From now on

Chapter seventeen

"Psst."

Emelia poked her head through the door, letting some more light into the room that was already lit by the natural Australian sunshine that was seeping through the gap in the curtains.

She spoke in a whisper. "Are you awake?

Dianne, who had fallen asleep on Joe's shoulder early last night, was indeed awake and laying on her phone, still cuddled up to Joe baring in mind. Joe, on the other hand, was still very much asleep as he had gone up roughly the same time as her parents.

"Yeah, but Joe's still asleep." She said, Emelia nodding.

She wriggled aside, making enough room for the small child between them and patted the space which Emelia soon filled, carefully crawling inside the covers.

Dianne also whispered. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long. I came in as soon as I woke up. You fell asleep on Joe last night, before me." She quietly giggled.

Dianne nodded, playing with the ends of Emelia's hair as she sighed contently. She had her baby girl, tucked in with her and Joe, a peaceful morning and even the birds singing sweetly outside. Of course, this was before the Buswell chaos ahead, but it was nice just to have some quiet time with the two of them.

Emelia turned over, watching Joe sleep and sitting up slightly, looking at his still face and features.

"Joe's got nice eyebrows."

Dianne stifled a loud laugh, whispering a giggle instead. Of all the things she could say.

"Oh you do make me laugh, and yes. Yes he does."

"Mm." Emelia nodded.

She laid back down, seeing her mum quietly go on her phone so deciding to cuddle Joe, as best as she could and resting her little head on his chest, hearing his heart beat steady and rhythmically. He adjusted his arm to cradle her, which was smaller than he pictured. Dianne glanced over, pouting and knowing it was too good to resist capturing this moment, sitting up to take a picture before laying back down again. This was one for the memories.

After around half an hour, Joe stirred, feeling a weight on his side, but not as heavy as he'd imagined. He flickered his eyes open, seeing princess like blonde strands instead of bright red ones, it all making sense. He wiped his eyes with his free hand, not the one that was cradling the kid's side.

He tiredly smiled over. "I was wondering why you were so tiny."

Dianne giggled, watching Emelia still asleep. "Lol. What can I say, you make a good pillow."

"Thanks." He chuckled. "Good sleep?"

"Yeah. I was nackared last night, wasn't I. Was asleep before Emelia. Did I miss much?"

Joe shook his head. "Nah. What time do your parents normally wake up, may I ask?"

Dianne checked the time on her phone, half eight. "In around fifteen minutes or so, we've got a little while." Joe nodded.

Emelia then stirred, realising Joe was now awake. "You're awake." She sat up, wiping her eyes.

Dianne chuckled. "We're all awake now. Apart from nanny and grandad, but they'll be up shortly." Emelia nodded, laying back down again. "This is nice. Just us, the quiet, you know."

Joe nodded, smiling over from the other side of the child, tiredly and his eyes a little puffy. After a few moments of silence, just them, and the quiet, Joe was the first to sit up, stretching his arms out.