Bernie knocked on the door. She expected Hanssen to boom his usual "Come," but instead the door was opened to her. He gave a small sad nod and waved his hand for Bernie to enter and sit.

Ms Wolfe, thank you for coming to see me, I know things are quite hectic downstairs."

Bernie nodded. It's not like Hanssen was sitting twiddling his thumbs. A member of his staff had died whilst on shift, in rather curious; some would say suspicious; circumstances. She knew that whatever this was about must be important.

He was always calm and professional, not one for wasting or mincing words. She liked that. Never brusque. Well not to what she had seen. She had it on good authority that he could exercise his authority very effectively when needed.

"Firstly," He touched his fingertips together, "How are you? I appreciate it is difficult to operate on colleagues, especially in such bleak circumstances."

Bernie nodded, "Well, I um," She shrugged. "Being an army medic, I, um; not my first time losing a colleague in such a way. But out there, the terms and conditions are," She coughs uncomfortably, "Different."

Hanssen nodded. "I'll not patronise you with the usual comments you would receive. Except to say that you are a credit to this hospital and Dr Burrows was in the best possible hands."

"It wasn't just me." Bernie added meekly. Ric had been brilliant, stepping in and fighting as hard as she was to save their friend. There was an unspoken cooperation rarely found in an operating theatre in those circumstances.

Hanssen looked at Bernie, she looked tired, empty. He had noticed that despite her excellent work her light had dimmed a little. He put this down to Serena's departure. She had clearly been affected, but never let it get in the way of work. He suspected that the Trauma Unit and AAU was her drive now, the reason she functioned; hence why today's events would probably hit her hard. She would probably blame herself for this happening on her watch, as it were.

He sought to offer reassurance and support. He knew that without Serena here her support system was limited. Serena would support her if she knew of Jasmine's death; he was sure; but someone had to tell her first.

He took a breath and moved his three pencils slightly whilst he formed his next words. He always found thinking about what he said before he said it; although seemingly time consuming; was beneficial. There was very little room for misunderstanding.

He decided to broach Serena by running through another topic first, to give the impression that this conversation happened to lead to him asking about Serena. The fact was he was worried about Ms Wolfe a little. Despite her best efforts AAU and had been through the mill recently and he needed to ensure that its captain was still at the helm and holding steadfast.

"How are the rest of the team?"

Bernie gave a shrug, "As you would expect." She looked Hanssen in the eye, "I think the next few days will tell."

Hanssen nodded sagely. "I will ensure the appropriate support and counselling is available. As always my door is open to those who need it."

Bernie nodded. Despite his stoic, stern manner; Hanssen considered himself a compassionate man; he just needed to ensure that his staff saw this. He did not want his manner to make him unapproachable.

"This also applies to you Ms Wolfe, I imagine, for many, you will be their first port of call. I want you to know you have someone to come to."

Again Bernie nodded. Hanssen did not take umbrage. He knew that, much like himself, she didn't complicate matters with discussion if none were needed. He put this down to her Army career; less a case of being brusque, but more of dealing with the things in hand in a practical manner.

Hanssen leaded back in his seat, after a moment of silence he decided to speak, "Have you had chance to speak to Serena yet?"

Bernie stood and walked to the window, she found talking about Serena difficult; especially in this setting. She folded her arms as she stared outside, "I um, er, no not yet. No time."

Hanssen came to join Bernie and mirrored her pose, arms folded staring out of the window. "I think you need to tell her before she finds out elsewhere.

Bernie looked across to Hanssen, slightly confused.

Hanssen looked down at the police cars and press vans on the car park, he nods, "I have to go down to speak to the press shortly. Please feel free to use my office to call Serena. I think she would want to hear from you." He gave Bernie a small smile and turned on his heels to leave.

Once alone in the office Bernie continued to look out of the window at the scene unfolding outside. A tear rolled down her face. She pulled out her phone and sat in one of the comfortable chairs in the office and looked at her phone. She took a breath and pressed the call button.

"Uh, hello." There was a pause, Serena must have looked at her phone, Bernie figured she must have looked at the display, "Bernie?"

"Hi, um, sorry have I woke you?" Bernie spoke quietly.

Serena gave a little cough, "Yes, but it's OK darling. What's the matter?" Bernie could tell Serena was genuinely caring and concerned and she felt better for hearing Serena's voice. This made what she needed to tell Serena even harder.

"Really shitty day." Bernie sniffed. "Um, er," She let out a breath.

"Bernie?" Serena sounded worried. "What is it? You know you can talk to me, just take your time.

There was a long pause, Bernie was trying to hold in the tears. "Serena, I'm so sorry." She shook her head. "There was an incident," she took another breath, "It's Jasmine, I couldn't save her."