The group chatted amongst themselves as they rode down to the ground floor, before the doors opened out into the lobby. Doctors, scientists and investors were congregating in small groups, holding sparkling glasses of expensive champagne, offered by smartly-dressed waitresses and waiters.
Serena smiled warmly as she was approached by a well-dressed gentleman, who held out his hand towards her, pulling her into a tight hug as he reached her.
"Serena my darling, how are you?" The man asked, releasing her from his hug and noticing Bernie, who was stood protectively by her side.
He extended his hand, and Bernie did the same, shaking it as he introduced himself.
"James Parker. An old colleague, we used to work together up in Birmingham. Pleased to meet you." He smiled, looking between her and Serena.
"Ahhh yes, my old protégé, this is Bernie – the trauma unit co-lead, and my girlfriend." She introduced, watching Bernie as her ears blushed red at the introduction.
"Wonderful to meet you. Ladies, would you care to join myself and my team for a drink?" He enquired politely, taking her arm after receiving a nod from Bernie. Slowly, they navigated their way through the crowds, moving over to the bar where he ordered their drinks, before settling down at a table near the centre of the room.
Back in the lobby, Jac was talking passionately to an investor, animated hand gestures demonstrating the excitement behind her words. The investor was nodding eagerly, pausing her to ask questions and tap away at her phone, storing notes on the different concepts and taking her contact details before walking away, to speak to another group of medics. Jac turned to face Zosia, who was talking to a blonde, who she couldn't identify from her position.
"So that's pretty much all we could do… I mean his heart wasn't strong enough to be taken off bypass, but there was no way we could leave him there, above the bomb. We had to move him, and we ended up powering the machine manually. Honestly, I have no idea how he survived it… But he did!" She explained, sighing softly as she recalled the day's events.
"Wow. You sound like an absolute action woman, you should be very proud." The blonde laughed, glancing at Jac, before turning her head in recognition. Jac glared as she caught the woman's eye – they knew each other, history as such. Much the same as Jac the blonde was ambitious and ruthless, and when they'd been training together in a hospital in Manchester, she was not afraid to do whatever she had to in order to get what she wanted. Jac, although she was very much the same, disagreed with the woman's actions (surely it was best for someone to get where they needed to be based on merit, not who they were willing to flirt with.. although time had changed her mind on that matter when she'd found herself employing that tactic at various points in her career) and they'd clashed often. They were in constant competition, for the best cases, the best mentors and the best feedback, and as such were resigned to becoming some sort of enemies.
It was obvious to Jac what Nikki was doing talking to Zoisa, trying to get her on side. Jac didn't like it, she'd come to view Zosia as a friend and didn't want her to be taken advantage of by a power hungry, ruthless surgeon who only had competition on her mind.
"Come on Zosia, the meal's about to begin." She interrupted, placing her hand on her junior's shoulder, hoping the unusual gesture between them would capture her attention.
Zosia turned to the blonde, wished her a good evening and moved over to where Jac was pointing, and they weaved their way through the crowds to find the table which had been reserved for the Holby City Hospital.
There was a large ornate crystal chandelier in the celling, and Morven, who was already sat at the table, looked up at it excitedly. Speaking to Zosia, she chattered away.
"Look at this, it's just so beautiful. And posh, I love it." She laughed, sipping her glass of champagne as Zosia nodded and smiled.
"Yes, it really is. I love hotels like this, there's just something about them. Everything about them seems so exciting, even the people. I've spoken to this lady, she's a surgeon and she's got these techniques for combined cardiothoracic and neurosurgery, honestly it sounds amazing." Zosia laughed lightly, sharing Morven's enthusiasm. She too was sipping champagne, and the delicate bubbles melted on her tongue. It was lovely, somewhere so exquisite with such a light atmosphere.
There was a lull in the conversation at the table as Bernie and Serena sat down, completing the group of Holby City employees.
"What do you think so far?" Serena asked, looking around the group.
"It's good, really good." Morven replied, her tone light as she took in the atmosphere. The older consultants had been reluctant to go, as there was never usually anything interesting, but Morven was satisfied just with the fancy hotel and variety of prestigious medics.
The group spoke amongst themselves of developments at the hospital, their personal lives and the upcoming days, as their starters were brought around to the table. Each guest had pre-ordered from a set menu, so the meals were delivered elegantly without any fuss.
Light conversation was maintained throughout the starter, and continued until after the dessert course, when the plates were being cleared away. Seamlessly, the well-dressed waiters and waitresses cleared up any evidence that a meal had ever taken place, as people began to get up, to go to the free bar or to find friends from other tables. The Holby table split up, with Jasmine and Jac going towards the bar to order some drinks.
"Hi, can I have a bottle of Shiraz with two glasses, a Jack Daniel's and coke, a large glass of white wine… Jasmine, what do you and Morven want?" Jac asked, smiling slightly at the younger blonde.
"Erm, a glass of red wine and a JD and coke, please." Jasmine requested, picking up the unopened bottle of shiraz and placing it under one arm, before picking up the white wine and the wine glasses. Jac placed the rest of the drinks on a tray and carefully carried them to the table, where Zosia was once again talking to the blonde. Jac couldn't help but roll her eyes when she saw, and Jasmine tried not to laugh.
"Jac, you should be pleased! She's networking and I think she's doing well!" Jasmine exclaimed, taking a sip of her drink. She was amused by Jac's protective behaviour, if a little puzzled.
"That woman is a walking catastrophe. She's awful, she's…I knew her very well. We were juniors together at a hospital in Manchester." Jac began to explain, growing quiet as they reached the table, placing down the drinks. Jas went over to where Serena and Bernie were standing with a group of surgeons, introducing herself and supplying the two AAU staff with drinks.
