Bernie sipped at her gin and tonic as she watched Serena animatedly talk to Fletch, swinging around her half empty wine glass as she spoke. She and Raf exchanged a look before she burst into a fit of giggles, knowing her girlfriend was well on her way to being thoroughly schnookered. "How're the kids?" she suddenly asked, knowing Raf would give her a truer answer than Fletch.

"They're holy terrors, but we wouldn't have them any other way. Mikie is all sorts of glad that you're back, by the way, and that you and Serena have made up."

She choked on her swallow, feeling her eyes bug out a little. "He's ten! How does he know about us?" she gasped out, trying not to swipe at her watering eyes.

Raf blushed guiltily as he glanced over at Fletch. "Well, it seems the old adage is true. Little pitchers do have big ears."

He looked ready to say more when Serena unsteadily got to her feet. Bernie went to steady her, only for her hand to be swatted away. "I'm f-fine, Bern. I'm just going to get another glass of wine. Do you want another drink?"

"I don't know if I should…"

"Nonsense! Fletch is our designated driver tonight, after all. Live a little!" And then, in front of everyone at Albie's, Serena leaned down and gave her a passionate kiss. It took everything in Bernie not to return the kiss, since she knew things would too quickly get out of hand if she did. "I'll be right back!"

Bernie gasped loudly when Serena copped a feel of her breasts before heading up to the bar, and she looked between Raf and Fletch, taking in the totally naughty grins on their faces. "Do I need to remind you that we are your bosses?"

"No, ma'am," Fletch replied as he dug out his wallet and slipped Raf a tenner. She narrowed her eyes into a glare, and he just grinned at her. "I owe him money."

"Yeah, and you're going to owe me a lot more…" Raf started before stopping his words with his beer. Glancing over at Serena, twitching her hips to the beat of the music, it suddenly fell into place. They were being set up, by people who were supposed to be their friends.

"How much?" she bit out as she focused her gaze on Raf once more. His blush became even more pronounced as he looked away from her, chugging his beer so as to not have to answer her. "Fletch?"

"I really do owe him money!"

"A likely story," she muttered as Serena rejoined them, two glasses of wine in her hands. "More wine?"

"One of these is for you!" Serena cooed as she took a seat entirely too close to Bernie for being in public. "I know you want it!"

"That's not the only thing she wants!" Raf said, giving them a knowing wink. Bernie flushed once more, taking the glass from Serena's outstretched hand and gulping the tart liquid down. "See, that's the spirit!"

"Shut it, Raf."

He nodded before getting up and stretching. "I'll be right back."

She nodded absently, trying to ignore the way her head was swimming with the movement. Bernie knew she was well on her way to being drunk, blindingly so, and hoped the hangover wouldn't be too bad. She jumped a little when Serena placed her hand on her upper thigh, her thumb slipping a little too close to her core for comfort.

Fletch grinned as he averted his eyes, and she fought to let Serena keep her hand where it was, not wanting to call further attention to the fact that she was quickly growing wet with arousal. "You two are nauseatingly adorable," he muttered as Raf returned with a glass of water and three shots.

"All right, ladies, this one's on me. Drink up!" Raf handed them each a glass, and Bernie shook her head again, knowing there was more afoot than she realized.

"Ooh, I'll never turn down a free drink!" Serena knocked hers back so quickly that Bernie wondered if she had even tasted it. Another look was exchanged between Raf and Fletch, another tenner exchanged hands, and Bernie felt like she had fallen into some other universe. Deciding to just go with it, she downed the shot before chasing it with the dregs of her gin and tonic, setting both glasses aside to hold onto her wine glass for dear life. Now the room was spinning without any encouragement from her body, and she groaned a little, not looking forward to the morning.

Somehow, she and Serena drank three more glasses of wine each before last call, and they got to their feet cautiously, weaving a little as they stood, following Raf and Fletch to their car. It didn't escape Bernie's notice that another tenner was exchanged before she clambered into the back seat.

Serena also climbed into the back, settling down far too close to Bernie once more, and she bit her lip as the woman threw one arm around her waist and snuggled in close, her warm breath washing across Bernie's neck in a thoroughly delicious manner. She squirmed her hips a little, trying to ease the ache between her legs. Serena's arm slipped lower and lower until it was in her lap and Bernie groaned as she reached down and moved her hand back onto her stomach.

