"Did you...?" Serena trailed off, shaking her head. "No, ignore me."

"Did I what?"

"Well... I could have sworn I left that in the living room last night." Serena said in confusion, pointing to her iPad on the kitchen table.

"Oh... I've got no idea, babe." Emily shook her head, finishing crunching her way through her cereal and earning herself a reproachful glare from the older woman as she just dumped the bowl in the sink rather than washing it up. "I don't think I moved it… I don't remember doing it, anyway. I can't be sure, though."

"No… and I can't be sure I left it in the living room, either." She shrugged, smiling at her wife and looping her arms around her neck. "I'm just tired, I think."

"You have been putting in the hours. I hope they're not taking the piss what with you being the newest recruit?"

"Don't be silly… you know what it's like on an acute admissions ward."

"Mmm…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

Serena narrowed her eyes but didn't push it. She simply kissed her wife quickly, told her to be good and headed out of the front door. Emily considered the iPad in question for a moment, before picking it up and unlocking it. She double tapped the home button to bring up the recently used apps, sighing when nothing appeared. Serena would probably say she was too suspicious, but Emily couldn't quite shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

Her morning passed in a blur of mundane routine patients. There were several sprained ankles and wrists, a couple of infections that led to a warning about using the water cooler in the laboratory corridor and a head wound caused by an over-enthusiastic laser-blaster-wielding new recruit.

By lunchtime, with too much time on her hands, Emily had worked herself up and needed to speak to someone about what was on her mind. She ran though the possible options as she wandered outside and settled herself on a bench overlooking the Thames. Settling on her best choice, she selected a name from her phone book.

"Jas?" Emily chewed her lip, staring across at the grass and the ravens that were strutting around the space. "It's Em... can you talk?"

"Well hello stranger. I thought you'd forgotten about us little people since your dramatic exit from the hospital." Her friend teased.

"I'm sorry..."

"Yeah, well, you're lucky I like you and an occasional text is enough to keep me happy."

"I am sorry, Jas."

"Don't worry about it. What's up?"

Emily sighed deeply. "I don't really know."

"OK, so that sounds like drama and you need to tell me."

"Can you meet me?" She requested, not wanting to tell Jasmine what was going on over the phone. "Please?"

Her friend didn't even hesitate. "When?"

"Now?"

"Where?"

She thought for a moment. "There's a Starbucks near the Tower of London. Can you get here?"

"Why the hell are you by the Tower of London?"

"Work." Emily admitted vaguely.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Jasmine promised. "Chin up, kid."

Clearing it with the doctor in the MedBay, Emily promised to work a double shift the next day if she could take the rest of the afternoon off. With a reluctant sigh, her superior agreed with a nod and signed it off, not even bothering to ask why she wanted to do the switch.

She made her way to the coffee shop, arriving about five minutes before her friend. Emily remembered Jasmine's order from the many, many times they'd bought each other coffee at Holby and smiled fondly at the memory. Then she realised the barista was staring at her strangely and retreated to a table in the far corner of the room.

"So, what did you want to say?" Jasmine asked gently, not bothering with preamble and apparently not surprised to see the coffee waiting for her on the table between them. She took in the stressed expression that she had never seen on her friend's face before and reached out to squeeze her hand. "What's happened, mate?"

"Nothing, I hope." Emily tried to sound upbeat but failed miserably. "Jas, you've got to promise me that this won't go any further. Please. You can't even tell Morven or Jac."

"I promise. What's wrong?"

"So, Serena has this new job, which is great, but the registrar on her ward is Leah Faulkner."

"What?" Jasmine's eyes went wide at the information. "No way!"

"Yeah… and I trust Serena completely, but I just can't get it out of my head." She admitted. "She doesn't know that I know everything that happened between them, which in itself feels like a betrayal. Serena told me that Faulkner was on her new ward and we discussed it, sort of, but… I know Serena loves me and I know that she was devastated by what she did."

"But you're scared?"

Emily nodded reluctantly. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost her."

Jasmine reached out and covered Emily's hand with her own. "That's not going to happen. Em, you've been together for years… you're married… there is no way Serena would let herself be flattered into bed again. It wasn't that long after everything with Elinor… Serena wasn't in her right mind, but she's stronger now."

