LillyMayFlower: Haha, don't we all wish that upon us? Although I don't write about them as a couple much now, I still write lovely friendship scenes between them. I'm upset that they didn't have more of a nice scene after Cal's passing to be honest. Thanks for reviewing.

Scarlett: Thank you! If you've read my other stories (which I think you might have done), then you'll know how much I love the relationship between Connie and Lily. What I'm saying is that there are loads of nice scenes coming up between the two of them, so you won't be disappointed.

Holly: Another Lily and Connie fan, you people make me happy as I thought I was the only one. There will be loads of Connie and Lily scenes coming up, including one in this chapter. That's a good idea as well thanks, I'll definitely consider it and might include it later on in the story.

Guest: Thanks so much. Enjoy the update.

Chapter Three

Lily couldn't sleep that night.

Her whole body felt sore and everytime she turned to a new position, pain shot through her. She sniffed and wiped away a few loose tears that were starting to escape, before making the hard decision to turn on her light and stay up for a bit longer. It was half past twelve in the morning and she had to be up at six for work, but it was clear that she wasn't going to be shutting her eyes any time soon.

She sighed heavily and ran a hand along a particularly painful bruise on her stomach. She winced and slowly climbed out of bed, dragging her tired self over to the laptop that sat on her desk. She lifted the lid and turned it on, yawning wearily as she waited for it to load up.

She hated it when she couldn't sleep, especially when she had an early shift. She just wished that the pain would just go away as well, she'd already taken some painkillers but they weren't really helping that much.

Logging onto her laptop, she opened up Facebook. Maybe it was a bad idea, but she needed something to distract her.

She thought back to that night and remembered how dark it had been. Although she'd struggled to see his face, she remembered seeing a skull and crossbones tattoo on his neck, and an earring through his right eyebrow. His voice had been deep and rough.

"Don't you dare scream!" He's shouted, whilst pinning her up against the wall. "Or I will kill you!"

"No!" She'd shouted back.

"What did I just tell you?" He threatened her.

Thinking back to that night just made Lily feel worse. She let out a loud scream, praying for someone to hear her. They didn't.

"Are you feeling better then?"

The voice made Lily jump. She turned and saw Alicia hovering in the doorway behind her, her hair scrunched up in a neat ponytail. Although she hated to admit it, Lily was often jealous of Alicia's looks, no wonder Ethan and Cal had fought over her.

Lily just faintly nodded and gently shut her locker door.

"It was busy yesterday," Alicia mentioned. "It was probably a bit overwhelming for everyone. I went home and just jumped straight into bed. Hopefully it won't be as bad today."

She looked up and saw that Lily was fiddling with her stethoscope, adjusting it to try and get it just right. Her eyes remained unfocused and away from Alicia the whole time.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Alicia asked. "You look tired."

Lily just nodded again, breathing out a sigh of relief when Connie entered the staffroom. Saved by the boss, she thought.

"Doctor Chao, Doctor Munroe," she greeted the two of them. "How are we both doing this morning?"

"Good, thank you," Alicia said straight away, whilst Lily remained completely silent. The thought of talking to Connie made her feel physically sick. "And yourself?" Alicia then asked, keeping up the nice and friendly act as usual.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," Connie sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I thought I would come and give you some good news, and let you know that I'll be putting you in for your MCEM exams."

"Really?" Alicia's eyes lit up and she let out a high-pitched squeal of joy. Lily looked over at that point. "Are you sure, Mrs Beauchamp? Because I really don't want to mess things up, not after last time."

"I'm sure," Connie said. "I'm really proud of your progress, Doctor Munroe. This is a new start, alright?" Alicia nodded in agreement, promising Connie that she wouldn't let her down. "Good," Connie said. "You better get studying then. I'm sure Doctor Chao will help you."

"Thank you, I'm going to go and tell Ethan," Alicia said, grinning madly as she hurried out of the staffroom in search of her boyfriend.

