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Neither Dylan nor Charlie were that surprised when they were called up to the sixth floor for an emergency meeting with Jac Naylor, the new Director of Improvement, and Hanssen. Following Fenisha and Lev’s tragic deaths last week, Jan, Faith and Ethan have all gone on some form of compassionate leave; plus Jacob and Tina had gone away for the week on a postponed holiday from earlier in the year which they had to take or they'd lose there money - money that NHS staff cannot afford to wait.

Dylan hates this part of being Acting Clinical Lead, the meetings and the management, and it had only got worse in recent weeks, following the CQC’s decision to put the hospital into Special Measures and then their decision to bring back Jac Naylor as Director of Improvement. As he and Dylan make their way through the double doors into the management area, Charlie silently reflects on how hard the staff of the ED have taken the loss of the two paramedics. He knows that the stress has started to take its toll on Dylan, and with Connie now working in New York and Ethan on compassionate leave for the foreseeable, it's left Dylan as the only consultant in the department. Dylan, Iain and Charlie have been taking it in turns to visit Faith and the kids everyday, with David, Robyn and Rash checking in on Ethan and Bodhi as well.

Dylan knocks on the door to Hanssen's office before he opens the door and he and Charlie enter the CEO’s office to find Henrik, Jac and Fletch already waiting for them; with Hanssen sat at his desk, Jac on a different chair next to him and Fletch stood by the window.

The meeting lasts for over an hour, with Dylan and Jac getting into a heated argument about the lack of support the ED is getting from Jac whilst other departments are having new research projects and staff given to them. Whilst Charlie tells Hanssen and Fletch about his concerns for staff mental health in the ED, as well as the increasingly severe staffing issues. Dylan agrees to Fletch and Hanssen’s suggestion of seconding Lucky Simpson, the Mental Health Nurse, down to the Emergency Department for the next few weeks to assist with staff pastoral care. And Jac says to Dylan that she will get onto finding the ED another consultant or two as a matter of urgency, as she doesn't want him to burn himself out, need time off and leave the ED running in locums and senior registrars.

As Dylan and Charlie leave the Chief Exec’s office together and make their way towards the lift back down to the ED, Hanssen asks Jac if she has anyone in mind for the consultant’s position. Jac smirks and comments that she has a couple of names in mind before she makes her way back down the corridor to her own office.

Despite the ED being quiet today with no major incidents declared - yet - as soon as he returns to the department, Dylan is almost immediately called into resus by Matthew, and Charlie stands at the team desk in admin for a moment and reflects on the events of the last week. David joins Charlie for a moment and checks if he's alright, before passing him the revised rotas for the next few weeks that he's been working on. Charlie thanks David for the rotas and after having a conversation for a few minutes about some of the things they'd heard Jac has been doing upstairs since she took over as DoI, Charlie fills David in on what happened at the meeting with Jac and Hanssen.

Later that night after Charlie and David have gone home, Dylan loses his temper after the computer in the clinical lead’s office stops working just as he tries to save an important report for Hanssen. Dylan trashes the office before slumping down on the sofa, as he looks at an expensive bottle of alcohol that Connie left behind on top of the cabinet when she abruptly left for New York with temptation. But before he reaches the level of having an urge to drink any of it, Dylan gets out his phone and send a text message to Zoe saying 'Help.’

Meanwhile upstairs, Jac is sat at her desk in the old boardroom as she dials a number before greeting the person in the other end “Hello Connie”

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Ethan thought he knew what grief felt like from losing Cal, but this time it just feels more raw and painful. Fenisha was in the other ambulance dying whilst he was trying to save Lev’s life, even though he knew slightly in the back of his head that Lev probably wasn't going to survive for very long, if at all. Ethan’s days now solely resolve around tending to Bodhi’s every need, even if he feels like a failure already compared to Fenisha; and spending 30 minutes trying to make the formula milk with a screaming baby in his arms at 2AM just compounded that feeling of hopelessness.  Robyn has been coming over every morning along with Charlotte to help with Bodhi, which has allowed Ethan to try and catch up on a bit of sleep, even if all he can think about is his dead fiancée, and trying to get started on the massive heap of paperwork and starting to plan the funeral. David has been coming around to the flat for about half an hour every other evening and Rosa has been kindly keeping Ethan’s kitchen stocked along with preparing a few frozen meals such as a lasagne and a shepherd's pie for him to eat as well as taking Bodhi out for a walk in the fresh air with her and Ollie. 

