Remember me When I'm Gone

A/N: Guess who's back….back again, Krissy's back so tell a friend. Hiya! I guess I'm writing again ^.^ I could spend eons apologizing and making up excuses why I haven't written for the past, I don't know year, years? But the truth is, I've been having a real difficult time with my writer's block, I started work and I'd be literally drained after a day's work. Anyway….enough of this, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 10:

A couple of months passed since the surgery and all was well. At least that's what the Doctors told the Hale family. The first 4 weeks were really grim for Cornelia; she was always sick due to her immune system being weakened by the excessive chemotherapy she endured after the surgery, and she was emitted back to the hospital for another 2 weeks. During those 2 weeks her number of visitors were limited to immediate family, and only immediate family so neither Caleb nor her friends could visit, these were the precautions the Doctors had to take to reduce the exposure to infection and such. Her mother was also emitted back to the hospital after Lillian suffered from the flu. This made Mrs. Hale extremely weak, so it was best that she went back to the hospital.

It was hard on everyone but especially on Caleb. He had no idea what Cornelia was going through, she couldn't text or call since she was too exhausted to do so, and also cell phones weren't permitted since they carry so much bacteria, all she could do was sleep and take her chemo. Sometimes, she would be so exhausted, that she wouldn't even eat, she had almost lost her appetite. Almost, she still ate her daily amount of sour gummy-bears. It was something she and Caleb did every day, they called it their "lovers' routine". They even did it during their break-up, which showed them how much they meant to each other. To certain people, it seemed stupid and unnecessary, but to them it was normal and that was all that mattered.

Caleb used to stay at home or go to Meridian, where he could take his mind off the worries. Worries he couldn't get rid of, they were constant and a pain. He would help his father with the farm, then he would take a long stroll in the forest where he would train none stop. Shooting arrows at certain targets his sister put up the day before, sword fighting with the dummy he'd made with bits of straw and twigs he'd found. Even the occasional swim in the river Lokus didn't help. The water was so cold, local Meridians would challenge one another to see how long they could stay in before they'd turn blue. But even if he did work out until his arms gave out, or swim until he couldn't feel his legs, he'd still be thinking about her. Was she in pain? Were the doctors treating her well? Did it hurt when she took the chemo? He kept telling himself not to stress about it all, that she was in good hands and that she still had her Grandmother there to help her, but he still did worried, he was so lost without her. It was funny really, because he never knew love like this. He never knew how weak or strong love could make you, sometimes at the same time. This made him glad and a bit depressed at the same time, because he knew that if he lost her, he knew that if she died, he would eventually die too. He thought love like this only existed in books and fairytales but now he knew that it was real.

After 2 months in the hospital Cornelia and Mrs. Hale were finally strong enough to go back home. Now life was finally back to normal. Cornelia still had her weekly check-ups but so far, everything was good. She could finally go back to school, hang out with her friends and just be a normal teenager.

It was Saturday morning and Cornelia woke up bright and early. It wasn't like her to wake up at 5:00am on a Saturday, but she couldn't sleep anymore so she decided to do something productive. She wasn't planning on running some sort of marathon, but the fact that she woke up with a plan to change her once boring and sad routine after all these months was something worth smiling about. She swung her legs over the bed and stretched. It was so quiet outside, like the world was still asleep, it was so peaceful. With a smile on her face she walked to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and washed her face, grabbing for the towel and patting her face dry. It made her think; for the past year, it was always a dreadful thing to look in the mirror, to look at her reflection, looking at her sullen face and tired eyes. It always seemed to remind her that she was sick; it was a constant reminder that she wasn't normal, to her after all of those chemicals that were pumped into her body, she turned somewhat abnormal. And it showed, her skin was always pale, her eyes bloodshot and her once full head of hair was gone, she was completely bald. It made her sad just to look at her own reflection. But today, that was going to change, she was going to look at life with an upbeat attitude. After all, she was given a second chance at it. She plucked up the courage, lowered the towel and looked up at her reflection, her face wasn't so pale anymore, her cheeks were rosy from the cold water and the purple bags under her eyes were gone. This brought a smile to her face, so she lifted her head up higher to examine her neck, she paused and saw what appeared to be glistening beads, the size of pin heads. On a closer look she noticed that these "glistening beads" where actually tiny hairs, hair were actually poking out of her once smooth scalp. On closer inspection, it was noticeable that it almost had the texture of sand. Hair was really sprouting out of her once hairless head!

She was speechless, she actually had hair! Or did she? With a skeptical look on her face she lowered her hand and slowly dragged her trembling fingers over her head. Her skin made contact with her scalp and she let out a chuckle. They were so prickly, she really did have hair! With a smile she looked in the mirror and touched them again. This time she burst out laughing, it's been so long since she'd last had hair.

"MOM! MOM!" She yelled, whilst running out of the bathroom and down the hallway. "MOM! LOOK! LOOK!" Like a little kid on Christmas day she ran to her mother's room, all the while laughing and giggling like a complete lunatic. She couldn't believe it! Her mother tossed in bed and reluctantly opened her eyes. "What is it, baby?" she yawned, aimlessly grabbing for her glasses, "What's wrong?"

"Mom, look!" Cornelia said, with a huge smile, pointing happily at her scalp. She grabbed her mother's outstretched hand and ran it across her head. Her mother opened her eyes wide and smiled.

"D-do you, have hair?!" Mrs. Hale quizzed, "Actual hair?" They both burst out giggling. "Mhm!" Cornelia said as she jumped on the bed and hugged her mother. "The transplant worked! It really worked!" They heard the door creak open followed by a yawn.

