AN: We had a power cut on Tuesday evening and I missed most of Holby as a result; I've just caught up now and was struck by the way Serena was acting (anyone else think she sounded like a bit of a power-crazy megalomaniac in places?), especially at the end. I'm intrigued to see how this story line will play out, can't imagine Hanssen rolling over obediently.
I'd already been thinking about something that Heymylove said to me, so I've incorporated that into a bit of this as it fits and works quite well (then again, I would say that - I wrote it). It was originally meant to be a one-shot but it's grown way beyond that now and will run to several chapters but I hope you like this nonetheless. I also hope I've kept Ric's POV in character; this is his interpretation of several key events over the last six months at Holby and we'll work our way through them as we go. AU in places too.
Usual disclaimers apply; I don't own anything Holby-related, not even an autograph and although I would love to, I'm not making any money from this, this is just for fun and I'll put the characters back where I found them, when I'm done here.
I will update the other stories soon enough, this grabbed me and wouldn't release its hold until I wrote the outline at least. All things being well I should have a couple of other updates over the weekend. Hope you're all well :-)
Onwards!
Betrayal
'That', Ric thinks, ' just about sums up my day'. He scowls as he discards his now broken glasses on his new desk on AAU, watching the pieces of the frame scatter across the surface. The day was never going to start well – a young colleague's funeral cast a gloom over what should have been a day of celebration for Dr. Digby and the staff of Keller for winning the F1 prize – but it has failed to improve at all.
As the day progressed, it became harder for Ric to maintain his placid demeanour in front of the staff and patients and it's only the end of one shift of AAU. He is glad that Michael will be returning tomorrow and Ric can return back to the comfort of his domain on the fourth floor. The never-ending bustle of AAU has worn him out, it's a whole different ball game than his work on Keller, he was never going to admit it to Serena, but they both knew it.
And Serena Campbell is, without doubt, the source of his current unease. Ric throws himself back into his new office's chair and scowls at the remains of his glasses, replaying in his mind, the conversation he has just had with the woman.
He had been taking a couple more painkillers, the shift had dragged and it felt like a day since Ric had last taken anything for his back. The movement of reflected light from the ward through the glass lets him know the office door has been opened and Ric assumes it's the F1, Dr. Wilde and doesn't bother to turn around and picks up the glass of water.
"Trying day?" He swallows the tablets as well as a mouthful of water, attempting to ignore her tone of voice, reminding himself that whatever it was he had with Serena has ended and he puts the glass back down on the desk.
"Teething problems." He states indifferently. He glances around and spots her leaning casually against the doorway, identical to how he's seen her at her own house when she's worn nothing more than one of his shirts and he looks away, swallowing.
"I know from experience that AAU can be something of a slog, especially for old timers, like... us." Ric continues doing what he was doing, not sure what she wants this time; he knows better than to assume this visit is an olive branch.
"Actually I found the experience invigorating." He turns, casually leaning against the desk.
"Oh well, you know what they say, change is as good as a rest." She comments lightly and he smiles at her, missing her even though she is only stood a few feet away. "And um, I can tell you now there are going to be some big changes." He doesn't like the sound of that and when she lifts her gaze back to him, any warmth she just had in her expression has vanished and he is reminded of how dangerous this woman is, both professionally and personally.
"Meaning?" He takes the bait.
"Hanssen's decided to go back to the floor," the way Serena draws out the words make Ric realise that a bombshell is probably coming, "so as of today, I am, effectively, in charge."
He forces a patronising smile on his face, nodding; the actions masking his own hurt at the realisation that Serena was only ever interested in the power she could wield. She seems untroubled by his realisation and spares him one last look before sweeping off the ward again, looking at him as a predator would size up an opponent before deciding they were of no interest and unworthy of any effort.
Ric had watched her go, inhaling sharply as he catches the scent of her perfume and berates himself. He knows why he is so bothered by her actions but tells himself they don't have a relationship and therefore Serena is free to do whatever she wants. He tries to ignore the way it makes him feel.
Angrily pulling on his jacket, Ric looks for the clock in the small AAU office, his shift finished nearly an hour ago and he stands, making his way along the corridor to the main Wyvern exit, instead of descending from the fourth floor. He walks past the drinks vendor, the smell of coffee wafting across the lobby and Ric pauses at the automatic doors before turning back around and on a whim, orders two coffees.
He needs to talk and Ric enters the lift, hoping to find the one person whose advice he trusts implicitly.