"What? Don't want to play right now?" Serena asked before nipping at her ear.

"Not in front of our friends, no. There are certain things that should be kept private, okay?"

"You're no fun." Bernie laughed a little at the pout on Serena's lips before she leaned down and kissed her gently. "And those kisses are much too chaste."

"Yes, Bernie, those kisses are much too chaste," Raf teased from the front seat, and she kicked it, hard enough to get his attention. "And you just made me another ten pounds, luv!"

"I do believe that you should use your thirty shekels to buy Serena and me a nice dinner out next weekend. Otherwise, life could be very interesting for you in the coming months. Serena isn't the only one who can carry a long-term grudge."

There was a short pause before Raf nodded, and she chuckled under her breath before making herself more comfortable in the seat. Serena seemed to take this as an invitation to crawl even farther into her personal space, nuzzling her nose against Bernie's cheek before starting to place tiny little pecks on her face. It was certainly a different side to Serena than she had seen before, and not unwelcome, though she knew that she couldn't encourage this madness to go on much longer. Serena was in no position to consent, let only herself, since they had both had so much to drink. And then, Serena's nimble fingers started undoing the buttons on her blouse, slipping inside to caress her breasts over the fabric of her bra.

"We are still with our friends," she hissed as she tugged Serena's hand away and tried to fasten the buttons one handed. It was a losing endeavor, and Serena smirked up at her before letting her fingers trail up and down Bernie's torso in a most distracting manner.

The men couldn't contain their laughter any more, and Bernie groaned aloud as she tried to pry Serena off her. It seemed as if the woman had turned into an octopus at some point in the evening, what with the way her limbs entwined around Bernie's body. "I think you're losing this battle, Major," Fletch said lowly, mirth coloring his voice.

"Shut up."

"Yes, ma'am." Their eyes met in the rearview mirror, and she shook her head a little, trying get him to lay off. Somehow, he took the hint, and the rest of the mercifully short drive to Serena's house was silent as could be, save for maddening sound of Serena's little coos and breaths in her ear. "I'm glad that the two of you have tomorrow off. I fear for the patients that would have had to deal with both of your hangovers."

"Ha bloody ha, Fletch. We'll see you on Sunday," Bernie muttered as she stumbled out of the car, the cool spring air pebbling her nipples as it swept across her bare skin. Soon, though, she was in Serena's arms once more, and they somehow made it up to the stoop. It took three tries to unlock the door, since Serena was no help, instead trying to distract her with kiss upon kiss for all the world to see.

"Are we inshide yet?" Serena lisped, her hands slipping under the fabric of her shirt to caress and touch her breasts and torso as they tumbled inside. Bernie closed her eyes and counted to twenty, trying to not think about the wicked things she wanted to do to Serena. "What's wrong? Don't you want to have sex with me?"

Bernie released a long breath, her focus completely shot. "I would love to have sex with you. Tonight, though, is not the night. You're too drunk."

"You know what? You're not being a very good leshb…leshbe…gay right now, are you, Major? Aren't we supposed to want to fuck all the time?"

"I think you'll find I am being an extremely good gay right now, Ms. Campbell, and an even better girlfriend. We are both going to have the worst headaches come the morning."

"Don't worry, I know how to fix that!" Serena giggled as she stepped away from Bernie and stripped off her blouse and just stared lustily at Bernie. It was so hard to resist Serena when she looked like that, all soft and wanton and desirable, and Bernie closed her eyes, trying not to act on her wants. "Let's get to bed, darling."

"And sleep," she bit out, her jaw tightening as Serena stepped into her personal space once more, finishing the unbuttoning of her blouse, and pushing it from her shoulders. "That's all, Serena, we're going to sleep."

"There's no fun in that," she sang out, taking hold of Bernie's hand and dragging her into the living room. They flopped down onto the sofa, and Bernie forced herself to not respond to Serena's advances. It was a losing battle, and soon her bra was gone, tossed into a corner of the room. "But there is fun in this…"

Bernie began to count in Ukrainian, needing the extra focus when trying to tamp down the fire that Serena was lighting in her body with the sloppy, open-mouthed, kisses she was running down her neck and upper chest. It wasn't until those sweet lips closed around her nipple that Bernie sat up, tenderly pushing Serena away. "Yes, that is fun, darling. But we have to get to sleep. Okay?"

