Citylightsonthew: Thank you, and it does seem likely. There will be more to come, so I'm glad you're enjoying it. Thank you for your review.
Ematrix: Thank you, and there will be more of Lily and Iain. Thank you for your review.
ReadingxTherapy: Thank you, that was definitely one of my favourite scenes to write. She is a really good actress and I'm glad to see her getting a non-romantic storyline as well. Thank you for your review.
Guest: I like writing Connie into my stories, so she will definitely make an appearance. It is actually a really nice change for Lily. Thank you for your review.
Chapter Three
Lily woke up to the sound of running water.
She groaned and reached for her mobile phone so that she could check the time, 6:15am. No wonder she was so tired. She and Alicia ended up falling asleep at just gone three. However, Alicia seemed wide awake, more awake than her anyway.
"Alicia!" She called and sat up in bed, stifling a small yawn. "Are you in the shower?"
Stupid question. Of course she was. She was nowhere nearby, and the shower was clearly on. Lily sighed heavily and climbed out of bed, before making her way over to the bathroom door. Without hesitation, she knocked lightly on the door.
"Alicia," she called through to her. "Is everything okay?"
"I'm in the bath," Alicia replied quietly.
"Do you need any help?" Lily offered kindly.
"No," Alicia said. "I'm fine, thank you."
"Well, can I come in?" Lily asked.
She couldn't help but worry. Part of her thought that she'd end up walking in on Alicia, bleeding heavily with slashed wrists, but she knew that she was just paranoid. Alicia wouldn't go as far as trying to end her own life, would she?
"Wait," Alicia said.
Lily waited outside the door as she heard the water stop. There was a squeak, as Alicia slipped on the floor of the bath, and a small slam of a cupboard door. The door then clicked open and Alicia stood there, her naked body wrapped in a white, hotel towel. Lily smiled gently at her, her eyes turning to the red stains in the bottom of the bath.
Blood.
"Are you okay?" Lily questioned her.
"Sore," Alicia whispered and hung her head.
Lily nodded and whispered, "Why don't you get dressed?"
She stepped to one side and allowed Alicia to walk past. Alicia gripped the towel tightly, as she rummaged around for her scrubs. Lily sat down on the edge of the bed, shivering as the cold air nipped at her through her thin pyjamas.
"How did you sleep?" Lily asked, after a moment of silence.
Alicia just nodded, as she eventually found her scrubs. She bit her lip and self-consciously dropped the towel, before quickly slipping her shirt over her head. Lily caught sight of a few bruises around her abdomen and it made her feel physically sick. She half hoped that she'd wake up and find out that it had all been a dream, but it obviously hadn't.
"Are you coming into work?" Alicia asked, quickly slipping her trousers on.
"Probably," Lily said. "I might go and visit Mrs Beauchamp. I'm seeing Iain later."
"He's really missed you," Alicia said and sat down next to her, now fully clothed. "How long are you in Holby for?"
"That depends," Lily sighed. "I'm not too sure yet."
"Well, don't you have a place to stay?" She asked.
"I'm fine here," Lily said and shrugged her shoulders. "I have the money."
"It's still expensive though," Alicia said. "You can't stay in a hotel. Why don't you stay with me for a bit?"
"Really?" Lily asked.
"I could do with the company," Alicia said. "Besides, I don't want you spending all of your money on hotel rooms."
"I might take you up on that offer." Lily smiled at her. "What time do you start work today?"
"Eight," Alicia whispered and let out a heavy sigh. "I don't want to go."
"If you need to talk at all, just send me a text or come and find me, okay?" Lily said. "I'm sure you'll have a good day though. Work will be a nice distraction. It always was for me anyway, if I was ever feeling upset about something."
"Thanks," Alicia said. "I am sorry by the way. I don't mean to pile all of this onto you, and I understand that it must bring back some memories."
"I'm over it," Lily sighed.
However, she didn't sound convinced.
"I want to help," Lily said. "But I still think that you should report it."
Alicia shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat, as she flicked her hair over her shoulder.
"I need to go and brush my teeth," she said and with that, she got up to go back into the bathroom.
It didn't take long for Lily to find the ward that Connie was on. In fact, it didn't take her long at all. She spent the majority of the time, hovering outside, trying to build up the courage to walk in. Connie was bound to look ever so different. She didn't feel ready.
Eventually, she felt brave enough and she slowly made her way inside. Connie was awake and reading a book, and she spotted Lily straight away, her sad, brown eyes widening at the shock of seeing the ex registrar enter the ward.
"Well, this is a very strange but lovely surprise," she said, as Lily came near to the bed. "What happened?"
"What do you mean?" Lily asked.
"You left to go to Hong Kong," Connie seemed to feel the need to remind her. "And now you're back here in Holby? Something must have happened for you to change your mind."
"I haven't changed my mind," Lily said. "I'm on a leave, or rather a break. I wanted to see everyone; Iain, Alicia, you?"
"Alicia?" Connie raised her eyebrows.
Why Alicia? The two of them had never been friends.
"How have you been?" Lily decided to quickly change the subject.
She eyed the clinical lead up and down. She'd lost weight, her face was pale, and a scarf was wrapped tightly around her head. She looked so different. It was scary to see her old boss looking so ill, but Lily just thanked the lord that she was getting better at least.
