Author's Note: So it's been announced that the big day is the 28th April :-)

Better get a shifty on with these chapters then.

Thanks for the reviews and suggestions from the previous chapter; interesting to read what you all thought about the big H's house.

Chapter 38.

"I'll drive." Hanssen informs her loftily, unlocking his car before Serena can say anything.

"Oh you will, will you?" She stops in her tracks, hands on her hips and stares at the Swede, annoyed at his presumption; Edward did exactly the same thing, forever passing comment on her driving and it's something guaranteed to wind Serena up in seconds, intended or not.

"It's the logical option; you don't know where I live and there's no point taking both cars." Even a few weeks ago, Hanssen would have been decidedly unnerved by any display of her anger or displeasure but now he just rolls his eyes when he thinks she isn't looking. She isn't entirely sure whether that can be classed as progress in their relationship.

"Not only that but if my car remains in its assigned parking space, staff are likely to believe that I am still on site and on call and that I am therefore open to interruption." Having put his briefcase in the back seat, he straightens up and looks at her over the roof of the car. "Whereas your car being left overnight is not so unusual an occurrence and you are far less likely to be phoned."

"What are you trying to say?" She opens the passenger door and gets into the car, not even remotely offended by the Swede's dry observation about her drinking habits. "Actually don't answer that."

"Of course not." To Hanssen's credit, he manages to suppress most of his smirk as he reverses out of his parking space and smoothly drives the car out of the hospital grounds and towards Holby City. About five minutes into the journey, Serena remembers about the delivery that she'd received earlier in her office and spends the next few minutes telling Hanssen about Edward's divorce and coming up with ever more elaborate and ridiculous ways of breaking the news to her ex-husband.

"It will end in trouble," Hanssen cautions as they approach a roundabout. "And trouble seems to follow you, Serena."

"It's not just me. Take Jac Naylor and Nurse Maconie for instance." Hanssen shoots her a look of confusion which surprises Serena. "Don't tell me you aren't aware of the drama on Darwin between those two?"

"I try to avoid following the mind-numbing gossiping about colleagues' lives as a crude form of entertainment." Serena grins at Hanssen's slightly put out tone, knowing full well that he is far more aware of what is going on with his staff than anyone would give him credit.

"But it makes life much more interesting." She drawls, earning an unimpressed look from Hanssen. "Alright, but you must acknowledge that the hospital is like a bloody TV soap opera at times, the way we seem to lurch from one drama to the next."

"I haven't sufficient experience of watching soaps to confirm or refute your point, Ms. Campbell." Serena shakes her head in mock despair.

"You do know what a television is, don't you, Henrik?"

"I've heard of them." Hanssen's deadpan answer coincides with him parking the car outside a house and looking past Hanssen, Serena forgets whatever it was she was about to say when she realises that this must be where he lives.

Truth be told, she had no idea what Hanssen's house would look like but it's relatively nondescript from the outside and the same structure as his neighbours' houses. She grabs her bag and steps out of the car, into the quiet street and towards the front door which Hanssen is unlocking. He steps into the unlit house, holding the door open to allow Serena to follow him.

A moment later there's light and Serena's gaze briefly darts around the room that they've stepped into until a gentle hand on her shoulder makes her turn back around to face Hanssen; she realises that he's already removed his coat and is waiting for hers, she smiles up at him and shrugs off her coat, leaving her bags on the floor, off to one side.

They're in what appears to be the living room, a decent-sized room with plain off-white walls, a couple of black and white pictures hanging on the walls, the one nearest to Serena is of some kind of jetty or pier jutting out into a small lake, Serena wonders if it's from Sweden, it's similar to ones hanging in his office at the hospital.

Hanssen steps past her and draws the curtains and Serena takes the opportunity to look around further. The dark brown, soft leather sofa and matching armchair which take centre stage look comfortable against the wooden flooring. She runs her fingers along the back of the sofa as she heads across the room to investigate a wooden book case against the far wall.

Since she'd been at Holby City Hospital, Serena had overheard several staff speculate about Hanssen's house and private life but no-one's guess was even close. Serena wasn't entirely sure what to expect but the room is normal, understated but everything is of obviously good quality. She has to admit that it's a fair reflection of Hanssen himself and she isn't certain what her often cluttered and noisy house says about her.

"Did this come from Ikea?"

"No it didn't." He shoots her a baleful look in response to her teasing.

"It's very nice." Turning around, Serena's gaze moves around the room once again picking up details she missed before; there's a grey woollen blanket folded neatly on the armchair and a television stood in a corner of the room. If Serena had seen this room without knowing who it belonged to, she thinks that she'd have guessed Hanssen but would have been hard-pressed to explain why.

"I don't spend a lot of time here but it suits my needs." He shrugs. "Would you like the grand tour?" Serena smiles sheepishly, her curiosity has been noticed.

