Serena hadn't been able to focus on anything other than the feel of Bernie's lips on hers, of her strong hand on her shoulders, holding her close. Vaguely, she felt the woman pull away from her and heard the click-swish sound of the blind's closing, shutting them off from the ward's prying eyes, before she yanked Bernie's head back, closer, needing to have her as close as possible, to try and forget that they were two separate people. In that moment, all she needed was to be reminded that they could be singular, a whole.

An urgent groan tumbled from her lips as Bernie began to kiss her way down her jaw to nibble at her clavicle, pushing Serena back towards the desk. Serena had no clue as to when she'd lost control of the kiss, only that she wanted more. A sharp gasp slipped from her as Bernie snaked one hand beneath the black vest she was wearing to cup a desire-heavy breast, her thumb swiping over her nipple in a maddening rhythm.

"Bernie," she whined as those nimble fingers delved beneath the satin of her bra to touch her flesh, and she leaned forward to hook her chin over the woman's shoulder as she tried to steady herself, pushing the files that were strewn about on her side of the desk aside as she took a seat. "We can't, not here."

"Why not?" she asked huskily, and Serena licked her lips as she shook her head, trying to think of one good reason why they should stop. A bit of movement caught the corner of her gaze, and she turned her head to see that whilst they had closed one set of blinds, another was still open. Unable to vocalise her concerns, she raised her right arm and gestured towards said open window, even as Bernie's hand unclasped her bra. "Oh."

"Yeah. I, I don't want to share this. I'm sorry?"

"Don't be, Serena." Bernie pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before getting up and striding over and pulling that blind as well. "Is that better?"

Serena knew she was blushing, even as she gave the woman a small nod. After all, they were locked in the office, they might as well wile the time away with pleasurable pursuits. Leaning back on her desk, she made certain to thrust her chest out just a little more than normal, wanting to draw Bernie's attention there as she came back to her. "When are you coming back to me, Major?" she asked, giving Bernie a seductive smile even as she ran one hand up her torso to brush over her breast and curve beneath her chin.

"Oh god, Serena." Those words, tumbling from Bernie's lips, sounded like a prayer, and she nodded as she licked her lips once more, watching how Bernie focused in on that, mirroring her move, and she sighed with pleasure as she extended her arm once more and crooked her finger at her partner. Slowly, slowly, Bernie strode back to her side, the stormy look in her eyes only growing as the distance between them closed once more.

"I know, Bernie."

They shared a look, and she drew in a sharp breath as Bernie finally stepped back into her personal space, and she spread her legs a little so that Bernie could fit her body between them. As the woman leaned down, Serena hooked one leg around Bernie's, drawing her even closer as they began to kiss once more. This kiss was different than their third one, slow and soft, and the lushness of it overwhelmed her senses. Her eyes closed as she allowed Bernie to take lead, trusting her to know what she needed in that moment.

Bernie closed her arms around Serena's back, lifting her up a little so that she could remove the blouse she was wearing, and Serena shivered a little as the cold air of her office washed over her skin, pebbling her nipples even more. And just as she was about to start tugging off Bernie's scrub top, the door to the office rattled.

Instantly, they sprang apart, and Bernie blew out a long breath as she smoothed her scrub top down around her torso. From Serena's vantage point, the harsh light of the office haloed her hair, and she allowed a lazy smile to curve her lips upwards as she slid off the desk and took a seat in her chair, trying to slow her breathing into something that passed for normal, not for she almost had sex in her office with the woman she loved.

"I found the key!" Jason said as he thrust his hand in their office, holding said key aloft. "Fletch said that I had to ask if you two were decent before I entered, since I wasn't allowed to embarrass you."

Bernie chuckled a little as she went to the door and peeked outside the door, allowing Serena to have a moment to collect herself, for which she was eternally grateful. Hurriedly, she tugged her blouse back onto her body, closing the sides together and buttoning it up, hoping no one would take notice of the fact that her bra was undone. Standing, she made her way over to Bernie's side and peered around her side to look at her nephew. In his other hand, he was holding the bottle of wine that was obviously hastily wrapped, and she smiled as she rested her cheek on Bernie's upper arm.

