Chapter Text
”Happy! Come here boy.” Serena calls out for the old Golden Retriever who runs free and happy, living up to his name, around in the open field leading down to the sea. A place they both love to visit as often as possible to go for long walks and feel the freedom of being away from the busy city. Happy returns by her side, breathing rather heavily, but he is still in a good shape for his 10 years. Serena looks into the kind, big brown eyes and immediately feels the comfort the dog has given her for years now after the tragedy. Spending time out in the countryside was a priority originally suggested by her therapist, one that Serena had no particular faith in at the beginning, but which she now feels she cannot be without. And it is much healthier than drowning her sorrows in Shiraz.. The heavy workload at the hospital, the long hours, the ups and downs of being able to save lives and then sometimes not, the immense responsibility on her shoulders, needed an antithesis. Breathing in fresh country air, the smell of the sea nearby and the possibility to let her guard down, her thoughts and feelings running freely without interruptions, was exactly that. She cannot remember how many tears she has cried out here against the harsh and cold autumn wind, or when the summer sun has warmed her face but not her heart. She takes a deep breath and looks at the spectacular view. There is something about the beauty of nature that both relieves and somehow adds to the sorrow. Serena knows she can never be the same as before but she has somehow learned to live with the pain.
There is an old cabin at the end of the large field, overlooking the sea. It has seemed empty and abandoned all the while Serena has been out here these last couple of years. She sometimes fantasizes about living there. Spending a whole summer holiday out here in the wilderness. Sitting on the front porch with a glass of Shiraz, listening to the waves and forget all about the world. Just Happy and her, no one else. ‘Who am I trying to kid?’ She then thinks to herself with a sarcastic laugh. She would probably get bored after a couple of hours and long for the social life of the city.
----------------
The alarm on her phone sets off at 6am the next morning. Serena gets up, still half asleep, and heads straight for the coffee machine in her kitchen, and brings a cup of strong and hot coffee into the bathroom to make herself ready for the day.
It is a particularly busy day at the hospital. There has been an accident at a construction site and several people are badly injured.
“We have to discharge the minorly injured as soon as possible and make room for the severely.” Serena commands her staff firmly as more and more patients arrive.
“Come on everyone, up to speed!”
She grabs the medical charts for the ones she is treating and heads towards the first patient: A male in his early 30s with severe damage to the abdomen caused by a metallic object. The patient is bleeding excessively.
“Okay, we need to operate. Fast! Donna, can you make sure theatre one is ready? Xavier, you’re with me.”
The surgery takes hours. There is a fine line between being able to save somebody so heavily injured and being the one causing more damage, sometimes inevitable. Serena knows this too well. Pearls of sweat on her forehead reveal her dedicated focus and concentration. They manage to save the young man’s life after a couple of tense moments of ‘touch and go’.
“Good work, dr. Duval.” Serena compliments her co-worker as she gets out of her surgical clothing.
“Thank you Ms Campbell, but the achievement is really yours. I couldn’t have done this without your expertise.” Xavier replies humbly.
“Ah, the cocky doctor suddenly being polite and insightful.” Serena laughs and winks at him but she knows he is right. She is an excellent vascular surgeon with great experience. One of the advantages being of a certain age brings. And she is very dedicated to her job, always has been.
The rest of the day goes by in the same busy manner. Broken bones needing repair, vital organs being saved and excessive bleeding taken care of. All the severe injured patients from the construction site have been treated and they are all assessed to be out of danger. Consider it a successful day, Serena thinks to herself as she prepares to leave her office at the end of the shift. She puts on her coat and opens the door when she hears someone shout from the corridor:
“Can I get some help here please? Someone page Ms Campbell!”
“No, not Ms Campbell!” She hears Fletch instantly reply. “Not with this case.”
“What’s going on?” Serena hurries to the bed just brought in and sees a young woman, seemingly unconscious. She quickly recognizes the symptoms; pupils dilated and non-responsive, low pulse, lips and fingers blue. Serious drug overdose. She feels dizzy. Long, brown hair is floating on the pillow. Same age. Her mind tries to make sane and coherent connections and not get mixed up with the strong emotions building up inside her. It is not Elinor. This is not her beloved daughter lying on the bed. It is someone with a striking resemblance.. Someone who needs her help desperately.
“Ms Campbell, we will find another consultant to take care of this.” Fletch’s voice seems to come from a distance.
“No!” she replies firmly. “I’ll take this.”
“Are you sure? I mean…” Someone else, she cannot really figure out who because her vision is blurry and the sound of blood rushing through her veins is so loud she has trouble recognizing the voice, is trying to talk her out of it. All she knows this moment is that she has to do all she can to try and save this young woman.
----------------