It pissed Leah Faulkner off that her persistence wasn't paying off. It normally worked but Serena Campbell was unyielding. It had gone so well that night. It had been over a year now but she couldn't let go. She'd really liked her. Except that the woman had frozen on her and had continued doing so from that point on. The shock on her face when she saw her, stopping dead in her tracks the day that Leah had walked into Holby City. She'd been civil, bordering on formal to her but it was clear that she hadn't wanted her colleagues to know of their encounter. In those moments, she had looked mortified and Leah felt a smug thrill ripple through her watching how uncomfortable it made her. She'd so wanted to get her hands on this woman but she'd pulled away at the last minute, declining to state her reasons. Serena probably wasn't out yet, mused the F1, watching her target across the ward. Perhaps Leah had been her first sapphic kiss. Maybe that's why she had left. Maybe that's why she shied away from her even now. Perhaps that ex-husband of hers had won her back and she'd persuaded herself that that kiss hadn't happened, that she was totally straight. Middle aged women could be like that. Another reason to try it on with them. They could be pathetically grateful for the attention. But Ms Campbell didn't seem that way. She'd been genuinely fun to talk to, warm and engaging with a wicked smile so why had she ducked away at the last minute? Leah wouldn't have hesitated at being propositioned for a one-night stand with such an interesting woman but Serena obviously hadn't seen it that way.

She was startled out of her reverie this time as Bernie Wolfe started barking commands at her. A tough nut to crack, she worked downstairs in the ED and Leah had worked with her on occasion. Bernie treated the F1 perfectly fine but she tended to sniff out when Leah was looking at Serena for too long. She was weirdly suspicious, considering that Serena had proved that she could take care of herself, blocking Leah at every turn. But Leah was losing patience. It had been 3 months since she'd come to work at Holby and she'd tried every trick in the book. Asking for supervision, cornering her in her office, running coffee errands. But nothing had worked and today was her last day.

Leah scuttled off to do as the Major said, all the while thinking of how to coerce Serena to Albie's for a goodbye drink.

Major Wolfe stared after her for a bit. She was starting to distrust this particular F1 but couldn't say why. She was clingy with Serena and it concerned Bernie that it was possibly the reason why her girlfriend had seemed so unnerved recently.

Leah saw her chance when Serena finished her shift at the same time. Subtly trapping her against the door of the on-call room, she questioned on Serena's evening plans.

'I'd like it if you were there' she said, coquettishly glancing at her from under her eyelashes. Serena looked rattled and aggravated. Silently praying to a God she didn't believe in for this creature to leave her alone. Just half a day more and she'd be free of her.

'I think I'll be busy' she said. She tried to push past but there was an element of threat in the way Leah gripped her arm.

'You don't want me to tell your girlfriend what we did, do you?'

Because she'd finally figured it out. She'd been so slow to realise. They'd hidden it well, easy when you worked on separate floors but it was clear as day if you looked closely. Major Wolfe was the girlfriend.

'What we did was of no consequence to my relationship. You can tell her what you like, she won't take any notice of you' Serena scornfully told her. 'Get out of my way.'

Leah blocked her the way she did last week by the lift. Serena had hated it, not being able to walk away and up the stairs, knowing that either it would look aggressive and confrontational in public or that Leah would accompany her on the stairs anyway. She'd answered blandly and non-commitally, looking off to the side, knowing how rude it made her seem but unable to make herself converse normally with such a creep.

Leah hadn't seen the slap coming. But she sure as hell felt it.