"No."

"Please, Serena. Do not tempt me any longer tonight. My control is only so strong." Serena pouted at her, and Bernie shook her head as she stood, pressing the heel of her hand against her head as she struggled to keep upright. "Come along, Fraulein, let's get some sleep."

Serena tried to stand, but tripped over her legs, ending up back on the sofa, giggling madly. "I think we're going to have to stay here tonight, Bernie. I don't think I can make it up the stairs."

"Then I'll help you up there, okay?"

Serena tried to nod, though her head ended up lolling back against the sofa as she grinned up at Bernie. "You are so gorgeous, Bernie. So fucking gorgeous."

"Well, that's another thing to file away about you, you lose your filter when you're extremely drunk. It's rather adorable."

"Ugh, is that all I am to you, adorable?"

"No, but that is what how I would describe you right now." Reaching down, she helped Serena to her feet, welcoming the warmth of her body against hers as they made their way to the stairs. It took much longer than normal, what with Serena stopping them every second step in order to kiss her or cop a feel. It was maddening, really, how she wasn't able to act on her desire, and she had to fight the temptation at every turn, in order to respect her sweet Serena.

Finally, finally, they were at the top of the stairs, and Bernie turned them in the directions of Serena's bedroom, guiding her to the bed before stumbling over to the dresser and pulling out a nightgown, since she knew that she needed the barrier of clothing to keep things proper between them until Serena fell asleep.

"Here, let me help you into this," she said as she went over to Serena and helped her out of her bra, taking care not to stare too much at her gorgeous breasts as she eased the nightgown over her head and pushed her arms into the sleeves.

"You just don't want to love on me," she pouted as she stood, resting her hands on Bernie's shoulders before pulling her down onto the bed. "Please?"

"Begging will get you nowhere, darling," she said as she sat up and reached under the nightgown to undo the fastenings on Serena's trousers and pulling them off her legs. "Now, get beneath the covers and try to get to sleep."

"Are you going to join me?" Serena's voice sounded so sultry, and Bernie regretfully shook her head. "Oh, I promise to be ever so good if you join me."

Against her better judgment, Bernie went over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt. It didn't take her long to strip down and change, and then she slowly walked to the bed, watching Serena carefully. The woman licked her lips invitingly, and Bernie closed her eyes as she pulled back the covers and slipped into bed, making certain to keep her body ramrod straight. Serena took the small opening and wrapped her limbs around Bernie as she buried her face in Bernie's neck, kissing and licking at her skin. It really was horrible, in the best sort of way, that Serena was so talented with her tongue, since it did deliciously wicked things to her system.

"I know that you want me. I can tell," Serena whispered in her ear, and Bernie shook her head slowly. "You can't lie to me."

"I know I can't, Serena, but we're just going to sleep tonight. Maybe, in the morning, we'll think about starting our day off with a bang."

Serena burst into giggles as she rested her forehead against Bernie's shoulder. "Oh, this is why I love you, Berenice Wolfe." Bernie smiled as she finally let herself relax, letting her own arms encircle Serena, holding her close as the woman finally drifted off to sleep.

"And this is why I love you, Serena Campbell," she whispered as she buried her nose in the woman's soft hair, breathing in deeply. The scent of her filled Bernie's senses, and it helped to relax her overstimulated body. "Even if you are so maddeningly erotic when we can ill afford to make love. I would never take advantage of you, sweetheart, because you mean so much to me."

Bernie slowly let her eyes close, even as her brain still continued to race with thoughts of her beloved. It seemed that she couldn't get comfortable enough to fall asleep, however, and she turned in Serena's arms so that she was facing her, opening her eyes to look at her sleeping lover. There was something so sweet about the grin on her face, and the way her hand had instinctively curled around her shoulder as soon as she had turned, as if she needed to anchor herself to Bernie, even in sleep.

She pulled the sheets a little closer around their shoulders before tucking her chin over Serena's head. "This might be the alcohol talking, making my brain dizzy, but I think it's time to end this charade of keeping two households. I miss this when we're apart. I miss you. And now, it is time for me to fall asleep before I reveal too much." Her eyes closed once more, and she forced her breathing to even out so that sleep could finally claim her.

