This is an early Birthday present for the amazing IseultLaBelle who has been so so supportive whilst I've been writing this, and has been an amazing friend since I joined the fandom! I hope you have a good Birthday tomorrow! I've actually had this chapter planned since I started this series and it was one of the chapters I knew I wanted to include! A huge thank you goes to Kate for proofreading this for me, it was so lovely of you to do so and I'm really grateful for it! Hope you all enjoy, and wish Emma a Happy Birthday for tomorrow!

Ticket in hand, Chloe clambered aboard the train to London. Apprehension flooded through her body as she sat down. She told herself that it was only her family, but she worried that she had changed because of her time away, that they wouldn't like the more independent version of herself that she had grown into. But her fear subsided as she opened her phone to see the screensaver she had set when her and her mum had worked together on AAU last November. She had decided to head home for the weekend, partly to see her younger siblings who had, according to the message from her mum, just started to smile properly at their parents, but also to have a hug from Ange, something she had craved in the first few months of being in Switzerland. She opened her laptop and began to type the latest chapter of her research project, the coffee on the table in front of her supplied her with much-needed caffeine as the journey home commenced.

Dom's message half an hour later took her by surprise, and she glanced at her phone as soon as it buzzed on the table.

'Hi Chloe, I'm so excited to have you home for the weekend! Did you want me to pick you up from London or do you have a connection to Holby? Don't worry, I haven't told anyone you're coming home today. See you later.'

She begun typing, settling on purchasing a ticket from London to Holby. She knew that Dom wouldn't tell a soul that it was her intention to make it back to the UK for the weekend. Despite their ups and downs, Chloe loved Dom and trusted him completely. He had been the first person to ask her how she was after Evan, the first person who rang her when it was announced that the country was to enter lockdown. Chloe loved Dom. After she replied to her brother's message, Chloe connected her headphones and scrolled through her music library to find the soundtrack for Brave or 'Scottish Frozen' as her mum called it.

"Mum, as soon as they are old enough, I will introduce my siblings to Brave, I have to! Even Dom's seen it, and he definitely doesn't strike you as the type to enjoy an animated Disney princess film, does he?" Chloe argued good-naturedly with her mum via Facetime: their first proper call since Chloe had moved into her own apartment and Ange had unknowingly interrupted Chloe's first watching of Brave since her move, which sparked a lengthy debate about whether Chloe was allowed to introduce her younger siblings to her favourite film. "Besides, with me as their older sister, they are going to need to know who Julie Fowlis is, otherwise there will be trouble," she laughed.

"Ok, fine! But you aren't getting them obsessed with your literally-impossible-to-understand Gaelic music, else I'll never hear the end of it from your nana- she hated the fact that I didn't take Gaelic for my Highers, yet you passed it with flying colours," her mum bargained, also laughing.

As the train exited the tunnel, Chloe smiled to herself as she took in the English countryside. It wasn't Scotland, granted, but the green rolling fields of south England was good enough for her, and a break from the snow-capped mountains to remind her of her roots and family was a welcome change of scenery.

When the train reached London, Chloe opened the Trainline app on her phone and purchased a ticket for her connection to Holby. She wandered towards the row of shops inside the grand station, with its impressive glass roof casting light across the concourse and the iconic Renaissance features littered throughout that gave the building character. Having picked up various snacks from the M&S near to the correct platform, the young Scot lingered in wait of her train, nervous at the prospect of seeing her mother again, despite the fact they had Facetime called almost daily since Chloe moved to the continent. She longed to see her siblings again, having only met them a few times before her move. She knew that they were out of hospital, with Ange having returned to work once more. There had been various events at the hospital that she has missed, but Dom being Dom, had kept her updated with all the gossip from her former place of work, not that she had a particular interest in random snippets of long-winded tales of people she had moved away from, but it gave Dom something to talk about and something for Chloe to tease him mercilessly for.

The second she stepped off the next train, Chloe knew that her decision to return home for the weekend was the correct one. Despite not wanting to admit it, she had missed the familiarity of Holby: its people, its size, the friendships she had made in her time there, the fact that it had meant that she had met her brother. Outside the station, Dom was waiting by his car, and another person was stood beside him.

Panic soared through Chloe's veins as she entertained the possibility that Dom had told someone that she had returned. Soon the whole hospital would know, and the surprise she had worked on for ages for her mum would be spoiled. She fixed her face in a cold stare as she walked over to meet her brother, but her expression softened significantly when she recognised the person who had come to greet her.

"Hey, Chloe," nerves rang through the London accent that spoke in front of her, but it hardly registered with Chloe who swiftly threw her arms around the other woman.

"I hope you don't mind me being here, Dom mentioned it was a surprise, but he saw me in town and offered me a lift," she continued.

"Of course I don't mind! It is so good to see you Nicky, I've missed you. How's the baby?" Chloe smiled.

"She's good thank you, I have a childminder looking after her at mine- I've moved back down here permanently now. I don't think I can go back to working in the hospital, but St James' have a vacancy which I might take in a few months, when she's a bit older. It's so good to see you though," Nicky returned Chloe's smile, which dimmed as she looked up to the ominous grey cloud. "We had better get back before we get completely drenched."

Dom nodded in agreement and the trio climbed into the car, speaking about their adventures until Dom turned right into the street that Nicky was living in, and Chloe and Nicky hastily made plans to meet up while she was still in the country before Nicky left to get back to her daughter.

"Thank you for picking Nicky up Dom, I know I had a face like thunder when I came out of the station, but I really appreciated seeing her," Chloe thanked her brother as they parked outside Ange's house.

"Don't worry about it, I knew you'd like to see her, and don't worry about the whole 'face like thunder' we all know I often have one of those," he joked, and Chloe laughed, knowing that her brother was right.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for all of this Dom, I know that I've missed home quite a bit, and you, Mum, and the twins. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone," Chloe hugged him once they were both out of the car, and nearing Ange's front door.

"I'm finally home. Do you know, it feels good to be back," Chloe confessed as she knocked on the door, awaiting her Mum's reaction to her return.

Stood on the doorstep, the two had a good-natured argument over whether they should use their own keys or not, before ringing the doorbell again.

"I want it to be a surprise, Dom, not an 'open the door and there I am' sort of thing," Chloe told her brother.

"But they aren't making any move to answer the door," Dom countered.

"Maybe the twins aren't sleeping, or they've gone out?"

"Well, the car's still here so I think they're still in."

"All the more reason to use your own key!"

"No, it has to be a surprise," Chloe insisted, despite her brother's valid points.

After what seemed like hours, siblings heard footsteps on the hall floor and the instantly recognisable sound of the door latch clicking open.

Every emotion played over Ange's face when she opened the door to her daughter, and Chloe smiled shyly when her mum beckoned them inside.

"Happy Birthday, and welcome home my lovely," Ange threw her arms around her daughter in disbelief that her daughter had returned to her homeland. "I can't quite believe you're back! I haven't got a cake or anything, I'm so sorry!" Ange began to fret, still shocked that Chloe was there to celebrate her birthday, a huge difference from celebrating via FaceTime, as they did for Ange's birthday.

"Mum, it's OK, I can make one, or buy one tomorrow! I don't mind waiting, seeing you all is more important- I've missed you so much," she threw her arms around her mother once more, refusing to let go.

Dom and Josh looked on and smiled at the display of love between the mother and daughter.

"I love you mum," Chloe whispered.

"I love you too," Ange kissed her daughter's hair.