Wow, I'm back! Hi guys, I know I've been away for an extraordinarily long time, it's a very long story which involves a rather long trip abroad and someone hacking this account and uploading a story. (I mean seriously, can't you just create your own?!) But it's all been fixed and I can promise this is definitely me! I'm working on an update for Mates, Dates but it's been so long I need to work out how I'm gonna finish it. However, I'm delighted to be back and to celebrate I've got a little cheeky new year's story (okay incredibly long story) of one of my favourite pairings. I was over 30 episodes behind on Holby but my legend mum recorded them all and saved them for me and we've just finished catching up (Hooray!) So delighted it was Serena who dragged our favourite Swede back where he belongs!
I wrote this tonight quickly and so it's a bit OOC for both myself and the characters! Enjoy the story, and it's always a privilege to read any review! Thanks for being amazing and I wish you all an absolutely fantastic and happy new year! xxxxx
"Oh but mum please!" Serena sighed as her daughter's whiny tones came through the phone. She was sat in her car in the hospital car park, parked in her assigned space and beginning to regret her decision to ring her daughter back before she'd gone into the enticing warmth of her office. "You don't understand I might not see him again until next summer as he's going abroad for his gap year. That's like…half a year! Please!"
It was the morning of New Year's Eve and Eleanor was ringing to ask – well, pretend to ask – her mum's permission to go to her boyfriend's party this evening instead of spending it with Serena as planned.
"Fine!" Serena exclaimed, knowing that her daughter would only be in a sulk if she didn't agree which would hardly be an enjoyable way to enter into the new year. "Just ring me when you get there and don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Thanks mum, you're the best!" Her daughter's excited tones made Serena smile despite herself. "And yeah, like that leaves me with any options. Only joking! I promise I'll ring, love you loads!"
Saying goodbye with a final 'be safe!' warning, Serena hung up and leant down into the passenger foot well to retrieve her handbag trying not to let the disappointment hit her. She'd arranged it so she could get off at six this evening so she could spend the whole evening with her daughter. As Serena moved to straighten up, she hit the back of her head against the steering wheel, causing her to wince in pain and issue a set of well-chosen, if not delicate phrases. Well, she had a feeling she knew how the new year was going to turn out.
She got out of her car and heading into the main entrance of the hospital, deciding that a coffee and perhaps a chocolate chip muffin would cheer her up. After getting through the queue she headed over to the lifts and waited, absent-mindedly sipping her coffee which promptly burnt her tongue. Cursing, her thoughts drifted back to Eleanor and she was still staring into space when Henrik Hanssen joined her.
"Ms Campbell." He nodded in greeting. "Are you planning on heading up to the Keller or are the patients being delivered to you today?"
"Hmm?" She asked, looking up in a daze. "Oh, right." She stepped into the empty lift which had opened without her noticing and the CEO followed her in.
"So, do we still refer to you as Mr Hanssen?" She smirked, and Hanssen turned to her in wary confusion. She hadn't yet had a chance to tease him about his Santa alter-ego, still in disbelief that he'd actually gone through with it.
"Pardon?"
"Well, is it still Mr Hanssen, or do we have to call you Father Christmas?"
Hanssen's face remained expressionless, although the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement. "Only when I'm in the suit, Ms Campbell."
She smiled, having always enjoyed the wit he allows himself to display occasionally. "I must say, I don't remember receiving my gift. Perhaps you misplaced it?"
"Or perhaps you were on the naughty list." Hanssen replied, not meeting her gaze and staring straight ahead at the closed lift doors.
Serena eyes widened in surprise. "You think I've been a naughty girl this year, Mr Hanssen?" Her tone was flirtatious, but she couldn't help it.
Hanssen shot her a sideways glance, but didn't get a chance to answer as the lift doors opened and two nurses entered. Almost guiltily, Hanssen stepped away from her and Serena smirked again as he cleared his throat.
The lift stopped at the floor for Keller and the nurses jostled to get out first, clearly keen to distance themselves from the scary CEO and his just-as-scary deputy. Serena passed Hanssen, accidently-on-purpose brushing him. "Have a good day, Mr Hanssen." She smiled innocently.
What she didn't know was once she'd left and the doors had closed again, Hanssen leant back against the back of the lift and let out a slow, controlled breath; a mixture of confusion, and as much as he was reluctant to admit it, attraction.
After a disastrous start, Serena's New Year's Eve improved as the day went on. She'd finished covering on Keller once Sacha Levy had arrived, and had headed down to AAU where Raf and Cara informed her that they, too, were going to have a lonely new year and had agreed to celebrate it together. They'd invited Fletch as well so the Christmas-at-Serena's gang were all together, but he was working the night shift and so they decided to just stay on at the hospital after their shifts so they could all be together, which had cheered the consultant up no end.
Late afternoon, Serena headed up to Hanssen's office with a report she'd finished that morning, thinking happily about the large bottle of Shiraz Raf had promised to buy her. As she drew level with his office door, she found herself, pardon the pun, sobering up as the strangest bout of nerves hit her. The thought of speaking to him again after their conversation that morning made her feel like a schoolgirl, especially as it would just be the two of them. Still, she also felt almost excited at the prospect, which just illustrated how this clearly wasn't her first new year's eve without a partner.
