This is it guys- the last chapter of the story!

It's been emotional (just like last night's episode good god I almost died from the amount of feels I had for Dixie then Connie then for Zax!) and I hope you've all enjoyed reading it! I will be posting an epilogue chapter on Wednesday/Sunday for you to look forward to however ;)

It's a little rushed but I hope you enjoy all the same! -Sophie x


The following morning, the Holby gang awoke to the sun streaming through their windows and illuminating the room with a fresh, bright new day.

Only, most of them weren't in their own rooms…

They all got rather drunk that previous night, including Charlie and Tess (who both, coincidentally, woke up with alcohol down their fronts- they had fallen asleep together in Charlie's room with Ash) to celebrate their last night of freedom. That morning, however, most of them were bitterly regretting it.

Robyn and Ben, and Lily and Ethan got rooms at The Hollins Hall Hotel for the night, Zoe and Max ended up getting intimate in Max's room, forcing Lofty to sleep in Cal, Big Mac and Noel's room. He had to put up with their drunken moans and groans about not being lucky with women most of the night, right up until he tried to suffocate them with his pillow.

Cal ended up in Zoe and Connie's room, for reasons that I can imagine you will be able to guess. They barely slept either.

Rita and Louise brought more alcohol back with them and drank their cares away, not really thinking about the consequences. They ended up sprawled on their beds, dead to the world until they were awoken the next morning.

Max stirred as the bright beams of light from the window hit his face and he opened his eyes to find Zoe curled up to him. Smiling, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and kissed her gently on the nose. It twitched, and her eyes followed suit before she groaned and opened them.

"What time is it?" She mumbled, stretching her legs out before drawing them back under the warm covers again. Max leant over her to check his phone.

"9:00am." He replied sleepily, yawning and wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Oh ok…" Zoe said, not processing what he had said until a few minutes later.

"Shit. Did you say 9?" She asked, sitting up and immediately closing her eyes again, her head throbbing and stomach churning. She was regretting that last glass of red.

"Mmm." He mumbled, "Why?"

"Oh god. We're due to check out in an hour." Zoe's mouth opened and she got out of bed, swaying slightly and clutching the bedside cabinet for stability. "I'd better go wake the others, you get a shower and make sure all your stuff's packed."

Max raised an eyebrow as she fiddled with the door handle before opening it.

"Zo?" He asked and she looked around.

"What?"

"As beautiful as you are, I'd put some clothes on before stirring the ice queen. She might get jealous." He winked and she quickly looked down, realising she was only wearing the necklace from last night.

"Fuck. It's so warm I didn't even notice." She hissed, pulling on Max's t-shirt and shorts before making her way to each door in turn, rapping loudly and shouting as loud as she could without her head feeling like it was going to burst open.

Connie opened her door and Zoe shoved straight in, ignoring Cal who was still laid between the sheets.

"Morning to you too Dr Hanna." She muttered, closing the door behind her.

"No time for pleasantries, not that you're one to dish them out anyway. We've got about 40 minutes before we're due to check out. Come on, we need to get sorted. I've roused the others, they're working through their hangovers."

Connie glanced towards Cal. "Cal, get up." She said loudly, both women wincing at the volume. He didn't stir however, and after 3 more attempts, he still laid snoring away.

"Sod this, my head's killing me." Connie muttered, pouring herself a glass of water and promptly throwing it all over her boyfriend, who sprang up instantly.

"Connie what the hell!" He exclaimed, looking from her to Zoe who couldn't stop laughing.

"We've got an hour until check out. Up and go." She said firmly and he nodded, standing up to find her was naked too. This time it was Zoe's turn to raise her eyebrow as he covered himself with the sheet.

"Bye." He mumbled, shuffling out of the room and shutting the door behind him. Zoe and Connie were left alone, and they began to form a plan.

"I'll get in the shower first then you," Zoe said, looking around the room. "You tidy all your things meanwhile and get today's clothes ready. Then when I get out, we'll swap, ok?"

"Ok." Connie replied and they went their separate ways.

