Poppy's PoV

The scans had gone ahead and then Sam had decided to take me for a walk down the high street to calm me down. He had 'forgotten' to mention to me before we'd gone to the hospital that the scans I was having were also going to involve small needles taking biopsies of the area whilst they were looking on the scan. In a way I thanked him for it because it would have only made me panic more and I probably would have refused to go into the hospital at all. However, when I was there and needles suddenly appeared, I wasn't best pleased either. He said he'd make it up to me and buy me an iced decaf coffee when we'd finished and he kept his promise, however not long after we had got them, the paps were out snapping photos of us together.

"These and our phone call would make for a very accusatory headline." Sam laughed as he reminisced on when I'd said I'd snuck out on Calum to speak with him.

"Don't worry, it'll probably come out anyway!" I laughed, causing him to giggle too. "This is my life most days now. If a story isn't posted of my outfit, the friend I'm with or the food I've bought, then I've let the paps down." I rolled my eyes and Sam let out a hearty laugh.

"Can't say I'd want to swap places. I quite enjoy my privacy." He pursed his lips and sipped his coffee, shutters going off as he did so.

"Not sure privacy is a thing for you anymore. Just saying." I shrugged. "You're associated with me and the band now. That's it!" There was humour in my tone but also truth in my words, Sam picked up both and nodded. We carried on as best we could with a few paps tailing us for the rest of our trip back to the car. Literally nothing exciting was happening, yet they were with us every step of the way. Once we were in the car, Sam started the engine, connected his Bluetooth and set off back to my place.

"So the results will be back by the weekend, I've managed to book a slot at a time Calum is available too." Sam finally continued what he was saying before we were ambushed by paps. I nodded. "Which means you've got to tell him you had a scan and some samples taken." I sighed inwardly as I gazed out of the window, watching people go about their lives like normal. Mine was like that once too.

"I know. I'll tell him when he gets back from the interview." I said flatly, not looking forward to that conversation in the slightest. Suddenly, Sam's phone began ringing and the car announced Calum was calling. We both exchanged looks as he answered it and Calum's voice rang out through the car.

"Hey Cal, everything okay?" Sam asked politely as he continued to drive without distraction.

"Hey Sam, yeah, umm... is Poppy with you?" He asked, sounding slightly scared of what the response might be. Sam looked at me to check which answer to give and I nodded, knowing this conversation was about to become the one I was just dreading.

"Yeah actually she is. You're on Bluetooth in the car, she can hear you." Sam smiled over to me reassuringly before focussing back on his driving.

"Hey Babe." I said quietly, knowing something must have triggered him to call Sam looking for me. I knew I was in some sort of trouble.

"Did you guys just meet up for a catch up? Or..." he sighed. "Poppy did you have an appointment and not tell me?" He sounded slightly fed up, yet it was laced with fear. He didn't want to be mad at me because of the nature of my appointments but he did because he told me he wanted to be more involved this time round. I had pushed that to the side.

"I'm sorry Cal. I really wanted you to be at your best for the interview, I knew it meant a lot to you all to finally be out there showing people your work. I didn't want you to be thinking about me." I opted for the truth straight away. Too many times had we been caught up in lies that led us wrong. My leg twitched anxiously as I heard him sigh. "I didn't care about this bit, I'd asked to make sure you could be there for the results which will be on Saturday."

"It was my fault too." Sam added. "I'd had a call with Dr Patel who Poppy saw the first time and when some availability came up short notice, I jumped at it." There was silence at the end of the phone and once again we just glanced at each other from within the car, hoping he wasn't going to lash out.

"The interview fucking sucked anyway." Calum swiftly changed the subject. "All he did was quiz us about our love lives and then about three songs relating to the album. He kept pressing for info and somehow found a photo of you both together and showed it live on air. I just played it off that you met for a coffee and catch up but how fucking stupid do you think I looked when this photo shows up and I don't even know what's going on?" I could imagine him running his hands through his hair as he paced. It seemed like a conversation that needed pacing.

"I'm really sorry Cal. I meant nothing but good. I just wanted to get the ball rolling and for you to be there for the important parts..." As we pulled up to our place, I heard Calum sigh defeatedly one more time.

"It's okay. It is, I'm just still adjusting. If I'd have known, I don't know, maybe I could have cheered you up before I left. I just want to be there for you but you're not letting me in." He said, probably forgetting Sam could even hear this conversation. I looked down at my lap and swallowed the growing lump building in my throat.

"I know. Sam said the same thing to me today." I said sadly, knowing it was true.

"Hey Sam?" Cal suddenly changed the conversation back to him and he bolted upright in surprise.

"Yeah?" Sam replied carefully.

"Be honest with me now, do you think it's come back?" Sam looked glazed over for a second, wondering what he should and shouldn't say. It was hard because he really was close to us, he didn't want to lie or spin the truth - however the professional doctor side of him knew it was best to wait until test results were back. "Sam?" Calum pressed.

"You're really just going for the jugular there, huh?" Sam tried to add humour to the morbid conversation.

"Come on, man. We deserve to know." Calum wouldn't give up. My palms were sweating by this point and I had held in a breath for so long that my lungs were burning.

"Whatever I say may turn out wrong. Please remember that. We took biopsies and samples today which we will check on Saturday and then will determine what we do next. But for now, with my brief overview, I'd have to say yes. I really do think the cancer is back."