Mentally telling herself to get a grip, she knocked on the door and as customary for her, barely waited for his 'come in' before pushing open the door.
"Ms Campbell." Hanssen greeted without looking up, and Serena smiled to herself as she thought of the rumours circulating about his mind-reading powers. "What can I do for you?"
Find me someone to kiss at midnight instead of facing another lonely new year without even my daughter as company. The thought had entered her head unbidden, and she quashed it immediately. She was even more surprised at the next thought that made itself known; which was the suggestion that if he couldn't find anyone suitable, he could just oblige himself.
"Ms Campbell?"
Serena looked up, and became aware of the fact she hadn't answered him and he was frowning. "Oh…um…I have the report on AAU's targets you wanted." She indicated the folder she was carrying and he held his hand out to receive it.
"Thank you. Are you free now to talk through it?" Hanssen asked, flicking open the report.
"Yes, that's fine, I'm not in any rush." She moved to sit down in the visitor's desk, but both she and Hanssen realised at the same that there was only one copy of the report, but both of them needed to see it. Quick to resolve the issue, Hanssen indicated the sofa at the back of the office, holding out a hand to invite her to go first. Although they seated an appropriate distance from each other, the scent of Hanssen's aftershave drifted towards her, and it did a great job of distracting her. Brilliant, just what she needed. Whilst Hanssen read the report he made comments out loud about what he was reading which Serena pretended to be listening to, although her attention was drawn to how nice his hands were when he pointed out certain passages of interest. Every time he did this, she could swear he lent slightly closer which, of course, did nothing to allow her to concentrate. As if she wasn't distracted enough. Just as she was wondering how much longer she could sit there without doing something stupid, Hanssen closed the folder and Serena belatedly realised that they'd reached the end of the report.
"Thank you Ms Campbell, you did a rather good job on that report." She nodded in response, checking her watch to see whether Fletch had started his shift yet. Hanssen seemed to have noticed as he said; "I'm sure you'll be wanting to get on; finish up before you head home."
Serena felt a fresh wave of disappointment as she thought of her daughter, and Hanssen titled his head at her expression. She found herself telling him the whole story, and explained that she'd be staying at the hospital.
"I see." Once again, Serena found herself unable to read his expression. "But even without your daughter you're still not going home? There's no one else you wish to see the New Year in with?"
He was an enigma, he really was. Was he actually probing to see if she was with anyone? Or perhaps he wasn't, maybe he didn't realise how his question was coming across to her and it was just an innocent small-talk enquiry. A large part of her was secretly hoping for the latter.
"That would be telling, Mr Hanssen. Just remember, I wasn't on the Nice list for Christmas. Still, new year, new me and other clichés." Of course, she wasn't going to admit that the new year would actually be just as lonely as this year had been. At least this year she'd managed that disastrous few weeks with Angus Farrell.
"Quite so. Well, happy new year Ms Campbell."
"You too, Mr Hanssen." She touched his arm lightly before heading to the door.
"Oh, Serena?" Hanssen's voiced stopped her just before she closed the door behind her. "Please don't feel the need to take the 'new you' too seriously. You're quite irreplaceable just as you are."
Serena headed down to AAU in a completely different mood than she had earlier that day. Perhaps the New Year wasn't going to be too bad after all. She headed over to the Scottish registrar and the Irish nurse who were waiting by the nurses' station, already dressed to leave.
"Serena!" Raf exclaimed, enveloping her in a hug which reminded her of Michael Spence. "Thought you'd ditched us!"
"Never. Not when you've promised me a bottle of Shiraz."
She greeted Fletch who came over to join them and she was bought up to speed on the plan for the rest of the evening.
"Okay, so we'll head over to Albie's for a drink, then a bit later we'll head back here to see the new year in with Fletch, who was clever enough to get himself stuck with this shift." Raf explained, as Fletch hit him over the head with a patient's files before heading over to said patient.
"Sounds like a plan!" Serena replied. And a plan it was.
Sitting in Albie's and having draining his second pint of beer, Raf flung his arm around Serena's shoulders, interrupting the flow of her story.
"Raf! Are you even listening?!" She demanded.
"Of course! You got to the bit where you and Hanssen were having a cheeky snog in the lift." He grinned, speaking too loudly for her liking.
She hit him lightly on the arm as she removed it from around her shoulders. "What? We never snogged."
"Okay, yeah, fair enough but you wanted to, right?"
"Raf! You're supposed to be listening to me moaning about how annoying Hanssen is not saying stupid things like that!"
The Scotsman smiled lightly at her. "Serena, you've been moaning about him for months, yet it was you who told him to come back when Self had resigned. Perhaps it's time to face that, however much you don't want to admit it, you might-"
"Don't you dare say it!" She warned, and he didn't, because just then Cara returned from the toilet. To distract herself, Serena checked her watch and was surprised to see it was half past eleven.
