Finally getting a moment to sit down in her office, Bernie leaned forward, pushing her hair out of her eyes before resting her forehead against her palms. She was tired. They had managed to get Dom into surgery as x-rays had indicated three fractured ribs and some internal bleeding due to the kicks to his side. Fortunately, the bones had not punctured his lungs or any other organs and they were able to repair the damage to the ribs with some rods and pins, and the liver laceration was repaired. The young surgeon was now in HDU on Keller recuperating, Sacha and Essie keeping close watch over him. For now, it was a waiting game to see what would happen.

After the surgery, Bernie had been called to Hanssen's office to give her report to the police officers. Being required to give evidence to in regard to a physical attack was not new to her, nor was it the first time that a friend had been the injured party. Nonetheless, it was never easy. Henrik had offered her the use of his office to speak with the officers as he was going to use the time to go check on Dr. Copeland.

Directing the officers to sit in the chairs, she brought Henrik's chair around to make it seem less formal. Despite the setting however, her posture was straight-lined, knees bent at a ninety degree angle and her fingers interlaced and resting on her lap.

"Thank you, Ms. Wolfe. I'm PC Robyn Harker, and this is PC Tim Jamison," the detective spoke, indicating herself and her partner. "Before we get to the incident report, could you give us your name and position here at Holby City General?"

Smiling at both of the officers, Bernie replied, "Berenice Wolfe, Consultant Trauma Surgeon and co-Clinical Lead of the Acute Admissions Unit, Retired Major, Royal Army Medical Corps."

"And you've been at Holby for how long?" PC Harker asked.

"Just over a year. RAMC 26 years."

"Impressive. How long have you known Dr. Copeland?" Harker asked again.

"When I started here as a locum consultant February 2016, I moved around the surgical wards for a bit before coming on as a permanent consultant. Mr. Copeland is one of the junior doctors on Keller ward." Bernie smiled wistfully at the memory evoked of Dom and Dr. Digby vying for assist roles in surgery. "He had worked with me on a number of cases over the time I spent on the ward. He'd also become a friend in that time - one of the few that I'd made since my return to civilian life."

After making note of Bernie's remarks, the female PC asked, "So you're aware of Mr. Copeland's relationship with Mr. Mayfield?"

"It's Dr. Copeland, and yes, I am."

"What did you make of that relationship?" PC Jamison asked.

Taking the question at face value rather than assuming the worst, Bernie replied, "If you're asking how did I think how the relationship was going, then up until recently, I didn't know that it had gotten so bad." Bernie looked down at her folded hands in her lap and she sighed. "I regret that I hadn't had a chance to catch up with him as much as I'd have liked. My partner's daughter died just after Christmas, so my focus was with her and her family and on work."

PC Harker picked up on her statement. "You said recently in regard to changes in Dr. Copeland's relationship with Dr. Mayfield? What changes?"

"A couple of days ago, I found Dr. Mayfield bullying and intimidating Dr. Copeland. It was behind closed doors but it was loud and clear enough that I could hear what was being said as I was walking in the corridor - not the full argument but enough to cause concern." Shaking her head, Bernie added, "When I intervened, Dr. Copeland was visibly strained and anxious. Following that, I filed an incident report with Human Resources and the two doctors were separated for the remainder of the shift. There will also be an incident report from a situation in the cafe downstairs last evening. Mr. Hanssen can provide both of those to you."

"Thank you, Ms. Wolfe," PC Harker said. "To your knowledge, what lead to the attack on Dr. Copeland tonight?"

Bernie recounted the incident from the cafe and subsequent actions of retrieving Dom's things from the flat, and Mr. Hanssen holding Dr. Mayfield in custody until their return. That after having Dom paged twice to help her in a trauma case on her ward and not having him respond, she decided to go find out where he was after her patient was stable. Having noticed Dr. Mayfield leave the locker room, she opened the door and found Dom lying on his side. Pausing, she stood and moved around the room, ostensibly stretching her legs and back which had been irritating her with tensed muscles, but it also helped to organise her thoughts. Grabbing a glass on Hanssen's side table, she poured herself some water, then offered some to the officers. She came round to stand in front of Hanssen's desk, resting back against it.

"Not that the chair isn't comfortable but do you mind if I stand for a while? Sore back," she added by way of explanation.

"Work injury?" PC Jamison asked.

"Hit by an IED," Bernie replied, smiling as she noted both officer's eyebrows raise. "Afghanistan. It's what landed me here in Holby."

"Wow." Jamison responded, sounding suitably impressed.