They looked at the doorway and saw a dark silhouette which was blocking the door, it was a tiny 5 year old, holding a bear by the paw while it dangled. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Do you guys mind? It's Saturday and a girl needs her sleep." Lillian said while blinking a couple of times, "I don't mind that you woke me up, but Zack & Cody doesn't start for another 3 hours." She pouted and that's when Cornelia got off the bed, knelt down beside her and smiled.

"Smile, little sis. It's a new beginning and I'm going to treat you to an awesome day at the mall." She laughed and hugged her little sister tight.

Lillian looked quizzically at her older sibling after they pulled apart. What has gotten into her? She thought with the raise of an eyebrow. "What's the catch?" she said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"No catch, hon. Can't I take my little sis, out for once?" Cornelia giggled. I guess I would think there was a catch too. Taking into consideration the many times I fooled her with the promise of ice-cream if she behaved until mom came home from work. Cornelia thought with a smile.

Lillian paused to think, looking like a miniature Sherlock Holmes as she rubbed her chin. "I guess, but can I go back to bed? I don't think the mall's open. It's still 5:30 in the morning." she yawned, as Cornelia laughed.

"Sure, I'll wake you up later." Lillian closed her eyes, opened her arms wide, and yawned suggesting the idea of being carried to bed. I guess being 5 and small has its advantages Cornelia thought with a smile, if she could get Caleb to carry her to bed whenever she felt tired she would be a happy camper. He did carry her that one time when she was too drunk to walk but he also scolded her in the morning for being irresponsible. They were still friends back then and he ended up taking care of her for most of the night. Mostly after she started getting all nasty with her friends for no apparent reason. Guess it was the booze talking because she was very thankful to have friends like them. He had carried her all the way home since she could hardly stand up straight, showing her that he really did care about her. With Caleb on her mind from that day on she knew that she was starting to care about him as well.

She lifted Lillian in her arms and carried her to her room, tucking her in along with Mr. Bear. Since she got out of the hospital she felt her strength come back and the pain she once felt was completely gone, except for the usual nausea but that was normal. The doctors had told her that it just that it was working. Once she closed the door behind her, she walked down the stairs, having a certain bounce in her step, to the living room, finding the TV still on with her Grandma sprawled on the sofa snoring loudly.

"Another all-nighter, huh, Grandma?" Cornelia had gotten used to having her Grandma around, it was nice coming home from school to find a hot meal waiting on the table while having the laundry already washed and folded. It was hard having her mother start working after her dad died. She had to grow up fast in a short period of time because that meant, she was the one who had to cook, clean and do the necessary housework whenever her mother wasn't around. If any good came out of that experience is that now, she was more independent and more willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. Before, the tragedy of losing her father struck, she used to comment on the poorly dressed kids at school. But now, she thought twice before saying how that girl's shirt is stained or how that boy's pants look funnily sown. It made her appreciate stuff more.

She switched off the TV and placed a blanket over her sleeping Grandmother. Laughing as she scratched her nose and turned around. Her mother came down the stairs, yawning and stretching, leading Cornelia to the kitchen.

"Want some coffee, mom?" Cornelia asked as she turned on the coffee machine.

"Yeah, want some breakfast, hon? I woke up with such an appetite today." Her mother said as she got out the eggs and bacon from the fridge. Mrs. Hale had lost a lot of weight while she was recovering from the bone marrow transplant and even before that happened she was always on the skinny side. No one could really blame her for that, having to provide for your whole family while having a sick daughter was no joke. The stress got to her by having her lose her appetite along with over 20 pounds. "I guess your growing hair got my appetite back." She chuckled. Hearing her mother say such a comment gave Cornelia the urge to cry.

Cornelia knew her mother loved her but she had no idea she lost her appetite because she was so worried about her. Sure every parent would be worried about having a sick child but Cornelia never actually thought about what her mother went through when she found out about the leukemia or whenever she had to drive her to a doctor's appointment. She did notice how her mother's hands shook every time she turned on the car to take the drive to the appointment but she never put any thought into it. With a smile on her face she went up and hugged her mother from behind. "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, honey but all I asked was if you wanted breakfast. Are you okay?" Mrs. Hale said as she placed the pan on the stove then put her hand on her daughter's, stroking her cold fingers with her thumb.

"Just fine mom, I just thought that I don't say it as much as you deserve to hear it." Hearing these words come out of her daughter's mouth made Mrs. Hale turn around and hug her tight.

"You're just the sweetest thing." After they pulled apart, Mrs. Hale kissed Cornelia on the cheek and clapped. "Now! Would you like your eggs scrambled or sunny-side up?" She smiled.

"Scrambled, and I'll make the pancakes." They got to cooking, and in a matter of minutes, the house was filled with the most wonderful of smells. The saltiness of the fried bacon mixed with the sweet scent of pancakes was enough to make anyone's mouth water.

It had been a while since mother and daughter had cooked together, especially since both were in and out of the hospital every other week. Plus, neither had the energy to cook a proper meal as they were both tired after work or school. It was mostly frozen dinners along with the usual spaghetti and meatballs. But that had changed ever since Cornelia's Grandmother came to live with them. She was the only one who could help since Cornelia's Grandparents from her father's side passed away long before she was born and it meant a lot that she was willing to drop everything and help out.

With a smile on her face, Mrs. Hale piled the piping hot pancakes onto a plate while Cornelia placed the eggs and bacon on separate plates. "This joint smells amazing!" Came a hoarse voice from the kitchen doorway. With a laugh Cornelia placed the plates on the table and looked up to find her Grandmother scratching her backside.

