Lauren: Thanks so much :-)
LillyMayFlower: Thank you for catching up on the story. I hope you had a nice holiday. Good spot, that scene was based on The King's Speech. I absolutely love that movie and thought that it would work well for the story.
Scarlett: Thanks so much! I thought that'd be interesting to show. I will be updating that story very soon, I'll try my best. That's okay, I understand that not everyone is a writer so if someone would like me to write something I'd happy consider the idea.
Chapter Twenty-One
"I'm going to put you on a very low dosage of Xanax to start off with," Connie said, as Lily sat on the edge of a bed in a cubicle. "This will just ease the anxiety slightly, and make you feel a little bit more calmer in social situations. We'll start low, see how you get on, and then we can go from there."
Lily faintly nodded.
"And I've received your results back from the sexual health unit," Connie told her. "You're all clear; no infections at all, so that's good news, eh?"
Lily nodded again. Tears stung her eyes and she clutched at her chest, finding it hard to control her breathing. She wished that she could talk to Connie, inform her of the fact that her chest felt tight, but no matter how hard she tried the words just would not come.
Luckily, Connie could tell when Lily was on the verge of a panic attack.
"Okay, look at me," Connie whispered, taking Lily's hand and placing it on her chest. "Easy, breathe. You know the drill, Lily. Nice, slow breaths."
The curtain to the cubicle was pulled across and Charlie walked in. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the state Lily was in, and held back until her breathing was back to normal.
"Alright now?" Connie asked, gently rubbing at Lily's arm.
Lily nodded, aware of the fact that Charlie had just witnessed everything.
"Get some rest," Connie told her. She knew how tired Lily usually was after an attack, no matter how big or small. "I just need to have a chat with Charlie."
Lily nodded and lay back down on the bed with her hands over her stomach. Connie wrapped her stethoscope around her neck and gestured for Charlie to follow her out of the cubicle.
"You're needed in resus," Charlie said straight away. "Are you almost finished here?"
"I'm about done," Connie told him. "But I will need to have a conversation with you and Doctor Gardner at some point. Lily obviously isn't working, she can't work, but we will need to complete some paperwork regarding her leave. Also, we will need to sort out hiring a replacement."
"A replacement?" Charlie raised his eyebrows at her. "How long is she going to be out of work for?"
"Who knows?" Connie shrugged her shoulders. "As soon as she's feeling better, and as soon as she can talk again. It could be months Charlie, and we can't cope without one of our doctors for that amount of time. You know how busy the ED gets."
"I know," Charlie sighed. The ED just wouldn't be the same without Lily Chao marching around the place, everyone knew that. "What happened in there anyway?" He asked his friend.
"I've prescribed medication," Connie told him. "I don't like the idea of putting her on pills but Helen suggested it when Lily went for an appointment, and honestly I think it could actually help."
"Well." Charlie shrugged his shoulders. It seemed as if Connie had already made up her mind. "Whatever helps Lily really."
"Yes," Connie sighed, and gave a small nod. "Exactly."
"I am so glad to get a break at last," Iain sighed heavily, as he sat on the sofa in the staffroom. Lily was laid down next to him, her head in his lap, allowing him to gently stroke her hair. "It's been manic today," he told her.
Lily smiled weakly, but she still didn't say anything. Iain hadn't exactly given up, but he had realised that there would be certain times when Lily just would not talk to him.
"Mrs Beauchamp said that you didn't have any infections," Iain whispered. "I'm glad."
Lily was starting to get used to Iain's company. She still found kissing slightly uncomfortable, and things had to be on her terms, but Iain didn't mind at all. He just wanted her to feel safe, and he didn't want to be someone who made her feel scared or anxious.
"You know the importance of taking that medication, right?" Iain asked her.
Connie had informed him earlier on that she'd prescribed some medication to Lily, and he'd immediately felt a wash of relief. He'd never agreed with pills to be honest. His mum had been on antidepressants in the past and she'd become addicted to them, he'd witnessed that as a young child, and he'd grown to hate medication of any kind. However, he wanted Lily to get better and medication seemed to be the right route to go down.
After thinking about it for a while, Lily nodded. Her doctor brain was telling her that she was fine and that she didn't need tablets of any kind, but after putting herself in a patients shoes, she secretly knew that she needed them.
"Good," Iain said. "Are you okay? If you're not comfortable, then just let me know."
Lily shook her head and whispered in a very small voice, "I'm fine."
Iain smiled and his eyes shone with tears. Hearing her voice was the best sound in the world.
Connie, Elle and Charlie were sat around a table in the main board room. They were having yet another meeting about Lily, whilst everyone else rushed around downstairs and tried to cope with a massive shortage on doctors.
"So, how long are we booking her off work for?" Elle asked.
Connie sat with her head bent over a stack of paperwork, but she slowly lifted her eyes as soon as Elle spoke.
"At least a couple of months," Connie answered her. "It's difficult. We have no idea how long this is going to go on for."
"Has there been any updates from the police at all?" Charlie asked.
The two women both looked across the table at him, and he shrugged his shoulders. He knew that it was the one question burning in the back of everyone's minds, he was just the only one who felt brave enough to ask it.
"No," Connie said. "Not yet. I've been anxiously waiting, but we haven't heard anything."
"Couldn't you ring them?" Elle asked.
"It's only been a week," Connie sighed. "They have other cases to deal with. If it gets to next week and we still haven't heard anything, then I'll give them a call. I know it's awful but we can't rush them."
"Okay." Charlie nodded. "So, what happens from here?"
"Well, Lily will be taking her medication twice a day for two weeks," Connie informed them both. "And we'll see how that goes. After the two weeks, I'll do a check-up and test whether or not we should increase her tablets or keep her on the same dosage. I am going to be working with her myself, but she is also having therapy outside of the ED. We'll book her off for two months to start with, and see how much progression she has made then. I will be making a few calls and seeing if we can get a replacement doctor in as well."
Charlie and Elle nodded to show Connie that they were listening carefully.
"Also, there have been a few concerns about other members of staff," Connie continued. "As you may know, Staff Nurse Tyler has been suspended for a period of fourteen working days due to bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Iain and Doctor Munroe have both been in tears. If anyone is worried, or struggling with what's happened to Lily, then they need to talk to someone. It isn't just Lily that we need to look after, it's the rest of our staff as well."
"Of course," Charlie sighed. "It's always difficult when it's one of your own."
"Exactly," Connie said. "I think that's everything though. Are there any questions from either of you?"
Charlie and Elle both shook their head in sync
"Alright." Connie nodded at them. "Well, I'll type the notes up and email them over. In the meantime, we need to try and work together to help Lily. She may not be working, but she is still going to be around quite a bit."
"Gotcha," Elle said, already up and out of her chair.
Connie nodded and gave Charlie a small smile, allowing them both to leave. She stayed where she was, waiting until the door was shut before pulling out her mobile phone. A small tear rolled down the left hand side of her face and she pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling deeply to herself.
Scrolling through her contacts, she picked one and held the phone to her ear.
It rang, and rang, and rang, but someone eventually answered.
"Hey," Connie spoke, smiling at the familiar voice. "I need your help."
So, a bit of a boring chapter but it was just a filler chapter. I hope you still enjoyed it though. I'm out all day tomorrow so I probably won't have much time to update unfortunately. I'll try to as soon as possible though.