An insistent knocking on the bedroom door sometime later pulled her from the depth of sleep. "Auntie Serena?" Jason said loudly, and Bernie groaned as she pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes, trying to shut out the blindingly bright sunlight that streamed in the window of Serena's room. "Auntie Serena, it's now almost noon and you're still not up," he said as he entered the room, and it was in that moment Bernie realized she was topless.

Gasping a little, she tugged the sheet up to cover her breasts as she shook Serena awake. "Stop, Bernie, I'm still tired," she whined as she snuggled in closer to Bernie, resting her head in Bernie's lap.

"I've already had to waste breakfast for you, I do not want to have to throw out lunch, too. You have thirty minutes to make an appearance downstairs, or I am bringing it up to you."

He turned on his heel, and Bernie burst out laughing. "Hush, you're too loud, Bernie." Serena reached up and slapped her hand over Bernie's mouth in an effort to quiet her. Instead, Bernie took the opening and kissed her hand lightly before extending her tongue and drawing light patterns on her palm. "Oh, god, Bernie. We don't have time."

"You promised me another round this morning," she teased as Serena finally opened her eyes to look at her. "Don't you remember?"

"No, nothing. What happened last night?"

"Raf and Fletch got us drunk off our arses and you felt me up in front of them. On the way home, we made out like horny teenagers in front of them, nearly giving Raf a heart attack."

Serena moaned again as she sat up, and Bernie had to swallow the groan as she saw that Serena had also lost her nightgown. "You have got to be kidding me, Bernie. Oh, god, I've made fools of us both."

There was a desperate tone to Serena's voice, one she didn't like hearing, and so Bernie knew that she had to back off the teasing a little in order to allay her lover's fears a little. "No, darling, you didn't. I was just teasing you a little, since you were the one that thought it prudent to drink so much wine and then promptly forget then entire evening. Though I would love to know how we still managed to end up nearly naked during the night."

"Must be wandering hands that understand we were made to have our flesh touching during the night. Because heaven knows that I love waking up to the feel of your skin against mine." Serena straddled her body before leaning down and capturing Bernie's lips in a torrid kiss. The taste of stale wine was on Serena's breath, but all Bernie could really focus on was how right it felt to have her there, kissing her. "But, we have to get down to lunch before Jason shows back up, and sees things he really shouldn't."

"Fine," she bit out, slipping out from underneath Serena to pad over to where her shirt had ended up and pulled it over her head. "Let's head down to lunch."

"Oh, darling, don't be like that. We can head back up here after lunch and work it off." Serena gave her another adorable pout, and Bernie sighed a little as she nodded. "Perfect!" Serena got out of bed, wobbling a little. "Ooh, that was probably the wrong move. This is one hell of a hangover."

Bernie nodded, still feeling the effects from last night in her system. "But at least we're going through it together. And you did mention something about a hangover cure?"

"Yes, though you won't like it. I don't like, but it works like you wouldn't believe." Serena padded over to where she was and hugged her tightly. "I need to throw something on, but I don't want to. Give me a good reason to get dressed?"

"I get to undress you when we're finished?" Bernie pressed a soft kiss to the top of Serena's head.

"Umm, yes. That is perfect motivation, darling." Serena pushed away from Bernie and rummaged through the top drawer of the dresser to pull out a camisole, tugging it over her head before stepping over to the closet and pulling out one of those light maxi skirts that still seemed to be in style. "Easy access, Bernie."

"Maybe I prefer a challenge."

"Not today, you don't," she sang as she shrugged into an oversized button up. "Today, you want me easy and open and dripping with want. Right?"

Bernie groaned as she nodded, feeling desire pool in her stomach as Serena started for the door. "You have no idea just how right you are, Serena," she murmured, trying to find the impetus to move, feeling rooted to the spot.

Serena stopped in the doorway, turning to look back at Bernie over her shoulder. "Coming, Bernie?" she purred, crooking her finger at her. Bernie just shook her head as she took a shaky step forward, knowing that there would be some pleasure in her future, even if she would have to suffer through an interminably long lunch, that she knew Serena would drag out, just to watch her squirm. Perhaps, though, two could play at that game, and she began to devise ways to drive her lover to distraction. It was going to be a good day off.