Hope everyone's had a lovely Easter weekend! And thank you all - again - for the lovely reviews for the last chapter. Hope you enjoy this!

'Spill'.

Serena looked up in surprise, abruptly brought out of her daydream to see Eleanor standing by the sofa looking down at her. She smiled and pulled herself up to a sitting position to accept the glass of wine being held out to her, before Eleanor settled herself at the other end of the sofa.

'That sounds like something Michael Spence would say. And what makes you think there's something to spill?'

She had no intention of telling Eleanor that she had spent last night with her boss. Neither was she going to admit that it had put her in such a distractedly good mood that her colleagues at work had been commenting on it all day. Evidently her unusual cheerfulness had not bypassed her daughter, either.

'Come on, Mum, I wasn't born yesterday'.

'I know, I was there'.

'So who is it?'

'Who?'

She looked innocently over at Eleanor as she sipped her wine, but Eleanor just raised her eyebrows and smirked. Serena wondered when her sixteen-year-old daughter had become so like her. She wasn't sure if it was something to worry about or something to be proud of.

'I've seen you distracted before. Over work, over Grandma. And over me'.

Eleanor added the last almost as an afterthought, and Serena smiled.

'And this time it's different. So therefore it must be a man'.

Serena almost choked on her wine.

'What…? How is that conclusion logical?'

'You've been walking around with a stupid grin on your face since you got home. You threw a pizza in the oven for dinner and then forgot about it. You've eaten your emergency packet of dolly mixtures. And….'

There was a look of smugness on Eleanor's face as she reached into her jeans pocket to pull out the final piece of evidence.

'I found this. This is definitely not yours'.

Serena blinked and raised her eyebrows as Eleanor held up a man's silver watch.

'It's ok, it was in the bathroom. I didn't go into your bedroom'.

'Eleanor!'

Serena felt her face grow hot, and Eleanor smiled gleefully.

'I knew it! So who is it?'

'This is not an appropriate conversation'.

'The American?'

Serena spluttered into her glass.

'Michael? You are joking. No. Definitely not'.

She realized too late that she had just entered into that inappropriate conversation that she had been trying to avoid.

'The black guy….what's his name, Ric?'

'Enough. And why are you going through all my work colleagues?'

'Because you don't socialize. So it must be someone from the hospital'.

Eleanor's brow furrowed before she looked at Serena, her eyes wide.

'Not the gangly Swede?'

Serena took a large mouthful of wine, and didn't answer.

'Oh, crap'.

'Eleanor!'

Eleanor's mouth was twitching. Her expression said she knew Serena would kill her for laughing, but she couldn't help herself.

'Mum, he's your boss'.

'I know that'. Serena's voice came out as a groan.

'You said he was the most arrogant, cold man you had ever met'.

'Do you have to remind me?'

'And he's about a foot too tall for you'.

'Eight inches, actually'.

'You've measured? Oh, bloody hell. Too much information'.

'Watch your language'.

Eleanor handed her the watch, her eyes twinkling.

'You'd better give this back to him tomorrow, then. Unless he's coming over to collect it?'

Serena took it from her and turned it over in her hands, suddenly thoughtful. She had not seen Hanssen all day. There had not even been so much as an email, which was unusual. She had seen him from a distance a couple of times, but had not been able to catch him. Either he was very busy or he had deliberately found something to take him in the opposite direction.

She had not thought much of it – it was probably best to keep a low profile at work anyway – but now she wondered why he had not asked her about his watch. He always wore it. She was almost certain he would have noticed it was missing, and the only place he could have left it would have been here. The tiny, niggling thought crossed her mind that he was avoiding her, and she wondered why.

'Mum?'

Serena shook herself out of her thoughts, and nodded. She put the watch on the coffee table.

'Yes, I'll give it to him tomorrow'.

Eleanor suddenly looked serious.

'I don't mind, you know'.

'Don't mind?'

'You having a boyfriend. Or whatever you call it when you're older'.

Serena raised her eyebrows.

'Older?'