Ric finds Elliot in his office on Darwin and wanders in with an extra coffee, pretending not to see the way Elliot's eyes immediately lock onto one of the cups in his hand.
"Give me a minute and I'll be all ears." Elliot obviously recognises Ric's need to talk. "I've got to submit this before Jac sees I haven't yet..." He trails off, frowning and wrestling with something on the iPad in front of him. "How do you cope with all this extra technology?"
Ric remains silent, deciding that a confession of still using paper and updating notes later probably won't help his friend conquer his issue and will almost certainly get him in trouble with Jac and Ric has had enough trouble from female consultants today. Finding a small, uncovered square of space on the surface, Ric deposits the two coffees.
He takes a seat, pulling it up near to Elliot's desk, marvelling that it hasn't yet collapsed and buried his friend; as long as Ric has known him, Elliot's desk has been a mess but the man always seem to be able to find what it is he is looking for. Ric waits patiently, moving his amused gaze from Elliot's whirlwind half of the office to Jac Naylor's spotless and ordered half and wonders how much Elliot's mess bothers her.
After another two minutes Elliot gives up doing whatever it was he was attempting to do and picks up his coffee. "So, have you heard the news?" Jac walks in just as Ric asks.
"What news?" She questions distractedly, not sparing either of them a glance as she searches through a desk drawer for something.
"I'm not sure..." Elliot comments but Ric waves away his concern.
"No, it's fine, you'll both hear soon enough anyway." He can see that he's got Jac's full attention. "According to Serena, Henrik is fed up of pushing paper and is leaving Serena in charge while he returns to the wards."
There is silence in the office while the two other consultants process the information. After a few moments, Jac breaks the silence. "What method did she use to get her way with the Swede?"
"Jac!" Elliot almost sounds shocked to Ric's ears and he remains silent, agreeing with Ms. Naylor's question and not able to provide an answer.
"No, it's true, first Sahira, now Serena. Something is obviously going on but I'll be damned if Darwin is going to get caught in the crossfire because they're playing games with each other."
"I don't think that's-" Jac cuts Elliot off.
"You do still want a job in a few months?"
"Of course." Elliot responds.
"Well then, we'd all better hope Serena doesn't get a taste for plastic surgery." Jac grabs her bag and stalks out of the office, leaving Ric and Elliot seated, calling after her as she shuts the door. "Night."
"Yes, well, Jac can be rather good at finding the rain cloud in every situation." Ric smiles to himself at Elliot's comment, he's known Jac long enough not to be offended by what she says.
"Jac is the rain cloud." He responds. "Possibly an acid rain cloud, eroding everything in its path with its caustic nature." Elliot doesn't respond, attempting to look disapproving but the twinkle in his eyes belies his amusement and agreement with Ric's assessment and the two lapse into a comfortable silence for a minute or so.
"How is everyone doing after Tara's death?" It's pretty obvious that the staff are grieving but Ric asks anyway.
"Oliver is understandably distraught but insists on working to distract himself." Elliot sighs and Ric gets the impression that there's been a bit of friction between the two and he hopes it passes.
"Ah."
"She was a promising Doctor." Elliot observes and Ric momentarily feels a bit selfish, coming to Elliot with his problems when his friend clearly has enough on his plate already. "Anyway, you know all this already. What's troubling you, Ric?"
"It's this news about Henrik and Serena." Ric eventually confesses, sipping his coffee to buy him so more time, "Jac's right, how has Serena managed to get Hanssen's job? And what does it mean for the rest of us?" His shoulders slump and Elliot leans back in his chair, half-hidden behind the paper mountain range he has created on his desk with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Whilst I might be mistaken, I don't think I am." Ric averts his gaze to his coffee, feeling like one of his friend's Hertzig devices under Elliot's watchful scrutiny. "I get the impression that there's more to this than you're saying."
Ric sighs, feeling torn. Elliot might portray a bumbling, gentle soul but he rarely misses a trick and nine times out of ten when he does, it's because he's deliberately turned a blind eye to what is in front of him.
Ric appreciates that he does need to talk about what is bothering him, lest his whole situation with Serena begin to negatively affect his work. As much as he wants to remain silent, he knows he can't; he also knows he cannot speak to Serena about this and of anyone, Elliot is the best person to talk to. Having made his decision, Ric straightens up in his chair and lifts his chin, his gaze meeting Elliot's and nods.
"You're right, there's a lot more to the story."
AN2: Quite a short little start but please drop me a line, I've never written Ric's POV before so some feedback and/or pointers on areas for improvement would be gratefully received.