I haven't watched Holby in ages because working in theatres myself made it too frustrating, but I still love Hanssen and when I heard about his current storyline I had to do something. That particular issue won't be featured here; this particular collection is going to be more light-hearted, but I might tackle the more serious stuff in the future.

In the meantime, enjoy!

Henrik was having a bad day.

Serena was reasonably sure that no one else had noticed. Jac would have, as would Sacha, Ric, a few others, and most definitely Bernie, but none of them were invited to board meetings, and the rest of the board were far too busy and far too important to note a little thing like the CEO's health.

So Serena was confident that she was the only one to see the tension in every line of Henrik's body. She saw the faint tremor in his fingers when he adjusted the pens in front of him, and she caught his flinch when one of the more objectionable member of the board raised his voice.

That was the last straw. Serena sent a quick text under the desk, momentarily grateful for Henrik's distraction, waited for a moment, then pushed herself upright.

"Gentlemen! Can we remember that this is a hospital, not a playground, and perhaps keep the volume under sixty decibels?"

"Well, really," one of the instigators started spluttering, but he fell silent when Serena glared at him.

"No, Mister Cunningham. We have been here for nearly two hours, and we are no closer to a functional budget than we were when we started. Clearly nothing else is going to be accomplished today, and some of us have patients to attend to."

Right on cue, both hers and Henrik's pagers blared an alert. With a silent prayer of gratitude for military precision, Serena snatched her pager out of her pocket. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Henrik mirror her, albeit more slowly, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Speaking of which: Mister Hanssen, I believe we are needed."

Henrik's eyes were still worryingly blank, but he drew himself up to his full height. He headed straight for the door, and Serena lingered just one enough to make a few apologies that hopefully at least sounded sincere before following him from the room.

Serena relaxed a little once the door closed behind them, but not for long. Henrik was already headed in the direction of the lifts, and Serena had to quicken her pace to catch up.

"Wait, Henrik."

"We have a patient to attend to, Ms Campbell," he said, only to blink when Serena hit the button for a floor which was most definitely not that for AAU. "Ms Campbell-"

"It's your office where we're needed, Henrik," said Serena firmly.

Henrik blinked, but Serena didn't miss the flicker of relief that touched his face, and her heart ached for him. With anyone else she might have offered a hug, or a pat on the back, but this was Henrik and she knew better.

Instead, she settled for keeping her mouth shut and choosing the least populated route back to his office. Henrik followed her without a word until they arrived, when he finally let out a long breath.

"Would you care to explain yourself, Ms Campbell?"

"In a minute," Serena assured him.

She ushered him inside, and watched a little more tension drain from his shoulders as he shut the door on the outside world. He settled himself behind his desk, and when he adjusted his already perfectly-positioned stationary his hands were rock-steady. Serena smiled, and didn't bother to hide it when he suddenly looked up.

"You did not have to do that, Ms Campbell."

"No, I didn't," Serena agreed. She refused to back down from his piercing stare. "But I'm sure there are patients that will require my attention, and I'm equally sure that you will accomplish more in here than the whole lot of them have managed all afternoon."

Henrik's eyes widened ever so slightly. He coughed, and looked away. "Yes, well, I cannot argue with that. Still, it was unnecessary."

"I disagree," said Serena cheerfully. "But I've had enough arguing for one day. If you need me, I'll be on AAU."

She was halfway out the door before she caught the very quiet, "Thank you, Serena."

Serena was still smiling as she stepped onto her ward. She breathed in the familiar smells, let the last of the tension drain from her muscles, then smiled even wider when she caught a glimpse of blonde, curly hair.

She walked over to the nurse's station, and Bernie's own face lit up at the sight of her. It was the same radiant grin that never failed to take Serena's breath awake, and Serena couldn't resist the urge to lean in for a quick kiss. She felt Bernie's grin widen against her lips.

"Well, this afternoon has taken a sudden turn for the better."

Serena pulled back, and laced her fingers with her partner's. Bernie blushed a little, then leaned in again, this time to whisper in her ear. "Do I get to know what that was about? Not that I'm complaining about getting you back early, but Hanssen must have known that something was up."

"Oh, he did," said Serena. "But he didn't mind."

Bernie cocked her head to one side, and Serena could practically see the gears turning, but Henrik's trust was a precious thing and Serena squeezed her hand and picked up the nearest case file. "Anything exciting down here?"

Bernie arched an elegant eyebrow. "This is AAU we're talking about."

Serena chuckled, and threw herself into the chaos. AAU was at its busiest, and Bernie was by her side. It was going to be a good day.

Thanks for reading! Any feedback would be appreciated.