Eleanor ignored her.

'He obviously makes you happy'.

She smirked, and cast a glance at her mother out of the corner of her eye.

'Or at least, he did last night'.

Serena's mouth dropped open.

'Eleanor, enough!'

Eleanor laughed and stood up from the sofa, dropping an unexpected kiss on to Serena's head.

'If this is the effect he has on you, then I quite like him too'.

She swung out of the living room towards the kitchen, and Serena heard her put the kettle on.

'And why's that?'

'You haven't nagged me about homework all evening'.

Serena hovered outside Hanssen's office, pacing backwards and forwards. She had been doing the same thing for the past five minutes and had attracted some strange looks from a couple of nurses walking briskly along towards the lift, but she had ignored them. She had come up here intending to ask Hanssen how his meeting with the board about Jac's procedure had gone that morning – and also to return his watch, which he still had not asked her for. In fact, he had still not spoken to her about anything. It was beginning to worry her slightly. The idea that he was avoiding her was niggling away at the back of her mind, refusing to leave her alone. And if that was the case, she could only think of one reason why it would be.

She paused in her pacing and took a deep breath. What was that expression Eleanor had come out with once?

'Grow a pair', she muttered.

She had threatened to box Eleanor's ears for that during one of their many arguments, but now it seemed rather appropriate, and she shook her head and smiled as she recalled their conversation from the night before. It had been a long time since they had talked about anything other than school or work, or argued. She thought ruefully that she really must make more of an effort. If it took Hanssen and his lost watch to make her and her daughter talk and have fun, then things must be worse than she thought.

Before she could change her mind again, she raised her hand and knocked sharply on the door.

Hanssen turned from his laptop as she entered his office, and, although his expression did not change, she caught one of those flickers in his eyes. Was he pleased to see her? As she crossed the floor to his desk, she realized that she couldn't tell.

'Ms Campbell. What can I do for you?'

She raised her eyebrows at the question, and then decided to try and keep it professional. For now, at least.

'I was wondering how your meeting with the board went this morning'.

Hanssen nodded.

'Ah, yes'.

He gestured to the chair in front of his desk, inviting her to take a seat, but she remained standing. She suddenly felt a bit nervous and jumpy to sit still.

'The meeting with the board went well. They have agreed that the procedure is worth investing in, but wish to see another unequivocal result before money is spent in establishing it as a feature of Holby. So Miss Naylor will have to wait a little bit longer.'

Serena nodded, although she was a bit surprised. It must have shown in her face since Hanssen went on to explain further.

'They feel that in a time when costs have to be managed carefully and savings have to be made, it is unfair to ask other departments to shoulder further cuts to make way for a procedure that has only been tested in this environment once'.

She wondered how many times he had rehearsed that line for it come out so perfectly.

'So the funding would have to come from cuts to other departments'.

Hanssen nodded.

'At the moment, yes'.

Serena sighed. She knew she was jumping the gun, but wanted to be prepared.

'General surgery and Keller?'

She noticed that he did not meet her gaze.

'Possibly'.

Serena shook her head. She should have expected this. Actually, if she was honest, she had expected it. That didn't mean she was happy about it. She rested her hands on the back of the chair and leaned forward as she spoke, her words deliberately measured. Personal feelings – her personal feelings, anyway – had no place in this conversation.

'I have spent the past year working with, against, and around Ric Griffin to try and get Keller running more efficiently. I have done a bloody good job. And so has he. I do not want to have to explain to him – and to the rest of the staff – that their budget has been cut again so that Jac Naylor can cover herself in Japanese glory, however amazing the procedure is. Is that clear?'

Hanssen returned her gaze this time, his eyebrows slightly raised.

'Perfectly, Ms Campbell'.

'Good. So if other arrangements can be made…..'

'If other sources of funding can be found, cuts to other departments will not be made'.

Serena stood back up straight, deciding to leave it for now. There was no point in starting an argument before a final decision had been taken, and she made a mental note to attend the next board meeting on the subject, even if she had to gatecrash. She wanted the procedure to go ahead as much as anyone – it would a fantastic accolade for the hospital – but she didn't think cutting other services was necessarily the best way to go about it.

