This story is named after the song 'Starts With Goodbye' by Carrie Underwood. It's one of my favourites. I have been watching Casualty for a few years and Lily is my favourite character, even though she has left. I do like Bea, Ethan, Connie, and Alicia as well though.
Chapter One
"Why did we have to come back to this dump?"
Lily smirked at the handsome man that stood beside her and gave a slow, stern shake of the head. He wasn't smiling back, but was stood staring up at the stone building with a pure look of disgust. She furrowed her brow and reached into the boot of the silver Mercedes for her suitcase. He made no movement to help her with it at all.
"It's my home. Remember?" She hissed through a pair of gritted teeth.
Clearing her throat, she dropped the heavy case at her feet, thinking of the clothes and the books and the two pairs of shoes that filled it. He just slammed the boot down, locked the car, and began to walk towards the 'dump' as he'd called it.
Henry Kellerman wasn't the nicest of people, and Lily often wondered what had made her fall in love with him in the first place. He was a family man though; a consultant, and the two of them had loads in common that they were able to talk about. In a weird way, she didn't care that he enjoyed drinking more than cuddling. She didn't care that he didn't call her beautiful and make her feel good about herself. She didn't care that he didn't really support her that much. He was her perfect guy, the guy that she'd always drawn pictures of as a child and the guy who fitted perfectly into her five-year plan.
She pulled the handle out of her case with a frustrated groan and tried to force a smile for him. He was the love of her life at the end of the day, the reason that she woke up in the morning, so his flaws didn't exactly matter. Did they?
"Are you coming or what?" He called aggressively to her from the other side of the car park. "This was your idea."
"I'm sorry, Henry," Lily apologised and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind one ear. "I was just getting my case," she added, hoping that he would get the hint.
He didn't though, so she had no choice but to stagger after him with heels, a heavy and awkward suitcase, and her handbag. Henry, however, walked freely with no difficulties at all.
Lily had clear memories of her and Henry's first meet.
It was at her first ever work conference in Hong Kong, and it was safe to say that she'd been nervous. She hadn't been there long, she hardly knew a single person, and she really wanted to do well in her new job. Thinking back, she couldn't work out why, but at the time she had been close to calling in sick.
She'd arrived at half past six, half an hour before the conference was due to start, giving herself plenty of time to settle in and find a seat near the front. The first thing she did was head to the bar to get herself a drink, nothing alcoholic and nothing too fancy, just a simple Diet Coke. As she stood and sipped, the hustle and bustle of the loud voices around her ringing in her ears, someone set some coins down on the bar under her nose. She looked up, sucked in a breath and curled her fingers around her glass, as she realised that she was looking into the eyes of a very handsome and very young gentleman. She knew the feeling well, she'd never felt like that about anyone apart from Iain, not even Ethan or Archie.
"Let me get that for you," he'd said.
He was gorgeous. He had dark, spiky, brown hair and dark, chocolate, brown eyes that people could easily melt into. Cute dimples took over his face when he smiled, and he had his top button undone to reveal a small patch of chest hair.
"Why?" Lily had asked in a soft whisper, but he'd held his index finger to her lips before she could even attempt to say anything else.
They'd sat together at the conference and they'd talked constantly about their careers and their ambitions for the future. He'd been so nice at the time and surprisingly enough; he'd been the one to ask her out. Since making their relationship official though, he hadn't once bought her another drink, let alone a decent meal, and he hadn't once said how beautiful she was. It was as if he'd been putting on an act to try and seduce her, and yet she was still with him.
"Lead the way then," he sighed, when she'd eventually caught up.
"You know, you could help me with my case," she snapped.
Rolling his eyes, he snatched the case away from her and she took hold of his free hand. He scoffed and held back with that same look of disgust, so she just walked ahead through the double doors of Holby City ED.
It felt good to be home.
The first person she saw was Noel, busy doing paperwork at the reception desk. She glanced towards Resus, just as Connie and Robyn walked through the double doors.
"Lily!" Exclaimed Robyn, running over and enveloping Lily in a hug. "What are you doing here? I…I thought you were in Hong Kong."
"It's my mother's sixtieth birthday this weekend," Lily informed.
"Welcome back, Doctor Chao," Connie greeted formally, with a small and awkward smile. "It's good to see you."
She subtly glanced across at Henry, constant thoughts whirling around her mind. Who was he? Why hadn't he said anything? Why hadn't Lily introduced him yet?
"So, how have you been?" She questioned her.
"Great," Lily answered. "Thank you for asking, Mrs Beauchamp. The research project has been wonderful, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time there."
"I'm pleased to hear that," Connie said. "You have done extremely well, Lily. Well done."
She glanced once more towards Henry, and Robyn slowly moved her head in sync so that they were both staring intensely at him. He was stood awkwardly beside Lily, her suitcase at his feet, and a bored and blank expression on his face. It was then when Lily suddenly clocked.
"Oh!" She gestured towards him and said, "This is my fiancé, Henry Kellerman."
