Thanks for reading this far! I hope you enjoy the song! And remember, look for the <> for when to listen to the song.

"How was the trip?" Doctor Patel asked to me as he wheeled me off the helicopter on the hospital rooftop.

I looked up at him and shrugged as I thought about the past three days. There had been so many tests, so much blood drawn, so many words spoken, it was hard to remember all of it.

I stretched as I felt my body ached from the treatment. Even the smallest movements hurt as if I ran a marathon. I had slept a lot the past few days, but I felt like I wasn't getting any sleep at all. It wiped me out, and I knew that in just another month, I would have to do the same treatment all over again. But for now, I could celebrate the fact that I was home and now I could be with my family and Peter. "It was ok. California's overrated."

Doctor Patel chuckled, "I can agree with you on that." He paused then continued, "I just got off the phone with Doctor Smith. He said he's encouraged by your positive reactions to the treatment and has high hopes for the following treatments."

I frowned as I thought about the last three days. If my reaction was a positive one, I would hate to see an adverse reaction. The words of Doctor Cali stayed fresh in my mind as Doctor Patel pushed me through the hospital doors.

'Now Clare, I want you to rest and get your strength back, because I need to see you in three weeks. Your test results were positive,' he said and knelt to get down on eye level with me in my wheelchair. He grabbed my hand, and I personally thought he was being too emotional, but I could see the excitement in his eyes, so I said nothing. 'You're strong, Clare. I can understand why Peter's so in love with you.'

"Hey Clare! welcome back!" a nurse said to me as we passed her in the hall.

I smiled with a wave, feeling like a celebrity for a moment. Even though I was happy to be home, I felt sleep tug me back under as I yawned, barely able to keep my eyes open as Doctor Patel pushed me down the halls. I wanted to sleep so badly again, but I fought the urge, finding this as an important time to stay awake. In a matter of minutes, I would be reunited with my loved ones after what felt like so long.

"Clare, some people are waiting for you," Doctor Patel said as he pushed me through some double doors, revealing my parents and Farrah with huge smiles on their faces.

My smile grew as I saw them, as I felt myself wake up just a little. This is what I had been missing for the past few days.

Farrah came up to me with a bag in her hands. She plopped it on my lap like a dog would give a stick to its master. "I found this outfit today at the mall and thought it was your style." She then wrapped her arms around me and gave me a small squeeze.

She released me, and I craned my neck to find Peter. I hadn't talked to him a lot the past few days since he said he was busy, so I tried to stay out of the way. Before I could get a good view of the lobby, my parents were bringing me into a group hug. I felt my bones shift from impact, and I resisted the urge to wince. I don't think they realized how strong their hugs were. As they held me, I couldn't breathe, but their body heat warmed me instantly and I welcomed the feeling.

You never realize how much you miss things until they are gone. I know it had only been three days, but when you're alone, across the country, those few days seem like a lifetime. Finally, feeling like I would suffocate from the hug, I tapped them. "Guys, can't. breathe."

They quickly let go of me and mom gave a nervous laugh, fearing she caused some damage to me in some way.

"We missed you, Clare," dad said and ruffled my blonde bird nest I called hair.

I smiled as I stretched my neck out one more time, looking for one more person, hoping that he was here. Just like on command, he came out from the corner of the room with flowers. He smiled brightly at me and walked over.

"Welcome back Clare," he said, kissing me lightly.

I breathed in his sweet scent and instantly I felt like I was home. I blinked out a few tears, careful to hide them from everyone. I didn't want to show how emotional I was as I looked at them. But right now, I knew I was home. "I missed all you guys so much."

<>

"It wasn't the same without you here Clare," dad said as he wheeled me out into the gray day. I pulled my sweater close to me as a gust of wintery fall air hit me, reminding me it's much colder here than in California. I looked up at the sky and saw little white flakes floating down, gently landing on the ground like feathers. The scene caused me to smile as the flakes landed around us.

