Tanith Panic, I'm glad you're happy! I like Lily too, but her intelligence doesn't seem to help her when it comes to forming relationships! I love how all the Casualty doctors are clever but have weaknesses. Thank you for your review.

Gillian Kearney Fan, thank you for your review. I could have kept Honey and Lily's feud going, but I thought that would be too distracting so I'm really glad you liked that they managed to work out their problems.

Tato Potato, I'm really happy you like the changes I've made to Lily and Honey's characters. But I didn't need to change Ethan, of course: he's always sweet! Thank you for your review.

I finally have internet back so I hope I'll be back to posting every day now. I hope no-one has forgotten about me or my stories. I'll start catching up with reading and reviewing your stories too, but it might take me a few days.

Zoe shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Honey. I really am sorry. I know you're suffering and I wish there was something we can do, but it's just so close to your appointment now, I can't give you any new medication or let you stop taking the propranolol. All I can do is give you some advice for dealing with the side effects."

Ethan saw the disappointment in Honey's eyes, but she smiled gratefully at Zoe. "It's okay, Zoe. Ethan did warn me. And any advice would be totally welcome."

"Okay," said Zoe. "First of all, as with anyone, we recommend that you eat healthy, balanced, regular meals. I'm not sure who does most of the cooking out of you, your dad and Big Mac, but I'd be happy to go through a diet plan with any of you – or with Ethan, as I'm guessing you'll be spending a lot of time together."

Ethan nodded and squeezed Honey's hand. "Yes, I'll be very happy to do that." He only wished he'd thought of it before.

"Stick to plain foods that are gentle on the stomach as much as possible," said Zoe. "Pasta is good. Vegetables are important. Be careful of fruit: anything acidic like oranges doesn't go well with a sensitive stomach. If you need to settle your stomach, mints can be good, particularly the strong ones. An over-the-counter antacid might also help calm things down. Drink lots of water as you need to keep hydrated, especially as you're throwing up and sweating. A cup of tea – perhaps mint tea – might help. Actually, you probably know the healing properties of tea a lot better than I do!" She patted Honey on the arm.

Honey smiled. "I do know a lot about tea, but I don't know any kinds that are good for the thyroid."

"At this point, Honey, we're thinking about treating symptoms, rather than the thyroid itself," said Zoe. "The endocrinologist can deal with treating the thyroid. But it isn't long to wait. I know it probably feels like forever, but it's only a few more days. You've got Ethan and your dad. I know you can get through this together, but if you need a chat, you can always phone or text me."

"Thanks, Zoe," said Honey. "It was proper nice of you to talk to me like this. Is it okay to give you a hug?"

Zoe laughed and held out her arms. "Of course it is."

Ethan couldn't wait for his shift to end. All he wanted was to see his fiancée.

He didn't think he'd ever been in this position before. For one thing, he didn't usually have a girlfriend, never mind a fiancée. For another, he loved his job and was usually happy to discover he was working a double shift (unless Cal was working a double shift too).

But today, all he wanted was to be with Honey.

He'd thought it wasn't possible to love her any more than he had before he'd proposed, but he'd proved himself wrong and found new reservoirs of love within himself. He believed that as his and Honey's life progressed, his capacity to love would grow still further.

Ethan wasn't usually able to finish at the time his shift officially ended because he couldn't abandon his patients, but today, he somehow managed to time it so he finished exactly on time. He dashed off to the staff room to change and met Lily on his way out. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lily. I'm sorry about what happened earlier."

"So am I," said Lily simply.

They smiled at one another. Ethan felt guilt but also warmth for a good friend. He hoped he wasn't breaking her heart too much. It seemed impossible that he could be breaking her heart at all, but for some reason, Lily had got it into her head that there was something good about him. The rumour was that she was after a doctor rather than Ethan specifically, but Ethan was most definitely flattered to be her first choice when she could have chosen a handsome doctor like Cal (though he admittedly had a dubious reputation) or someone who was already a consultant like Dylan (though Ethan had a feeling Lily was allergic to dogs and Dylan was practically married to his Dervla).

So actually, he probably was just the best of a bad bunch, but it was still flattering as she could have chosen a doctor from another part of the hospital.

"Please give Honey my… my best wishes," said Lily crisply.

"I will," promised Ethan. "Thank you, Lily."

"My chest hurts," said Honey as Ethan helped her into bed.

"It's probably the excitement," said Ethan. "Um, not that I mean that getting married to me is exciting. It's probably going to be horribly dull. But being friends with Lily is exciting." He held two fingers to her wrist and his face filled with concern. "You're very tachycardic, even by your standards. When are you due for your next lot of tablets?"

Honey sighed. "I'm overdue," she confessed, unable to lie to Ethan. "I haven't taken any since I got home."

Ethan shook his head worriedly. "Honey, you need to take them."

"But I can't stand the side effects," moaned Honey. "It's supposed to treat the symptoms, not make them worse so it's not helping, is it?"

"It is helping your tachycardia and the side effects might settle down soon," said Ethan. "Even if you do want to come off the tablets, which I very strongly recommend you don't do, you'll need to cut down gradually. Stopping these tablets suddenly can cause chest pain or even give you a heart attack."

"But I hate them, Ethan."

Ethan stroked her hand. "I know, darling, but I really would stick with them and then tell the doctor next week. It's not that long to wait. You heard what Zoe said. We can talk to your dad about food when he gets home and we can try everything else Zoe suggested."

Honey felt tears coming to her eyes. It had been a long, tiring and emotional day. "I don't want to take them, Ethan. I'm not going to take them! You can't make me!"

"No, but I can blame myself for the rest of my life if something happens to you," said Ethan.

"Nothing's going to happen to me," said Honey. "I could have had this for years and nothing's happened so far."

"Except that you collapsed and had to be rushed to hospital!" Ethan's voice shook slightly as he remembered it. "Please, Honey. I know you don't like the side effects and I hate to see you suffering. But it really is only for a few more days."

Honey stood her ground. "Then a few more days without them shouldn't make any difference, should it?" she said.