"Oh, look, Jason's held on to your present, Bernie. Do you think that we should get out of here so I can open it?"

Serena knew her voice was thready and tight, and she only hoped that her nephew wouldn't comment on that fact. "That would be nice, but…"

"Yes?"

"I took a cab here today."

"That's not a problem, you'll just come home with us." She met Bernie's eye, hoping that she wouldn't protest her invitation. From the quick, easy, smile that slipped across her lips, Serena knew that she had made the right choice, and she relaxed a little as she stepped back into her office and tugged on her coat. "In fact, why don't we leave right now, so that we can get a head start on supper?"

"But Aunt Serena, tonight is supposed to be fish and chips night!" She shot a dark look at Jason, listening to Bernie chuckle as she shrugged into her trench coat, wrapping the belt around her waist and cinching it tightly. It took everything in Serena to not groan at that move, and she cleared her throat as she shouldered her bag. "Can't we make supper together tomorrow night?"

"Jason."

"I like my routine, and you know that!"

She sighed and looked at Bernie, giving her a pleading look. "That will be fine, Serena. In fact, I'll spring for supper tonight, all right?" Serena wanted to shake her head, but from the set of Bernie's jaw, she knew better than to protest. "Now, I want to hear about everything that happened whilst I was in Kiev, Jason. Well, minus Robbie."

"Of course." As Serena listened, her nephew began to open up to Bernie. He had started to do the same with Robbie, for which she was so grateful, but a large part of her heart overflowed with sheer joy at the fact that her chosen partner had such great rapport with her nephew. Unconsciously, Serena slipped her hand into Bernie's as they waited for the elevators, and she was relieved to feel the woman's fingers close around hers, squeezing gently. It was that touch that settled her soul, settling the frenetic beating of it against the cage of her chest into a more manageable rhythm.

Somehow, Jason managed to contort his body to fit into the backseat of her car, and she handed him her bag so that Bernie would have somewhere to sit. Serena found herself content to listen to the conversation the two were conducting, since it allowed her time to grow accustomed to the fact that Bernie, her Bernie, was in her car and coming to her home. "Serena? Serena!"

Turning her head sharply, she found that she had zoned out a little, and that Bernie was directly addressing her now. "Yes?"

Bernie gave her a decidedly odd look, and Serena smiled guiltily as she shrugged a little. "You weren't listening again."

"I know, I'm sorry. I was too busy hearing your voice, not your words. Forgive me?"

"Yes, but you missed the turn for the shop. That was why I was trying to get your attention!"

Serena let out a soft giggle as she turned down the next street. "Sorry. And now you have me saying that!" Bernie arched an eyebrow up, and she shrugged as she managed to get the car headed in the right direction. "Here we are!" she said a little too brightly as she parked, and Bernie was out of the car in an instant, giving her a warm smile before disappearing inside.

"You really should listen to her better, Auntie Serena. After all, we don't want her to think that you've forgotten her again, do we?"

"No, Jason, we don't." She leaned her head back against the seat and thought about how interminably long supper would be, since it was also QI night, and Jason wouldn't be happy until they had all watched that together. "Now, Bernie will be our guest, you realise."

"Yes. And we will treat her as such. Which means she gets to choose what we watch."

"Oh? You don't want to watch QI?"

"I do, but it's more important that we make her feel welcome, right? I can be flexible in this, since we have our fish and chips."

Serena laughed a little as she met her nephew's eyes in the rearview mirror. "I'm glad that you are finally learning to be flexible, instead of mulish like me." Reaching her arm back, she waited to feel Jason's hand slip into hers before clasping it tightly. "After all, that path has led to disaster for me nearly every time."

