After that event, Shane got better very quickly. I plucked up the courage to tell him we were having a baby and he was extremely happy. The day came when he was getting released out of the hospital. I managed to get the morning of work, but had to be in for the afternoon, as I was now presenting a teenage show. Faithfully, Westlife was scheduled to perform at the show that very day. It was the perfect day for Shane to make a comeback, and for us to go public.

The programme was sent live, and fans phoned in with their questions. So came the question about how Shane had managed to get through the time he spent in hospital. We looked at eachother, "Obviously," he began, "thanx to the doctors and nurses... my family and friends... but also a very special person in my life." He put his arm around me, "Me and Nikki has had a relationship going for some time now and she was a great support." The studio crowd went quiet and just looked at us. But after a minute or so they all started cheering wishing us the best of luck. Me and Shane sighted with relief. "OK," I said, "I think it's time for you guys to get ready for your performance then." "Yes, it is indeed," the lads stood up and they all hugged me before they went over to the stage, "that went along fairly smoothly, didn't it?" Shane whispered as he hugged me and I just smiled.

They performed 'I Have A Dream' as it was their new single. Later when we took a look at the chart, we came to the realisation that it had reached the top spot for Christmas. The lads were over the moon, and I thought I'd be squashed to death as they were all hugging me. "I bet she fixed it for us thought!" Bryan shanted, "Shane, how much did you pay her?" Nicky looked at Bryan, "Bry, Nikki isn't important enough to be able to fix the Irish charts," he began, "unless she bought very many copies of the single." "Really?" Bryan turned around to me, "how many copies did you buy?!" I giggled, "I actually didn't buy any cos I got it from Shane!"

When the programme was finally over we had to make our way out of the studio as well. Nothing would ever have been able to prepare me for the reaction the lads got from the crowd. Shane gently put his arm around me. "Now, don't loose me, I begin to see you as two people and it makes it more important for me to make sure you're OK." I smiled at him, and he led me through, ever so used to the crowds.

We shared the next week up in Sligo, and Christmas day would prove to lead another change into our lives. We were walking around in Hazelwoods, and fair enough we had our little 'smooch' as Mark put it, when Shane stopped me. "I have something I want to ask you..." I looked at him, "What?" He placed me on the bench, "let's do this the romantic way..." He took my hand and kneeled down, "Veronica, will you marry me?" I could feel the tears coming, but this time it was of happiness, "Yes." I whispered. Shane stood up again and placed a ring on my finger before he gently pulled me up and hugged me. Faithfully, as we shared a passionate kiss, little white flakes started to fall from the sky.