"Oh, it's been so lovely to see you. We'll come and visit soon. Have a safe flight and we'll call you when you're back. Alright?" Rina brushed Emelia's hair behind her ear.
Turning to Dianne, Rina pulled her into her arms and kissed her cheek. "I'll miss you too, my big girl" she whispered. "But I know you're going back home. Where you belong."
Dianne nodded. She hated this bit. Hated the goodbyes. "I know. It's good. It's good that it's definitely my home now."
"It is. And we'll see you before you know it."
As Rina hugged Dianne again, Mark picked Emelia up and held her on his hip.
"You're getting too big for me to do this."
Emelia giggled. "Or maybe you're getting too old."
Mark gasped. "You're so cheeky. Right, peanut. Give grandpa a cuddle. I'll see you soon. Be good for your mama and Joe, alright?"
Emelia nodded and embraced her grandfather. "I'll try and be good" she whispered. Joe noticed she had her fingers crossed behind her back as she said it. He poked her and pointed his eyes down.
"I mean, I'll definitely be good?" she grinned.
"Better" Joe said smiling. Turning to Mark, he held his hand out. "It was nice to see you again, mate. Thank you so much for having us. It's been such a great time. I'm sorry we can't stay longer, but duty calls. And Emelia's got to get back to school."
Mark smiled as he shook Joe's hand. "I understand. It's been nice to see all of you. Keep looking after my girls, yeah?"
"Definitely. Don't worry about that."
"OK. Let's get through security," Dianne said as she checked the time. "Joe will get antsy if we're not at the gate the minute it opens". She grinned over at her boyfriend.
"I would disagree, but we all know it's true" Joe admitted. "Right, let's get going. See you soon."
The three of them waved at Mark and Rina one final time as they made their way into the main body of the airport.
///
"OK, Peanut. We're here."
Dianne turned to the back of the car, smiling as she realised her daughter was fast asleep. Joe got out of his seat and walked around, opening the door and unbuckling the seatbelt. He pulled Emelia up into his arms, carrying her carefully towards the front door.
The door opened. Joe held his finger up to his lips as Zoe smiled at them.
She laughed softly. "I was about to say the same thing" she whispered, "I've just got Angus to sleep. Do you want to put her in the spare room?"
Joe carried Emelia into his sister's house, carefully navigating the stairs. Pushing open the door to the spare bedroom, he placed her on the bed and pulled off her shoes.
"I told you she always falls asleep on long car journeys" Dianne said as she watched Joe get her daughter ready for bed. "I know it's only the afternoon, but she might actually sleep through. She looks like she needs it. Bless her, you get over the jet lag from the flight out, and then it's time to come home and do it all again."
Zoe, who had followed them upstairs, smiled. "Don't worry. I'm on newborn baby time. I don't even know what time zone I'm in. So, whenever she wakes up, I'll probably be awake too."
Dianne patted Zoe's shoulder. "Are you doing OK?"
Zoe nodded. "I'm exhausted. But I'm loving it. It's just... newborns like attention, don't they?"
Dianne chuckled softly. "I remember it well."
Joe walked back out of the bedroom, pulling the door closed. "She might be a bit confused when she wakes up. She knew we were coming straight here, but obviously she's been on a plane for basically a whole day."
"She'll be alright. Bless her."
Joe and Dianne carefully made their way back downstairs, following Zoe into the kitchen. Alfie smiled at both of them as they walked in.
"Alright, where's the little one?" he asked.
"Yours or mine?" Dianne asked. "Wow, that feels weird to say."
Alfie smiled. "Yours. I know where mine is. He doesn't move much."
"She's fast asleep. Joe had to carry her out the car."
"Bless you. I bet you're all knackered" Zoe said sympathetically.
Joe nodded. "We're probably about the same as you. I think we both managed to get some sleep on the plane, but not loads. Emelia was overtired and a bit crazy. Which is usually fine when we're at home. But when you're having to entertain a hyperactive child in a tin can in the sky, it's not great".
