The club was alive. Literally. New years eve and packed from wall to wall. Just the way that Lottie liked it. There was a certain anonymity of being among hundreds of people. She looked up at the screen above the bar, 10:03. Her dad would be leaving the emergency department with his date under his arm and her mother would be halfway, if not the whole way, through a bottle of whiskey. And she didn't care.

"What are you doing here? Lottie? This club's for over 18's-" Abs yanked the drink out of her hand, "Your dad would kill you."

Lottie took it back, and gave Abs a look, "What the hell do you think I am doing here?" She turned away, only to find Abs's hand on her shoulder. "Not so fast young lady."

Lottie turned on her heels and rolled her eyes, slurring slightly, "Fake I.D's are fake for a reason. And there's a reason my dad thinks I'm at a girly sleepover okay, so he doesn't kill me? I'm having a good time, don't ruin it for me, all my mates are here."

"And how old are those mates?"

"Older than me, younger than you." Lottie shrugged, looking Abs up and down, "See you later mate."

Abs watched as Lottie wobbled away on heels that could do serious damaged if used as a weapon. Her dress was so short that it could have been a top. In fact, it probably was. Abs sighed, that was his fun night gone, he would have to keep half an eye out for both Harry's daughter and Adam's under-age tearaway too. Not to mention the fact that Kelsey was intent on getting as drunk as possible as quickly as possible.

.

Lottie was enjoying her night, Club Paradise was packed from wall to wall, she and the four friends that she had managed to sneak in with using a combination of distraction tactics and well-faked ID's. Josie, Harvey, Lola and Sam were all older than her, but Club Paradise had been her idea. There had been this guy who was watching her. Tall, dark haired, reasonably handsome and at least 5 years older than her. Just her type. He was looking at her now. She met his gaze with a wink, "What you looking at?"

He held out his hand, "I think that's obvious. Can I buy you a drink?"

"Marcus. And what would yours be?"

Lottie shook her head, "I don't know, giving my name to strangers-"

The guy kissed her, stopping the words from forming on her mouth, "Now we aren't strangers."

Lottie laughed, "You win. I'm Lottie-"

And then another hand caught her shoulder, "Sorry mate, she's with me."

The man had been about to argue, but then he took in Abs's tall frame and the mildly possessive way that he had taken Lottie's shoulder and slipped away through the crowd. Lottie was not impressed, "Marcus, wait- what the hell Abs?"

"He's twice your age, you don't know anything about him, in fact you've only just met in a shady club and you were going to let him buy you a drink."

"I would have let him do a lot more than that. I'm 16, I don't need a baby sitter."

"After the amount have drinks I've seen you pour down your throat today I would disagree."

"Have you been watching me? Is there something you'd like to tell me?" Lottie placed her hand on his chest suggestively, "Maybe you're just jealous."

Abs stepped backwards, "You have definitely had to much to drink." He looked around, "I'm going to find Kelsey, and then I am going to put you in a cab."

"No point. Adam will be out with some girl and my mum will be halfway through a bottle of whiskey or worse. I'm supposed to be going home with Josie-" she looked around, she hadn't seen any of her friends in a while, but then it was a busy club. "Seriously Abs, piss off." She tried to slip past but he caught her arm,

"Is that the mate you were with earlier because I'm pretty sure she went home a while ago. Remember?"

Lottie scowled, "Stalker..." She reluctantly let let Abs lead her through the crowd to find Kelsey, "Here she is-"

Lottie pulled away from Abs's grip, "Kelsey guess what, there was this guy and he was totally up for it and Abs basically told him to piss off like why-"

"I'm going to take her home, sorry Kels-"

Kelsey did not look impressed, "What?"

And then the countdown started, Lottie grabbed Kelsey and Abs, "I'm not that drunk and I don't want to ruin your night, can't we just stay for the new year?"

Abs shook his head in disapproval but joined Kelsey and Lottie in counting the new year in. And after the countdown was done there was hugging and cheering. "I'm gonna find Harvey-"

"Lottie-" But she was gone.

.

And then the music stopped and the screaming started. Someone had been shot. Lottie was upstairs, there was a mass of screaming people and she wasn't sure where to go in the rush of the bodies. She suddenly felt claustrophobic in the crowd, her dad was claustrophobic, she wasn't sure why that popped into her head. She wanted to find Abs, she turned around, and there he was, running up the stairs calling for someone called Dean. "Abs?"

