Unbreakable By Anna Hadland

The party was just getting into full swing when Kian entered the room. Westlife’s 4th Album had just gone in at number one and now they were all celebrating. Their management had hired a hall in a secret location in Dublin and it was packed with family, friends and members of the record company. “You’re late,” Bryan said as he walked past Kian hand in hand with his girlfriend Susan. They had only been going out for three months and Bryan loved her more than anything.
“I thought you said you were bringing a date?” Nicky said walking up to him. Kian looked around him then went back outside. He came back a few minutes later with a girl with bright hazel green eyes and brown hair, which had streaks of blonde. She partially hid behind Kian.
“Nicky this is Cynthia, Cyn this is Nicky,” Kian introduced.
“Hi,” Nicky said with a smile.
Cynthia smiled back.
“Where’s Anna then?” Kian asked.
“She’s sat with Adelle and Shane. You two want a drink I’m just off to the bar.”
“Yeah ok. I’ll have my usual. What do you want?” he asked Cynthia as he turned to her.
“Umm, orange juice please,” she replied quietly. Nicky went to get the drinks while Kian and Cynthia went to sit with the others. Kian turned to look at the dance floor where he saw Mark dancing with his new wife Hannah. They had only been married for a month and had just moved into a new house as well.
Towards the end of the night Mark began to feel dizzy and unsteady on his feet. He thought it was just the drink as he had had quite a few too many. He was dancing along with everyone else, ignoring the dizziness he was feeling. The room was spinning fast but he was determined to have a good time. The girls sat down while the boys kept on dancing. They wanted to get to know Kian’s new girlfriend.
“How long have you been with Shane?” Cynthia asked the tall blonde haired Adelle.
“It must be a good five years now,” Adelle laughed. “About the same amount of time that Anna’s been with Nicky.”
“That’s five years, four months and eighteen days,” Anna added thinking hard about the exact date they got together. Every one laughed. They were all a bit drunk and nobody was surprised when Hot Chocolate’s ‘You Sexy Thing’ came on and Hannah and Adelle climbed onto their table and started dancing together. The other three girls laughed their heads off while a camera started flashing. Shane and Bryan noticed the camera flashes and immediately went over to stop the girl dancing. They realised that somehow a newspaper journalist had sneaked in with his camera. Shane and Bryan went back onto the dance floor as security men took the journalist away. Mark began to slow down, the room spinning faster. Suddenly he was sick and passed out.

Everyone crowded round Mark as Paul tried to bring him round. He wasn’t unconscious for long but when he came round he felt tired but wasn’t dizzy anymore. He couldn’t remember much of the evening either. Paul took him and Hannah home. After what happened to Mark not many people were into the evening anymore. Slowly everyone drifted off home.

The next morning Mark woke up with a big headache.
“Ugggghhhhh,” he groaned. “You wouldn’t do me a favour would you?” he asked Hannah.
“If it means getting out of bed you’re on your own,” she replied.
“I can’t get up I have a headache.”
“And I don’t?”
Mark tried to get up but flopped back down onto the bed. Hannah laughed at him. “I’d like to see you try that then.”

Nicky woke up at lunchtime to find himself on the floor of his bedroom with his pillow on his chest. He had his trousers on one leg and off the other with his shoes still on. He sat up and noticed Anna wasn’t in bed. He quickly had a shower, got dressed and went downstairs. Anna was sat on the sofa reading a book.
“You’re up early,” Nicky asked.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Anna replied.
“Why was I on the floor last night? We didn’t have an argument did we?”
“No. You fell out of bed. You laughed and went back to sleep so I thought I’d leave you there,” Anna explained. Nicky kissed her.
“Have we got any aspirin?” he asked walking into their kitchen.
“Somewhere.”

Susan and Adelle thought they would take Cynthia shopping to try to get to know her. Since they were going to be seeing each other often they didn’t want he to feel left out or anything. As they walked into Gap someone screamed behind them. Susan turned round to see about seven girls making their way towards them. “Uh oh!” Adelle cried. “If they are who I think they are we’d better run.” They ran out of the shop and round the corner, all three moving their legs as fast as they could. They ran for a few minutes until they were sure the girls were not behind them then went into a café.
“Who were they?” Cynthia asked.
“That was Sofia, Line, Jo and Emily with a few of their friends. There are usually more of them,” explained Susan.
“Lets just say they are Westlife’s stalkers,” Adelle added. “They go wherever Westlife go. You’ll be seeing a lot more of them.”
“Then why did we run away from them?” Cynthia asked.
“I can’t deal with them today,” Susan said. “We only saw them last week and two of the others were being rather strange. I’ve never seen them act that way before.”
“What did they do?”
“They were just acting weird.” Adelle finished. “Not what they are usually like. They are usually nice and friendly but they looked rather mean and aggressive that day. I don’t know whether they were drunk or not though.”

“Are you alright Mark?” Hannah asked later that night. Mark was lying on the sofa. His head was still pounding.
“Yeah,” Mark replied. “I must have drunk more last night then I thought.”

Westlife went back to work the next day. They flew out to the UK to promote their new single, which would be out two weeks later. Although Mark still had his headache he thought he could cope. The girls were all working and couldn’t get the time off to go with them. Instead they all booked a holiday to Greece. Just them and no boys. It was a last minute deal and they were going to go next week for ten days. During lunch one day Anna went to see Hannah at the offices where she worked.
“I need to get a few things for next week,” Hannah said.
“You only got some things this morning,” Anna replied.
“I know but I just thought of some more things to get.”
“What else could you possibly need?” Anna laughed. “You just want an excuse to go shopping.”
“You know me too well Anna.” They both laughed and headed towards Topshop.
“You know I’m worried about Mark,” Hannah confessed while looking at a top. “Hangovers don’t usually last long and he really didn’t drink that much at the party.”
“He’s still got it?” Anna said slightly shocked.
“Yeah. He was in loads of pain this morning. He said he was fine but you could tell he wasn’t.”
“I’ve known Mark for years. He never lies about things like that.”

