A/N: This update has been split into two parts, otherwise it would be far too long. I'm actually quite surprised by how quickly I managed to knock this update out. It's something a bit different, lots of scene changes and different characters included today, I hope you enjoy and please leave a review! –Ciara xx

'Your car is a mess.' Connie started to put her bag in the footwell, but snatched it back onto her lap when she saw the squished jelly beans that resided there. 'Seriously, Rita, it's disgusting.'

The blonde rolled her eyes, and slung her own bag onto the back seat. 'I don't remember asking your opinion? And if it's such a big deal, you can walk home and drive to work in your own car!' She twisted her keys in the ignition, and stamped on the accelerator with much more force than necessary.

The two women were hungover, and had been sniping at each other's throats all morning. The night before, drinking two bottles of wine - each - had seemed like a perfectly good idea. But in their drunken state, they'd stayed awake most of the night, and by the time they'd finally fallen into bed, their phones were dead and there was no chance of their alarms waking in them.

Which meant they'd overslept.

And now they were late for work.

'Believe me' Connie growled, precariously attempting to apply her mascara 'I'd rather be walking, BUT I CAN'T IF I WANT TO GET TO ST STEVENS ON TIME!'

Rita braked at traffic lights, and slammed her hand on the horn at the very slow people crossing. 'Well I only have five minutes til my shift starts, and we're ten minutes away!'

'A miscalculation on your part, my dear.'

'Don't call me your dear!'

The argument continued as they sped through the streets, until they were two minutes away from Holby. 'Stop here!' Connie put her hand over Rita's on the gearstick, and the blonde screeched to a halt with a mutinous expression. She snatched her hand away petulantly.

'Why?'

'I'm getting out here.' Connie undid her seatbelt, and started to open the car door. At Rita's scoff of disdain, she turned, her face calmer than it had been all morning. 'We can't go in together, people will talk!'

'Well...we can tell them that your car broke down, and you phoned me to give you a lift!'

'Like those gossips will believe that! Rita, I'm walking the rest of the way and that's final.'

'Connie, we've been together two months now. I think it's time to start telling people, make it official, you know?' Rita drummed her nails on the wheel nervously.

'No.' And with that, Connie stepped out of the car, her hair billowing in the wind and her left shoe attached to a piece of squashed jelly bean.

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'Right, Lily, you take this.' Connie reached over Tess, and dropped a map on the younger doctor's lap.

'Ah.' Ethan twisted in the driver's seat, his phone clutched in his hand. Ash was sitting next to him, arms crossed across his chest. It was obvious he did not want to be present on this trip. 'My phone has GPS-'

'Does it have a mute button?' Connie snapped, and despite himself, Ash allowed his lips to twitch into a brief smile at Ethan stuttering.

'Er-yes...'

'Good. Press it.'

They'd been driving for two hours now, and Connie's bad mood still hadn't improved. In fact, it had gotten progressively worse with every few minutes that passed.

Lily struggling to read the map had been the final straw and Connie dug about in her bag, searching for her partially-charged phone.

'Hello, yeah, Connie Beauchamp speaking...I'm afraid we're going to be late, it appears one of my most promising doctors'- she shot a disgusted glance at Lily -'can't read a map.'

'It's not my fault, half the roads are missing!' Lily protested, but Connie's glare grew icier and she mouthed 'I'm on the phone!' Lily looked away, chastised, and Connie shook her head at her - furiously disapproving.

When the doctor hung up Tess intervened. 'She does have a point you know, this is an old map, Connie.'

Connie rolled her eyes. 'Look, give it here then, and we'll give you a geography lesson, h'mm?' She stretched her arm over Tess for the second time that day and-

There was a screech of tires. The van spun, and Connie got jerked backwards, suddenly as light as a ragdoll. She felt her head smash against the window and heard glass shattering, blood gushing wetly down her neck. Her arm jarred, and something crunched.

After a while - she didn't know how long she'd been out of it - Connie could distinctly hear Ash moving around in the front, and Tess trying to comfort Lily, who was screaming and sobbing in terror.

