Guest: I couldn't keep her away forever! Thank you for your review.

ReadingxTherapy: Hopefully, but it might not be that easy. More of the friendships to come. Thank you for your review.

Guest: That's true, I'll definitely try and write a scene between them. Thank you for your review.

Citylightsonthew: Thank you and I had to bring her back. She's my absolute fave! I really hope she comes back in the future. More Alicia and Elle to come. Thank you for your review.

Chapter Fifteen

Alicia sat by herself in the roof garden of Holby ED. Her fingers curled around the warm coffee cup, and her hair flew around her face in the gentle breeze. She was thankful for the peace and quiet for once. It felt nice to be alone with her thoughts. There was a soft sound of footsteps and her body tensed up. Her heart began beating fast when she realised that she wasn't alone.

"Hey."

It was only Ethan. She let out a sigh of relief and gulped anxiously, as he walked over to take a seat on the bench beside her.

"Sorry," he apologised quietly. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"It's fine," she whispered, even though she'd been enjoying her own company. "Can I help you?"

"How did it go at the police station?" He asked.

"Do you even care?" Alicia scoffed.

"Of course I care," Ethan said. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Well, it was awful," Alicia told him. "I just had to sit there and tell the police officers everything that had happened. I had to go into such detail with it, and...I hated every second. I feel sick."

"Hey, come here," Ethan whispered.

He went to put an arm around her, but quickly stopped himself.

"Sorry," he apologised again. "Can...Can I..."

Alicia anxiously glanced across and locked eyes with him. She felt so stupid. It was Ethan. Yes, they'd fought and they'd argued, but he would never physically hurt her. She took a deep breath and slowly nodded faintly at him. Ethan edged closer and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She flinched, but she allowed him to stay there.

"I'm proud of you, you know?" He said. "Going to the police takes guts, and...You've proved that you have guts."

"What if they don't find him?" She asked. "I can hardly remember what he looks like. I have as much description as I possibly could, but I don't feel as if it was enough."

"You did what you could," Ethan comforted. "And...I really am sorry for the way I've been acting lately. I've been such a jerk and I'd understand if you never wanted to talk to me again."

"No, this is nice," Alicia said. "I've missed you. I've missed your voice."

"And I've missed you as well," Ethan said, looking her up and down. "Have you been looking after yourself properly? Eating enough? You look rather thin."

"I guess I've just not been that hungry," Alicia whispered and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, you need to eat," Ethan told her. "And when all this has blown over, I'll take you out for a nice meal. My treat."

"Counselling?" Iain asked, confused, as he sat in the hospital canteen with Lily and Gem.

The three of them were just on a break, enjoying a drink and a snack, whilst they talked over everything that had happened that day. Iain had been desperate to ask about Lily's day with Connie, intrigued on where Connie had actually taken her. Gem had been practically silent, ever since she'd witnessed Alicia kiss her big brother. Lily had obviously noticed as she'd asked numerous times whether Gem was alright.

"Did it help?" Iain then asked and had some of his coffee.

"Surprisingly, yes," Lily replied. "More than I thought it would actually. She was really nice and she just sat and listened to what I had to say."

"Well, of course," Iain chuckled. "That's what a counsellor does."

"But a lot of them do it because they're getting paid to do it," Lily said. "It was as if she wanted to hear what I had to say. The money didn't seem to bother her. She clearly did want to listen and help people."

"Makes a change, I suppose," Gem sighed, rolling her eyes.

"And how's Alicia?" Iain sighed.

"I think she's okay," Lily said. "It's hard for her, obviously, but she's strong. Thank you for letting her stay last night."

"Why should we care about her?" Gem spoke.

"What's the matter with you?" Lily asked. "You've been in a bad mood since this morning."

"Nothing. I'm fine," Gem lied.

"Clearly you're not," Lily said. "Because you just had a right go about Alicia for no reason whatsoever. What's going on?"

"I have my reasons, okay?" She spat. "I just don't want to talk about them, that's all."

"Well, you're going to," Lily ordered and looked between her and Iain. "Because something is going on."

"Why don't you ask Iain?" Gem asked. "He's the one telling the lies, not me."

"Iain?" Lily's voice softened and she set her eyes on her boyfriend. "What aren't you telling me?"

Iain didn't say anything. He couldn't. Lily would be crushed otherwise.

"Iain!" Lily shouted, making him jump. "What is going on?"

"Go on, Iain," Gem scoffed. "Aren't you going to tell your girlfriend that Alicia kissed you?"

No one spoke for a long time. Gem suddenly regret blurting out their secret, as tears slowly filled Lily's eyes. Iain pursed his lips, shook his head and twiddled his thumbs anxiously. He wanted to hate his sister but maybe it was best for it to be out in the open.

"She...She kissed you?" Lily whispered.

"I didn't kiss her back," Iain said. "I...I yelled at her actually. It wasn't her fault though, Lily. She's emotionally unstable right now, isn't she? I'm sorry, Chuckles. We weren't going to tell you because I knew how much it would upset you, and I know that you've been helping Alicia a lot lately."

"Did this happen last night?" Lily asked.

Iain and Gem both nodded in unison.

"Are you mad at her?" Gem asked.

Lily sighed deeply and shook her head. "I'm upset and I'm disappointed," she said. "But I'm not mad. Like Iain said, she's emotionally unstable and she isn't in the right frame of mind right now."

"Well, are you going to talk to her about it?" Iain then asked.

"I'll think about it," Lily whispered. "But it isn't something to spread around the ED, so let's not mention it to anyone else, especially Ethan."

Iain faintly nodded and sighed, "Um...Are you sure you're okay, Lils?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lily sighed back and stood up from her seat. "I have work to be getting on with though. I guess I'll see you both later."

"Do I get a kiss?" Iain asked.

"Why don't you get Alicia to give you one?" Lily muttered under her breath and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair, before exiting the cafeteria.

"Way to go, Gemma," Iain spat at his little sister, when Lily was out of sight. "You have really done it this time."

Just a bit of a filler chapter but I hope you liked it. Apologies for a bit of a delay but I've not had the best week so writing has been the last thing on my mind.