A/N: This was meant to be up last night but this site was playing up again :/ thanks again to anyone who has read and reviewed so far!
Sarah x
Dressed and in the kitchen by half past six out of little more than habit, Hanssen gazed out the window; he saw very little but snow and a grey sky. Nothing he had not driven in before, but the difference was that he did not know these roads like he knew the Swedish roads. He was tempted to leave Serena sleeping and tell Ninewells that the roads were too bad; she had barely slept last night, and he was convinced he had heard her crying when he allowed her to believe he was sleeping. What had come over her, he was unsure, but he could see she was doubting how he felt about her. He was doubting how he felt about her, though perhaps in the opposite direction she was thinking of.
He realised suddenly that there was nothing for breakfast in the cupboards. With a sigh he grabbed his coat and his wallet, and decided to wake Jonny. He knocked lightly and slipped into Jac and Jonny's room, allowing a tiny smile at the way they were lying – Jac's head was leaning against Jonny's chest under his chin, his arm draped over her.
"Jonny," Hanssen shook the Scot's arm lightly. He stirred and opened his eyes.
"Wassup?" Jonny muttered.
"I need you to come to the farm shop with me before breakfast," Hanssen said. "There's no food and I don't think Jac will appreciate the lack of a breakfast, will she?"
Jonny sighed and removed Jac from his grasp, sitting up and rubbing his face until he was fully awake. "Definitely not."
"We'll just get a few things and then we'll go to a supermarket tonight," explained Hanssen.
"Aye, OK," Jonny moaned. "Just let me get some clothes on."
Hanssen left him and went to get a pair of shoes and his car keys; he looked at Serena's sleeping form, the duvet up to her chin and her face finally peaceful. The only time she didn't stress was when she slept, and sometimes he wondered if she even dreamt of her worries. With a sigh he knelt down, deciding, at quarter to seven, it was time to wake her. "Serena," he said gently. "Come on. Wake up now." He touched her face lightly and she stirred. When her eyes opened it was abundantly obvious that he was right; she had been crying. "You fascinate me sometimes, you know," he sighed. "Why were you in tears?"
"Hmm?" she asked, still half-asleep. "Oh, that...just ignore me. I'm being silly." He said nothing, holding his tongue until he worked out for himself what she would not tell him. "What time is it?"
"Almost seven. Jonny and I are about to go and get something to make for breakfast. We won't be long." He went to stand up but he was caught by surprise when Serena pulled him down again. "What?" he asked. She remained wordless and frozen for a moment before she pulled him in and kissed him harshly. This didn't feel right – it felt like she was trying to make up for something, or maybe that she was trying to banish something within herself.
He broke away and put a hand on her bare arm. It had been the same last night. It was like every emotion he saw in her was being heightened, making her act irrationally. "I..." she began. "Sorry."
This was not who he was used to, and she was fine until she had set foot in this house. Cautious, perhaps, of more childish antics, but she had not cried or been unsure of herself like this. "I won't be long," he reminded her. "We'll try and leave at about half past eight. I know we're not due at Ninewells until ten but I'd rather be early than late."
"Are the roads that bad?" she murmured.
"I don't know yet," he admitted. He touched Serena's lips with the tips of his fingers before he turned and left her in bed, confused by her demeanour. He sighed and stood in the hallway and leaned against the wall. His head was suddenly aching like someone had hit him with a sledgehammer. He pressed the heel of his hand into his forehead like it might have driven the pain back in to disappear, but it was no use.
"You OK?" Jonny's voice rang out.
"Yes," sighed Hanssen, walking out the door as Jonny put his coat on. The nurse wandered away for a moment, gazing down into the snow. "What are you looking for?" he asked Jonny.
"Footprints," he explained. "I checked last night but I thought I'd check when it was a bit lighter out." Well, that explained everything. Not. Why on Earth was he looking for footprints in the snow? "If I'm wrong there should be man's footprints and two kids'. See, there were folk out here last night."
"You've lost me," Hanssen admitted. "I didn't hear anyone out here."
"Yeah, well, if what I walked in on is anything to go by, I assume you and Ms. Campbell were pretty busy last night," Jonny quipped, and Hanssen could just about feel his face turn red as the snow hit his cheeks. "I, on the other hand, was up feeding the monster when we saw two kids and a man out here."
"Could they have been covered with more snow?" Hanssen asked.
"You'd still see them," Jonny replied. "Nut, there's nothing there." He returned to Hanssen's side. "I don't get it."
"Perhaps you were still half-asleep and you dreamt it?" he suggested. It was a bit odd, yes, but not anything to worry about. But Jonny's face said otherwise. "Did Jac see anything?"
"Yeah," replied Jonny.
"Come on," Hanssen beckoned him. They got in the car and Hanssen turned the key and waited for the engine to heat up. He thought on Serena again, his head still aching, and realised just how much of a change she had undergone in one night. She had said things he had never heard her say before, and she had cried when she never would normally have cried.
Jonny broke the quiet with the question, "What's eating you?"
Hanssen looked around, keeping back his worries from Jonny. It wasn't worth his trouble, and he had a pregnant girlfriend to worry about. He didn't need whatever was happening to Serena on his mind as well. "Nothing," he finally said. "It's nothing."