In the ED, Charlie is concerned when he arrives for work and as he is making his way to the clinical lead’s office to catch up with Dylan, notices Jan standing soberly outside of resus, lost in her thoughts. He quietly calls Jan’s name out several times before she notices Charlie’s presence, and she accepts his offer of a cuppa in his office for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, Dylan calls a staff meeting and as everyone who is available gathers in admin, he is left annoyed after he notices Hanssen coming out of the lift, with Jac just millimetres behind the CEO. Jacob remarks to Jac that if she's come to shut the ED down for the day, just like she did to AAU, then now really isn't the best time. After neither Jac or Henrik respond, Dylan starts reading through the list of notices he needed to update everyone, which he wrote on a notepad at 3AM after being unable to sleep, despite a long late night phone call to Zoe, where he mainly bitched about hating clinical lead life, but given the circumstances he can't resign as there is no one to take over. Hanssen and Jac stand behind Dylan as he informs the staff of the ED about Lucky Simpson being seconded to the ED on a temporary basis to provide pastoral care and wellbeing support to the staff, with Hanssen adding that to accommodate Lucky within the department, the relatives room will be moving to another space, so Lucky can use that room. Dylan thanks the team for keeping going, even though it's a struggle for all of them right now, and says that he hopes things will get easier once they have an extra consultant, which Jac is sorting. After the briefing, Dylan goes back into his office, accompanied by the Chief Executive and DoI who both praise him for his attempt to bring the team together. Henrik reiterates what he said to Dylan yesterday, and tells him that if the ED needs anything, then just ask him, Jac or Fletch and they'll try and accommodate it. As she leaves the office, Jac says to Dylan that he might also want to make sure he's got all his admin in order, as the CFO Jeni Sinclaire is doing a budget audit of every department - including the ED - in the coming days.

Across the Atlantic, New York JFK Airport, Zoe has just touched down from her domestic flight from Michigan and is on the phone to Max and their adopted little boy at home as she navigates the departure lounge with her suitcase, looking for the gate for her flight to Holby International. Zoe eventually finds the correct departure gate, but is stunned to find Connie Beauchamp waiting at the exact same gate as her, for the exact same flight to the exact same place. Connie is surprised when Zoe taps on her shoulder to say hello. Connie immediately asks Zoe if she got the same call as she did from Jac Naylor. Zoe is confused and tells Connie that Dylan called her late last night, struggling to cope under the weight of being Clinical Lead of an ED which is special measures on top of two paramedics dying. Connie says to Zoe that she got a call from Jac yesterday, and Jac had explained the situation to her, she couldn't say no to going back to Holby for a stint. Connie remarks that she also has to find out how Jac has ended up as Director of Improvement

Jan breaks down to Charlie about her feelings about Fenisha and Lev’s untimely and tragic deaths, and how she feels bad that she is already interviewing for their replacements at the ambulance station. Charlie hugs Jan and tries to comfort her about how despite their personal grief, life keeps turning and people will still need their help. For once, Jan doesn't flat-out refuse Charlie’s suggestion of making an appointment to go and see Lucky Simpson.

Meanwhile, Faith returns to the ED for the first time following Lev’s death and informs Dylan that she wants to come back to work, even if it's only part-time, but she can't keep staying at home all day staring at the same four walls. When Jacob enters the Clinical Lead office and asks Faith how she's doing, Faith admits to Jacob that it's been tough, very tough on both her and the kids, but they are now mainly staying at their grandparents, and Dylan’s been staying in her spare room (with Dervla downstairs) to try keep her company in between his shifts, and to help her get started the paperwork and funeral planning, and to help her deal with Lev’s father.

Jacob agrees to let Faith return to work so long as she agrees to go and arrange some sessions with Lucky, and comes to him, Charlie or Dylan if there are any issues. After Faith leaves, Jacob passes Dylan some paperwork and tells him that within the next half an hour they have 5 breaches (of the 4 hour rule) within the department. Dylan swears and tells Jacob that he doesn't know what more he can do as Ms Naylor still hasn't got back to him about a new consultant. Jacob tells Dylan that he called Will last night to tell him about Fenisha, after realising that nobody else had told him, and that Will said he would be up for doing a couple of locum shifts in the ED when he comes back to support Ethan for Fenisha’s funeral. Dylan admits that although that's good news, they are still 3 consultants down day-to-day and he doesn't know how much longer he can carry on like this. Especially with Hanssen, Jac and Jeni all breathing down his neck for different departmental reports.

As Dylan and Jacob are talking, a black taxi pulls up outside the main entrance to Holby City Hospital and Hanssen and Fletch’s jaws drop as they watch from reception and they both Connie Beauchamp and Zoe Hanna stepping out of the same vehicle. Jac breezes past the boys and greets both of the women. Connie and Jac share a slightly more frosty reunion, before Jac invites the pair to come up to her office, as they have things to discuss...