"I knew you'd wake up once you smelled bacon." Cornelia chuckled while pouring herself a mug of hot chocolate.

"How can I not? Everyone loves bacon!" She grabbed a slice and started chewing on it.

"Mom, in this house, we sit down to eat. There's no rush." Mrs. Hale said as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. Beatrice smiled as she lowered herself on one of the leather chairs that surrounded the circular table. It was normal for her to eat standing up. After the years of wolfing down her food she found it something ordinary to not sit down while having a meal. She had to balance raising a family of three boys and two girls along with holding down two jobs so she didn't have time to have a really peaceful meal. It was exhausting work so she used to always eat on the go that is, until every once in a while her husband would take her out for a nice dinner.

She grabbed a slice of toasted bread and spread it with butter. "Alright dear." Cornelia passed her Grandmother a steaming mug of coffee, extra strong and extra sweet, just the way she liked it. Beatrice took a deep breath and smiled, the smell of strong coffee always reminded her of her husband. He used to drink so much coffee that sometimes his clothes even smelt of it. Charles had passed away when he was driving his motorcycle to work, his death was so sudden it had shook Beatrice to the core. When she heard of the news she was so shocked she didn't have the energy to speak. Now, after 30years of his absence, the smell of strong coffee always brought a sad smile to her face. With her eyes closed, as she pictured him in his flannel shirt, she took a big gulp of coffee and continued to talk to her daughter.

They talked between bites, shared the scrumptious blueberry pancakes Cornelia made and once everything was devoured Beatrice did the washing.

Cornelia smiled as she leaned back in her chair, happily licking her maple-syrupy fingers. She hadn't been this happy since the day they won the war against Phobos. A few weeks after that and everything had turned to mush. Her hair started to thin out, she was getting nauseous when she wasn't even eating that much, severe headaches. At one point, she was so scared that she wasn't even sleeping. She knew that she wasn't pregnant because she and Caleb had never had sex, sure they had done stuff but they had never went that far, so had no idea what was going on. But, after all she had gone through she was thankful she was finally getting better.

With one big gulp of hot chocolate she looked at her watch and noticed that it was already 7am, she decided to go over to Caleb's. He would probably still be asleep but she had a key to his house so she wouldn't wake him. She asked her mom if she needed any help before heading out and reminded her to get Lillian ready at 9:30am. It was a crisp March morning, the birds chirped happily as they sat on leafless branches feeding their young and the usual squirrel hopped around making Cornelia smile. Taking out her beanie and putting it on, made her realize that now, it didn't slide as smoothly on her head. She took a deep breath, shoved her hands in her pockets and started walking to Caleb's house. It wasn't that far away, just a brisk 30minute walk and she loved every minute of it. Upon getting there she gently opened the door to be startled with a yell.

"What the heck man!? That was a clear headshot!" the voice came from a furious Josh, he was standing with a ps3 controller in one hand while pointing to the TV with the other. "I swear to God you're cheating!"

He was talking to the calm and relaxed, Keira. She smiled and shrugged, "Whatever dude, I nailed you!"

Cornelia giggled, it was always the same story with these two; Josh would lose and say that his sister was cheating while Keira would tell him to get some skill. Then either one of them would rage and leave the room angry. "Hey guys. Another night of CoD?" she said while she took off her coat and snowy shows. Smiling at the scene before her, she hung her coat and put her shoes to the side, leaning against the back of the sofa, she propped her elbows up to rest on the top of it.

"Yeah! Been playing since 6pm yesterday night, it was awesome! But this baby keeps saying I'm cheating when clearly he has no skill so he's kinda bringing me down" Keira said as she leaned forward on the couch, franticly pressing buttons and lowering her hands where Josh couldn't block her.

"You are too! Look! Cornelia, look at this crap!" Josh said as he pointed to the kill screen his sister had just pulled off. Cornelia didn't really understand how Keira could simply kill Josh from that far off of a distance so she just shrugged and said;

"Sorry man, you snooze you lose" Keira burst out laughing and hi-fived Cornelia at that comment, making Josh so furious he rage quit and threw the controller violently on the sofa.

"I'm going to bed" he angrily said as he trudged up the stairs while mumbling curses under his breath. As soon as they heard the slam of a door they laughed so hard their ribs hurt.

"So, what brings you here so early?" Keira said, turning off the console and TV. She leaned back and stretched, a full 13hr gaming marathon can really make your back hurt she thought with a yawn.

"Ah, I've been awake since 5am. I couldn't sleep anymore so I decided to get out of bed."

"Whoa! 5am on a Saturday? Why? Just why?"

Cornelia smiled at her friend, Keira always acted like this without a full night's rest. It was like the mere thought of something so simple as waking up early would make her not believe that a thing like that was possible. "You were awake at 5am too"

"Yeah! But I was already awake" She laughed, poking Cornelia until they were both giggling. They spent a few minutes talking about how they spent their Friday nights and how Keira had met these awesome 'British dudes', as she called them, while playing a game mode called "Search & Destroy" until Cornelia smiled and took off her beanie.

"Keira, look" she grabbed her friend's hand and gently ran a finger over her head.

"Ohmigod! That is so weird" Keira adjusted herself so she sat cross-legged on the sofa and slowly ran all her fingers across Cornelia's scalp. "Wow! It's so prickly! It's like…uh…when you don't shave your legs for a few days!" They looked at each other and burst out laughing, it was that kind of feeling but Cornelia never thought of it in that way.

