A/N: Hey guys, so here is the sequel to 'Stockholm Calling', third instalment of 'Friday Nights Required'! I had begun this a few weeks ago but wanted to make sure the opening scene was perfect as it inevitably will set up the tone for the rest of the piece.

Please please do review, let me know what you're thoughts and feelings are on the chapter and I will endeavour to update as soon as I get the chance!

I really hope you all enjoy, here we go again! :)

Chapter 1

Six Months Later

Groaning as the alarm began to blare, a rather uncoordinated arm appeared from under the duvet, flailing around until it came into contact with the offending object, effectively smacking it into silence. Hanssen rolled onto his back and slowly opened his eyes, reaching out to flick on the bedside lamp. Blinking at the blinding light, he swung his legs out of the bed, feeling the soft carpet beneath his feet and rubbed his eyes before forcing himself to stand up and head to the en-suite. The house was fairly cold, the heating not due to kick in for another hour and he shivered as he quickly washed and dressed. Downstairs, he made breakfast as he listened to the radio, which was giving its' daily traffic update. For a change, it appeared there were no incidents to report, giving Hanssen some hope for the day ahead. Devouring his toast and draining his coffee, he looked up at the clock and headed for the stairs. Pausing on the landing, he tapped lightly on the door, listening for any sounds of movement.

"Eleanor?" he said loudly as he knocked again. He heard a muffled reply and opened the door a crack, his eyes finding the teenager cocooned in her duvet and out for the count. "Eleanor, time to get up." he said gently as he crossed the room and turned on the bedside lamp, depositing the mug of tea he'd made on the small table. Her eyes opened and she smiled sleepily, pushing herself up in the bed while yawning widely.

"Thanks." Hanssen nodded and made his way towards the door.

"I should be finished by 6pm tonight...do you want to cook together when I get in?" She smiled and nodded eagerly. Smiling in return, Hanssen said goodbye and headed back downstairs, gathering his bag and coat before heading out the door.

Pulling into his parking space, Hanssen couldn't help but feel a little sadness at the empty Deputy's space beside his. Sighing and telling himself to get on with it, he exited the car and headed across the wet, deserted car park and into the Hospital. Winter had arrived with a vengeance and the days were getting much shorter, allowing hardly any daylight at all. It was the time of year where many people found their spirits and moods dipping in reaction to the gloom surrounding them.

"Good morning." Elliot beamed as he stood clutching a coffee for warmth, awaiting the lift.

"Good morning Professor Hope, I trust all is well with our patient Mrs Dunmeyer?" Elliot nodded eagerly and the pair stepped into the lift.

"Yes, the Hertzig is working at full capacity, Mrs Dunmeyer herself says she hasn't felt this good in years. Obviously we will keep her closely monitored, but I'm feeling confident!" Hanssen nodded at Elliot's obvious excitement.

"Good. Any change do let me know." He swept from the lift and headed to his office. Closing the door heavily behind him, he crossed the room and placed his briefcase on the desk beside the only photo in the room, of himself and Serena at a party during the summer. Staring at the picture for a moment, he found himself smiling back at their happy faces. He would be the first to admit that he very rarely socialised or had his photo taken...smiling no less...but since falling in love with Serena, he had definitely changed. She brought out the side of him that he hadn't known existed...the happy side. Sighing, he hung up his coat and checked his messages. Removing last night's paperwork from his briefcase, he moved over to the filing cabinet and sorted it into its' proper places before the phone rang, causing his heart to skip a beat. Crossing the room swiftly he picked up the receiver. "Henrik Hanssen?" He listened to the voice on the other end and nodded to himself. "Right Mr Spence, I shall be with you momentarily." Replacing the receiver, he glanced quickly at the photograph and shook his head as he left the office.

Pulling up outside the house, Hanssen turned off the engine and reached into the passenger foot-well for the groceries. He paused for a moment, taking a breath to clear his head after a busy day and became Henrik, not Mr Hanssen. Exiting the car, laden with bags, he locked it and made his way to the house. Stepping into the hallway, the heat washed over him and he let out a small shiver. Closing the door behind him he moved into the kitchen, depositing the bags and calling for Eleanor. Appearing from the living room, she looked through the bags and tried to guess what they were going to be making.

