For All Eternity

Pharmacy

"I want Mummy alsoly," Connie cried, as Joe stretched the neck of her top wide enough to pull it over her head without it touching her face. He wasn't entirely sure who she was talking about so he chose to ignore it continuing to take her pyjamas off. Calmly he picked her up and lay her over his shoulder, rubbing her back whilst carrying her through to the shallow bath he had run.

Joe was feeling tired. It was just about three in the morning and he had had approximately one hour of sleep for a multitude of reasons. One was that he and Dianne had got in from the Strictly wrap party at gone one am in order to get back for Elise. The second was that after crashing soon after he was only to be woken up by Connie crying downstairs and it turned out she had thrown up all over herself in her sleep. Which is why he was now giving his daughter a bath at the most ungodly of hours.

"I dibn't have milky I promise. Or cheese. Or-"

Joe cut her little ramble off, "I know, Con, I think you've caught this nasty bug that's been going around. We'll check your temperature in a minute."

"Immy not been well. He gone home from school."

"You've probably caught it then. No bother we'll get you feeling right as rain in no time," Joe was glad to see she had calmed down a little bit more, as he used the shower head to wash the sick out of her hair. He could see Connie was falling back asleep so he hurried and was wrapping her in a nice fluffy towel shortly after.

"Can you stay awake for me? Good girl," he said, pulling some knickers onto her before wrapping her in a blanket. He laid her in his arms and took her temperature, nodding when it came back high.

"Definitely properly poorly my sweetheart, let's go and sit on the sofa and see if you don't be sick again so we can get you some magic medicine," Joe said quietly, swaying slowly, as he grabbed the sick bucket and sat on the grey chair, pulling a blanket over them. He was humming softly and turned the chair so she could look at the London lights.

About ten minutes later a shivering figure appeared at the bottom of the stairs, "Joe?"

"Just here little one," he spun the chair around to see his girlfriend wrapped in a dressing gown, rubbing her eye. 

"Did she have a bad dream? You've been gone for ages." Dianne asked, walking towards him, noticing he had Connie with him.

"Nope, she's been sick. She's got that bloody virus. I'm waiting to give her medicine. You can go back to sleep I'll be, well we'll be, up in twenty minutes or so," Joe explained.

Dianne sat down next to him and pulled the blanket over her legs, as she rested her head on Joe's shoulder. "Poor thing. She's going to miss that panto."

"I know, but at least she got it now and not on the flight. Can you imagine?"

"Good point," Dianne said, stroking the littlest Sugg's warm cheek with her finger.

Connie opened her eyes at that moment and Joe instantly sat her up, worried she was going to be sick. Dianne moved the bucket into her lap and took hold of her hair- they were like a well oiled machine and it was clear this was not their first rodeo. "Mummy," Connie held her arms out to Dianne, her hands doing little pincer motions.

"Hi baby, are you not feeling very well?" Dianne replied, without missing a beat, as Joe put Connie into her lap, adjusting the blanket.

"Daddy my belly hurts bad. And my heady and my tummy."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you going to be sick again? Can you feel that feeling?" Connie had spoken a few weeks ago about being able to recognise when she was feeling nauseous sometimes.