Henrik hummed along to a Wagner piece as he ate his lunch, thinking about how sweet it would be to go home that evening and spend some much-needed time with his wife. In the six weeks since they had been married, it seemed like the universe was doing its best to keep them apart. He hadn't even had time to contact his solicitor about getting partial custody of Fredrik, and that was weighing heavily on his heart. But all those worries would be kept under lock and key in the worry box in his mind, where he pushed all the things he didn't have time to give thought to at the current moment. And so, with the knowledge that Roxanna had had the day off and was preparing them a delicious little meal, in her words, made his heart light.

Hearing a familiar throat clear next to him, he looked up into Graham's face and could tell by the look there that he was about to hear news that would not please him, in the least. Girding himself, Henrik straightened his back and gestured for Graham to take a seat across from him. "I take it that you have something you wish to say to me?" he asked, trying to sound unperturbed.

"I do. Under my tutelage, you've become a fine general surgeon, and it is clear to me that there isn't much left that I can teach you. You're going to need to find your own footing in the medical world, and that is what I have to discuss with you today. There is a fantastic opportunity available for you at another hospital."

Henrik could tell by the way his mentor was talking that despite this being a fantastic opportunity, he was not going to enjoy the next words that would come from Graham. "What if I want to stay here?"

The man let out a deep sigh. "That is unfortunately not an option." Henrik had been afraid of that, and so he let out the breath he had been holding as he regarded Graham with a cool, level, look. "There's no room for advancement here at Sunderland General at the current time. You need to go somewhere you'll find the opportunity to grow as a better, more talented, surgeon."

"And just where is this amazing opportunity that you've lined up for me?"

Graham's cheeks darkened a little as he fidgeted the tiniest bit in his seat. "It's at Holby City General Hospital."

"That's near Bristol!" he exclaimed, unable to modulate his voice into a more sedate tone. Graham nodded, looking down at the table as he folded his hands. "Roxanna and I have been saving up for a house here, we'd been making plans to live here. And now, I'm just supposed to upend our lives? Is there a position for her at Holby as well? Or is she just supposed to do something different with her life? There are so many difficulties that we will have to deal with, here, so if we can, I'd rather stay here."

His mentor let out a deep sigh as he shook his head. "I'm sorry, there isn't a choice here. And Roxanna will have to finish her F2 work before she can think about looking for a position at another hospital. I know, it's not ideal, but when you marry a doctor, sometimes that's the sacrifice you need to make."

From the firm tone Graham used, Henrik knew there was no way that he could continue to debate with him. "When am I supposed to be there?" he finally asked, trying to keep control of his emotions even as his hand tightened around his fork.

"You have a month to find a place to live there, and then you will be expected to start there."

Henrik let his shoulders slump infinitesimally, feeling completely broken in that moment. Their dream of bringing Freddy to them, to starting a family, were gone in an instant, and he could feel regret start to taste like ash in his mouth. "Fine."

"Look, I know that this is not an ideal situation for you both right now, but Roxanna only has six more months until she's ready to move onto the next phase of her training, and most likely she can join you at that point."

He wasn't ready to be pacified, but knew that arguing further was not the wisest choice at the moment. At least their lease would be up in six months, so they wouldn't have to worry about breaking it and owing more money they didn't have to waste. Giving his mentor a tight nod, he got to his feet and shoved the remains of his lunch back into his pack and then went over to the fridge and placed it inside.

Without giving a backwards glance to his mentor, Henrik stalked out of the break and made his way up to the roof of the hospital, needing the peace of the midafternoon sky to calm him before he went back to his duties. Thankfully, he still had thirty minutes of his lunch, which would afford him a good amount of time to find a way to deal with the anger that he was feeling. As he paced back and forth across the roof, he felt himself calming a little. There was still a deep well of disappointment and hurt that he knew he would have to deal with, so that he wouldn't react poorly to Graham in the future, but for the moment, he wanted to hold on to the feelings for just a little longer.

A warm hand spread out on his back, and he knew that someone had told Roxanna that he was up there, as he knew the feel of her hand. Turning a little, he saw her standing there, a bemused smile on her lips. "Guy mentioned that he saw you heading up here when he was heading down for a consult on your ward."

"I didn't see him."

"He said that were deeply lost in thought. What's going on?"

He let out a deep sigh, wondering if it would be easier to tell her now or wait until the arrived home. When she didn't shift her gaze from him, he knew that there would be no avoiding the elephant between them. "I've been asked to go to another hospital for a while. Graham thinks that my skills are such that I'm being held back here, and need to stretch my wings. And before you ask, I already have. There's no way for me to refuse the appointment, so I'm going to have to go. I don't want to. This puts all our plans on hold, especially for our Freddy. I'm so sorry, darling."

"Don't be, I'll be coming with you!"

"In six months, when our lease runs out, and you finish your F2 training. And then you're going to have to explore the hospitals in the area to see if there's a position available for you. And this will be so difficult for us starting a family. I just, I don't want to leave you for six months."

She let out a deep sigh as she shrugged, stepping closer to him and spreading her hands out on his chest. "We'll only be a short train ride away. Sure, we might not be able to spend all our free time together, but I can come to you, and you can come to me, and we will make it work. Because I love you, and you love me, and we are going to make this work. All right?" He gave her a small nod before closing his arms around her waist, holding her close as he continued to stare into her eyes, trying to feel as hopeful in their future as Roxanna clearly was, hoping that that optimism would come with time.