"I think you need some sleep" she said, putting on her beanie back on after removing Keira's very warm hands. She agreed and slowly went up the stairs telling Cornelia that Caleb was most probably awake in his room. With a smile on her face she went up after her friend and went down the hall to where Caleb's room was. His door was closed so she gently turned the knob and entered the room. He was still asleep, laid out on his stomach while having his big quilt lain across himself, only to leave his left foot hanging out. She smiled and tip-toed across the room, careful not to trip over his clothes. As soon as she made it to his bed he gently turned around, making him face her way, she bent down and kissed his cheek, feeling so happy she had him in her life.

It had made the hardest time in her life, since losing her dad, bearable. As she thought of how lucky she was to have him by her side through everything they went through, he yawned and opened his eyes. "I knew I was kissed by an angel" he gently grabbed her around her waist and put her under the covers with him, having her warmth closer to him made him smile. She blushed and gently kissed him, "Good morning, cutie. I thought you were still asleep. Did I wake you?"

He promptly kissed her back and stretched, "No, I was half-asleep and half-awake. Kinda glad I stayed in bed actually, haven't been 'The lazy guy' around the house in ages." He was always up and about before anyone else in the house. Sure his siblings helped around the house but it was mostly his job to get the chores done, but he didn't mind as long as he had at least a day or two off every once in a while.

She snuggled next to him, slowly running her fingers up and down his bare chest, all the while smiling. "Yeah, you deserve it. I heard you beat Keira at CoD yesterday" She teased; she knew he liked gaming but he didn't like to admit it for some weird reason.

She didn't know why and she never him asked but it was cute the way he blushed when she did tease him about playing video games. When he first got his siblings the gaming console he acted as if it was an abomination so she wasn't sure why he had actually got it for them. It took him a while to actually sit down and play a game but she knew that deep down he also wanted to try his skills at it. So after a few nights of watching him play, sometimes joining in herself, and getting the hang of it she found out that he wasn't that different from other guys his age, no matter how hard he tried.

"Ugh! Yeah, it was so cool!" He told her about his time gaming and how after 7 straight hours of playing he had finally gone to bed. With so much excitement she found out that Caleb, Keira and Josh had spent their Friday night playing games, eating pizza and drinking root beer while occasionally fighting over who had the best kill-cam or whatever. Although she had already heard the 'guy filled version' from Keira but that had gone another direction because they ended up talking about how the 'British dudes' had added her on Facebook and yada yada yada, she liked how Caleb went into detail about certain stuff. He asked her how her Friday night went and she told him how her grandmother and mother, Lillian and her had a similar version but they had ordered Chinese instead of pizza and they watched movies instead of gaming.

After she finished talking he kissed her forehead said, "I'm glad you had fun" and proceeded to take off her beanie. She didn't like when he did that because it made her feel depressed about losing her golden hair and usually, she didn't give up her beanie without a fight. To him it made no difference if she hid the fact that she didn't have hair or not, so by taking it off, it showed her that he loved her no matter what. Without the usual fight, she let him slide it off and touched his cheek. Smiling at the look on his face when he saw the tiny beads on her head. He reluctantly ran a finger on her head and laughed. "Y-you have hair?! Your hair is growing back!" She giggled at his reaction and nodded, smiling as he picked her up so she straddled his lap.

Cornelia hadn't seen him smile like that in a while; even after they got back together he hadn't smiled like that. He leaned in and kissed her deeply, slowly running one hand up and down her back while gently resting the other on her neck. He ran his hand under the back of her shirt, his fingers softly rubbing just below her surgery scar. It felt good when he did that, especially since it gave her tiny goosebumps, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. It was as they pulled apart that Cornelia said "Yes!" she told him about how she noticed it this morning and how bubbly she's been since then. He agreed that she looked different, in a good way, and he agreed to going with her to the mall with her sister.

They got out of bed and downstairs as soon as Caleb got dressed in his usual 'jeans and hoodie' outfit. He had breakfast, a bowl of cereal although Cornelia asked if she wanted to make him anything but he declined, and as soon as he cleared the mess they had left the night before they were out the door and heading to Cornelia's place to pick up Lillian.

Upon picking up Lillian, they said hi to Mrs. Hale and Beatrice. Cornelia made sure her little sister was securely buckled up in the back seat, gave her the stuffed toy she was going to carry around all day with her and then they were off to the mall. They spent the day laughing and giggling, going to toy stores and putting Lillian on the various rides they had. There was one level in the mall where it was like a miniature amusement park for kids and Lillian really enjoyed the roller coaster. Caleb went with her because she was being a bit scared even though she wanted to go on it in the first place.

When Lillian got tired of all the rides they decided to go to the huge food court they had and sit down to eat. Lillian jumped up on the chair while Cornelia moved her closer to the table. Caleb kissed Cornelia and went to buy some food for him and Cornelia since Lillian said she was good with what she had.

"Cornelia?"

"Yeah?" Cornelia put the bags of toys and candy they bought Lillian on the empty chair just next to her and sat next to her sister. She gave her a tissue and leaned back, listening to what Lillian wanted to tell her.

"Thanks for today, I really liked it. Especially when Caleb went 'Weeee!' with me on the roller coaster, that was really funny" She giggled making Cornelia laugh at the squeals her little sister makes when she laughs. "And uh, thanks for getting better. You look really different, in a good way, but I can see you're getting back to your old-self" She smiled and hummed a song from school. "I know that you were always looking out for me, even when you were sick, I was really scared you would go away like dad did when I was just a baby so I'm really happy you stayed with me and mom."

