Scarlett: Thanks so much. I'm away at the moment in a nice little cottage, and I love it. It's just nice to have the break :-)

Bonnie Sveen Fan: Me too, and yeah she tweeted me again. It made me happy.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Weeks passed, and Lily slowly began to get better.

Everyone had seen a huge difference in her, even if she hadn't actually seen it herself. However, Connie had put her on a higher dosage of medication which she continued with and she still saw Helen at least once a week. There were some days when she couldn't talk at all, but there were other days when it was as if nothing had ever even happened.

Night time seemed to be the worst. Lily still had nightmares and it had been ages since she'd managed to get a decent sleep. She couldn't even be alone, not even during the day, because she just panicked that someone would hurt her again. Iain hadn't slept at his own flat in ages, because he wanted to try and help Lily feel safe in hers.

The problem was that although Lily was getting better, she was vulnerable and still needed looking after.

"Could everybody gather round please?" Connie asked, as she gathered the staff around the reception desk.

She looked up and saw Lily standing beside Ethan, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet and obviously laughing at some joke that he'd made earlier. Ethan was trying his best to be polite, but was also trying to ignore her, so that he could listen to the meeting.

"Lily, sweetheart, ssshh," Connie said gently, and gave her a small smile.

Connie had a quiet day planned so the two of them were due to go out to Starbucks for a drink and a chat. It had become a weekly thing for them, and something that Lily often looked forward to.

"Okay, we have a day-out at St Andrews coming up in about a month," Connie told them all. "Basically, they were all impressed with our work there when we unfortunately had the fire at Holby. They'd like us to go and give a speech on how to succeed in the ED. Only a few of us can attend, so if you are interested in volunteering then please let me know this week. Are there any questions at all?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Good," Connie said. "That's that then. I want us all to have a good day today, please."

She nodded at them and walked over to Lily, as everyone else walked off. Lily watched as Sabrina followed Ethan. She was already settled in and liked by everyone, and she hadn't even been there that long.

"Come on, trouble," Connie sighed, setting a hand on Lily's shoulder. "Get your coat."

Lily nodded and followed Connie along to the office. Her coat was in there from earlier, draped over the arm of the sofa. They walked inside and Lily grabbed it and slipped it on, whilst Connie quickly checked her mobile for messages.

"Oh great," she muttered sarcastically, her eyes on one particular message. "No," she whispered, shaking her head at the screen.

Lily flicked her hair out of the back of her coat and adjusted her bag slightly, her eyes on Connie.

"What's wrong?" She whispered quietly.

"What?" Connie looked up, and noticed that Lily had clocked her. "Oh, it...It's nothing. Trouble with Grace but nothing that can't be fixed."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked her.

"Let's just say, she still doesn't want to live with me," Connie whispered, a sad smile on her face. "I'm fine though, Lily. I just need to accept the fact that my daughter would rather live with her dad. These things happen for a reason, right?"

Lily shrugged her shoulders. "I guess."

Lily couldn't stop thinking about Connie, as they sat in Starbucks with coffee and cake. She'd managed to order for herself as well, which had been a great leap and had made both of them happy.

"Do you miss Grace?" Lily asked her.

"Of course I do," Connie answered, sipping at her drink before taking a bite out of her slice of Victoria Sponge. "She's my little girl."

"You looked really upset earlier," Lily pointed out.

"I was, because I would like Grace to live with me again," Connie said. "She doesn't want to though, and I can't help that."

"What does Sam think?" Lily said.

"You are just full of questions today, aren't you?" Connie laughed.

"Sorry," Lily whispered, anxiously having some of her drink.

"Don't be sorry," Connie sighed. "It's nice. Sam just wants what's best for Grace, and he doesn't think that I should get her back. The history between Sam and I is complicated, and I don't know if we'll ever really get on."

"I'm sure you'll work things out," Lily said.

"I'm sure we will," Connie agreed. "I wanted to talk to you about something anyway."

Lily looked up from eating her chocolate brownie, a nervous look on her face.

"Don't look so scared," Connie said. "But I was wondering if you wanted to come on the trip to St Andrews. Now, you won't have to speak if you don't want to but I just feel it could help, that's all."

"But...Why?" Lily whispered.

"Well, you've been doing so well," Connie told her. "And a change of scenery might be nice. Have a think about it, alright? I'd really like you to be there though."

"I'll have a think," Lily said. "But if I say yes, I won't have to talk?"

"Not if you don't want to," Connie said. "I know what happened the last time I forced you to show Sabrina around the ED, and I'd hate for you to feel uncomfortable again. But, if you do say a little something then I would be extremely proud of you. It's your choice. You've been doing really well so far, Lily."

"What if you talk to Grace about moving back in?" Lily asked.

"I've already told you, she doesn't want to," Connie said.

"But you're just accepting that answer," Lily said. "You haven't actually spoken to her. If you do that, then I'll come to the public speaking event and I'll try and speak."

"Really?" Connie's eyes widened.

She hadn't been expecting Lily to say that at all.

"Really," Lily replied, and finished off her brownie.

"Okay." Connie nodded and held her hand out. "It's a deal."

Just a small filler chapter as I might not have much updating time, I'm not sure yet. Hope you enjoyed it x