"You coming for a drink, Serena?" Bernie questioned warmly as the two of them left the hospital and headed for the car park. "I think we both deserve it after that day."
"I think I'll take you up on that - there's no harm in one or two, as long as I'm home before dawn." Serena responded with a grin, throwing her car keys back in to her bag and walking towards Albies with Bernie close beside her.
The two of them entered the bar to find it almost empty, there were a few strangers sat in one corner but nobody from the hospital, and there was room to breathe at least, so they headed straight for the bar with intent to take the seats that had slowly but surely become theirs.
"Red?" Bernie asked as the two of them sat down, drawing her purse out of her bag and placing it down in front of them. "I'll treat us to a bottle, shall I?"
"I'm in if you are. The mere prospect of working with that man for another day has me needing a hard drink and a long sleep, how on Earth did you deal with him for so long?" Serena couldn't help but complain - after spending a nine hour shift listening to Marcus Dunn talk badly about Bernie, she was just about ready to explode. She didn't agree with what Bernie had done, she probably never would on a practical level, but she understood and respected her choice in some manner…and she resented the idea that her own ex-husband would drag it out so painfully.
"I moved to the other side of the planet and limited exposure…" Bernie joked before a more serious tone fell upon the conversation. "He used to be better, so much kinder and charismatic but- the divorce has really taken it out of him, and I accept that I"m the one to blame for the way that he's been acting. I can't help but feel a little guilty for destroying the person he used to be, the person that I used to love."
Serena pursed her lips, unwilling to pass judgement on such a personal statement, and reached out to rest her hand comfortingly on Bernie's forearm. As the bartender brought over a bottle of Shiraz, Serena couldn't help but smirk at the fact that the pair of them had subconsciously made it their 'usual'. Bernie poured each of them a large glass full, drinking hers down almost immediately before pouring a second.
The night wore on and time got away from them as they finished a bottle and moved on to another, then again. Serena was a giggly drunk, always had been, and she was struggling to keep quiet despite the apparent effort on her face - there was nothing for Bernie to do apart from laugh along with her.
"Truth or dare?" Serena suggested briskly, following an infantile impulse and nipping the inside of her cheek as she realised how ridiculous she had sounded.
"Truth." Bernie responded easily, no hesitation in her voice as she sat up straight with enthusiasm.
"First crush?" The brunette almost choked on her drink as she took a gulp eagerly. Bernie was still quite a mysterious entity, she had arrived and there were still things that Serena was finding out about her every day - this was the perfect opportunity to find out all the things that were never reasonably going to come up in sober conversation.
"I take it Barbra Streisand doesn't count." Bernie joked before drawing in a breath. "There was this guy in secondary school, must have been second year I think, and everyone wanted to get with him, and I was just frumpy little teenager who hadn't hit puberty yet but one time, I fell over in the corridor and he helped me up and it was one of those moments where your future flashes before your eyes and you just think 'I'm going to marry this person and have their children and live happily ever after, so I'm sorted.'"
"Did you ever-?" Serena enquired curiously, wanting to know all of the sordid details only to be cut off by Bernie shaking her head. "Alright, my go! I want a dare!"
"Alright, go over to that bloke and persuade him to buy you a drink. Whatever it takes, Miss Campbell, show your initiative." Bernie suggested, pointing indiscreetly at the man sat on the other side of the pub, facing away from them luckily. "You have five minutes max, or I'm coming to save you."
Serena scoffed before slipping out of her chair and sauntering around the bar to take a seat, extremely close beside the target. Sidling up next to him, she fluttered her eyelashes and started talking nonsense to the man in an airheadedly flirtatious manner. All the man did was watch her, laughing at her comments as he slipped one hand to rest against her back, low enough down that the respectability of it was questionable, and Serena felt smug that she had almost definitely succeeded. He raised his empty hand about his head and snapped for the bartender to bring them drinks which, without hesitation Bobby walked over with a glass in each hand and placed them down on the table.
As she sipped at her own drink, Bernie watched the scene ardently with a tinge of jealousy as she saw the way Serena so comfortably sank against the man in her drunken state. Even through her hazy thoughts, Bernie knew she had to keep a close eye in case things turned sour and she knew that if Serena stayed after finishing her drink, she would have to go and collect her.
"Come on, gorgeous." The bloke grunted as he tugged Serena by her waist, to sit almost upon his lap, and lowered his hand to sit on her hip. Slipping in to army mode, Bernie rose from where she was sat without thinking and headed over with every intention to fight the guy if it became necessary. "Ay, and who's this?"
"Let's get you home shall we, 'Rena?" Bernie suggested reasonably, outstretching an arm to help the other woman up. Serena lifted her arm limply to take the blonde's hand, finding herself held tight in the bloke's grasp who didn't seem to be giving up. "Early morning tomorrow, remember?"
"I'll get her home, don't you worry." His false chivalry didn't convince Bernie for half a second and she simply tugged on Serena's arm a little harder, knowing that the guy would be unwilling to cause a scene so publicly. Instead he conceded that an utterance of complaint would suffice. "Bloody waste of three quid that was."