Over the past couple of months, Cornelia had no idea how lucky she was to have such an understanding younger sister, sure she was young, but Cornelia had no idea how much she knew. She didn't know how much Lillian understood about the life and/or death situation her older sister was in. Now she understood why Lillian used to keep quiet at dinner time, or how she used to try and help around when Cornelia was too sick to even get out of bed. Cornelia felt kind of bad for yelling at her that day when she found her trying to wash the dishes. She had pushed a chair all the way towards the sink, so that way, she could wash the dishes with ease, but she ended up breaking 2 glasses and a plate. Cornelia smiled and just looked at her; she was swinging her legs back and forth while licking the ice-cream cone Caleb bought her at the 'amusement park' before they went to the food court. She smiled, at the coincidence that her sister's words sounded a bit like Caleb's. A lump formed in her throat preventing her to talk straight after Lillian finished talking, she swallowed hard and said, "Just know that I will always love you." Cornelia said while bending down and kissing her sister on the cheek. At that moment Caleb came back with tray of filled with food.

"Aww! You guys are so cute." He cooed as he handed Cornelia her order of burger and fries. "I got her an order of cheesy fries cause I know she will get hungry after she's done with that cone." While popping an onion ring in his mouth he noticed Cornelia look at him funny, in a good way. "What?" he chuckled as he chewed on the crunchy goodness that is found in onion rings.

"Nothing, you're good with taking care of her," she dipped a French-fry in ketchup and nibbled on it. "And me" she smiled and touched his arm.

He smiled after taking a bite of his burger and told her that it was his duty to take care of her because she was the only one who made him happy and who got him through a lot of tough times. Plus, he loved Lillian too so he didn't mind it.

"Cornelia, I'm hungry." Lillian said as she wiped her face and hands with a tissue. They burst out laughing and gave her the fries which she happily ate. After lunch they took Lillian to the park and they spent the rest of the afternoon there. They mostly played with her, pushing her on the swings and going down with her on the slide, until she tired them out and they sat on a park bench while she played with the other kids.

Cornelia rested her head on Caleb's shoulder, having his arm around her. They just sat like that, enjoying each other's company while Lillian played tag with her new friends. Today was a good day, Caleb thought as he gently stroked Cornelia's arm. They hadn't had a day like this in a while. With having Cornelia in the hospital and having her recover, they couldn't really spend as much time together as each of them wanted. Now, with Cornelia finally getting back to her old-self and having the two of them be happier than they had ever been, things were finally working out for this young couple. She lifted her head, kissed his cheek and slowly ran a finger over where she kissed. "What'cha thinking about?"

He looked down at her and smiled, "About how happy we are and how I'm glad we spent the day like this. Beats lying all day in my boxers that's for sure."

"Ooh! There's a sexy image." She teased; he laughed and started tickling her until she was said she was sorry for ruining the moment. After they each caught their breath Cornelia said, "But yeah, I liked today too" They kissed for a few minutes until Lillian wanted them to play with her, Caleb was too tired to play anymore so Cornelia played with her on the merry-go-round.

When it was starting to get dark they decided to go home even though Lillian didn't want too. Against her cries and protests, they drove to Cornelia's house and after they put on Lillian's favorite songs on playback, she sat down quietly and sang along to 'Teenage dream'. Caleb parked his car and unloaded the bags from the trunk while Cornelia took Lillian inside along with a bag herself. Once inside he was greeted with the most wonderful smell of food.

It had been a couple of hours since he last ate and his stomach told him so as he inhaled all the wonderful aromas. He put the bags down to the side and followed the amazing smell to the kitchen. As soon as he was almost there he felt Cornelia hug him from behind and kiss his back. "Hungry, aren't ya?"

"How'd you know?" He said as he turned around and hugged her back

"Cause you're walking straight towards the kitchen with the most adorable look on your face. Come on, mom said we're just in time for dinner. We're having veal parmesan, your favorite!" Cornelia led him to the kitchen where they sat down around the table and ate dinner. He loved Mrs. Hale's cooking and Beatrice also knew her way around the kitchen. The sauce she made for the spaghetti was to die for and so was the green bean salad. Caleb pretty much devoured everything they put on his plate, including the freshly baked bread Mrs. Hale made.

Caleb and Cornelia were sat in front of the TV watching 'The notebook'. Beatrice had put Lillian to bed while Mrs. Hale went out with some friends so they were all alone in the living room. After dinner they did the dishes while Mrs. Hale had gone to get ready to go out with her friends. It had been a while since she had enjoyed a night out and seeing as everything was working out she decided to go out and enjoy herself. Cornelia took a shower after she was done washing the dishes and after her, Caleb took a shower of his own.

Now, they laid on the couch, Cornelia had her head on a pillow and Caleb sat it in his lap, stroking her new growing hair. It felt kind of weird stroking her head since it wasn't actual hair that he was caressing, it was more like the stubbly feel he gets whenever he doesn't shave but he smiled at the thought of seeing her luscious golden hair once again. It wouldn't be too long before she started flaunting it again. He remembered the time before they got together, how she flipped her hair behind her and the way she looked at him afterwards to see if he was looking or not, he loved it.

She snuggled into the pillow and laughed, he turned his gaze back towards the movie as Allie rubbed ice-cream on Noah's face. She couldn't help but laugh as it reminded her of the time that Caleb did it to her on their third date. He had taken her to see a movie and afterwards they decided to buy ice-cream from a vendor just down the road from the cinema. She took strawberry and he took chocolate and they shared it, Caleb had shared a bit too much seeing as he rubbed some on her cheek.

How did I get so lucky as to have him around while I went through all this? She thought as she turned on her back and just stared at his face. Noticing his strong jawline, the way his muscular chest fell and rose as he inhaled and exhaled, how he pursed those luscious lips when he was listening to the movie, and how those gorgeous emerald-green eyes she loved so much sparkled in the light. With a smile she took a deep breath and exhaled. At this notion he looked down and smiled, "What'cha thinking about, sexy?" he said while slowly stroking her forehead with his thumb.