"Lottie-" Abs wanted to tell her to get out, but then there was a gunman on the loose. "Just stay with me and keep quiet." He could see that Lottie was scared, her hands were shaking. Abs continued anyway, "It'll be okay. Dean? I'm sorry you had to see that mate-" Abs had just performed a surgical airway on one of the girls who had been shot, and the kid called Dean had seen it, "It might have looked violent but we're nurses and we were just helping her. Dean?" Lottie followed him. Abs called out again, "Dean? Dean? We can get you to hospital now and get you checked over. You're probably in shock, it's been a very frightening experience for you. Dean?" And then a kid appeared round the corner holding a gun. Lottie almost fell over backwards in shock. Abs raised his arms slowly, and without thinking Lottie did the same. He hissed to Lottie under his breath, furious with himself for not realising that it was Dean that was the shooter, and for letting Lottie follow him up the stairs, "Let me do the talking-" And then raised his voice so that Dean could hear, "Put the gun down, yeah?"

Dean was shaking, just like Lottie and Abs but then they weren't holding a loaded gun, "Get out of my way. I've got to get out of here."

From behind them, "ARMED POLICE DROP THE GUN! LEAVE IT! DROP THE GUN."

Lottie closed her eyes just as Abs shouted, "NO!" There was a shot, maybe two, Lottie's ears were ringing. Abs flew backwards and Lottie let herself fall with him. The police rushed past and Lottie noticed that Abs was bleeding. She couldn't find the words and luckily Kelsey and Dixe came up the stairs and took charge. Time passed, someone put a blanket around her and then Dixie was touching her arm, "Lottie darling can you stand up for me?"

Lottie shook her head, staring at the pool of blood but let Dixie pull her to her feet. "All right love, it's all going to be okay."

.

They got to the E.D, "Dixie, I want my dad. Where's my dad?"

Tess looked at Dixie. Adam was currently stuck in a lift with a woman who was giving birth, "Lottie, I'm sorry. He's stuck in a lift right now with- with a pregnant woman."

This bought Lottie out of her reverie, "In a lift?" She shook her head, "That can't be right, um, he's really claustrophobic. I don't know why I said that. I don't know-" She clenched her shaking hands into fists, "I want my dad."

Tess nodded, "I know Lottie. I know."

"I'm going to take you to cubicles."

"No, no, no. I don't want to go to cubicles. Can I just wait in the staffroom?"

Tess shrugged, she didn't even have a cubicle for her to go too so she guessed that the staffroom would be just as good. "Okay." Lottie stepped backwards into the staffroom and curled up on the sofa.

.

The staff room opened, "Lottie, Lottie?"

"Daddy!" Lottie rushed into her dad's outstretched arms, she was still shaking.

Adam kissed his daughter on the top of her head, "Please Lottie, don't ever do that to me again."

"I was so scared."

"What, Lottie the lion scared?"

"No, just Lottie... He had a gun and he was just pointing it at me why would he do that? Why would he shoot those people?"

Adam was still holding his daughter close, making reassuring noises, "It's okay now, you're safe."

"I'm sorry. I didn't-I didn't mean to- I-"

"Sssh, ssh, it's okay."

And they stood like that until Lottie stopped hyperventilating slightly. She looked up at her dad, "Anyway, are you okay? Pregnant woman in lift?"

Adam shook his head, "All good. Well, with the help of Alice anyway." He sighed and ruffled his daughter's hair, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. I will be okay."

"I'll drop you home, I'm not even on shift anyway."

"Can I stay at yours tonight? I- I just don't fancy clearing up mum's vomit, she can do it herself for once."

"I thought you said she had gone back to AA?"

"It's new years, she's been hiding the weeks in the washing basket for weeks. Partly why I went to Club Paradise, okay? I wanted to be out of the house."

Adam brushed her hair out of her face, "You can talk to me, you know."

Lottie shrugged, "This is talking, right?"

The door opened, Kelsey, Mac followed by Tess and Abs and a jubilant Alice wandered in. Mac and Kelsey slumped on the sofa and Abs put the kettle on. Lottie stayed attached to her dad, smiling slightly as Alice gushed about her experience as a midwife and Tess suspiciously questioned Adam about his lack of assistance. Tess turned down the tea, "Forget the tea, lets open the champagne."

Lottie took the tea, "Not for me thanks."

Abs laughed, "You just hold that thought until your 18th birthday and you'll do fine kid. Let's raise a glass to Tess. You've seen this department through a nightmare shift tonight, which you shouldn't have had to do alone, but you did." He handed the glasses around. The new consultant Zoe Hanna appeared, "Ah, the staffroom." She took the champagne gladly, "I'm back on shift in a minute, does anyone know where you can get a good breakfast round here?"

Adam held out his hand, "Hi, I'm Adam Truman, I don't think we've met yet. And The Greasy Spoon around the corner is the place to go, trust me."

Lottie rolled her eyes at the blatant flirting, some things never did change. Abs and the rest of the team raised their plastic cups and Lottie raised her mug of tear, "To Tess and the new year."

Tess was quick to amend it, "To everyone and the new year."

"Cheers."

Adam smiled, "Anyone for The Greasy Spoon?"

And the whole team, and Lottie, piled out of the E.D in search of a full english, Adam keeping his arm firmly around his daughter's shoulders.