"Lasagne?" she asked, turning to face him and he smiled, nodding. "Cool." She began to remove the groceries from the bag whilst Hanssen checked his phone for what felt like the 100th time that day...still no messages. Sighing as he placed it on the counter, he shrugged out of his suit jacket and began to heat up the oven. Cooking with Eleanor was always fun and they'd done so almost every night for the past week or so. Her knowledge of cooking was already fairly extensive but was growing even more with each meal they prepared. Working harmoniously side by side, they listened to the radio and Hanssen asked about her day, listening to her account of someone's awful break-up. Nodding along and making the correct sounds in the correct places, the time passed quickly and soon the lasagne was ready for the oven.

"While that's cooking, how about we tidy the living room?" He knew there was quite a mess in there as Eleanor had had friends over last night and he hadn't had the energy to tidy it once they'd left. Rolling her eyes, in a way which resembled her mother, she led the way into the other room and they began to clear up the used crockery, discarded sweets wrappers and jumbled DVD's. They sat down to dinner and were both impressed with what they had created. They discussed what they were going to do that weekend as Hanssen's phone began to ring. Looking at the caller ID, his heart skipped a beat as he looked up at Eleanor's knowing gaze. "I'll be right back." he said, getting up from the table and heading for the kitchen. Once he'd closed the door behind him, he answered the call and couldn't help but smile broadly.

"Let's get FBC's U's & E's and an LFT please nurse Carter." ordered Hanssen as he handed her the patient file and made his way across AAU and to Michael Spence. "There was a patient you wanted me to see?" Michael nodded and glanced across the ward to the far bed containing an elderly woman clutching tightly to a string of Rosary Beads. Nodding in understanding, Hanssen made his way over to her, stopping at the end of the bed as she looked up at him and smiled.

"You've come to persuade me to have the surgery?" she asked knowingly as Hanssen stood up straighter and nodded.

"You are very ill Ms Wilson, surgery is necessary for your recovery." She continued to stare at him and narrowed her eyes slightly.

"You have no Faith, do you?" Hanssen paused but shook his head.

"No I do not. I believe in medicine." She chuckled and flinched slightly.

"Well I believe everything happens for a reason. If this is my time, then I accept that."

"How long have you known about the Cancer?" Hanssen asked, moving to the side of the bed as Ms Wilson pushed herself up against the pillows.

"Quite a while. I think of it as a purge. I must have done something awful...sinned...and now my body and soul is being purged of wickedness. If the Lord has seen fit to give me this disease, what right have I to disagree?" Realising that sadly, he wasn't going to change her mind right now, he nodded stiffly.

"I would advise you to have the surgery, but ultimately it's your choice." He bowed his head slightly and returned to Michael Spence.

"I suggest you transfer her to Oncology...they will be better equipped to deal with her state of mind than we are." Nodding, Michael picked up the phone as Hanssen threw her one more glance before turning to leave the ward as a stretcher burst onto the ward, heading straight for him.

"Mr Hanssen!" Shouted Sacha as he spotted the CEO who was already removing his suit jacket and rolling up his sleeves.

"What do we have?" he asked as he looked down at the young boy on the stretcher.

"This is Jason Simms, out playing on his bike when he was hit by a van. Has been unconscious since the incident, possible spinal injuries." Hanssen nodded as he gazed down at the young boy and felt dread building inside him. Right, get him hooked up and then book a full body CT." Sacha began carrying out Hanssen's orders as he listened to the boy's chest.

"Chest's clear." Moving his hands to the abdomen, he began to feel around and frowned. "Abdomen's distended...internal bleeding." he stated. "Get him to Theatre please!" Jason was wheeled towards the Theatre as Hanssen and Sacha followed, scrubbing in.