"I have my good days and I have my bad days," Connie said. "Today is a good day. Sit down."
Lily perched on the edge of the bed and Connie closed her book up. The Chronicles of Narnia, an old favourite of Lily's.
"Seems childish, I know," Connie said, as if she could read Lily's mind. "But at times like this, it's nice to travel to a magical, faraway place. How was Hong Kong?"
Lily nodded and thought back to her time there. Like Connie, there had been good days and bad days. On the bad days, her mind thought back to Iain and the good times that they'd had together. On the good days, she had no time to think about Holby.
"It was nice," Lily said. "But I missed the ED. It's a place that will always be in my heart."
"Sometimes it's good to leave the past behind you, Lily," Connie said. "You can't turn down an opportunity because of homesickness."
"I know," Lily said. "But I think the break was needed. Besides, I heard about everything that had happened here. I wanted to be there for my friends."
"You mentioned Alicia," Connie said. "Is she okay?"
Uh-oh! Had she said too much already? She'd promised Alicia that she'd keep her secret.
"It's just, I know that she and Ethan aren't together anymore," Connie continued.
"That's just it really," Lily said, biting down on her lip. "She's upset, and she misses him. We were never great friends but we're getting closer, and I think she wants my advice because Iain and I obviously broke up as well."
"Have you spoken to Iain?" Connie asked, eyebrows raised.
Lily nodded. "I have," she replied. "We're going for a drink tonight."
"Well, that sounds promising," Connie said. "And when are you planning on heading back to Hong Kong exactly?"
Lily hadn't really thought about it. She knew that Alicia wasn't going to get better with a click of the fingers and that it could be a while until she's back to feeling like her old self.
"I'm not too sure," Lily said. "I might spend a bit of time here first before I head back."
"Well," Connie sighed. "Do what you think is best. Like I told you before you left though, if you have an opportunity then grab it with both hands. Don't let someone else have your career."
Lily nodded, deep in thought and said, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"If I was to come back to Holby, if I decided that I wanted to," Lily said. "Would I be allowed to have my old job back?"
Connie smiled, but she looked concerned. "I don't see why not," she said. "If you decide that that is really what you want. You'll always have a place in the ED, but please take some time to think about it first."
Lily gave her a promising nod.
"I'm really glad that you came to see me, Lily," Connie said. "It's been lovely to see you."
"You too, Mrs Beauchamp," Lily said. "I hope that you feel better soon."
"I'm sure I will," Connie said. "My hair is starting to grow back so I'm pleased about that."
Connie winked at her, and Lily giggled, as she felt her mobile phone vibrate in her pocket. She sighed and took it out, opening up a text that she'd just received from Alicia.
I really need to talk to you. Are you free? xx
"Who's that?" Connie asked.
"Oh, it..." Lily's fingers hovered over the keypad. "It's my mum. I'm going to have to take this." She stood up from the bed and said, "It was really lovely to see you."
"You too," Connie said. "Come again soon, alright? Bring cake next time."
"I'll see what I can do," Lily laughed, and carefully leaned down to give her a gentle hug.
"What's wrong?" Lily began to panic as soon as she saw Alicia.
The text had sounded important and then when she saw the tears streaming down Alicia's face, she felt sick. She wondered what on earth had happened, what had caused the young doctor to get so upset. It didn't take much though, did it? Lily remembered being constantly in tears after it had happened. She could barely even say the word.
"I'm really sorry," Alicia sobbed and wrapped her arms around her.
"Come with me," Lily whispered, dragging her into a quiet corner so that no one could see the tears. "What happened?"
"I...I thought I'd be okay," Alicia said. "I'm so tired though, Lily. Doctor Keogh nudged my arm, and I just proper freaked out."
"What do you mean?" Lily asked.
"I screamed," Alicia said. "I was so embarrassed. You should have seen the look that he gave me. When I went to say something to him, all I saw was...Was him. I just want to go home."
"Hey, come on," Lily said and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "You've done well to come into work today and I mean that. Not many people would have managed."
"I just hate it so much," Alicia cried, absent-mindedly taking hold of Lily's hand. "I can't focus."
Lily nodded and sighed, "Why don't I come over tonight? We could watch a film, order a pizza, and just talk about anything that you like."
"Aren't you supposed to be seeing Iain?" Alicia asked.
Lily had to mentally kick herself. How could she forget? She was so excited to see Iain again and she'd really been looking forward to a catch up. Alicia needed her though, and wasn't she the main reason that she'd come back to Holby? She needed her help. Surely Iain would understand if she explained the situation. She couldn't though, could she?
She didn't know what to do.
"You need me right now though," Lily whispered, stepping to one side as a porter walked by with a wheelchair. "I'll talk to him. Maybe Iain and I can see each other another night instead."
"But will he be okay with that?" Alicia asked.
"I don't know," Lily sighed.
She had no idea how she was going to explain it to Iain. She hoped that he'd be okay with her cancelling on him, but inside, she knew that he wouldn't be.
So, trouble is brewing for Lily and Iain already!
Also, how is Alicia going to cope with this? I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you think x