Thank you for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter! Hope everyone enjoys this one. I have to admit, I am having real fun with this...:)
Serena sat at her desk checking her emails, replying to the ones that needed a reply, binning most of the others, saving a few for later. She had managed a couple of fitful hours of sleep after Hanssen had left, but after another hour of tossing and turning decided that enough was enough. She had arrived in her office at ten past six, slipping in past Chantelle Lane who was working the night shift. Much as she liked the young nurse, she couldn't face her bright chirpiness at this time in the morning.
Glancing at the clock, Serena realized it was now seven thirty, and she would have to finish up if she wasn't going to be late for the start of Jac's operation. As she saved her documents and closed down her email, there was a quiet knock at the door.
'Ms Campbell? I thought you could do with this'. Chantelle placed a large blueberry muffin and a coffee down on Serena's desk. Her smile was still wide and her blonde hair still perfectly in place, even though she had been working for the past thirteen hours. 'I saw you come in early and you looked busy, but if you're going to be observing Miss Naylor all morning you'll need the sugar'.
Serena smiled.
'Thanks, Chantelle. I don't think Miss Naylor would appreciate any of us observers taking a snack break later on'. She took a sip of the coffee. 'Anything happened overnight that I should know about?'
Chantelle shook her head. 'Mr Harvey in bed four is booked in for his kidney stones later – he's going to need a lot of reassuring, he's very nervous, poor man, and he threatened to back out altogether – but I'll let Mr Griffin know that when he comes in. And Mrs Jackson had a bad reaction to her anesthetic yesterday, but we sorted that with some extra anti-nausea drugs.' She thought for a moment. 'I don't think there was anything else. It's been a quiet night'.
'Okay. What time is Mr Griffin in?'
'Mr Griffin is in'.
Both Serena and Chantelle turned at the sound of a deeper voice to see Ric Griffin entering the office, dumping his briefcase on the desk and slinging his coat over the chair.
'Ah, Ric', Serena greeted him. 'Just in time, I have to disappear any moment now'.
'Hmm. Jac's new procedure. How did you wangle an invite to that one?'
Serena smirked. She liked teasing Ric, especially when he was obviously grumpy to start with. 'I must have something you don't. But don't get your knickers in a twist, I'm sure there'll be plenty of other opportunities'. She stood up, finishing the last of the muffin and picking up the coffee.
'If you need me for anything, call me'.
'Oh, I'm sure I can manage a couple of kidney stones'.
Chantelle looked worried.
'Mr Griffin, there might be a problem with the kidney stones…..'
Serena smiled as she left the office, leaving behind Chantelle's earnest explanation and Ric's impatient questions. As she walked quickly down the corridor towards the lift, she wondered how Hanssen would behave towards her. She felt slightly nervous at the thought of seeing him after last night but also – and she hated to admit this – slightly excited.
'Like a bloody teenager again', she muttered to herself, and was grateful no one else was around to see the grin that settled on her face. Hanssen had been right. On paper, it was reckless, foolish and a terrible idea. Somehow, though, when he had kissed her, it had seemed like the best idea either of them had ever had.
After ditching the empty coffee cup and making a quick stop at the bathroom, she pushed open the door to the operating theatre. There was already quite a crowd gathered, and she groaned inwardly as she saw that one of the representatives of the board was Cunningham. She realized she should have expected it, but she really couldn't stand the man. Hanssen was talking to the other two board members – she couldn't remember their names for the moment – and Elliot Hope was standing in the corner, chatting animatedly to Tara Lo. He looked over as she entered, and waved in greeting.
'Ms Campbell! Glad you could join us'.
'Elliot'. Serena nodded to him, smiling. She rather liked Elliot Hope. He reminded her of a big teddy bear, a little too soft at times for her liking but a damn good surgeon.
'I thought you were assisting?'
'Change of plan'. Elliot moved to stand beside her. 'Jac thought she wouldn't need the extra pair of hands to start with, so if all goes to plan I'll be scrubbing in later. I must say, I'm really rather excited'. He rubbed his hands together, and moved back to continue his conversation with Tara. Serena nodded to the F1, and turned to see what was happening in theatre.
'Good morning, Ms Campbell'.
Her heart skipped a beat.
'Good morning, Mr Hanssen. Mr Cunningham'.
She hoped no one but her could see the tiny twinkle in his eyes, the only indication on his otherwise professional face that anything had changed between them.
In the operating theatre, Jac Naylor turned round, her mask already on and a tiny scalpel in her hand.
'Ms Campbell'. She sounded slightly impatient, but then Jac always was. Serena discreetly checked her watch. She was bang on time.
'So, if we're all now here I'd like to make a start. Miss Effanga is assisting me to start with, Elliot Hope later on, and Nurse Maconie is here for the duration. I hope you all read the information I gave yesterday, but any questions, please ask'.
