Bonnie Sveen Fan, thank you for your review - I'm glad you like this so far.

LittleBritishPerson, it is very likely that Cal will react like that when he sees Alicia! They'll meet in Chapter 3. Thank you for your review.

Tanith Panic, thank you for your review. I'm glad you like it! The Iain and Dixie scene was actually Iain and Connie's character, but I thought it would make more sense with Dixie.

Thank you to Starlight Inspirit for the follow and favourite.

Honey heard someone clearing her throat and looked up to see Lily.

"Problem, Dr Chao?" said Zoe. "I'm on my break, but I think Dr Keogh's still working."

"Yeah, so move along," said Louise. "We're having something you probably haven't heard of called fun."

"This isn't regarding a patient, Dr Hanna," said Lily. "I would like to inform you all that Mrs Beauchamp has asked me to mentor a new F2 who will be starting today. If you're working on anything that might make a suitable addition to an F2 portfolio, I'm sure my mentee will be delighted to observe or assist."

Zoe sighed. "Lily, there's a lot more to working here than doing your job, you know."

Lily looked slightly confused. "That is why I'm here, Dr Hanna. To work. To progress in my career. To achieve my life goals."

"You mean living in the countryside with your husband?" said Zoe. "Whoever he may be."

"That is one of my life goals: yes," said Lily.

"Yeah. You keep working on it," said Louise.

Alicia bounced up from the ground, hand outstretched. "Hey, Lily! My name's Alicia – Dr Munroe, but please call me Alicia – and I think I might be your new mentee! I am so excited about working with you and I can't wait to start."

Lily shook Alicia's hand in a businesslike manner. "Dr Munroe. I am Dr Chao. You are indeed my new mentee. I'm sure if your approach is professional and focused, we will work together well."

"I'll do my very best, Dr Chao," Alicia assured her.

"I'm glad to hear it," said Lily, though there was doubt in her eyes as they rested briefly on Alicia's pink stethoscope.

"Bitch!" said Rita quietly.

Alicia gasped slightly.

Lily turned to face the nurse, her eyes narrowed. "Did you say something, Rita?"

"Sorry, Lily," said Rita. "I was talking to one of my diamonds. It just fell down my bra."

"Oh no!" said Robyn. "Come here. I'll get it out for you."

"Unless you'd rather Dixie did it," said Zoe knowingly. "I heard a rumour you two were getting pretty close…"

Robyn giggled. "I heard that too. I think I started that rumour actually."

"You start all the rumours, you do!" said Honey. "Except the ones I start by accident because I didn't understand properly."

"Me and Dixie are just friends," said Rita, but a faint blush on her cheeks told Honey that wasn't the full story at all.

"Ooh, tell us more!" said Honey.

"Nothing to tell," said Rita.

"So you don't mind if I ask Dixie?"

Rita hesitated. "Not at all."

Robyn started to feel around in Rita's bra. Honey couldn't help wondering if there really was a diamond in Rita's bra or it was just a cover story because Rita really had been calling Lily a bitch, but Robyn's hand soon emerged with a small diamond, which she held aloft in triumph before putting it back into position on Rita's sunglasses.

Rita gave her a hug. "Thanks, Robyn. You're a star."

Cal walked into the staff room, a smile on his face and one very special girl in his thoughts.

She wasn't the kind of girl he could date for real – she didn't suit his image at all: in fact, having just the one girlfriend of any type didn't suit his image - but it had been a nice little summer romance.

Ethan failed to look thrilled to see him. "There you are. You do realise you're a week late?"

Jez looked confused. "A week late? I thought only girls were a week late. And then only if you're really unlucky."

"For his shift," explained Ethan. "You were due back last Monday, Caleb. Where were you?"

Cal sauntered over to the sofas and sat down. "Would you believe me if I said I got my dates mixed up?"

"If you're talking about girls, yeah, I believe it," said Iain. "You can't have that many at once and not get confused."

"I thought I was due back this week," said Cal. "But it turns out it was last week. Save the lecture, Ethan. I've already had one from Mrs Beauchamp."

Ethan said no more, but Cal had a horrible feeling there would be a lecture waiting for him when he got home.

All the more reason to stay out late.

"How was Barbados?" asked Lofty.

Cal smiled. "Oh, it was great. Brilliant. As far as I remember anyway. I totally recommend it."

"You met lots of girls then?" asked Max.

"Well, you know. One or two," said Cal.

Jez laughed. "One or two a night?"

"Yeah. Something like that." Cal smiled as though to imply there had actually been more than two a night. "But there was one girl I met… she was a doctor."

"And let me guess," said Iain. "She also likes to play doctor?"

Cal smirked. Alicia hadn't been like that at all, but there was no harm in pretending. It wasn't like he could tell them what she was really like. They'd still be laughing this time next year. "And then some!"

Iain's eyes widened. "You mean she was up for a threesome?"

Ethan made a face.

"Is that all you ever think about, Iain?" said Lofty.