"Serena, why don't you go and grab your coat? I'll be there in a minute." Bernie couldn't help her urge to protect Serena's honour, so leant in close to the letch of a man and whispered. "Go near her again and I'll skin you, and trust me when I say you don't know what you would be getting yourself in to."
As the two women left the bar, Bernie hailed the first cab she saw and guided Serena in to it before climbing in herself. Giving her own address, she settled back against the seat and felt Serena rest her head slovenly against her shoulder - it was obvious that the experience had been somewhat sobering and while Serena didn't seem distressed by what had happened, Bernie certainly wasn't going to drop it. Bernie reflected, knowing that she was to blame though feeling overwhelmed with relief that she had stepped in when she did, and she knew that all she wanted for the rest of the night was to make sure that Serena was kept safe.
Pulling up outside of her flat, Bernie passed a £20 note to the driver before stepping out of the cab and helping Serena to stand up before guiding her towards the front door of her building, keeping tight hold of her waist as the maudlin pair braved the stairs. Serena was still in the party spirit, giggling to herself despite the fact she seemed ready for bed, and Bernie knew that she wouldn't persuade her to turn in straight away. Stumbling through the front door, Serena leant against the wall as Bernie grabbed another bottle of red and two glasses before offering the brunette her arm and walking the pair of them in to the living room, falling back against the couch.
"My turn - truth again." Bernie stated pointedly, pulling the cork from the wine easily and filling their glasses rather overzealously.
"Most ridiculous place you've ever had sex?" Serena slurred, sniggering as she picked up her glass and drew it to her lips. "And you can't say something really boring or I'll know you're lying!"
"Alright - back of an AL28 with two of my colleagues in the cab. I'd just got back to Kandahar and I was treated to a nice 'welcome back' - the others maintained discretion as far as I know." Bernie stated simply, smirking as she looked back on the sordid affair and realising just how bad it sounded in hindsight. The man who'd been driving was dead now - IED - and she swallowed back sadness and she raised her eyes to look at a laughing Serena with Shiraz dripping down her chin as she stumbled over her own tongue in her wine-drenched state.
"I want a dare. I dare me to kiss the most attractive person here." Serena uttered, words falling out of her mouth like an uninterrupted yet choppy flow with no sense of coherence amongst them. With very little grace, she leant over and almost fell in Bernie's lap, reaching for lips and kissing them softly only to be met hesitantly by the blonde. "You taste of Shiraz, hmm…"
"Serena-" Bernie began only to be cut off by the brunette shushing her and sipping her wine before swallowing harshly in attempt to falsify sobriety.
"You're very pretty Bernie, I could spend ages just looking at you. Sometimes I wonder how there are people in the world who are as beautiful as you. You're a masterpiece, like sometimes I just want to spend ages just admiring your face and showing photos like 'Look how pretty my Bernie is, aren't you jealous?' and I feel so ridiculous but you've just a very kissable face. Do you know what I mean? Some people just have faces that make you want to kiss them-"
"Serena, Serena- Do you think it's time to go to bed?" Bernie suggested, finishing off her wine and standing up to offer Serena a hand. "I'll get you some water and a shirt to sleep in."
Without argument, Serena reached for Bernie's hand and allowed herself to be helped up, leaning heavily against the blonde and giggling to herself quietly as they walked towards the bedroom. Bernie still held the insides of her cheeks between her teeth as she tried to ignore the fact Serena had just kissed her and remain responsible, guiding the other woman to the bed. As she attempted to be mature about the situation and not let herself get distracted, Bernie reached for the hem of Serena's shirt and pulled it over her head, keeping her eyes trained closely on the wall behind Serena.
"Berenese Griselda Wolfe, please stop looking at me like I'm a horse you're untacking!" Serena exclaimed, causing Bernie's eyes to meet hers as she reached for the woman's trousers and unbuttoned them, letting them fall to the woman's feet before grabbing the shirt from the bottom of the bed and handing it to her. "You're being a terrible lesbian right now."
Bernie couldn't help but laugh at her statement as she attempted to be the best, most respectable lesbian she could within the scenario. She refused to take advantage of Serena, especially after seeing how easily she could be led astray at the pub, and she cared about her too much to expose her in that manner. As Bernie slipped off her own clothes and grabbed a t-shirt from the top of her drawer, she thought about how much concentration it was going to take not to do anything suggestive whilst the pair shared the same bed - she couldn't deal with the upset of getting a taste of paradise and then waking up to find herself in the same position of resolute unrequitedness.
Calmly slipping under the duvet on the right side of the bed and turning to face away from Serena, Bernie attempted to steady her breathing and closed her eyes. After a moment, she felt Serena draw closer behind her and tug a little on the duvet, she let go of it willingly in the hope that it would keep Serena at a distance though it failed - Serena sidled up close behind her and wrapped an arm tightly around her waist, snuggling in to her neck warmly and humming.
"Serena-" Bernie whispered but her plea fell on deaf ears as the other woman grumbled before sniffing and resting her head against the pillow, shuffling to get comfortable. "You'll be the death of me."
Serena fell asleep almost immediately, followed eventually by a restless and focused Bernie who gave in to temptation and cuddled against Serena shyly.