As soon as they landed in Manchester they had an interview and photo shoot. During the interview Mark kept quiet and didn’t answer many questions. He sat on the sofa between Shane and Bryan. When the interview was over Mark tried to get up again. He felt dizzy for a few seconds. The dizziness quickly passed and after a while his headache began to go. Anto watched the photo shoot from the other side of the room. He began to get worried, as Mark looked pale. His worry passed as Mark began to perk up a bit after the shoot.

Things were fine for the next week as Westlife carried on with their promotion. The girls got to Greece to find themselves in a huge villa all to themselves. They didn’t expect it to be as big as it was and it had four bedrooms so they more or less had one room each. Susan decided to share with Cynthia. After they had unpacked they all sat in the living room and switched on their mobile phones. Every single one of them wouldn’t let them phone home or anybody else. “Great!” Adelle sighed.
“Never mind we can still have a good time,” Hannah said.
“It’s still early why don’t we go down to the bar and see if we can find any decent looking blokes,” laughed Susan.
“Trust you!” Anna said.
“Hey!” Susan replied. “We can look but we can’t touch.”
“We can touch as long as they never find out,” suggested Hannah.
“What?” Adelle laughed harder. “That’s coming from the only one of us who really shouldn’t be doing it.”
“Lets go!” Cynthia yelled over the laughter.

Mark and Kian stayed in their hotel rooms while Nicky, Shane and Bryan went out shopping in London. They had been given the day off and the girls had just called from a payphone saying their phones were not working from abroad. Mark was starting to feel unwell to he stayed in bed all day. Kian lazed around in his room watching television and playing on his playstation. It was late when the other three got back and they headed straight to the bar after they had put all their shopping in their rooms. Kian joined them.
“Where’s Mark?” Bryan asked.
“He’s asleep. He’s been ill,” Kian replied. “What did you buy then?” Bryan and Shane smiled at Nicky.
“What?” Nicky asked innocently.
“Tell him what you brought,” Bryan urged.
“I brought a jacket,” Nicky started. “A watch and…” he was cud off by Shane.
“Not that. What did you buy Anna?”
“A ring,” Nicky said.
“What kind of ring?” Bryan persisted.
“An engagement ring?” Kian asked. Nicky nodded. “When are you going to ask her?”
“I don’t know yet.”

“Mark are you alright?” Anto asked, checking up on him that night. Mark was lying in bed. He didn’t respond so Anto went over and shook him gently.
“Mark?” He still didn’t answer so he shook Mark a little bit more. He realised Mark was unconscious and immediately phoned an ambulance on his mobile.

The other four boys watched the ambulance from the bar window. The paramedics were in the hotel for half an hour. When they came out with the trolley nobody could see who was on it. Bryan was taking a sip of his drink when he saw Anto getting into the back of the ambulance. He nearly choked and at that minute Paul came running into the bar.
“What’s happened to Mark?” Nicky asked worriedly.
“Where are they taking him?” Shane asked.
“Can we go see him?” Kian wanted to know.
“Sit down,” Paul said. “Mark had been ill during the day so Anto went to check on him. Mark wasn’t responding so he phoned an ambulance. He’s only just come round. He was unconscious for well over half an hour and they are only taking him to the hospital for checks.”
“Oh my God,” Shane cried.
“Hannah!” Nicky yelled. “What about Hannah. And Anna too. She’s Mark’s best friend. Their phones are not working over there.”
“Don’t worry we’ll find a way to tell them. Lets all go upstairs and have an early night. Then tomorrow I’ll take you all to see Mark before we go on CD:UK.” They left their drinks half finished and went to their rooms.

Neither of them could sleep that night and as they lay in bed Paul was in his room on the phone to the Greek police. He managed to persuade them to go to the girl’s villa and give them all the details and he had taken over Anto’s job for the night and managed to get them on the next flight home, which wasn’t until Monday.

Early in the morning five tired men got into a car and headed for the Royal London Hospital.
“Did you manage to get in touch with the girls?” Nicky asked.
“I didn’t get in touch with them,” Paul explained. “But I did manage to get in touch with the Greek Police and they are going to let me know when they have told the girls. They went round last night but nobody was in the villa so they are going to try again today. I got them a flight to Heathrow on Monday morning. It was the earliest they had going.”
“I hope they are ok,” muttered Kian.

At the hospital they had to wait outside Marks room for an hour while he was still having some tests done. Eventually they were allowed in. Anto was sat next to Mark’s bed. He turned around when they came in. they saw he had dark rings round his eyes. Guessing he hadn’t slept either Bryan asked him how Mark was.
“He woke up last night but went back to sleep and he hasn’t been awake since,” Anto said.
Nicky looked past Anto to where Mark lay in the bed. He was pale and the sunlight he looked translucent. His blue veins could be seen clearly through his whiter than white skin, he was sweating. He was attached to a heart machine which what beeping regularly and he also had drips attached to each of his hands. Kian walked over to him and touched his arm. Kian drew back quickly. His arm felt deathly cold. Mark began to stir and said something but nobody could hear.
“What was that?” Anto asked.
Mark was silent for a few more minutes then repeated himself. “Big headache,” was all he said then was quiet again.
“We have to go,” Paul said to the other four and as they left a doctor came in. As they walked out the door they heard Anto tell the doctor what Mark had just said and the doctor replied that he was going to book Mark in for an MRI scan. They turned the corner and they all began to cry.
“What’s wrong with him?” Kian yelled when they got outside. He kicked a bin and fell to the floor. He buried his head in his hands and started to cry all over again.
Paul’s phone began to ring. He walked a few feet away from the others so they couldn’t hear him. He came back to them a few minutes later. “The police have just told the girls.”
“How are they?” Bryan asked eagerly.
“Not good,” Paul admitted. “An officer is staying with them until they can get their flight Monday. He pulled Kian up and gave him a hug. The others wrapped their arms around each other in a group hug. “Lets go. We’re no good to Mark stood here doing nothing,” Paul added.
“Thanks Paul,” Shane said in the car.
“For what?”
“For being here for us.”

