Abi is the first person to fill our screens in this episode, she's sat in her office conducting what must be Holby's first live stream meeting giving out information to all corners of the hospital regarding people who want to pitch 'blue sky ideas' to the assembled board who will be waiting to here them today, it turns out this is Gaskell's idea to put forward such a open suggestion for ideas, also that it's open to anyone who feels they've got a good enough idea that will then, if chosen get funding for their particular project, watch them all come flocking.
Will is still on the ward waiting for round two with Gaskell and Roxanna, they come to see him and talk about an alternative operation that is apparently not as invasive which leads him to be unsure in regards to anymore surgery at all, then eventually admitting that he's not much choice in his current situation and agrees to go along with the planned surgery they'd recommended for him, Roxanna is looking on as he makes this decision, she looks as unsure as him, maybe she shares his skeptic views too.
Serena is the surgeon who is going to be operating on a patient named Kit who Ric knows from the past, the young man is now in hospital for a tumour that needs a big operation on to remove it, the cancer diagnosis seeming to hit Ric quite hard because of how well Kit was the last time he'd seen him, also the youth of the young man, he says that he's in Kit's corner and tries to reassure him that Serena is safe hands for his surgery.
With Gaskell revealing to Roxanna that Mr Rutherford, the man who is 60% of the funding that he receives is threatening to pull out because of Fiona's death, which obviously Gaskell doesn't want to happen at all. She says that she feels that he's tying her up in knots by not being transparent with things and also to try and make her lie about things so that funding isn't pulled from his project, not believing that everything is entirely above board, she'd be right in her assumptions there.
Hannah from last week is still on the ward and waiting to have her heart surgery, she compliments Frieda on how she doesn't care about what others think of her, wishing she could be as the doctor is, after a bit of coaxing she then admits to never having had a period in her life, could this mean she can't have her surgery?
Sitting outside the office room where the pitches are being held Ric is waiting for his turn, not long later being joined by Sacha, after a bit of general conversation, Sacha admits that he's nervous since Ric had previously said he wasn't and also that if Essie had been here that he could've rehearsed with her, it seems he's missing her a lot and she helped ease his nerves in various situations, could she be on her way back anytime soon to help him and the hospital?
With his consent form signed for his second operation, Will's eldest daughter Phoebe shows up on the ward and at her dad's bed side, she then proceeds to ask him what exactly has been going on since he's been here and by everything she means everything, exit Roxanna looking on at dad and daughter as she leaves them to talk.
Ric is the next in after Sacha to pitch his idea, Sacha having informed him his went badly, obviously not holding out much hope for his, it's not long, not very long at all into Ric's pitch that it's brought up about Ric's time in prison and how this could cause trouble if his project was the one that they all chose to back to receive funding, that the timing of all of this entire situation, funny that Gaskell seems rather interested in Ric's idea, something in it for you Professor?
Phoebe comes to see Roxanna who is looking over various scans and other things on her laptop in the staff room, the young girl questioning if the neurosurgeon has done it before which she finds out she hasn't, neither has Gaskell, before telling Roxanna she thinks that all this is wrong and she wants Roxanna to talk her dad out of it because she'd rather have her dad as he is and still alive, than risk him dying taking part in this operation, getting up from the chair to leave the room she again asks her to stop this, does Phoebe have a point in what she's saying?
Hannah has been found to have raised testosterone levels in her blood after her tests and this leads Frieda to tell her that they need to speak to Abi before going any further with her planned heart surgery, what does this mean for the young woman, is there more going on here than first thought and what is the problem with her raised levels? Not long later the young woman has vanished from her bed and the ward itself causing Abi, Fletch and Freida to start a search to find her, especially since she's rather poorly with her heart problem and is literally in no fit state to be anywhere but in hospital and being looked after.
On her way into the lift to go and look elsewhere for Hannah, Abi bumps into Gaskell and speaks to him regarding Mr Rutherford and the fact he's seriously considering pulling out his sixty percent of funding for the project due to Fiona's death, Abi then questions why he didn't tell her about this earlier to which he's not much of an answer, she then tells him that he can talk to the press about this one, it seems she's not willing to cover up for him and is making him sort this problem out himself.