Thoughts organised, Bernie pressed on. "Anyway, back to Dr. Copeland. After I assessed he was stable enough for the moment, I sent Nurse Harrison in to stay with him to monitor for changes, and I left for the Nursing station on Keller where Mr. Levy, the Consultant General Surgeon for the ward, was standing along with Dr. Mayfield. Once Mr. Hanssen arrived with security officers to take Dr. Mayfield into custody, Mr. Levy and I took Dom into theatre to repair his injuries. Photographs of his injuries were taken prior to us starting to operate - Mr. Hanssen will give you those; they're in Dr. Copeland's admission records." Bernie took another sip of water and a deep breath. "Dr. Copeland had three fractured ribs, and a lacerated liver - all of which we were able to repair, and he also has some bruising to his face, but no structural damage there."

"When will we be able to speak with him?" PC Harker asked.

"He's currently in the High Dependency Unit on Keller, on a heavy dose of pain medication and antibiotics. It will probably be several hours before he's awake enough to answer any questions. Mr. Hanssen's office will be in touch as soon as he's ready." Bernie looked over at the clock on his wall; she hadn't had time to put her watch on after her earlier trauma case. It was already going on half eleven. She rubbed her eyes. "Sorry," she said, placing her hands around the edge of the desk. "Is there anything more?"

"Not right now. You've given us a lot to go on. If we need you for any further clarification, we'll be in touch."

"I'm sure Mr. Hanssen will release whatever documentation is needed. I need to get back to my patients." Just as she stood up straight Bernie's stomach growled, loud enough that everyone heard.

"Or maybe something to eat first?" PC Harker suggested with a smirk.

"Yeah, probably a good idea," Bernie responded with a grin. "After all, not a good sign for the patients when the doctors are fainting on them."

PC Harker looked over at Bernie with an odd expression. "Ah, no. I don't think so. Thank you, Ms. Wolfe."

"You're welcome." Bernie ushered the two police officers from the office and directed them to the bank of lifts where they parted company and then she headed back down to AAU. Before she went in search of food, she needed give Serena an update she had promised her. She just hoped she wouldn't interrupt her. She sighed then took her mobile out of her pocket.

'Hey, sorry to disturb. Are you awake?' Bernie texted her as she continued her journey to the ward. Just as she swiped her ID on the panel to AAU her mobile rang. She looked at the caller identification and smiled as she saw Serena's name there.

"Hey, busy night?" Serena asked, her voice sounding a bit tired but still wanting that connection with Bernie.

"Yeah," Bernie responded as she headed directly for her office, fending off curious inquiries from her colleagues for the time being. She needed to talk with Serena before briefing them. "Sacha and I had to take Dom in for surgery."

"Wait? What?" Serena interjected, suddenly very much awake and alert. "Back up. Last I knew you were taking him over to get his things from the flat? What happened?"

"Isaac happened. We had a couple of traumas come in to AAU and Dom was supposed to come help me after bringing his stuff from Keller's locker room down to our office. He hadn't shown after a couple of pages, so after surgery I went looking for him after the traumas were stabilised." Bernie continued to relay the subsequent events, laying out his injuries, the surgery and current status of the young CT2 surgeon for Serena, fielding questions her partner had as she explained.

For a moment there was silence aside from their breathing as they both tried to absorb the enormity of the situation for their young colleague. "Do you want me to come back in?"

Bernie smiled as she responded, "Thank you for offering, but no. You need your rest; you're back here in the morning. Besides there's not much can be done for him now but continue to monitor his vitals and keep an eye on him. Sacha and Essie are doing that up on Keller. He's in good hands. I'll pop up later when I'm on break." Bernie leant back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling, just feeling calmer for talking to Serena, sharing her concerns. "Thank you for listening."

"Any time," Serena responded. Sensing her partner needed a bit of levity before going out on the ward, she added, "Here's one for the books - I managed to answer two of the questions on Only Connect before Jason tonight - and got them right. I don't think he was very amused." Her reward was a hearty laugh out of Bernie.

Following a moment of peaceful silence, Bernie added a quiet, "I love you."

Bernie's conversation was interrupted by a rapid few knocks on the door then Fletch quickly popping his head in the office.

"Our female trauma patient from earlier - her sats are dropping, increased pain on her left side and there's blood in her urine."

"Thanks, Fletch, I'll be right out," Bernie responded to him before returning to her call. "Sorry, Serena, I've got to go."

"Go on. I'll talk to you later. Love you, too."

Bernie disconnected the call on her mobile, dropping the phone into her pocket then headed over her trauma bay to attend to her patient.

By the time Bernie, Morven and Fletch had finished with their patient in theatre, the woman was stabilised and resting in a pain-controlled sleep back on the ward and Bernie's stomach grumbled, yet again reminding her of the need of sustenance. It hadn't escaped Fletch's attention either.