Their hearts were not into their performance of their new song ‘World of our own’. It wasn’t the same without Mark and knowing where he was added to the pressure. It also didn’t help that they knew the girls were alone in another country and couldn’t get home. All they wanted to do was be together with Mark.

Westlife had the evening off on Sunday and spent it in Mark’s hospital room. He had been in and out of consciousness since he had been there but nobody knew what was wrong. He had his MRI scan that morning and were now waiting for the results. They were all anxious and upset when the doctor came in.
“Could I speak to you on your own?” The doctor asked Anto.
“They are all going to find out anyway. It would be easier for all of us if you told us at the same time,” Anto replied.
“Are you sure?” Anto nodded. Mark was out of it again but the heart monitor was going steady.
“I’m afraid that it’s not looking good right now,” the doctor started. “From the scan we found a large tumour on the left side of Mark’s brain. It’s sat under the protective film that protects the brain. It’s pushing against his skull, which is causing him a great amount of pain. The tumour looks like it’s been there for some time.”
“Is…Is it cancer?” Kian stammered.
“We can’t say yet until we do a biopsy,” the doctor replied. “We’ll take him to theatre in a few hours and try and remove it. It’s also pushing on the brain, making him sleepy. That’s why he is in and out of consciousness.”
“Thank you,” Anto said. The doctor left the room and everyone fell silent. Nicky ran out of the room, Paul ran after him.

Paul found him outside the hospital a few minutes later, leaning against a wall crying. Paul hugged him as hot tears spilled down his own cheeks.
“Are you alright?” he finally asked Nicky.
“Nothing can happen to him,” Nicky answered. “He’s like a brother to me and he’s my girlfriend’s best friend. He can’t be ill. I won’t be able to cope if I lost him and I know Anna wont either and what about Hannah?”
“Mark is going to be fine. He’s in safe hands.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Paul continued to hug Nicky until both their tears ran dry. Paul began to have his doubts about Mark too but he had to be strong. They all had too. Eventually they both walked slowly back to Mark’s room to find that everybody had been crying.

At 11:45pm the anaesthetists came down to collect Mark for theatre. As soon as he was gone Paul took the others back to the hotel while Anto stayed behind. Again they couldn’t sleep that night, worrying about Mark.
They were in a quiet corner of the restaurant eating their breakfast in the morning when Paul’s phone rang.
“How is he?” Paul said into his phone. “That’s good…When do we get them?…Oh right…see you later then…yeah bye.”
Kian, Shane, Nicky and Bryan had stopped eating and were staring at him.
“Mark is out of theatre but still unconscious,” Paul explained. “The results of the biopsy won’t be back until later. We’ll go up later and see how Mark’s doing then Louis wants to talk to you all tonight. He’s flying over this afternoon and he’s already had a meeting with RCA.”

Shane, Kian, Bryan and Nicky went with Paul to pick up the girls. They borrowed a minibus from the hotel, as they wouldn’t all be able to fit into one car. The flight was only five minutes late but the girls stood out as they came through arrivals. While everyone else was tanned and brown they were pale with shock and worry. They boys ran up and gave their girlfriend’s hugs and kisses. Paul put his arm around Hannah and explained what was going on. Hannah began to cry all over again. They got into the mini bus and headed straight for the hospital.

Nicky and Anna hung around outside the hospital while every one else went to see Mark.
“Are you alright?” Nicky asked pulling her close to him.
“I don’t know what to think,” Anna replied burying her face in his chest.
“Anna I need to ask you something.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know if it’s the right time. Let’s go and see Mark.”
Mark was still unconscious and the doctor got to his room the same time as Anna and Nicky.
“Well we have the biopsy results,” the doctor began. “I’m afraid we couldn’t take away all of the tumour. We took a small bit to be examined and it’s confirmed that it’s cancer. We can hopefully try to get rid of it with radiotherapy and chemotherapy but it may take sometime. Mark is becoming more and more conscious and if it’s possible then we can send him to Sligo for his treatment. We did however manage to remove quite a large chunk of the tumour so hopefully over the next few day Mark should be completely conscious again.”
“Thank you,” Anto said as the doctor left. Hannah buried her head into Mark’s neck and cried while Anna sat on the floor in the corner of the room. Bryan felt sick and a lump was growing in Kian’s throat.

Three days later Mark was awake and was in an ambulance on the way to the airport. He was going home back to Sligo with Hannah. Every one else had gone home the day before after another meeting with Louis. He was giving them all a few weeks off to get over the shock of what happened to Mark. Then Mark was going to have more time off while the other four went back to work.

Anna and Nicky sat on the balcony to their bedroom. Anna hadn’t spoken much since they had found out Mark had cancer. She was still in shock and spent most of the day crying. Nicky had tried to get her to talk but she would just stare onto space. It was a warm day and the sun was shining brightly. They both sat on chairs on the balcony in silence. Nicky watched Anna trying to keep her tears in but she couldn’t hold them any longer. Nicky went over to her and leaned over her, holding her tightly.
“I wish I could make you smile again,” he whispered to her. Anna held him around his waist, not wanting to let go of him, afraid of losing him like she was losing her best friend.
“I love him Nicky. I don’t want anything to happen to him.”
“Nothing is going to happen to him,” Nicky replied. Inside he knew he might not be telling the truth. He was feeling almost as angry and upset as Anna was but he tried not to show it in front of her.

