I'm Here For You

Chapter 2

It was just after one and Iain was heading out of the ED. He replaced the stretcher back into the ambulance and was just about to get in the front when he saw Lily sat on a bench, near Cal's memorial, her head in her hands. Surely, the meeting can't be over yet? He thought to himself. He asked his partner to take the ambulance back to the station and jogged over to the food cart. He ordered 2 coffees and 2 muffins then walked over to Lily.

"Hi." He said quietly, so that he didn't startle her. She looked up; her cheeks were tear-stained and her nose was red. He sat down next to her and handed her a coffee and muffin, which she accepted.

"Thank you." She whispered. She sniffled and Iain handed her the tissue that the shop lady had wrapped around his hot drink. She silently accepted it and wiped her cheeks. He didn't want to push her into speaking, but the questions were pressing. They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the wind bully the flowers which had begun to grow on the memorial. Iain finally spoke up.

"The meeting over, then?"

She sniffled. "No, Scott Ellisson's autopsy report came through and Mr Hanssen called a break whilst he discussed the results with the board and the police." Her voice was quiet, but she had stopped crying and numbly took small sips from her warm coffee.

"Right, and how's it looking so far?" He asked.

"They've questioned Ethan, Alicia and Charlie about the events leading up to the fall. The questions regarding his treatment are next." She took another sip from her coffee. "The post-mortem results will reveal more about if I missed something."

"Yeah, but you won't have, Lily. Plus, he was Ethan's patient first, so it might have been something on his part."

"It's so complicated. Why was Ethan treating him in the first place? Scott might have...killed Ethan's brother." She started crying again and covered her face with her hands. "It makes us all look so bad. We didn't save the life of the person who was accused of murdering our friend. It puts us all in the spotlight in front of the police." The tears were flowing freely now. Iain moved closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his chest. He felt her tense at first, but she relaxed against him, appreciating the warmth and support.

"And I can't even tell them what he said." She sobbed out.

"What who said?" He felt her tense again, but he was worried now. "Lily, tell me."

"Scott... when I told him he was in the clear, he said-" She stopped speaking and took a few deep breaths, closing her eyes.

"Lily, it's ok, tell me." He said gently, stroking her hair which was blowing around with the wind.

"Not bad work for a chink." She whispered.

Iain was shocked. How could someone say that to the person who just saved his life? He was overcome by anger. Furious at the fact that someone could say such a hurtful thing to someone, especially Lily.

"What?" Iain said through gritted teeth. "Lily, I'm so sorry. I can't believe he said that to you." He put his coffee down and wrapped his other arm around her, squeezing her tighter. "I swear, if he wasn't already dead, I'd kill him myself." He muttered underneath his breath. She sobbed loudly and pushed away from him.

"See, Iain! That's your reaction as soon as I told you what he said." She looked up at him and pointed angrily to herself. "How do you think it would look if I told the police that that's what he said to me, then not an hour later he died under my watch? Or...or... anytime Cal and Ethan are mentioned? Or it comes to light what he said to Jacob and Dylan the other week?"

Iain understood how complex this situation actually was. Any reports they made of Scott's abuse would only make them all look worse. She was staring at him, tears streaming down her face, eyes open wide, bewildered. No one should be treated the way Scott treated her and it was horrible that none of them could speak up. If the trial proved against her, her career would be badly affected.

"Aw, Lily." He pulled her into a hug again and she gratefully accepted, wrapping her own arms around his back. He rubbed soothing circles on her back, telling her everything was going to be okay.

She cried on his shoulder for a while, until her sobs had calmed down and her breathing had returned to normal. She pulled away from him and wiped her tears with the tissue. When she was done, Iain held her hand in his and looked her in the eyes.

"Lily, I promise you. This autopsy is going to prove that you did nothing wrong. Everything will be fine because you're an amazing doctor and the strongest woman I know." Lily looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Iain." He squeezed her hand slightly and she squeezed it back.

"Umm... Lily?" Max called as he walked over to them. Iain began to retract his hand, but Lily squeezed on it tighter. Max arrived at the bench and looked at their hands then at Lily. "Mr Hanssen called. The meeting will continue in 20 minutes." 

The wind was picking up now and Max's hair blew across his eyes. He pulled his hood up and wiped his hair out of the way.

"Thanks, mate." Iain replied when Lily didn't respond. Max took his cue to leave and walked away. Lily stood up, her hand still in Iain's, who also stood up and waited for her to say something.

She cleared her throat. "I'd better sort my face out."

"Ok, shall I come with you?" Lily nodded in response and they walked hand- in-hand back inside. She led him to the staffroom and she used the mirror in her locker to wipe off the remains of her makeup and then reapply it. Soon, she had some colour back in her face and any signs of her crying were gone. She sorted out her hair, which had been effectively ruined by the wind. Iain sat on a stool and waited for her. She closed her locker and took a large drink from a bottle of water.

"Ready?" He asked her.

"Ready." She replied. Silently, he walked her to the stairs and she turned to face him.

"Thank you, Iain. You've been great. And about us, I'm..." She began looking flustered again and a hand went to her forehead. He grabbed her arm and brought it back down gently.

"Hey, don't worry about us. Get up there and I'll see you later. Everything will be fine." They smiled at each other and Iain watched her climb the stairs once again.

He sighed and turned around, to see Jez stood there, watching him.

"Got your text."

A/N: Hope you're all enjoying so far, thanks for all the comments, votes and messages xx