Extreme Takeover, Holby Edition

Their parents ran the hospital during their life, and now that they're older, it's their turn.

Pairings are Jac/Joseph, Maddy/Linden, Connie/Sam, Diane/Ric and Chrissie/Olly.

The tears pricked Fin's eyes as he realised that Erin was growing up at a faster rate than ever before, and was beginning to feel comfortable in her own skin. The new Erin was no longer a caterpillar, she was in the cocoon stage; getting ready to blossom into a beautiful butterfly, to fly away and find her happiness...without him to pick up the pieces.

'Eri,' he said, hugging her close. 'I always said I'd look after you, even if you couldn't look after yourself. And I always said that I'd be there for you when you need me. It's obvious that you're doing okay now, with Max to help you. So I'll step back, because that's what you want. Know that I'm so proud of you for coming this far, and I'm really happy for you and Max. The two of you are certainly a better match than you and Jay were.'

A week later, Erin had returned to work full time and was setting about repairing her life. Max had practically moved into her flat to take care of her and keep an eye on her whilst the rest of their extended family apart from Fin remained unaware. Max had told them that because Erin had always been such a good friend to him and had always been there for him, he owed her. Him staying with her would be a temporary measure to make sure that she stayed away from the alcohol.

Now that Erin had resumed her normal work duties, everyone was watching out for her to make sure that she was okay. She didn't know it, but everyone's eyes were on her.

She had a spring in her step today. Max had set up a romantic date for the two of them last night, and for the first time in their new relationship they had ended up in the bedroom. All of the time that Max had been staying with her, he'd always been chivalrous and slept in the spare bedroom, but last night she insisted that he stayed with her, that he'd been a gentleman long enough. And waking up in his arms this morning, she felt safe and at peace; nothing could stop the happy radiance that had shone in her aura from the minute she woke up.

Everyone had picked up on her joyous mood today as she trotted around AAU doing ward rounds, being particularly chatty and friendly with patients and having a smile for everyone. And Juliet was no exception.

Entering the office that her and Fin shared, she shut the door and said, 'What's up with Erin?'

Staring into his paperwork, Fin replied, 'She isn't in a mood is she?'

'Yeah,' replied Juliet. 'But not in that way...She seems, happy. Really happy, like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. Know anything as to why?'

'Nope,' said Fin, keeping his eyes focused on his paperwork so Juliet wouldn't be able to tell that he was lying. He knew that Erin was happy because of Max, but no one apart from him knew that yet.

'Really? You know nothing at all about it?' asked Juliet. 'I thought you two were close.'

'We are,' said Fin. 'She just doesn't tell me everything.'

Noticing a sensitive spot, Juliet backed off slightly and said, 'Okay, it's fine.'

As she left the office, Fin sighed and rested his head on his desk. Keeping this secret would one day kill him.

Walking down to the Nurse's station on AAU, Juliet found Erin filling in a patient's chart and singing quietly to herself.

I've had the time of my life,

And I've never felt this way before,

Yes I swear, it's the truth,

And I owe it all to you...

'You look happy Erin,' commented Juliet in an attempt to be nonchalant.

'Yeah, I am,' said Erin brightly, putting the chart back on the pile.

'Any particular reason?' asked Juliet.

'Not really,' said Erin. 'Apart from my recovery going well, the withdrawal symptoms gone, the urge to drink gone and the pain of the loss almost gone. It feels like I can go back to being myself again, well, new and improved.'

'That's great!' exclaimed Juliet.

'Yeah,' replied Erin.

Erin's pager began to go off, chorusing it's continuous sound. Checking it, she said, 'Am needed on Keller for a little while, be back soon.'

'Okay,' replied Juliet. 'Have fun.'

'I'll try,' replied Erin sarcastically as she left.

Juliet gave a small smile and leaned over to the phone. Picking it up, she dialled an extension number and waited for it to ring.

'Cass, it's Juliet,' she said quickly. 'Erin's on her way up to you, and she's in a really good mood. Think it might be a guy thing. No, not Jay, someone else. Find out what you can? Thanks. Okay, see you.'

In Cassie's office, she twirled around in her chair with her hand on her barely there bump whilst waiting for Erin.

Whipping her head around the door, Erin said, 'You needed me?'

'Yeah,' replied Cassie, standing up. 'The patient you sent up, Paul Moore, did you run bloods for him?'

'Yup,' replied Erin. 'All the usual suspects, should be in the lab.'

'Okay, I'll send Max down to get them,' she replied.

Erin's face lit up at the mention of Max's name.

'Something you want to tell me?' asked Cassie enquiringly, a smile on her face too.

'It starts with I'm seeing Max,' said Erin. 'But it's a hell of a lot more complicated than that.'

'How?' asked Cassie.

'I'm surprised that Fin never told you,' said Erin. 'Although I did make him promise he wouldn't tell anyone. Max was Alex's father...he was the one I cheated on Jay with.'

'When did you remember that?' asked Cassie. 'I thought you'd forgotten...'

'When everyone was visiting me, and we were talking about Alex, Max said that I could always have another baby, I asked him if he was offering, all jokily, and then I had a flash of memory. It wasn't much of a memory, just me and him, inflagrante delicto, if you catch my drift. So when Adi went into labour, everyone went their separate ways and I asked Max to stay. We talked, and he told me everything that happened. Then we decided to make a go of things between us. Fin only knew because he came to see me and Max showed up for our date,' explained Erin.

'It's alright Eri,' said Cassie reassuringly. 'I don't blame Fin. I understand the bond that the two of you have, and the whole sibling secret protection, the secrets that I made Taylor keep, you would not believe! And I'm happy for you, I really am...'

'Can you not tell anyone?' asked Erin. 'I'm going to wait until the next big family gathering and then tell everyone?'

Hugging her, Cassie said, 'No problem.'