The plane journey home seemed such a long time. It wasn’t long but it was long enough when everybody was staring at them as Mark was taken onto the plane first in a wheel chair. He still had drips attached to him, which were hooked onto the lockers above them. Mark held Hannah’s hand throughout. She was shaking and had tears stinging her eyes. Still trying to get over it all. Eventually they landed and Mark was taken straight to the waiting ambulance on the runway.

When the results of the Top forty singles came out that Sunday everyone was at home including Mark. They were all called one by one by Louis then they all phoned each other to congratulate them. Anna had started talking to Nicky a bit more and they were all helping each other get over it. Nicky got out a bottle of wine and had rented a video from Blockbuster. Before he opened the wine he went into the living room where Anna was sat on the sofa. Bryan and Susan had come over as well. He sat down on the edge of the coffee table in front of Anna. “I don’t know if there will ever be a good time to do this so I’m going to do it now,” Nicky said. Anna looked confused. “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
Bryan and Susan stared in shock, Anna didn’t know what to say.”

Hannah fussed around Mark. “Stop it,” he said. Hannah began to cry. Mark gently pulled her onto the sofa next to him. “I’m fine. Look at me I’m as fit as a fiddle. And I’m going to beat this thing in me. I’m bigger than what that thing is. I’m gonna kick it’s arse!” Hannah laughed. “That’s better. I love your smile.” Mark kissed her.

“Well?” Bryan asked.
“Of course I will!” Anna said with a smile. Bryan and Susan cheered as Nicky put the diamond ring on Anna’s finger and hugged.
“That’s the first time I’ve seen her smile in ages,” Susan whispered to Bryan.
“As long as she’s happy,” Bryan replied. Nicky went back to the kitchen and opened the wine.
“Don’t forget the popcorn!” Bryan yelled to him.
“You only care about filling your stomach!” Nicky laughed throwing him a large bag of crisps and a bowl of popcorn.
Later on that night Nicky phoned Mark.
“Congratulations man,” Mark said pleased.
“And you have to get better Mark. You have to be well enough to be my best man.”
“You serious?” Mark asked.
“Yeah. I want you right there next to me.”
“Thanks Nick.”

After two weeks off work Shane, Nicky, Bryan and Kian went back to work. They flew over to Asia to rehearse for their upcoming tour. They would be doing the tour without Mark but most of the proceeds will be going to help cancer patients around the world. They were in the studio with Priscilla Samuels their choreographer when Mark went into hospital for his first lot of chemo. He was in for three days. The drugs made him sick. He was given painkillers for his headache but he never seemed to be able to keep them down. Occasionally he was given anti sickness tablets but he would have to go through with this three days a week for at least the next three months. To begin with Mark thought he wouldn’t be able to cope but he was determined to get better and stuck with it. He wanted to get better for Hannah’s sake. He didn’t want to let Nicky down either.

Cynthia didn’t really know everyone very well but she wanted to try and cheer everyone up. While Mark’s mum was with him she paid for herself, Hannah, Anna, Adelle and Susan to go see Men in Black 2. Then afterwards they went out for a bit of retail therapy then sat in a café for a drink and a long chat.
“How are coping?” Adelle asked Hannah.
“I’m doing better actually,” Hannah answered. “I’m more used to it now and Mark is determined to get rid of it. His determination is kind of making me strong in a way.”
At that moment Emily, Jo, Sofia and Line spotted them and came up to them.
“We know you won’t want us hanging around right now,” Line said. “But could you give this to Mark?” She held out an envelope and parcel.
Adelle took it from her. “Sure,” she said.
“Thank you,” said Jo. The girls then walked out of the café.
“They’re not bad really,” Susan said.
Emily stuck her head back round the door. “Oh by the way,” she said. “Congratulations Anna.” Then she left again.
“Mark felt better last night so we did a few things we haven’t done for a while,” Hannah winked.
“No!” Anna laughed sticking her hand in the air. “I don’t want to know the details thanks.”
“I hope this works,” Adelle said.
“What are we here for?” Cynthia said. “To mope about something that isn’t going to happen or to have fun? Lets go to the fair down the road. It’s only going to be open another two days.”

As the weeks went past Mark grew ill. He was pale and losing a lot of weight. He was so weak he couldn’t stand up so he spent his days either in bed or in a wheelchair. Hannah and Mark’s parents looked after him. Once a week the girls would all go out together to cheer Hannah up and get her out of the house. Westlife were just about to start their tour in the UK then move onto Asia and the rest of Europe. They were home for the weekend before they went to Glasgow for their first tour date. Everyone bundled into Mark’s living room. Mark was sat on the sofa wrapped in a blanket. The chemotherapy made his hair fall out and he was wearing a baseball cap. He felt weak and had a pile of cushions piled up on each side of him to keep him upright.
Adelle helped Hannah get some drinks from the kitchen while everyone else sat around talking.
“Not long left now Mark,” Shane said. “One more lot of treatment and that’s it then.”
“It can’t come soon enough,” Mark replied. “I’ve been doing this for three months now. I don’t think I can take anymore of it. If it doesn’t work this time I’m going to have to let nature do what it’s supposed to. I don’t want to spend the last few days of my life being ill.”
Anna started crying and ran out of the room, followed by Nicky and Susan.
“That’s really selfish Mark!” Cynthia almost yelled. “Don’t you care about what everyone around you thinks? Don’t you care about our feelings?”
“Do you want me to be sick for years? Not knowing whether I’ll ever be able to walk again?”
“I don’t want you to be ill,” Anna said coming back into the room. “I don’t want you to die either. I need you, Hannah needs you.”
Mark began to cry as well. “I just don’t want to sit here and waste away.” Anna sat next to him and put her arms around him. Mark put his around Anna and they sat like that, both crying for a few minutes. Hannah and Adelle came back into the room and they both dried their eyes.
“I have something to tell you,” Hannah said when everybody had a drink. Everyone stopped talking and looked at her. “I found out this morning that ummm…I’m pregnant.” Mark stared at her in shock.
“Wow!” Bryan said.
“That’s great,” Cynthia said. “See Mark, something to look forward to now.” Hannah sat down next to Mark.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked her.
“I only found out this morning,” she repeated.
“But… you must have known something was up.”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to get worried about me.” Mark kissed her.
Kian put his glass in the air. “Here’s to the end of Mark’s treatment, the tour and the baby.” Everyone clinked their glasses and for the first time since he started his treatment Mark was happy.

