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Chapter 15

Serena was back on Keller, happy to be away from the chaos of AAU. Heading across the ward, she approached her next patient, grabbing the hand sanitizer.

"Good morning Mrs. McEnroe, how are you feeling today?" She gently pulled back the sheet as she reached out and felt the woman's abdomen.

"I'm feeling great, just want to get this over with!" she laughed as Serena smiled in response.

"Well, everything feels good here...a nurse will be over shortly to take some bloods and all being well, we should have you in Theatre within the next couple of hours."

"Thank you very much indeed." the woman beamed as she replaced the sheet and placed her hands in her lap. "Will you be the one performing the surgery?"

"Yes I will." Serena stated as she opened her file and noted down her observations. "The anaesthetist will be over shortly to talk through any concerns you may have, okay?"

"Yes, thank you." Serena smiled as she closed the file and headed back to the Nurses' Station.

"Chantelle, a set of bloods for Mrs. McEnroe please."

"Okay Ms. Campbell!" she said breezily as she bounced towards the patient, her ponytail whipping behind her. Turning back to the desk, she reached for a second file and opened it, looking for blood test results. Finding them, she ran a finger down the page and nodded to herself. Closing the file, she sped over to a young man, admitted with abdominal pains.

"Mr . Trevors, good news. Your blood test results came back with nothing significant showing up, your scan is all clear, so you can go home. I'll fill you out a prescription for some pain relief then you're free to leave." She said quickly, turning to leave.

"Is that it? I'm still in pain here!" he complained, holding a hand against his abdomen.

"Yes, and the pain subsided with painkillers when administered earlier today, therefore I see no reason why you need to stay here when we can give you the correct medication to take home." She waited for a further complaint but when he remained silent, she turned and headed to the Nurses' Station, reaching for a Prescription form.

"Oh Ms. Campbell!" Chantelle smiled as she came and stood beside her.

"Yes, Chantelle?"

"Mr. Hanssen just called the ward, he said to tell you he needs a briefing with you before you leave for your meeting." Serena looked at her watch and sighed.

"Thank you Chantelle, I don't suppose he said what time?" She shook her head apologetically and Serena rolled her eyes. Completing the prescription, she headed back to Mr. Trevors and handed him the piece of paper. "Right, take this to the Pharmacy on the second floor and they'll be able to fulfil it for you."

"Thank for the help." he said sarcastically as he climbed off the bed and pulled on his coat.

"If the pain doesn't go away within the next couple of days, then please make an appointment with your GP and they'll be able to refer you for further testing, if needs be." He grumbled as he walked towards the lifts and Serena exhaled, heading back to desk. "I'll go and see Mr. Hanssen now, when I get back I want Mrs. McEnroe prepped and ready to go." she commanded, heading off the ward and towards the stairwell. Descending briskly, she barged through the door of the 4th floor and upon reaching his office, stood outside momentarily, smoothing her shirt. She knocked loudly and was called in instantly. "You wanted to see me, Mr. Hanssen?" she asked as he looked up from his computer screen and smiled. Standing up, he walked around the desk towards her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her lightly.

"Yes I did." he kissed her forehead and released her, heading back to his desk, becoming the CEO again. "Do you recall I told you a few weeks ago that at the end of the 6 week, now 5 week meetings there would be a weekend course?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she leant against the side of the desk.

"Yes...what about it?"

"Well it will take place this weekend." he answered her, leaning back in his chair and watching her reaction.

"And when exactly did they inform you of this?" She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath, her frustration rising.

"I was only told no more than an hour ago." he said innocently. "I called the Ward immediately after I was informed." She sighed as she raised her arms in frustration.

"Well it's a little short-notice." she mumbled, fiddling with a pen on his desk.

"I realise that, but we have little option but to attend." he said formally, his eyes watching the pen's movements.

"Yes I know. Fine, where is it anyway?" she asked him as he raised his eyes to hers.

"The course will be held in Manchester. We leave this evening after the meeting." he said, reaching out and taking the pen from her gently.

"Sorry." she said, as she watched him replace the pen neatly in-line with another.

"I'll see you at 1pm then, Ms. Campbell." he nodded at her as she stood up and left his office, returning to Keller.

"Right Chantelle, is Mrs. McEnroe ready?"

"Ms. Campbell, we had a bit of a situation...Mr. Trevors...he was found collapsed in the stairwell." she said hurriedly, guiding Serena to where the man was currently doubled over in pain in one of the beds.

"How long ago did the pain worsen?" she asked him as he flinched at her pressing his abdomen.

"A few hours...it got slightly better after those pills you gave me, but then it came back worse than before!" he exclaimed, gritting his teeth as another wave of pain hit him.

"Have you been taking medication regularly for anything?" she asked him suddenly as she noticed his stomach was distended.

"Yeah, I get bad backs." he said, looking at her with wide eyes. "Why!?"