50 minutes later and after a heated discussion with one of the foreign maids about the sheer amount of alcohol in Rita and Louise's room that neither party understood, the ED staff had congregated in reception after checking out. Zoe had rang Robyn, Ethan and Lily before she got in the shower and they had arrived just as the others finished their rooms. Because they were so late, they didn't have time to unpack the cases their friends had to pack for them for clothes, so they were donning borrowed items. Lily was wearing a top and shorts from Connie (begrudgingly given after it was pointed out that she was the only woman who wore clothes her size), Robyn was wearing one of Big Mac's more feminine tops, with a skirt from Zoe, and Ethan was wearing a shirt and shorts, lovingly donated by his brother.

Their coach pulled up not long after they reached reception, and after loading their luggage and hung over bodies onto the vehicle, they set off for the airport. Most slept on the journey, and the rest sipped water and prayed that their flight home would be smooth sailing, in fear of revealing to the other passengers the contents of their stomachs.

They reached the airport, and went through security with no problems, leading them through to the unbelievably large duty free area. They headed straight for Boots and raided their painkiller isle first, then made their way to the café for a few nibbles on some toast to keep them going. Charlie pushed the boat out and had scrambled egg on toast, though he was pushed to the very end of the table due to the nauseous scent of eggs.

Before their flight number was called, they did a bit of last minute shopping to blow the few Aussie dollars they had left. Connie bought Grace a large bag of Cadbury treat size chocolates and a pair of earphones with the Australian flag on them, and Cal looked surprised when she came over with them. She sighed and looked down into the carrier bag she was holding.

"A sorry present. For leaving her with a nanny for 10 days. I also bought the nanny the biggest bottle of alcohol I could find, as a sorry present for leaving her with Grace for 10 days."

Cal just laughed before putting his arm around her waist. "Fair enough."

Their flight number was called and they group made their way to the correct terminal before walking down the connector tube and onto the aircraft. They were seated at the bag like they were on the way there, and sat in the same seats until the fasten seatbelt sign was turned off. Tess was too hung over to worry that much about the possibility of the plane crashing, and so they were all very quiet until the plane became level again.

From left to right, sat-

Ethan, Lily, Rita- then Connie, Cal, Louise- then Robyn, Big Mac and Noel. Behind the middle three at Zoe, Max and Lofty, then to the left of them sat Tess, Charlie and Ash. They all nodded off at some point or another, with the conscious ones listening to music or watching a film quietly. Lily nodded off on Ethan's shoulder more than once, and Louise had to listen to Robyn, Mac and Noel moan about their love lives for a good hour or so. Lofty leant forward and whispered "I had to suffer it last night, tag- you're it." Before leaning back, grinning slightly as Louise rolled her eyes and pulled on her headphones.

It was 2:00pm English time when they reached the airport, but their body clocks were still in Aussie zone, meaning they were knackered as it was meant to be 2:00am. After emerging from the airport, they all called themselves cabs, and waited outside for them to turn up.

"Well, wearing Big Mac's top and your skirt Zoe wasn't quite how I pictured arriving home, but I have to admit- it's quite nice to be back." Robyn looked around the car park, clouds grey above them and Zoe laughed.

"I'd much rather be where the sun it, but I can't wait to sleep in my own bed, I'll give you that!"

"And a proper pot of tea…" Tess mused. "I've had quite enough alcohol for a while. Though last night was definitely a highlight."

"Mine too." Cal grinned and Connie nodded in agreement, standing closer to the doctor to keep warm. The group then recounted their favourite parts of the holiday in turn, laughing at the memories they would never forget. The taxis rolled up one after another, and they thanked Zoe for organising the whole trip before saying their goodbyes and leaving for home.

In the back of their taxi, Zoe sighed and rested her head on Max's.

"It's been fun, hasn't it?" She smiled, pictures of drunken faces and wild dances flashing through her mind. Max put his arm around her and sighed.

"It has, and it was all down to you. Thank you."

"You're welcome." She whispered, closing her eyes and letting the smooth movements of the car rock her to sleep- content, in love through and through, but most of all?

Happy.