Two weeks later Hannah went with Mark to the hospital for some tests. His treatment had finished the week before and now the doctors wanted to see if the tumour had gone. He had scans and blood tests and it wasn’t long before the results came back.
“We have some good news and some bad news,” the doctor said. “The good news is that the tumour has gone into remission. The chemotherapy has worked. We will keep giving you MRI scans every three months for the next two years to check that it hasn’t come back. If the results are clear in two years time it will be unlikely that it will ever return. There is still a small chance that it will. However during the MRI we noticed another small lump at the base of your skull. We can try to remove it with surgery but it has risks. If you choose not to have it removed we would still like to take a small piece to be tested.”

While Hannah was with Mark, Cynthia, Anna, Adelle and Susan let themselves into their house using a spare key Adelle had. They blew up balloons and stuck streamers and banners around the house. When Mark and Hannah got home that evening they were shocked. Tears started rolling down her cheeks but they were soon stopped by Mark’s hand. He held her close.

Before the operation Mark had to undergo some tests, which couldn’t be done for three months because the chemotherapy may taint the real result. Mark remained ill for those three months and Westlife only had another week of their tour left. That meant they would home to see Mark through his operation. The day rolled round that Mark would be taken to hospital. His tests were carried out and he chose to have the lump in his neck removed. The operation was booked for the week Westlife were home but Mark had to stay in hospital. The lump was pressing on his spine and he was in a lot of pain. He was given morphine, which made him drowsy. One evening Anna went to see Mark. She made Hannah go home so it was just the two of them.
“I don’t care anymore Anna,” Mark said.
“Don’t say that,” Anna replied.
“No you didn’t let me finish.” Mark interrupted. “I don’t care what it takes anymore. I want to get rid of this thing. I was to see my baby grow up. I want to be with you when you get married. I don’t want to die.”
“You will Mark,” Anna hugged him.

Finally the hour came for Mark’s operation.
“I love you,” he said to Hannah. “I love you all.”
“And we all love you too,” Hannah replied.
Mark began to cry when the anaesthetist came to get him. He was scared but he didn’t want anybody to know. He waited until he was out of sight from the others until his tears came to the surface. His head was full of thoughts as the anaesthetic took over his body, sending him into darkness.

It was a long wait for everybody. They all went and sat in the hospital restaurant for the five hour operation. Tensions ran high, neither of Mark’s parents said a word, too scared to jinx the whole operation. Anna moved her chair a few inches away from the table, slightly isolating herself from the group. Bryan ordered nearly everything that was available. He was starving and worry made him eat more. You could say it was a bit like comfort eating. Nicky noticed Anna was slowly drawing herself away from the table and he pulled her up from her chair and led her outside and onto a grassy bit out by accident and emergency.
“I don’t feel right,” Anna confessed after Nicky asked her if she was alright.
“What do you mean?” Nicky asked. “Nerves? Worry?”
“Probably. I feel so sick and just really weird. But…” Anna trailed off.
“But what?”
“A few weeks ago…no it doesn’t matter.”
“I want to know. Tell me.”
“I don’t know it might just be because I’m stressed out.”
“Just tell me what it is I’m starting to get worried now.” Nicky said.
“I might be pregnant Nicky.”
“What? How? Ok stupid question. You taken a test?” he asked.
“No, I…”
“Well let’s go then,” Nicky said taking her by the hand and heading for the car park.
“Where are we going?” Anna asked as Nicky unlocked their car.
“Pharmacy,” he replied getting in.

Mark’s dad went up to check if Mark was out of theatre. Every one went up to Mark’s room. He was in the recovery unit but only family were allowed in there.
“Where’s Anna and Nicky?” Shane asked.
“I don’t know. They disappeared about an hour ago,” Cynthia replied.
“No guesses what they’re doing,” Kian laughed.
“Shut up!” Adelle said hitting him on the knee.

“I don’t want to,” Anna said as Nicky gently pushed her into the girl’s toilets in the hospital.
“Well even if you don’t want to know I still do.”
Anna reluctantly walked in while Nicky sat on a chair opposite the door. Six minutes later Anna came back out.
“I think this one’s broken,” Anna said.
“Why?” Nicky asked standing up.
“Because it says I’m pregnant but it might be wrong.” A grin widened over Nicky’s face and he ran over to her and hugged her. He picked her up and spun her round.
“Mark!” Nicky remembered. They both reached for each other’s hands and began running towards the lifts to take them up to Mark’s floor.

“Where have you two been?” Susan asked as Anna and Nicky ran into Mark’s room.
“For a walk,” Nicky lied.
Mark’s parents had just come back from the doctor’s office. By this time Louis had arrived to hear the news of Mark’s operation.
“They managed to take out all of the lump,” Mark’s dad began. “They’ve sent it for tests. The operation went well and Mark is fine. We are going to go and see him now and he should be back here within the next two hours. Huge sighs of relief went around the room. Hannah got up and went to see Mark with his parents.