Again Gaskell is asked questions about Fiona's death when Roxanna questions it, the Professor won't admit that the implant caused her death, but then won't admit that it didn't either, Roxanna then puts it to him after this revelation that he threw Essie under the bus since she left because she thought it was her fault about Fiona, could the neurosurgeon be piecing his behaviour together and be starting to form a picture of what he's doing or has done?
Hannah is found collapsed outside the entrance to the hospital, Abi, Fletch and Frieda rushing to help her, the young woman in that severe a condition with her heart that she requires being shocked back into some kind of life, this then enabling them to try and get her back into the ward, can they save her?
It's the second op for Will, Roxanna and Gaskell both in theatre and performing the risky surgery, Gaskell makes a comment about Roxanna being 'brilliant as ever' in a comment she makes about the operation, she then replies with 'Don't John' and gives him a look, it seems she neither likes nor wants his compliment/ comment, could their previous exchanges be starting to put some doubt in her mind about his conduct and what she could really be letting herself in for by having agreed to be part of this team, could she slowly be connecting the dots regarding Gaskell?
With Kit's operation a success after Ric was asked to scrub in and help because it was getting critical, Abi brings both of them to her office to speak about him being in theatre at all let alone performing in the operation, Serena takes it upon herself to tell Abi to discipline her and not Ric seen as she was the one who asked him to scrub in because she needed his help and surgical expertised. Abi surprises them both by saying next time they do something like this to tell her so that she is able to get things in order from her side of things if questions are asked by the powers that be, also telling them that she's not the enemy to them and wants to help them, that she's on their side, could Ric have judged her too quickly and in fact she is on their side and wants to help them, that she is one of them like Serena said?
Phoebe is back on the ward after walking out before, to see her dad after his operation, telling him that she didn't want to abandon him after all he's been through and is currently going through, Roxanna who was nearby and explained a bit more of how the surgery went to the young woman, then walks away and leaves the dad and daughter together, when she's out of sight in the corridor she takes a deep breath as she walks a look of tension on her face, is this becoming too much for her?
Press facing time for Roxanna and Gaskell in regards to talking about Will's operation and how it went well, Roxanna does the talking this is after Gaskell asked her if she wanted to talk to the press, they head back into the hospital together, she then tells him she feels he's putting her front and centre but isn't sure of his reasons why yet, he calls her cynical, she counters with that they must move forward on her terms and tells him what these are to which he says it sounds like a plan, opening the lab door and letting her go in first, he gives a smirk as he follows behind her and closes the door, will he really adhere to Roxanna's wishes or carry on his own path?
Abi has successfully saved Hannah's life and says the planned operation will have to be put on hold, Fletch apologises for how he spoke to her before and she tells him if it was a choice between the CEO things or operations/surgeries, she'd pick the doctor side of things every time, has Fletch also been wrong to judge her as harshly as he has, can he believe she really is one of the team and wants what's best for everyone in Holby?
With this episode coming to a close for another week, Gaskell speaks to Ric as they're both leaving the hospital about the pitches that took place and how he spoke to Rashid who made comments about Ric being in prison and that Ric has been the one to get the project funding for his idea, saying that they can help each other. It seems this unnerves Ric and he's a bit suspicious as to Gaskell's motives and reasons for helping him, after a bit more persuasion from Gaskell and the tempting offer to use the Professors friends state of the art lab in Leeds while he finishes his probation Ric agrees and the two men shake hands, Gaskell then proceeds to walk away first with a big, smug smile on his face, leaving Ric looking a bit puzzled as to what he's just shook hands on there. Is Gaskell going to continue to pull the strings and pull the wool over everyone's eyes, pulling more people in so that if anything goes wrong then he has a line up of scapegoats to fall back on, or could someone somewhere actually work out what's going on, and expose the Professor and his malpractice and the underhand and unethical methods he's continuing to use in order to bring him down? Time will tell, it's all getting rather tense and exciting, bring on next week for more!
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