PART TWENTY-ONE

ACT THREE

Friday 9th January 2015 - Ten Days Until The Wedding

Jac Naylor sat with her back to Jonny, her eyes poring over a shining new book. It was a large and weighty tome with shining gold letters adorning the cover. Cardiothoracics and the 21st Century: Progresses and Setbacks by Professor Elliot Hope. Inside the sleeve there was a handwritten note addressed to Jac.

Dear Jac,

Thought you might like a copy,

Elliot.

Jac smiled halfheartedly at the note but her stomach was twisted into knots; she had been out of work for nearly a year, ever since the accident, and she was itching to get back into it again. Over in his armchair by the crackling fire, Jonny could see Jac's fingers flicking between each page of the book. On the mantelpiece an antique clock ticked reliably as the evening wore on into the night. It was Jac who broke the silence first:

"How's Darwin?" She asked with what she hoped would be nothing more than a casual interest but Jonny had been expecting this and he picked up the tone of longing hidden in her voice. He wasn't sure how best to approach the subject however and instead, with a casual swallow, decided to answer Jac's question as it was.

"Same old," Jonny began. "Elliot's been regaling us with tales of his book signings and Mo-" Jonny stopped suddenly. He and Mo had still not reconciled after her mistake all those months ago. Jac had done her best to get them to talk but it had been to no avail; Jonny was determined not to forgive her.

"What about Mo?" Jac asked but Jonny's eyes flashed anger and the tightness of his lips indicated that that discussion was not worth broaching.

"How's Elliot's book?" Jonny asked as he placed a fresh log on the dying fire. The flames crackled gratefully as they snaked around the dry wood and licked at its bark. Jac turned the book over in her lap and her eyes scanned the blurb.

"Pretty much what you might expect from Elliot. Detailed, researched with an unmistakeable air of sentimentality about it." Jonny laughed.

"So any plans to write your own book then?" Jac scowled but then her face contorted into a wide smile when she realised Jonny was deliberately trying to push her buttons.

"I'm surprised you haven't written the complete overview of nursing yet. Oh wait, that would be what ten pages at most?"

"You surgeons would be nothing without us nurses watching your backs," Jonny shot back at her with a wink. Jac sniggered:

"Oh please, without surgeons doing all the hard work, you nurses would all be out of a job."

"Nurses are the most important part of the team," Jonny countered.

"Oh are they?" Jac said with a snort of derision. "Next time I'm prepping for a triple heart bypass, I'll tell the patient that you'll be performing it." There was an uncomfortable silence when Jac realised what she had let slip. Jonny looked at her, watching as her eyes took in everything on the page and he realised at last what he had to do.

"You miss it don't you?" Jonny's words cut through the air like a dagger and he knew he had struck a chord with Jac. She slammed the book shut and placed it on the small table beside her.

"Yes," Jac whispered. "I do miss it." Jonny cleared his throat.

"What if I told you there's going to be a vacancy on Darwin very soon?" Jac looked over her shoulder and stared at him so fast that she almost sent the book and table cascading to the floor. She straightened her jacket and looked quickly at her feet in an effort to seem nonchalant about the situation.

"It's probably just an F2 or Registrar position," Jac replied with the tiniest hint of bitterness in her voice.

"Why don't you take a look?" With that Jonny thrust his laptop at her and pointed at the screen; Jac saw that he had opened up the vacancies page on Holby's recently spruced up webpage. Her eyes scanned past the list of porters, a surprisingly large number of vacancies, until she came to the part she was most interested in.

Registrar - Neurology Department

Jac scrolled past this; neurology was not an area she had ever shown much interest in, her desire lay, for the time being, in cardiothoracic surgery.

Consultant - Histology Department

Another scroll past; histology was the joke of the hospital with its batty staff and peculiar methods of working. Jac remembered the time when a young F2 from the Emergency Department, eager to impress, had taken on extra shifts in Histology and had formed a close bond with the bizarrely named Dr. Doom. Jac had forgotten his real name, Dominic or something. It had been at least five years since his departure from the hospital under a fairly ominous cloud over his competency. It had all been hushed up of course but Jac recalled the staffroom gossip when Dom had announced his decision to resign. It wasn't often that news from Histology reached the rest of the hospital but that had been one of those rare moments.

