You Are My Sunshine

Chapter Thirty-Nine: England vs Iceland

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Joe sighed in relief as the final whistle came calling the match to an end; he was pleased that England had won and the match had been a little more difficult than they had expected. 

Starting to leave the pitch, Joe couldn't help but think about his plans for the evening and smile; he wanted nothing more than to relax with his girlfriend and daughter. 

It was strange to think that things were working so well for them and Joe hoped that some quiet time was going to be good for them; he was tired of sneaking about and was pleased that Roy had agreed to give the team some time with their families. 

They could all do with a break and Joe wasn't the only one who was sneaking about to see his loved ones, most of the team was doing so and Joe wondered if Roy had any idea about what was going on. 

Stepping off the pitch, Joe thought about just relaxing and playing with Elena; he couldn't believe how fast she was growing up and he was a little sad about it. 

Soon she would be walking and talking and Joe didn't want to miss a moment of it; he couldn't imagine what he was going to be like when Elena started school. 

The time that he had with his daughter was precious to him and Joe would do anything to have more time with her; he was just glad that summer was here so that he could spend more time with Elena. 

It was going to be hard returning to training at the end of July but Joe knew that he had no choice; he was doing what he could and Gabriella was being wonderful about all of this.

***

"She's getting so big," Joe whispered cuddling Elena close, he kissed the top of her head and wondered how things were going to change; he leant back in his sun-lounger glad that he was alone with his family. 

It was quiet and that was how Joe liked it, he didn't want anything to ruin this for them and he hoped that things would stay this easy; he looked at Gabriella who was sitting next to him. 

She looked beautiful in her halter bikini and matching bottoms; Joe doubted that things were ever going to be simple, there was something that they both needed to talk about. 

Joe had wanted to wait and see how things went, however he felt that he would better understand what was going on in her head. 

"I remember proposing to you Gabby," Joe admitted peeking at her, he wanted to talk about moving forward and he needed to know why she had turned him down; he settled Elena on his stomach and focused completely on Gabriella. 

Staring back at Joe, Gabriella tried to wrap her head around what he had admitted and she felt her stomach turn; she hadn't realised that he did remember assuming that since he hadn't said anything more that he didn't. 

She had no idea what to say for a moment, she had never thought that he would just say it like this; Gabriella was worried about what this could mean for them. 

"Joe..." Gabriella whispered looking down at her feet, she eyed her painted toe-nails not being able to look at him; she felt unprepared for this and she knew that this could change things. 

The last thing that Gabriella wanted was for them to end things because she was still trying to wrap her head around all of this; her talks with Coleen had help but she hoped that she would be ready soon. 

Joe watched her wondering what was going on in her head, he wished that he could make this easier but they needed to talk about this now.

"I'm not afraid of marrying you Joe... just the past repeating itself," Gabriella whispered feeling foolish, she knew that he would never hurt her like Adam had done but she was still trying to move on. 

It wasn't fair on Joe that she kept thinking about how her last relationship had ended and Gabriella wished that she could just move on with her life completely after what had happened. 

They were perfect together and they had Elena, it was everything that Gabriella had ever wanted and she knew that one day that might even give Elena a baby brother or sister to play with. 

"We've been dating for nearly seven months and I don't want us to fall apart," Gabriella revealed softly, she still couldn't look at Joe and she felt better for telling him all of this; she loved him so much and she didn't wish for anything to ruin them, not even her own doubts. 

Joe nodded his head, he could understand why she was worried and he wouldn't ask her to marry him if they were going to just fall apart. 

He didn't even mind the idea of a long engagement as long as there was a future for them together; he wanted nothing more than to keep his small family safe. 

"Then I'll wait," Joe replied reaching out to take Gabriella's hand, he didn't want her worrying and he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with her and Elena. 

Gabriella looked at him surprised, she hadn't expected that he would just accept like that; she had assumed that he would be upset with her for not being ready to marry him just yet. 

Joe smiled at her and looked to Elena, he didn't care how long it took and he hoped that in the end that things would end like he wanted them to; he couldn't imagine his life without Gabriella and Elena now. 

Looking at Joe, Gabriella opened and closed her mouth trying to think of what she should say to him; she hadn't thought that this was how it was going to work out.

"When you're ready let me know," Joe continued with a smile, he squeezed her hand before sitting up a little and kissing Elena; he would do anything for his family and if she needed time then he wasn't going to rush her. 

Gabriella had every reason to be wary and Joe was more than happy to wait for her to be ready, they had all the time in the world and he wanted nothing more than to enjoy the summer with her. 

Leaning forward Gabriella kissed Joe, she couldn't believe that he was happy to wait for her to be ready; she had never thought that he would be so understanding about all of this. 

Everyone seemed to think that they should get engaged right away and Gabriella knew that she wasn't ready for that yet; she wanted to wait until she was sure that they would be okay. 

Especially with everything that could happen and Gabriella couldn't help but think that things would take an interesting when they did finally settle down; she had a feeling that it wouldn't be longer before she did take the next step with Joe. 

Joe returned the kiss before Elena tugged sharply on his hair, he pulled back from Gabriella and he focused on their daughter. 

If it hadn't been for Elena, then Joe would have married Georgina and he doubted that would have lasted long; he would have never realised what a perfect woman Gabriella was. 

He did regret how things had started for him and Gabriella, there were still mentions of how he had cheated on Georgina with Gabriella and how Elena was conceived. 

It irked Joe that people focused on that instead of his happy relationship and beautiful daughter, he wanted nothing more than to focus on that and his life with Gabriella. 

"I think someone is ready for her dinner," Joe mused smiling at Elena, she was beautiful and he was sure that she would be just like her mother when she grew up. 

Everything would work out that Joe was sure and he wasn't going to let anything pull them apart now.