"I can't go on."

Dianne laid dramatically on the floor of the ballroom. It was late. Far too late to be rehearsing. And her body had finally given up.

"Joe, I'm serious. You're going to have to carry me out of here. Everything hurts."

Joe walked slowly over to her and bent down. His knees cracked.

"Ah. Nope. Sorry, love. You're going to be staying there. I can barely hold myself up, let alone carry you."

Dianne sat up slowly. She was certain there wasn't a part of her body that wasn't bruised or sore from their athletic show dance routine. "Ok. I'm up". She got to her feet. "Can we leave, please?"

They had been working ridiculous hours to get their routines locked down. Three routines in a week was a big ask, and Joe was determined they were going to be the best they could be.

Despite the pressure of being in the final, both of them had relaxed as the week had gone on. There was nothing more to worry about, no more eliminations to get through. They had three dances left to do, and they were going to make the most of dancing together.

Both of them were going to miss this. They had fallen in love in these studios and it was never going to be the same again.

"It's going to be really strange not coming here every day" Joe said as they turned out the lights for a final time. Dianne leaned into his side.

"Yeah. I'm going to miss it. But we've got so much to look forward to."

Dianne was right. The future was looking more and more exciting by the day.

///

"Good luck mama and Joe!" Dianne had been told to expect a facetime from Emelia on Saturday afternoon, just before the little girl would be due to go to bed. Joe and Dianne were both in his dressing room preparing themselves. Dianne hadn't even bothered using the dressing room she was supposed to share with the other girls and had just moved her stuff in with Joe. She sat back on his couch and smiled as Emelia waved at them both.

"Thank you, baby. And thank you for the lovely card- I've got it here with me". Dianne picked up the drawing that her mum had posted. On the cover was the strictly glitterball. Underneath, Emelia had drawn herself, Dianne and Joe. She had even labelled them all in her adorable handwriting.

"Did you see what I wrote?" Emelia asked.

Dianne turned over the card and read out loud. "To mummy and Joe. I hope you win. You are the best dancers. I love you. Love from Emelia."

Emelia smiled. "I wrote my name by myself. I know all the letters. E-m-eee-l-i-a Sc-ar-l-e-t-t. See?"

Joe squeezed Dianne's hand as they watched the little girl use her finger to draw out each letter as she spoke. "Oh, you're so smart." Dianne couldn't hide her pride. Emelia was so much more than she ever could have hoped her daughter to be. "I love you so much."

"I love you too. Look!" Emelia turned the phone around and stood on her bed. She walked along it, and pointed to the Frozen wall chart Dianne had helped her put up the last time she was home. "Grandma did it. To help me count down." Joe and Dianne watched as the camera focused on the chart, where Dianne's mum had put a picture of a plane and a photo of Dianne on the days she would be travelling and arriving back in Australia.

"Not long now, Peanut."

"Six more sleeps. That's all." Emelia settled back onto her bed and got under her covers. "I need to sleep now, mama. Say goodnight?"

"Sweet dreams, baby. I love you." Dianne leaned in and blew a kiss.

"I love you."

As the call ended, Dianne turned to Joe. "That was exactly what I needed. Come on, let's go out and smash this."

///

Their routines were all amazing. They had fun, they didn't mess anything up and the judges were handing out some really high scores.

There was a break between the final dances and finding out the results. Joe took the opportunity to head back to his dressing room to have some space. The ballroom was buzzing with activity, and he just needed a moment to process everything. It had been a crazy few months, with some really unexpected surprises, and it was minutes away from being over

"Hey" Dianne peeked her head around the door. "You okay?"

Joe nodded and beckoned her in. He ran his hands over her long red plaits, and down to her waist. Leaning in, he kissed her gently.

Pulling away, he looked into her eyes. "I know it's going to be crazy out there after and so I just want to say this now. I... I don't care about whether we win that glitterball or not. I want you to know how I feel. I love you. If we go out there and we don't win, I've already won something a million times more special."

Dianne could feel herself getting emotional. Leaning closer, she tucked her head under Joe's chin and held him tightly.

"I love you so much."

"And I love you. That's all that matters."

///

"And the winners are... Stacey and Kevin!"

Dianne and Joe leapt up as they heard their friends' names called. Anyone could have won, and it would have been great. The fact that it was Stacey, who he had become so close to, made it even better.

The evening went by in a whirlwind. Joe and Dianne quickly got changed and ready before meeting everyone in the green room for drinks. He was excited to see his mum and his friends. They had been by his side through this whole process, and he couldn't be more grateful. He kept his arm around Dianne as they all caught up and discussed the show.

"So, what are your plans for the week? Are you still going away with Zoe and Alfie?" Joe's mum asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, I can't wait. We're just going to relax. Get a massage, definitely. Eat. Drink. Laze around. It's just what we need, I think."

Joe's mum smiled and pulled him in for another hug- probably the sixtieth of the evening. "I'm so happy for you" she said quietly. "For you and Dianne."

Joe smiled back at her. "Me too."

The audience left and soon the bar was full of just the staff from the show, the contestants and the professional dancers.

Joe and Dianne spent as much time as they could enjoying the party. They danced with everyone, drank with everyone and laughed with everyone.

"OK, I think it's time we call it a night. My feet are finally done." Dianne said, leaning into Joe so that he could hear her over the loud music. He nodded and the two of them began making their rounds to say goodbye to everybody.

They left the room, and walked down the quiet corridor hand-in-hand towards their waiting car.

"It feels weird" Dianne said as they walked. "Like it's the end, but not really."

Joe smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I know what you mean. It's like you said before, it's just a new normal. It's different. We can be together without worrying about contracts or producers or anything. I can wake up tomorrow, with my girlfriend by my side, and I don't have to listen to you counting steps or shouting at me for turning on the wrong foot. And... well, you get the rough end of the deal because you have to wake up next to me, and carry on listening to my crap jokes every day."

Dianne smiled. "That sounds perfect to me."

They reached the car door and Joe held it open. "Come on, then. Let's get home to bed. And then we can see what tomorrow brings."

As the car drove out of the lot, Joe leaned across the leather seats and brushed his hand against Dianne's face. She was staring out of the window and it was clear she was crying.

"Are you... upset? That we didn't win?"

She shook her head and turned to face Joe. Her dark eyes found his blue ones and she blinked her tears away. "No. No, Joe. I'm happy. I'm so, so happy." Smiling, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his.

As they moved apart, Joe smiled. "You are definitely a million times more special than any trophy." He reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

- THE END - 

AN: Thank you to all of you who have read this story, commented or voted. I hope you've enjoyed it. A sequel called 'Ain't This Life So Sweet' will be posted over the coming days.