Notes:

From here on out, this goes slightly canon-divergent, at least in terms of Serena's storyline, in that Jo was never an AAU patient, thus Serena doesn't learn of her presence at Holby, nor of Jo's death - aka no resulting downwards spiral or impending leave of absence. She's maintaining actual therapy sessions in Holby.

The information I have for the bullying and intimidation reporting process comes from an NHS Document: NHS Employers guidance: Bullying and harrassment ( ~/media/Employers/Publications/Bullying%20and% )

In the moments after Dom left her office to head up to the Keller on-call room, Bernie sat back heavily into her chair and took in a few good deep breaths. Things between Dom and Isaac were deteriorating much quicker than she'd imagined. She'd been so focused on Serena, that she'd felt that she'd neglected other relationships. Leaning her elbows on the desk, she leaned forward until her hands rested against her temples then pushed into her hair, dislodging the elastic holding her hair back. Her plans for helping Dom were going to be more immediate than she had planned. First that involved talking with Serena to update her on the current changes, and then send off a request for an urgent meeting with Sacha and Mr. Hanssen. As much as she would have loved to have Isaac held indefinitely by Security, there needed to be some due process; they couldn't just shut him into a brig and let him wait it out.

Grabbing a pen and paper, she started to quickly jot down some notes about the incident she had witnessed in Pulses before she was interrupted and details were lost. In addition she wrote up a list of potential staff that the investigation might need to interview. From her experience, theatre staff from scrub nurses to anaesthetists to operating technicians, they were all very observant, not only about patients on the operating table, but also aware of the interactions of the surgeons involved in the cases. Whether they said anything or not, they could tell if a team worked well together or if there were tensions between staff. Ideally, an operating theatre ran smoothly when there was a cohesiveness between staff. When there wasn't, obviously, it increased the tension and created risk for error.

Bernie also started in on her plan that she'd discussed with Serena earlier, in regards to further skills training for Dom on AAU. Hunched over the desk, hurriedly writing, is how Serena found her when she arrived a few moments later.

Stood at the door frame watching her partner so focused on her task that she hadn't heard her approach, Serena quickly rapped on the frame, startling Bernie from her writing. "Hi," Serena said softly as she moved to perch against Bernie's desk, facing her. "What happened earlier?"

Bernie relayed the incident she'd witnessed and intervened in down in Pulses café, pursing out a steady breath as she reached the end of her report. At some point, she'd felt Serena gently rubbing circles on her forearm. She welcomed the warmth of their connection, releasing some of the stress that had been building up in her.

Serena smiled as she leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Bernie's forehead. "My big macho army medic." Leaning back, she drew her hand to Bernie's face, rubbing the back of her fingers against her cheek. "So, you've been writing away in here. What's your plan?"

Leaning into the touch, Bernie sighed. "For Mr. Mayfield, I need to speak with Sacha and Mr. Hanssen as soon as possible and inform them of the situation. I've got to type up the formal incident report to submit. After that, I guess it will depend on how their investigation goes."

"And Dom?"

"I'm worried about him. I think we can spare Raf for the night; send him up to Keller to replace Mr. Mayfield. I'd like to keep Dom down here if he's willing."

"Sounds good." Serena looked at the weariness on Bernie's face, the dark circles under her eyes that the minimal make-up that her partner wore couldn't conceal. "How are you, Bernie?"

"Fine," Bernie started, blowing out a large breath. "Actually, no. I'm not."

Serena raised an eyebrow as she moved to grasp Bernie's hand in hers, interweaving their fingers. Rather than pushing her to say anything further she waited.

"I'm frustrated and I'm mad, and more than a bit guilty. Why couldn't I see what was happening? He's a friend." Bernie leaned herself forward until her head was resting on an arm on the desk.

"Bernie, it's not your fault. We're on different wards for one thing. We're not omniscient; we can't see everything going on in the hospital. Also, I'd say that most of Isaac's bullying behaviours thus far have been mostly in private, out of view of others, until you heard them last night, correct?"

Bernie nodded.

"Okay. Has Dom decided whether he wants to file a complaint himself? It would help the case against Isaac if he did."

"I did mention it to him, and I've told him I'll get him some incident report forms. He's just gone to lie down for a bit in the on-call room." Looking up at Serena, Bernie continued, "Thank you. You've got so much else to focus on. I hate to add to that."

Serena placed her hand on Bernie's cheek, raising her face. "Bernie, it's okay. You're doing most of the work on this case." Serena smiled. "Today's been a good day for me. I take them as they come. I'll let you know if that changes."

"I do love you. Never forget that." Bernie sat up straighter in her chair and leaned over to press a brief kiss to Serena's lips before she stood and stretched. "Fancy a coffee before you head home? I need some more caffeine before I tackle typing that stuff up and take it to Sacha and Hanssen."

"Hmmm. That would be lovely. Jason's at Alan's this evening so I don't have to rush home to get supper ready."

"Oh, I took out that carbonara casserole out of the freezer to thaw for you before I left. You'll just need to reheat it." Bernie grabbed some change from the pocket of her hoodie. "Could you send a brief note to Sacha and Hanssen that I need to see them as soon as possible with regards to Mr. Mayfield?"

"Will do."

"Thanks. See you in a few minutes."