Emily gritted her teeth but nodded. Hearing the true extent of Serena's betrayal from Donna had hurt more than she could put into words but she had told Serena she didn't want to know. Her wife had almost begged her to let her come clean with the whole truth, but Emily knew she wouldn't have been able to cope with hearing the words from Serena. Instead, she had told her that she didn't care and didn't want to know, but that Serena was forgiven as long as she never lied to her again. The older woman still had no idea that her wife knew that they had slept together.

Emily wished that she was similarly in the dark about it.

"I know that if I asked Serena would quit." She admitted. "I have considered it, but it wouldn't be fair and I do trust her."

"It's not Serena that you're worried about."

"No."

"Maybe you should remind Leah that you're very much in the picture." Jasmine suggested. "Make sure it's not a case of out of sight, out of mind."

"Do you think I'm overreacting?"

"I do think you're right to trust Serena. I one hundred percent don't think she'd betray you again. But I don't think you're overreacting, either."

"I don't think she would, either." Catching the look on the other woman's face she sighed. "Honestly, I don't."

"So why…?" Jasmine motioned between them, her head tilted to one side.

"I can't talk to Serena about this and Gordy, Mum and Os… I can't tell them. You and Morven – as much as it physically pains me to admit it – are my best friends, but she'd probably make me analyse my feelings and meditate on them or something, so you were my only option."

"Why can't you talk to Serena?"

"It's not like I haven't spoken to her about it." Emily clarified. "We've talked about it; at the time and recently. But… it's hard to put it into words. I suppose I'm worried that the more I push it, the more chance there is… I just go round in circles, Jas. I trust her and I believe her, but I'm still worried about it."

"I think it's because it's something you have no control over." Her friend replied slowly. "You're not around to see what's going on, just like last time, so you're freaking out about it. In fact, it's probably worse than last time because you're not in the same hospital even some of the time."

"So…?"

"Go and check it out."

"What?"

"Just drop by to see Serena and make sure Leah sees how strong your relationship is. It won't do any harm to let her know that you could just pop in at any moment."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I do." Jasmine nodded encouragingly. "And I think you should go in this rather fetching number…" She reached out and stroked the rough, camouflage fabric of Emily's uniform. "Phwoar…"

"Shut up, I hate this uniform so much."

"Mmm… but it's a good reminder."

"Of what? That I know thirteen different ways to kill her with my bare hands?"

"Exactly." Jasmine grinned.

"Mum once said that to someone who was sniffing around Os." Emily chuckled. "I've never seen the colour drain from a grown man's face so quickly."

"Maybe you need to channel her a bit more, then?"

That was how, just under an hour later, Emily found herself standing outside Berrisford Hospital staring up at the sign over the door. She inhaled sharply, before walking through into the lobby and glancing at the floor plan beside the lift. Finding the ward that Serena worked on, she made her way up through the hospital.

"Hi, I was wondering if you could help me?" Emily smiled warmly at the man sitting behind the reception desk tapping at the computer keyboard. Before he raised his gaze in her direction, she appraised him quickly, discerning that he was probably a senior consultant, judging from his demeanour. "I'm looking for my wife?"

At that he did deign to look at her. His eyes slid quickly over her UNIT uniform and he frowned. "Is she a patient on this ward, Mrs…?"

"Lieutenant." Emily corrected him with a smile. "Lieutenant Stewart. I'm looking for–"

"Emily!"

At the sound of Serena's voice, they both looked up and Emily's smile widened. Her wife looked a little confused at her presence on the ward, but her smile reassured the younger woman that she was genuinely pleased to see her. As Serena motioned for her to join her in her office, Emily shot the man at the desk a brief smile. She glanced around as she crossed the ward, meeting Leah Faulkner's eyes for a moment before the other woman quickly looked back down at the notes in her hands.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Serena asked once the office door was closed.

"Can't I drop in and say hi to my wife every now and again?"

"Not really… I am incredibly busy and important, you know?"

Emily dipped her head and grinned. "So shall I just go, then?"

"I didn't say that." Serena replied, arching an eyebrow and reaching for her hand. She laced their fingers together and squeezed. "And the uniform?"

"I've come straight from work."

"Mmm…" The older woman narrowed her eyes challengingly. "But you never wear your uniform unless you have absolutely no other choice. You hate it, in fact. I distinctly remember numerous rants on the subject. So why today…?"