Jason held onto her hand a little tighter, though he didn't speak, and in a peaceful silence they waited for Bernie to return. It didn't take long, and she shoved the bag of food at Serena as she settled into her seat and fastened her belt. "Sorry it took so long, but I was behind someone who had no clue as to what they wanted. And it's not polite to tell people that they need to get a move on so that you can spend more time with your family. Such as it is."

She felt like she had been hit by a train at those words, and a small gasp tore from her lips as Bernie took the bag back. A shrug from Bernie had her putting the car in gear and driving back to her home. Once in the garage, she turned off the car, and watched as Bernie and Jason got out, again talking up a storm. Still, she found that she couldn't move, and it wasn't until Bernie had come back outside and physically opened her door, tugging her out, that she remembered to breathe. "We're family?"

"Yes."

And then she was launching herself forward, once more wrapping her arms around Bernie as she claimed her lips in a frenzied kiss. Bernie grunted against her lips, one of her large hands cupping Serena's head as she held her close, allowing Serena to deepen the kiss. It wasn't until she heard the soft thud of Bernie's back against the garage wall that she came back to awareness and tore her lips away from her partner's, looking at her with wonder. "We're family."

Taking hold of Bernie's hand, she led the woman inside, taking hold of her coat and pulling it from her shoulders to hang on the empty hook beside hers. Then, she was shrugging off her coat and hanging it up before taking hold of Bernie's hand once more and leading her into the kitchen. "Finally! I thought you two were going to be in there forever, just like in your office!" Jason grinned at them as he gestured towards their plates. "I got everything ready for us, and we can head into the living room to watch whatever you would like, Bernie."

Bernie cocked her head to one side, looking between them as if she knew that something was out of order. "Isn't QI on tonight?"

"Well, yes, but you're home, so it only seems right that you choose what we watch."
Bernie let a soft sigh slip from her lips as she shook her head a little. "Well, I think that I would love to watch a quiz show with you." She picked up her plate and looked at Serena, a tiny smile dancing on her lips. Serena followed suit and led Bernie to the living room, taking a seat on the end of the sofa so that Bernie could sit between her and Jason.

It didn't take Serena long to feel full, and she set aside her half-eaten plate before cuddling up close to the side of the couch, resting her cheek against the fabric as she listened to Bernie and Jason spit out answers faster than the questions could be asked. And then, Bernie was setting her plate atop Serena's before reaching out and wrapping her arm around her upper shoulders, gently tugging her over so that she would cuddle up against her instead. "Bernie?"

"You belong here," she said with an air of authority, much like she would use on a recalcitrant patient. Serena had to muffle her laughter against Bernie's shoulder so as not to disturb the program.

"I do," she finally murmured as she nuzzled her cheek against the fabric of Bernie's top. It was only then that she realized she hadn't given the woman any time to change, and that she was still wearing her scrubs. Thoroughly naughty thoughts began to run through her brain, and she tried to tamp them down, seeing as how Jason was still there with them. Still, she couldn't resist sneaking her hand beneath the fabric to let her fingers dance around the taut skin of Bernie's torso.

Bernie's skin jumped beneath her touch, so she knew that her partner was feeling something, and she smirked a little as she slowly raised her head and began to place soft kisses to Bernie's jawline. The quietest of whimpers slid from between Bernie's lips before she reached up and pressed her hand down firmly atop Serena's, stilling her motions. "Please," she whispered, and Serena shook her head a little before giving her another set of kisses. "Jason, I'm sorry, we're both a little more tired than I had thought we would be. I'm sorry, but we're going to head up to bed now."

Before Jason could protest, Bernie was standing and grabbing hold of Serena's hand, none too gently tugging her over to the stairs. "You have no idea where my room is, Bernie," she said with a laugh once they were in the hall.

"Upstairs would be my first thought," Bernie replied as she dragged her over to the staircase.

"Well, yes, but here, let me take the lead." She leaned in and kissed Bernie soundly before stepping forward and guiding Bernie upstairs. This was really happening, she was going to have her first night with a woman, with Bernie, and she couldn't begin to think of a reason why that was a bad thing. "And I'm going to take the lead tonight, too."

