Bluebell140: Me too! I love a good Lily and Iain wedding.

littlej23: That's true to be honest, thank you. Let's hope she does start to make some progress, now that Iain has proposed. I'm glad you liked the chapter and the Ruth and Jay chapter, and I'm glad you're still enjoying the story. More to come.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Iain couldn't stop smiling.

He honestly didn't think Lily would say yes to him, and he was so pleased that she had done. He couldn't believe it. They were going to get married. Proposing had been one of the most terrifying experiences of his life, but he was glad that he'd managed it.

He was in the middle of bouncing the ball around the ambulance station, reminiscing on the times when he and Jez used to play a game of one on one during their breaks. He had to admit that he missed Jez. He may not have been the hardest of working, but he'd been good fun.

"So, this is what you do at work then?"

The female voice frightened him and he glanced over his shoulder to see a very familiar face standing in the entance.

Sam Nicholls.

"Look what the cat dragged in," he greeted his ex and looked her up and down to check if it was definitely her. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here now," she said.

"Seriously?" His eyes widened in shock, and he let out a loud groan. "Why? What did I ever do to deserve that?"

"I'm going to be a paramedic," she said. "So you better get used to seeing an awful lot of me."

"You're a paramedic?" He asked and narrowed his eyes at her. "Bit of a step down, isn't it?"

"I fancied a change." She shrugged her shoulders and strolled over to him. "The green suits you."

"What are you really doing here, Sam?" He asked. "It's been a while, hasn't it? I have a lot of stuff going on right now, so don't play jokes for crying out loud."

"I work here!" Sam laughed. "Don't you think that we're both mature enough to put the past behind us?"

Iain shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, you came on a bad day. I have to head off in an hour or so, and I'm not sure what time I'll be back."

"Well, it's not like I need a tour or anything," she scoffed. "I think you're forgetting that I used to work here, Iain. I'll be fine."

"As a doctor," Iain reminded her. "Not as a paramedic. I can get one of the other paramedics to work with you, but I won't be here for a good couple of hours. I um...I have to go and see Lily. You probably know her from your old days as a doctor. Lily Chao?"

"I remember her," Sam sighed. "How is she?"

"Yeah..." Iain trailed off slowly. He couldn't tell Sam that Lily was currently in a psychiatric ward. It was none of her business for one thing. "She's good. We um...We're together now actually, engaged I should say."

"Wow." Sam seemed quite surprised and she snatched the ball away from him. "Congratulations!"

Iain just blushed and gave an awkward nod. "Thanks," he whispered softly.

"So Lily, do you know why you've come to see me today?" Steve Barrett said, as he sat in a secluded room opposite Lily. "Caroline has told me a lot about you and I want you to know that she just wants to help you get better."

Steve was an elderly man with a small beard. He was one of the main psychiatrists on the ward, and although Lily had heard how nice he was, she still felt nervous about talking to him.

"Course I know," Lily spat and folded her arms across her stomach. "I want to get better."

"Of course you do, of course," Steve said. "I know and I understand that. This isn't something that will go away overnight, but you have a lot of people worrying over you right now."

Lily nodded faintly and looked down at the floor. She knew how much people were worrying, and it killed her inside. She didn't need to be reminded of that fact. She slowly lifted her head and saw that Steve was looking at her with his head on one side, as if he was some kind of dog.

"Just talk to me, Lily," he encouraged with a small sigh. "Tell me, what's going on with you?"

"Not much." Lily shrugged. "I'm in here, aren't I? The doctors are trying to get me a diagnosis for my um...My hallucinations, but they haven't got that far. There's nothing wrong with me though."

"So, you still think that Alicia is real?" He asked.

"Honestly, I don't know," Lily answered. She sighed and a small tear rolled down her cheek. "I guess not."

"And what makes you say that?" Steve asked. "Because for a long time, you obviously thought that this Alicia was real and she obviously meant a lot to you. So, what's changed that do you think?"

"A lot of things, I guess," Lily said. "Connie and Iain are supposed to be people that I can trust, especially Iain, so why would they lie to me? Also, I've started taking medication and...I haven't seen Alicia since."

"I see." Steve nodded to show that he understood, and chewed on the end of his pen. "And does that upset you?"

Lily nodded.

"She felt real," Lily whispered. "There's nothing wrong with me though. I just...I needed a friend to help me feel better about myself, and that's what Alicia did."

"So, she was sort of an imaginary friend?" He asked.

"No!" Lily defended, her voice loud but scared. "I'm not a child. I just wanted to feel good about myself."

"And did Alicia make you feel good about yourself?" He asked.

Lily hesitated as she tried to think of an answer. Was it a trick question? She wasn't sure.

"At first she did," she eventually whispered after a long moment of silence. She was thankful for Steve's patience. "But then, she made me feel worse."

"I can't believe that you two are getting married," Robyn gushed, as they all gathered in Lily's room. "I'm so happy for you," she said and pulled Lily in for a tight but gentle squeeze.

She couldn't believe how much weight she'd lost, and it felt as if she was about to break in her arms. How had someone so strong and confident become so low in themselves? She hated it and she had to fight to hold back her tears.

"I got you this," she said to try and change the subject, and handed Lily a card and a scrapbook that she'd been working on.

Lily smiled thankfully and wiped a small tear from her eye. She opened the card and saw that everybody in the ED had signed it, and when she opened the scrapbook she saw that it had been filled of lovely messages and photos of all of her colleagues.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You're um...You're looking well, Lily," Ethan stated.

Honestly, he felt uncomfortable seeing his best friend in such a bad way, and the amount of weight that she'd lost was very noticeable. He felt as if he needed to say something though and Connie had already mentioned Lily's session, and how it hadn't been the best of days for her. He wished that he could do something to help.

"Look on the bright side," Cal said. "You don't have to work, do you?"

"Actually," Lily sighed, as she continued to focus her attention on the scrapbook. "I want to work."

"And you'll be back at work in no time," Iain comforted, taking a seat beside her on the bed. "Can I have a look at the book?"

Lily nodded and handed it over to him. Iain kissed her cheek and began to flick through, taking in every page.

"It's a lovely book," Lily said to Robyn. "Thank you, and thank you all for coming to see me. It gets kind of lonely in here sometimes, so it means a lot. Thank you." She leaned her head against Iain and said, "I'm really tired."

"I know," Iain sighed and wrapped an arm around Lily's shoulder.

"We can go, Lily," Ethan offered, gesturing to the door. "If you're tired, then..."

"No." Lily shook her head and shot him a reassuring smile. "I like the company. I hate to admit it, but I've missed you guys."

"We've missed you too," Robyn said and leaned across to give Lily's arm a comforting rub. "Work just isn't the same without you. Stay strong though, yeah? When you're out, we'll go out for a drink or something to celebrate."

Lily managed a small nod. She didn't want to decline the offer just yet and hurt Robyn's feelings.

"How did your appointment go anyway?" Iain asked.

"Good, thank you," Lily said. "We just talked about everything. I'm seeing him again this week."

"Good," Iain said. "I'm proud of you for going. I know how scared you were feeling, but it's going to help you a lot in the longrun. If he's nice and if you trust him, then that's even better."

Lily didn't appear to be listening though. Her face was pale and her eyes were bloodshot, and Iain just had his arms wrapped protectively around her tiny body. He continued to flick through the scrapbook and gave his colleagues a thankful smile over Lily's head.

He was pleased that she had so much support around her.

She deserved it.

So, Sam has turned up! However, Lily doesn't know yet. Also, the rest of the ED staff managed to visit her which I enjoyed writing. It's nice to see her colleagues looking out for her.

I hope you liked the chapter x