"Good evening, Mr Hanssen."
"Ah, Miss Rees, I was hoping I'd run into you before you left, about the email, I have been invited to speak at medical conference in Malmö, South Sweden and I'd like you to be my plus one." He locked his office and walked with her to the lift.
"Doors opening, lift going down."
"Henrik I'd love to." A smile spread across her face.
They stepped in to the empty lift.
"Good, as long as you don't get drunk again." He stared straight towards the doors.
Tabby hooked her arm around his and rested her head on his arm, "I promise I won't." She smiled.
Henrik looked down at her and just smiled as they rode the lift to the ground floor.
They said good night to each other and headed for their own cars, sorting themselves out before heading home.
*Ring ring* *ring ring*
His eyes slowly opened to reveal his clock, 2:52am. He groaned as he reached for his phone and picked it up, "Henrik Hanssen." He answered groggily.
"Henrik, what do I do?" Came the tearful sounding voice from over the phone.
"Who is this?" He sat up.
"It's got to be at least 8cm in diameter, has eight legs, is furry, and it is sitting in the middle of my kitchen floor so I can't get a glass." The voice went from tearful to angry.
"Is this Tabitha Rees by any chance?" He smiled indignantly.
"What do I do?" She went back into sobs.
"Tabitha what's wrong?" He whined almost.
"How many times? There is a fucking huge spider in the middle of my kitchen floor preventing me from getting a glass and I will not sleep until it is outside." She nearly shouted down the line.
"Well, what do you want me to do? It is five to three in the bloody morning, it's a Sunday, and you're phoning me in the middle of the night about a spider, what can I do?" He complained, tired and frustrated.
"Just be there on the line for me, I need a distraction whilst I do this."
"What sort of distraction?" He sighed.
"I don't know, dirty talk; something that will make me laugh." She requested.
"It's 3 in the morning-"
"Way into the watershed so it's fine-"
"I'm going to… *huff* what are you wearing?" He gave in reluctantly and without much effort.
There was a moment of silence before a sudden raucous laugh filled the line, "What the hell was that? That was pathetic." She could hardly control her laughter.
"What do you want me to say?"
"No, please, this is brilliant, do carry on, I'm enjoying this." She chuckled.
"No, Tabitha, I've had enough, I'm going back to bed, Good night."
"Alright fine, I've got it now anyway, so I'm going to put it outside then trudge back to bed myself. Night, Henrik."
"Yes alright, good night." He slammed down the phone and turned to face away from it, cuddling under the covers.
"Uch, you disgusting creature." She squirmed as she placed some paper under the glass and took it outside, "Ac aros allan!" She kept hushed as she told off the spider which crawled under a plant pot.
"What's up with you?" Jac joined Tabby at the lift.
"I hate Mondays." Tabby stared at the lift doors.
"Don't we all. So what went on last night?" She too stared at the doors.
"Nothing, why?" She glanced to Jac.
"Doors opening, lift going up."
"You look like hell." Jac pressed the button for her floor.
"Well thanks for that but yes I was up all night but not for that reason." She pressed the button for her floor.
Jac looked over Henrik as he too got in and went to press the button realising it was pressed already, "What reason was it then?" She looked towards the ceiling as she sipped her coffee.
"They are invading my house, yesterday I found 10, TEN! All scurrying about my house, running under cabinets, sofas and beds, practically laughing at me, they were taking the piss." She picked her nails.
"Is this the spider problem, again?" Henrik sighed.
"Yes, I can't stand the creatures, Christ it's like they know." She carried on looking at her nails.
Henrik glanced back to Jac who just rolled her eyes which made him smirk.
Tabby followed Henrik out of the lift and left Jac to sip her coffee, looking slightly bewildered by the conversation.
"Tabitha I'd like to have a quick word with you." He unlocked his door.
"Of course." She followed him in.
"I need to tell you about Sir Fraser." He sorted out his things and sat down.
Tabby shut the door, "Ok?"
"He will be at the Malmö conference, but he is on an official warning so-"
"A warning?! Henrik, he molested me." She pointed at the door.
"Yes but there is a lack of evidence against him, though his indiscretion has been noted. I just wanted to warn you before I book the tickets."
"A lack of evidence? You were there I was there and Tony was there so-"
*Knock knock*
"Come in." Henrik called as he shuffled through some papers.
"Um, oh Tabby, perfect person, you speak Welsh don't you?" The ginger Irish nurse asked.
"Er, yes."
"Can you come and translate for us; the patient is a fluent speaker and can't speak English."
"Well, Mr Hanssen, do excuse me." She forced a smile then headed for the door.
"She will either speak in Spanish or what Mr Griffin identified as Welsh." Marie-Clare explained as they reached the patient.
"Ok, beth yw eich enw?"
"Celesta Belen." She puffed and put back on her mask.