Dianne laughed. "Welcome to parenthood, guys. And thanks for offering to babysit." She grinned at Zoe and Alfie.
Alfie smiled. "It's no bother. Especially if she's old enough to make coffee."
Dianne nodded. "Honestly, teaching her to make a cup of coffee is one of my proudest parenting achievements. She does a good tea, too."
"Excellent. In that case, she's more than welcome to stay until Angus starts school."
///
"Di, are you ready?"
Joe waited at the bottom of the stairs.
The whole point of them dropping Emelia off at Zoe's was that they had been invited to spend New Year's Eve at Stacey's house in Brighton. She was having a huge party, and of course, she had asked Joe and Dianne. They had organized their flights back from Perth so that they would definitely be able to make it, and Zoe had offered for them all to stay to make it easier.
Dianne walked down the stairs, dressed in ripped, black jeans, boots, a loose white shirt and leather jacket. Her hair was curled, her eye makeup dark.
"Wow" Joe let the words in his head slip out his mouth. "You look hot".
Dianne grinned. "So do you. You know I love it when you wear your glasses."
Joe took her hand and pulled her into his body, kissing her forehead. "Come on, beautiful. Let's leave these guys in peace and go and party with the Dooley."
Zoe appeared in the hallway, Angus in her arms. "You guys look great" she said with a smile. "Here's the spare key. Just let yourselves in when you get back."
"Perfect. Thank you. See you later." Joe bent closer to his nephew, stroking his cheek. "See you later too, no doubt. Little sleep thief."
Dianne smiled at the interaction, before carefully hugging Zoe. "See you in a bit. Emelia might want something to eat if she wakes up. I don't actually remember the last time we fed her. Whoops."
Zoe smiled, bouncing on her feet as she cradled her son. "Don't worry about that. I've got a fridge full of Christmas food still."
Joe smiled. "Just don't feed her after midnight."
Dianne rolled her eyes. "That's my daughter you're talking about. She's a child, not a gremlin."
Joe turned back to Zoe. "I just don't think it's worth the risk."
Zoe rolled her eyes, patting Angus' back as she held him. "Go on. Get out of here. Have a good time."
///
"JOE SUGG!" Stacey shouted as they walked into her house. "Come here!"
Stacey pulled Joe in a tight hug before turning to Dianne. "Lady Di! My beautiful woman" she swayed as she spoke. "You're so BROWN!"
Dianne laughed. "G'day, Stace." She pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. "You look like you're having a good time."
Stacey smiled. "I am. A very good time. Right, let me get you a drink. What do you want?"
"I'll have a glass of red, please" Joe said, surveying the crazy amount of bottles Stacey had laid out in her kitchen. "Di, what do you want?" he asked.
"Erm..." she took a moment to think. "I might just have a diet coke, actually. I'm slightly concerned about what happens when jet-lagged Dianne drinks alcohol and I don't really want tonight to be the night we find out."
Joe smiled and passed her a can. "Well, jet-lagged Joe is definitely drinking."
Dianne laughed. She knew he would only probably last one or two drinks before he ended up either changing to water or passing out. Only time would tell which one it would be.
Joe sipped his wine slowly as they mixed with everyone else at the party. There were plenty of familiar faces, and it was nice to catch up. The DJ Stacey had hired was amazing, and Dianne spent most of her time on the dancefloor with the Strictly friends who had also been invited.
"Are you not doing the tour this year, then?" Kevin asked as he danced with her.
Dianne shook her head. "Not this year. I... I wanted a break. I'm getting old, Kevi!"
Kevin laughed. "You're joking, right? You're only 30!"
Dianne grinned. "A little bit. But between us", she smiled as Kevin leaned close enough to hear her over the music, "I think I might be done with Strictly for a while".
Kevin stepped back and raised an eyebrow. "Any reason?"
Dianne shrugged. "It's just a lot. A lot of time away from home. Away from Emelia and Joe. That last season just showed how hard it is to juggle everything. Joe agrees. So, I think it might be time to walk away. At least for a while."
"Fair enough. Does anyone know yet?"
