"Mornin' you," he said sleepily as he rolled over and opened his eyes. She was already awake, covers bunched up to her chin with her small, blonde head peeking out over the top, watching him. He placed his arm on the pillow which her head barely reached, and moved slightly so that he could kiss her without her needing to move.

"You're learning." She smiled cheekily at him, and he grinned before rolling above her, hands placed either side of her cocooned form.

"Iain... Iain stop!" She was giggling, desperately wriggling underneath him but to no avail. He bent his head to kiss her neck, and then slumped over back onto his side, swinging his legs to the floor before reaching across to her and swiftly removing her from the bed. He picked her up whilst she was still tangled in the duvet, both of them laughing, her persistent requests to be put down ignored. He carried her down the stairs and through to the lounge, lowering her down onto the sofa where they had sat the night before.

"Cuppa tea?"

She tugged the duvet around her shoulders and looked up at him, before yawning and smiling at him.

"Go on, then. And some cornflakes, please." He rolled his eyes and she bit her lip, pulling at his top to bring him down to her. She moved her hand to the back of his neck and kissed him, before he cupped his hands to her cheeks and pulled away, giving them an affectionate tug before disappearing into the kitchen.


"Are you sure you don't want to take the day off?" He knew he would be fighting a losing battle, but he also knew that he had to at least attempt to convince her to take it easy. She had barely spoken a word whilst they walked, and noticed how tense and closed off she seemed to be. He swung their arms gently together, watching as she turned to look at him, eyebrow raised, just as he was expecting.

"Iain, I'm okay. I need to be in work, if I'm not then that's when it will get worse."

"At least talk to Charlie..."

"No, I'm not talking to anyone, and neither are you." She let go of his hand and crossed her arms across her body. The last thing she needed was people questioning her professional ability. He softly touched his hand to her elbow and she stopped walking, letting her arms fall down to her sides.

"Hey... Come here. I'm sorry, I'm not going to say anything to anyone." He stepped forward, closing the space between them and brought his arms around her, her head resting against his chest. "If you start feeling like it is too much..."

"It won't..."

"Reets, hear me out, please." She looked up at him, then sighed before dropping her head back down against him. He rubbed her shoulders as he talked, and felt her gradually begin to relax.

"Just come and find me. Or Zoe, she told me she was worried about you. Send me a text, and I'll be there as soon as I can." He kissed her head, and she took his hand before motioning for them to keep on walking.

"Thank you." He smiled, and squeezed her hand. She returned the gesture, and as they rounded the corner they saw Connie's Mercedes, her still sat inside, phone pressed to her ear and fingers pressed to her temples in frustration. A group of staggering women came into view, in a flurry of pink feathers and glittering streamers, followed by a small mass of boys and men in striped shirts, shouting and causing mayhem outside of the ED entrance. They saw her sit up and look over her steering wheel at the crowd, hanging up and dropping the phone into her bag on the passenger seat, before opening her car door and walking around to stand next to Rita.

"Oh bloody hell."


Three hours in, and he hadn't seen her once, not in resus, not even a hint of her dark blue uniform passing by reception or the nurses' station. He knew she would be cross with him for worrying, but her stubbornness was what worried him the most, today especially. As he wheeled a patient in through the doors, he glanced around to see if he could get Zoe's attention, letting Jez reel off the necessary conditions, numbers and figures. He had to admit, the boy was good with pressure, and was a welcome companion. He helped to move the patient from the board to the bed, before standing opposite Zoe as she examined his head to establish the severity of his cuts.

"Okay, we've got severe lacerations to the left side of the head and above the right eye. Robyn, can I get some TXA, quickly please."

"Zoe, have you seen Rita?" She looked up suddenly as he spoke, before shaking her head apologetically.

"I haven't, I can find Connie and ask her to..."

"No, thanks Zoe, I'll go." He signalled for Jez to help him take the trolley out of resus, before spotting Max and calling him over. "Max, mate I just need to run and do something quickly, mind helping Jez with this? Cheers." Before Max had a chance to reply, he headed in the direction of her office. Apologising as he knocked a stack of files out of Ethan's arms, he half walked, half jogged until he reached the door. He looked through the narrow pane of glass, and saw Charlie sat at the computer, but no sign of Rita. He leant against it, taking his phone out of his pocket to see no missed calls or texts from her. He sighed before moving away and walking through cubicles, listening to hear her voice. He didn't, and walked back through the ED to Connie's office. Again, he looked through the glass but to see an empty chair, which made him feel slightly more at ease. Rita was probably in a meeting; he hadn't seen Connie around either.

"Iain mate, we've got a shout!" He looked up to see Jez at the end of the corridor, and quickly followed him out of the hospital.

"You can drive." Iain opened the passenger door of the ambulance, Jez standing seemingly in shock.

"You serious?"

"Yeah, now get in." He fumbled with his belt before pulling his phone out of his pocket, typing a message and pressing send. Hopefully they could get back quickly and he would be able to talk to her and make sure that she was okay, no matter how cross it made her.