This is my first Berena fic so I hope you like it, even if you don't pleeeaase let me know what you think - any response is great and helpful! It will be multi-chapter.
Chapter 1
"I'll see you later okay?" Serena smiled at Bernie, "Got that meeting this morning about Anna Staples, the young girl who died last week." She explained grimly.
"Ah yeah, I um, I hope it goes well then." Bernie replied, distracted.
"I'll meet you in our office for a coffee break yeah? And Bernie, please make sure you eat something, you still look pale." Serena squeezed Bernie's hand before heading into the lift, Bernie murmured something in response and made her way onto AAU.
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"You sure you're alright Bernie?" Raf asked, once again, having found Bernie taking deep breaths, head in her hands, eyes shut.
"Yes, I've told you I'm fine! Just waiting for Rhys Davies's scan images."
"We didn't send him for a scan, we sent Richard Gray for a scan. Bernie, you really don't look great." Raf frowned.
"Oh I'm fine, just feeling a bit under the weather." Bernie sighed, "I need to go tell Cathleen Spencer her X-Ray results and then assess the bloke in bed 6." She said, getting up slowly. "Fletch, with me please."
"Okay, Ms Spencer, we've got your X-Ray results, and it seems you've come off quite lucky, under the circumstances, with just a bad fracture, so Nurse Fletcher here will sort out a sling for you, and you'll just have to go easy and try not to move it too much alright?" Bernie smiled, taking a deep breath.
"Alrighty then, lets get you sorted out." Fletch winked, getting the sling ready.
"Fletch, would you get a doctor to assess the man in bed 6 please, I just need to-" Bernie ran off the ward with her hand over her mouth, attracting a few concerned looks.
She made it to the ladies toilets just in time to vomit her dinner from the previous night into one of the toilets, falling to her knees, hands either side of the toilet seat, head bent over. She wretched until it felt like her stomach was actually going make an appearance. Turning away from the toilet she'd just flushed and leaning against it, Bernie brought her knees to her chest and pushed her wavy blonde hair away from her face which was wet with perspiration.
After 15 minutes of sitting on the toilet floor, Bernie gradually got up, her legs still unsteady and weak. She splashed a few handfuls of cold water onto her face, and breathed deeply before slowly walking into hers and Serena's office, collecting her hoody and bottle of water, ignoring Fletch's eyes she could feel on her.
"I'm just going to get some fresh air, I'm sorry for leaving you like that Fletch." She said, gently touching his arm as she walked past.
"You make sure you're alright Major, you don't seem yourself today." He smiled.
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"Morning troops!" Serena greeted the AAU staff as she entered the ward, "sorry, the meeting took longer than expected, unsurprisingly. You'd have thought I'd have learnt to expect it, but how are we doing down here? No disasters?"
"No, no, all's been well." Raf replied, in his Scottish drawl.
"Right, I'll just drop my stuff in my office and I'll actually do what I'm here to do, not sit in meetings all day." She rolled her eyes.
"Okay, what have you got for me Raf?" Serena took a pile of patient folders from the nurse's station, glancing through them.
"Oh, Ms Campbell, could you just come and look at this patient's arm please?" Morven asked, approaching Serena and Raf. "I think it's a vascular case, and I'm worried it could be serious."
"Yep, I'll be right there, and then I'll take beds 2, 3 and 7."
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"Crikey Morven, you're right, it could be very serious. How on earth she managed to do it to herself is another issue, and not one I'm concerned with, but if you could just make sure everything else is okay, health wise and home wise, that would be wonderful." Serena smiled, pumping soap onto her hands. "Thank you, and you haven't seen Bernie have you?"
"No, not in a while, sorry." Morven shook her head, "maybe she's taking a patient for a scan or something."
Serena went about her normal consultant duties, today was a fairly average day, thankfully not too busy, making Bernie's absence not as noticeable.
"You seen Bernie lately?" Fletch asked her as she was studying some scans.
"No, Morven thought she might have been taking someone for a scan, but that was a while ago." She answered, not looking up.
"Well, I thought you should know, she did a runner when we were treating a patient and came back about 20 minutes later not looking great at all. She said she was going to get some fresh air." Fletch informed her, making Serena look up, concerned.
