The next morning, they headed straight for Oxford Street, simply to keep Mikey happy if he was going to be dragged around museums all afternoon. He begged his father for a dozen new things and of course, Fletch gave in too easily.
Evie picked up a couple of things for herself, as did Ella, but the kids couldn't have been more disinterested if they tried. It wasn't until they got to Hamleys that either of them decided to take any notice, at which point they were running around the shop causing havoc.
Emma was told she could have one thing, and she selected a new plush pig, to be Sarah's boyfriend, apparently.
Nobody was entirely aware of the struggle that getting five kids through central London on the tube was going to be. Somehow, they managed it, and Mikey, already grumbling about how heavy his bags were, traipsed after everybody towards the science museum's entrance.
Eagerly, Evie hurried off in the direction the history of medicine exhibition. Mikey continued to moan at his Dad though for once, Fletch wasn't listening to a word he said. All of the youngsters seemed to be enjoying themselves and it was nice to be able to wander around.
"Happy?" Fletch asked, smiling as Jac took his hand and nodded.
They made their way through the entire museum, ignoring Mikey's incessant whining as they tried to enjoy themselves. When they reached the end of their route, Evie asked sweetly if they had time to go to the Royal London Hospital Museum on the way back to the hotel.
"Why don't I take Mikey and the others home, ey? There's no point in listening to then moan for another hour when Evie could actually enjoy herself. Or you can take them back and I'll stick with Evie, if you like," Fletch suggested, turning slightly as though the kids might not hear the discussion.
"I'll take Evie and you take the rest, as long as you're sure you can manage on your own, I can take Emma with us if you like." Jac offered, turning her attention back to a patiently waiting Evie.
"Nah, she's fine. Aren't you, little madam!" Fletch swept up Emma and gathered all of the kids together. "I'll see you in a bit then, text me when you get off the tube."
They parted with a nonchalant peck and each headed for the door, walking in different directions down the street.
"Do you really care about all this stuff? Or are you just trying to make your Dad believe that you're serious about medicine?" Jac asked, mostly out of curiosity.
"Of course, I care," Evie replied indignantly, frowing slightly at the suggestion that she would act falsely. "Dad would let me study medicine if I decided the day before university applications went out. I've never met anybody more supportive, I don't need to lie for him to believe in me."
"I was only asking," Jac defended, rolling her eyes. "So, speaking of university, have you started thinking yet?"
Evie nodded shyly, watching her feet as they walked down the street. There wasn't an inkling of timidity in the girl and alas, quiet as a mouse.
"Maybe Queen Mary's, or UCL. I don't want to go too far from home and Oxford or Cambridge seems like it's aiming too high. I have time, I don't even have to make my GCSE decisions until next month," Evie admitted shyly, and Jac couldn't for the life of her figure out why she was being so quiet. "Who even knows if I have to think about university, if I fail all my GCSEs then I don't have to worry, and I can just become a HCA or something."
"Evie Fletcher, no student of mine will ever become a HCA. Over my dead body! You are going to do brilliantly and you're going to breeze through, then in eleven years, you're going to walk into Holby on your first day as an F1 and I will be there to work you to the bone every day until you're up to scratch. At which point I can finally retire and leave Darwin in your capable hands, yes?"
The teen swallowed thickly and nodded, pleased to see that they had arrived at the tube station and she had an excuse to change the subject.
Things between them relaxed after that. Evie asked all sorts of questions, and Jac answered them all with a smile. Despite the fact that it was a Sunday and she had expected things to be rather quiet, Jac still managed to bump in to somebody she recognised; Mr Winston Richley, one of the biggest names in cardiothoracic surgery and he just so happened to be in the same place as her.
He greeted her and the two shared a brief conversation, though Jac used Evie as an excuse to cut it short, saying that they ought to be heading home.
"Who was that? You didn't seem to like him very much," Evie pondered as they made their way back towards the tube station.
"The man who makes the world go round. He practically pays my wages, and he's not my biggest fan ever since I declined his offer to transfer to co-lead his ward at LBH," Jac explained, flicking her head around as she checked for traffic before crossing the road.
It was starting to get dark by the time they got back to the hotel and Evie was starving. Fletch corralled everybody downstairs to the restaurant and they ate eagerly, all rather exhausted by the long day they had just had.
Tomorrow, it was back to Holby, back to normality, back to work and school.