"It's not even Thanksgiving yet! Really! Snow!" Farrah shouted at the sky as if it would listen to her and halt.

I laughed, knowing that there was no amount of yelling at the sky that could change the weather. "Can't you just be happy about how beautiful it's making things?"

"Yeah, it's beautiful, but it's cold! I swear, just yesterday I was happy with wearing a hoody, but now, it's a full-on winter coat, and I'm still cold!" she pouted.

I shook my head at her, seeing that there was no use in changing her mindset. She never did like the gray winters anyhow.

During the ride home, Farrah went on about the weather and how unpredictable it was. Peter sang to the radio with my parents and dad kept on glancing back at me as if to make sure I was really in the back seat. Every time he looked back at me I would just smile at him as if to say, I'm here, I'm ok.

Once we got home Peter spoke up, "can I take Clare on a quick walk?"

My parents frowned at the question, clearly disapproving of the idea already. They probably thought I should rest inside, but before they could speak up, I said, "I can do it. I need fresh air anyhow."

"Ok, but I want you to use the wheelchair and I need you back in 20 minutes. Max," dad said firmly.

Peter nodded at him. "Yes, sir," he said and got me into the wheelchair.

I immediately felt self-conscious as I sat in the chair that he pushed me in. I didn't want to look so weak to my neighbors. I hoped that none of them noticed as Peter pushed me down the road, knowing that if they saw, I would be the talk of the town.

Once we were out of earshot of my parents Peter said, "you look different."

I chuckled at him. What was that supposed to mean? I honestly didn't feel any different. I was just so worn out; I didn't pay attention to how I looked. He must confuse lack of sleep and achy body with me looking different. "Like how," I asked him.

"You have this new light in your eyes. A desire, new hope maybe? I don't know if you can see it, but clearly, I can."

He stared at me for a minute, I smiled at him, wondering what he was thinking about. "What?" I smiled widely at him.

"I love you," he said and knelt in front of me to look me in the eye.

My smile grew larger, if that was even possible. Hearing that phrase in person was better than hearing it over the phone. I felt myself buzz with excitement for a second as he held his hand. "I love you too. Goodness, I missed you so much," I explained to him as I reached for his hands. Our fingers laced together, and I felt the heat from his skin on mine. "There is magic in you."

He raised his eyebrows at me. This time, his turn to laugh. "And what do you mean by that?"

"You brought me back from the brink of hopelessness, death, despair. You are some wizard because I thought nothing could make me change, but yet here we are. I love you so much, Peter."

He smiled at me. "I'm glad to have you back," he said, and pulled me into a hug then kissed the top of my head.

There were a few minutes that went by full of silence, but it wasn't the awkward silence. It was more of the comfortable silence you get when you are soaking in the moment, dreading it to end.

"Want to know what I have been doing the past few days? Why it has been so hard to get a hold of me?" Peter finally asked me.

I nodded at him, wanting to know, but I thought it might be rude to ask. "I would love to know."

He stuffed his hands inside of his pockets and pulled out a folded piece of paper then handed it to me in silence.

I opened it to see that it was a check addressed to me for an amount of a small house. It shocked me, wondering how he got this money. I wondered if he robbed a bank. With shaking hands, I folded the paper up imminently. "I can't take this Peter." I shook my head at him.

The snow started to fall around us again. "You and I both know that the treatments in California are expensive. And I know your parents spent so much already. I wanted to help. The team, we did some fundraising, and we aren't done, but I wanted to give this amount to you already."

I shook my head as I thrusted the check back to him in silence, too lost for words to say anything.

He smiled kindly and pushed the check back to me. "I wanted to do this for you and your family. The entire community wanted to help. You may think you are invisible in this town, but everyone knows who you are and they're rooting for you."

My eyes welled up with tears. I was speechless. "Peter, I..."

He kissed my cheek. "You don't need to say anything," he said, and looked at the time on his phone. "It's time to send you back home before your dad comes calling."

I gave a small smile at him and nodded. "Thank you."