He put his foot down on the clutch and shifted the car into first gear and carefully set off through the four inches of snow on the ground. "I'm going to have to shovel the drive," Jonny said. "I'll get Serena to help me. She doesn't seem to mind a little bit of manual labour," he added. Hanssen glanced around to throw Jonny a quick glare, and the Scot only smiled at his own innuendo.
When he reached the main road, Hanssen was relieved to see a little slush but not much real snow on the road. How long such conditions would last, and where they would end, was another matter entirely. But for now he was free to go down to the farm shop with little real effort. When he eventually stepped out, the wind was starting to get up again and the snow was starting to fall fairly heavily.
"You know, I think it's kinda cute," Jonny piped up. Hanssen looked at him questioningly. "You and Ms. Campbell."
"Thank you for that, Jonny," sighed Henrik. He walked into the shop, glad that it opened at seven on weekdays. "What's Jac inclined to eat?"
Jonny laughed. "Anything high in fat, sugar and starch." He picked up a seven and a half kilo sack of potatoes. "A bag of Maris Pipers, some cheese and some butter will do for Jac." Hanssen raised an eyebrow but Jonny just shrugged. "Cheesy mashed tatties are her favourite thing on the planet at the moment," he shrugged.
Hanssen shook his head to himself. "If that's what she's going to eat," he sighed. He picked up some milk and a loaf of bread, some coffee, some orange juice, some sugar and a box of cereal, realising that he really did need to go to a supermarket tonight. By the time they had paid and got to the car, the snow was falling thicker than when they had entered.
He started the engine and turned the local radio on as he reversed around. "...and finally, both lanes southbound of the A92 are closed at Ardestie due an accident involving a car and a jackknifed lorry. Diversions are in place but road users are advised to take another route if possible and safe to do so as police are expected to be investigating the incident for at least the next few hours," the news reader finished before music started playing.
"Gotta love jackknifed lorries," Jonny grumbled. "Sounds like we'll have to go to Forfar and down the A90. What fun."
"What fun indeed," Hanssen concurred. If lorries were slipping on the A92 then he couldn't imagine the A90 being much better off. He pulled into the drive and cut the engine. Jonny took the shopping bags and Hanssen took the potatoes, locking the door behind him. By the time he got inside, his headache had returned, making him feel like he was submerged in icy water while a knife was being stuck through his head. He ended up dropping the potatoes in the hallway, blinded by the pain in his head, bent double and clutching his head trying to relieve it. "Argh!" he exclaimed. Normally he handled physical pain very well but this was pain like he had never felt before.
Footsteps from behind him sounded a million times louder than they should have been, and Serena's voice went straight through him. "Henrik," she said. It was muffled and high pitched like he was underwater. "Henrik, what's wrong?"
He looked around at Serena, whose tired face was filled with concern and a thousand other emotions as she stared at him. "My head," he muttered. "I've got a blinding headache."
"OK," she murmured. He felt her lips brush his cheek. "Come on and I'll get you some painkillers, love." The last word caught him by surprise but he didn't call her on it; he was concentrating too much on ridding himself of the ache. He sat down at the kitchen table and took the glass of water and paracetamol Serena handed him. He was about to put the pills in his mouth when the pain vanished, leaving him feeling strangely light and relieved.
Serena's arms fell down his chest as she stood behind him and kissed his head. "It's gone," he muttered, putting the pills carefully on the table. "Completely gone."
Behind him at the sink Jonny was already peeling potatoes after picking them up from the hallway. "You alright?" he asked. "You were looking a bit peaky."
"I'm fine," Hanssen said honestly. The pain had completely evaporated; it was extremely odd, perhaps even a little frightening, but it had gone as fast as it had come on. "I don't know what happened." He stood up and started making coffee and toast, trying to work out in medical terms how that had happened. But it had happened and he had to just accept it.
In walked Jac, trying to force the zip of her hoodie over her bump to no avail. Coming to the rescue, Serena said, "Jac, go into the wardrobe in my room and get my blue one. It'll be bigger than yours."
She seemed thoroughly embarrassed but nonetheless, Jac said, "Thanks," and went to Hanssen and Serena's bedroom to get some clothes that might actually fit her. Jonny put the potatoes on the ring to boil, and Hanssen was having trouble comprehending that Jac actually wanted mashed potatoes and cheese for her breakfast. That would have been enough to make him sick.
Jonny turned on the radio – probably a good idea if they wanted to keep tabs on the road conditions and closures – and Serena pulled herself up to sit on the counter. Once again she appeared cheerful, and it unnerved Hanssen a little. He had been trying to relax here, hence why he had allowed some affection to show last night in front of Jac and Jonny, but Serena's mood was taking a one-eighty every half hour, it seemed.
Jac returned looking more comfortable in Serena's sweater, looking in the pot. "Cheese and mashed potatoes," sighed Jac. "I love you, Jonny Maconie." She quickly kissed him and leaned against the counter; at least, it seemed, that things between Jac and Jonny were bright and loving.
Hope this was OK!
Please feel free to leave me a review and tell me what you think!
Sarah x