Returning bearing caffeine and a couple of chocolate chip muffins, Bernie handed Serena hers and then plopped herself in her chair and gathered her files, opening up a new file on her computer to type in her report. Thirty minutes later, reports sent to print, she stood and headed over to Serena, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you hanging around a bit or heading home soon?" Bernie asked.

"I'll wait until you get back. All ready?" Serena laid her hand over Bernie's.

"As I'll ever be." Pressing a kiss to Serena's forehead, Bernie smiled. "Thanks."

Henrik Hanssen's office held a strange sense of calm for Bernie. Whilst her own workspace often resembled a tornado hit had she not made an effort of tidiness for Serena's sake, Hanssen's meticulous attention to a neat and ordered office helped her focus her thoughts and plan for action. The quietness of the office as they awaited Sacha Levy's presence at this moment was not felt as awkward, as neither of them felt the need for idle chatter and Sacha arrived just a couple of minutes after Bernie.

"Thank you for both agreeing to see me. A serious matter of bullying and intimidation has occurred, repeatedly between Dr. Mayfield and Dr. Copeland, wherein Mr. Copeland has been on the receiving end. While it is my belief that this is certainly not the first, nor the second, time that this behaviour has taken place on or off hospital property, these have been two incidents in this hospital that I have discovered and witnessed. The first took place last night. It was written up in an incident report and filed with the Human Resources department. I have copies here for both of you." Bernie handed over the reports, although an electronic copy had also been flagged for both of them as well. "At that point, I had separated the two of them, leaving Mr. Mayfield - after a cooling off period - returning to Keller and I provided them with a locum to cover Mr. Copeland's absence from the ward. Dom came down to AAU for the remainder of his shift."

"And Mr. Mayfield is now being held in Security. Ms. Campbell said you had to physically restrain him from Dr. Copeland this evening?"

"Yes." She handed over to them her formal incident report outlying the nature of the situation which she encountered in the hospital café earlier that evening before giving them a verbal report in highlights.

Looking over at Sacha, Bernie noticed her tall friend had a muted and saddened expression crossing his face. And, she noted, a much similar emotion that she herself had shared with Serena - guilt. Guilt that neither of them had seen it coming, or rather missed the signs for what they were. She nodded and acknowledged his response.

"What do you recommend, Ms. Wolfe?" Henrik spoke after several long minutes. He liked the young CT2 and felt there had been more behind Dr. Copeland's willingness to take the fall for Mr. Mayfield's management of his patient's care - or rather lack of appropriate care leading to potential life-threatening outcomes. He needed to re-evaluate the case of recent potential negligence, taking into more serious account the comments from the casualty department's receptionist, Noel Garcia, and a proper report of the case from Doctor Copeland.

"An immediate suspension and a formal investigation into the intimidation and bullying. This is going to be fairly sensitive because of the nature their personal relationship. Mr. Mayfield's manipulation and intimidation crosses the boundary between personal and professional when he brings those behaviours into the workplace to the point where it affects Dr. Copeland's professional practice. I've included some names of people to speak with though I'm certain Mr. Levy can expand on that from Keller's perspective." Bernie sighed, putting her hands into her pockets.

Henrik nodded. "Do you think that Dr. Copeland is at further physical risk from Mr. Mayfield at the moment."

"I think it's a very real possibility. Dom has said that Dr. March has offered to provide him a safe place for the time being. I'm arranging for him to go get his things from his flat with Mr. Mayfield. I recommend that we keep Mr. Mayfield with Security until Dom returns to the hospital for Dom's safety."

"Oh, I think I can find ways to keep Mr. Mayfield occupied until then," Hanssen spoke with grim determination. He did not like disorder, and Mr. Mayfield certainly fell into that category.

"Sacha, if you don't mind, I would like to keep Dom down on AAU tonight." Bernie smiled, trying to lighten the mood a little. "He's shown a keen aptitude for trauma surgery."

Sacha turned to her, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "Really?"

"Don't worry. I'm not poaching your surgeon permanently. And since you'd otherwise be short two surgeons, we can spare Raf for a shift or I can call in my locum buddy."

Nodding, Sacha responded, "Not a problem. Send Raf up when you're ready."

"Will do." Turning to Henrik, Bernie added. "If you see no objection, I have provisionally offered Dr. Copeland to be present with him for any questioning during the investigation and he's agreed."

"Do you think he will press legal charges?" Sacha asked, hopefully. He really didn't want to see his junior doctor and friend further abused, physically or emotionally. Dom had a lot of friends in Holby, and he wanted to make sure the younger doctor knew that, and that they would stand with him.

"I don't know. I can recommend it as a course of action, but that's going to be up to him. A restraining order might not be a bad idea though."

Standing up, Henrik came around his desk, and stopped before her, quickly nodding his head. "You've got our support, Ms. Wolfe. If there's anything else I can do, just let me know."

Bernie smiled at both of them. "Thank you," she said before turning and leaving Hanssen's office and heading down to Keller's on-call room to meet with Dom and let him know what was going on. She blew out a heavy breath. The meeting had been the first big step towards helping her friend start his recovery process. It was likely to get a lot more complicated and risked hurting him more, but in the long run, she hoped it would be beneficial for him, and she was willing to help him as much as she could - and as much as he would allow.