'Is there anything else, Ms Campbell?' Hanssen looked enquiringly at her.

Serena realized that she had been staring at him, lost in thoughts of budgets and new procedures – and also creeping memories of his hands on her body, his lips on hers, the feeling of waking up sated and happy and…..what did he mean, is there anything else? Of course there was bloody something else. She sighed. If he was going to be like this she would have to try and be careful not to lose her temper.

She reached into her pocket.

'You must have left this'.

'Ah'.

He reached out and took the watch from her hand, looking at it for a few seconds before pulling back the sleeve of his jacket and fastening it to his wrist.

'Thank you'.

Serena raised her eyebrows, and this time she could not help herself.

'Is that all you're going to say?'

He looked at her, his expression the same as it always was. Professional, devoid of any emotion. She suddenly felt like strangling him.

'Should there be something else?'

Serena shook her head slowly. She should maybe have anticipated this, she realized, but he really was trying her patience.

'Usually, Henrik, when two people sleep together they continue to talk to each other afterwards. Unless, of course, it was what they call a one-night stand, in which case they usually have the courtesy to agree upon the fact. But I seem to remember something entirely different'.

Hanssen sighed. He appeared to be thinking; to be deciding what, exactly, to say, and Serena felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.

'I'm not sure….'

He paused, but never got the chance to begin speaking again before something in Serena snapped.

'You're not sure? After turning me upside down and inside out and sleeping with me, you're not sure?'

She knew she was going too far, raising her voice, knew she was revealing far more than she had wanted to of how she was feeling, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to reach across the desk, grab hold of his shoulders and shake the emotion out of him that she knew had to be there. She wanted to shout at him, to make him react. She wanted him to give her a reason, any reason, not to turn around and walk out and not look back, because God only knew running away was what she was best at. And this was the first time in a very long time that she had not wanted to run.

She wanted to tell him all that, but the words stuck in her throat.

When he didn't answer, the anger seemed to leave her as quickly as it had come, and she threw up her hands in a gesture of defeat. She didn't have the energy, and she wondered how the hell she had got herself into such a state in such a short space of time.

'Okay. Fine. It was obviously my mistake'.

She turned to leave, but heard Hanssen stand up from his desk behind her. In two long strides he was by her side, holding her arm and preventing her from opening the door.

'Serena, wait'.

The use of her first name again made her stop, but she couldn't look at him. To her fury and embarrassment, she felt tears welling up in her eyes, and she swore silently to herself that the last thing she would ever do on this earth was to cry in front of Henrik Hanssen.

'That is not what I was going to say'.

'Then what?'

She blinked furiously before looking up at him, and was taken aback by the intense expression on his face.

'I meant…..'

An insistent beeping noise interrupted him, and Serena realized it was coming from her pocket.

'For God's sake'.

She groaned, and pulled out her pager. Michael.

'AAU'. She held up the pager, and Hanssen nodded, releasing her arm.

'You should go'.

'I'm sure Michael can wait five minutes'.

Despite her words, she knew she should head down there. Michael and Sacha had been having problems with one particular patient earlier, and Serena suspected it was the same patient now. She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself before facing the rest of the hospital.

'So….?'

Hanssen smiled, a small smile but a genuine one nonetheless, and opened the door as her pager went off again.

'It seems Mr Spence needs you rather urgently, Ms Campbell'.

'Later, then?'

She was not going to let him off the hook this time, but found that she wasn't sure whether to be relieved when he nodded.

'Later. And Ms Campbell?'

She turned.

'Thank you for returning the watch'.

She nodded.

'Thank Eleanor. She was the one who found it. I was still too far up in the clouds to notice'.

As she walked away, she caught the look of surprise, and slight discomfort, on his face. The idea that she had been so affected by their night together – and that her daughter knew about it - had obviously rattled him, but for the moment, she had too much else on her mind to care.