His hand trailed down her back, making her flinch and giggle.

"Ah, so you are ticklish?"

She turned to him, her eyes sparkling. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"So what if I am? You wouldn't dare tickle me again."

He raised an eyebrow at her daring smirk. "If I tickle you, what happens?"

"Why don't you find out?"

"Why do I get the feeling that I don't want to find out?"

She chuckled, turning away from him. "Exactly."

He reached his arm around her waist, flipping her onto her back and turning her face to look at him. "You know that I love spending time with you?"

"But you seem to be busy all the time, lately. I don't see you as much as I'd like-"

He silenced her with a kiss, tucking her hair behind her ear as he pulled her closer to him. "I want to pass these exams for myself. And... for Cal."

"I know and that's great. Honestly, it is. He would be so proud of you, you know? You may have had your moments, like the one when you punched him but you guys never failed to be there for each other."

He nodded. "Looking back, I can't believe I managed to punch him. Not many guys are able to because he's Cal but little weak me did it."

She smiled, stroking his cheek. "Because you had motivation. Just like you have now with the exams. I know you're going to smash them."

"You're always there for me, no matter what."

"I'll always be there for you, Ethan. I love you."

Ethan smiled, kissing her again. "If you really love me, Lily, we still have about forty minutes until we have to get to work for you to prove it."

She raised an amused eyebrow, straddling his waist. "Oh, I'll show you."

Ethan's eyes snapped open as he let out a small gasp.

He rolled over, checking the time. He'd slept through his second alarm.

A knock on the door made him jump, hitting his head on the headboard. "Yeah?"

"Oh, so you are up. Your alarm went off twice," Lily said, entering the room.

Ethan glanced away from her, rubbing his head. "Yeah, I was just uh, reading."

Lily frowned, narrowing her eyes as she slowly nodded. "You look like you've literally just woken up."

"Fine, I did."

He got out of his bed and gently pushed past her, not willing to look her in the eye.

"I made you breakfast. I was wondering if you could give me a lift? I know you start at ten but my moped's completely fried."

"Hmm, thanks." He rushed to the bathroom, shutting the door and sliding down it, breathing heavily.

Another knock on the door. "So, will you drop me off?"

"Yeah!"

Satisfied, Lily left him to his devices, making him breath out in relief.

...

"Guess, what?"

Ethan swallowed deeply, refusing to look up from his patient's notes. "What, Lily?"

She glanced around before leaning in close. "I got the position on the research team. You wouldn't believe who's running it?"

"Who?"

"Mr Grayling."

Ethan looked up, "Your ex-partner? Do you think he accepted your application because you were together? That's a bit... strange."

"Tell me about it," she sighed. "What is up with you, by the way? You've barely been able to..."

Ethan frowned, turning around to see what she was looking at. It was Iain and Sam, using the bin as a basketball hoop.

"You've got the day with them, right?"

She nodded. "Dr Gardner cleared it. Look, I've got to go but we'll be having a talk later, okay?"

"Yep. Th-that's fine. I-I will see you later." Instead of her leaving their conversation, he did.

"Dr Hardy?"

Ethan stopped, turning. "I can't stop-"

"Would you like to continue your exam study this evening?"

"Uh, I have a thing. Lily's hard to say no to."

Connie nodded. "Well, the offer's still there if you do say no to her."

Ethan was about to reply when a patient stumbled through, thankful for turning his attention to him instead.

...

Ethan rushed to Lily's side as she sobbed, sliding onto the sofa in the staffroom.

"Lily? Why is there ketchup all over you?" He walked over to the kitchen, taking some kitchen paper and heading back to her to help her wipe it off. "It's going to stain if we don't get it washed. I got my spare T-Shirt if you want."

She nodded mutely, using a clean tissue to wipe her face.

"What happened?"

"Ethan... I'd like to be alone at home today."

How did she find out about his dream?

"Oh, okay."

Lily nodded. "I'll take the shirt, too."

Ethan stood up, going to his locker and opening it up to get his shirt. He returned to her side and gave her his top. "Lily, tell me what-"

"I think I want to go to Hong Kong. The research team is going to be stationed there and I want that position."

