her head, she was a little surprised that Joe was so willing to move in with her; he had been so reluctant at the start and now he was doing all of this for her and the baby. 

"And your fiancée doesn't mind?" Gabriella asked knowing that Georgina was going to come back, she hated the blonde that had ruined her life because of a small mistake. 

Joe gritted his teeth, he didn't know if he wanted to marry Georgina anymore but he wanted to focus on the baby right now so that he could be a real father to their daughter. 

"It has nothing to do with her," Joe replied, he had left his parents in the house that he owed and they had promised to make sure that things didn't go missing when Georgina came back. 

Joe didn't trust her anymore and he knew that sooner or later he would have to meet with her to decide what he wanted to do; he wasn't going to put up with her running to the press like she had. 

Gabriella only nodded her head, she had no idea what was happening between him and Georgina but she did know that she didn't want that woman anywhere near her daughter when she was born.