Lily arrived at the flat later than both she and Iain had anticipated. Iain had waited up, sitting on the sofa, eyes staring blankly at the TV screen, an empty beer can on the cabinet next to him.

'You'll get square eyes.' Lily said, hanging up her coat.

'Evening, Chuckles.'

Lily just smiled. 'Sorry. Got caught up in writing up notes. What time is it?' She asked.

'Twenty to ten. You've worked four hours over your shift.' He raised an eyebrow.

'The life of a junior doctor in today's healthcare system.' She replied.

'Right, remember what I said about not overdoing it though?' He sighed.

'I will be fine.' She answered, still lingering in the doorway.

'Hm. Come sit down.' He patted the sofa, so she obliged, sitting up straight, almost as if she was still at work.

'You can't be comfy in them stilettos.' He shook his head.

Lily smirked. 'Stilettos! Oh, Iain.'

'Well! If I were you, I'd be in my trainers.' He said.

'It's a good job that you're not me, then.' She looked at him, a smile escaping her lips.

'You used to wear your trainers, what happened?' He asked.

'Back before I realised I needed to be taken seriously, yes.' She replied, decidedly.

'In trainers or feet killers, nobody could ever not take you seriously.' He said.

'I'm trying to work out whether that was meant as a compliment, or as an insult.' She looked thoughtful now.

Iain just chuckled, turning his attention to the TV. The Chase was playing in the background.

'It's great, isn't it?' Lily said.

'What?'

'The Chase...' Lily gestured towards the telly.

'Oh. Yeah, it is.'

'Never had you down for a quiz-fanatic, though.' Lily said, turning to watch his reaction.

'That's how I win all the pub quizzes. My secret.' He raised an eyebrow.

'Well, educational. I suppose it's better than those silly action movies.' Lily smiled now, as if she knew a secret herself.

'They are not silly, they are amazing! Wait, how do you even know about that?' He said.

'Hahaha...' Lily smiled.

'Lily Chao. Tell.' Iain demanded.

Lily just sat with a smug expression on her face.

'I'll resort to measures you'll regret.' He warned.

'Oh, like what?' Lily said, beginning to enjoy herself.

She squealed when Iain jabbed her playfully. She attempted to jab him back, a decision she went on to regret a couple of seconds later.

He shifted on top of her and pinned her wrists above her head with one hand. He was gentle still yet applied enough pressure to stop her from moving.

'Tell me! It's not much use wriggling, Lily, is it? Iain teased.

'Okay, okay.' She whined. No sooner had she said this, the tickling subsided.

'Action films.' She whispered, and was subjected to another merciless attack of tickles.

She giggled now, sides hurting. 'Gem may told me when I was tutoring her.' Lily peeked out of one eye to see his reaction.

'That sister of mine.' Iain shook his head, and sat back on the sofa. Lily sat up then, hair sticking up in all directions, frizzy.

'It was interesting, learning lots of little secrets.' Lily smiled.

'I'm turning the telly off, the team are losing anyway.' Iain tossed the remotes aside in what Lily could only imagine was embarrassment.

'Yeah. It's always boring when the Chasers win.' Lily commented, thoughtful now. 'Who's your favourite Chaser?' She asked.

'Ha. Easy. The Beast. He's the mastermind.' Iain nodded with conviction. He paused. 'Bet I know yours, and it's not even the most obvious. Now. Someone who didn't know Lily would say, surely the doctor Paul is her favourite. But... I think you're more like Anne.'

Lily just rolled her eyes. 'You would have been correct first time. I'm not that cold you know. I could get a complex.' She sighed.

Iain put the remotes on the cabinet and stretched. Lily took the hint and stood up, finally kicking off her heels. Once they got into the hallway, Iain glanced down.

'Lily, your feet. They're red raw. So, not only do you choose to squish your toes together all day, but they also dig in? You're a doctor yourself, you should know about how they can misalign bone structure!' He said.

'I'll be fine. They'll go down soon.' Lily sighed, looking at the swelling around her toes.

Iain just shook his head at her. 'You've still not eaten, either. I've plated up some of the dinner for you, I made curry if that's alright. Well, when I say made, Uncle Ben did his share where the rice was concerned.' He said.

Lily smiled then. 'Thank you. I'll pop and eat it now.'

'Want me to keep you company?' He asked.

'No, you don't have to, you've done enough. I'll be through in ten minutes or so.' She nodded.

'Okay. Shout if you need owt.'

Iain couldn't help but think how mild and content she'd been tonight, despite her near enough 12 hour day. Her temperament had been lovely and he felt also as if she'd let her guard down slightly. Not once had she referenced the exams since being at his. It felt like an achievement, and strangely, a weight off his own shoulders to see her relax a little. He slipped into pyjamas and got under the covers, dimming the lamp. As he waited, he scrolled his notifications. Photo message from Jez. Iain grinned as he saw the picture of his colleague alongside the two small boys, all with an ice cream in hand. The caption was 'Iain - was 10min late to C's sch. Caretaker waited w him and sed I looked stress, bought us all an ice cream! What a guy. Tell Lily thank u!'

He screenshotted it, making a mental note to share with Lily when she'd finished eating. As far as days went, it had been quite chilled, unexpectedly so.