"Engine been growling or whining?"

Serena looked up to see a lanky blonde woman approaching her, cigarette dangling lazily at the corner of her mouth. She tried to find the words to reply, but it seemed like all rational thought had fled her mind as the woman stopped next to her. "Funny, you don't look like a mechanic," she quipped, kicking herself for the inane reply to her query.

"You sort of pick up a few things over the years. Though you are right, I'm not a mechanic. I'm the new surgeon here at Holby."

"Ah, then you must be Berenice Wolfe! It is so nice to finally put a face with the name," Serena said as she held out her hand expectantly. The moment their skin touched, Serena felt a frisson of electricity run down her spine, and a warm, almost burning, sensation spread across her lower torso, right above her hip. She gazed at Berenice's face to see if she had felt the same sensation, but there was no clear indication that she had, and Serena schooled her features so as to not draw more attention to herself.

"Please, call me Bernie."

"All right, Bernie." As she watched, Bernie took a look under her hood. "So, do you have any idea what's wrong?"

"It looks like your alternator might be cactus, you'll need to get it into a shop to know more. I mean, there are a few things that you could try to get her running again, but…"

"You don't have time to help me further. I understand, I'm trying to get to my daughter's play, actually, so I know about being pressed for time. But it was so good to meet you!"

They shared a smile before Bernie turned and made her way into the hospital. Serena couldn't help but watch her go, taking in the slight limp she had, and the assured way she walked. There was something intensely magnetic about the woman, and Serena wondered what it was that drew her attention. Rubbing her hip absently, she turned her attention back to her vehicle, her thoughts turning back to the notion of fixing things for herself. After all, she was good with her hands, otherwise she wouldn't be a surgeon.

Thirty minutes later, Serena was admitting defeat and stumbling back inside the hospital and making her way up to her office. There were black oil smudges all over her face and hands, and as she collapsed into her chair, she hesitated before picking up her phone, not wanting to get another thing dirty. Still she was tired, and so she carefully folded her arms and rested her head on them for a few moments, trying to will away some of the frustration she was feeling.

Finally, she knew that she had to wash up, and Serena stood, making her way over to the bathroom. It didn't take too much scrubbing to get the oil off her hands, and then she was delicately washing her face, not wanting to make her skin too red and irritated. It was only when she was clean once more that she thought about the strange burning sensation from earlier, and Serena tugged her blouse out of her pants, lifting it up as she tried to see what had caused the feeling.

A soft gasp slipped from her lips as she took in a patch of red skin. Running her fingers along it, she could feel that it was raised a little, an evident pattern there, one that she couldn't quite make out. Standing on her tiptoes, she tried to get a better look at it in the mirror, but it was to no avail, it would have to wait until she got home. Lowering her shirt, she smoothed her shirt back down across her torso and then shoved her hand through her hair, trying to give it some semblance of order.

Not really looking where she was going, she managed to run into Fletch, and she gave him a sheepish smile as he steadied her. "Whoa there, Ms Campbell."

"Sorry, Fletch. I guess I should pay a little more attention. I was just distracted by…" She gestured to her hip before shrugging a little. "I don't remember scraping my hip against anything, but there's a definite patch of irritation there."

"Do you want me to take a look?"

"Would you?"

He nodded and led her over to the private exam room. Taking a seat on the bed, Serena lifted the hem of her blouse once more, letting Fletch probe it with gentle fingers. As she watched, a knowing smile curved his lips upwards as he pulled his hand back and stripped off the gloves. "I always knew that Edward wasn't your soulmate."

"Excuse me?"

"That patch on your torso. It's your soulmate's words to you. I take it you met someone new today?"

Serena swallowed thickly as she shrugged, wanting to put a buffer between Fletch and herself in that moment. "Do you have your words?" He nodded. "Where are yours?"

"On my left bicep. Do you want to see?"

"Okay."

He gave her another smile before rolling up the sleeve of his scrub top. "See, mine are written in dark green here. Yours will develop colour in the next few days, and soon you'll be able to see what they are. Has no one in your life ever had the words before?"

"My mum did, but she didn't like to talk about them, since my father died so young. Do you know who your soulmate is?"

"Yeah, I know who he is. But he's given me no indication that he knows I am his soulmate. And I'm not going to rock that particular boat just yet. I'd rather remain his friend right now."

Serena nodded, her mind spinning a little as to who Fletch could possibly be referring to. He touched the side of his nose, and she knew that she had been caught out, a guilty flush spreading across her face as she looked down at the floor. "I have a curious mind, Fletch, of course I want to know. I'll try to keep my prying ways away from you."

"That's okay, Ms Campbell, I know that it's something people usually like talking about. And I would, but for wanting to keep things quiet for the time being. Just like you don't want to reveal to me who your soulmate is. Let me guess, he doesn't measure up to your standards?" He had an obvious teasing tone in his voice, and so she felt comfortable enough to shake her head. "Then what?"

"They just weren't what I expected. But if I do wrap my mind around this, if I become accustomed to this situation, you will be the first person I tell." He nodded a little as she slipped off the exam table and smoothed her blouse over her torso. "Now, I have a mechanic to contact, and a cab to book. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sounds like a plan."

They nodded to each other, and Serena slipped past him to head over to her office. This was a fine kettle of fish that she now found herself in, as she thought back to her meeting with Bernie. Though it hadn't been for very long, it had been enough for her to meet her soulmate and to receive the words that would be the last she ever spoke to her.