Firstly, a massive thank you to everyone (and there were many of you) who supplied the name of Jac's mentor of the year episode. And just in case the person who asked hasn't seen the answer yet it was called 'Awarded' and was the Valentine's Day episode from last year. (I just hope I've got the right episode now and it wasn't all a wild goose chase!)

Secondly, to the person who asked: Arthur (this Arthur) isn't Digby, he's the bald, really friendly looking porter you quite often see hovering around in the background on Darwin. He was there when Jonny was singing 'I have a dream' in the 'slap-gate' episode, and I know his name's Arthur because Jac mentioned it in the episode where hr endo pains first reared their ugly head (the one with the pregnant nurse who didn't want to be because she thought it would betray her dead son - ?Not Aaron) Sorry for any confusion.

And thirdly, sorry but this update feels a bit stilted to me and I don't think it really flows that well either. But it was the only way I could think of to move the story on without getting bogged down in lots and lots of conversations. It's also very short compared to some of the chapters. Having said all that please enjoy as much as you can, and review if you'd like to. (And chapter 26 is looking better so it's not all bad)

Thursday morning

Jil's condition had deteriorated overnight. She had rung the call bell at just before four complaining of feeling unwell and had then been sick several times. Her obs had been all over the place and Gwen had decided that they needed a doctor so had sent Sylvie to get Oliver from the on-call room. Which was just as well because not long after he had appeared, bleary-eyed in her room to be met by Jil apologising for having woken him, she'd had a bradycardic episode like the one she'd had in AAU and it had been all hands on deck for a few minutes. A shot of atropine and over ten minutes of breathing 100% oxygen through a mask later she was looking slightly better, but her stats still weren't stable and Oli was concerned that they were losing the battle against the fluid-overloading they'd been fighting since she was admitted. Jil was more concerned about the baby, however, so he'd had to use one of the portable ultrasound scanners to prove to her that, at least for the minute, Robin had a strong heartbeat. And then, when all that was done, and Jil was resting in her room – her obs slowly starting to return to something approaching normal levels – they had to face the even bigger challenge of telling Jac what had happened. There was never a question of whether they should tell her – they all knew that she'd want to know, that she'd told them they had to tell her if anything changed and that she could make their working lives a living hell if they didn't – but how and when was debated between them for some time. And they decided that they couldn't wait to tell her till she might be awake – that she'd want to know as soon as she could, so Oli made the call….

And in the quiet of Jac's living room, her mobile buzzed but it was the vibrations which woke her, shaking her from her slumber on the sofa bed and causing her to sit up abruptly and pick it up gingerly as if it was a bomb. And when she saw the number her heart sank further and she was filled with dread, so that her hand shook slightly as she pressed the button to accept the call. And Oli explained, after first emphasising that Jil was ok for now, what had happened and what they had done. And Jac, who was acutely aware of Daniel sleeping on a hastily bought blow-up mattress a few feet from her, whispered a few questions, and after seeking final reassurance that Jil was definitely stabilising now, signed off by saying that she'd be in within the next hour. She somehow managed, after finishing the call, to resist her natural instinct to phone Jonny. Stopping herself just before she pressed the call button on the number she'd automatically brought up on her phone, when she remembered that he was doing a long day today and had been on a late shift yesterday. And then she sat staring into space clutching her phone, still open on Jonny's number and his photo, for a few moments before, after gently stroking his picture, she got it back to the home screen and put it down. Then she quietly got up and crossing over to the kitchen put the kettle on and got four cups out, determined that there would be a pot of tea ready for everyone, to help get them through. Remembering the Santini saying 'There's nothing a cup of tea can't make a little bit better' as she located her teapot and put the teabags in.

And when the tea was made she told, first Daniel and then Rosa and Tony about the phone call. And, even though they all managed to remain outwardly calm, Jac knew that inside they were all panicking, as she was. So it was that within just over half an hour they were all ready to go. Then just as Daniel had opened the front door, Jac, perfectly rationally to her mind but to everybody else inexplicably, stopped to make sure that all the flowers in the flat had enough water, refusing to leave until she'd checked each and every one of the vases, topping up those that needed it.

"What's she doing?" Rosa whispered to Tony, who just shook his head.

"Come on Jac," Daniel called out, exchanging a puzzled look with his in-laws, before continuing. "That can wait sweetheart, we need to go."

Only to be left even more confused by Jac's fierce declaration of, "No, they can't die – I've got to keep them alive! I'll just be a minute."

"But Jac" Daniel started, before Rosa put a hand on his arm and looking at her he saw her shake her head

"It's obviously something she needs to do Dan" she said, "like me praying my rosary" she continued, holding up the beads that had been concealed in her other hand. "Let's just let her get on with it, eh, I'm sure it won't take long."

"But Jil…" Daniel began

"Jil wouldn't want Jac upset" Rosa stated simply, and Daniel knowing that that, if nothing else was true, bit his tongue and waited impatiently, but without saying another word, for Jac to finish what she was doing.