Anon: Thank you. I'm sure there'll be a lot of scenes with Iain saving the day. They are cute together and I hope they get together soon.

heather curtis-rich: Thank you so much. Enjoy the update :-)

A: I hope this was soon enough :-)

Chapter Two

It was getting dark outside. Lily had only just finished work.

Archie was not at all happy with her. She'd grabbed a sandwich on her break so she had already eaten but also the majority of restaurants would be full and starting to close up. The late shifts didn't bother Lily too much, she rather enjoyed them actually and it usually meant that she wasn't forced to start early the next day. She was still due to work tomorrow but luckily she didn't need to start until eleven so she could sleep in for a bit longer and slowly ease into the day.

"Hey Lily!" Iain called to her. She signed out at reception and turned to listen to him. "A few of us are going for drinks at the pub. Are you coming? We won't be stopping late."

"Um...I'm sorry," Lily said, almost regretfully. "I can't. I'm meeting Archie."

"Right," Iain sighed, trying his best not to look disappointed. "Of course you are. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then I guess."

Lily nodded and gave him an apologetic smile, as he exited the ED with a few of the guys. She sighed and turned to leave herself, just as Alicia ran over to catch her up.

"Lily!" Alicia grinned, tapping her on the shoulder to grab her attention. "You and Archie, huh? You're getting pretty serious with him."

"I guess we are," Lily said awkwardly.

"See?" Alicia beamed, proud of herself. "Good things can happen if you just build up the courage to make the first move. Hopefully, the two of you will be together for a long time."

"Doctor Munroe," Lily stopped her there. "I really have to get going. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh," Alicia nodded faintly and tucked a few loose strands of her hair behind her ears. "Okay. You too."

Archie had suggested they meet at 'The Red Lion,' a quiet pub just around the corner. They'd be away from the noise and bustle, in other words away from everyone that they knew. Lily could tell that Archie wasn't happy from the moment she saw him standing outside 'The Red Lion' and her stomach immediately tied into a knot.

She felt sick awaiting his reaction.

"Archie," she greeted, trying to make herself sound confident and strong. "Shall we go inside?"

"What time do you call this?" he hissed and tapped the expensive, gold watch that hung around his left wrist.

"I did text you saying that I'd be finishing a little later," Lily reminded him. "I'm sorry but I could not help it. We were busy."

"So work is more important than your own boyfriend, is it?" he said.

"I thought you would understand," Lily whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Just go inside," Archie sighed, giving Lily a small but hard shove towards the entrance. "And get that look off of your face already. You're embarrassing me."

Lily wasn't sure how that was even possible. He was the one who'd just told her off for working late when she couldn't actually help it, so she was bound to feel hurt and upset by his comments. Did he seriously expect her to be over the moon?

"Right. I'll have a beer," Archie said, as they made their way over to the bar.

Lily frowned to herself, wondering what he meant by that. Was he expecting her to pay for him? She hadn't been expecting him to pay, she'd just assumed that they'd pay for their own drinks but clearly Archie hadn't had the same thought.

"I...I might not even have anything," she said. "I'm tired. It's been a long day."

"Okay," he scoffed and raised his eyebrows. "But I'll still have a beer."

When Lily didn't speak, Archie just sighed and gave his order to the barman. Lily chewed on the inside of her mouth anxiously, jumping a little bit as the pint of beer was slammed down in front of them.

"She's paying." Archie told him, gesturing to his girlfriend.

"Okay," the barman said. "Cash or card?"

Now Lily really was in an awkward position. She couldn't refuse to pay in front of the barman, he'd accuse them of stealing and they'd most likely both get thrown out. Maybe not but she didn't really want to take that risk.

She turned to look at Archie who was just smirking proudly to himself. She forced a smile and dug into her handbag before pulling out a ten-pound note and handing it over to the barman. She waited for her change and Archie picked up his glass before going to take the table by the window. Lily reluctantly followed and sat down opposite.

"Change please," he said, holding out his hand.

"What?" Lily asked. "But I paid."

"But it's my beer," he said. "Change!"

Lily gulped and handed over the coins, wondering how on earth she was going to pay for a taxi home. Archie sipped at his beer, staring intensely at her the whole time. Lily shifted uncomfortably and sat her handbag down at her feet.

"Why are you being like this?" she asked. "I said I was sorry. Being a registrar is important to me though and I can't help it if Mrs Beauchamp wants me to work overtime."

"Just stop with the lies, Lily," Archie hissed. "You didn't want to go out tonight, just admit that."

"I...I did..." Lily stuttered. "That isn't true."

Archie shook his head and turned to stare out of the window. There wasn't much to look at; a couple were arguing and shouting at each other over something, a pair of cats sat on a fence scrapping at each other, and a homeless man was rooting through the bins for food.

"Are you able to take me home later?" she asked. "I...I don't have any money on me."

"What?" he scoffed. "So you expect me to pay for my own beer and now you want me to take you home?"

"It's fine." Lily gave a small shrug of the shoulders. "Do you mind if I head home now? I'm feeling tired and it's already dark."

"Sure," he chuckled nastily. "I don't really want to be sat with someone who looks completely fed up and not like they really want to be here. Just get out of here, Lily."

Lily's fake smile faded and she bent down to pick up her bag. Sniffing to hold back her tears, she left the pub in silence without even saying a goodbye to Archie. Outside, she leant against the brick wall and tried to think about how she'd make it home. She could have easily walked but the thought of doing that in the dark made her anxious. She'd purposely not brought her bike to work because she knew that she'd be seeing Archie for a drink afterwards.

She was stranded. She had no choice but to walk.

"Lily?"

Her head popped up at the sound of someone calling her name and she turned to see Iain strolling past.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"Oh, um...Archie had to get home," she lied quickly.

"And he left you here by yourself, did he?" Iain said, walking over to her. "Did he not give you a lift?"

"He really had to get going," Lily said, embarrassed. "I told him that I was fine to walk."

"No, don't be daft," Iain said. "My car is in the car park just around the corner. I'll take you home."

"Have you not been drinking?" she asked him.

"Nah." He shook his head. "Besides, it doesn't bother me. Come on, good thing I was walking by eh?"

"Yeah," Lily said shyly, as she started to walk with Iain. "It was."

"So, why did you come to this pub then?" Iain questioned her. "It's rather quiet, isn't it? No excitement."

"Archie just wanted some time alone," Lily said. "We wouldn't really get that with you guys, would we?" Iain laughed and pressed the unlock button on his key as they arrived at his car. "Thanks for the lift by the way."

"Hey, it's okay," Iain said. "It'd be nice to have the company, as long as you don't mind country music."

"Country?" Lily's eyes widened, as she slid into the passenger seat of his car.

"Hey," Iain chuckled, climbing into the drivers' seat. "Don't tell anyone, yeah? It's a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine."

"Don't worry," Lily said, looking into the mirror and smiling genuinely for the first time in a while. "I won't say a word."

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I hope you all enjoy the update. I'll try and post Chapter 3 as soon as I can.