Consultant - Emergency Department

Jac was all set to scroll past this when she found that her eyes kept drifting back up to the grey emboldened and italicised vacancy. She looked at the rest of the page and saw that there was nothing yet listed for Darwin.

"Were you trying to be funny? There's nothing here for Darwin."

"I said there might be one soon," Jonny retaliated. Jac looked up at him.

"Okay if you're so sure, who?"

"Ms. Kudrow," Jonny replied and he smiled as Jac stared at him, her expression blank.

"Who?"

"Ms. Kudrow, she was your err…replacement," Jonny explained. Jac's eyebrows narrowed.

"She hasn't lasted very long if she's leaving," muttered Jac. Jonny heard her and he couldn't help letting out a quiet snigger.

"Let's just say she hasn't really fitted in."

"Ah, one of those," said Jac with a knowing glance at Jonny. "She's another Geddes." Jonny stared at her and as Jac caught sight of his frown, her lips curled into a fresh smile as she cast her mind back to the dark times that had been the Toby Geddes era.

"What's a Geddes?"

"Toby Geddes," Jac began with relish. "Was an idiot who for a brief time assumed the consultancy on Darwin. I say it was brief, the time we had with him was more than long enough."

"What was wrong with him?"

"What was right with him?" Jac's response was quick and sharp. She cleared her throat, sweeping her auburn hair out of her eyes at the same time. "He was lazy, incompetent and full of himself. You know how it takes a lot to make Elliot truly angry?"

"Yes?" Jonny asked although he had a good inkling that he knew the answer.

"Geddes managed it." Jac laughed at the memory. "I remember Joseph-" She stopped suddenly and bit her lip, hoping that Jonny wouldn't notice the mention of her ex. The memory of Joseph was still painful and Jac avoided talking about him as much as possible, not least because it would be unfair on Jonny but also partly because Jac had still not forgiven him for that crass wedding invite two years ago. Jonny had caught the sound of Joseph's name but a quick look at the expression on Jac's face told him that it was a subject not worth pursuing.

"What happened to Geddes?"

"His contract was terminated. I don't know where he ended up, somewhere outside of Holby or something." Jac's eyes flickered back at the ED vacancy. "I might apply for this one," she said slowly with much deliberation etched into her voice. Jonny looked over her shoulder at the vacancy she was pointing at and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Histology? You? Call me stupid but I don't think that's really your area." Jac rolled her eyes at him with exasperation.

"No not Histology you cretin, Jonny, that one!" Jonny's eyes followed the path of her finger.

"Emergency Department," Jonny said aloud to himself. "That's quite a big career change for you, are you sure you're up to it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, I'm just not sure if it's the right move for you."

"You don't think I can cope with it do you?"

"No, I didn't say that I-"

"I could do that job with my eyes shut," Jonny caught the look of pure determination in Jac's eyes and they both burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay," Jonny tried to say through fits of laughter. "Go for it. You know I've always got your back."

"I'm going to apply," replied Jac. "All they can do is say no."

"Exactly," Jonny told her.

"They won't say no, will they?" A sudden bout of insecurity had washed over Jac and Jonny found himself placing a comforting arm around her shoulder. Jac did not flinch and instead tugged at his hand as though she was trying to pull it closer to her.

"When they see your application, they won't be able to refuse. Trust me." Jac twisted her neck and leant her head back onto Jonny's arm.

Saturday 10th January - 9 Days Until The Wedding

Jac stared at the flashing email notification on Jonny's laptop but there was something preventing her opening up the email to see what it contained. Every time she brought the cursor over the icon her hand dropped away and with it so did the cursor.

"Go on then, open it. Let's see what they say," Jonny called to her as he pulled on his shoes for his shift.

"They might say no," Jac mumbled.