"Nothing, I'm just happy you're here with me" he bent down and kissed her, loving the way she blushed when she said that. Cornelia wasn't all that romantic with words and sometimes, not even by action, but when she did say something loving, it always made his stomach do back flips.

"No place I'd rather be." He whispered, she gently grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down for another sweet kiss.

"Good, but there is one thing I have to tell you." He sat back up, more erect this time, cocked his eyebrow and waited for what she had to say. She got up and whispered "I'm starving!" He burst out laughing as she sat back down.

"How can you be starving? You just ate a plateful of pasta! With three pieces of veal, may I add? And you ate two pieces of my bread and they were huge" he said between chuckles. Grabbing the remote off the coffee table to pause the movie, he turned and faced her "I have no idea how you're so skinny, I swear, you eat more than I do!"

"Hey!" She playfully hit him and laughed "It's not my fault chemo does that to me." Back when the doctors first tested her blood and bone marrow for any signs of leukemia, they had warned her that she would go through excessive chemotherapy if they came back positive. And knowing the Earth guardian, she said yes to the suggestion of chemo, without a second thought. So the night when her doctor gave her that dreaded call, she went online and found as much as she could about chemotherapy. After hours of non-stop research, she finally came to a conclusion that she would get appetite swings, headaches, nausea and a whole bunch of other symptoms. But the only thing that bothered her the most was the loss of appetite since she loved food so much. And knowing her luck, she would lose her appetite.

Now, the doctors told her that since she's eating more and since she gained three to five pounds; it meant that she was on the right track to finally being cancer free. So once she saw the hair growing back, she knew that this nightmare was finally coming to an end. "Besides, that was 4 hours ago."

Caleb rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Fine, we'll go for some pizza after we watch this part. I want to know what happens next" He said, truth be told he was hungry too, but seeing how Cornelia gets defensive whenever he teases her about her appetite, he couldn't help but push her buttons. With a huge grin plastered on her face, she grabbed the remote from his lap and pressed 'play'.

"Yay! We'll watch the movie then we can go." She said as she took a sip of her drink. He laughed as she rested her head on his lap again.

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A few months passed since Caleb and Cornelia had spent that wonderful day with Lillian and each other but now it was time for Cornelia's final check-up before the final verdict. She was supposed to find out today if she was cancer-free or not. If not then they would try the transplant again. She had been dreading this day for weeks. Cornelia and Mrs. Hale waited impatiently in the doctor's office.

"OhmyGod! Where is that doctor?" Mrs. Hale finally blurted out, breaking the silence and tension that was building since the doctor left them with Cornelia's blood sample. She was clearly annoyed, "He said he'll be back an hour ago" Pacing back and forth across the room, her hands crossed in front of her chest making Cornelia more nervous.

"Mom, it's only been 10 minutes" Cornelia was on the examining table, back in the dreaded hospital gown she truly hated. She silently wished Caleb was with her but he had to work. Over the past week he had found a new job as a chef. He always loved to cook and he learned so much since he was living on his own, if Cornelia didn't know any better she would say he was a born chef! The reason he didn't get a job sooner was because he was financially good, he still was but he was just too bored while he was at home. With a sigh she ran her fingers through her hair. At last her hair grew back, it wasn't as long as it once was but it was there and that's all that mattered.

"I know but it feels like an hour" Her mother confessed, she sat back down on the chair and flipped through her phone for something to do hoping a friend or her mother had called or sent a text message. They had left Lillian with her mother so Cornelia's grandmother had no choice but to stay at home. 15 minutes passed and their doctor came in with a huge file in his hands. He was flipping through it, taking the time to fill in the wanted details on a big blue sheet he had on the desk. Mrs. Hale looked at him with pleading eyes hoping he would at least say something and after a few seconds she gave up and said, "So? What do the results say?"

He lifted his head, removed his glasses and let them hang around his neck. "Remarkably Miss Hale you are now cancer-free. Congratulations!" he shook her hand, "In my 40 years of being in medicine, never have I seen anyone bounce back quickly as you have after a surgery like that!" Dr. Steward wasn't their usual doctor, the doctor that was with Cornelia since day 1 was transferred to another hospital so Dr. Steward took his place. He was actually the doctor who did the transplant. "I want to say that I am really happy that you're back on track, I see the hunger for life in your eyes." He said with a smile.

Cornelia was speechless, she didn't know what to say or do. The mixture of emotions she was feeling right now were overwhelming, she wanted to cry, to laugh and scream with joy, she felt like she could conquer anything she set her mind too, so no longer felt scared instead she felt a huge wave of relief wash over her. Her mother hugged the doctor and thanked him for everything he had done. Feeling his cheeks flush, he welcomed her for her kind words and left the room to give them some privacy.

Mrs. Hale wiped away her tears, smiled and hugged her baby, "We did it, sweetie! You're cancer-free!" She kissed her daughter on the cheek and hugged her tighter. Finally Cornelia broke down; the urge to cry overtook her. She hugged her mother back and wept like a baby in her arms, she kissed her mother and hugged her tighter, finally happy she wasn't sick anymore.

With tears running down her cheeks and into her mother's shirt she said, "Yes we did mom, we finally did it"

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It was a hot and humid night and anyone who walked past the old, abandoned building site of Heatherfield could hear a strange humming. On closer inspection, one could notice that the noise was that of a fairy's wing. The night air was filled with smoke, seeing that a couple of teenagers were up to some weird stuff. A few had swords and had challenged each other to a duel while some were playing with the elements.

