Hey guys! So I am now officially on holiday- I know, early right? Gotta love private schools! I will try to post a new chapter as regularly as I can, but I might not be able to get you one until after I come back from skiing. Sorry! Also if any strange Christmas Carols or random songs in Latin turn up, it's because I've rejoined choir and cannot for the life of me get them out of my head.

Riu, Riu, Chiu

Hannah the Hobbit! X

Lucie washed the blood of her hands, scrubbing furiously at them, so engrossed in her actions that she didn't even hear the argument playing out behind her, until the blood bag came whizzing towards her. She heard the motion, and had straightened up to turn around when the bag hit the back of her head. It exploded over her dark curls, warm, thick liquid splattering in an arc around to her face. She reached a hand behind her head, and when it came back, stained a deep red, spun around, murder in her eyes.

"Who threw that?" She asked calmly, deadly. Ash pushed past her, storming out of Resus, and barrelling past Connie. Connie have her signature frown of displeasure and hurried after him.

"I don't know what's going on here, but Dr Ashford is so DEAD!" Lucie growled through gritted teeth. She stomped out of Resus, marching past the cubicles. She stopped dead when she noticed that one, which should have been occupied was not. She glowered at the empty cubicle.

"Where is Molly Scott?" She demanded. Dylan Keogh turned around.

"She was discharged." He informed her.

"By?" Lucie raised an eyebrow. Keogh straightened up.

"I don't believe we've met. Dylan Keogh." He said calmly.

"Did you discharge my patient?" Lucie asked quiet authority surrounding her.

"There was no reason for her to remain in the Emergency Department." Dylan reasoned. Lucie glared at him.

"Perhaps not, but the disrespect and lack of trust you show in the doctor treating them is shown in discharging some else's patient." She countered, angry making the words fire out of her mouth like torpedoes. Dylan seemed unaffected.

"Are you questioning my abilities as a doctor?" Lucie rephrased. She didn't get a reply. "Are you implementing that I am incapable of doing what I have trained to do for a blooming long time, because if you are, you are sorely mistaken."

Lucie spun and stalked off in the direction of the locker room.

Lily frowned as Lucie whirled past in a storm of blood, anger and loose curls of hair. Dylan turned to her in detached amusement.

"She seems like a piece of work." He commented. Lily laughed internally.

"You should see her on a bad day." She replied, holding out a hand in greeting. "Dr Lily Chao."

"Dylan Keogh." Dylan responded in kind. "Is she aware of the blood covering her back?"

"Probably." Lily replied. Dylan raised an eyebrow and strode off. Lily looked approvingly at his back, deciding she very much liked him. The brusqueness, the detachment, he was pretty much what she aspired to be. Of course, in her appreciation of Dylan, she didn't notice the gaze of her favourite doctor. Ethan somehow managed to convey all his feelings of longing, hurt and heartache into one desolate, puppy dog gaze. He looked away from her, unable to keep looking at the doctor who clearly didn't like him back. Even Max and Noel knew it- they said as much didn't they?

Lucie gritted her teeth.

"Yes, Lofty, I am aware of the state of my hair." She snapped. Lofty pulled out a clump of matted blood lightly between his fingers. Lucie glowered at him.

"Get off my hair." She insisted, deadly quiet.

"Why didn't you wash it?" Lofty queried warily. Lucie spun around.

"Because the showers have chosen the perfect time to break." She snapped. Lucie took in his hurt expression, and sank into herself. She closed her eyes, pressing her fingers into the bridge of her nose.

"Sorry. Nothing's going right." She apologised. She straightened up, as Rita waved her over. "Duty calls."

Lucie padded over, trying to calm down.

"What's up?" She asked lightly, false cheeriness in her tone. Rita sighed, exasperation.

"Can you see if you can get her to cooperate?" She asked. Lucie nodded. An awkward patient. Perfect. She pushed aside the blue curtain and stepped inside. A mother and teenage daughter sat inside, arguing over the gown.

"Hi." Lucie said shortly. They both looked up. "Dr Lucie Carter."

"I thought the Dr outside was treating her?" The mother asked shrilly. Lucie's face didn't change.

"What with Ethan being a guy, they thought it would be easier if I were to treat you- now could you put the gown on, so we can figure out what's wrong?" She replied, apparently calmly, but internally trying not to tear out someone's hair.

"I don't want to. I am fine." The girl insisted. The mother began to insist but Lucie cut across her.

"In that case put on the gown so I can discharge you faster." She retorted.

"No."

Lucie pulled a particularly matted strand of hair loose. She held it at such an angle that the girl could see the blood clumped at her scalp.

"See this? I can't get it out of my hair for another 8 hours, because the showers have broken. And one of my coworkers threw it in the first place because his patient was refusing treatment." She explained dryly. "So, sweetie, I'm really not in the mood. Put. On. The Gown."

Ethan and Lily awkwardly stood, neither speaking to the other, gathering their things from the metal lockers. They glanced up, met eyes, and looked away. Ethan glanced down at his hands, twisting around the scrap of fabric.

"Ethan." Lily finally broke the silence with a very tentative breath of his name. "I, well... Never mind." She shook her head, and returned to snatching items out of the locker. She really was just toying with him, wasn't she? Lily cursed herself, bloody hell.

"No, go on." Ethan urged. Lily shook her head.

"It doesn't matter." She dismissed. "I was just being stupid."

"Stupid and Lily Chao are not two things that go together." Ethan said instinctively. Immediately after the words escaped his mouth he internally cringed. Could he possibly soon more needy?

"I was just..." She was abruptly cut of as Lucie stormed in, snatched up her house keys, turned to Ethan.

"Your brother is a twat." She informed him, pissed off, before whirling back out. When Ethan looked over the locker door, Lily was gone. Idiot!