"They might say yes," replied Jonny and he smiled encouragingly at her. "I believe in you, okay?" Jac tried to smile but her muscles were tense and instead she could only look anxiously at Jonny. "Believe in yourself." Jac took a deep breath and clicked the icon.

"Here goes," she said as they waited for the email to appear on the screen. Her heart was thumping in her chest and she felt it plummet as the page finally loaded.

Dear Ms. Naylor,

Thank you very much for your detailed and illuminating application. I appreciate this is short notice but, if at all possible, we would like to invite you for an interview at 2:30pm on Saturday 10th January 2015. Please email back by 11:30am to confirm your interest or arrange a date for another time.

Regards,

Guy Self, CEO

"There you go," said Jonny and he patted Jac on the back affectionately. "I told you they'd love you." Jac was sitting in a stunned silence, her eyes continually rereading the email until it sunk in deep into her the farthest reaches of her mind. She had not expected such a quick response.

"I'd better email back," she said at last and quickly composed a brief reply and noted down her acceptance for the proposed interview time and date. "2:30 it is."

"You'll ace it," Jonny replied. "Listen, I'd better get going or I'll have Elliot on my back. Call me after the interview?" Jac nodded. Jonny did not see but her hands were trembling as the reality of the situation began to descend over her.

"Jonny!" Mo was beckoning him as he strolled on to Darwin with his hands trying to stifle a broad yawn. "Rough night was it?" Jonny could see Mo was trying to be friendly but every time he looked at her, his heart flared with anger and he found it difficult to look at her, let alone talk to her. He made to walk past her but Mo grabbed his arm and held him back. "We need to talk Maconie," she said defiantly.

"Let go of me."

"This has gone on long enough."

"I said let go of me."

"Not until you agree to talk."

"Fine!" Jonny snapped at her and Mo released him. "When?"

"Lunch break. We're both off at the same time." Jonny considered this and with a considerable air of reluctance, he nodded. Before Mo could respond however, Jonny had marched away without looking back at her.

"How are you feeling today Mrs. Dalton?" asked Jonny and he smiled at his patient. Mrs. Elaine Dalton, 86, was incredibly frail; her arms were as thin as twigs and her hair was nothing more than a few wispy strands whitened with age. The monitor behind them beeped away as she opened her grey eyes and smiled a toothy grin at Jonny. Elaine had been admitted onto Darwin just after the Christmas period after suffering a small heart attack and was making a slow but steady improvement as each day went by.

"You know me, same old," Elaine whispered delicately at Jonny.

"Very pleased to hear that," Jonny replied. "No chest pains or irritation?"

"None. It's been a pretty uneventful night to tell you the truth. I'm sorry to be such a nuisance."

"You're not a nuisance," Jonny told her as he performed the necessary obs. "I hear you've been brightening up the ward." Elaine's eyes lit up with a wondrous delight that Jonny had not seen in them before.

"Have I? Have I really?"

"I've been told all about your little stories," Jonny grinned at her. "You've made quite an impression on some of our younger patients." Elaine tried to be calm but there was no disguising the look of delight etched into the fabric of her features.

"You've all been so wonderful to me," she said and she was beaming broadly. "I hardly know how to thank you."

"There's no need, it's been a pleasure treating you. I wish all our patients were as cheerful as you. To tell you the truth-" Jonny paused and bent down to whisper in her ear. "Some of the doctors could use a little extra cheeriness." Elaine giggled.

"Well look at that one," Elaine pointed at Ms. Kudrow who was trying, with little progress, to examine her patient. "With a face as moody as hers, it's little wonder the poor thing doesn't want her examining her." Jonny suppressed laughter as he wagged disapproving finger at Elaine. "Well at my time of life, I'm entitled to be naughty," she replied. "Anyway, when do I get to go home? I need some peace and quiet, not that I'll get much at home mind. Did I tell you about Robert, my husband?" Jonny had of course been told all about Robert but he understood that beneath her joviality, Elaine was prone to bouts of forgetfulness. All part and parcel with being 86.

