Thank you so much for your kind reviews, every single one has made me smile! This chapter is a little shorter than the others so far, but I hope you enjoy it all the same!

Lily found it surprisingly easy to relax around Ethan. His smile was warm and their hands fitted together perfectly across the restaurant table.

"You should know," she said shyly, "I'm not good at this. Going on dates and being in a relationship. I've never done it before."

"I don't suppose it counts if I had a 'girlfriend' when you were six," Ethan joked.

"No, probably not. Maybe we should agree to having no idea what we're doing and muddle through from there." Ethan smiled in response, that sounded like a good enough idea to him. He insisted on paying for the meal despite Lily's protests. She secretly found it admirable that he was such a gentleman, especially in comparison to his brother. She knew her parents would be proud if they found out her boyfriend was so caring, as well as high achieving and hard working. With a pang of disappointment she remembered that they would probably be more concerned that she was taking time out of her meticulous medical study to have a relationship. She pushed her parents out of her mind to enjoy being driven home. It was a pleasantly cool evening; they drove with the windows half open, a soothing breeze flowing into the car.

"I realised something last night," Ethan said.

"And what would that be?"

"Well, you know when my birthday is, on account of Caleb and his cake sparkler that nearly burnt down the ED." Lily snorted with laughter, remembering how Charlie had leapt into action with a fire extinguisher when Cal's well-meaning surprise had toppled onto his unfiled paperwork. "But no-one knows when yours is."

"Probably because I got off on the wrong foot with so many people – including you! But it's next month. I didn't want to make a fuss, so I swear if you come into work with one of those sparklers I will torch all of your paperwork!" Ethan laughed as he slowed the car to turn into Lily's street.

"There's no danger of that. I don't even know where one would buy a cake sparkler." He stopped the car. "Thank you, for a lovely evening."

"I should be thanking you, after all you paid tonight! That was a lovely gesture by the way," she said.

"I just think a gentleman should always pay for the first date."

"Clearly not something you learnt from your brother. Is that what we're calling this then, a proper date?" Lily said. Ethan was equally dazed by the whole affair and paused for a moment before responding.

"Yes, I think so. I mean, if you want it to be."

"I promise I want nothing more than for this to be proper and real."

Then their lips touched, and pressed together for a long time. All Lily could think about was how happy this made her, to be sitting in the half-darkness in Ethan's car with his warm, smooth lips pressed against hers. Ethan could feel the cool tip of Lily's nose beside his own, and a growing sense of contentment and pride. He had certainly got one over on his childhood bullies who had made him feel like he could never be loved. And finally, finally, he had something that Caleb didn't – something that resembled a stable relationship, unlike his brother's continuous stream of short and unsuccessful dates. He stroked Lily's loose but still razor straight hair.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, bright and early?"

"I can't think of anything better," she replied, her cheeks glowing as he kissed her forehead lightly. "Goodnight, Ethan."

Lily leant against the back of her front door. What was she doing? Getting into a relationship with a colleague was not part of her five year plan! She wasn't even meant to be staying in the ED if she was following her plan to the letter, as she had originally intended. But Ethan made her feel beautiful, and special. Like she was truly wanted and more importantly that she was needed. She couldn't shake the feeling that came over her when Ethan was in the room. It started with a flutter in the top of her chest, that seeped out into the rest of her body, making her skin tingle and her every fibre want to be closer to him. It was then that she realised she needed Ethan just as much as he needed her.

Perhaps the five year plan was not meant to last. It had been set by someone Lily barely felt she knew anymore. A self-confident, almost arrogant new doctor with scant concern for the feelings of her patients and anything other than desperately trying to make her parents proud. A woman who didn't know the feeling of being pulled off course by a slightly geeky but courteous and attractive blonde registrar. Even thinking of him made her smile.