You Are My Sunshine

Chapter Twenty-One: Leaving Hospital

Smiling down at the newborn in his arms, Joe still couldn't believe that he was a father to something so small and perfect; he pressed a small kiss to the top of her head while he waited for Gabriella to come back. 

It had been a long couple of days for the couple with Gabriella and Elena being kept in for an extra day of observation before being allowed to go home; things had been tense with the large number of journalists outside of the hospital. 

"You are going to have to put her down sooner or later," Gabriella teased stepping back into the hospital room, she felt better for being back in her own clothes and she couldn't wait to get out of this hospital. 

Brushing her fingers through her hair, Gabriella was almost relieved that they hadn't had any issues since arriving; she was a little worried about what was going to happen when they left. 

"I can't help it... she's so beautiful," Joe murmured still watching Elena, she was sound asleep in his arms and he knew that he would do anything for her. 

It had been so strange since Elena had been born and Joe couldn't help but hope that his daughter would be okay, he was already dreading the match that weekend that would mean he'd be away from her. 

"I have to go to training later," Joe murmured looking at Gabriella, he hated to leave her and Elena alone but he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to keep his position. 

Things were already tense between him and Manuel, the other man hadn't forgiven Joe for walking out on the team to be there when his daughter was born; even an apology that Joe didn't wish to give didn't smooth things out. 

"That's okay," Gabriella replied knowing that there was little that could be done about that, Joe had a job to do and she couldn't fault him in any way for he had done. 

Joe had been so wonderful since Elena had been born, he had been afford a little bit of luxury that most players in his position didn't get and it was time for him to get back to work.

***

Sighing in relief as they stepped into their apartment, Joe and Gabriella closed the door behind them glad to get away from the flashing cameras that had wanted a picture of their little girl. 

No one had gotten a peek at Elena thanks to the blanket that had been placed over her car seat, Joe didn't want to think of the entire world judging her when she was only a couple of days old. 

"It's good to be home," Gabriella murmured setting her bag down while Joe moved to settle Elena, she had been wonderful on the car trip home and her parents knew that it was going to take some getting used to having her all to themselves. 

Joe nodded his head and lifted Elena from her car seat, he cuddled her pleased to have a moment with her before he had to leave; he doubted that it would be long before the grandparents descended on the apartment. 

Whispering softly to Elena, Joe held her close knowing that he was going to have to leave soon; he wished that the club could have given him just one more day with his small family. 

Gabriella watched Joe, she hated that he was struggling and she really hoped that he was going to be okay with being away from her and Elena a lot of the time. 

"I'll be home soon," Joe promised gently passing Elena over to Gabriella, he didn't want to leave them alone so soon after getting home from the hospital but if he didn't leave now then he was going to be late for training. 

Gabriella slowly nodded her head, she kissed Joe knowing that there was little that she could say that would ease his mind; she could only hope that things would get easier for them in the long run.

***

"Look whose back," Yaya Touré teased smiling as Joe stepped into the locker room, it had been a couple of days since any of the team had seen him but they all had heard the news that his daughter had been born. 

It had clearly been a long couple of days for Joe and the team hoped that he was prepared for the match that weekend; they need to get focused if they wanted to stay top of the table. 

"It's great to see you again," Vincent said patting Joe on the shoulder, he knew this must be strange for him now that he had a little girl waiting for him at home; those with children would all understand Joe's struggle at being away from her. 

"Did you bring a picture?" Sergio asked looking at Joe, he remembered what it had been like when Benjamin had been born; he hadn't been able to stop showing the little boy off and he would be the same when his own daughter was born in April. 

Joe nodded his head and fished out the picture of him holding Elena to show his friend, he had brought it to stick in his locker and he was sure as time went on that more and more would be added as Elena got older. 

"She's beautiful," Sergio whispered peeking at the little girl, she was adorable and he couldn't imagine what his own little girl would look like when she was born. 

A couple of the other footballers all gathered around to fuss over the picture of Joe holding his daughter, the smile on Joe's face was a sight that they had grown used to seeing in the past few months. 

"Just like her mother," Joe replied knowing that Gabriella was still a sore subject for some of his team-mates and he didn't care what they thought; she was his beautiful girlfriend and the mother of his daughter. 

Vincent peeked at Joe knowing that they were all just going to have to get used to the fact that Gabriella was here to stay; Joe looked happy and that was all that really mattered to anyone. 

"What did you name her?" Raheem Sterling asked peeking up from the picture that he was now holding, it was strange to think that Joe as a father now and he really hoped that his friend knew what he was doing when it came to Gabriella. 

Everyone knew that there was no way that Georgina was just going to let this go, she had been coming to the training ground a lot since the announcement that Joe had welcomed a daughter had been made. 

"Elena. Elena Josephine Hart," Joe stated proudly, he loved saying Elena's name and he couldn't imagine a better one for her; he was so happy that Elena carried his name and he was forever thankful that Gabriella had wanted that. 

A couple of his team-mates grinned at how happy Joe looked, they couldn't remember the last time that they had seen him this happy and they guessed it was all down to one woman. 

"Will you be bringing her here soon?" Samir Nasri asked knowing that everyone would want to see the little girl for themselves, they would just all have to deal if that meant putting up with her mother. 

A lot of the players still didn't know if they could trust Gabriella after what had happened, she had been the reason Joe had cheated on Georgina and they didn't know what to make of her. 

"Maybe," Joe murmured suddenly feeling defensive, he knew how they all felt about Gabriella and there was no way in hell that he was going to let Elena be around all of that. 

His girlfriend hadn't done anything wrong and he wished that people could see who Gabriella was instead of focusing on one little mistake that had made him so happy now that Elena had been born.