It had to be you, it had to be you.
I wandered around and finally found the somebody who

Could make me be true, could make me feel blue,
And even be glad just to be sad thinkin' of you.

Some others I've seen might never be mean
Might never be cross or try to be boss,
But they wouldn't do.

For nobody else gave me a thrill.
With all your faults, I love you still,

It had to be you, wonderful you,
It had to be you.

(Songwriters: Quincy D Jones)

Jac waited impatiently in Pulses for her morning latte. The heart-shaped balloons and red streamers did nothing to improve her mood. Jonny had Emma for the week and she was missing her. She had hoped for a card in the post that morning, written in Emma's untidy scrawl, but there was nothing but a speeding fine for driving four miles an hour over the limit.

She sensed a presence beside her, and a familiar deep voice asking for his usual double espresso.

"Good morning, Ms. Naylor."

She didn't look his way. "Mr. Hanssen."

"Are you ready for this morning's meeting?"

She did look at him then, alarmed. "What meeting? I have two electives this morning."

"Ms. Effanga is standing in. You're needed to attend our new monthly Health & Safety directive. I trust you received the memorandum?"

She opened her mouth to say no, she had not, when she remembered. Oh yes, that memo. The one she had impatiently deleted thinking it was nothing to do with her.

"Surely my time is better spent seeing to my patients on Darwin, rather than sitting through a lot of waffle about using the right toilet paper."

Hanssen took his espresso. "I think if I can give up two hours of my valuable time, you can too. See you in five minutes."

Jac snatched her latte from the counter and stomped off to the lift. Great. The last thing she needed was to sit at a Boardroom table, trying to avoid the furtive glances Hanssen had been shooting her way since the beginning of January. She had made it clear their night together was a one-off, but somehow that message seemed to have been lost in transit.

He was very careful at work, but she had noticed he seemed to be around more than a CEO normally would be on Darwin. And there was the meeting. She had never been summonsed to attend such a pointless exercise before Christmas. Since then it seemed she was required almost every week for something. If it wasn't Health and Safety, it was Human Resources issues, Staffing issues, all the things Fletch usually did, not a senior consultant.

Her phone buzzed with a text. Wrestling from her bag, she looked at it and rolled her eyes.

Happy Valentine's Day x

The number was unlisted, but she knew. The Holby CEO was in the midst of a schoolboy crush and no mistake. She typed back.

Whoever you are, fuck off.

If there were repercussions, she could easily claim she didn't know who the text was from. It was hardly a sackable offence.

She reached her office. Mo was waiting for her. She grinned when she saw Jac's face.

"Hanssen's told you then. Enjoy talking about hand gel procedures."

"It isn't funny, Mo. This is getting out of hand. I had two electives this morning."

"And they're doubly lucky because now I'm doing them." Mo laughed richly. "Oh, you should check out your office before you go. Someone's got a secret admirer!"

Jac pushed past her and went into her office. "What the hell?"

A bunch of two dozen red roses sat on her desk, together with a box of her favourite Charbonnel & Walker chocolates truffles.

Another text pinged on her phone.

Omnia vincit amor; et nos cedamus amori xx

"Oh, this is bad," she muttered to herself. Any hope that it might be Fletch fizzled away. The man didn't know one scrap of Latin, and there was only one other person that did.

Mo was in the doorway, watching her.

"What is it?" She snatched the phone. "What does it mean?"

"Love conquers all things; let us too, surrender to love.'" Jac translated for her.

"Ah, how sweet. So who are they, and why didn't I know about this before now?"

"Because "they" are nothing and it's none of your business."

Mo leaned on the desk. "You know who it is?"

Jac heaved a sigh. "I don't know and I don't care." She hung up her coat and pushed the bouquet of roses into Mo's arms. "Get rid of these. They're giving me hay fever."

"Don't you mean 'luurrve fever?" Mo chuckled as she went out.

Jac went out of the office and snapped her fingers at Cameron and Nicky, who were lurking by the nurses station.

"Foetleroy, come with me." They scurried after her, nodding like eager dogs as she explained how they were needed in theatre with Miss Effanga, and she didn't want them to let her down. That afternoon she would choose who would assist her in a tricky heart by-pass operation. They both wanted in, but only one of them would get to do it. She had yet to decide who but her money was on Nicky. She just wished the young doctor had more backbone and didn't try to be nice all the time. It didn't do her any favours.

Her pager beeped. It was Hanssen, saying they were waiting for her in the Boardroom.

"Shit," she muttered again under her breath.

On the way down, it occurred to her she hadn't seen Fletch yet. She didn't want to admit to herself that she was disappointed. When Fletch was around, everything seemed better somehow.

Everyone looked up as she walked into the Boardroom. Hanssen pointedly looked at his watch.