"Her name's Celesta Belen." She explained to Malick, Digby and Marie-Clare, "Ble rwyt ti'n oddi?"
"Patagonia, Ariannin. Rwy'n ar gwyl." She grinned.
"Gwych. She's from Patagonia, Argentina and she's on holiday here."
"Can you ask her what happened?" Malick asked.
"Beth digwydodd i chi?" She folded her arms.
"Rwy'n cerdded ar yr stryd, yna dydw i ddim yn anadlu. Dydw i ddim yn gwybod beth digwydodd yna." She took more breaths from her mask.
"She said she was walking then she couldn't breathe, she doesn't know what happened after."
"Is she feeling any pain in her chest?"
"Mae'n brifo mewn frest ti?"
She nodded.
As Tabby conversed and translated Arthur couldn't take his eyes and ears off her, he was enthralled by her ability.
Tabby felt herself being watched and as she looked up she caught Digby staring right at her.
He suddenly became flustered, "Er, I'm sorry, I'm just in awe of your language skills."
"Twpsyn." She rolled her eyes and Celesta giggled.
They made their way over to the nurses' station and Malick turned to Tabitha, "I will need you on hand."
"I'm sorry Malick but I can't be permanently on the ward today, but you've got my mobile number, I'm a quick call away, alright?" She smiled.
She slipped in through Henrik's office door and found him rummaging through his shelf. She wandered over and wrapped her arms around his waist.
He froze, "Tabitha?"
"Henrik you're stressed, what can I help with?" She rested her head on his back.
"Well you can read through my opening paragraph of my speech." Once Tabby had let go he spun round to face her.
She grabbed the lapels of his jacket, "I'd love to." Then leaned up and took his lips with hers.
The kiss came as a shock to Hanssen but he followed through with it for a few seconds. As she pulled away he opened his eyes and gazed into her sparkling grey ones, "What was that for?"
"Where's your speech?" She simply asked.
"It's in my drawer; I'll get it for you." He brushed passed her and leaned over to the drawer.
"Have you seen the time?" She looked at her watch.
"It's ten to ten, why?" He sifted through his drawer.
"Oh, nothing." She shook her head and glanced around the office.
"Ah, yes, don't worry, I haven't forgotten. Here it is." He shut the drawer then turned back to her, handing the sheet to her, "It's your first one is it not?" He asked as he sat back into his chair.
She sat opposite him, "So tell me, what sort of warning is Fraser on?"
"Well it's not a restraining order if that is what you were hoping for-"
"No, that was your wish, Henrik. I'm sure you like to see him locked up behind bars for what he did."
"Don't be so ridiculous, Tabith-"
"Oh, so now I'm being ridiculous. He fingered me in the middle of the corridor then proceeded to reveal his erection to me; he was going to rape me." She leaned forward over the desk and glared at Henrik waiting for his response.
He took off his glasses and placed them on the desk, "Tabitha, you have a lot on your plate at the moment-"
"Don't give me that, don't give me the sympathetic 'you got a lot on your mind' crap, I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is what has happened with Sir Fraser without you going into one of your strops!" She stood and leaned over the desk before pacing across the office.
"Strop? I'm not in any strop Tabitha. I have a duty to protect my staff and to witness what I did that day made me sick-"
She turned back to Hanssen, "It made you sick?" She walked around the room sarcastically flailing her arms, "Oh no, it made Henrik Hanssen sick." Then she suddenly turned and placed her hands on the desk and glared at Henrik again, "He had his dirty fingers thrusting inside me, he took my hand and wrapped it around his filthy cock then proceeded to pleasure himself with me. Do you know how that made me feel? Do you know how that must've felt for me at that moment?" Her eyes welled up and tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
Henrik hung his head, "Tabitha, I can't even begin to understand how you felt-"
"Stop!" She held up her hand, "Stop right there, Henrik. I was so scared; I thought he was going to have his way with me, take away my innocence, and no matter how much I fought back he would have used force. Yet you don't seem to understand that, you're just being a selfish bastard. You get so worked up about this situation, complaining that it made you feel sick when you weren't even the victim. I was. I was the one trapped against the wall; I was the one who was sexually violated; I was the one in tears and unable to stand on my own two legs afterwards." Her face was red with emotion and her cheeks shining with tears.
"I came to you-"
"Yes, you came to me, you rescued me, well done Henrik, what do you want; a fucking medal? That's not what I'm on about. I'm sure that you would have done the same for any other member of staff but you wouldn't get as worked up with them as you have been with me."
"Oh really? And you have proof of that do you?"
"Would you get upset about Chrissie Williams?"
"No."
"Chantelle Lane?"
"No."
"Serena Campbell?"
"No."
"Jac Naylor?"
"Oh for Goodness sake."
"Mo Effanga?"
"No."
"Gemma Wilde?"
"No."
"Then why only me!?"
"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!"