"I cannot believe I've just had 3 weeks off and I'm more exhausted than before I left!" Connie muttered to herself as she did her make-up in the bathroom mirror. She then assessed the state of her hair and clothes, but aware they would get no neater in the few minutes before she had to leave, Connie just sighed and walked from the bathroom. "Grace! We're leaving in-" Her yell was cut off by the realisation Jacob was still in bed fast asleep. "Jacob!" She shook his leg, earning herself a frown and grumble. "JACOB!" This time his eyes flickered open and he yawned widely.

"What time is it?"

"Half past 7. Get up!" Connie pulled the blankets off him, allowing the cool air to hit his body full force.

"You'll pay for that, sweet cheeks!" He called after her as she walked from the main room towards her daughter's room.

"Are you up?"

"Yes!" Came a small voice from her side.

Smiling, Connie ran a hand over the hair of her youngest daughter. "I know you're awake, sweetheart. You woke me up at five! Have you seen Gracie?"

Ava gave a shrug before continuing on down the corridor in a shuffled walk wearing a pair of her mother's heels.

"Grace!" Connie knocked on her eldest's door before pushing it open, another yell disappearing as she found the bed made and the room empty. Tutting, Connie turned to make her way downstairs to try and find her. The first day back after the holidays was always the worst, and today seemed to have been made even more difficult because everyone was exhausted. Their flight home had been delayed by bad weather, and they'd only arrived home just after midnight. "Grace, if you're not dressed..."

"Jacob's not dressed." Grace reasoned as the shirtless man himself rushed into the kitchen ahead of his wife to get something to eat.

"This is my new uniform, didn't you know? Yeah, me and Charlie picked it from the nurse's uniform catalogue." Jacob informed Grace as he ruffled her hair.

"Are you sure Mum didn't have a hand in that?" Jacob winked at Grace before quickly leaving the room, a bowl of muesli in hand as he saw Connie in the doorway, her hands folded across her chest.

"I'm going, I'm going." He rushed past her, but not before brushing a quick kiss to her cheek, then jogging quickly up the stairs, scooping his youngest daughter in his other hand as he went. "You're going to break your ankle missy, I've told your mother not to leave these lying around..." Ava giggled in response, and Jacob settled her on the bed as he began to get ready.

"JACOB!"

"I'M COMING WOMAN!" He turned to Ava to roll his eyes at her mother's impatience, to find that she was in fact bouncing on the bed, sloshing his breakfast all over the duvet cover. "No, no, no no, oh no..." He picked his daughter up, and sat her in the chair in front of Connie's vanity as he stripped the bed, wandering to the wash basket to see that it was already overflowing.

"Right, I'm leaving! Not my problem if Rita sacks you!" Connie stood at the bottom of the stairs, unaware of the chaos that was ensuing upstairs as Jacob tried desperately to fit the milk and muesli covered linen into the washing basket and keep an eye on Ava who, unbeknownst to either parent, rummaged through Connie's collection of Yves Saint Laurent lipsticks. "Oh, for goodness' sake..." She muttered, having been too tired to notice before now that her shoes were absent from her feet.

"Will someone please go and find your poor mother her shoes?" She called through to the kitchen, the question aimed primarily at Grace. She then looked upwards on hearing a series of thumping noises, grunts, and an exclaimed expletive from her husband.

Ava grinned widely as her father turned to her with the intention of telling her not to repeat what he'd just said, but the words died on his lips when he found she'd used one of Connie's lipsticks in an attempt to be just like her mother. Taking the lipstick from her, Jacob looked around for something to wipe her face on before pulling her under one arm so he could charge to the bathroom for a wet wipe.

As Connie put one foot on the stairs, about to go up and see what was happening, she heard Ava give a delighted laugh and at the same moment, Grace put shoes in front of her.

"You left them by the front door last night. Along with the sandwich you brought me to take for lunch today." Grace held up the dried out, forgotten sandwich.

Sighing, Connie pulled her wallet from her bag and pushed it at Grace before she attempted to slip her shoes on. "Take whatever is in there."

"We're ready!" Jacob called before barreling down the stairs with a clean Ava still under his arm, his work shirt still in his hand instead of on his chest. Glancing between them and then at her sister, Grace slid a fifty pound note from the wallet and into her school bag.

"Hurry up, mum, or we'll be late!" Grace advised.

"Yeah, stop dawdling, Connie, or we'll never get to work." Jacob added, earning himself a smack on the arm as Connie followed them out, shutting the front door with a bang.

"Right, I'll pick Ava up from school, Grace is getting the bus back..." The couple walked into the ED, hand in hand, stopping at reception to pick up a folder of patient notes before carrying on to her office.

"Do you think she was funny with me this morning?"

Who, Grace?"

"Mhm. I don't know, I just..." She rubbed at her forehead as he dropped his arm to her waist as they walked.

"She's fine, Con. The little one, on the other hand, is a nightmare."

"Well, I wonder who she gets that from, hm?"

At this, Jacob rolled his eyes before motioning a quick greeting to Cal and Robyn as they passed the nurses' station.

"You're finishing at-"

"A human time. As are you, sweet cheeks." He opened the door for her and followed her in, taking her coat and bag as she settled at her desk, her hand again rubbing at her head. "Con, are you feeling-"

"Jacob, I'm fine." She snapped, clicking the mouse to wake up her computer. She then let out a sigh, and brought her head up to look at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't..." She trailed off, as her computer dinged and she let out a frustrated growl.

"Are you in admin all day?"

"Three weeks off, Jacob. I'm going to be drowning in admin all bloody week."

"Worth it though, having spent the last 3 weeks with this gorgeous face." Jacob grinned widely, earning an eye roll from his wife. "Coffee?"

"Please." Connie responded, but called out again as he turned to leave the office. "What's that all over the back of your shirt?"

Frowning, Jacob twisted a little to look. "It, ah-"

"That's the colour of my favourite lipstick! Jacob, what the hell has-" Connie was cut off by a forceful kiss from her husband before he rushed from the office, shutting the door behind him. Sighing, Connie sunk back into the office chair she was worried she wouldn't leave for at least a week.