Robyn let out a high-pitched squeal whilst Connie's eyes widened and looked the man up and down. He wore skinny jeans and a smart, black jacket, but there was something rather strange about him. She just couldn't place her finger on it.
"Fiancé?" She questioned Lily in a small voice.
"You're getting married?" Robyn stated the obvious, her hands held up to her mouth in shock. "When?"
"In June, hopefully," Lily said and held her hand out to reveal the huge rock that sat upon her wedding finger.
"That is gorgeous!" Robyn gasped, grabbing hold of Lily's wrist so that she could admire the ring at a closer angle. "Wow! You chose a good one there, Lily," she said, nodding towards Henry.
"Anything for my girl," Henry said and wrapped an arm around Lily's waist.
Even Lily appeared shocked at his touch, but she said nothing about it and just placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. He grinned and showed his teeth, before whipping his attention back to Connie and Robyn.
"It is such a pleasure to meet you both," he said and held out his hand for a shake straight away. "I hope that we will see you at the wedding."
Connie thanked him under her breath and said, "Kellerman, is it?"
"You've probably heard the name," Henry boasted and shrugged his shoulders. "My father is one of the best doctor's in the country."
"Hmmm. I did think that it sounded familiar," Connie said, and slowly accepted his handshake.
"You're so lucky, Lily," Robyn said, with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"Indeed," Connie sighed. "Why don't we finish this conversation later? Hope and Anchor at seven o'clock? We can then have a proper celebration, and get to know Henry a little bit better as well."
"That sounds lovely," Lily replied. "Thank you."
"But I thought we had dinner plans," Henry mentioned.
"We can still grab dinner," Lily said. "We have six hours."
"Whatever," Henry scoffed, and handed the suitcase back to her. "I'm going to use the bathroom. Then can we go?"
"Sure," Lily sighed, taking her case from him, as he stormed off to find the gents. "It's really nice to be back in Holby," Lily said to Connie, in an attempt to make some small talk.
"It's really nice to see you again," Connie said. "And um…Lily?"
Lily nodded at her, waiting patiently to hear what her old boss had to say.
"I hope you're happy."
"Well, well, well."
Iain turned his head and smirked when he saw her standing behind him. Sam Nicholls. Someone who he'd known for years, someone who he'd once been in a relationship with, and someone who he'd slowly made his way back to.
"There is my sexy, handsome paramedic," Sam teased and playfully tapped him on the nose. "I have been looking everywhere for you."
"Clearly, you weren't looking hard enough," Iain chuckled and pressed his lips against hers. "I'm just tidying up if you wanted to grab some lunch."
"We could do," Sam sighed. "Or we could stay here, make use of an empty ambulance, if you know what I'm talking about."
"I do know what you're talking about." Iain shook his head at her and leaned back against the wall. "But we only have forty minutes, and I need to get some food in me. I'm bloody starving."
He hoped that a change of subject would change Sam's mind. He hoped that she wouldn't take the conversation any further. It wasn't that he didn't like the thought of making out in the back of an ambulance; it was just the fact that he'd once done the same with Lily. He was happy with Sam, he loved her, but he'd never stopped thinking about his ex girlfriend. Lily was special and he'd been devastated when she'd left to begin a new life in Hong Kong.
"Is your stomach the only thing that you think about?" Sam laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I suppose we could always use the ambulance when we finish our shifts?"
"Yeah," Iain scoffed. "Maybe. We'll see."
"Is everything okay, Iain?" Sam asked, tilting her head so that she was able to read his facial expressions. "You seem distracted."
"Nah, just tired," he said and soothingly ran small circles up and down her arms. "I'm alright."
"Good, because I can't have you falling asleep on me now," Sam said.
Iain nodded and gently rested his head against her chest, breathing in her scent. Nothing. No sparks, no racing heart, no nothing. He wasn't sure what that meant and he wasn't sure if he was making the right decision, but Sam clearly cared an awful lot about him. Besides, when him and Sam were a couple all those years ago, he'd really enjoyed their time together.
"I love you," Sam whispered softly in his ear.
"Yeah," Iain whispered back and locked eyes with her. "I love you too."
As the two of them leaned in to share a kiss, Robyn rushed in and completely interrupted the moment. Iain pulled away, cleared his throat, and turned to see what it was that she wanted. She was panting and seemed completely out of breath, but she looked excited and thoroughly happy with the piece of news that she was about to share with them.
"What are you guys doing after work?" She panted. "We're all going for drinks at The Hope and Anchor," she then added, before Sam could even tell her their plans.
"Why?" Iain frowned in confusion.
It was no one's birthday, no special occasion, and Robyn seemed way too excited over just a few drinks.
"You'll never believe it," she said. "Lily's back, and she's getting married."
There will be loads more to come, and you will all get to know Henry a bit better as well. He's quite a nasty but fun character to write about. Please leave a review and let me know what you think so far.
Thank you.