Back with another chapter. I will update There For Life soon but for now, enjoy this! x

Ethan couldn't take the tick-tocking of the clock as he sat pulling at his hair in the staff room. It had been an hour. They had learned in the ambulance that she had been laying there overnight as the heavy rain poured down and were surprised that she had survived.

"She's a fighter, that one." Dixie had said as Iain stroked her hair.

Hypothermia, broken rib, deep stab wound... Ethan had rushed out the moment Connie started to examine her fully.

Cal walked in, sympathy written in his eyes. "She's stable. Connie had her put in ICU. They managed to stop the bleeding and warm her up but she hadn't woken up yet. They had feared that something was wrong that they hadn't caught but nothing had shown on Lily's CT scan.

"Anything else?" Ethan asked quietly.

Cal shrugged helplessly. "She won't be able to have children." he replied just as quietly. "But on the good side, she probably didn't want kids, right?" he tried, knowing that it wouldn't help matters. "Why don't you check on her while I call her parents?"

Ethan nodded and stood up, sighing before he made his way upstairs towards the Intensive Care Unit. He was able to get to her easily as the receptionist smiled sadly.

"I don't know if you know but she's in a coma at the moment so don't be shocked when she doesn't wake up, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks." Ethan replied before entering Lily's room.

He cautiously walked towards the seat beside her bed and sat down, gingerly taking her hand before kissing it.

...

Ethan's POV

"Hey, Lily... I know you can hear me... I, uh... got scared when that woman told me that you were stabbed. I knew I should have taken you home. I shouldn't have took 'no' for an answer and look where you are now. I'm so sorry, Lily. I'm sorry for ditching you, I'm sorry for annoying you unintentionally... I'm sorry, okay? I guess that I just want to be around you all the time and the fact that I love you and the knowledge that you don't return my feelings just... broke my heart and I tried to get over you. But I can't... I pretend to be in love with a girl when in truth, I love another. You mean...," I took a pause to stop my tears from falling. "You mean everything to me, Lily Chao and when I heard that I could lose you... I just..., I couldn't take it. I need you in my life, Lily. I love you." I whispered.

I don't know what I was expecting. For her to wake up? I thought I felt her twitch her fingers but I just knew that it was the adrenaline working its magic.

"Can you wake up for me, Beautiful?" I mumbled to her. "Come on, Lily... You're strong. You're a fighter. You-you can wake up for me, please." I cried, finally breaking down as I leaned my head against her chest. "You can't leave me. You can't leave your parents or Holby. We all need you, Lils... I need you."

There was a knock on the door and I took a deep breath in, wiping my eyes. It opened and Connie entered, smiling slightly.

"Hi, I just... I wanted to check on her." she whispered.

"Check away." I mumbled, getting up.

"You take all the time you need, Dr. Hardy." Connie said. "I know how close you are to her. I see everything, you know." She went over to Lily and placed a hand on her hair, smiling. "She reminds me a lot of myself. Beautiful, goal-stricken, a fighter... If anyone can pull through this, it will be her."

I asked the one thing going through everyone's minds. "What if she doesn't make it. What happens then?"

Connie paused. "That's a 'what if', Dr. Hardy. She will get through this. There's no 'if', there never was."

I stayed silent until the words just left my mouth. "Lily told me she wanted kids someday."

My superior sighed, sadness drifting through her eyes as she stroked Lily's hair. "She would have been a good mum."

"It will break her." I whispered. "She may not show it but she is weak sometimes. She is human like the rest of us."

"I... I will make sure that the news is broken to her as carefully as possible." Connie replied, withdrawing her hand. "You better go home and sleep. Your shift has ended."

"Sorry I wasn't much of a help." I mumbled, stretching as he stood up.

Connie nodded. "It's fine. I know how much she means to you. Just take tomorrow off, okay? I'll get Cal to do your shift."

I shook his head. "I can't ask him to that. I'm okay. I'll be in later. It's not me who needs the day off anyway." I mumbled, turning to face Lily. "Look after her."

"With all my being." Connie whispered.

...

I sighed as my head hit my pillow. I wanted to cry but I wasn't entirely sure what for. For the loss of Lily's reproduction cycle? For the loss of our friendship? For her survival and mental stability when she wakes up?

I stared at the time. It was only 1 PM in the afternoon. I wasn't due back into work until 8.

I recalled last night as Lily rejected my offer to give her lift. Why hadn't I persisted? Why hadn't she accepted? At the end of the day, I think I cared more for her than Honey who was my own girlfriend.

Speaking of the girl named after the sweet dew, her face appeared on my phone screen as it started buzzing.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Ethan... We need to talk..."

Sorry it took long to be posted. There For Life will be update sometime in the near future!