It had been three long weeks since Elinor's accident, and she was well on her way to recovery, though chaffing at being under Serena's care every moment she was home. Today was one of those days, and Serena scurried from the spare bedroom to head downstairs and into the living room. Jason was out with a group of friends, watching some movie that had sounded thoroughly boring to her. Which meant that she was free to watch whatever she wanted to on the telly.

Serena curled up on a corner of the sofa, making herself comfortable as she tugged the blanket down off the back, wrapping it around herself. "All right, what is on this early on a Saturday morning?" she murmured lowly as she picked up the remote and turned the set on. She had left it on the news channel the previous evening, and yet was ill prepared to see the emergency news bulletin that was splashed across the screen.

The first thing she focused on was the crawler, her eyes darting about as she drank in the information. There had been a terrorist bombing, that much was clear, but she wasn't entirely certain where at first. A sharp gasp was torn from her lips when she saw the word Kiev appear, and dread filled the pit of her stomach.

It was a curious feeling, the way blood turned to ice so quickly when confronted with unexpected news that she wasn't prepared to deal with. As Serena's fingers turned boneless and numb, the remote clattered to the floor, the noise unexpectedly loud to her ears. She couldn't even cry as she tried to comprehend just what had happened in the city where the other half of her heart resided, and she shoved the blanket from her lap as she stood on trembling legs and made her way over to her phone.

As she had expected, it was ringing, and she answered without thinking, hoping that Bernie would be on the other end of the line. "Please, tell me you are all right, Berenice. Please."

"Serena."

Ric's voice was the last thing she wanted to hear, but for some reason it was also a comfort. "Ric, I take it you've seen the news as well. I, I need to get out there, to see if she's alright. She'll need support, too, good surgeons who can take care of the shrapnel victims, restore them to health. Surely you can get Hanssen to release us for a few weeks?"

"Serena, you know that is not possible. We're needed here. I was just calling to see if you were going to need anything."

Her lip trembled, tears finally fighting their way to the forefront. "I need to hear her voice, Ric. I've become a sotted old fool who cannot separate herself from her job. I did a stupid thing and fell in love with a colleague, and that is biting me in the arse."

"Do you want me to swing by with a bottle of Shiraz? I know, day drinking doesn't help anything, but it might dull a little of the pain."

"Thank you for the offer, Ric, but no. I have Elinor here, and I really shouldn't get drunk, just in case she needs something. Oh, but…"

"I will send up good thoughts, yes. Don't you worry. Doctor Wolfe has been in worse combat situations and lived, so I rather doubt a little thing like this will take her out."

It was good to hear the reassurance, even if it was an unknown platitude at that point. "I'll try to keep that in mind. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes."

She hung up before saying goodbye, needing to be back in the living room and watching the television for any sighting of a certain blonde surgeon. It was a longshot, she knew in her heart of hearts, but that didn't stop her from hoping. It was a shock to see Elinor sitting there, engrossed in what was happening, and her mother's heart broke a little to see the confusion and hurt there. "Why do people do stupid things?"

"I wish I knew, poppet," she replied as she sank down next to her daughter, welcoming her warm body against hers. Serena began to run her fingers through Elinor's hair as she started to cry, unable to tear her eyes away from the carnage she was seeing.

"That's where Doctor Bernie is, right? Jason told me that she had fucked off to Kiev." Serena swallowed a watery laugh. "He also said that you had told him that after he had prodded you about where she was. You were happier there, for a while, with her."

"I was. And I miss her terribly."

"You could try and call her. Maybe you'd get through."

"Ah, the optimism of youth," she replied as she touched the mobile in her pocket. Elinor nodded and then turned as best she could with her bum leg so that she could look at her mother. "Do you really think I should call?"

"Yes. Please?"

"Fine, poppet." Serena sighed as she pulled out her phone. Since the last time she'd reached out to Bernie, she'd added her to her favorites list, making it easy to find her. There was still a hint of trepidation as her finger hovered above her number, not knowing if she should call. Elinor took that option away from her in the next moment, pressing her finger down gently. "I would have called!"

"Next year, maybe. I just sped you along a little." The cheeky grin her daughter flashed her made her shake her head a little as she lifted the mobile to her ear, nervousness making her stomach churn wildly.

She was not prepared for the busy tone at the other end of the line. And then a cold, clinical voice was coming over, and Serena fought to focus in on it. "We regret to inform you that all circuits are busy at this time. Please try again later. Message seventy one. We regret to inform you that…"

Her fingers lost their grip on the phone and it bounced off the carpet as she turned her gaze to the television once more. "Mum? What is it?"

"There must be too many people calling at the moment, poppet. All the circuits are busy, and, and…"

"The only way we can get information is from the telly."

"Yes. I hope you don't mind watching the news."

"That's fine, Mum. But as soon as it looks like things are calming down a little, you have to promise me to call her back. Okay?"

Serena nodded as she fished for her mobile, ending the call and going to her text messages. I'm watching the news now, Bernie. Stay safe in Kiev, please, if you even care for me a little yet, keep your head down and be safe. I love you. She pressed send before she could chicken out, and then placed the phone on the coffee table, moving her daughter into a more comfortable position as they watched the news together.