Sitting in the hospital gardens, sipping his coffee, Hanssen stared off into the distance, feeling the chill wrap around him and seep through to his very bones. The wind was picking up slightly and was adding to the chill, but he barely noticed. In a few minutes, he would have to go into the Hospital and tell a young boy's parents that it was very unlikely their child would ever walk again. In the accident which had knocked him from his bike, he had suffered a serious injury to his spine in the T1-T5 region, causing paralysis in the lower part of his body. Hanssen exhaled as he thought about how life could be incredibly cruel. In a matter of mere minutes everything could change and would affect someone for the rest of their lives. He looked up as he heard someone cough to his right and he spotted Jac Naylor heading towards him, looking slightly 'fuller' than usual. He smirked to himself, having learned a few weeks ago that she was in fact, pregnant.

"Miss Naylor." he greeted as she took a seat beside him and shivered.

"Why can't you sit inside like normal people? It's freezing out here!" she complained, rubbing her hands together.

"I came out here because I doubted whether anyone would follow me." he said, looking pointedly at her.

"Point taken. So come on, what's going on?" she asked, looking worriedly at him. He kept his gaze ahead as he recounted the days' events up until the moment she had joined him. "Ah I see. Have you not thought about transferring him to a specialist unit?" she asked as Hanssen nodded.

"Of course, but there would be cost involved." Nodding in understanding, she sighed and patted his leg gently.

"Better get on with it then...putting it off won't make it any easier." she stated as she stood up and held out her hand to him. Smiling, he took it and got to his feet.

"I don't believe I've congratulated you yet." he said suddenly, causing her to turn sharply to face him. She groaned at the smile on his face and rolled her eyes.

"Bloody Maconie, I'll kill him." Hanssen chuckled as they began to walk side by side.

"As interesting as that would be to watch, I'm afraid it was simply my observational skills which brought me to such a conclusion." he smiled, his eyes flicking to her stomach. "Well, that and the fact Serena told me." Jac smiled as she held a hand to her abdomen.

"She was the first person to notice, claimed my backside had dropped...eyes like a hawk!" They both laughed as they returned to the building and went their separate ways. Hanssen stood outside the side room on AAU and took a deep breath before entering and being nothing but Henrik Hanssen, CEO, medical professional.

Sighing as he checked his watch, Hanssen realised he wasn't going to get home for another few hours yet, too late to begin to cook anything. He reached for his phone and dialled the house number, Eleanor picking up the phone on the 4th ring.

"Hello?"

"Eleanor, it's me. I'm not going to make it home for some time yet, so why don't you go ahead and eat something then I'll eat later?"

"Okay...shhh...no problem!" Hanssen frowned, he was sure he had heard another voice in the background.

"Is anyone there with you?" he asked as she chuckled.

"No, the TV's on. I'll see you later." After she'd hung up, Hanssen stared at the receiver for a moment before putting it down. Sighing heavily, he turned back to his laptop and continued working.

Exhaling and leaning back in his chair, stretching, Hanssen looked up at the clock and saw the time...8pm. It wasn't as late as he'd originally thought it would be and he smiled lightly. Shutting down his laptop and packing away his work he made his way from his office and down to the car. Placing his briefcase in the boot, he climbed into the driver's seat and turned on the ignition. The drive home was fairly quiet traffic-wise and he made good time. Reaching the house, he pulled up beside Serena's car and turned off the engine. Staring over at the car beside his, he smiled sadly and climbed out of the car. Fetching his briefcase from the boot and making his way to the front door, he was surprised when it opened by itself and his breath caught in his throat.

"What time do you call this!?" she smirked. Hanssen stood still, frozen in place as the shock slowly subsided and was replaced by confusion.

"You're not due back until Friday!" he exclaimed as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, it's wonderful to see you too." she joked as he dropped his briefcase and held open his arms, stepping towards her. Laughing as she stepped into his embrace, she kissed him deeply and raised a hand to his cheek. "I missed you." she whispered as he held her tightly and kissed her again.

"I missed you more." he replied, breathing in her scent. She stepped back and picked up his briefcase, leading him into the house.