"Anyway," Connie sighed, shaking her head at the junior before looking towards Lily. "I hope that's okay with you. She's got a bright future ahead of her, and I'd prefer it if she sat them sooner rather than later."

Lily nodded and leaned back against the lockers. The metal bashed against her waist and she found herself wincing, because of how sore they were.

"Is everything alright, Doctor Chao?" Connie questioned. "You've not said a single word since I came in here. Do you need to talk about anything?"

Talk was a strong word, something that Lily just felt physically incapable of doing.

"Lily!" The use of her first name shocked Lily, and caused her to flinch. "Why aren't you talking?"

Lily so badly wanted to say something to her. It was as if someone had gathered all of her words up though and superglued them to the back of her throat, so that they couldn't actually come out.

"Right, is this about Alicia's exam?" Connie asked, taking a few steps towards the registrar.

Lily sucked in a breath. She could hear the sound of Connie's heels, she could feel her breath on her neck. It made her feel uncomfortable, she didn't like it.

"Fine," Connie cleared her throat, clearly frustrated at Lily's lack of voice. "If you're not going to talk to me here, then maybe we can go to my office to discuss it in further detail. Come with me, please."

Lily had no choice but to follow her. She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and followed Connie across the ED to the office. She could feel everyone watching her, including Alicia who looked ready to step in and defend her. Once they were inside though and once Connie had shut the door, a sense of relief washed over her and she felt safe. Connie's office was small and enclosed, there was a sofa and a table and no one was able to get in unless they knew the code.

"Lily, Alicia is a good doctor," Connie said, sitting down at her desk. "And she speaks very highly of you. Don't let something as little as this upset you, alright?"

Lily hated the way Connie was talking about them. It was like a teacher trying to get two of her best students to make friends with each other.

She nodded, her eyes moving around at a rapid speed as if trying to find the perfect spot to focus on. Connie remained seated, clearly waiting for Lily to say something, even if it was just a word. Lily gulped and looked to the clock on the wall. It was the longest she'd gone without saying anything at all, not that she'd been counting at all.

She could hear the noise of her colleagues outside. Elle sounded stressed out, Cal seemed to be back at work after being off for a few days with a stomach bug, Robyn was laughing as usual. She wished that it was that easy for her, but it wasn't.

"What's the matter, Lily?" Connie's voice was suddenly quiet and gentle. "Are you not well?"

It was the way Lily's mum used to talk to her whenever she was unwell and off school. However, Lily still didn't feel as if she could say anything to Connie.

"Do you need to go home?" Connie asked, and Lily only just managed to shake her head. "Okay, because I need my doctor's on the top of their game at all times, and if you're not able to treat any of the patients or even talk, then you shouldn't be here."

There was a pause, and it was obvious that Connie was waiting for Lily's response.

"I'd like you to think about that for a moment, okay?" Connie said. "I know how important your job is to you, so just take a moment to think. If you feel as if you can't work, then, well, I suppose there's nothing we can do about that."

Connie's words made Lily feel guilty. She couldn't possibly go home, but the superglue was still there and she couldn't even get the beginning of a word out.

"Grab a glass of water," Connie suggested kindly. "And let me know when you've made a decision."

This chapter took me ages to write. I really wanted to get the perfect Connie and Lily scene written, as they're probably one of my favourite relationships to write and I know quite a few of you have been requesting them. I hope it was alright. I also wanted to put as much detail into Lily's emotions as possible. I'm trying to add a lot more description into my stories where possible.

So, Lily didn't say a single word in this chapter and hardly anyone noticed. Poor girl. It's actually quite a challenge writing someone who doesn't talk as the main character, and I'm really enjoying it.

I would also like to apologise for the lack of Lily and Iain in this chapter. Don't worry though, there will be loads of scenes between them in upcoming chapters.

Thank you to everyone who's been reading so far and thank you for the lovely comments. More to come x