A Month Later
Poppy's PoV

Calum had been gone for a few weeks now, beginning their new album tour around Europe, and I'd officially been ordered to go on Maternity leave. I'd stayed in touch with Leanne and she was doing an amazing job, but there was an underlying feeling of jealousy that she got to be with all my friends and my husband whilst I sat at home counting down the days until my due date and my chemo. Calum was doing the best he could from afar though. I'd been in contact with him daily while we could, before time zones would get in the way of us being able to talk late into the night as if we were beside each other. Despite this, my heart hurt and longed for his presence to be beside me. This was the first time I'd be left at home without him or the band and it was taking a toll on me. Not only that, but my symptoms had got worse over the last few days and I couldn't bear to tell Cal and worry him from so far away. Each day I'd sat at home, like a recluse, and depressed myself by scrolling social media on and off all day. Whilst doing that, I'd seen articles about the guys going out after gigs, how girls had tried to talk to them, how fans had been following them, some articles had been making accusations about me and why I wasn't with them any more. Some news accounts had said I'd gone into labour, others said we'd split up, some said we were on a break following mine and Ashton's 'fling', some fan accounts were tweeting us and asking, others were saying they never liked me anyway... all in all it was not good for my mental health.

My phone buzzing and Sam's name flashing in the top part of my screen was the only thing that pulled me from the downward spiral of media. I cleared my sore throat seconds before answering.

"Hey Sam." My voice was croaky, as if I'd developed a cold within the last day.

"Hey Poppy." He said, though it didn't sound as cheery as normal. "I got your message, sorry it took me a while, I've just been on nights." I ran my hand over my throat to soothe it, despite knowing that it doesn't work.

"Oh I'm sorry Sam. I can speak to you after you've slept if that's better?" I asked, subtly trying to clear my throat once more. It had begun to scratch and itch two days ago and despite all the remedies I could come up with that would normally soothe a sore throat, none of them were. That's how I knew it was time to speak with Sam.

"If it was anyone else I'd say yes but I know you wouldn't contact me without a proper reason." Sam's voice was low as if he was sad. Something seemed to be upsetting him and I needed to find out what was going on.

"Is everything okay?" I pressed. "You seem sad." He sighed.

"Yeah I'll be okay. Just some stuff in my thoughts that's all." He tried to cheer himself up despite it sounding obviously fake. "Now tell me what's up? I have a feeling I can hear part of the issue." He swiftly changed the subject.

"Yeah." I sighed, it sounding painfully hoarse. "A couple of days now, I've had a sore throat and itchy feeling, it hurts to swallow and I've started to need to eat softer foods again." I listed off and Sam acknowledged everything.

"Right." He said swiftly. "I'll need to speak to Dr Patel about this. I mean you're 38 weeks pregnant now, right?" My chest tightened as I worked out what he was going to say before he even said it. Calum wasn't even here to comfort me and tell me it was going to be okay. No one was. Calum's family were due to fly over to us in a couple of weeks so they could help Cal with the baby whilst I had my treatment but I hadn't planned for this.

"Yeah and four days." I added, not that it made much of a difference. The baby seemed to sense my upset and began to dance around, making a smile appear despite my low mood. Somehow this baby always knew how to cheer me up or when to do it and for that I was so grateful.

"I'm assuming you've worked out why I'm asking?" Sam said, knowing that my nursing background meant I knew exactly what people were getting at despite them not saying it. I felt nauseous at the thought of what he was implying and my mind ran with scenarios that could possibly happen.

"Yes I think so." I said, not wanting to say the words. Sam sighed on the other end of the phone, making me feel worse.

"We may have to send you to hospital and bring the labour on. I know it's only a couple of weeks but if the symptoms are like this, we may need to tackle it as soon as possible. Like I said though, I want to speak with Dr Patel to see if that's needed. Let's not run with the idea until we are sure." Sam hesitated for a second. "I'll give you a call back when I know for sure."

"Right. Thanks Sam." I could barely come up with words. "I appreciate your honesty." With quick goodbyes, he hung up snd I collapsed back on the sofa, my emotions everywhere as I thought about the fact this baby may come without any support here for me. No Calum, no family, no friends. There was a very big possibility that this whole situation which is meant to be so sweet and memorable was really, really going to suck.