'Pub tonight?' Max stretched and yawned.
Louise, Robyn, Cal and Charlie murmured their assent. Lily collected her coat and walked over to her locker in silence.
'I still smell like—'
'Yeah, you do.' Louise looked at Cal with disgust. 'Either spray some air freshener on your clothes or change them—I'm not going out with that.'
Alicia slipped into the room and sidled up beside Lily. Lily made a point of focusing on the contents of her locker, but she could still feel the other woman's presence. It was distracting. How did Alicia command the room's attention just by walking into it, she wondered.
'Hey Alicia, do you think I smell?' Cal walked up to them and waved his t-shirt around a few times.
'God, yes, get away from me!' She batted him away, but he kept on coming closer. As the smell hit Lily's nose she decided it was long past time she got out of there.
No one was going to invite her to the pub, so there was no point her sticking around. Besides, she consoled herself, if they want to spent time around the adult babies that are Alicia and Caleb, why should she subject herself to the same torture?
Yes, she thought as she hurried out of the locker room, she will go home and cook herself something instead. A good meal and some sleep, that's what will have her back here tomorrow, ready to perform at her best. The others can spend their time nursing hangovers while she rushes around and does her job. With a little luck Alicia might call in sick.
As she headed out of the door, Lily was almost cheerful. There was a small bounce to her step as she strode past the steady stream of disgruntled and bloody patients, and ignored (or was she being ignored?) the nurses and doctors.
But then, as always, something stopped her in her tracks. Iain, leaning against the building. He grinned at her.
'Good evening, Dr Chao.'
'Iain,' she smiled. 'waiting for the others?'
'No, as it happens, I was waiting for you.'
A startled smile spread across her face. 'Me?'
'Well yeah, that is, if you want to come to the pub with me.'
The pub. With Alicia. And Cal. And twenty other pairs of prying eyes besides. She took a step back, her smile fading.
'Thanks, but I'd rather go home and put my feet—'
'Look, I know the others will be there and it's going to be awkward, but why don't you give it a shot? We'll sit on our own and make sure we'll away from them.'
When Lily didn't respond straight away, he offered her his arm. He was wearing a blue t-shirt that fitted him perfectly. She could see the contours of his arms, his chest through it. She moved and took his arm as though hypnotised.
The pub was as loud as ever.
'C'mon,' Iain said when they entered, 'they all sit over there usually, it'd be better if we went… this way.'
He led her over to a small booth by the front of the room. This was exactly the intimate setting she had hoped for, but there was one problem: they were sitting by a window. The rest of the ED team would be out in a minute, and when they were there would be no chance of them skipping over the sight of Iain Dean and Lily Chao.
'Let them stare.' Iain said, seeming to read her thoughts. 'I don't care. Do you?'
That smile was delicious. Infectious. She found herself smiling with him and shaking her head.
And, of course, she was right. When the gaggle of sleepy doctors, nurses and a porter did make their way into the ED and took their seats in the booth on the other side of the room, they endured the staring for almost ten minutes afterwards.
But that didn't feel like a blow, and Lily made sure she gave them something to look at. She and Iain chatted away, about work and themselves, revealing details of their personal lives and supplementing this with tales of unruly patients.
All the while Lily kept second guessing herself.
Did he usually talk about Patients when he wasn't at work? Was he trying to please her? Obviously. What did any of that matter? She asked herself. He was talking to her, smiling enough to know that he was genuinely enjoying her company, and for once she wasn't sitting home alone at this hour. As far as she was concerned, that was a win.
'Hey, Iain,' Cal shouted over from the table. 'Come and sit with us.'
'No thanks mate, I'm good over here.'
'Oh, you could bring your date as well.' He was slurring a little. They all laughed.
Lily felt her cheeks reddening and looked at the empty beer glass she had in front of her.
'Actually, I think we're gonna head off, but thanks.'
A loud round of muttering was started over this statement. Lily look up from her glass and stared at him.
'We are?'
'Yeah, I think so.' He smiled. 'C'mon. I'll walk you home.'
'It'll be quite a walk.'
'That's okay. All the more time for us to talk. Now what about that patient, Mr Philips? Did you say a pensioner came in with heroin in his system?'
'He had dementia. The heroin was his grandson's but he'd thought it was his medication and injected himself.'
Perhaps it was the crisp night air, but when they got outside Lily felt grateful for Iain's company all over again. They walked, or rather strolled, and talked for the next hour. Iain told jokes and she laughed even if she didn't get them, and Lily told Iain of her life and had a stab at a couple of jokes herself. Iain even laughed at a couple of them.
But then, they were at her front doorstep, and the conversation dried up.
'Would-would you like to come in?' She asked.
'Oh, no, you're alright. I've got an early shift tomorrow, so I'd better get back home myself.'
'Didn't you say you lived near the Farmead estate? That's over an hour away.'
Iain turned around on the spot and then scratched his chin. 'Yeah, yeah it is. I better call a cab or—'
'Stay over.'
He lowered his hand.
'Sorry?
'Stay over? I have a spare room, you could, you know—'
'Oh, right, yeah. Of-of course. Well thanks, Lily, but I—'
She halted his declining of the offer by kissing him.
Lily had never been all that assertive, but as she oved her hands up to the sides of his face and felt the roughness of his stubble, she knew she made the right choice. Hell, she wasn't even as scared as she thought she would.
Iain's hands moved to her waist, and they broke apart. He still seemed a little shocked, so she gave him a nervous smile and was relieved when he returned it.
'Sure,' he said, 'I'll stick around.'
