Citylightsonthew: Thanks so much. I'm determined to finish this story, and I'm probably going to use this account a lot more to be honest. I've missed it and this was where I originally started writing Fanfiction. Thank you for your review.

ReflectionsOfJess: Thank you for so many lovely comments and messages from you. I love your story as well. You're an amazing writer. Thank you for your review.

Guest: That's okay! Sorry it took so long to update. More Ethan and Alicia to come. I have always loved Lily and I always will, but I am considering more Alicia stories. I've started off writing Lily and Alicia, which has been quite nice. We'll see. Thank you for your review.

Chapter Twenty-Four

"So, how are you coping?" Lily asked, as she and Alicia walked through the corridors of the ED.

"I'm okay," Alicia replied and shrugged her shoulders, the medical notes clutched to her chest as if they were a security blanket. "I have a counselling appointment next week, with an old friend of Mrs Beauchamp's."

Lily nodded and whispered, "Same woman, I saw. She's a wonderful person. I'm sure that you'll get on great."

"Thank you," Alicia said. "Having you at my flat has really helped as well, but you should probably go back to Iain's."

"I don't want to leave you on your own," Lily said. "Not until I know that you're okay. You've been through a lot, Alicia."

"I know," Alicia sighed and hung her head. "This is never going to go away, is it? I hoped it might, but...It won't. My whole life has been turned upside down, and I can barely shut my eyes without being woken by a terrible nightmare."

"That's why we're getting you help though," Lily said. "That's why you're having counselling."

The two of them stopped walking and Alicia turned to face her. Lily gave her a small smile and nodded in her direction.

"I think someone wants to see you," she said.

Alicia slowly turned and saw Ethan standing behind her.

"Sorry," he apologised. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No," Lily said. "We were just chatting."

"Good." Ethan nodded and walked to Alicia's side. "I just wondered if you wanted to do something tonight. You could come round to my place if you wanted, or I could come to yours. You're um...You're more than welcome to stay the night."

"Would you be okay with that?" Alicia then asked Lily.

It took Lily a moment to realise that she was talking to her, and not Ethan.

"Of course, you don't have to ask me," Lily laughed. "Iain and I could probably do with a date night anyway. Go and have some fun, you need it right now."

"Thank you," Alicia said and turned back to Ethan. "Meet me after work?"

"Sure," Ethan said. "I can't wait."

"One glass of Lemonade for you," Ethan said and handed the fizzy drink to Alicia.

The two of them were sat on the sofa in Ethan's living room, watching the forth Harry Potter film. Alicia had gone quiet though, and Ethan was worried that he'd done something to upset her.

"Is everything okay?" He asked. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No," Alicia sighed, stirring the straw around her drink. "Earlier though, you...You said that I could stay the night."

"And you still can if you want to," he said. "Why? Is that a problem? I don't want to force you, Alicia."

Alicia didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to word it without completely upsetting Ethan. She placed her glass on the coffee table, held a hand to her mouth, and anxiously chewed on her fingernails.

"You can talk to me, you know?" He said. "I'm not going to tell anyone, not if you don't want me to."

"It's nothing big." She shook her head at him. "But I guess I just panicked."

"Oh." Ethan nodded and anxiously fiddled with his glasses. It felt weird, seeing as he hardly ever wore them now. "Do - Do you mind me asking why exactly?"

Alicia changed position so that she was sat cross legged and facing him.

"When a guy asks a girl to stay the night, it normally means just one thing," she said. "And I - I don't feel ready for kissing, let alone that. I - I can't even say the word, Ethan. I'm sorry, and I don't want to hurt you, but..."

"Alicia, I'm not expecting you to be ready for any of that just yet," Ethan cut her off. "I asked you to spend the night because I love you and I care about you, and I didn't want you to be alone tonight. That's all. I'm not going to force myself onto you or do anything that you don't want me to. I promise. I know that it may be hard for you to trust me, and I understand that, but you can. I'm not like him."

"I know you're not," Alicia said. "But I'm still scared."

"I get that," Ethan said.

He felt awful and he wished that there was something he could do to help her. He wished that he could take away her fears and worries, but things weren't that easy. Those memories would be stuck with Alicia for the rest of her life. It was horrible.

"I love you, Alicia," he said. "I should have been there more for you. I should have been there to stop it."

"No one could have stopped it," Alicia said. "Please, don't blame yourself."

He nodded, and Alicia uncrossed her legs before standing up from the sofa.

"I want to go to bed now," she said. "I feel tired."

"We can do that," he said. "If you need me at any point during the night, wake me. Okay? You're not alone. Don't feel as if you are."

"You need your sleep as well," she said. "You have work tomorrow."

"I know," Ethan said. "But you're more important. I've told you that before."

"I don't deserve you, Ethan," Alicia said. "You've been so good to me."

"You do deserve me," Ethan said. "You deserve all the happiness in the world."

"How's Alicia doing?" Iain asked, as he and Lily snuggled up on the sofa together that evening.

"She's getting there," she said. "She has a counselling appointment next week, so that should help her a lot. I still have my concerns, but Ethan's a good guy so I'm sure that he'll take good care of her tonight."

"He will," Iain agreed. "And what about you? Are you doing okay?"

"I think so," Lily said, lifting her head off of his shoulder. "Thank you for asking."

"I care about you," Iain said and kissed her cheek. "And you've been an incredible friend to Alicia. I'm proud of you and she's extremely lucky to have you in her life, as am I."

"Thank you," Lily said, and the two of them leaned in to kiss each other on the lips. "I love you."

"And I love you," Iain said. "Do you want to watch a film or something?"

"Actually, do you mind if we just head to bed?" She asked. "I'm rather tired."

"Course we can," Iain said. "I need to wash up first, but get your pyjamas on and get yourself off to bed. I'll come and join you in a bit."

"Do you need some help?" Lily asked.

"I've got it," Iain said and gave her another kiss. "Go on."

Iain walked off to the kitchen to start washing up the things from dinner. Lily made her way to the bathroom to give her teeth a brush, before going into the bedroom to change into her pyjamas. She'd chosen a pair of blue and white striped ones, nothing special, but they were comfortable and kept her warm. She'd got a book that she was in the middle of reading so she lay in bed and read that for a bit, until Iain came to join her.

"You look comfy," he said.

"Yeah," Lily sighed, her eyelids drooping.

She watched as Iain undressed and pulled on a pair of pyjama bottoms. He then slid into bed and Lily slowly and anxiously ran her hand over his bare chest.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," she said, closing her book and setting it down on the table beside her. "Goodnight," she whispered and switched the lamp off, before rolling onto her side so that she had her back to Iain.

"Goodnight," he whispered back and gave her back a rub, before closing his own eyes.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If anyone has any ideas or things that they'd like to see happen in this story, just let me know. Thanks for reading x