"All right," Bernie replied as Serena opened the door to her bedroom. Of course, it was pin neat, though she hadn't taken time to make the bed that morning, her mind more focused on the fact that Bernie would be there than anything else. "This is you."

Serena blushed as she carded her fingers through her hair, trying to allay some of the nerves that had suddenly crept up in her stomach. A nervous laugh escaped her lips as she bit her lip, her fingers playing with the hem of her blouse. And then Bernie gave her a knowing look, and all nervousness fled from her body as she stepped back into Bernie's personal space and brought her hands up to frame her partner's face. "This is me," she murmured lowly before tilting her head to the right, licking her lips as she let her eyes flutter closed. It only took moments for her to lean in even closer to Bernie, to press her lips against Bernie's, to give her a languid, lush, kiss. This was so different from their other kisses, and she deepened the buss as she drew Bernie back towards the bed, turning her so that it was easy to push her down onto the mattress.

The sound of their lips breaking apart was inordinately loud in the silence of her bedroom, and she sighed a little as she smiled down at her soon to be lover. She knelt down between Bernie's legs, her head at perfect height to kiss the woman's toned stomach. "Serena?"

"Just looking my fill," she murmured as she reached out and grabbed hold of the scrub top, drawing it over Bernie's head so that she could toss it to the floor. "This delightful tan of yours, does it cover all your body?"

"Why don't you find out?"

The teasing tone in Bernie's voice sounded like just the challenge she wanted to undertake, and so she did what came naturally to her, reaching behind Bernie's back to unclasp her bra and tug it from her chest. "When did you find time to go tanning on the banks of the Dnieper?"

"It was actually a tanning bed, to chase away the greyness and the cold." Bernie leaned forward and cupped her chin before giving her another languid kiss, one that filled Serena's every sense with overwhelming desire. Without realizing it, the woman had tugged her up onto the mattress, and then she was straddling Bernie, looking down at her with lust filled eyes. "And you are decidedly overdressed, Fraulein."

"Well, let me rectify that," she said as she leaned back a little, resting her weight evenly on hers and Bernie's legs. Balancing carefully, she undid the buttons on her blouse one by one, making certain that Bernie's eyes were constantly on her. There was something so sultry about stripping for Bernie, and she couldn't help but think back to her days as Serena Ballerina. She let one hand run up her chest, around her neck, and behind her head to bury her fingers in her hair, fluffing it up as she licked her lips.

Bernie whimpered again at that move, and Serena filed that away for later, glad to have one move that would instantly drive her partner wild. It was more difficult to undo her buttons one handed, but somehow they were finally opened, and she shrugged the flowy blouse off her shoulders, letting it rest around her elbows as tilted her head back and forth, her eyes never leaving Bernie's. "Fuck, you're hot," Bernie said as she reached up and grabbed hold of her vest, tugging her downwards.

Serena shook her head and wriggled free of Bernie's hands, sitting back up as she let the blouse slither to the floor. "I am in control here, Bernie. I call the shots tonight. Am I clear?"

"As crystal."

Serena smirked once more, her hands rolling the vest up over her torso before pulling it completely off and letting it fall to the floor as she lifted her arms above her head and shimmied a little, her bra dangling off one arm. It seemed that her Bernie was just full of soft noises that evening, as the strangled gasp that erupted from her lips as she fought to not reach up and touch Serena sent shivers down her spine. "Do you like what you see?"

"Yes." And for once in her life, Serena felt like a sex kitten, a goddess, everything that romance novels spoke of, and she closed her eyes as she dropped the bra to the floor and stretched her body out along Bernie's, once more claiming her lips in a hungry kiss. "May I ask something?"

Serena raised her head to meet Bernie's eye, giving her a small nod. "Anything?"

"Will you look at me as we make love?"

