Till death us do part

'You have my heart so don't hurt me'

January 2020

'It's still as beautiful as ever.' Dianne sighed, looking up at the nights sky. The beach is deserted, and it's nice to just be able to sit here. Dianne loved her family, but she had missed being with Joe, it had been a crazy few days. Him coming to surprise her for the last week of her trip had been the best surprise ever.

She had watched him interact with her family, slotting into the fold perfectly. She watched him interact with her niece and nephew, she watched him with her brothers. He had met her parents, and he was welcomed in like he was one of their own. In this moment, though, it was just the pair of them.

Silence takes hold, Joe and Dianne sitting in the warm sand, fingers intertwined. The gently rise and fall of the waves is making them sleepy, but neither want to leave. These moments are few and far in-between. In this moment, all their problems had disappeared. There had been notable cracks within their relationship, nothing that has torn them apart. Not yet at least, but the cracks are there. They knew that this wasn't some fling, it wasn't a one-night stand. This was love, and they knew that they had to keep with it.

It wasn't Dianne's first time, being in love. It was Joes, however. She had been heartbroken before, had she not picked herself up she wouldn't have Joe. She would be just a normal hairdresser in Australia. It hurt, when he split up with her. She was young, naïve. The rejection by her boyfriend broke her, but somehow, she kept going. He tried to take everything from her, but somehow, she managed to get back on track. She had rediscovered her passion for dance.

Maybe it was inevitable, falling for your dance partner. Joe was a far cry from Revvo, not that she didn't love him! Joe was young, he was attractive, and he was funny. Joe was everything she needed, and from the first day they were put together, she knew that there was something there. Dancing is such an intimate gesture, the way your body moves. It is so powerful, it would have been near impossible for them not to catch feelings. Then it just spiralled, and now they are here. On this beach, together. They hadn't expected this, and they hadn't anticipated how hard it would be on the other side of the dance floor. The cracks appeared to be rearing their ugly head.

'I really love you.' Joe says, out of the blue. He's shuffled closer to her, wrapping his arms even further around her waist. He had made this decision as he was lying on the sofa on Christmas eve, sending a message to Andrew, asking if it was okay to surprise Dianne. They had thought this was a brilliant idea, turning up on New Year's Eve, booked onto the same flight home on the 6th January. The flight wasn't till the evening, they had just over twenty-four hours before the flight was set to depart. The they were going to be separated again, Dianne is going back on tour, and Joe has projects he was working on. Both of them knowing, that, if this was to survive that something has to give.

'I know you do.' The re-head felt his hands on her head, playing with her hair. 'I'm glad you came, I feel like I haven't seen you in ages.' She muses.

'I know, I've missed you.'

'I've been thinking.' She starts, staring into the nights sky. It was now or never, the stars were twinkling, the picture-perfect night. With all of this, she was still nervous about what she was about to suggest to her boyfriend. Once she's said it, she can't take it back. And that's what worried her.

'Thought I could smell burning' he teases, staring into her eyes. He can't really see much, but it doesn't matter. He studies her, as she moves around, trying to get comfortable.

'I'm going to quit strictly.' She moves her hand, as if she's trying to tell him to shut up. 'Something has to give.'

'Why should it be you?' He asks, almost outraged. 'I can-'

'No, you can't Joe.' She pauses, it wasn't just because she wanted to spend more time with Joe, that was only part of it. She knows that once this is out, it can't be taken back. She knows that dance couldn't go on forever, she knew that and chose to ignore it. Yes, it was still her passion, but there was more to it now. 'And I'm worried that if I say this, I can't take it back.' She can tell she's freaking him out now. She's known him long enough, she can tell these things.

'What Dianne, you love dance. You know I can turn down some of these.' She moves her hand to his lips, motioning for him to be quiet.

'I want a baby Joe.' She tells him, turning around to witness his reaction. She can't read it at first. 'I know we haven't been together long, but I want to have a baby. I'm 32 this year, my biological clock is ticking. Please say something??'

'I don't want a baby with you.' He says quietly, as her heart drops. The wind has been knocked out of her, maybe this was the end? A disagreement on the décor is something you can live with, a difference on opinion on kids, that has to be the end?

'Not until I know can marry you. I want you to be my wife.' She sits their stunned, as he reaches around. 'I was going to ask you back in London, I had asked your dad and everything.' He watches as the tears fall silently, he can't tell if they are happy tears or sad tears. 'I want to be able to have all this with you, I want to be able to call you my wife, and the mother of my children. I want to show everyone that I love you, I want to have the same name as you.' He's putting himself out here now, he wants to marry her, and he wants a baby. He wants to show his commitment, to show he's changed from the man he used to be. He wants to prove that to her, he hadn't been expecting this. He knew a baby would be on the cards but hearing her say it aloud touched something of inside of Joe.

'We don't have to do it instantly, but I want to marry you Dianne, I want us to have a life, you and I, and part of that is kids. I might be old fashioned, but I want this with you. I was gonna plan this huge surprise.' He trails off.

He watches, as she takes the box, examining its contents. She stares at it for a moment, before slipping it onto the correct finger. 'I would love nothing more.' She sobs, pulling him into a kiss. 'This is perfect.'

A/N Thought's? Are you ever in a situation where you have a really important life decision to make? Also do any of y'all watch Derry Girls? Or is it just me? I. Am. Hooked.