It takes two

Chapter twenty six

When Joe looked in the mirror that Monday morning, that cold Monday morning, he definitely wasn't surprised by the pale version of himself that was displayed. The entire night he had been pretty restless, coughing, tossing, turning and sneezing, although it was just a rotten cold it still didn't make it any easier.

He sighed, splashing his face with some water in hope to wake himself a little more before drying it, letting out a muffled 'for goodness sake' through the towel. He knew that the Strictly final was approaching, just a few weeks away, being unwell was the last thing he wanted.

Dianne yawned, entering the bathroom. "You alright handsome, by the sounds of things the night was a little rough."

He nodded, mustering a weak smile. "Not the best, but I'll be fine." This was followed by a dry cough, demonstrating that he was in fact, far from fine. "Honestly."

She nodded, not wanting to push anything first thing in the morning. "Ok, you might want to have some medicine or something before rehearsal." He nodded, putting on a bathrobe.

"Yeah, ill also see if little miss is up on my way." He left the bathroom, seeing her smile on the way out before he went into the guest room, starting the usual morning routine.

Once he left, she put one hand on her cheek, resting her elbow on a ledge. She had known Joe long enough to know he would say he's fine for convenience, and as selfless as it was it could hurt him in the long run, overworking to the point where he would just feel significantly worse.

"Morning angel, school today." He spoke as softly as he could, not wanting to sound ill. She began to wake up, wiping her eyes and sitting up like she usually did, yawning and giving a big stretch with her arms.

"Morning. Is mama up yet?" Joe nodded, ironically feeling himself fall asleep. She got up, the two exiting the bedroom, Joe once again giving a dry cough, feeling his voice weaken already. "Have you got a cold? you sound sick."

"Yeah, not too bad though, I'll be better soon." He nodded, knowing that it was probably the case. Boiling the kettle, he smiled. He also knew that the dancing in the pouring rain hadn't exactly helped, but he also knew it was worth it, every moment.

Dianne came out, too in a bathrobe. She sat down next to Emelia, giving her daughter a kiss on the head. "Morning angel, do you know what you're doing at school today?"

"Nope." She shrugged. "I hope we don't do spelling, I don't like that."

Dianne raised her eyebrows quickly. "That makes two of us."

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"Push, plank, climb, climb, climb, repeat!" Dianne said over the music, the two running the routine that lunchtime. Throughout that morning's rehearsal Joe had only gotten worse, his limbs losing more and more energy and his voice disappearing more and more by the hour.

He was trying his best to stay strong, knowing they would need all the rehearsal time they could get, but it was clear to Dianne that dancing could wait, his health was more important, far more important.

She stood up halfway through, having had enough. As much as she admired his work ethic, she couldn't go on any longer.

Joe gave a baffled expression, standing up. "Is everything alright?"

She shook her head, walking to stand opposite him and sighing. "No. I think it's best we get you home and better, you're clearly feeling unwell."

This was the last thing he wanted, although it was what he needed the most at that given point in time. He shook his head, trying to appear as well as he could, not exactly succeeding. "Honestly Dot, I'm fine. We need to rehearse the dance, It's just a cough."