She risked a glance down at her arm, and almost threw up. It had twisted the wrong way so her palm was facing upwards, and her elbow had ripped through the flesh. Sudden dizziness took over and Connie rested her head against the window, taking slow breaths and trying to concentrate on what Ash and Tess were conferring about.

'Ethan's unconscious, I can't wake him up.' Ash had turned in his seat, one hand on Ethan's shoulder. Panic was evident in his eyes, and Connie theorised that he was not thinking straight.

'Is his breathing regular?' Tess leant forwards, still clutching Lily's hand. The young doctor had finally quietened, but tears were streaming down her pale face.

'It's faint.' Ash admitted after a second, and Lily started to break down again.

'Please, call an ambulance, get him out! Get me out! HELP!' She screamed, banging a fist against the window. Tess reacted instantly, pulling the younger woman into her shoulder and stroking her hair as she shushed her gently. 'Ash, you need to get out and phone an ambulance. Lily, you go with him.'

'My mobile smashed.' Ash replied dolefully, holding his phone up so everyone could see the damage.

Suddenly finding her voice, Connie interrupted. 'Tess,' She gasped, trying her best not to scream or cry from the agony shooting through her arm with every tiny movement she made. Being perceived as weak like Lily would be the stuff of nightmares. 'My phone, it's on the floor. Give it to Ash.' Tess turned towards her boss, and the colour drained from her face.

'Connie, your arm-'

'Just pick it up!' The doctor yelled, and then her voice cracked. 'Please.'

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Charlie barged into the office Zoe shared with Connie, not bothering to knock. The doctor glanced up from her computer, and confusion spread across her face as she eyed the senior nurse. He looked severely agitated and worried.

'Charlie, what's going on?!' Her fingers stilled on the keyboard.

'I've just had a phone call from Ash.'

'Oh.' Zoe leaned back in her chair, expression still bemused. 'How's their trip to St Stevens going?'

'Not good. They've crashed.' Charlie ran a hand through his white hair and Zoe leapt to her feet.

'What?! Have Jeff and Dixie gone yet?'

'No, they need a doctor.'

'Right, that's me then.' Zoe moved past Charlie and together they left her office. 'I need you to brief the rest of the team on what's happened, and keep them calm.'

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'Max, seriously, it's not funny anymore.' Rita snarled, one hand on her hip.

'What?' Max pretended be confused, looking around at everyone who was assembled around the nurses station. Most of them were watching the exchange between nurse and porter as a source of entertainment. 'What am I doing wrong?!'

Rita thumped him on the chest as hard as she could, but it seemed as though Max barely felt it. 'The paracetamol, Max. Give it to me now!' She had taken a box of strong paracetamol from the storage cupboard, but before she could take the pills Max had snatched the box, and held it above his head where she couldn't reach it without jumping.

Max looked around once more at the band of sniggering nurses and porters, and then up. 'Oh!' He waved the box around victoriously. 'You mean this?'

'Yes, that!' Standing on her tiptoes, Rita tried to swipe the paracetamol but like every other time she had tried, her fingers only grazed his forearm.

'No, you're not having it.'

Before Rita could punch Max, or curse, or flip a table over, Robyn intervened, laughing at her sibling's antics. She smacked her younger step-brother on the arm. 'Come on Max, put her out of her misery.' Obediently, Max gave Rita the pills. Without breaking eye-contact, Rita swallowed two dry and continued to glare at the young porter. Before a full-on staring war could break out, though, Charlie arrived and called for everyone's attention.

'Okay guys, can I have everyone over at the nurses station please- yes, even you doctors- I've got something to tell you.'

'What's going on?' Lofty asked, clicking his ballpoint pen rapidly. Cal glanced pointedly at him, and Lofty dropped it on his paperwork quietly. 'Sorry.'

'Ours doctors and Tess have been in a crash. I don't know any details yet, but Jeff, Dixie and Zoë are already en route to the collision. I need you guys to be prepared to treat your friends – this is going to be a difficult shift for us all, but I know we can do it.'