"Best go feed the beast," Fletch grinned as he glanced towards her stomach. "Morven and I can handle things for a bit. We'll page you if anything comes through. And if you want to pop up and see how Dom is, give him our best." After a moment of Bernie's confusion, he added, "Mr. Hanssen told Raf, Raf told us."

"Thank you." Bernie sighed. Holby was family. At times a rather dysfunctional family, Bernie noted, but family all the same and they tried to help each other whenever possible. She retreated to her office to pull some cash from her purse, stuffing it in her scrub pants and grabbed her hoodie, pulling it on as she headed towards the lift.

Ten minutes later, she held a takeaway cup of coffee and packaged sandwich as she walked off the lift and onto Keller. She greeted Sacha and Essie at the desk, inquiring into Dom's status before she headed towards HDU.

Out of habit, Bernie picked up his chart, checking the young surgeon's chart at the end of the bed. Satisfied with the notations, she dropped it back in its holder and glanced over at the monitors. Everything stable, she pulled over a chair, thankful that a more cushioned chair had been pulled into the room rather than the usual hard plastic ones that was typical.

"You know, this wasn't exactly what I meant by having you in surgery with me this evening, Dr. Copeland. You weren't supposed to be the patient." Bernie reached out her hand to cover Dom's but momentarily hesitated before continuing. She bit down lightly on her lower lip. "Mr. Levy says your vitals have been stable." Being at the bedside of a colleague and friend was nothing new to her in her military career, but fortunately it hadn't been much of an occurrence for her here at Holby. She kept a stilted conversation up while she finished her snack, keeping a medication-induced sleeping Dom apprised of some of AAU's antics. She hadn't realized how long she'd been there, as her pager hadn't buzzed off and it was only when she noticed Essie coming in to do another vitals check that she looked up at the wall clock.

"Oh, shit." Bernie grabbed the empty paper cup and package and dumped them into the rubbish bin. "Sorry, I didn't realize how late it was. Here, I'll get out of your way."

"You're not in the way, Ms. Wolfe. I can check these on either side. But, you do have a visitor out at the desk." At Bernie's curious glance, Essie just smiled and nodded her head in the direction of the main part of the ward.

Bernie stuffed her hands into her pockets as she stood and headed towards the door. "You will continue to let me know how he's doing?"

"Of course," Essie replied gently as she walked over to the monitors, making note of the vitals, and checking Dom's dressings as Bernie ducked out of the room.

Heading to the nurse's desk, Bernie went from being surprised to elated to concerned as she noted a tired Serena standing there talking to Sacha.

"Serena? What…?" Bernie asked, her thoughts jumbled. While her brain was still trying to catch up, her body had no such constraint and she gathered her partner into her arms, breathing in her scent.

"I asked you if you wanted me to come in, I didn't ask if you needed me to," Serena responded, as she wrapped her arms tightly around Bernie.

"Not that I really don't appreciate this, I do. I very much needed this…needed you.

But you're working in the morning. You should be sleeping." Without caring that she was near the front of Keller ward, mostly full of patients and fellow staff despite the late hour, Bernie placed a hand around the back of Serena's neck as she leaned in to kiss her forehead, nose, and finally her lips.

"Tomorrow morning is covered," Serena said as she pulled back slightly. "The benefits of being management, I can call in favours. And you, my love, are coming with me for a break. I've told Raf and Fletch they can page us if needed."

"Serena, where are we going?" Bernie asked as she was being guided along by Serena's hand.

"Patience, Ms. Wolfe." Serena smiled as she directed them towards an on-call room nowhere near AAU or Keller. A little used one by the looks of it as there were some storage boxes piled to one corner and a couple IV poles pushed into an alcove. Grabbing some fresh linens from a cupboard, Serena quickly deposited her bag on the side table and made up the bed.

It wasn't until she lay down on it that Bernie really took in Serena's appearance for the first time and she grinned. She can't really remember a time when her partner looked anything other than her professional best at the hospital, whether in scrubs or her usual business casual, or on the rare occasion of being dressed to the nines to try to woo money out of wealthy donors. At the moment though Serena was wearing a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and covered by an old over-sized navy blue Holby hoodie that had a couple bleach stains on the cuffs of the sleeves and Bernie thought she looked completely adorable.

Bernie got down on the narrow bed, her back against the wall and she pulled Serena back against her, wrapping her arms around her waist. The weariness and emotional intensity of the evening had begun to take its toll on Bernie and her last coherent thought before falling asleep was to ask about who was covering the ward while she was here curled into Serena.

"Ric. One of the favours called in. Go to sleep, love," Serena said as she turned in Bernie's arms, facing her and placing a brief kiss to her lips before cuddling in to Bernie's side and she sighed. They both needed this connection; something she'd been missing recently as she realised how much she'd pushed Bernie away in her grief. It didn't take long until she'd fallen off to sleep herself.