"Absolutely. Lead on, Macduff." She follows Hanssen through a doorway and into his kitchen. The Swede raises his hands, gesturing to the room around him.

"This is the kitchen." As she follows him back out a few moments later, Serena muses that Hanssen was certainly no loss to the estate agent world when he decided on a career in medicine.

The kitchen itself has the same wooden floor as the living room and off-white fitted kitchen units match the colour of the walls, topped by dark granite worktops. The sink is under the window on the right-hand side of the room and there are two plants on the window sill which she is unable to name, plants aren't her speciality. A small wooden table sits in one corner with several envelopes piled haphazardly on it which surprises Serena, for some reason she'd assumed that Hanssen would be as fastidiously tidy at home as he is at work. There are the usual trappings, a kettle, a bread bin and a toaster but Serena doesn't pay these much attention.

Next they head back through the living room and up the stairs and faced with three doors, Hanssen points to the first on the left and announces it as the bathroom. The room next to it is the spare bedroom and Serena has a cursory look around the pretty impersonal room; she wonders if anyone's ever used it but she isn't brave enough to ask. She pauses and frowns as she steps back out onto the landing.

"Henrik, why is there a toy snowman on the bed?"

"Long story." He looks a little embarrassed by the admission and Serena wants to probe further – obviously there's a story there but he successfully manages to divert her attention by opening the final door.

A double bed dominates the room with a white and light blue pattern on the duvet, the same off-white walls which run throughout the rest of the house, a dark wooden wardrobe with the far door partially open and Serena can just about see several white and blue shirts hanging neatly within. A bedside table holds a lamp and several books – she's too far away at the moment to make out any titles – and a pair of glasses lie on top.

"I'll leave this here." Serena turns to see Hanssen put her bag at the foot of the bed – she hadn't seen Hanssen pick it up when they came up from the living room but then again, she has rather been gawping like a tourist. "Do with it what you will."

"Why don't we eat first," she suggests, "and then we can decide what to do with the rest of the evening."

…

The melodious strains of Mahler are interrupted by the theatre phone and Serena's eyebrows crease slightly but barely notices as a scrub nurse goes to answer.

"Ms. Campbell, Mr. Griffin wants to speak to you." This time Serena does frown and she looks up at the nurse.

"Tell him I'm busy, I'll speak to him later." The nurse relays the message and Serena's attention is already back on the hernia in front of her.

"Mr. Griffin says it's urgent, Ms. Campbell." She purses her lips, an action unnoticed by anyone else because of the mask she's wearing.

"Is anyone about to die?" She can tell the nurse is nervous, being the messenger between two stubborn senior consultants can only end badly.

"He says no, Ms. Campbell."

"Right." Serena nods. "Tell him I'm in the middle of an operation – I'll speak to him as soon as I'm out of here. Then hang up." She can hear the nurse's low tones on this end of the phone and the tell-tale click as the call is disconnected. "Right, perhaps now we can get back to doing what we're meant to?"

A short while later Serena gets out of theatre and back into the office which she has to herself as Ric is on AAU. Waiting for her laptop to come out of hibernation, Serena picks up her mobile out of habit and she can see that she has a text message and a missed call from Ric and two missed calls from AAU. Rolling her eyes, Serena places it back onto the desk, wanting to finish her cup of tea before dealing with whatever bee is in Ric's bonnet today.

A short while later, right in the middle of Serena daydreaming about her genuinely relaxing evening with Henrik – they'd had a rather tasty chicken, bacon, onions, herbs and mushroom creation for dinner, accompanied by a couple of glasses of wine and a very early night – her phone starts to ring again, making her sigh.

Ric Mobile

"Can't cope without me?" She asks, the familiar teasing attempting to cover up her slight annoyance at the interruption.

"Serena," Ric's voice is calm – no major disaster then, Serena decides. "Can you come down to AAU?"

"Not really, I've got a small mountain range's worth of paperwork – I'm a tad busy." Ric repeats his earlier words but it's no longer a question. If nothing else, Ric's cloak and dagger routine has piqued Serena's curiosity and she knows that she won't be able to focus 100% on her paperwork otherwise.

"Fine, fine. Give me two minutes." He thanks her and she hangs up, muttering to herself, "this had better be good."

It's closer five minutes by the time that Serena swipes her staff card and pushes through the double-doors which lead to AAU and she's only half a dozen steps onto the ward before Ric comes up to her and stands in her way, no sign of any files in his immediate possession.

"Serena, I err..."

"For God's sake Ric, I'm busy." Serena's good mood is starting to dissipate the longer she spends at work and her colleague being overly secretive and dramatic isn't helping. "What is it?" Ric has a strange expression on his face, unhappiness mixed with a wariness that she hasn't seen for quite a while and as he steps to one side, Serena's gaze naturally tracks over her friend's shoulder to the bed beyond and suddenly she understands.

…

AN2: A little cliff to hang off, more a hill than a cliff. Any guesses?