Dianne shook her head. "No. It's, uh, it's not something I've talked about with anyone. Can you keep it to yourself?"
Kevin nodded and squeezed her shoulder. "Of course. You don't even need to ask."
///
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! Happy new year!"
Dianne smiled as Joe held her, kissing her deeply. It was funny how, one year on from people finding out about them, she didn't care who saw them kiss. They were in love. They were happy. She wanted the world to know that.
"Happy new year, Dianne" Joe said, smiling at her as their foreheads rested together.
"Happy new year, Joseph. Let's have another one like last year, yeah?"
Joe wrapped his arms around her waist. "Definitely. Even better than last year."
Dianne grinned up at him. "I don't know if that's possible, but we can certainly try."
As Auld Lang Syne rang out, Stacey made her way around the room wishing her guests a happy new year. She approached Dianne and hugged her close.
"Happy new year, gorgeous!" she said, clearly drunk. Dianne giggled. "Happy new year, Stace." Stacey turned to Joe, swaying on her feet. "You've got to look after this one, Joe Sugg." She pointed at Dianne as she spoke. "She's an angel. An actual angel sent from heaven."
Joe brushed his hair off his face. "I know. I'm a lucky boy."
Stacey grinned, nodding. "You gonna put a ring on it, Joseph?" she said into Joe's ear as she hugged him close.
Joe smiled as they pulled apart. "I think so."
"Good boy."
Joe rolled his eyes as Stacey walked off. Dianne squeezed his hand, getting his attention.
She looked over at Stacey, and then back at Joe with a confused expression. "She OK?"
Joe laughed. "She's fine. Just Stacey being Stacey."
///
"Jesus, that champagne's gone right to my eyelids" Joe said as they sat in the taxi on the way back to Zoe's house.
Dianne nodded. "Is it the champagne or the fact that we got off a 17-hour flight at lunchtime?"
"Both?"
Dianne smiled. "This is why I didn't want to drink. I'd probably have curled up on Stacey's sofa and just nodded off."
"Like a cat" Joe said with a grin. "Awwh, like a little red-haired kitten. Red panda. Red... roses."
"Joe, what are you on about?" Dianne laughed. "You're talking absolute shit".
She smiled as she noticed the taxi driver laughing at their interaction.
When the car pulled up, Dianne unbuckled her seatbelt and walked around the car, pulling Joe up from his seat and holding his hand as they walked across the driveway back to Zoe's house.
"Come on. Nearly bedtime." Dianne felt Joe grow heavier as they walked across the gravel. She carefully slid in the key into the heavy door and turned it. The hallway was dark, and she slipped off her shoes, before helping Joe out of his.
"Mate, I'm not carrying you. Come on."
Joe mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, before shaking himself awake and walking up the stairs. He found the door to their bedroom for the night and pushed it open. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he unzipped his jeans and wriggled out of them, kicking his socks off and pulling his top over his head at the same time. Within seconds, he was laid back in the middle the bed in his boxers, arms and legs out wide, open-mouthed and snoring loudly.
"Ah, the romance never ends", Dianne groaned. Joe only snored when he was drunk. She couldn't complain, but when she needed sleep, it was annoying. Plus, there was no way she could comfortably sleep with him starfishing like that. Luckily, she had another option.
Quickly changing into pyjamas, Dianne tiptoed down the corridor to the other spare bedroom where Emelia was sleeping. Pulling back the covers, Dianne slipped in next to her daughter, hoping that she would be blessed with a few hours of undisturbed sleep.
Emelia rolled over, snuggling close and sighing as she grabbed a handful of her mother's loose t-shirt. Dianne couldn't help but feel a rush of hormonal warmth; the habit of Emelia grabbing at her top was something that had stayed with her since she was a baby. She used to do it when Dianne was breastfeeding her. Clearly, something about it was comforting. For both of them.
Dianne turned her head to press a kiss to Emelia's hairline. "I love you so much" she whispered. "So, so much."
Emelia mumbled a response, definitely still asleep, as Dianne settled into her pillow and closed her eyes.