Calum's PoV

Days became weeks and we slowly adjusted to our new lives with treatment and a newborn baby. Our little one woke every two hours for feeds which we took turns in doing, meaning the other could have more sleep. We also kept napping whenever he napped just to try and keep on top of the sudden change in our body clocks. I'd imagined how hard it would be to adjust but let me tell you it was worse. From being someone who would normally stay up late as we'd have a gig, I suddenly had to go to bed at 9pm because I could barely keep my eyes open. It was so hard to concentrate sometimes, as I was just beyond tired. Sometimes I'd be the one up at three in the morning making a bottle to feed the little one, other times Poppy would be doing it and having four hours of unbroken sleep felt amazing. However, I could easily say the whole thing was worth it. These little brown eyes would stare up at me with such love, such adoration and thanks that it melted my heart every single time. We'd brought a new life into the world, one that was half me and half Poppy, one that we would help bring up and teach about life. It was such an exciting yet slightly daunting time but I was looking forward to every milestone.

I was awoken by the sound of crying, my eyes opened as my body was now ready in an instant any time I heard crying. As if in autopilot, I headed straight for our little boy's room and stood by his cot only to see him fast asleep. It was only then that I really concentrated and worked out that the crying was a lot more feminine - and coming from our bathroom. My feet were moving before my mind had kicked in and before I knew it I found myself in the bathroom where I saw Poppy sitting on the floor, crying heavily. Slumped over, she sat wrapped in a towel with her hair still dripping wet.

"Baby?" My voice was already wobbling with emotion before I'd even seen what this was about. She was always so strong and very rarely broke down to this degree, so I knew it had to be something to do with the treatment. For weeks she had handled the newborn baby alongside her treatment without a complaint. The only thing was the nausea which she told me about just so I knew why she wasn't eating or drinking at that time - even that wasn't a complaint, more of a heads up.

"I'm fine Cal." She said between sobs. "I'm sorry." I stepped into the room and knelt down beside her, her hands cupped as if she was holding something in them.

"You can tell me. Don't shut me out..." I said as I stroked her back with my hand, hoping to soothe her. She still didn't say anything, but the sobs subsided as she held her hands out to me and opened them. I gasped as I saw what she held; a ragged ball of what looked like her hair. My eyes moved instantly to her head, still full of hair.

"It's falling out." She ran her fingers through her hair and it broke apart like wet tissue. There was no strength in it, no shine. Her hair was dying. Her sobs started back up as soon as she held another clump. "I knew it was coming but it's just- I didn't- I wasn't ready." The hair was discarded on the floor as she put her hands to her face. "Everyone is going to know. It'll spread like wildfire. We can't keep our family protected from it." For a moment, I just took it all in, making sure I really tried to understand what was upsetting her before I tried to fix it. Some things were not fixable and I had to realise that sometimes she just needed support instead of a solution.

"So you're not that bothered that your hair is falling out but you're scared the paps will spread stories?" I asked carefully, really hoping that I'd managed to work it out. She let out a sad sigh and a nod. I grabbed her hands and held them in mine, a moment of happiness and calmness flashing in her eyes before she continued.

"Our baby just needs peace, we need peace. I don't want my parents cropping up again because they found out I kept my cancer a secret again. I don't want paps at the door waiting to catch your saddened face or how sick i look. I don't want them doing dumb comparison stories between the band's relationships and how dramatic they've been." She vented, the sadness turning into frustration. Her brows furrowed as she thought back over everything we'd been through; how Crystal and Michael were fighting when paps claimed the doctor she saw was someone she cheated with, they made me and Bex on edge with their claims that Ashton and Poppy were closer than they should be, they painted myself and Naomi to be together and that I'd chosen her over a troublesome Poppy, they'd painted Poppy's past to be a hundred times worse than it was, they'd even recently tried to say Poppy and Sam were together. They were hard work and willing to ruin anyone for a good story and some clickbait titles. She finally stood, slightly wobbly and unstable, as she made her way back to our bedroom. I walked alongside her, trying not to make it look like I was there in case she fell down, as we continued our chat.

"The legal team are already aware and are basically watching for these articles to come about for them to take down." I said, hoping it'd make it better. "And the band will always support you, you know that. Look at when Naomi screwed everything up, they all tweeted about us. They made the baby shower for you and the movie night. We will tackle it together." She shook her head as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"No Cal. I don't want people waiting to help me. I want to sort it out myself, to get ahead of the game." She suddenly sounded very forceful.

"I don't understand baby, what do you want to-" I began but she quickly interrupted.

"I want you to shave my hair. I'm going to post pictures and say I'm trying something new. I'm going to let people know I'm experimenting with different wigs to trial colours and lengths. I'm going to act it so well that no one is going to suspect I'm sick. And you're going to go along with it."