Cornelia stopped at the entrance of the building site, took a deep breath and transformed into the earth guardian. That same tingling, feeling she was so familiar with started from her toes and ended once it reached the top of her head. It felt so good to be able to stand tall and in charge again. She felt her translucent wings behind her, slowly pulsing with her own heartbeat, her muscles felt stronger and she felt older, more mature. "God this feels good!" She exclaimed, as her delicate yet strong wings lifted her off the ground. With great ease, she flew towards beings just like her, her short, golden hair flowing all around her.

She smiled as she saw her friends; Will, Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin. She saw the glare of swords reflect off the moonlight, she turned her head and saw two other figures parrying as they dueled with such ferocity you would think they were from a medieval time. A boy and a girl, upon hearing their voices she knew they were her boyfriend and his younger sister, her best friend. In the background she saw another figure and as soon as her eyes adjusted to the dim light she noticed that it was Mark, Keira's boyfriend. I guess Keira finally told him about our weird world, Cornelia thought. Keira had been dating Mark for months now and she had told Cornelia how she was thinking about telling Mark about her whole life. About Meridian; her home, about how she knew how to handle any kind of weapon there was; except for guns and how her friends were actually the Guardians of the Veil. And he loves every minute of watching his girlfriend fight she thought with a laugh as Mark shouted something off the pipe he was standing on.

Caleb seemed like he was winning the fight but then the odds turned in his younger sibling's favor. Keira parried his attack, ducked behind him, and pointed the edge of her sword against Caleb's neck, making him the loser of that battle.

She joined Irma and Hay Lin who were being outmatched by Will and Taranee's powers. A huge fire ball was being hurled towards the duo until Cornelia lugged big piece of earth, blocking the fire distinguishing its flames. "Looks like you guys need some help." she winked, separating the chunk of earth she had conjured up, and flinging small disks of rock at her opponents. One hit Taranee in the knee and one hit Will in the stomach while another hit her in the shoulder.

This sudden attack caught everyone off guard, even Caleb and Keira who were now in mid-handshake. Cornelia laughed as her friends stared at her, mouths open. They hadn't seen her at practice in months, even after she was healthier they had all told her to just rest until she felt 100% better, so to see her come back with such fierceness was truly shocking. "What's wrong, guys? You look like you never seen me in action" She joked as they slowly got back to the ground. Cornelia released the chunk of earth, putting it back in the crater she had created by forcing out of its original place.

Caleb and Keira got to where all the girls were standing, panting and out of breath. "What…How…" Keira tried to ask how she just up and came here tonight after such a long time, Taranee noticed this and asked it for her.

Cornelia smiled at this question, it was finally her opportunity to tell them the good news she had been hiding all week. Her friends didn't know a thing about the appointment since she didn't tell them about it. She also didn't have that much time to talk with Caleb since he had to work all week which meant he still didn't know. They hadn't seen each other in a while since they were both busy with exams and work. It was just the usual text message here and there so that was about it. And even when he did ask how the doctor's appointment went, she dodged the question. "Well I'm finally feeling 100% better and I have some news for you guys." They nodded so she could proceed; Taranee and Will rubbed their sore spots since they were starting to hurt.

"Well this week I had my final doctor's appointment, they tested my blood again and did the necessary tests and I've got some great news. I'm finally cancer-free!" She smiled as they all gasped; the look on their face was priceless. Caleb was the first one to go to her and hug her, the others looked like they were frozen in place.

He pulled apart, his semi-wet hair falling gracefully over his brow, "Why didn't you say anything when I asked?"

"And why didn't you mention that you had a doctor's appointment?" Irma demanded, having the others agree.

"Because I wanted to surprise you guys if it was good news and I didn't want to disappoint you if it was bad news." She admitted, her friends all smiled and rushed to hug their cancer-free friend. All at the same time. They told her how happy they were that she was finally fully healed and how glad they were she was still with them.

They decided to take a break from the training and just talk. Cornelia wanted to get back to it; she missed the fire in her muscles and the ache in her back when she flew too much but Will showed her the big bruise on her shoulder to convince her that they all needed a break.

Cornelia quickly agreed to take a break and apologized to Taranee and Will. It was now pitch black and the area they were in was poorly lit so Taranee decided to light a fire in one of the empty barrels that were scattered around while Cornelia conjured thick vines they could all sit on. They sat around the bonfire and just relaxed, Irma opened the miniature cooler they brought with them and handed everyone a bottle of ice-cold water then proceeded to soak herself with the cool water. Caleb laid his head on Cornelia's lap and with a smile she slowly ran her fingers through his damp hair.

Keira wiped her face with a towel, slug it around her neck and made her way to Mark. It had been the first time he came with her to 'Boot Camp', as she called it. Which was a bit odd since no one coached her, except Caleb although he did push her hard when he was in the mood for it. "So? What did you think?" she gently nudged him and placed a hand on his knee.

He smiled and took a sip from his water, "What did I think? That was amazing! It's like I was seeing Xena: Warrior Princess in action," with a laugh he placed a soft kiss her lips, "You are my Warrior Princess."

She blushed and cleared her throat, "Uh, thanks, you have to know how to fight in Meridian. I learned from my brother and he led an army when he was only 14 so I had a good teacher." Her eyes fell on Caleb, who was enjoying Cornelia's head massage, He deserves being happy again she thought with a smile. Mark nodded and kissed her again, slower and deeper this time.

"Oh my God, guys. Get a room why don't cha?" Hay Lin teased, nudging Irma to go along.