Serena smirked. It was like being back in a classroom. As Jac made the first incision, she moved to stand next to Hanssen and Cunningham.
'Does the poor man know he's like the star of a West End show?' she murmured, hoping that Jac wouldn't hear her through the intercom.
Elliot looked over and smiled. 'Oh, he was quite happy, Ms Campbell. To be honest, I think he was quite pleased with all the attention'.
'Hmm'. Serena craned her neck to see what was going on, but Jonny Maconie was successfully blocking her view.
'You look tired, Ms Campbell'.
It was Cunningham who had spoken and he turned to her now, a look of artificial concern on his face. Serena narrowed her eyes. She hoped he wasn't going to make a habit of irrelevant – and borderline rude - observations.
'I'm fine, Mr Cunningham', she replied sweetly. 'Although I didn't sleep very well last night, I have to admit. Strange dreams'.
She felt Hanssen stiffen beside her, although whether he was nervous or trying not to laugh, she couldn't tell.
'Oh?'
'Yes, too much Chinese food, I think. At one point I was in a wrestling match with a king prawn'.
Hanssen didn't quite turn his splutter into a cough in time, and Serena reached up and patted him on the back.
'Tickle in your throat?'
Cunningham looked as if he regretted starting this little sparring match already, and turned back to theatre with a stony look on his face while Hanssen cleared his throat once more and looked down at Serena. She confidently returned his gaze with an innocent, yet slightly mischievous smile, and she could have sworn she saw the corners of his mouth twitch even as his eyes gave her a warning look.
'Making the second incision'.
Jac's announcement forced their attention back to proceedings on the other side of the glass wall, and for the next two hours the conversation in the observation room was minimal. It was obvious to Serena that the board members had no idea what was going on, and were quite relieved when Cunningham announced that they had to leave, it had been a pleasure, he hoped the rest of the procedure went well, etcetera, and that he would speak with Hanssen later regarding where to take it from here. Not long after their departure, Jac invited Elliot to scrub in, and he left quickly, looking even more excited than earlier. And perhaps feeling slightly overawed by being left alone with Serena and Hanssen, Tara Lo made her excuses and headed back to the ward.
Serena checked to make sure the intercom was off before she spoke quietly.
'Actually, the king prawn was a lie. I hardly slept at all. And it's all your fault'.
Hanssen did not look at her, but kept his eyes on the operating table.
'Well, I had some trouble concentrating on my way home and took a wrong turn. I ended up on the ring road. So if I blame you for that, perhaps that makes us even and we can start again'.
Serena smirked. The thought of Hanssen being so off-balance that he had got lost was quite an appealing one. She moved ever so slightly closer to him, feeling his fingertips brush hers, and was very glad the board members had left the room. Elliot would have not have noticed, but Cunningham had eyes like a hawk.
They watched in silence for a while and Serena found herself thinking that it really was amazing to see. Three of the country's top surgeons, all in the same theatre performing a groundbreaking new procedure – that had a certain buzz to it and, on a professional level, she was very glad she had the opportunity to be there. Every so often one of the scrub nurses would turn the intercom back on and Jac would explain something, but mostly she didn't need to. The atmosphere seemed calm and focused, if a little tense. Even Jonny Maconie seemed to be containing his usual questionable sense of humour in honour of the occasion, although Serena couldn't help noticing that he kept a close eye on Jac. She smiled inwardly. It was an unlikely pairing, but then, she realized, she wasn't really in a position to pass judgment on that.
It was another hour before Serena checked her watch. This was taking longer than she had anticipated, and it was not yet over. She didn't have any procedures scheduled in theatre herself, but didn't want to be absent from the ward for too long either.
'Feel free to leave if you have other matters to attend to, Ms Campbell'.
'I might have to. There are quite a few new admissions scheduled for today and Malick's still on leave'.
Hanssen nodded, and Serena hesitated before speaking.
'Can I call by your office later? See how this ended up? We might need to discuss that funding you were talking about'.
He raised his eyebrows. 'We'll see. About discussing the funding. And why are you asking permission to come to my office?'
'Why not?'
'Well, usually you just barge in. Last time, if I remember correctly, you even forgot to knock'.
Serena smiled cheekily as she turned to leave.
'Wouldn't want to interrupt anything. And besides, I'd rather catch you on your own. Can't promise to keep my hands to myself, you see'.
Four o'clock that afternoon saw Serena standing outside Hanssen's office, carefully balancing two mugs of coffee with the pile of paperwork that she needed him to sign off on. Resting the folders on her hip and holding them there with her elbow, she reached up to knock, but just as her knuckles were about to hit the wood the door swung open and she almost hit Michael Spence instead. He stopped quickly so as not to walk into her, and gave her an amused, questioning look as he saw the coffees.
'Need a hand with that?'
'No, thank you'. Serena grabbed the folders with her now-free hand before she dropped them, and Michael stood aside to let her into Hanssen's office. His smirk as he shut the door told her that she hadn't heard the last of this. He would be asking questions later.
