The rain hammered against the roof of the hospital. Lily wondered if it was possible that the weather could reflect your mood. She snapped herself out of her thoughts no sooner had they popped into her head, having dismissed them as silly daydreams born out of being overtired and drained. She gripped the handle of her mug even harder; her fingertips reddened as she did so. Five more minutes left of break, and she'd spent it all mulling over emotions she wasn't even sure of. Hardly ideal. She lowered her eyes and stared into the murkiness of the liquid. Back to work soon. Not without a heavy sigh first, she gulped the remains of the coffee down like a lukewarm shot. It was unpleasant, but the temperature wouldn't matter as soon as the caffeine was flowing round her veins. She ought to know better as a doctor, that drugs weren't exactly the way. Although legal, caffeine was certainly still a drug, and that drug wasn't going to do much in the way of making up for the exhaustion she felt. There was no other option though, since she'd spent every waking second at her flat thinking of the mess she found herself in.

Lily wasn't in any doubt that Iain cared. He'd told her so, and he was, in her opinion, an honest man. The things he did also demonstrated his feelings. Lily referred to the proverb, actions speak louder than words. He'd messaged her a couple of times since the night before, despite being given the cold shoulder. He'd even tried to call. It wasn't a question of how he felt about Lily - when he tried to bring up the issue of their differences, he was just being practical and she didn't really blame him. How could she? It was realistic to think they'd argue - they were chalk and cheese. Opposites attract, sure, but polar opposites? Maybe not so.

Their differences ran deep. Lily wasn't the type for flings, but when it came to Iain, things almost felt different. He felt like the exception. She wanted to keep her commitments to work, yet have him too. It would work perfectly, to have him on the side. However, he was a person too, and this had to be considered.

Iain wanted something serious, it seemed obvious to Lily. He wanted Friday night dinner dates, and pillow fights. Walks every Sunday morning. An espresso machine, maybe, because he loved coffee even more than she. Lazy days and nights out in town, where they'd stumble home and not really remember anything, fall asleep on the sofa and wake up to see the remains of takeaways on the floor.

To contrast, Lily realised she would be content with whiskey kisses, lipstick stains on sheets, makeup sex. Everything being kept hush hush. On-off lovers. But, that wasn't fair. She'd already accused Iain a couple days earlier of wanting her to leave. That made her opinions hypocritical. Would she even be happy with that anyway? She would only get attached. Things wouldn't work, and she couldn't see a resolution.

She wondered about him. Realised he'd too focused on work, like she should be. Wondered if she'd been on his mind like he was on hers since she left his flat.

-x-

Lily was concentrating as best she could on the screen in front of her. Little did she know, Iain had clocked her out of the corner of his eye.

'Hi..' He said, as if just in passing. He paused suddenly, and decided to linger. 'How's the shift going?'

'Busy, but what's new? It is nearly done. And yours?' She replied.

'So-so. I could do with a drink after some of the stuff I've seen.' He told her, leaning against the counter as she continued to type away.

'It is 4am...' She replied, looking at him with slight desbelief.

'Well, exactly,' He laughed. 'Seriously though. Me and the lads are off out tomorrow evening if you fancy coming along too.' He told her.

'Lads?'

'Well. Jez, some of the others. As ever, stick with me, you'll be alright.' He smiled.

He had the sort of smile that won. At the end of the day, she might as well. It was as good an excuse as any to have a break from things, and she'd turned down nearly all of his previous invitations.

'Yeah, sure.' She nodded.

'Good, well, we're meeting at 7 at the Hope and Anchor.'

'Sounds.. good. I'll be sociable, but I may just draw the line at a kebab.' She gave a small smile. It was slightly forced, and she wasn't so sure she even wanted to go. They needed to talk, they were on a different page. Alcohol wouldn't change that and nor would it solve anything. Its only purpose would be to distract them until the morning when they'd wake with sore heads and probable regret.

'Yeah, right. You'd love a kebab, you would.' His eyes seemed to sparkle.

'Hm. I'm somewhat sceptical, but God knows why.' She collected the papers together with two hands by tapping the pile against the desk twice till they all aligned. Iain smiled again - he couldn't help it. Sarcastic Lily was always amusing.

'You literally can't beat the taste, Lily. Biggest hangover cure ever.' He chuckled again.

'Yes, well. I'll talk your word for it. I am, however, partial to a pint though.'

'Just one? Or two? Three? Four?' He asked, with a smirk.

'All depends on how boring the company is...' She answered, not missing a beat. Her eyes didn't move from the computer monitor.

'Ha! Fair enough, I suppose. I never have seen a drunk Lily. It must be a right sight.'

'And what is that supposed to mean?' Her eyes met his as she logged off.

'That it would be fun.' He rolled his eyes.

'Apparently I lose all my inhibitions.' She said, moving her eyes to look at him.

'See, that would be great.' He smiled at her again. Lily wondered if he was flirting. She'd never been good at picking up on the signs. She expected he was. He'd invited her out, for starters.

Iain clearly noticed her thoughtfulness and began to make tracks. 'Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow Chuckles. Don't you overdo it.' He smiled at her again. Definitely flirting now.

Lily sighed and allowed herself to exhale slowly. A strange feeling washed over her. Excitement. Above all else, it could be really fun. Letting her hair down was long overdue.