They walked into the recovery unit and a nurse directed them to Mark. Hannah was shocked when she first saw him. Lying at the far end of the room. There were no windows in the room and very dim lighting. Mark was attached to a heart monitor again. These always seemed to scare Hannah lately. She was afraid the alarms would go off. She kissed him on the cheek. They all sat with Mark in recovery for the next two hours.

He went back upstairs to his room where everyone was waiting. That was when he started to wake up.
“Are you feeling alright?” Hannah asked him.
“I have a headache,” Mark croaked.
“Oooh Déjà vu!” Anto said as he came into the room. “I remember you waking up a few months ago complaining of a headache. Mark began to come round and the nurse gave him some painkillers for his headache. Just after the doctor came in to see him.
“Good news!” he said. “The lump in your neck was only an abscess. It was nothing to worry about. You’re almost as fit as a fiddle. All we need to do now is get you up and moving.”
“Thank you so much,” Mark’s mum said as the doctor left. The girls began crying with happiness.
“You lot are terrible,” Mark tried to laugh. “You cry because I’m ill then you cry because I’m not. You’re terrible.”
Anna went over to give Mark a hug. “I want you to be the first to know,” she whispered to him. “I’m pregnant.” Mark’s eyes lit up. “But nobody else knows yet. Only Nicky but I don’t want to tell anybody yet because it’s too soon.
“Your secrets safe with me,” Mark said with a smile.

Mark started to have physiotherapy three times a day while he was in hospital. Shane, Kian, Nicky and Bryan were in a meeting with Louis and Steve Mac, discussing a possible song to be released next. Anto came into the room and sat down on a chair at the big round table everyone was sat around.
“Mark gave me this just before his operation,” Anto said passing Louis a piece of paper. Louis looked at it for a while.
“This is really good,” he said as he passed it to Steve. Steve agreed and after everybody else had seen it and agreed to it, Mark’s work was going to be turned into a song. Mark was excited at the news, as his songs had never been used before. It wasn’t long before Mark went home. His physiotherapist came to him once a day and he went to them once a week. Slowly he was able to stand up again but it would be a while before he would be strong enough to walk. The boys were just getting ready to record the new song when Mark burst through the door in his wheelchair.
“What are you doing here?” Kian said.
“Well it’s my song and I’m supposed to be singing on it right?” Mark asked. Kian nodded. “Well then why do you think I’m here?”
“Mark your one in a million,” Shane said. They got to work. They were so busy nobody noticed Nicky’s phone flashing or ringing. It was four hours before they stopped for the day and Nicky noticed Susan had been trying to phone him. He quickly phoned her back. Bryan noticed Nicky’s face go pale.
“Are you alright?” Bryan asked him when Nicky had put his phone away.
“I’ll tell you that later,” Nicky said and ran out the door.

Nicky drove all the way to the hospital in Dublin. He was hoping it would be a long time before he had to go back to a hospital. They were recording in Sligo and it took a couple of hours before he reached Dublin. He ran through the corridors and finally found the ward Anna was on. A nurse took him to her room. Anna had been crying and both she and Susan were looking shocked. Nicky took Anna in his arms and they cried together.

Cynthia, Adelle and Hannah went shopping on Saturday. Hannah was six months pregnant and they had gone shopping for baby clothes. They didn’t know that Anna was taken to hospital the night before.
“What about this one?” Adelle said picking put a small light blue outfit.
“Blue is for boys. It might be a girl,” Cynthia argued.
“But girls dress in blue too,” Adelle said.
“But other people would think it was a boy. That wouldn’t be good if it was a boy.” Cynthia said.
“What about the yellow one?” Adelle asked.
“Yellow is boring,” Hannah said. “I like the white one.” Hannah picked up the white version and put it in the trolley.

Susan and Bryan spent the day at home. They had rented some videos and spent the whole day watching them. Between two films Susan went to phone Anna. Nicky picked up the phone.
“How is she?” Susan asked.
“She’s ok. She’s really tired but she’s fine,” Nicky replied.
“What about the baby?”
“The baby’s fine too.” Nicky heard a sigh of relief from Susan.
“That’s great,” Susan said.

Over the next two months Mark began to improve even more. He had a physiotherapy session but didn’t want anybody to go with him.
“Today’s the day Mark,” Sara his physiotherapist said. Sara had an assistant with her. They all went into the gym part of the department and Mark got out of his wheelchair and at on a bench with the help of Sara and her assistant. Mark had been taking small steps and was able to go quite far holding onto things. Now he had to do it without holding onto anything. Sara helped him to stand up. Mark hesitated when she let go of him and stood beside him. Her assistant stood the other side of Mark. For the first time in ages Mark thought he was vulnerable. He felt he couldn’t do it.
“Don’t worry take as much time as you need,” Sara reassured him. This eased Mark a little bit. It was a while before Mark slowly began to raise one foot slightly and put it in front of him.
“Well done,” Smiled Sara. Slowly Mark lifted the other foot up and placed it next to his other one. Sara went to the bench and pulled it behind Mark so he could sit back down.
“How did that feel?” Sara asked Mark.
“Great!” Mark said with a smile. He got his breath back then they continued exercises on his legs.

Anna and Nicky went for the first scan. Nicky was excited and fidgeted in his seat as they waited outside the midwife’s room. They were called in and Anna had to have a blood test first. Anna held Nicky’s hand and looked away. She felt the needle go in her arm and she squeezed Nicky’s hand so tightly he started to wince in pain. Anna’s eyes were shut tight, as she hated needles. They were asked some more questions then Anna laid on the bed. The midwife switched on the scanner. Nicky stared, transfixed, as a tiny image appeared on the screen. The midwife turned a button and a soft pounding sound filled the room. Both Anna and Nicky smiled as they heard the baby’s heartbeat.
“Do you want to know what you’re having?” The midwife asked.
“Yes!” they both answered together.
“It’s not a hundred percent. I’m ninety per cent sure it’s a girl.”
Nicky smiled at Anna. “No pink!” she told him.

