Ltfl: Me too. If someone is at serious risk of harming themselves, then they can't exactly stay at home.
Sally b: There's still loads more chapters to come, but eventually all stories have to come to an end. I don't want it to get to the point where it's dragging and becoming repetitive. I will be, yes, but it won't be until nearer the end :-)
MrsWhovian: Let's hope so :-)
Dancingwithmyshadow6: Thank you so much. I had the idea ever since Archie's first appearence on the show, and it's taken me a while to write. I'm really pleased with it though.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Lily laughed as Iain wrapped his arms around her waist and tickled her.
He was sat on the sofa in the lounge of the psych ward, his feet propped up on the coffee table between the sofa and the table. Lily was curled up next to him in a pair of jeans, converse, and her usual Holby City fleece. Her head rested in his lap, and she liked the fact that they seemed to be the only people in the room.
"Stop it!" She giggled, playfully slapping his hand away from her stomach.
"No," he chuckled, teasingly reaching out to tickle her again. "Not until you've told me how much you've missed me."
"You know I've missed you," Lily said, sitting up and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you," she said, leaning in to kiss him on the lips. He quickly returned the kiss, and said that he loved her back. "You've been here all morning. You can go, you know?"
"I don't want to," Iain said. "I said that I would visit and that's exactly what I'm doing."
Lily just nodded against his chest, just as Connie walked over with one of the psych doctors. Her name was Kirsten and she was the main doctor in charge; she was nice but extremely strict.
"Iain, I think you may need to leave now," Kirsten said.
"What?" Iain frowned, his arms remaining around his girlfriend. "Why?"
"Because Lily hasn't yet been down to the dining hall," Kirsten said. "And we need to try and get her to eat something."
"I'm not hungry," Lily whispered, shrugging her shoulders and leaning in further towards Iain.
"You want to get out of here, don't you?" Connie said to her, and Lily gave her quite an obvious, firm nod. "I thought so. I suggest you eat something then please, breakfast is over so you'll be the only person in there anyway. No one's going to be watching you."
"Can't I at least come with her?" Iain asked.
"Aren't you supposed to be working today?" Connie asked, folding her arms across her chest. "Iain, I know you care but Lily really needs to try and get better on her own here. You can visit her tomorrow, or you can come back this evening."
Kirsten sighed and put a hand up to Connie, before sitting on the other side of Lily.
"How long have you two been dating?" She questioned.
"Not that long to be honest," Lily mumbled.
"You seem to really love each other," she remarked, and Lily gave her a nod. "You're lucky to have such a loving, supportive boyfriend."
Lily looked across at Iain and smiled, whilst saying, "He's the best."
"I never usually allow visitors during mealtimes," Kirsten said, a small smile breaking out on her face. "But I'll make an exception this time, okay? Iain can stay, just as long as you come and try eating a little something for us."
"Come on, Chuckles," Iain sighed, standing up and helping her up from the sofa. "I don't know about you but I'm really hungry." Lily just shrugged her shoulders, feeling sick at the thought of having to eat something.
"Thank you," Connie whispered to Kirsten, as the two of them followed Lily and Iain to the dining hall.
It was the weekend and usually breakfast consisted of a fry-up, as a little treat for the patients. Lily hadn't been eating though and the staff had made a joint decision to start her off on something small until her body felt it was ready to start digesting food properly again.
Connie and Iain sat on the bench either side of Lily, whilst Kirsten brought over a plate of dry toast. She set it down in front of Lily with a glass of water, but it remained untouched.
"Come on, Lils," Iain sighed. "You promised that you'd at least try, didn't you? It's only one slice, it won't hurt."
"I just want to look nice," Lily whispered, trying her best not to look at the toast.
"We've been through this, haven't we?" Connie said. "You don't need to lose weight. Besides, toast is not going to do anything to you. Come on, you want to get better right?"
"I need the bathroom," Lily whispered, standing up from the table.
"Sit down," Connie said sternly, her and Iain both grabbing her arms to force her back into her seat. "Eat your breakfast."
Tears stung Lily's eyes and she whimpered, slowly picking up the toast with a shaking hand. She took a nervous bite and sat there, hating the feeling of the soggy bread in the back of her mouth. She wanted to spit it out, it was so hard to chew and she felt that every swallow just caused her to put on a tiny bit more weight. She felt close to bursting into tears.
"Well done, Lils," Iain praised, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "That wasn't so bad, eh?"
Lily just nodded and coughed, already feeling the need to throw up.
"Good girl," Connie said, and rubbed at her back. "Have some more for me."
Lily shook her head, holding her hands to her face, whilst trying not to cry in front of everyone. She already felt sick and horrible, and wanted more than anything to get the food out of her. It was an awful feeling, and she hated the fact that she had Connie, Iain, and Kirsten all watching her.
"I don't want anymore," she whispered, pushing the plate away from her, hands shaking. "I don't feel well."
Connie glanced up at Kirsten from the bench and sighed wordlessly. She knew that Lily wasn't able to be discharged from the ward, unless she really tried to work on herself. That included eating, without the constant desire to lose weight.
"You need to have a bit more than that, Lily," Kirsten told her. "You're not leaving this hall until that plate is empty. I've allowed Iain to sit with you but that is as far as I'll go, you need to eat."
A loud, ear piercing scream suddenly echoed throughout the hospital. Everybody jumped, and tears began to prick Lily's eyes. The scream continued, growing louder and louder, and more panicked.
"I'm going to have to deal with this," Kirsten said, with a small sigh. "I'll be right back. Are you okay here Connie, or do you need to get back to the ED?"
"No, I'm fine," Connie said.
Kirsten nodded, and left the dining hall to go and deal with whoever was kicking off.
"Lily, it's fine," Connie said. "Just try and ignore them, and carry on eating."
"Please make it stop," Lily sobbed, clamping her hands over her ears and squeezing her eyes shut. "I don't like it."
"Lily, they're dealing with it," Iain calmed her. "Just try and ignore them, okay? They're not going to hurt you."
Connie looked to Iain, and immediately felt a rush of sympathy for Lily. She soon realised why Lily was getting so scared and upset over the screaming; she thought that they were going to hurt her, just like Archie had done.
"Look at me," Iain said, gently taking hold of her arm and turning her so that she was facing him. "You're safe, okay? I know it may not seem like it but you are. Come on, don't be scared."
"I'm not," Lily sobbed.
"No," Iain chuckled, giving her a smile, and pulling her in for a hug. "Of course you're not."
"Lily is really struggling in here," Connie informed Kirsten, when the two of them had some time together that evening. Iain had gone home, the patients were asleep, and Connie was staying to help with the night shift seeing as Lily had had a bad day. "The only time she's really happy is when Iain is visiting her."
"And I think we need to limit that time," Kirsten sighed. "I allowed Iain to stay with her today but it can't carry on. You saw the state that she was in when he left here."
"They're dating," Connie mentioned, arms folded across her chest.
"I know," Kirsten said. "But Lily's a severe case. She's at serious risk of harming herself, and if we constantly allow the visitors then she's never going to get better on her own."
"I don't really like to think of one of my most promising doctors as a severe case, regarding mental health issues," Connie sighed heavily, and ran a hand through her hair. She felt exhausted. "I hate that she's here."
"I know," Kirsten sympathised, unsure of what to actually say. "Are you sure that you're okay to help tonight? Maybe you should go home and get some sleep."
"I want to help out," Connie said, looking at Kirsten with sad eyes, but managing to force a smile. "For Lily's sake."
I hope you're all enjoying the Easter break. I have work unfortunately, but I'm looking forward to the weekend :-) x