Serena wasn't surprised when they were met at the doors by Sacha and Ric, since she knew that they were going to be performing the necessary surgeries to get Bernie on the road to wellness. But it was still a shock to have Donna hold her back from following after them. "Donna, I need to be in theatre with them, I have to be there when they fix her, and help them out if complications come up!"

"And you are too emotionally close to Bernie for us to ever allow that, Ms Campbell. I know that you want to be able to make everything better, but you were the one who kept the faith and followed any lead to bring her back home so that we could make her well once more. You have to understand that for now, that was enough. You can pick up the mantle of caretaker once she's out of surgery."

She went to protest when Henrik came up to her side, resting his hand on her shoulder. Looking up into his face, she saw that he was trying to keep his face contorted into his usual placid mask, but his eyes told her that he understood just how she was feeling. Allowing her shoulders to slump a little, Serena waited for him to speak, knowing that he would have some wise words to offer her. "I think that it would be better if you waited for the results of the surgery in my office, Serena. Shall we?"

Serena gave him a small nod as he slid his hand down to cup her elbow gently, leading her over to the elevator bank. There was no hint of Bernie or the others there, which she half expected, but it was still difficult to wrap her mind around the fact that her love was heading into an operating theatre without her. "I know that you want to be there with her, but we both know why you cannot be in theatre. I couldn't be there when they were operating on Roxanna, even when things went horribly wrong."

"And what if they go horribly wrong for Bernie? What if they can't get to me in time to say my final goodbye? I never had that chance with Elinor!"

She knew that she was teetering on the edge of hysteria, but couldn't find a way to reel herself back from that ledge. He nodded silently as he guided her onto the elevator, and she knew that they were going to have a long talk as soon as they were in his office, since Henrik didn't like having messy conversations in public. Pursing her lips together, Serena tried to keep from crying as she stood close to her friend as they rode up to his office in silence. Henrik stepped off the elevator first, holding out his arm, and she nodded as she joined him in the hall, welcoming his hand on her elbow once more, as she was suddenly starting to feel a little overwhelmed at being home after such a momentous find.

After Henrik had unlocked the door, she pushed past him and made a beeline for the sofa in the far corner of the room, collapsing on it as she stared at the floor. She felt the sofa dip beneath Henrik's weight and said nothing when he folded his hands on his lap, waiting for her to speak once more. "I don't know how I'm supposed to wait when I've held onto the thinnest filament of hope for so long. Henrik, how do I see my way through this without losing my control?"

"By knowing that there are things you need to do in preparation for Ms Wolfe coming out of surgery. I know that you're going to want her to be up on her feet and raring to go in minutes, but from the extent of the wounds that you noted on her chart, I think that there is going to be quite the extensive recovery. Are you prepared to handle that?"

"If it means that I have a second chance with her, a chance to rebuild things from the wreckage that I created, yes. I would do anything for her, Henrik. Anything. I love her."

He nodded as he reached out hesitantly, his hand hovering over her knee before lowering it and giving said knee a tender pat. There was so much expressed in that little gesture, and Serena felt herself tearing up once more, wishing that he was the type of person to hug, because that was what she needed in that moment. Whatever deity was in the heavens above must have heard her desperate, unspoken, plea, as the office door opened a minute later, revealing Cameron and Charlotte.

Getting to her feet, Serena locked eyes with Charlotte, giving her a small nod. That was all the young woman needed before she was fairly running over to Serena and wrapping her up in a tight hug. Serena struggled to keep her emotions under control, but the first choked sob from Charlotte had her breaking down once more, and she cried along with her as Henrik gently guided them over to the sofa. After heavily taking a seat, Serena allowed Charlotte to curl up into her as she looked up at Cameron. He was in tears, too, though clearly keeping it together better than they were. "Have you heard anything yet?" he asked quietly as he took a seat in the chair that Henrik had brought over for him.

"Not yet, but it's still early in the surgery. Sacha and Ric will have it well in hand, though, and I trust them fully to do what's best for Bernie's care. I know that it will take a while for the surgeries to complete, but it's the waiting that's the hard part."

Cameron nodded as he sagged in his seat, the tears finally coming. Serena glanced up at Henrik, giving him a small nod, and hoping that he understood what she wanted without her having to ask. "Yes, well, I'll leave the three of you here to get comfortable, and I'll check on how things are progressing," he said as he dipped his chin at her. She smiled fleetingly at him before he turned on his heel and strode from the office, leaving them alone. "Was she awake when you arrived at Holby?"

Serena shook her head a little as she adjusted how she was sitting, wrapping her arm around Charlotte's shoulders and pulling her closer as she began to drag her fingers through the young woman's hair. "No, I sedated her before we left, and that hadn't worn off before she was whisked up to theatre. I tried to convince Henrik to allow me to follow her in, but he said that it would be a conflict of interest. I understand, I suppose, but I still feel like I should be there, watching, at least. I watched when Ellie was in surgery, and had your mother there to support me as we both realized that there was no hope. I just…"

"You don't want to be apart from her just in case something does go wrong."

She gave him a small smile as she nodded, glad that he understood. "Exactly. We've been separated for so long that I would the to not be there just in case something bad were to happen. Not that my highest hopes aren't pinned on the idea that she's going to come out of surgery with the best possible outcome ahead of her."

"That's my hope, too," Charlotte murmured as she sat up and rubbed her eyes free from the tears that still lingered from her sobs. "I just wish that things like this didn't take so long. That they could just be done in forty minutes and we'd know the outcome."

"Why forty minutes?" Serena asked, giving her a small smile.

"Because if it was fifty five minutes, we'd know the outcome was bad, and be prepared for more tears. In television, good things happen with a lot of time left in the hour, so that the family can have a happy reunion."

"Not always, Charlie. Sometimes the bad thing happens right before the credits roll. So I'm glad that this isn't one of those silly programs where everything gets neatly wrapped up into a bow. Life is messy and far more complicated than anything we see on television."

Charlotte let out a humph of breath as she shrugged. "I know that, but I needed something to get my mind off what's happening. Do you always have to be such a killjoy?"

"It's a way to keep myself focused, Charlie. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"We're all on edge here, and so we need to be a little more forgiving of each other." Serena continued to card her fingers through Charlotte's hair, knowing that it was only that soothing motion that was keeping her grounded and calm when all she wanted to do was run from the room and find her Bernie, watching until the surgery was finished and then hold her hand until she woke up. There would be time for that later, she knew, and now was the time to keep Bernie's children calm as they all waited for news on Bernie.