It had been a hard decision to leave the south of France for remote northern Scotland, but once she had gotten her feet back beneath her, she had found no pleasure in the constant sun, as if the cheerfulness that was usually associated with the sunlight was hindering her recovery, adding a falseness to her life that she knew she needed to excise if she was to truly recover from losing so much in her life.

Ullapool had been exactly what she had needed, she had felt it from the moment she had pulled into the drive of the home she was renting. There was something so peaceful about being on the edge of the ocean, hearing the waves pound against the shore, reminding her that there was a great and terrible beauty to life, and that that was what made it worth living. And while her neighbors knew that she was a doctor, and had started coming to her with little issues they had, she had shied away from allowing herself to be sucked back into that high paced environment right away, content to fill in at the local clinic when she was needed.

And so it happened that it was August, and Serena felt much more centered and grounded, though still no closer to being ready to return to Holby and the ghosts of her past that threatened to overwhelm her at the most inopportune times. There seemed to be a change in the air, though, and Serena just couldn't put her finger on what was about to happen.

Stepping out onto her porch, Serena breathed in the air, almost smelling the storm that was brewing out on the water. Picking up her tea, she took a seat in the wicker chair that she'd purchased in a charity shop in Ullapool and watched the horizon as the storm began to roll in. "I wish you were here, Bernie, but I understand," she whispered as she took a picture of the clouds with her phone before texting it to her partner.

Putting the phone away, Serena watched the sky until she finished her tea and then went inside, the wind just starting to really pick up. Shuddering a little as the suddenly too cool wind whipped around her body, she prayed that it wouldn't be too bad of a storm, as she hadn't bought adequate supplies if she was cut off from town for anything longer than a day or two. Though she did have three bottles of Shiraz to tide her over through the worst of it.

Looks like a real humdinger of a storm coming your way, Serena. Stay safe up there!

Serena smiled as she read the text from her partner and sent a quick text back before plugging her phone into the charger and pulling out the open bottle of Shiraz. Pouring herself a generous glass, she padded into the living room and started a fire in the fireplace before curling up on the sofa and pulling a blanket around her legs as she watched the storm roll in. The wind was the worst of it, at the beginning, and she shivered again as the sounds of the wind cut through to the marrow of her being. The lights flickered on and off, and for the first time she wondered if they would lose power completely. The weather report hadn't sounded like the storm was going to be particularly bad, but that didn't seem to be the case as the sky darkened to black in a matter of minutes.

The whistling of the wind was dreadful, though, keying up Serena's nerves, and she reached out for a book on her coffee table, deciding to try and concentrate on something other than what was going on outside her storm. She only had to force herself to focus for the first three pages, and then she was lost in the story, eagerly reading until the power went out completely, plunging her into utter darkness. "Well, that's just great," she muttered as she dogeared her page and tossed the book onto the coffee table once more.

Getting up off the sofa, she carefully padded into the kitchen and set her wine glass in the sink, knowing that she'd have to wash it out once the power was back on. Sighing a little, Serena listened to the rain pelt against the window, sounding almost like ice, and another shiver went through her. Knowing there was no point in standing there, she traipsed back to the living room and curled up on the sofa once more, keeping her eyes trained outside.

Serena hummed lowly beneath her breath as she tried not to allow herself become spooked by the ever increasing strength of the storm. Her phone ringing caught her attention, and she shook her head free from her thoughts as she got up and made her way into the kitchen once more, pulling it off the useless charger as she answered. "Hello, Jason."

"Auntie Serena! Auntie Bernie said that you were in the middle of a terrific storm, and I wanted to call and make certain that you were okay."

Though he said his words matter of factly, Serena thought she could detect a faint note of worry in his voice, and her heart melted a bit to know that he was concerned for her. "I'm fine, for the moment, though the sky is putting on quite the show for me at the moment. I think that you can almost hear the rain, if I get close enough to the windows." She walked over to the window and held the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she opened it, hoping to allow Jason a better chance to hear what she was seeing. "Here, listen," she said as she held the phone out the window.

Faintly, in the distance, she thought she heard the sound of a baby crying, which was ridiculous, since Serena knew that neither of her neighbors had young children, let alone a baby. Frowning, she pulled the phone back inside and put it up to her ear once more. "I hope that you're seeking appropriate shelter, then, Auntie Serena. It sounds positively nasty out," he said as she drew in a few shallow breaths.

"I think that I'm going to bring a blanket and pillow into the bathroom with me while I ride out the rest of the storm. But I should probably let you go, my phone only charged to seventy percent before I lost power here. Tell Bernie that I'll be fine, and will call you both once this is over, all right?"

"Yes," he replied as she made her way upstairs to the bedroom. "Stay safe out there."

"I will, Jason. I love you."

"Love you, too."

They hung up, and Serena slipped the phone in her pocket before pulling the quilt off her bed and then grabbing both pillows before making her way to the bathroom, dumping everything into the tub before climbing in and curling up as best she could. Though she hadn't wanted to alarm Jason, she was a little worried about how strong this storm was, as it had been a long time since she had faced a storm this strong, and she knew that she had to take every precaution to remain safe. Even if she did feel like a right numpty for being so cautious. And there was the small issue about the baby crying out in the storm. She had no idea what to make of that, since it had sounding too real to be a hallucination. Shaking her head a little, she rested her head on the pillows and tried to tell herself that what she had heard wasn't real, and that everything would be all right.