"Dude! Suck on her tongue any longer and you could choke on it,"

The whole gang burst out laughing, including Caleb and Cornelia. Irma was laughing so hard she ended up on her back, holding her ribs. Keira pulled away, noticing that even Mark was the same shade of red she was. "I could have said the same to you Irma but Martin seemed to be enjoying it," Keira replied back.

"A little too much if you guys catch my drift," Mark said after he regained his voice, making Irma's laughter stop. Pretty much everyone "Oo'd and Aah'd" at that awesome comeback. While they started teasing Irma about her secret make-out session with 'the nerd she didn't like' Cornelia and Caleb slowly slipped away from the group.

They found a private place just behind some mossy, concrete blocks. Caleb leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms in front of his chest, deep in thought, while Cornelia concentrated on moving a huge boulder. "You know the reason this building site is abandoned?" She asked, a serious look on her face as she felt the boulder move a few inches to her left. When she heard him stay quiet she went on, "A man died here, it was way before I was born. I think my parents were only teens when it happened. Well he was placing steel bolts up on that ledge," she pointed to the rusted high-rise just a few feet away from them, "and he slipped, fell to his death. He didn't fasten the safety harness so he had nothing to hold him. I used to come here when I was younger and every time I used to walk past that fence, I always heard the sound of someone drilling steel bolts. It's super spooky when you're here alone." As soon as she finished telling her tale, she lifted the boulder up in the air and threw it against a couple of steel pipes, bending one on impact.

Caleb just looked at her like she was crazy, "Are you serious?" He pushed himself off the wall and made his way to her.

"What do you think?" He turned a shade lighter when she stayed serious and as soon as he was about to shudder she started to laugh. "Hahaha! You should have seen the look on your face!" She doubled over, smacking her knee and laughed harder, "You were terrified!"

"I was not! I knew you were kidding," he lied; she just continued to laugh, leaning against the concrete blocks to support herself. With a huge smile on his face he ran to her and lifted her up. "Say you're sorry," He lifted her higher and she screamed, partly because she was caught off guard, partly because she liked it when he did this, but she refused to apologize, "Say it."

"Nope" He felt the cooling air her wings were making as she held him by the arms and lifted him up, "Now you say you're sorry."

"C-Cornelia, this isn't funny!" He yelled, she lifted him higher; "You know I don't like heights!" He closed his eyes and gripped her hand tighter, holding on for dear life.

"Say it." She teased, looking down at him; he shook his head and pursed his lips together. "Aww! You're no fun!" On noticing how scared he was she slowly lowered him to the ground, kissed his cheek and apologized.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack tonight?" he let go of her hand and rested his back against the cool iron fence, "First that stupid story and now this." Gripping his chest he slid to the ground, then finally rested his head on his knees, breathing in and out. He wasn't afraid of a lot of things but heights was the only thing that made him go white and shake uncontrollably.

Cornelia felt bad for what she had done; she knelt beside him and placed a reassuring hand on his, gently kissing his forehead. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like this, I just thought it would be funny." She slowly lifted his head from his hands and rested it on her shoulder, lightly cupping his face and hearing him murmur;

"But it wasn't." she found the way he said it cute and tried to hid the smile but he heard it in her voice when she reassured him that it wasn't. He sighed and she kissed him, apologized again then whispered 'I love you' in his ear. They shared a smile and everything was back to normal again. They spent a few minutes talking, asking each other how their week was and how Caleb's job was going.

She found out that he absolutely loved his job, the boss liked him and his cooking skills a lot; "If he didn't he wouldn't have hired you!" Cornelia teased him about it, and the guys at work really took a liking to him. So now, he may have some new guy friends. She knew how much he craved having friends his own age, sure he never complained about her friends' ages or their boyfriends' but she knew deep down that he wanted this, and she was happy he finally had it. They talked about Cornelia's doctor appointment and how she was doing with her exams, which was good considering she was gone most of the year.

Suddenly, they heard shouts and the sound of whirling fire followed by a cursing; "Holy crap! Motherf- Aargh!" they rushed to their screaming friend and found Will holding her thigh, her skirt scorched, "What is it today? Try-to-murder-Will-day? First Cornelia nearly knocks me out and now you, Taranee. Aahh! Man that hurts!"

"It's not my fault you didn't block it." Taranee straightened her glasses and flew to the ground, "You saw it coming, but instead of using your Quintessence you just stared at it." Will followed her, proceeding to hit the Fire Guardian. Keira rushed to Will's side and held her by the arms while Hay Lin held back Taranee.

"Guys stop! This is no one's fault, we came here to practice and we learn from our mistakes," Irma got in the middle of them and looked at both of them. She had never seen Taranee so mad and Will was in serious pain, "Now it's in the past so we'll move on." They all nodded, Will and Taranee apologized to each other and Irma proceeded to heal Will.

Over the past year, Irma noticed that if she concentrated hard enough, she could heal any wound especially burn wounds like the one Will had right now. It didn't always work but most of the time, it did. Will sat down on the bench-like vine still around the bonfire, clutching her blistering leg. Irma conjured up a decent amount of water to completely wrap her thigh. The water swirled, giving Will instant relief from the burning she felt. It started to glow a crystal blue color until it slowly faded away, leaving Will's thigh completely healed and a very relieved Will.

She thanked her and they got on with their training. They spent the remainder of the night, hard at work with Keira, Caleb and Mark relaxing and talking. Everything was right again, just the way it is supposed to be.

The End

Well that's it for this story, hope you liked it. I finally felt inspired to continue because of my wonderful bf I have. He made me so happy that the writer's block I had finally disappeared! Anyway, thanks for your support, have a nice day

-xKrissyx-