"I had a patient emergency," Jac said, taking her place next to Hanssen. She wondered whether he had placed her there on purpose. If his foot came anywhere near hers she was going to damned well stomp on it.

Two hours later, the meeting was finally done. Her feet remained unmolested but she was aware of Hanssen glancing her way from time to time. A few well-placed yawns let everyone know she didn't want to be there, but despite that, she suffered like everyone else.

The next text came a few moments later, as she was walking up the stairs.

Be mine, Valentine? xxx

She immediately texted back.

Nope.

"Anything wrong, Ms. Naylor?" Hanssen was striding up the stairs towards her.

She smiled tightly at him. "Everything is fine and dandy, thank you." She shot off through the doors before he could reply.

She found Mo, grabbed her arm and steered her towards her office.

"Mrs. Edwards is fine. All went smoothly. Mr. Hardy had a bleed but he's stable. What's up?"

Jac closed the door. "Hypothetical question. What would you do if someone you really didn't fancy started sending you cryptic messages anonymously?"

Mo nodded. "Messages like, let's surrender to love. That kind of thing? Who is it?"

"I can't say."

"So it's Hanssen."

Jac opened her mouth and closed it again. "How...?"

"Come on, Jac. Everyone knows you slept with him on New Year's Eve. He isn't called Five Times A Night for nothing. You think he might have a little bit of a crush now? You must have made a real impression on him, tiger woman. Still, if anyone can handle him, you can..."

"You think this is funny?"

Mo shrugged. "It's kind of sweet, really."

Jac glared at her. "Roses? Notes in Latin? "Be mine, Valentine? Pass me a sick bag..." Her phone buzzed.

Meet me in the basement at 5pm xxx

Mo looked at her expectantly.

"He wants me to meet him. I don't have time for this." She texted back.

Henrik, I know this is you. You're being inappropriate and I'm not interested. I never have been and never will be.

She paused, then added, my heart belongs to Fletch.

Seeing it written down, she knew it was true. There wasn't anyone else for her and there never would be. Taking a deep breath, she pressed Send.

"Why don't you tell Fletch how you feel?" Mo said. "Today is the perfect day to do it."

"Look at me, Mo. Is the visage of a woman who sends lovelorn messages? The answer to that is no, just in case you have any doubts."

"The lady doth protest too much," Mo grinned. "I wouldn't leave it too long. Someone else will snatch him up and you'll have to make do with Five Times A Night."

"I won't have to "make do" with anyone! I'm fine on my own. I like being on my own."

"Sure you do." Mo smiled at her as she left the room.

For the rest of the day, no more messages were forthcoming. She didn't see Hanssen, which was a relief, and the surgery went smoothly, Nicky showing mettle under pressure. As 5pm approached, she was looking forward to a quiet evening in front of Netflix, watching anything but romantic films.

Actually, that was a lie. She wasn't looking forward to it. Everyone else seemed to be loved up, enjoying intimate meals or fucking like bunnies.

Maybe she had been stupid to turn Hanssen down. It wasn't as if Fletch had bothered to contact her in any way. He was the second person to have let her down that day. First Jonny, for not thinking to send a message from Emma, and now Fletch, who hadn't been seen all day. So much for "we could be so good together." She wished she could move on as quickly as he seemed to be able to do.

No, no, no. She smartly pulled herself together, and told herself she wasn't pining for Fletch. If only he could show some courage again like he had before, but he was so careful around her now, not wanting to let his feelings for her show and put her under pressure. Now, when she really wanted to be with him, he wasn't there.

Halfway to the car, her phone buzzed. Another goddamned text.

I've had enough of your bullshit. Get down here, woman, or I swear to God I will drag you here kicking and screaming. Your Valentine xxx

She laughed at that. "Seriously?" She said out loud.

However, the tone of the text intrigued her. And the language. "Get down here, woman!" She liked that Neanderthal thing sometimes, and right then, she liked it a lot. It didn't sound like Hanssen, though. If she didn't know any better, it sounded like...

There was only one way to find out.

"Fuck it." She turned back towards the hospital.

The basement was very dark. The door into John Gaskell's lab was sealed off, but she shuddered as she walked past it, remembering the horrors that had happened there. It wasn't her idea of an ideal destination for a romantic tryst.

Somewhere ahead, music was playing. She recognised an old song. It Had To Be You, sung by Harry Connick Jr. It seemed to be coming from one of the side rooms ahead. Lured by the sound, she walked towards it.

When she was almost there, the light clicked off, plunging her into darkness.

"Very funny!" She called. "Turn this light on, Henrik."

Silence. She began to feel creeped out. Fumbling for her phone to light her way, she felt a presence behind her. As she opened her mouth to scream, a hand clamped around it, holding her tight.

She fought with elbows, teeth and nails, squealing behind the hand covering her mouth. As she struggled, the arms around her tightened.

"Oy, pack it in. PACK IT IN!"