"Chantelle, page Theatre, tell them we're on our way."

"Yes Ms. Campbell." she said as she hurried off towards the Nurses' Station.

"Mr. Trevors, I believe you have perforated your stomach lining, brought on by an undetected ulcer which has burst. I need to operate to repair the hole immediately." She stated clinically as he nodded his head in fear. "Nurse Lane, get him prepped please and tell Mrs. McEnroe she'll have to wait." Nearing the locker room, she looked at her watch and realised she was going to be late. She contemplated calling Hanssen to let him know but decided it was better to simply get on with things. Quickly changing into her scrubs, she entered the scrubbing-in room and began washing her hands, looking up as her patient was wheeled into Anaesthetics.

"More suction." she demanded as she returned to the tear, continuing to repair it. She'd been in Theatre longer than she had planned, as she hadn't quite anticipated the extent of the damage. It was clear that at some point between being arriving at the hospital and being discharged, his ulcer had burst, perforating his stomach and allowing his abdomen to gradually fill up with stomach acids.

"Ms. Campbell." A voice suddenly came over the intercom as she looked up and then returned her concentration to the task at hand.

"I will be with you as soon as I can, Mr. Hanssen." she said, tensing up as he watched her. When she noticed he hadn't left, she turned to the window, raising an eyebrow. "Was there anything else?" He straightened and kept his face neutral.

"No, I'll be awaiting you in your office." He moved away from the window and she felt herself relax. She'd always been nervous of operating under the CEO's critical watch. She finished repairing the perforation and closed-up quickly, taking off her surgical gown and heading for the locker room. As she changed quickly, she heard the door open and held her top in front of her chest as she saw Hanssen's face appear around the corner.

"Oh it's you." she said, exhaling and dropping her arms. His eyes widened slightly at the sight in front of him as he stepped towards her and kissed her briefly.

"Hurry up." was all he said as he turned and left the room, Serena laughing in frustration.

Walking into St. James's together for the final time, felt strange to her. She knew that there was no excuse to hide behind now, if they spent time together from now on it was because they wanted to, not because they had to. She found the thought a scary one as she began to panic slightly. They hadn't been out of each other's sight for more than a few minutes all week, spending each night either at her house or his. She wanted to spend all her available time with him, but also felt she was being utterly unfair to her daughter. She needed a night where it was just her and Eleanor but she wasn't sure how to broach the subject. They entered the boardroom and took their seats, Hanssen shifting uncomfortably.

"Good afternoon everyone! As you are all aware, we have had to cut these meetings a week short due to unforeseen circumstances, however we will be spending the weekend in Manchester attending the final part of the course. Now, I am keen to finish this meeting as early as possible to allow for travelling time, but there are quite a few issues that need addressing first." As he began to speak, Hanssen's thoughts drifted to the woman sat beside him, listening intently to whatever Cunningham was blithering on about. He was nervous about today, as he knew things would become a whole lot more serious when they no longer had the excuse of evening meetings to hide behind. He had begun them initially for the sake of convenience, but after their first meal together, he found he simply wanted to spend time with her. He smiled to himself at the thought of a whole weekend together, away from Holby, even if it meant they had to sneak around.

"Mr. Hanssen..." she nudged him and his head snapped towards her, blinking several times. "...are you okay?" He looked around the room and noticed everyone was busy packing away their belongings, the meeting over.

"Yes, sorry, I'm fine." he said as he turned to reach for his briefcase, packing away his notes. He'd drifted off during the last couple of minutes of the meeting, not being able to drag him mind from the woman beside him. He frowned, disappointed in himself for not being able to remain professional and stood up, heading for the door. Serena watched him go and sighed to herself, if this was a sign of how the weekend was going to play out, it would be a long one. She stood and followed him from the room, realising she still didn't know him well enough to be able to judge his moods properly. As she reached the hallway, Cunningham appeared beside her and nudged her, smiling.

"Well tonight's the night." He spoke low, so no one else could hear him.

"The night for what?" She turned, raising an eyebrow in confusion as he smiled slyly back at her.

"The night we have dinner. You're all out of excuses as I know you don't already have plans, being that we'll be away in Manchester." She wrinkled her nose at the look he was giving her and sniggered.

"I don't think so." She brushed him aside and headed down the corridor, spotting Hanssen waiting at the end. Cunningham watched her go, a dangerous look in his eyes. "Well, thanks for waiting." she said lightly as he turned and they continued out of the building.

"I'll drop you at your house to pack whilst I head to mine, then I'll come and pick you up." She turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.

"You want to travel there together? I assumed we'd be taking separate cars." she explained as he frowned in thought.

"I believe it will be much more economical and it makes more sense to share a vehicle." he quipped as he unlocked the car and climbed in, reaching and placing his briefcase behind the passenger seat. She climbed in and frowned to herself, he was being weird again. Deciding to leave it for now, she reached forwards and turned the music up as they headed to her house.