Cal knew Lofty thought about it too, but he tended not to mention it as much as the others.

Iain looked offended. "Of course not! I think about foursomes too. So did you, Cal? Did you have a foursome?"

Ethan put his hands over his ears. "I really don't think I want to know."

Alicia was pleasantly-surprised by the girls on the bench. Zoe was obviously keeping a bit of a distance because she was a consultant and she didn't know Alicia, but the other girls seemed as friendly as Honey had promised.

Apart from Lily, Alicia thought wistfully. They were almost the same age and they'd be working together closely as mentor and mentee. It would be so lovely if they could be friends, but Lily seemed so professional and focused. Alicia thought she'd be an excellent mentor, but she couldn't quite imagine the two of them staying up all night, doing each other's hair.

Still, it was early days and perhaps Lily was shy.

"Did you go away this summer, Alicia?" said Rita. "You've got a lovely tan."

"Yeah: I hear sunbeds are pretty good these days," said Zoe.

"Sunbeds are a health hazard," said Lily.

"Oh, thank you, Rita!" said Alicia. "It's actually a real tan. I went to Barbados. I was working, but… but not the whole time."

"Barbados? Oh my God! You are so lucky," said Robyn.

"I'd kill to go there," said Louise enviously.

Honey was beaming from ear to ear, having already heard the whole story. "And you'll never guess what else. Tell them, Alicia."

Alicia smiled. "I met a guy there."

Robyn looked at her in delight. "Really? Tell me everything. And I do mean everything."

"He was… really special," said Alicia with a pang in her heart. She did miss Cal.

"A special guy?" said Zoe. "I think you'll find I've got the only one of those going."

Robyn gasped. "What about Lofty?"

"Yeah, what about Lofty?" said Zoe, turning to her.

"Oh, nothing," said Robyn quickly. "I want to hear about this guy Alicia met. He sounds amazing."

Alicia nodded. "It was the most romantic thing that's ever happened to me."

"I believe you," said Louise.

"I had a blast," said Cal, smiling at the memory. "I met this girl, right, and she was crazy about me. Couldn't keep her hands off me." He posed. "And let's face it, who could blame her?"

The expression on Ethan's face suggested he didn't agree, but Max, Lofty, Iain and Jez were agog.

"How did you meet her?" asked Lofty.

"How long before you got some?" asked Iain.

Cal thought back to his first meeting with Alicia. He'd really loved meeting her, but he'd already realised he couldn't tell the story exactly as it had happened. "We were swimming in the sea. She caught my eye straight away. I was just about to make a move when she suddenly gasped and went under the water. I swam across and pulled her to the surface. She'd only been under a few minutes, but she was already unconscious."

Lofty looked worried, clearly so caught up in the story he'd forgotten she must have survived or they couldn't have had a fivesome. "Was she okay, Cal?"

"Of course she was!" said Cal. "I swam back to the shore with her and started CPR. Everyone else was watching in a panic, but I reassured them I was a doctor and I knew what to do, though I asked someone to call an ambulance as a precaution. But she wasn't unconscious for long. She coughed up some of the water she'd swallowed, then she looked at me and said: 'Oh, thank you. You saved my life!' I said: 'Just call me your Knight in shining armour'."

Ethan made a face.

Cal ignored him. "She looked up at me and said: 'I've always wanted to meet a Knight in Shining Armour'. She gazed at me and I leaned forward to kiss her."

"Did she put up a fight?" asked Max.

Cal shook her head. "No. Course not. She was really into me. I asked if she liked bowling, so we went off and I showed off my moves."

"What about the ambulance?" said Ethan.

"Ambulance?" said Cal blankly.

"You said you asked someone to call an ambulance as a precaution," said Ethan.

"Oh, right, yeah," said Cal. "The ambulance came and the paramedics checked her over and agreed with me she was okay. So they drove off and we went bowling. Anyway, I was looking at her and she was looking at me and I knew that all she wanted was to do it right there in the bowling alley. She wanted me so bad."

"Do you have to boast all the time?" said Jez.

"Got a lot to boast about, mate!" said Cal. "But I thought she deserved better than a quickie in the bowling alley so we went for a walk down the beach and ended up under the dock. We lay there on the sand and then suddenly we were ripping each other's clothes off. That first time was fast even by Ethan's standards – I'm not sure we even made eight minutes – but we made up for it after that. She was good." Cal breathed deeply. He could almost remember the feel of her skin on his – anyone would think it had actually happened.

"I don't suppose she's got a mate I could go out with?" said Iain wistfully.

"No," said Cal. "She doesn't live round here anyway. She's from Newcastle. We had fun, but that was obviously all it was. We said goodbye and I said we'd always be friends."

"And are you friends?" Ethan looked like he already knew the answer to that.

"Yeah, course," said Cal. "If we happen to see each other again, I'm sure we'll hook up. But if we don't… well, there are plenty more drowning girls in the sea."