A knock on the door prevented Emily from arguing her case. They both turned their heads to look at the registrar in the doorway, holding a folder in her hands, almost like a shield. Two very different expressions appeared on their faces; Serena's slightly wary and Emily's undeniably hostile. Risking a glance in her wife's direction, the older woman suddenly understood the reason she'd turned up in her despised uniform.

"Sorry to interrupt… Ms Campbell, theatre's opened up so we can take Mrs Henderson in as soon as you're ready." Doctor Faulkner told her with a weak smile. Her eyes flickered briefly in Emily's direction before returning to the notes. "It's nice to see you again."

Serena turned to her wife, cutting Emily off before she could speak. "I'm sorry, darling, I need to go."

"No problem." The younger woman smiled, leaning forward and kissing her firmly. "I'm home first tonight, I'm guessing, so I'll do dinner."

"You're an angel." Eyes slipping closed at the thought of not having to cook, Serena stood and squeezed her shoulder. "See you later."

"Yeah, love you, babe."

"Love you too."

Emily paused for a moment after the two women had left the office, before smiling tightly to herself and moving towards the door. A collection of photo frames on the desk caught her attention and she curiously doubled back to look at them.

A soft chuckle escaped her as she realised that the first of the photos was one that Serena had always vehemently claimed that she hated. It showed an apparently irritated Serena sitting on a chair in Kate and Osgood's garden, looking at her wife who was grinning broadly and giving a double thumbs up to the camera, despite being soaked from head to toe after a water fight with her siblings and Gwennie. A closer inspection of Serena's face revealed the adoring smile and twinkle in her eyes, which she had been quick to deny.

The second photo had been taken on their wedding day. It wasn't one of the posed shots the photographer had perfectly choreographed, but a candid photo taken by Osgood. Emily had laughed when she'd originally seen it, while Serena had announced that it might possibly be her favourite. In it, the couple were sitting side by side on a window seat, taking a breather from the reception. Serena was holding Emily's face in her hands and smiling down indulgently at her wife, who was smirking at her; no doubt having just said something inappropriate or ridiculous.

Replacing the frames on the desk, smiling fondly at the third and fourth photos – a professional shot of Jason, Greta and Gwennie and a childhood photograph of Elinor – Emily left the office. She crossed the ward briskly, not making eye contact with anyone as she banged the button to let her out into the corridor.

Outside the entrance, she leant against the barrier and pulled her cigarette packet and lighter out of her pocket. She knew that if Serena spotted her she would be in trouble, her wife having been encouraging her to stick with giving up despite her many, many relapses. Another thing she had in common with her mother, it seemed.

"Everything alright, Lieutenant Stewart?"

"Sorry?" She turned at the question, the use of her rank making her stand to attention without thinking about it, coming face to face with the male doctor from Serena's ward. "Oh, yes… quite alright, thank you."

"I'm Harry Williams, a senior consultant here." He informed her, confirming her suspicions about his seniority, holding out his hand in her direction.

"I'm Emily Campbell-Stewart, apart from at work when I'm just plain old Lieutenant Stewart." She chuckled.

"I apologise if I'm overstepping the mark, but you seem a little out of sorts?" He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, brandishing them at her. "May I?"

"I'd be a hypocrite if I had any objections." Emily pointed out, holding up her own cigarette. "But how can you tell I'm out of sorts? You don't know what I'm like when I'm in sorts."

He laughed. "Fair point. But I've never seen you visiting Serena on the ward before and you went directly from her office to out here brooding."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but it's absolutely none of your business. Besides, I couldn't talk about it, even if I wanted to." She told him, waving a hand over her uniform.

"Ahh, so it's work related? That's not army issue?"

"No, it's not the army." She agreed, not intending to elaborate.

"What's UNIT?" He asked reaching out and touching the insignia on her chest. Emily immediately took a step back, scowling at him and he raised his hand in apology. "Sorry. Sorry… just curious."

"It's a bit weird being back in a hospital." Emily told him, changing the subject. "I worked at Holby City and it's so similar here, but totally different too. I suppose the comparisons are even more striking when you bounce from military to civilian medicine."

"You worked at Holby City? Is that where you met Serena?"

"Sort of…"

"Didn't Leah work there too, for a little while?"

"Mmm…" Emily took a final drag on her cigarette. "Yeah, she did for a bit. Listen, I'd better get going. It was nice to meet you."

"You too." He agreed, shaking her hand again. "Perhaps our paths will cross again soon."

"Perhaps."