"Ahhh yes, this is Jas, our future protégé. She's bloody brilliant, this one is." Serena smiled, holding out her hand to the younger doctor, who took it and allowed herself to be pulled closer into the circle. Serena had already been drinking throughout the meal, and although she wasn't drunk she most likely would be should she continue with the alcohol consumption.
Making eye contact with Jas, Bernie chuckled softly, their thoughts obviously going to the same places. Serena was oblivious, focusing on entertaining the small crowd of medics and investors around her with some of the more amusing anecdotes from AAU, attracting interest and admiration from old friends and new acquaintances. Bernie couldn't help but be proud, these sorts of events really were Serena's chance to shine, and it was something she did so well.
It was a few hours later when things were beginning to grow more quiet. It was half past 11, and many of the medics had chosen to leave the main area where the function was being held. Jac and Zosia were sat together at a table near the bar, with two investors from Glasgow, with thick Scottish accents and £30,000 in funds to donate to a worthy cause. They'd ordered another round of drinks, talking for almost two hours about the intricacies of their new project, before the investors – two men from HeathAdvance, a private healthcare company, began to make an offer.
"I'd be happy to give you both £20,000 funding for this project, although we would of course expect regular meetings and we would like to be fully involved with the process, at least as much as we can be. I think it's an amazing idea you both have, and I think with our resources and connections this could really be the start of something fantastic. It obviously has potential, and I think HealthAdvance would be absolutely thrilled to have two stellar surgeons like yourselves on board." The first man smiled, draining his whiskey.
"Wow. That would be quite something, thank you." Jac responded, as Zosia nodded in thanks, trying to process what this would mean.
"Of course, I will have to get you to sign the paper work, maybe Henry would be able to bring it down now?" The second man smiled, turning to the younger man who had made the offer.
"Fantastic. It's so good that you want in on this project, we do really feel it could go far." Jac replied, agreeing. She was pleased she'd been offered funding – of course, she'd expected to gain something out of the conference, but she was thinking it would be more after her pitch. Smiling, she turned to Zosia as the other man got up to go and get the paperwork.
The man nodded, smiling before he began to talk about himself.
"I was once a junior on a cardiology ward, back in 78' when I was first doing my first rotation. It was one of the most eye opening things I have ever observed, and even though I decided to go into Neurology I still like to keep up to date with all of the advances. I don't believe we've ever had the pleasure of meeting before, but I wish you the best of luck with these future plans and I hope we will be able to work together very successfully." The man smiled, looking at both Zosia and Jac in turn.
Zosia smiled, tilting her head towards the man.
"Neurology? You may know my father, Guy Self? He did some work in Aberdeen two years ago, on the cranial reconstruction project?" She questioned, holding eye contact as he smiled in recognition.
"Oh yes, the great Guy Self. Talented, ever so talented. I did meet him on several occasions, and he mentioned a daughter – I'm surprised it didn't click." The man laughed, holding out his hand for her to shake before extending it to Jac.
The pair shared stories of the great Guy Self, sipping their drinks until the other investor returned with the paperwork. By the time it was all signed and settled, it was becoming very late, and after a small conversation between the four of them Jac and Zosia were left at the table alone, with promises from the men that they would be up to watch their presentation in the morning.
Jac stood up, picking up her drink from the table and gesturing for Zosia to do the same. They made their way across the room to where Serena, Bernie, Morven and Jas were sat around a large table, laughing and drinking as they chatted animatedly about work and their lives. For Serena, it was a lovely opportunity for her to catch up with her old Birmingham colleagues, and as predicted she had steadily consumed more alcohol as she laughed with old friends.
Jac sat down next to Bernie, gesturing for Zosia to sit beside her. She waited until Serena noticed, before telling her of the investors. The other medics at the table, from Birmingham and Coventry, were silent as she spoke, admiring her confidence – on the first night of the conference she had secured funding, before her presentation no less. Serena smiled warmly at the two cardiothoracic surgeons, congratulating them as everyone around the table did the same.
"I'm very pleased for you Jac, you and Zosia both deserve it. I'm sure Henrik will be thrilled." She smiled, stumbling slightly over her words as she tried, unsuccessfully, to hold back a giggle.
"Serena my love, I think we'd best get upstairs – look, we're the only table left." Bernie laughed, looking around the room to where the other tables were being stripped and cleared.
"I will. I just want to show everyone Swede, I can't wait to get him." Serena smiled, childlike pleasure on her face as she recalled the kitten she had somehow talked Bernie into buying.
"Ok. Show them the cat then bed, we have an early start and I don't think your head is going to feel so lovely in the morning." Bernie replied, as Serena pulled out her phone.
After showing everyone her cat, Serena smiled brightly before announcing she was off to bed, standing shakily with the support of Bernie. She snuggled in to the army medic's side, before placing an arm around her back and exiting the room.
Zosia and Morven looked at each other as last orders were announced at the bar, the only medics that remained were the Holby lot, Tom, a 23 year old F1 and Holly, a 34 year old junior doctor with the Birmingham medics.
"Shots?" Zosia smiled, turning around to face the table as Jac held up her hands in mock surrender.
"Don't forget we're presenting tomorrow." She warned lightly, not too concerned because she knew that Zosia rarely suffered from severe hangovers, they were relatively safe.
"I will. I mean, I won't. Anyway, shots?" Zosia asked, and the whole table nodded, watching as Zosia moved to the bar, a determined look on her face. Jac sighed fondly, after the amazing offer they had just received from the investor she was more than happy to celebrate.