casualtyfics111: Aww, thank you so much! I love writing emotional chapters. Thanks for your reviews :-)

heather curtis-rich: Me too, he's literally the best. More Connie to come.

Scarlett: She soon will. Enjoy!

Chapter Twelve

"Can I get you something to eat?"

Lily slowly turned to make eye contact with Iain, and shook her head at him. She was grateful for the offer, but food was the last thing on her mind. She felt physically sick at even the thought of eating.

"Why don't you get yourself ready for bed?" Iain then suggested. "You look tired."

Lily stared at the pyjamas that sat folded up neatly on her pillow. She wanted nothing more than to change into them, and slide down under the covers, but getting dressed meant looking at the bruises that covered her stomach. They made her feel so ugly, and she wished that they'd just disappear.

"I could help you," he offered, picking up the pyjamas but then noticing the look on Lily's face. "Or you could do it by yourself, whatever makes you feel more comfortable. I won't hurt you though."

He rose a hand to give her shoulder a squeeze, but Lily's flinch told him otherwise, so he quickly put it back down at his side. He hated the fact that his girlfriend was so jumpy around him, or so he assumed that she was his girlfriend anyway. Although she hadn't wanted him to kiss her, she'd written down her feelings for him. No matter how hard it was for Iain to have a girlfriend who didn't like physical contact, he knew that it wasn't her fault and that he just needed to be patient with her.

"Why don't you do it yourself?" Iain said. "And I'll wait outside. Just open the door once you've finished, alright?"

Lily nodded gratefully at the paramedic and he slowly moved to the door. Once he'd shut the door behind him, Lily allowed her tears to fall. She glanced towards the window and stood up to go and close it. Pain shot through her, but she managed to shut and lock the window before pulling the curtains across.

Was the door to her flat locked though?

She stumbled across the room to the door, almost falling straight into Iain. She'd forgot that he was out there.

"Whoa, hey." He held out his arms to catch her, but still managed to keep himself at a distance. "I thought you were getting changed. What happened?"

Lily pushed him to one side, soon remembering how she'd pushed Gem like that as well, and hurried to her front door. Thank goodness it was locked.

"Lily, it's okay," Iain called to her, his voice calm and comforting. "No one can get in. You're safe, I promise." He was at her side in seconds. "What's the matter?" He asked, wondering how on earth she could have diverted to a mental breakdown in just five minutes.

Lily just leaned back against the door, her breathing becoming heavy. She clutched at her chest and slid down so that she was sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest.

"Ssshh, I'm here," he whispered. "Listen to my voice. You can do it, yeah?"

Iain didn't know what to do. He hadn't really dealt with panic attacks that much before, and seeing the woman he loved having one really scared him. It wasn't easy either. Lily seemed to shove him away whenever he tried to comfort her, so in the end he just had to sit beside her and talk. It seemed to help, eventually.

"Better?" Iain asked. "I'm going to get you a glass of water. Why don't you go and put your pyjamas on, and then you can try and get some sleep? When you wake up, I think we need to think about how we're going to tell Connie."

Lily didn't want to tell anyone else.

Telling Iain had been bad enough, and look at where that had got her. However, now that Iain knew she realised that she couldn't keep it to herself forever.

"Okay. Doctor Hardy and Doctor Munroe, I want the two of you in cubicles today please."

Ethan and Alicia both nodded at Connie, and waited until the meeting was finished. No one really enjoyed the usual meetings, especially because they were so early in the morning, but they were needed unfortunately and they couldn't do anything about that.

"Are you with Lily today?" Elle questioned the clinical lead.

"Most likely," Connie sighed. "I need to make a few calls. We're getting her some proper speech therapy."

She said the last part in a whisper, so that no one could hear her.

"Well, that's good news," Charlie said. "Isn't it?"

"I think so," Connie said, forcing a smile. "But Lily didn't seem too keen on the idea."

"How do you know?" Elle asked her. "She isn't saying anything."

Connie just glared across at the consultant and mumbled, "Not funny." She turned back to address her staff, and her tune changed immediately. Anything to stop them from questioning the mental state of their colleague. "Right. Let's try and have a good day then, please."

She turned round with a pile of notes in her hand, and came face to face with Iain and Lily.

"Okay, you can come with me to my office," Connie said to Lily, not expecting a reply from her at all. "Iain, I know you're worried about her but I need you to stay focused on your job today."

She wondered if he'd stayed over at all, but then she also wondered if he'd managed to get Lily to talk. However, she didn't question anything.

"Lily has something for you," Iain whispered. "I think you ought to see it."

"What?" Connie frowned at him.

Lily just slowly removed her hand from her pocket and handed Connie a folded up piece of paper.

So I really struggled to write this chapter, but I hope you liked it. Someone will soon find out about the messages, Gem will also have another scene, and there will be another Connie and Lily scene. There will also be another Iain and Lily scene.

Thanks for reading x