Poppy's PoV

"What do you mean I need to close my eyes?" I grinned childishly as Calum guided me somewhere unfamiliar. He'd picked me up from hospital and had given me half an hour to dress up - something I hadn't done in a very long time. Bex was already waiting for me to help me get ready, makeup brushes in hand, an outfit hanging from the curtain rail and a massive smile on her face. Kai had a play date with India and Crystal whilst this happened and, even though I hadn't seen much of him today, I knew whatever Calum had planned later would be all the more special with my boy in my arms.

"Hey you." Bex said as she patted the chair and got me to sit down at the dresser.

"Bex!" I moved slower than normal but I made it over to her quickly, throwing my arms around her as I pulled her in for the hug of a lifetime. Recently, it had felt like I hadn't seen anyone other than hospital staff and my family, stuck in the four walls that were my house. Whatever Calum had planned here, I knew i was going to love it. "I missed you so much!" She pulled away with tears in her eyes, nodding to agree that she'd missed me too.

"Come on, sit down, I promised I'd have you ready in time." She wiped her eyes carefully, trying not to smudge her makeup. I plopped down beside her and she quickly got to work, chatting away whilst she put my makeup on. "So, how did the appointment go?" I nodded positively.

"Chemo worked, the tumour has shrunk and should now be able to be cut out. They just want to monitor me, do one further scan and then hopefully I'll go in for surgery. If not, they'll just monitor me." I grinned. Bex clapped her hands together happily.

"That's amazing news!" She beamed, hugging me from behind for a second. "I bet Calum was over the moon too." I nodded happily.

"That moment, the one where the doctor was waiting to tell us the news, really hit home. Whether it was good or bad news, he'd been with me through the whole thing, he'd supported me and Kai more than I could ever thank him for. He is honestly the best thing that's ever happened to me." I reminisced, every single thing we'd gone through he had been beside me for, as I had with him. I felt like we were an unstoppable team and Kai would grow up having the best life possible.

"You two are honestly couple goals, I mean minus the drama." In my mind I pictured Sierra slapping her on the arm but I merely laughed.

"I'd have liked less drama too - trust me." I responded just as Bex finished the makeup and stepped back to admire her work. She adding a setting spray and grinned childishly. "How are you and Ash?" Her cheeks blushed as she looked down at her feet for a second.

"Really good thank you. We've been talking about moving in together." She beamed. My mouth dropped open as I stood up, shocked.

"Wow! That's amazing! You kept that quiet!" I pulled her in for a hug.

"To be honest, and don't hate me for saying it, but your situation has caused a lot of us to reevaluate, I think. Seeing Calum in the state he was, and obviously you becoming ill really made us appreciate how much we love being together and, I suppose, we then didn't want to waste any more time. Time is very precious." I nodded at the sweet sentiment. I was glad that my bad time had made an impact on our friends, to make them think that life is delicate and needs every moment to be one that they treasured. It had definitely made Calum and I think more about our future and Kai's life.

"I agree, it's even changed our outlook. Being sick, and there being points where I thought the outlook was going to be bad, we've realised that time is everything, when the guys go back to tour we're going to work out a way to see him as much as we can." I smiled sadly. As much as I'd hated being ill, having Calum and all the guys around all the time had been a refreshing change to our usual touring life, where we didn't see the wives and girlfriends for months on end, and despite being the tour nurse I didn't get to spend much time with just Calum. This time had given us a break from the craziness and I think we all appreciated it.

"Absolutely! Now get yourself dressed before I get told off." Bex smirked as she handed me a dress and headed for the door. "You're gonna look gorgeous." She said quickly before opening the door and leaving me alone with my thoughts. I wasted no time in getting ready, pulling on this floor length black dress with a side split that went up to mid thigh and some heels. It was the first time I had looked in the mirror and been happy with what I'd seen back, Despite my hair loss.
Another knock on the door took me by surprise.

"Come in." I called, the door opening to reveal Calum in a suit. The grey suit seemed fitted and clung to him in all the right places. Paired with a white collared shirt with a snake design on the collar and shiny black boots, it was the most beautiful look I'd seen Calum in for the longest time, after days of sweats and stress, he now looked relaxed, calm and happy. "Wow. You look amazing." I grinned, taking him in.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." He smirked, swiftly moving over to me and pulling me in for a hug and a kiss. "You look spectacular."

"Even without my hair?" My newly drawn on eyebrow raised. If there was one thing I still couldn't get used to, it was having no hair when I looked in the mirror. Calum put me at arms length, his gaze unmoving from mine. It was in that moment, I realised just now lucky I had been. My life hadn't been smooth sailing by any means but Calum had made everything so much easier and better.

"By now, I thought you'd realise I'm here regardless. Hair is just hair, it'll grow back. But you as a person, you're one in a million."