"I'm just going to ring Eleanor." She announced, standing up so she could go into the comparative quiet outside.
"Wait for us, we may as well head back to the hospital now." Cara said, draining her glass of wine and dragging Raf to his feet.
Serena decided to ring her daughter on the way back from the hospital instead of listening to the bickering of Raf and Cara who seemed to have into some argument about Scotland and Ireland.
Satisfied that her daughter was safe and happy, if a little tipsy, Serena almost instinctively looked up at the window of Hanssen's office and was surprised to see it was illuminated by a low light within the office. He was still here.
It was an impulse decision, and even if she was to regret it she didn't care at that moment. They passed through the main entrance to the hospital, but instead of following her colleagues through to AAU she stopped.
"Raf!" She called, and the registrar turned in confusion to look at her.
Seeing her expression, he said something to Cara who wished Serena a happy new year before heading onwards to AAU.
"You off to see the new year in with a bang?" Raf asked when they were alone, which earnt him another light slap on the arm ("Really Raf?! I thought only Harry Tressler could come out with a line like that!"). "Oh go on Serena! Carpe Diem and all that. Go for it, woman. See if he's interested."
Serena kissed him on the cheek and hurried over to the lifts, checking her watch as she went. They had walked slowly, and it was now ten to twelve. Cursing the lifts for never arriving when you need them, she hit the silver call button repeatedly until the doors opened and she dived into the lift, hitting the fifth floor button. Typically, the lift made two stops on the way up and by the time she'd exited the lift on the fifth floor, it was now five minutes to twelve.
Dreading that she wouldn't be in time, she tore down the corridor and instead of waiting to knock, just threw open the door to his office and practically fell in.
Hanssen clearly wasn't expecting the interruption and he looked mildly surprised but not shocked when he looked up to see his most senior consultant in the middle of his office, slightly out of breath and with flushed cheeks.
"Good evening, Ms Campbell." He greeted calmly.
"Just about! It's now-" She consulted her watch once more. "Three minutes to midnight and you're sitting here in your office, completing paperwork!"
"So I am." He replied, interlocking his fingers as he watched her thoughtfully. "I wasn't aware my itinerary was of such importance to you. I'll fax you a copy next time."
She raised an eyebrow at his sarcasm, but couldn't help but smile at the same time. "Come here. Now."
His brow creased at her instruction, but something in her expression seemed to register with him and he slowly rose from his seat and headed past his desk. Serena indicated the window and he followed her cautiously.
"What-?"
"Fireworks." She explained. "We can watch the fireworks from here at midnight."
He nodded in understanding, but something was still troubling him and it took less than ten seconds for his to say what it was. "Ms Campbell, why are you here?"
She didn't look at him while she was planning his answer. Her pulse quickened as she felt him move not even half a step closer. "You asked if there was someone I wanted to see the new year in with."
"I did. However, I thought Nurse Martinez, Nurse Fletcher and Mr Di Lucca were more than willing to celebrate with you."
"They are," Serena acknowledged. "But I've waited a fair few years for someone different to celebrate it with. Someone who knows what it's like to see year after year in alone."
The darkness meant she couldn't really make out his expression, but he hadn't moved away which she took as an encouraging sign.
"And did you choose someone?" He spoke finally.
Despite being a CEO and Director of Surgery he really was dense at times. "You, you idiot."
He didn't reply, but that was because the first fireworks had just gone off. They stood in silence staring at the beautiful scene before them before Serena glanced at her watch. "Well, there we have it. It's officially 2016. Happy New Year, Mr Hanssen."
She turned to smile at him, not realising he had moved even closer. He smiled shyly down at her. "Happy New Year, Ms Campbell." Hanssen raised a hand to her cheek, establishing that this was definitely what she wanted to happen. And it absolutely was.
He didn't move any further, and she was beginning to feel a bit jittery. "Look, if you want me to make the first move you're going to have to lend me a step ladder."
Hanssen allowed the corners of his mouth to twitch in amusement. It seemed to be the encouragement he needed though, and his let his other hand come to rest on her hip before he lowered his head towards hers. The first line of Auld Lang Syne could be heard in the distance as their lips met for the first time. The kiss was so light Serena couldn't be sure it actually happened, and she made sure to tell him as much. He was more than happy to prove it happened, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as they kissed again.
"That's been the best start to the new year I've had in a long while. Thank you, Ms Campbell." Hanssen spoke quietly but she knew he meant what he said.
"I could agree more, thank you too." He placed an arm around her shoulders as they stood watching the rest of the fireworks.
"I feel this is going to be a rather brilliant new year." He said, pressing a light kiss to the top of her head.
It was strange, to think that last year – or yesterday, to put it in a weird perspective – she didn't even think she liked Hanssen in even a professional manner. And now she was cuddled into him, and the fireworks mixed with drunken singing made for the most beautiful scene. Then again, if there's a time for weird happenings it was now, and she was glad it had. "I could agree more, Mr Hanssen," She sighed happily. "I couldn't agree more."