She was dragged into the room and thrown on something soft and cushiony.

"Sit and stay!" Her assailant commanded.

A light clicked on as she sat up and looked around her. The room was strung with pink fairy lights. Fletch stood over, looking exasperated.

"Why is everything so complicated with you?"

"I was scared shitless!"

"So was I! I thought you were going to bite my bleeding hand off!"

She had landed on some kind of mattress covered with a duvet. There were rose petals scattered on the coverlet, and champagne in an ice bucket with glasses. The music was soft in the background. Instantly, everything that had happened that day clicked into place.

"It was you? All those texts and the roses and chocolates and the Latin and..."

"Yeah. I might have known ..."

"What?"

"That you wouldn't be interested. But then you sent that last text. Did you mean what you said? That your heart belongs to me?"

Instantly, all her defences went up. "I was trying to convey I wasn't interested in him."

"You conveyed that pretty well without adding the last bit."

"I didn't think you were interested in me," she countered. "You haven't acted like you are. I thought you were over the whole "us" thing."

Fletch sat on the floor beside her. "You know that thing at school where a boy really fancies a girl so he goes out of his way to avoid her or, he's a real pain and annoys her all the time, just to get attention?"

"Is that what you've been doing?"

He shrugged awkwardly. "Yeah. But..."

"We're not kids, Fletch. Why couldn't you just come out and say it?"

"Last time I tried we decided it wasn't going to work, didn't we?"

She thought for a moment, remembering. "I'm not sure we really tried hard enough, to be fair. But why here? Why this? It's lovely. It really is but..."

"I didn't think you would want us to be seen out together. I thought if I did this, you might ... you know, consider me."

"Consider you?" She tried not to laugh. "Fletch, you're the most wonderful man and I don't deserve you. I'm a horrible cow and you need someone better than that."

"Oh, so now you're an expert on what I need?"

"You don't need me," she said sadly.

They were silent for a while. Then Fletch spoke.

"Nah, you're right. I don't need you. And you can be a moody cow. I'd be bloody mad to be with you."

"Thanks a lot." Stupidly, she felt like crying, even though she knew he was telling the truth.

"You're miserable, difficult, high maintenance. And I'd have Hanssen looking daggers at me all the time. My kids, God, can you imagine if I brought you home? You know they call you Jacula, right? They'd be..."

"Don't rub it in! You'd made your point so..."

Her words were stifled by his lips on hers. Her arms twined around his neck and they fell back on the makeshift bed, still locked in a deep kiss. When they pulled apart, she was breathless.

"I know what I need, and what I want. And what I want is you," Fletch said. "It has to be you. No one else for me."

"But..."

"We'll face everything together from now on. No hiding, no shame, no embarrassment. A united front. Got it?" He kissed the tears away from her eyes. "You're not on your own, Jac Naylor. If you want me, you can have me."

She sniffed, her brave face in place. "Don't you want to start with coffee first? Maybe a meal. I never usually put out until the third date."

He opened his mouth and shut it again, obviously at a loss as to what to say.

"Or we could stop wasting time and go back to mine," she continued. "It's cold down here and I can feel Gaskell's ghost watching us."

Fletch shuddered. "Yeah, you're right. You wanna go?"

"Back to mine."

"Absolutely." He pulled her to her feet and grabbed the champagne bottle. They left the room and walked hand in hand to the elevator.

"You fancy Chinese takeaway?" She asked.

"Why not? It's got to include sweet and sour chicken though."

"I hoped you'd say that."

"And we could watch a daft romantic comedy on Netflix. Something like Sleepless in Seattle or Roxanne," he suggested.

"I have Roxanne on DVD," she said. "And Splash. You know, Tom Hanks and a mermaid?"

He laughed. "Yeah. 'I'm not a fish!' Brilliant movie. Let's do it." He slung his arm around her neck and kissed her cheek.

The elevator door opened. Now they could see each other properly, they shared a smile before moving in for a kiss. They were still kissing as the elevator door opened on the ground floor. A soft cough made them break self-consciously apart.

Hanssen stood there, watching them. He smiled wryly. "Have a good night," he said, and turned smartly away.

"Poor Henrik," Jac commented.

"Poor Henrik nothing. Rumour has it he's romantically involved with a dominatrix.* Can you believe it?"

"No!" Jac stared after Hanssen's retreating back. The man definitely seemed to have a spring in his step. She had obviously been imagining his so-called feelings for her. She was happy for him, if it worked out.

"Come on. Tonight it's you and me, sweet and sour chicken, Tom Hanks and then..."

"My Tempur memory-foam mattress." Jac turned to him again. "This is us. This is real."

And she sealed their love with a kiss.

THE END

*Elements Of Control, where Henrik meets and falls for Lady Gabrielle, who initiates him into a world of pain and pleasure. Find it on AO3.