“Oh my god!” Mark said as he stood next to Hannah in the delivery room.
“Ok Hannah one more push,” the midwife said as Hannah squeezed Mark’s hand and the edge of the bed. “Well done,” the midwife said as Hannah pushed. Crying filled the room and Hannah fell back against the backrest and tried to regain her breath. “Congratulations it’s a boy,” the midwife said as the baby was placed into Hannah’s arms. Hannah looked at her new little boy. Bright blue eyes and a small amount of soft brown hair. Mark kissed her. Hannah looked at him to see tears in his eyes. Mark was standing up now, leaning over Hannah to stare at the small person in his wife’s arms.
“I love you,” Mark said.

Mark went outside to phone his and Hannah’s parents. Nicky was just getting off a payphone, tears stained his cheeks.
“Hey what are you doing here?” Mark asked him cheerily. Nicky began to cry again. “Are you alright?”
“Anna’s just gone into premature labour,” Nicky said. “Its four months early but there’s nothing they can do.”
“Oh no,” Mark said hugging his friend. “I’m so sorry. But there’s still a chance the baby can survive though. Don’t give up Nicky. I nearly did but look at me now.” Nicky pulled back from Mark and looked at him. He had stood up out of his wheelchair and was standing with the aid of a walking stick. “I’ve learnt to walk again from scratch in the last few weeks and I probably wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for you and everybody else. Now it’s my turn to be here for you and she’s going to be ok. I have this feeling.”
Nicky smiled. “Thanks Mark. I better get on the road.”
“Good luck mate,” Mark called after him.

Cynthia and Kian had felt like they hadn’t had much time together for ages. They didn’t live together, which didn’t help much either.
“I have a surprise for you,” Kian said to Cynthia. She had gone to see him at his house where he lived with two friends.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“I’m taking you to Florida this Saturday.”
“Really?” Cynthia squealed. “I’ve always wanted to got here!” Cynthia hugged Kian tightly. “I love you so much.” She kissed him passionately.

Nicky sat on Anna’s bed and held her tightly as they both cried. Natalie was taken to the special care unit as soon as she was born. Neither Anna nor Nicky had seen her. Nicky was asked if he wanted to go with her but he decided to stay with Anna for a while. A nurse came in an hour later and gave them some photos of the baby.
“She looks like you,” Anna said.
“But she has your cute nose,” Nicky said kissing her. “I’m going to go make a few phone calls then we’ll go see her.”

Anna wasn’t allowed to walk she had to sit in a wheelchair. Nicky took her upstairs to the special care unit. A nurse told them about all the drips and machines Natalie was attached to then took them to see her. Nicky’s heart melted as soon as he looked at her. He put his hand in her incubator and touched her hand. Natalie turned towards him and opened her eyes for a moment. She held onto Nicky’s little finger and went back to sleep. She looks so fragile and was so tiny. During labour Anna was given steroids to develop her lungs but she was still on a ventilator. All they could do now was wait.

On Saturday as Mark and Hannah took Jamie home, Kian and Cynthia were boarding their plane. They were both looking forward to their holiday and they didn’t notice the two rows of teenagers sat behind them. There were six girls all going to the same place as them. As the plane took off all Kian could hear was giggles behind them. As soon as the captain took of the seatbelt light Cynthia put her headphones on. Kian turned around to look at the giggling girls. He looked at each face one by one. Sofia, Line, Jo, Mary, Emily and Nicola.
“Hi!” Jo said.
“Hi,” Kian mumbled back.
“We didn’t know you were going on holiday,” Sofia said excitedly.
“It was a last minute thing,” Kian said.
“How’s Mark? Is he getting better?” Emily asked leaning over Line’s seat to look at Kian.
“He’s getting better,” Kian admitted. “Still has a way to go though.”
“But what about your new single?” Sofia asked.
“What about it?”
“What’s it called? When’s it out? Who sings it? And when are you going to do the video?”
“Well,” Kian started. “All I can say is, Mark wrote it, we all sing it, the video won’t be done yet, we have a special surprise related to it and we don’t know when it’s going to be released yet. Have a nice time in Florida,” Kian said with a smile and sat back down in his seat.”

Anna and Nicky spent most of their days at the hospital. Natalie was getting better but she was too weak to come home. They were hoping the longest she would be in hospital would be two months. She was doing really well and didn’t need the ventilator anymore. It was a few days before they were allowed to hold her. Nicky was scared he was going to drop her. She was smaller than he thought and even newborn clothes were too big for her.

Kian and Cynthia spent three weeks in Florida. They came back and Cynthia went straight back into work. Kian had another three days off before he, Bryan, and Shane went to England to do some interviews.

A year after Mark was first diagnosed with cancer was the first day Mark went to work. Both Natalie and Jamie were two months old. Natalie was out of hospital. They didn’t do much work. Just a few interviews here and there around the UK and Ireland. They were not gone for more than a day at a time. They were halfway through a live interview on SM:TV Live. Brian Dowling was interviewing all of them. He read from a piece of card.
“I’ve been asked to ask you all something,” Brian said. “You know about the music fest that happens every year to raise money for cancer research. The next one is next month and I’ve been given to job to ask you if you would be our headline guests.”
Bryan looked behind him at Anto who was waiting in the wing. Anto mouthed ‘it’s up to you.’ Bryan looked at Mark who looked at everybody else. The crowd was silent, waiting for the answer.
“We’ll do it,” Mark said with a smile. The crowd cheered.

