Downpour - sequel to Dark Storms

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Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. But how could I tell you that this Christmas was something special?

How about this.

No more cancer.

The chemotherapy worked and it killed all the cancer cells in my body, helping my lungs recover. After two weeks of stopping chemo, my lungs stopped producing fluid. I was a cancer free child again. And that to me was amazing.

Now here's the thing. I wanted to surprise Shawn with the whole no cancer thing so I still had to lug around the oxygen tank. But it wasn't giving me oxygen. That was all. My lungs were back to normal and I could potentially pop them if I actually used them. So I had Shawn wrapped around my lie.

But that wasn't the only thing going on. I was taking two years worth of classes in order to finish school early like Shawn was. But thanks to my photograpic memory that wasn't too hard. And it meant I graduated in May. Whoop Whoop.

Christmas Day, I woke up and celebrated with my family in the morning before Shawn's family and himself came over. Before he did I showered got dressed and put the cannulas in my nose for the reveal. I grabbed Shawn's first present, (a new guitar case with a bow on it, since he needed a new one) and headed downstairs. I put the case down in front of the tree just as Shawn came through the door. I walked over, rolling the tank behind me. He hugged my dad and Natalia, giving Frankie a sqeeuze and waving at Destiny before coming to me. "Merry Christmas Erika." "Merry Christmas Shawn." I hugged him tightly, my tube getting tangled in his buttons, giggling and untangling them. I took his hand, and he grabbed my tank. I walked him to the tree and smiled when his jaw dropped at the sight of the case. "Er, you didn't need to." "Oh but I did." He laid it down and opened it, seeing the card and picked it up. Aaliyah was filming the whole thing from a distance as everyone else looked on but in secret. They were still talking to each other. I watched Shawn's fingers open the envelope, and pull out the card. When he opened it, I reached up to remove the cannulas as he read.

"Shawn,
This isn't much of a Christmas present and I'm sorry. But I hope this news makes up for it.

I had a CAT scan a few weeks ago. The chemo worked. There's no more cancer."

He looked at me, quickly raising his head to do so, tears in his eyes. I smiled and he bit his lip before laughing, astonished. He pulled me towards him, wrapping his arms around my waist and hugging me tightly. I had never really seen Shawn cry. I never wanted to, be after I had told him he broke down. I rubbed his back gently humming soft reminders that there would be no more panics, no more doctors, hospitals, helicopters, oxygen tanks and tubes, and no more pain.

We spent the rest of the day outside, playing around in the snow with Frankie and Aaliyah until it got dark. When it did, Aaliyah and Frankie sat on the floor watching the claymation Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, as did Shawn and I, but cuddled up on the couch. "This is so nice. Not getting tangled in tubes. Breathing on my own. God, I love this." I heard Shawn chuckle ever so slightly and felt him shake his head. "I'm just happy you're okay again." I looked up at him and smiled. "Me too."