"You've told me a lot about him," Jonny gazed at her kindly. "Oh and don't hold me to this, but I think you might be able to home this afternoon. No promises though." Elaine nodded at him and laid her head back down on the pillow.

"I think I might just have a little nap then," she told him.

"Call me if you need me," Jonny replied.

"I'm sure I won't," Elaine said, opening her eyes and winking at him.

Jonny had barely started to drink his coffee when Mo pulled up a chair opposite him and sat down heavily.

"So!" Mo announced as she waited for Jonny to take a sip and replace the mug on the table.

"So what?"

"We need to sort this out Maconie. I miss my partner in crime." Jonny opened his mouth and was all set to retort angrily at her when he suddenly caught the look of genuine sorrow etched behind her eyes. He hadn't realised until now just how sorry Mo had been and how much she must have tortured herself over what had nearly happened to Hollie. Already he could feel the anger in his heart burning out and as he continued to stare at Mo, it hit him that he sorely missed his best friend.

"I've been a right idiot," Jonny said at last. "I don't know what I'd do without my Mo," at these words, they both leant across the table and hugged each other.

"You don't know how much I've wanted to hear you say that." Jonny smiled. "Life is so boring without a Maconie in it!"

The interview room was cold, beige and had an unmistakeable aura of foreboding around its featureless walls. There was a singular large window in the centre of the far wall that overlooked a car park far below and much of the room was taken up by a long table with a multitude of chairs adorning it. Three of the chairs were taken up in the centre of the table; Jac recognised two of the figures but the man in the centre was unfamiliar. This must be Guy Self, Jac thought to herself.

"Please take a seat," Guy instructed her and Jac, her knees trembling uncharacteristically, sat down. "My name is Guy Self, I'm told that you already know Charlie Fairhead and Connie Beauchamp." Jac nodded. "Shall we get started then?" Guy did not wait for an answer and instead plunged straight into the interview. "We were very impressed with your application," Guy paused and waited for both Charlie and Connie to nod. "I suppose my first question is, why Emergency Medicine, why now?" Jac took a deep breath and considered the best answer she could think of.

"I suppose after spending a lot of my professional career in the field of cardiothoracics and taking a year out due to personal reasons," Jac paused to take breath. "I felt it was time for new challenges and I'm confident a position in the ED at Holby will provide that."

"I see." It was Connie who spoke this time and as her eyes bored into hers, Jac wondered what her former mentor was thinking. Did she perhaps feel that Jac harboured a wish to follow, as she had done, into the dark depths of Emergency Medicine with a view to becoming Clinical Lead one day? "You were joint Consultant of Darwin for around three years, am I correct?" Jac nodded. "Could you tell us a little bit about the circumstances of your departure?"

Jac felt her heart plunging like a stone through a wet paper bag as she was forced to recall the events that had led to her departure. She told them how she had fought with her half-sister - Connie raised an eyebrow at this and Charlie had frowned but Guy made no indication as to what he was thinking. Then Jac had reached the part she had been dreading the most; she flinched as she recalled the attack she had suffered upon leaving the hospital that day. Jac sensed that Charlie had noticed her trembling as he had shot her an encouraging smile as if to tell her that everything would be okay. She had forgotten how Charlie was like that, the lynchpin of the hospital. It would be a sad day when he finally had to call it a day.

"Emergency Medicine is a big change from cardiothoracics, do you feel you're ready for it?" Charlie's voice was warm but underneath it, his question was a serious one and Jac knew she would have to answer it carefully.

"Well," Jac began…

Jac's heart was still pounding against her chest as she waited to be called back in and have her fate decided. Twenty minutes had so far passed and Jac was beginning to wonder about what they could possibly be discussing. She was too busy silently panicking to notice an exhausted looking Sacha taking a seat beside her.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Sacha said loudly and brought Jac crashing back to earth with a jolt.

"You're still here then?" Sacha laughed but his face was lined and Jac saw that he had aged quite a lot since she had last seen him. She couldn't help feeling slightly saddened by it; age did not suit his jovial manner.

