I just wanted to say a huge thank you to BeckettMarch2015, CArfwedsonFan91 and NiamhMcGrady-fanpage for giving me some ideas for the finale of this series and I'm sorry for pestering you guys!
As per usual, the junior doctors arrived in Dom's car but Guy, who was stood by the minibus, was sure his eyes were fooling him as he watched his daughter climb out and then she opened the back seat and let a tricolour border collie jump out.
"Come on Trouble." She smiled as she clicked a leash onto its collar, swung her large hiking bag onto her back and then headed over to the minibus.
"Care to explain?" Guy raised an eyebrow.
"I said I'd dog-sit for a friend who's on holiday a couple of months ago. It was either I bring her with me, or I stayed at home." Zosia replied.
"What is its name?" Guy asked.
"Trouble." Zosia smirked.
"You're kidding."
"Afraid not." Zosia smiled sweetly.
"Please tell me the name is ironic and that the animal is actually angelic."
"I could tell you that… but I'd be lying." Zosia grinned as she climbed onto the minibus and followed the dog towards the back seats.
"Tell me that thing isn't coming with us." Jac ordered after she'd frozen in the doorway of the minibus with Jonny heaving their bags behind him.
"I'm afraid so." Guy sighed as he sat in the row of front seats awaiting the Effanga sisters' arrival.
"I'm not spending the next 2 hours in a confined space, breathing the same air as that… that…"
"Dog?" Jonny suggested humorously.
"Thing." Jac hissed.
"Just sit at the front, he isn't going to bother you." Jonny ordered.
"No, she won't." Zosia corrected from one of the back seats. There were three seats on the right, two of which were occupied by Dom and Arthur, and two seats on the left; one for Zosia and one for Trouble.
"Ooh, I can just tell that the next 4 days are going to be so fun." Jac said sarcastically as she sat on a seat next to the window whilst Jonny sat on the seat next to her.
"Alright, what's the matter with you eh?" Jonny asked quietly.
"What do you mean?" Jac frowned.
"You've been grouchy and snappy all morning." Jonny stated. "Even when I asked you if you wanted me to make you some toast this morning, 'I nearly had my head bit off' would be an understatement. And I can eliminate one potential cause because I know for a fact that after this morning's antics, there's no chance that you're on your–"
"Will you keep it down!" Jac whispered angrily.
"Sorry. I just want to know what's wrong."
"I just don't feel too great, alright?"
"You do look a little peaky."
"Look, I'll be fine. Just stop pestering me."
"Alright, sorry." He nodded reluctantly.
"Wouldn't it be a shame if it fell out of the window?" Dom said sarcastically to Arthur who was also watching Zosia interact with the dog as it held its head out of the small, wound-down window to feel the breeze as the minibus travelled down the motorway.
"I heard that." Zosia stated.
"Well we don't want to share a tent with it." Dom moaned.
"Why not? She's cute." Zosia protested. "And she'll keep your feet warm if she curls up on the end of your sleeping bag."
"No. My sleeping bag is all mine, she isn't getting a square inch of it." Dom stated.
"Who got you a train ticket from Scotland back to Holby and saved you from going on a coach for 10 hours?" Zosia raised an eyebrow.
"Well actually, it was your father who–" Arthur had begun to talk but he swiftly got a soggy tennis ball thrown at him. "Great. Real mature." He said sarcastically.
"Okay today we're going to cover around 27km and we're going to do it in two teams. One will cover the north bank, the other will cover the south bank." Guy stated as he stood in front of nine other individuals who had their hiking bags on the ground in front of them. "And last night I took the liberty of randomly assorting you into two groups." He added as he took a folded bit of paper out of the pocket of his trousers. "The north bank team consists of Zosia, Jac, Dom, Mo and Adele. That leaves Colette, Jonny, Sacha, Arthur and myself in the south bank team."
"Why do we never get to choose our own teams?" Zosia moaned.
"Because the whole idea of these awards was to get everyone working together as a team. I want to make you work outside of your comfort zone." Guy replied.
"Why are you moaning? You're in a team with me." Dom protested.
"Yes but we've also got the ginger witch." Zosia whispered and they both looked over to see that Jac was stood there with a stern look on her face as Adele and Mo began chatting in front of her; she clearly wasn't happy about the team choices either.
The group covering the north bank were making good progress along the river path but Jac paused for a moment as it was difficult to read the map whilst she was walking.
"I don't think we should follow this path, I think we should go straight ahead rather than down there." Jac stated as she looked at the path that split into two paths up a few meters ahead. One led directly along the river, following its curve but the other carried on straight ahead.
"But surely that'd be longer." Zosia frowned as she stopped to look at the map with the auburn haired consultant whilst the other three (Dom, Mo and Adele) walked on.
"No, look the river meanders here. If we follow this path then we have to follow that bend in the river and cover a further distance but if we carry on straight ahead then we'll walk straight to the other side of the bend and we'll get it done faster." Jac stated. "Let alone the fact that going along by the river, there're more bugs hence more bites, and the path is overgrown with nettles and weeds."
"That's not overgrown. If you think that that's overgrown, you should see the peace garden at this time of year." Zosia retorted. "Hang on a minute, just let me look at the map." Zosia ordered.
"I was put in charge of directions." Jac declared. "And I can actually read a map."
"I can read a map too." Zosia argued.
"Really? Where are we then?"
"Um… Um… I don't need to prove myself to you just show me the damn map!"
"Do you realise who you're talking to?" Jac raised an eyebrow.
"Fine, we'll just ask the rest of the group: what way should we… go." Zosia trailed off as, once Jac had put the map down, it revealed that both of the paths ahead of them were clear. "Great, now we've lost the others."
"Well, I'm going this way and I'm taking the map with me. If you want to go that way, then go. I'm not stopping you." Jac barked before she stormed off on the path ahead leaving Zosia in a dilemma. If she didn't follow the consultant then she'd be alone and she had no idea which path her friends had taken. But if she followed the consultant then she'd be stuck with a woman just as stubborn and pig-headed as she was.
"What're you looking at?" Zosia sighed as she looked down to see the border collie sitting down at her feet, looking up at her and wagging its tale. "Fine, come on." She huffed before she began to run. "Jac, wait up!" She shouted. But with the group split up, who would make it to the campsite during daylight? And who would be spending several hours of darkness attempting to find their way back?
Here's the first chapter of the final story in this series, hope you liked it :)
