You Are My Sunshine

Chapter Twelve: Growing Closer

Gabriella smiled stepping into her apartment, she was happy to be home even if she had missed going to work for a while; things were still rough but the trouble that Georgina had caused was finally dying down. 

It did actually help that Joe was now living with her and was seen being so supportive with her pregnancy, he had been photographed getting a lot of baby stuff in and it warmed Gabriella's heart. 

"How was work?" Joe asked poking his head out of the kitchen, he had been making dinner and he was pleased that things had settled into such an easy routine between them. 

It gave Joe a little bit of hope that things would be okay when their daughter was born, he was looking forward to the moment that he got to hold her in his arms for the first time. 

"It was good," Gabriella replied shrugging off her coat, she hung it up by the door and slipped off her flats; she was glad that she wasn't wearing heels anymore. 

Gabriella had no idea how some women continued to wear them until they gave birth, her feet were starting to swell up and standing for long periods of time was a little difficult. 

Joe nodded her head, he watched Gabriella for a moment and he was pleased that she seemed so happy not compared to how things had been when he first moved in. 

Practically all his things were now in the bedroom that he had here, Joe barely went to his own house anymore instead he favoured spending time here with Gabriella and preparing for the birth of their daughter. 

"Dinner smells nice," Gabriella commented turning her attention to Joe, she was starving and was pleased that it seemed that dinner was nearly done; she had come to enjoy him cooking for her sometimes. 

Joe nodded his head, he had been home for a little while and he hadn't been able to resist cooking for Gabriella; he liked being able to help her in some small way even if it wasn't much.

***

Joe watched Gabriella curiously as she worked on her laptop, she looked so relaxed and he knew that it had been a while to get her to that point; work was still crazy and he wanted everything to be settled completely soon. 

"What are you doing?" Joe asked setting down his mobile, he couldn't help but be curious and the small smile on Gabriella's face made her look so happy. 

Gabriella stopped what she was doing and blinked, she looked at Joe a little surprised that he was asking; she slowly saved her work so that she didn't lose anything. 

"Just working on some details," Gabriella replied softly, she loved her job and she knew that it would be strange for her when she was on maternity leave; she had only just started back up after what had happened. 

Joe nodded his head, he moved closer to Gabriella wanting to hear more; he had never really thought about how much work she must do for one event. 

"It's for a vow renewal... they've been together for sixty years," Gabriella explained a little, it seemed so strange to her that someone could be together for that long; she couldn't remember the last time she'd even been on a date. 

Joe blinked a little surprised, he had planned on marrying Georgina at some point but he could never imagine being married to her for that long; it made him realise just how mix-matched he and Georgina had been. 

"That's a long time," Joe murmured wondering how they had managed that, he wanted something like that and he doubted he would find it after what had happened. 

Gabriella nodded her head, she couldn't imagine how that felt to spend your life with someone that made you so happy; she wanted that more than anything.

"I know. I can barely get a relationship to last longer than eight months," Gabriella murmured with a shake of her head, she peeked back at her laptop screen and she guessed that no one would be interested when she had a baby. 

Joe looked at Gabriella a little surprised that she struggling with relationships, she was wonderful and he didn't know why anyone wouldn't want to be with her. 

"Have you thought about names?" Gabriella asked changing the subject, she didn't want to talk about failed relationships when she felt a little responsible for what had happened between him and Georgina even if the bad press hadn't been her fault. 

Joe looked at Gabriella confused for a moment, he could sense that she didn't want to talk about the past and he guessed that was a good idea after how they had gotten into this situation. 

"For the baby?" Gabriella clarified closing her laptop, she wasn't going to pretend that she didn't know that Joe had been compiling names for a while now that he wanted to call their daughter. 

Joe blinked knowing that he had been thinking about this for a while, he swallowed knowing that he wanted something good to name their daughter; something that wasn't too odd or too common. 

"I have a couple," Joe mumbled nodding his head, he watched her for a moment and he was suddenly worried that she wouldn't like them; he had done a lot of thinking since they had found out that they were going to have a girl. 

Joe wouldn't admit that he had been planning out names since he had found out, he hadn't been able to help himself even if he had been horrible to Gabriella. 

Gabriella only watched him waiting for him to tell her what he thought, she wasn't sure about names and she wanted some ideas about what Joe was thinking. 

"Harper, Arden, Blake, Elena, Jordana," Joe murmured feeling self-conscious about the names that he had picked, he wanted nothing more than to have a good name saved for their daughter.

Gabriella nodded her head, they were interesting names and it did give her something to think about when it came to names; she had already made one decision and she wanted it to be a surprise for Joe. 

"I like them," Gabriella comforted seeing how worried Joe was, she liked the names and they still had a little time to think about all of this; she wanted nothing more than to be prepared a little. 

Joe had no idea what he was going to do when his daughter was due in January, he was a little worried that he might miss the birth because of a match; he wanted to be there and he wanted to be by Gabriella's side for it. 

"Have you had any thoughts on the surname?" Joe asked softly, he wasn't sure what Gabriella had planned in that department; he would completely understand if she wanted to give their daughter her surname and not his. 

Gabriella watched Joe for a moment, things were always going to be odd between them and she knew what she wanted to do; she wondered what Joe would have to say when she told him. 

"Yours," Gabriella said smiling at Joe, she wanted their daughter to share the same surname as her father; it seemed the right thing to do and she couldn't deny Joe this after everything. 

Joe stared at Gabriella for a moment, he smiled before giving her a hug surprised that she wanted their daughter to be a Hart; he would have been fine if she'd been an Evans like her mother. 

"Thank you," Joe whispered not knowing what he had done to deserve this, he had brought nothing but trouble to Gabriella and still she allowed him to be a part of her pregnancy and their daughter's life.