Ltfl: Me too. Thank you, I'm really glad that you like it.

Dancingwithmyshadow6: I do like writing scenes between Alicia and Lily. I'm glad that they're friends now.

MrsWhovian: Do not be ashamed to admit that! Haha seriously though, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I hope you like the update.

Chapter Eleven

Alicia couldn't stop thinking about Lily's strange behaviour.

She wanted to talk to her about it, but she knew very well that Lily would just get defensive. The two of them had only just become friends and she certainly did not want to cause an argument. Besides, there weren't many good ways to approach the situation. Alicia was stuck.

As Lily worked in resus the next morning, dealing with a man who'd been involved in a very serious car accident, Alicia just hovered nearby and tried to recognise the signs of depression. Maybe she was overthinking things, maybe Lily had just been tired after a long day at work. Still, it hadn't just been last night. Lily had been acting differently for a while now.

"Are you alright, Alicia?" Iain questioned, snapping her out of her trance.

"I'm fine," she sighed, slowly turning round to face the paramedic.

She wasn't sure whether she should tell him or not. It was Lily's business and no one else's, then again another opinion might have been just what she needed. She knew that Lily had been out on location with Iain yesterday, and what exactly was it that Iain said at the end of their shift.

'It might do you good, Chuckles.'

Maybe Iain knew something as well.

"I'm a bit worried about Lily," she whispered so that Lily wouldn't hear her.

"Right," Iain sighed, glancing across at the registrar who looked busy in her work. "Walk with me."

Alicia took one more look at Lily before reluctantly following Iain out of resus. She was meant to be in there, observing. She hoped that Lily wouldn't go and tell Connie about her sudden disappearance.

"Come on then, spill," Iain said, folding his arms across his chest as he waited for Alicia to start talking.

"Was Lily okay yesterday?" Alicia questioned him. "It's just, last night we ordered pizza but she told me that she had to head home because Archie had prepared dinner."

"So what's the problem?" Iain shrugged his shoulders.

"Let me finish," Alicia sighed. "Well, the pizza arrived and she told me that she was going to use the bathroom before she went home. However, she'd left her phone on the bed and a message from Archie came through, basically saying that he wasn't able to come round to her flat that night."

"I don't get it," Iain said confusedly. "Why would she lie about that?"

"I...I don't know," Alicia stammered. "I was too scared to mention anything to her, so I just left it." She paused before continuing. "So...was she okay yesterday? I'm just a bit worried about her."

Iain sighed and thought back to yesterday, back to when Lily had gone and fainted on location. Could the two incidents be related? He then remembered the time that he and Lily had met for lunch, how she hardly ate anything that was on her plate. He needed to talk to her, and fast.

Lily was sitting at the computer in reception, a file open in front of her. Gem sat next to her, a cup of coffee in her hand, staying silent so that Lily could work. She'd already interrupted her once that afternoon and it hadn't gone down well. She was pleased when she saw her brother walking towards her.

"Lily!" He called, blanking his sister. Lily turned to him and he placed a ham sandwich down in front of her. "Lunch, on me."

Lily felt sick as she stared at the unopened sandwich that Iain had just handed over. "I...I already ate," she lied.

"No, you haven't," Iain said, slanting his eyebrows and looking at her suspiciously. "You haven't had a single break today. If you don't want a break, then at least eat the sandwich."

"I had a big breakfast, Iain," Lily said, slowly pushing the sandwich back towards him. "I'm not hungry. You can have it."

"Gem, could you give us a minute?" Iain whispered, glancing across at his sister. He really started to lose his patience when Gem made no sign of movement. "Now!" he yelled at her.

"Fin,e then," Gem mumbled and stood up from her chair, making sure to take her coffee with her.

"What's going on with you?" Iain asked Lily, leaning against the desk with his hands in his pockets. "You haven't eaten all day."

"I had a big breakfast, I just told you!" Lily repeated herself, gritting her teeth together aggressively. "Who are you to question what I eat anyway?"

"Please Lily," Iain sighed, shaking his head at her. "Just stop with the lies, yeah? I don't think you've been eating properly, and I would like to know why. You're going to make yourself ill."

"I am eating just fine, thank you," Lily snapped at him, annoyed and angry that he would even make that accusation against her.

"Good, then prove it," Iain said. "Eat the sandwich."

Lily gulped and her lip wobbled slightly. She felt unwanted tears sting her eyes. She quickly blinked to keep them back though, she couldn't let Iain see her cry, especially over something as stupid as a sandwich.

"Lily," Iain sighed and folded his arms across the desk, leaning in so that he could have a proper conversation with her. "We both work in a hospital, we've seen on a number of occasions people with eating disorders and..."

"What?" Lily spat, her eyes widening. "Iain! Quit trying to label me with some mental illness, just because I'm not hungry. I'll take the sandwich and I'll eat it later, will that make you happy?"

"I'm just saying that I wouldn't blame you," Iain said. "You haven't had it easy, have you? The death of your father, the thing with you and Alicia, work has been stressful, and, well, you now have your first proper boyfriend."

He paused, as Lily slowly diverted her eyes back to the computer desperately wanting him to change the subject.

"You're a beautiful woman, though, Lily," he finally continued. "You don't need to lose weight if that's what you're trying to do. However, if you are telling me the truth and you're just not feeling hungry right now, then I'm sorry for sticking my nose in."

"Apology accepted," Lily muttered, tapping away on the keyboard.

Iain wasn't sure if she was actually typing something or if she was just trying to make herself look busy so that he'd go away.

"I'm here, though," Iain said, giving her arm a comforting rub. "If you did want, need, to talk."

"I'm fine," Lily whispered, fidgeting uncomfortably in her chair. She sighed to herself and reached over to pick up the sandwich. "I'll eat it. Thanks... thanks for your concern, Iain."

Iain smiled and nodded at her, whilst saying, "just remember what I said."

He gently gave her arm a comforting squeeze and walked off to get back to his job. Lily chewed anxiously on the inside of her mouth and quickly wiped away a loose tear that had escaped her eye.

She gripped the sandwich in her hands, wondering or not whether to open it. She'd told Iain that she'd eat it, but the thought made her feel physically sick to her stomach. Archie wouldn't be happy if he found out that she'd eaten something with so much fat in it, right?

After pondering for so long on what to do, she subtly reached under the desk and chucked the sandwich into the bin below.

So I am off work sick today you guys! I woke up this morning and thought I'd take the opportunity to update as much as I can but ended up going back to sleep until one o'clock. The sleep was nice though, I must admit, and I should be back at work tomorrow.

Enjoy the update :-) x