'What did Michael want?' Serena asked as she deposited the folders and one of the coffees on the desk.
'The same as you, by the looks of it', Hanssen answered, eyeing the folders with distaste, and carefully moved the mug onto a leather coaster. Serena had to smile. Feeling impish, she deliberately perched on the corner of the desk and began fiddling with one of the pens that had been lined up neatly, top to tail, by Hanssen's laptop. He narrowed his eyes.
'Would you mind….?'
'It's a pen, Henrik. Relax'.
He scowled as he picked up the coffee, and Serena pointed at the folders.
'Need your signature on those'.
Hanssen sighed and pulled the top one towards him, reaching over to take the pen from Serena's hand.
'So, did the rest of the op go okay?'
He nodded as he began completing the forms.
'As far as I know, the patient is out of recovery and in HDU. As long as he isn't dead by tomorrow morning, I think we can safely assume everything will go ahead'.
'Jac will be insufferable'. Serena smirked as she sipped her own coffee, thinking back to the other aspect of the operation that she had noticed earlier.
'Is there something funny about that prospect?' Hanssen enquired, taking another folder from the pile.
'Jac and Jonny', Serena mused, and Hanssen wrinkled his brow in confusion.
'Honestly, Henrik, are you telling me you haven't noticed?' Serena demanded. He blinked a couple of times, and then shrugged.
'I suppose it would explain Miss Naylor's flustered state when I saw her exiting the on-call room this morning'.
Serena raised her eyebrows, an incredulous smile spreading over her face. Hanssen gave a little cough.
'And it would explain why Mr Maconie looked equally flustered when he left the on-call room two minutes later'.
Serena spluttered with laughter.
'Well. Did you not give them a lecture about proper use of hospital resources?'
'I thought, given the circumstances of today, that perhaps it would be wise not to'.
'Hmmm'. Serena put her mug down. 'Suppose that was wise. You never know when you might need it for the same purpose, and you wouldn't want to be hypocritical'.
Hanssen looked slightly shocked.
'Ms Campbell, please tell me…..no, actually don't tell me. I don't think I want to know'.
'Whether I've ever misused an on-call room?' Serena was really enjoying herself now. 'That depends on how you define 'misuse'. I was on-call, but I don't remember sleeping much'.
Hanssen held up his free hand to stop her.
'Enough'.
Serena smiled and finished her coffee in silence as Hanssen continued signing forms.
'When are you meeting with the board?'
'The day after tomorrow'. Hanssen did not look up. 'And no, you are not invited. I will let you know if any decisions need to be taken'.
'Hmm'.
Hanssen signed the last page in the last folder and placed the pen carefully down on the desk, precisely lining it up with the one next to it. Serena resisted the temptation to move it, and was quite proud of herself for doing so. She couldn't help speculating whether Hanssen's house was as neat and ordered as his desk, and then thought of course it would be. Hanssen's entire life was neat and ordered. She wondered how far she had disrupted it.
'So. Do we need to talk?'
Hanssen sighed and leaned back in his chair. 'Probably'.
Serena was surprised at the admission. She had expected him to put up more resistance than that, but decided not to complain. Instead, she made a snap decision.
'What are you doing later?'
'I have a meeting with Miss Naylor to discuss the implications of today, and….' He indicated his laptop. 'A mountain of emails to get through. I don't seem to have got much done today at all'. He shot her an accusing look.
'So not tonight, then'.
Hanssen shook his head. 'Do you have plans?'
'Well…..' Serena looked at him over the rim of her coffee mug, and decided there was nothing to lose by being honest. 'I had at least an hour set aside for thinking about last night, and another half hour for wondering whether I should phone you or not. Once I decided to phone you it would take another half hour to pluck up the courage to dial. Then, of course, you might not answer, by which time I'll be well down a bottle of wine and wondering what the hell to do. So I thought I might as well just ask you now'.
Serena saw that Hanssen was watching her, his look both amused and slightly amazed. She realized that she had just revealed far more of her feelings than she had intended, but before she could speak again, Hanssen leaned forward.
'So it seems it would save a lot of time and worry – not to mention alcohol – if I maybe came over again tomorrow after we both finish here. If that would be convenient?'
Serena nodded slowly.
Hanssen nodded, and reached across the desk. Serena's breath caught in her throat as his hand touched hers, and then she smiled as she realized she had unconsciously picked up another pen and was twirling it round and round in her fingers. Hanssen gently took it from her and replaced it in the line on the desk before picking up the pile of folders and handing them back to her.
'Until tomorrow then, Ms Campbell'.
She narrowed her eyes and studied him for a few seconds before leaning over the desk and brushing her lips against his. When she drew back, the look of astonishment on his face left her smiling broadly.
'Until tomorrow. Mr Hanssen'.