An Air of Spring

Summary: Set after the end of Series 4, with what I think should have happened next. Drama is at every turn in London, as Juliet and Sam's departure has caused chaos and heartbreak, but life at Hotel Babylon must go on. Follow Emily and the rest of the staff as they continue to work flat out to provide the luxury five star service of the hotel, with more than a few surprises on the way.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hotel Babylon, its characters or its settings. I am merely borrowing them, so that I can give my version of the brilliant story they never managed to finish.

Chapter One

As the taxi pulled away from the entrance to Hotel Babylon, Emily James ran out of the doors just in time to see it turn the corner and vanish into the distance. She was under no illusions as to who were the occupants of the car, given that no guests had checked out of the hotel, nor had there been any visitors that day. That black car had been called to take Sam Franklin away from the hotel, away from her, and there was no doubt in Emily's mind that Juliet was there with him.

Over the few weeks since he had arrived at Hotel Babylon, Sam had become a close friend of the woman's, particularly after her father had had his brush with death in the lift. He had been extremely supportive of her, and had given her plenty of opportunities to prove herself, something that the previous manager, Charlie Edwards, had always seemed reluctant to do. But over time, as she had gotten to know him better and better, the Head of PR had started to realise that he was becoming more than a friend to her, and the previous night's conversation had almost convinced her that he felt the same way.

'He only said it to try and make me feel better after...' her mind told her, though even her own subconscious skimmed over the awful details of what had happened, and what had almost happened, in the staff office. 'He couldn't have really meant what he said to me, about him never noticing that I was beautiful. If he had meant it, then he wouldn't have run off with Juliet without even saying goodbye.'

The day shift had come to an end now, and it was time for the night staff to take over the running of the building until the morning. However, there was still no sign of Emily, something which Tony found to be a little strange. Usually, when the shift ended, the blonde would be the first one out of the doors, heading off to meet one high class friend or another, often securing bookings from them to stay at the hotel in the process, but he had not seen her for over an hour now. It was more than a little strange, so the concierge decided to investigate.

He began his search by questioning a few of the staff over the phone, asking them if any of them had seen Emily. All of them, unfortunately, gave the same basic response, saying that they had not seen the woman since Sam had left, or for some of them even earlier. Unable to think of any other action to take, Tony stepped out of the main doors, hoping that some fresh air would give him an idea as to what he could do next.

The first thing the concierge noticed when he stepped out into the night air was how quiet the surroundings seemed to be. For somewhere that was situated right at the heart of London, the area seemed almost unrealistically quiet. Tony took a moment to relish the quiet, so close to silence, before his mind made a connection between their missing staff member and the quiet sobbing he could hear coming from behind him.

Sure enough, when he turned and looked down at the thin pavement that edged the hotel, he had to take a second glance to be able to identify the shaking figure as Hotel Babylon's Head of PR. While she was usually immaculately dressed, her make-up carefully applied and not a hair out of place, now, she was a mess, with her hair strewn across the wall behind her and her simple dress was rumpled from her sitting on the floor for so long. 'So, she can fall from grace just like the rest of us.' he thought, before he shook his head slightly. 'She looks awful, the poor girl.'

"Emily?" Tony questioned quietly, bending down beside her. Upon hearing the voice of the man, the blonde raised her head sharply, quickly moving to wipe the remnants of her mascara from her face, as if she expected that he would not notice her upset if there was no visual evidence of it. However, the look that her colleague gave her showed very clearly that he saw right through her façade, and so she stopped trying to pretend, instead sinking back against the wall with a heavy sigh.

"I haven't had any events to deal with this shift, so I thought I'd just sit out here for a little while. I'll come back in in a minute." the young woman sighed, her voice catching ever so slightly on the words, though she managed to hide this well, something that did not go over Tony's head. 'Only someone who's had practice hiding their feelings could do it that well.'

"It's the end of the shift, Emily." the concierge told her, drawing a gasp out of the blonde woman. He elaborated further on his short explanation. "You've been out of here for over an hour."

"I didn't realise." Emily told him, the shock in her voice the first break in her monotonous behaviour. Tony opened his mouth to ask the young woman why she had stayed out for so long, as the evening was drawing nearer now, but then he recalled her hasty attempts to disguise the fact that she had been crying, and he thought better of this decision. Instead, he got to his feet, reaching his hand down to his colleague.

"Come on, you. Let's get you inside, and get you cleaned up." Tony instructed gently, helping Emily to her feet. She shook violently, partially to do with the temperature of the winter's air and partially to do with the reason for her tears, but cooperated and walked through the hotel doors with her head held high. Internally, the concierge smirked at this, the slightest hint of the woman who had left the doors earlier that day. 'Even when she looks like a wreck, she still manages to behave like a princess, even if I can see it's just an act.'

Instructing Emily to go and wait in the staff cafeteria for him, the man paused when he reached reception, the expression on his face clearly showing new Head Receptionist Ben what it is he was about to say. As soon as the blonde woman was out of sight, the two men began to make a plan, both with only thing on their mind.

They needed to get their Emily back, before they lost her for good.

A/N: This is my first Hotel Babylon story, but when I saw the last episode, I had to do something, because my imagination was running away with me. Oh, and for Samily fans, don't worry, this is not the end for them! Please review!