I kept thinking of this idea in canon of 26th August episode and the following week's episode when Lily needs a date but according to the trailer takes Iain instead of Ethan so here is the aftermath in my view.
Ethan patiently waited, his hands shaking as he took deep breaths. He could hear the faint sounds of laughing and giggling behind the door.
The door opened and he could see the smile turn into an evident frown.
"Ethan?"
"H-hey Lily," he swallowed, handing her the flowers. He didn't miss Iain standing shirtless by the kitchen door nor did he miss Lily's chosen attire of a black, silk robe. "I wanted to uh, say sorry for bailing on you. I'm sure you looked great and uh, your cousin..." He blinked, trying to continue getting the words out to prevent her from catching on. "Looked great too. So, enjoy your night."
Lily frowned, stopping him from leaving but she was pulled back.
"Leave him alone." She heard whispered into her ear. "You can't pressure him into staying."
"Ethan?" She said, ignoring Iain's gentle words.
Ethan looked down at her hand restricting his arm. He gently shook her off, slightly stumbling in the process. Using the fence for support, he turned away from them, blushing.
"Are you drunk, Ethan?" Lily asked, frowning even more.
Ethan gulped, shaking his head. "I have to go." He quickly walked away from her, preventing her from reaching out and pulling him back.
Lily sighed, going back into her home. She slightly shivered due to the gust of the wind which came from shutting her front door closed. Turning to Iain, she frowned.
"Did he seem okay to you?" She asked, going past Iain into the kitchen to get herself a glass of water.
"Of course he isn't okay but he seemed okay." Iain shrugged, wrapping his arms around her waist. "So, let's finish what we started." He nuzzled her neck, placing soft kisses onto it which caused her to giggle and turn around to capture his lips in a kiss.
"Bedroom?"
She was replied with a lift, her legs immediately wrapping around his waist as she grinned. "Bedroom indeed."
...
Lily sat up, grabbing her robe and putting it on. She stilled when Iain readjusted his sleeping position before slipping out of bed and getting properly dressed in the bathroom. When she was done, she put her trainers on, dumping the robe on her bedside table and making her way to the front door to get her car keys. She left a stickie note on the door and left, getting into her car with a sigh.
She buzzed three times on the caller and waited, pursing her lips together as she thought of words to say.
"Hello?"
"It's me."
The door beeped before buzzing continuously, allowing Lily to enter and close the door behind her. She went up the stairs and found another door opened. Stepping in, she found Ethan nursing a bloody hand.
"Ethan?!" She quietly exclaimed, rushing to the kitchenette to retrieve a dish cloth and some water. "What the hell happened?"
She felt his presence behind her, the stench of alcohol too much to ignore. "I... I don't know."
Lily turned around, immediately tending to the injury as she noticed the thin line of blood marking his wrist. "Did you...?" Her eyes trailed towards the coffee table where a bloody knife laid alongside some heavy spirits. "Ethan..." She breathed out, her eyes tearing up.
"I keep seeing him. I just... I wanted it to stop." Ethan sobbed, hanging his head down in shame. "I killed him."
"No! You didn't kill Cal-"
"I'm not talking about Cal..." Ethan swallowed, his tears falling off his cheek onto his grey shirt. "I let Scott die. I left him to die."
Lily gasped, pressing harder onto his wound, making him hiss out in pain. "Sorry." She apologised, her eyes going to the now blood filled rag. "You're drunk. You don't know what you're saying. Get some sleep-"
"You're not listening to me!" It was his turn to grab her wrist tightly as she gasped in pain. "He was choking and I-I walked away. I wanted him to suffer like he made Cal!"
Lily nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks. "And he did suffer. I treated him remember?" When he nodded, she continued gently. "I wanted him to suffer too. For what he did to Cal."
"You did?" Ethan whispered, his eyes wide.
"Yeah because you're hurting and I hate seeing you hurt and he was the cause of that hurt. You're my best friend, Ethan."
He shook his head. "But I was so mean to you. I said that you would die lonely. I'm a bad person, Lily. You don't want to be my friend." He let her wrist go, heading towards the opened bottle of alcohol, leaving Lily to stand by the sink with the bloodied rag.
"Ethan, you can't do this to yourself."
He turned to her, something that she'd never seen before in his eyes. Nothing. "What have I got to live for? I have no one and all of these ghosts haunting me. I wish it was me Scott stabbed and not Cal. He was always the stronger brother, he would have moved on easily but I can't. I'm weak and I know that."
Lily scoffed, shaking her head. "If you want to drink yourself to death and join Cal, then be my guest!" She threw the rag at him, heading towards the still opened door but she was stopped. She tugged her arm back but she wasn't quick enough to stop it from being grabbed again.
"I don't know who I am anymore Lily... Please, help me?"
Her breath hitched in her throat as she turned around to face Ethan once again, looking so defeated and tired.
"You know that no matter what, I'd always help you."
...
The next day, Lily was surprised to see Ethan walk into the staff room, putting his things away in the lockers and getting his scrubs. Smiling at her patient's partner, she excused herself and took the patient's notes into the staff room as an excuse to talk to him.
"Why the hell are you here?"
Ethan nearly jumped, turning to face her with bags under his eyes. "I couldn't stay at home. My mind was racing, I needed out." He mumbled quietly as he changed his shirts. "You left early."
"I needed to go home and change. I didn't sleep much so I had made you lunch and dinner. Seems like they're going to waste." Lily replied, looking through her patient's notes as Charlie walked past, curiously.
"Thanks for... you know, last night," Ethan said, leaning against her locker which was beside his.
Lily smiled at him. "You're welcome. If you need anything just ask. You could stick with me during this shift. I kind of told Mrs Beauchamp that you might not be in and she seemed to get it."
Ethan's face paled as he blinked multiple times, his tears wetting his eyes.
Alarmed, Lily placed her hand on his shoulder. "What happened?"
"I... I froze. Yesterday, we were treating a patient together in Resus and I froze. The patient's family member screamed in my face, begging me to help her and she said that I was a bad doctor who couldn't do my job. Mrs Beauchamp really gave it to me last night too, presenting me with a notice of compassionate leave. As of tomorrow, I'm taking six months leave."
Lily sighed, looking down to try and process this news. "Ethan, how did you let it get this bad? Is that why you... last night?"
He nodded, digging his nails into his palms deeply. "I could lose my job. Especially if Connie finds out what I did."
"That stays between us, okay? And you won't lose your job. Have you ever thought to get some grief counselling? It helped when my father died." Lily said gently, rubbing his shoulder.
"Connie said that too. I'm too scared that it would make things worse, not make me understand why things happened. My adopted mum was a psychiatrist and she would analyse Cal and me when we were kids until we were teenagers. Every little spat or fight between us or others, we were made to understand why things happened and that never let us move on. We would dwell until we forgot about it and it was just not important anymore. "
"Maybe that was because she was your mother and not someone looking at it from the outside. Try, for me?"
Ethan pushed himself off the lockers when he saw Connie walk in, arms folded. "Ethan, are you okay with working in cubicles with Dr Chao?"
He quickly nodded, leaving to get properly dressed.
"Lily, go easy on him. You and I both know that we can't always be there to pick up the pieces."
Lily nodded. "Of course."
"Are you okay? Iain was talking about your near miss." Connie asked.
Lily nodded. "I am fine. We just ran into a field of sheep, nothing serious."
"Take it easy. We can't have another vehicle accident regarding you, okay? I don't know how much my heart could take with..." She took a deep breath. "Keep Dr Hardy in check, yeah?"
"Yeah."