The Footballer's Girlfriend

Part Three - Chapter Fourteen: The Copa del Rey

Eliana couldn't keep the smile off her face as she looked at the score, she had wanted to be there at the Mestalla in Valencia but she hadn't been able to go; she whispered softly to Elsa knowing that it had been hard enough for Cristiano not being able to play. 

The only consolation that he would have was that Real Madrid had still been able to defeat their all-time rivals, Barcelona; it had been a good match and the celebrations would last long into the night. 

Cristiano looked happy enough on the television but Eliana knew that some small part of him was still upset that he wouldn't be able to play; he was already pushing himself to be back for the Champions League final. 

"Is that papa?" Eliana whispered to Elsa, they had stayed behind in Madrid because Eliana had a check-up since she was twenty-two weeks now and things were still going well. 

The midwife was pleased with the progress that Eliana was making even if the baby was still growing at a large rate and she had a feeling that there would be no avoiding the course that the midwife wanted to take. 

"Papa," Elsa whimpered pouting, her eyes fixed on the television as she watched her father with his team-mates; she had stayed up a little later than usual to watch the match with her mother. 

Eliana kissed the top of Elsa's head and focused back on the television, she couldn't believe that the team were doing so well and she was hopeful that they could win everything else as well. 

"Papa will be home soon," Eliana murmured knowing that there was no way that Cristiano would want to stay away from his family after tonight. 

The team still had matches to play and there was no way that Cristiano was going to want to risk causing more injury to himself than needed; he wanted to be able to play again and soon.

***

Quietly closing the front door behind him, Cristiano sighed relieved to be home again even if it was a little later than expected; the team were all so happy and so was he even if he didn't get to play in the match. 

It had hurt sitting on the bench watching the match but he had known it was for the best, Cristiano was however determined to make sure he was playing for the next final that they played in. 

He wanted to make Eliana and Elsa proud of him, he would do anything to make that happen and he knew that he was taking a big risk by pushing himself to be fit again. 

Quietly setting his keys on the side, Cristiano slipped off his shoes not wanting to wake his pregnant wife or daughter; he still couldn't believe how well the season was going right now and he wanted to help them win. 

Moving up the stairs to bed, Cristiano moved as quietly as he could, thinking about the match; he was proud of his team and he just wished that he had been able to help them win it. 

Reaching the top of the stairs, Cristiano paused for a moment wanting to check in on Elsa; a small smile formed on his face as he thought about his little girl, he couldn't believe that she was going to be a big sister soon. 

Cristiano stepped into the bedroom and smiled walking over to wear Elsa slept, he watched her sleeping knowing that in a few more months his son was going to be born. 

Making sure that Elsa was covered up in her blanket, Cristiano couldn't believe how lucky he was and he knew that this was everything that he had ever wanted. 

It was strange to think about how bumping into Eliana had changed his entire world, Cristiano had never thought that he would settle down and have a family. 

He was so happy and Cristiano wouldn't change any of this for the world, Eliana and Elsa were everything to him and he couldn't imagine his life without them.

"Papa loves you," Cristiano whispered pressing a kiss to the top of Elsa's head, he couldn't imagine his life without his family; he had come so far and he couldn't wait until his son was born. 

Everything was falling into place and he was starting to feel more confident about what was going to happen when the little boy was born; Cristiano was doing so much research on what would happen if they did go down the route of having caesarean section. 

Cristiano watched Elsa for another moment before he quietly left the room and headed to the bedroom, he would do anything for his family and he was sure that Eliana would always be there for him. 

Stepping into the bedroom, Cristiano smiled watching Eliana sleep and his eyes lingering on the bump that she carried; he couldn't believe how big she was getting and he knew that was all down to his son. 

The baby was going to be big one and Cristiano could only hope that Eliana would be okay for the rest of her pregnancy; he wanted nothing more than to help her in any way that he could. 

Starting to remove his suit, Cristiano tried to be as silent as possible while he changed in the dark; he couldn't wait to cuddle in bed with his wife after a long day away from her. 

The bedroom light flicked on and Cristiano froze before slowly turning around to look at Eliana who was moving to sit up in bed; he hadn't wanted to wake her and it was pretty late at night. 

"You're home?" Eliana mumbled running her fingers through her hair, she hadn't meant to fall asleep but the pregnancy was draining her a little bit; she had wanted to see him when he came home from the trip to Valencia. 

Cristiano nodded his head, he walked over to Eliana and kissed her knowing that he would have loved to have had her with him but it hadn't been possible; he was sure the appointment had gone well.

Enjoying the kiss that they shared, Eliana couldn't keep the smile off her face knowing that he had missed her; she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close before he pulled away. 

"I didn't want to wake you," Cristiano murmured brushing his fingers through her hair, he watched her knowing that this couldn't be easy for her; he couldn't wait for the holidays to come and he could spend more time with Eliana before their son was born. 

Eliana shook her head, she had hoped that she could stay awake and greet him, she had been so happy for him even if he didn't play; she was sure that the injury was going to go away in time. 

"Congratulations," Eliana said smiling tiredly, she couldn't imagine how he felt right now and she was sure that he would get the chance to win something with the team. 

It couldn't have been easy for him having to watch from the bench and Eliana was so proud of him for not forcing himself to play that night; she just hoped he would take some time to really recover. 

There was so much coming up in the next couple of months and Eliana had a bad feeling that Cristiano might try and rush his recovery to be what people wanted him to be. 

Cristiano ducked down and kissed Eliana, he carefully slipped into bed with her knowing that he would rather be here with her than win any trophies. 

Eliana meant everything to him and Cristiano had been thrilled when Jorge had announced that Spanish Vogue was interested in having the couple do a feature for them. 

It would mark the first campaign that Cristiano and Eliana had worked on together since they had met at their Armani shoot.