"...Well you will need the guardian's permission to take her, and-" The consultant began.
"She has it. Whatever she thinks is best I will agree with." Jacob held out the form his mother had had delivered, naming him as Mia's guardian.
The consultant looked between them for a long time and then shook his head in annoyance. "Fine, take her back to Holby, but from what I've heard they're as short staffed and busy as we are." With that, he signed the consent forms Connie had been brandishing and then stormed from the room.
"I'll go and organise transport for her, and then one of us will have to drive back with Grace and one of us will have to go with Mia. I need to call Hanssen as well to organise a private room for her, and a theatre-" Connie was cut off then by Jacob dropping a gentle kiss to her lips. He pulled away and studied her face before kissing her again.
"Thank you, Connie." Jacob offered softly when they finally separated.
"Don't thank me until you've seen the state of Holby. St James still has restricted intake, and apparently emergency is still over-run…" As she was listing her current worries, she was silenced by firm hands on her shoulders.
"One thing at a time. First, we fix Mia, and then we fix the department."
...
"Mum, you are not making me go back to school."
"Don't worry, I had no plans to grace them with your moody, sleep deprived presence today." She glanced across to her daughter, who sat in the passenger seat. They had agreed that Jacob should go with Mia, just in case anything happened then it was his right to be there more than Connie's, and Jacob had promised to meet them there so Grace had agreed to drive with her mother. Unbeknownst to Connie, Jacob had made Grace promise to keep an eye on her for him, and Grace had agreed to that also.
"Grace, are you sure you're okay with-"
"Mum. It's all fine. I promise." She rolled her eyes before settling back in her seat, looking out at the cars which they sped past, her mother's face firmly set on the now familiar road in front of her.
"It does mean that you will be spending all day in the ED though."
"That's fine. I want to stay with Mia." At this, Connie smiled. The attachment Grace had established with Mia was quite astonishing. However, this smile quickly fell as her daughter spoke again.
"Will I be able to see Zoe today, Mum?"
"...Zoe's gone, sweetheart. She resigned, and she's moved to Michigan to work with an old colleague." Connie replied carefully.
Grace turned to her with a frown. "You didn't tell me that. Is that where you had to go? To see her off?"
Connie let out a sigh. She knew she had to tell Grace the truth now, because leaving it even longer would only make things worse. "I didn't go and see Zoe, Grace. I told you that because I was worried the truth might upset you."
"Why?" Grace's voice sounded low and threatened anger.
"...I was at the funeral of Mia's father. They were involved in an accident last week and he died a few days later." Connie replied honestly. She hadn't gone there with the intention of getting back with Jacob.
"With Jacob?" Grace asked warily.
"With Jacob. He came into work, but he wasn't coping well and then his mother called to see where he was. Joseph, that's Mia's dad, was Jacob's twin, but they hadn't seen each other for months, and I think Jacob's not dealing with that very well right now. I went with him only to support him, because I thought it was important he go to the funeral." When Grace didn't speak, Connie just found herself going further and further into explaining what had happened on the day, including her own tears and when she'd met Mia.