Jac Naylor stared at the staircase. On any other day, she actually preferred taking the stairs to the lift. It was healthy and rejuvenating, but since her bump had begun to grow, she couldn't muster up enough energy to get out of bed, never mind climb a staircase that seemed higher than Mount Everest.
"I hope you're not actually considering it," Serena Campbell called from behind her.
"I was, actually," Jac answered grumpily.
"Well," Serena glanced up the stairs. "Better you than me."
"Ms Campbell?" Henrik Hanssen's voice called from the entrance.
"On second thought," Serena pushed passed Jac and started jogging up the stairs, desperate to get away from her superior. She knew he had arranged a meeting with the head of maternity first thing and she was not going to allow him to push it onto her. She had more than enough on her plate.
"Was that Ms Campbell I saw?" Henrik asked Jac as he reached her.
"Indeed it was," Jac tried to suppress the smirk that was threatening to form on her lips as she heard her older colleague's heels click against the stairs. "If you run, you might catch her."
Henrik gave her an unimpressed look before heading up the stairs after Serena. He saw no reason why he should be punished for the act of waking up by being forced to listen to the hospital's most formidable midwife, nurse Remmeny, complain about lunch breaks and tea time. Serena was much better at hiding her aggravation.
Jac had to chuckle as she heard Serena's pace slow, knowing that she had run out of energy. Henrik would reach her before she had time to hide.
"Ah, Jac," Sacha Levy called from the lift. "Going up?"
Jac gave one last longing look at the staircase before turning around and joining her colleague in the lift.
"So, how's the bun?"
"What?" Jac snapped.
Sacha motioned to her stomach.
"Oh," Jac realized what he was talking about. "It's fine."
"Are you getting enough vitamins and supplements? You look tired?"
Jac just rolled her eyes as the lift doors closed, catching a glimpse of Elliot Hope as he walked passed.
"I'm telling you, Ric," Elliot was saying. "I'm absolutely fine. Sharon was just a passing phase."
Ric Griffin gave his friend a skeptical look. "The day I believe that is the day I die."
They both moved out of the way as a stretcher was brought passed them with a young woman on. She was unconscious.
"Are you taking her through to AAU?" Ric asked the paramedic.
"That's what he told us," the man pointed to Antione Malick who was running towards them. He had not even had time to get changed into his scrubs.
"You're already directing patients to AAU?" Ric smirked.
"I thought you could use a little work," Malick chuckled.
"Thanks," Ric waited with the stretched for the lift to arrive as Malick made his way up the stairs, passing a very out of breath and highly annoyed Serena Campbell who was arguing with Henrik Hanssen about some meeting. "Morning," Malick grinned.
"Morning," they both answered in unison, both looking decidedly unimpressed with the other.
Malick continued up the seemingly endless staircase until her reached Keller. Michael Spence was talking animatedly to Chantelle Lane.
"Morning all," he saluted them both.
"Malick, good timing," Michael turned to him. "Chantelle and I were just discussing arranging a night off for Keller. What do you think?"
"As long as there's dancing, disco and drinks," Malick smiled. "I'm definitely in."
"I'll start arranging something," Chantelle clapped her hands together. "Oh, I'm so excited. I love party planning."
"Just don't let word get out to Mr H and the Wicked Witch of the West that I allowed it," Michael said as Chantelle nodded and climbed onto the internet to search for venues.
Malick continued to the changing room, pausing to greet Edward Campbell. "Morning, sir," he smiled.
"Good morning, kind man," Edward shook his hand and kept walking. "Not running late, are we?" Edward called back at him.
"Don't tell on me," Malick smiled as he closed the changing room door.
Edward chuckled as he headed passed the nurses' station and down the corridor, giving his ex-wife a wink as he noticed her and Henrik appear from the staircase, still in the middle of a heated argument. Serena gave him a questioning look, wondering what he was doing on Keller before ignoring him and continuing with her conversation. Edward had been asked to give a second opinion for a colleague up on Keller. He headed down the stairs to AAU, pausing to grin at a flustered Jonny Maconie.