"Do you know where she went? She didn't look on top form this morning, but I thought it was just because she didn't have breakfast."
Fletch shook his head, "afraid not, sorry."
"Right, no worries, if you could just man the fort here, I'll give her a call. Thanks Fletch."
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Serena walked around AAU and Pulses and checked outside the front entrance and in the peace garden, with no luck.
"Hello?" Bernie's voice finally broke Serena's thoughts.
"Bernie! Finally! Where are you? No one's seen you for a while and Fletch said you didn't look very well. Are you okay? Where are you?" Serena relieved she'd eventually answered her phone, she often wondered the point in Bernie owning a phone.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Well no, I'm not, I'm not very well, I just needed some fresh air." Bernie answered weakly.
"What's wrong? Where are you love?" Serena repeated.
"I'm on the roof, I needed some peace and quiet. I've just been sick a few times, I think it's probably a bug, so the ward is the last place I should be right now."
"Okay, I'm coming up, do you want anything?" Serena asked, making her way back inside and into the lift.
"Just a hug?" Serena could hear the slight smile in Bernie's voice.
"I'm sure I could manage that, right I'm just climbing these blasted stairs, see you in a minute."
No matter how many patients Serena had to lift or run after, these stairs took it out of her every time.
"You couldn't have just sat in the peace garden?" Serena made it to the roof, puffing. "In fact, I think there's considerably more oxygen down there."
Bernie smiled, "Oh stop being so dramatic! We're not at Everest's summit!"
"Are you alright?" Serena asked taking Bernie's hand in her own and sitting down next to her.
"I will be, just thrown up all of my inner organs at least 3 times, but I think I'll live." Bernie said, taking a small sip of her water.
"Do you want to go home? I think it would probably be best?" Serena looked at her, "I can drive you home on my lunch break, but I'd have to come back until the end of my shift."
"That would be wonderful, if you don't mind." Bernie smiled, resting her aching head against Serena's shoulder, Serena turned and kissed her hair softly.
"Of course I don't mind, you fool!"
They sat like that for a while, just enjoying the peace and tranquillity of being high above the bustle and chaos of the hospital entrance. Bernie's head on Serena's shoulder, Serena's head resting on Bernie's, her thumb stroking Bernie's pale hand.
Serena looked down at her watch, "It's probably close enough to my lunch break now anyway, so we can head home if you're ready?"
They got up and slowly made their way back down to AAU, Serena's arm around Bernie's shoulders, rubbing her arm.
"Wait here and I'll just nip and get the car keys and let Raf know we're popping home." Serena headed into the ward, when Bernie's mouth started salivating more than usual.
Knowing she was going to vomit imminently, Bernie walked as fast as she could to the toilets, passing Serena on her way, who looked concerned and followed Bernie, stroking her back and holding her soft, blonde hair behind her head, softly saying comforting things while Bernie wretched over the toilet.
When Bernie felt able to stand, Serena handed her her bottle of water to rinse her mouth with, wrapping her arms around Bernie's shoulders and squeezing gently.
"You alright Bern?"
Bernie nodded, "I feel much better now actually. I always for about half an hour after spewing."
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While the kettle boiled, Serena fetched a fleecy blanket from their bedroom for Bernie, who was throwing up again in the bathroom. Serena poured the boiling water over a lemon and ginger teabag in Bernie's favourite, and biggest mug while Bernie arranged herself inside the blanket on the sofa, curling her legs up towards her chest, he back against the arm rest and head leaning on the sofa cushion.
"Thank you." Bernie smiled as she took the steaming mug of tea from Serena, hugging it to her chest.
"Do you want me to put a film on?" Serena asked, knowing Bernie would need something to occupy herself with, she was not good at doing nothing.
"Yes please, you choose one for me."
"Oooh, such responsibility!" Serena joked, taking Notting Hill off their shelf and putting it in the DVD player. "I wish I could stay with you, and Jason is at Alan's tonight, not sure if that's a mercy or not, it would be nice for you to have some company, but my shift finishes at 5, so I'll be back as soon after that as possible with the traffic." Serena bent down to kiss Bernie's head and squeeze her shoulder before driving back to the hospital.