"Yeah I'm just hanging on. Not literally of course, that would be rather silly." Sacha's smile was infectious and Jac found herself smiling back at him. "So what are you doing waiting here then? Bit lonely on your own isn't it?"

"Just had an interview in there," Jac paused and pointed at the door to the interview room that lay a little way up ahead from the where she was waiting.

"You're coming back? That's fantastic news!" Sacha grabbed her and enveloped her into one of his customary bear hugs.

"Gerroff me you great oaf!" Jac called out but she was secretly heartened by it.

"Oh we have missed you! It's not been the same without you." Sacha was beaming broadly and Jac knew it would break his heart when she explained what her interview had been for. Sure enough, his face momentarily fell but he quickly pulled himself together and smiled again. "Well it's the same place after all, I'm sure I'll see you around." Sacha had started to walk away when struck by a sudden thought, Jac called him back.

"Sacha wait!" He stopped and looked at her curiously. Jac wondered if he knew what she was about to ask him. There was no reason why he would of course.

"Jac?" Sacha asked her, his voice quiet and considered. Jac opened her mouth to respond but no words came out. "Cat got your tongue?" Jac shook her head, she knew Sacha was just trying to make light of the situation as he always did but she wished he understood how difficult this was for her. It was not a question Jac had ever thought she would ask and certainly she would never have guessed it would be Sacha who she asked.

"Sacha," Jac swallowed and closed her eyes willing against hope that her nerves would not get the better of her. She drew herself up to her full height and decided that she would just have to get it over with. But what if he said no? Jac's mind told her darkly. No, she shook her head; she was determined not to let herself ruin things as usual. "Sacha," she began again and this time her old confidence seemed to have returned. "I'm getting married in nine days and I wondered if you would like to give me away?" Sacha stared at her dumbfounded; Jac could feel her heart pounding faster than it ever had before and she prepared herself for his inevitable but kind refusal.

"I don't know what to say," Sacha said incredulously.

"It's fine, you don't have to say anything," Jac told him.

"Wow."

"It's okay if you don't want to, I understand."

"Don't want to? Jac, of course I want to! Nothing would give me a greater pleasure than that." Jac was caught so unawares that she found she was crying silently. Tears of pure joy. They were a rare occurrence for Jac Naylor. The next thing she knew Sacha was hugging her again and they were both laughing with delight.

"They're ready for you now," said a voice behind Jac.

"Good luck, not that you need it," Sacha called to her as Jac opened the door to the interview room and stepped inside.

"We apologise for the long wait," Guy said before Jac had even sat down. "I'm sure you can understand that it has been a very difficult decision. A lot of factors had to be weighed up before we could come to a decision." Jac was twiddling her thumbs absentmindedly as she waited with baited breath for the decision. Guy was difficult to read but neither Charlie nor Connie were showing any indication either way.

"We felt, and Charlie and Guy both agree with me on this, that you show an extraordinary degree of willing to take up this post, something which of course would be of enormous benefit," Connie continued after Guy had left off.

"Indeed," said Charlie. "It was also clear that your thirst to learn is still there; a major part of being a consultant in the ED is that you are constantly learning new ways to deal with certain situations." Jac nodded; she dared not hope but it seemed as if the decision might just be swinging her way a little.

"There was some concern over the manner of your departure but it was decided that if you can learn from your mistakes there should be no reason not to give you a second chance," Connie continued. Jac thought her heart would just about burst out of her chest if they kept in her suspense for too much longer.

"To cut a long story short," Guy announced cutting across Charlie who looked as if he had been about to say something else. "It gives me great pleasure to offer you the job." Jac sat in a stunned silence, her emotions were all over the place; she hoped beyond hope that there were no tears. "Do you accept?" Guy asked and extended his hand to Jac. Jac nodded and shook his hand, then Connie's and finally Charlie's.

"Welcome to the team," said Charlie and Jac saw that he was smiling warmly at her.

"It's a new beginning," Jac announced.

TO BE CONTINUED