"Not a word," Jonny laughed. "I was supposed to pick Mo up this morning and only woke up when she called me to tell me she was already here."
"Nothing worse than a woman scorned," Edwards chuckled as Jonny ran up the stairs, throwing his bag over his shoulder. Edward hadn't had much to do with the Darwin staff, but they seemed like a good group of people. He reached AAU, taking a deep breath as he stepped onto the ward. It was a busy morning already.
"Mr Campbell, I could do with your opinion here," Harry Tressler called from the side of a stretcher.
"Your expertise is needed already," Gemma Wilde smiled. "Mind if I join you?"
"Everything is classed as a learning experience," Edward smiled. "Learn away."
Gemma cheerfully followed the older man to the patient in question, passing Mary-Claire Carter who was trying to calm a patient's boyfriend down. "It's okay," she was saying. "She's in the best place she could possibly be right now."
"But what if she dies?" The man was saying.
"The doctors here are the best in the country. You need to calm down."
"Does anyone know where Ms Campbell is?" Sacha called from the nurses' station. He was filling in a patient form with one hand and holding the phone receiver with the other.
"I saw her up on Keller earlier," Edward called to him, listening to a patient's heart beat with his stethoscope.
"I'm on my way up there now," Chrissie said as she juggled some medical equipment while pushing the door open. "I'll send her down."
Sacha nodded, watching as his soon to be ex-wife took the lift up to Keller. The sight of her still saddened him. At one point of his life, he would have been willing to give his own life for her.
Chrissie noticed the look on Sacha's face as the doors closed. She felt sorry for him, but also for herself. He had betrayed her when he lied about their son's condition and she could never forgive him for it. He knew how concerned she was about Daniel and he hadn't even had the decency to tell her that their son had a hole in his heart.
The doors opened to reveal a much calmer Keller. Chrissie almost missed the good old days when Serena had brought her up to work on Keller. It was much less stressful.
Chantelle noticed her and quickly came over to help her with the equipment she was struggling to carry. "Haven't seen you in a while," she beamed at Chrissie. "I just wanted to say, I think you're so brave."
"Brave?" Chrissie asked curiously.
"You know, being a mum and having cancer. I think the way you're handling it all is just fantastic."
"Thank you," Chrissie gave her an insincere smile before dumping the equipment on the counter at the nurses' station. "Thank you for reminding me."
"Oh, I didn't mean . . ." Chantelle looked genuinely hurt.
"Ms Campbell, Sacha needs you," she called to Serena.
Serena rolled her eyes and picked up the receiver at the nurses' station, punching in the extension number for AAU. "This is exactly what I'm talking about," she said to Hanssen. "I'm too busy to be dealing with-"
"AAU," Sacha's voice answered the phone.
"What do you need?" Serena asked.
"Any chance you can come down here and help? We're overrun."
"I'll be there in a second," she watched Chrissie disappear in the lift. "I'm need on AAU," Serena smiled at Hanssen as she placed the receiver back down. "So, unfortunately, I'm going to have to decline and you'll have to deal with nurse Remmeny yourself."
"On the contrary," Hanssen said as he started moving away from her. "I'll assist on AAU. You can still meet with nurse Remmeny."
Serena watched Henrik walk down the corridor and cursed him silently. He had forced her to agree to meet with the maternity department.
Michael noticed her irritation and couldn't help but smile. "It's not the first time you haven't gotten your way," he grinned.
"Oh Michael, shut up," she growled, turning on her heel to make her way up to Henrik's office. He had agreed to allow her to use his office to meet with maternity after she had initially refused. She had just reached the staircase when there was an incredibly loud noise. Before her mind could even register what had happened, she felt a magnificent pressure lift her up into the air and slam her against the wall in front of her. She had passed out before her body hit the floor which was now strewn with wall plaster and bricks.