Ethan opened his mouth but closed it again before turning away from her. "What happened?"

She shrugged, tears falling down her cheeks. "Iain and I ended things. He walked away from me." She could feel her heart breaking and she knew that it was all her fault. "You.. were right. Jealousy's an ugly thing."

"Oh, Lily..." He put his arm around her shoulders, rubbing her forearm. "I'm sorry."

She sniffled, fiddling with the tissue in her hands. "I'm a terrible person destined to be alone."

"No, you're not. Look, I-I'm sure that you and Iain will work things out-"

She cut him off by raising her hand. "It's over. We're done for good. He and Sam are welcome to whatever their relationship is." She stood up. "You know what? If you get me a bottle of red wine, you may join me this evening. Think of it as a leaving party between us." She gripped the shirt in her hand tightly and gave him a watery smile before leaving to change.

"Dr Hardy? I do not believe that you are due a break yet." Connie glanced at her watch but Ethan's eyes trailed somewhere else.

"Mrs Beauchamp? Your arm."

A thin red stain spoiled her white silk shirt and she tsked, placing her hand on it. "Get back to work," she gulped as he tried to pass her. "Any thoughts about this evening?"

"No, mine and Lily's plans have been set in stone as of now. I don't know if you know if she's told you but she's taking the position on the research team to go to Hong Kong."

Connie raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well, congratulate her for me. I'm guessing she wants this to be a private affair for now?"

"Yes. She hasn't told anybody yet."

She nodded. "Well, I hope you enjoy your evening."

...

Lily poured herself another glass, wiping tears from her cheek.

"I'm sorry. Not really in the celebrating mood."

Ethan chuckled, still sipping his first glass of wine. "It's fine. You've ended a relationship, you're bound to feel upset."

She sniffled. "I'm not sure if I should go. Ethan, what should I do?"

"I think you should do what you want to do, Lily. This research post is too good of a position to pass up. On the other hand, you're great here." He told her.

Lily smiled, leaning back on the sofa as she raised her feet up to rest on the coffee table. "You're always there for me, no matter what."

"I'll always be there for you, Lily, I love you." His eyes widened as his breath hitched.

Lily burst out laughing. "W-What? I guess I love you too, Ethan." She sighed. "You are my best friend."

Thank God.

"Why didn't we work? As a couple, I mean. We would have been great. There would be no fears of jealousy... Wait, scratch that. Alicia. Yep, I'm definitely the worst person to have a relationship with. Forget I said anything. It's the wonderful alcohol talking." She glanced down at her glass and swirled its contents. "I think I need more."

"You don't." Ethan took the bottle before she could her hand on it. "There's someone out there for you, you know? You just don't realise it."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I thought it was Iain. I want it to be Iain. He... got me."

"I get you."

"I... I guess you do." Lily admitted.

She shuffled closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Maybe the someone is closer than you think, you know?"

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. There seriously seems to be a horrible track record when it comes to me."

I just need to know. Did my dream mean anything? Ethan swallowed deeply, glancing down at her.

"Lily?"

She looked up at him. "Yes?"

Ethan leaned down and Lily's eyes fluttered to his lips. She found herself moving closer to him, her breath hitched in her throat.

When their lips met, Ethan wasn't surprised.

Nothing. There's nothing there. The dream was... nothing.

Lily's mouth continued to attack his as her arms wrapped around his neck, bringing herself to straddle his waist.

"Hmm, Li-"

She stopped, pulling away. "I... I don't know..."

"Hey, no. It was my fault."

"I want it though." She cried. "I just want the pain to stop."

Ethan sighed, glancing down. Taking a deep breath he raised his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I'll make it stop." He leant up, catching her lips with his own as he moved her to lie on the sofa.


I wanted there to be some emotional context here. Although I love Lily and Ethan as a couple and wish to write this story about it but on the other hand, I kinda grew on Iain and Lily and my heart broke for them but I still think there's potential with Lily and Ethan as well as Ethan and Alicia so this story may be one which will drag on for as long as it could, even until February because I have so many pairings to discover on Ethan's grief journey.