They went home to Ireland that night. Shane couldn’t sleep so he left Adelle in bed and went down to watch television. It was 2.30am. He was only down there for five minutes when the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Shane it’s Kian,” came a frantic voice at the other end of the line. “Mark’s been taken to hospital. He collapsed.”
“Is he alright?” Shane asked jumping up from the sofa.
“We don’t know. I’m on my way there now I’ll pick you up. The doctor is doing some tests on him now.”
“Ok I’ll just get ready. Do Bryan and Nicky know?”
“No. We’ll phone them later we shouldn’t worry them until we know what’s wrong.”
“Ok see you soon Ki.” Shane went upstairs and got changed. He quickly scribbled a not for Adelle just in time for Kian to pull up outside his house.

Nicky sat bolt upright as his daughter began to scream. Anna slowly woke up, being too shattered to be alert.
“I’ll go and get her,” Nicky said and Anna went back to sleep. He went into Natalie’s room and carefully picked her up. She had only been home for three days and he was still worried that he was going to drop her. She stopped screaming as soon as Nicky held her against his chest.
“Shall we go and get your bottle?” He said as he walked out of the room. He went into the kitchen and boiled the kettle. Once it had boiled he put some water into a jug and put Natalie’s bottle into it. After a few minutes the bottle was ready and Nicky went back upstairs. He sat in the rocking chair next to Natalie’s cot and fed her. Nicky smiled at her. She was so relaxed in his arms and he still couldn’t believe that she was his.

Bryan’s phone rang at ten the next morning. It was Shane telling him what happened to Mark.
“He’s fine though.” Shane said. “He tried running up the stairs when he shouldn’t have. His body needs to recover a bit more before he can do that or dance but he’s fine. He’s just being let home now.”
“That’s good then,” Bryan replied.
“He’s not coming with us to England until next week now.”

A month later a crowd of two hundred thousand turned up at London’s Hyde Park for the Music Fest. There were over thirty acts performing two songs to the large audience then Westlife would perform five. The show went on all day and Westlife finally took to the stage with the girls and Natalie and Jamie had headphones on to protect their ears from the loud music. It was the first time Mark had been onstage in a long time and he was nervous. They sang ‘flying without wings’, ‘world of our own’, ‘Angel’s wings’, and ‘when you’re looking like that’. It was time for their fifth and final song. Mark spoke to the audience.
“Did you all have a good time today?” Everyone cheered and a lot of people were holding up banners. “As you all know over the last year I’ve had a pretty tough time. I don’t think I would have made it if it wasn’t for my family and friends and support from all of you. During my time in and out of hospital I wrote something. Anto managed to get hold of it and it was turned into a song. I would like to dedicate it to my wife Hannah, my mum and dad, Adelle, Cynthia, Anna, Susan and the other lads. Here’s unbreakable,” The crowed cheered again as the music started. This was the first time it has been performed to anyone. Shane began to sing.

‘Took my hand
Touched my heart
Held me close
You were always there
By my side
Night and day
Through it all
Baby, come what may

Swept away on a wave of emotion
We're caught in the eye of a storm
And whenever you smile
I can hardly believe that you're mine
Believe that you're mine

This love is unbreakable
It's unmistakable
And each time I look in your eyes
I know why
This love is untouchable
I feel in my heart, just can't deny
Each time I look in your eyes, oh baby
I know why
This love is unbreakable

Shared the laughter
Shared the tears
We both know we'll go on from here
Cause together we are strong
In my arms
That's where you belong
I've been touched by the hands of an angel
I've been blessed by the power of love
And whenever you smile
I can hardly believe that you're mine

This love is unbreakable
It's unmistakable
Each time I look in your eyes
I know why
This love is untouchable
I feel in my heart, just can't deny
Each time you whisper my name,
Oh baby
I know why

This love is unbreakable
Through fire and flame
When all this is over
Our love still remains

This love is unbreakable
It's unmistakable
Each time I look in your eyes
I know why
This love is untouchable
I feel in my heart, just can't deny
Each time you whisper my name, oh baby
I know why
Cause each time I look in your eyes, oh baby
I know why
This love is unbreakable
Oohhh’

“This is great!” Mark said a year later. It had been a year since his treatment had finished and two years since the cancer was diagnosed. The cancer had gone and at the moment there was no sign of it coming back. It took Mark a few more months but he’s gained most of his strength back and is able to dance again. Jamie stood up and Mark kneeled down. He held out his arms and Jamie almost ran into them. Mark felt like it was one of the best moments of his life.
“Shall we go and see Uncle Nicky?” Mark asked him. Jamie smiled.
“Yes,” Jamie said nodding his head.
“Wow!” Mark said turning round to see his wife in a lovely lilac dress.

The music began. Nicky and Mark stood up and turned to the back of the church. Hannah walked down the aisle first holding onto Jamie’s hand. Jamie was holding two small boxes in his hands.
“He looks so sweet in that suit,” Nicky whispered to Mark.
“Well your daughter looks lovely too,” Mark whispered back as Adelle came down the aisle slowly with Natalie. Natalie had blonde curly hair and the bluest of blue eyes. She was wearing a small lilac dress and she had only just started walking. She fell over halfway down so Adelle picked her up and carried her to the altar. Nicky smiled as Anna appeared in a white dress. A white bodice with white silk skirt. A sparkling tiara in her hair. She smiled back at Nicky. They said their vows and the congregation sang.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride,” the priest said. Nicky kissed Anna lightly on the lips. Natalie began to get a bit restless so Nicky picked her up. He kissed her on the cheek then took Anna’s hand. They walked out of the church together and stood outside to have their pictures taken.
“Mark come here!” Anna said and held out her hand. Mark put his arms around her and they had their picture taken. “I’m glad you’re here Mark.”
“So am I,” Mark replied.