Hollie: Thank you. It's always nice to see new readers. Enjoy the talk between Lily and Connie :-)

casualtyfics111: Haha, indeed she is! Hopefully they can help her.

citylightsonthew: Thank you! I hope you like the update. Lots of Iain and Connie in this chapter.

Chapter Ten

Lily squirted some red icing onto one of the cupcakes that sat cooling on the baking tray. She held her tongue out in concentration and her fingers trembled, as she cautiously avoided any mistakes. She wanted the cakes to be perfect and for that, she needed total silence.

She'd changed since getting home from work. Although her outfit was a bit more comfortable, she still looked smart and dolled up, and her clothes had been picked out by Alicia on one of their regular shopping trips. She wore a white blouse with flowers on it, a pink jacket, light blue jeans, and a delicate pair of silver, heart earrings. She didn't look as good as Alicia though, and she knew that she never would.

The doorbell rang.

Lily huffed and slammed down the tube of icing, before storming over to the front door of her flat. She was shocked to see that her surprise visitor was Connie.

"Can I come in?" She asked.

Lily nodded shyly and allowed Connie to enter her flat, before shutting the door behind her.

"You're looking very pretty this evening," Connie complimented her.

"I am?" Lily narrowed her eyebrows at her. "Um...Thanks, I...I guess. No one's really ever said that to me."

"Well, I'm sure Iain has," Connie sighed, eyeing Lily up and down. "You are his girlfriend, after all. Hasn't he ever said how beautiful you look?"

"Um...Maybe." Lily frowned. Her head hurt. "I can't remember. Did you want something?" She asked, as she turned and walked back into the kitchen. "It's just, I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"I just thought that I'd pop in on my way home from work," Connie said, peering over Lily's shoulder as she continued to ice the cupcakes. "What are you doing exactly?"

"I'm making cupcakes for Iain," Lily told her. "As an apology. I don't know if he told you what happened between us."

"Oh! They're for Iain, are they?" Connie smiled and came to stand beside Lily. "Well, that makes sense. Because you wouldn't exactly eat one yourself, would you?"

"What's the matter with you?" Lily yelled. "Can't I do something nice for my boyfriend without it becoming an issue?"

"I'm sure Iain would rather have a healthy girlfriend on his birthday, than cakes that he is expected to eat on his own Lily!" Connie shouted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily whispered, beginning to slow down with the icing.

"I know about the cereal, Lily," Connie said, her voice quiet but stern.

"Is that some kind of code word for something?" She asked.

"You know what I'm talking about," Connie said. "Lily. Could you stop icing those for two seconds so that we can have a proper conversation?"

"They need to be perfect," Lily whispered with a small smile. "No mistakes. I'm almost done though."

"Okay," Connie sighed impatiently and gave Lily a small nod. "Well, at least listen to me. Iain's worried, and so am I. I know that you threw the cereal in the bin and yes, I am worried about the fact that you didn't eat any of it, but I'm more worried about the fact that you lied about it. If you didn't want it, why didn't you just tell me?"

"I tried to," Lily said. "And you wouldn't listen. You never do."

"Don't be rude," Connie breathed. "You told me that you were fine and when I pushed the matter, you just went along with it. You should have just told me that you weren't hungry or that you didn't want anything, but the fact that you went and lied tells me that there is a lot more going on here."

Lily shrugged her shoulders and kept her eyes on her cooking. "Like what?"

"The exercise, Lily," Connie mentioned. "You lied to Iain, instead of telling him that you were at the gym. The lying needs to stop, okay? To us, it shows that there is something seriously wrong."

"There's nothing wrong," Lily argued. "You exercise, don't you? Everyone does. It's just something to do."

"Sweetheart, it's just all very sudden," Connie said.

"Don't patronise me," Lily yelled, accidentally knocking one of the other cupcakes and causing the icing to smudge. "Now look what you made me do!" She whined. "I have to start over."

"Lily, it's just cake," Connie whispered. "Iain isn't going to mind, alright? It's hardly noticeable anyway."

"It is." Lily sounded close to crying, and Connie could tell that there was something seriously wrong. "I just wanted to do something right for a change," she whispered, setting down the tube of icing.

"Right. I would like you to see someone," Connie said. "Ben Harding, a different counsellor, anyone."

"What?" Lily cried. "Mrs Beauchamp, I don't need therapy! Why...Why do you think I need therapy?"

"Because Lily, you haven't been yourself lately!" Connie shouted back. "You just seem quite down and that isn't a bad thing at all. We all have bad days, but if it's affecting your relationship and your work life, then it needs to be sorted. Ben's good at his job, isn't he? He helped Doctor Keogh when he needed it. If necessary, you could just have the one session and we'll say no more about it."

"I don't need therapy!" Lily argued, her wooden spoon clattering to the floor.

"Lily! For crying out loud, just listen to me for once!" Connie screamed.

There was the slam of a door and both women turned to see that Iain was standing in the doorway. He was home early. Lily gasped dramatically, aware that he'd seen the cupcakes, which were supposed to be a surprise.

"Iain," Connie spoke first. "What are you doing back so early?"

"Accident in the ambulance station," Iain said. "Got sent home early. I think the better question though, is what on earth is going on, and why do you think speaking to my girlfriend like that is acceptable?"

"What happened?" Lily asked, rushing over and pressing her lips against his.

"Just a small bang on the head." He kissed her back and shook his head. "Slight concussion, but I'll be okay. What's going on in here?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Nothing," Connie said, shooting a small smile at Lily. "I'll leave you both to enjoy your evening, okay? Lily, I would like us to continue this conversation in my office tomorrow. We're not finished. Are you going to be okay?"

"Fine," Lily whispered, her head against Iain's chest.

"Is everything okay?" Iain asked, immediately concerned.

"We were just having a little chat about earlier," Connie said, subtly winking at him. "I'm sorry for raising my voice. Get well soon Iain, and I'll talk to you tomorrow Lily."

Lily nodded meekly, suddenly feeling sick with nerves, as Connie exited her flat.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Iain asked, gently stroking her hair. Lily gave him a reassuring nod and a smile. "What are the cakes for anyway?"

"I wanted to apologise," Lily whispered. "Do you like them? Um...The icing sort of smudged on one of them."

"Are you kidding?" Iain asked, walking over so that he could have a proper look. "They're perfect. I love them, thank you."

Lily smiled, feeling pleased with herself, and shyly fiddled with her jacket sleeves.

"Why don't I help with the rest of the icing?" He insisted, not wanting Lily to fixate on Connie's harsh words. "Just for the record, as long as you are here, and no matter what is going on that we might need to discuss later, I will have a brilliant evening okay?"

Feeling emotional, Lily nodded with small tears in her eyes.

"Now, that's enough soppy behaviour!" Iain said. "Where's the sugar?"

Probably one of my favourite chapters. I hope you liked it. There will be quite an exciting chapter next which I think you're going to like, so I will try and update soon. Let me know what you think x