Lily was sitting in the staffroom, so engrossed in her book that she didn't notice when the door swung open and clicked shut a few seconds later. She looked up quickly when Ethan placed two cups of tea on the table in front of her and sat down on the sofa opposite. She smiled to him.

"Thank you," Lily said, swapping her book for her favourite mug. "You got it just right too," she said after taking a sip.

"Well, it's taken me long enough to work out exactly how you like it, that's for sure!" Ethan laughed, his eyes creasing happily, opening a small cut on his forehead. It took a few seconds for Lily to notice.
"That's why you always watched so intently! You did do a good job though." She paused, taking another sip of tea. She narrowed her eyebrows suddenly. "You're bleeding, Ethan, did you know? You've got a cut, about an inch long, not very deep but bleeding down into your left eyebrow. Let me have a look at it, please?" It wasn't really a question: Lily was already halfway across the room to fetch the first aid kit from the wall. It was what most people, especially Ethan, admired about her. The way she could snap in a second between Lily and Dr Chao. Although many of the staff in the ED liked neither, Ethan couldn't help himself being hopelessly in love with them both. He nodded, knowing Lily could do far better job than he would be able to do in front of a mirror in the gents' toilets.

Lily worked quickly and in silence, only speaking when it was completely necessary. Both of them were appreciative of the peace, away from the punishing night shift in the ED and the constant pressure from Connie Beauchamp. Lily knew she meant well, but a little too often Connie came across as overly occupied with statistics rather than the actual patients. When necessary though, her bedside manner could be incredible, something Lily was determined to work on. With that in mind, she tried to be a little more chatty as she disinfected the cut.

"This may sting a little, sorry Ethan." He winced as she dabbed a cotton wool pad across his eyebrow. "How did this even happen? You're usually so careful!" She added that last part as an afterthought, it was rare she found a way to complement her colleague without coming across (in her opinion) as gushing. Which was why she usually kept her mouth shut and Dr Hardy was completely unaware they felt the same way about each other.

"Goodness, was that a complement from the inimitable Dr Chao?" Ethan smiled while Lily bit her lip and suppressed a ferocious blush that threatened to erupt from the base of her neck and flush her entire face if she wasn't careful.

"It was indeed, Dr Hardy." To take the attention off herself, Lily busied her mind with Ethan's cut. "Now what happened?"

"It must have been that delightfully inebriated young woman I treated last. She had nails like talons and didn't take too kindly to my advice to call it a night."

"Clearly not. What time is it?" Lily asked curiously, stifling a yawn. She was tired, and couldn't wait to go home to bed, to sort out her sleeping pattern after three night shifts.

"Nearly two." Ethan said, checking his watch. "Nearly home time," he corrected himself, remembering the shift was more than half over now. A crease formed between Lily's eyebrows as she pulled a pack of closure tapes from the first aid kit.

"It's a little deeper than I thought, you don't mind if I use a couple of these do you?" Lily said, changing the subject.

"Not at all. Although I doubt you're going to give me much choice!" Ethan laughed.

"Keep still, you don't want one of these stuck in your eyebrows." Focusing on his face, she put a hand in his hair to steady him. It was every bit as soft as it looked.

"Hey, are you okay Lily?" he said, suddenly concerned. Letting her guard down in exhaustion, for once Lily was honest with him about how she felt. Unfortunately not about him – she wasn't quite tired enough for that.

"I'm exhausted. Completely drained," she began gently, packing things back into the first aid box before clicking back into doctor mode. "You should leave those strips on for as long as it takes for the cut to completely dry out. Maybe after you've woken up later on." She stood up and jumped in surprise to see Connie at the door. She wondered how long the clinical lead had been standing there. Lily didn't want any trouble about being overtired. Luckily it seemed Connie hadn't heard anything.

"Dr Chao, you have an exceptionally steady hand." Connie's complement was immediately disguised by sharp instructions. "Put it to use on the patients please. Dr Hardy, if you're adequately patched up we need you in resus. There's an RTC on it's way in, ETA five minutes." She turned and left the room, her high heels echoing clicks across the ED. Lily put the first aid box back on the wall and began meticulously scrubbing her hands at the sink.

"I didn't get to finish my tea," she said wistfully. Ethan plucked up all of his courage while Lily was facing the wall.

"I can make you another, later on, if you like." he paused, biting his lip and deciding what to say next. "Lily, you're exhausted, you said it yourself. I don't want you driving home like this, it's not safe. Please come home with me, you can crash on the sofa for a few hours then I can bring you back here for your moped."

Too tired to refuse, Lily accepted Ethan's offer and was very pleased the wall was hiding her blushes and a smile.

"That would be lovely." Lily didn't trust herself to turn around straight away, but when she did, she ran a hand down her sleek ponytail, looked Ethan in the eyes and said earnestly "The tea really was lovely, thank you."

"It was my pleasure Lily. Now, back to work, before Mrs Beauchamp comes looking for us again!" He adjusted his glasses and brushed his fingers against his neatly mended eyebrow, smiling appreciatively.