"Yes." A warm feeling of love spread through her system as she lowered her lips once more to Bernie's skin, bypassing her lips to nibble at the strong line of her jaw. From there, it was so easy to drag her lips down the column of her neck, and Serena couldn't resist lightly biting at the tendon, laughing a little at the way Bernie fairly mewled with pleasure at that move.

Moving down Bernie's chest, Serena made certain to focus her eyes on Bernie, to keep their gazes locked as she placed large, open mouthed, kisses down to the swell of her breasts. Taking a deep breath, Serena rubbed her nose against Bernie's nipple before lapping at it with her tongue. She drew on every scrap of what she found pleasurable to bring Bernie to higher and higher heights of desire, and as Bernie's back bowed upwards, Serena started to suck on her nipple, hoping that Bernie was just as sensitive as she was.

As she continued to watch Bernie, she cupped the woman's free breast with one hand, letting the other trip down her torso and slip beneath the band of her scrub bottoms. A high-pitched moan tore from Bernie's lips when Serena ran her fingers over the fabric of her pants, feeling how wet with desire she was already. "Are you that eager for me?" she husked out, and Bernie nodded and whined a little more, spreading her legs a little wider to give Serena more access to her core. "And what do you want me to do?"

"Fuck me. Please, Serena, fuck me," she begged, and Serena nodded as she left Bernie's chest and slid down her body to tug down the scrub bottoms and pants, baring Bernie to her completely. The golden blonde thatch of hair between her legs had Serena swallowing thickly as she stared at her. "It's easier if you hook my legs over your shoulders, and hold onto my arse as you eat me out."

The suggestive words were all it took for Serena to break free from her trance, and she did as told, trusting Bernie, since she had more experience in this. It was as she gripped the woman's bum that she realized just how nice an arse Bernie had, and then she was leaning in, breathing deeply through her nose as she drew in Bernie's particular scent. "So, this is what all the fuss is about," she murmured before running her tongue along Bernie's labia, watching her closely for her reaction.

Soon, the thin thread of her control snapped, and she let instinct take control, somehow knowing exactly what to do, even if it was a bit awkward. Serena only hoped that her enthusiasm made up for her lack of experience, but then Bernie was coming, her eyes rolling back in her head as she stiffened and let out a loud moan. "Se-Serena," Bernie cried out as she fell back on the mattress, raking her hand through her blonde curls.

"Was it good for you, then?" she asked, suddenly feeling shy as she slid up Bernie's body, needing to feel her body against hers.

"You are amazing."

Serena gave her a small smile as she licked at her lips, still tasting Bernie on her. It was a different taste, that was true, but she found that she liked it, far more than she had expected to. "Good." Their hands met on the band of her trousers, and Serena laughed a little as she let Bernie take the lead for the moment, wiggling her hips a little as Bernie pushed her remaining clothes off her body.

Bernie bundled her up in a warm embrace as they somehow managed to burrow beneath the covers, the cool November air biting into Serena's sweat soaked skin. "Next time, I get to lead, though."

"Maybe." Serena smiled a little as she hooked her chin over Bernie's shoulder, letting her hands run up and down the woman's back. "Or maybe I like being in control."

"Of course you would," Bernie teased as she, too, began to explore Serena's bare skin, her fingers tracing over the scars her mother's rings had left on her back. She hoped that Bernie wouldn't ask about them right then, since she was still in post-coital bliss and didn't want to dampen that feeling. "I'm glad I'm here," Bernie finally murmured in Serena's ear. "I'm glad you didn't reject me, that you gave me a reason to stay. I, I didn't really want to leave, I just didn't know how to ask that of you. I know, it's stupid, but it seems that I have a stupid brain. Or maybe it's a stupid heart. I'm not entirely certain at times."

"Hush, we'll talk about that tomorrow. Or did you not notice on the rota that we both had it off?"

Bernie chuckled as she shook her head. "I thought you had forgotten about me?"

"I could no more forget about you as forget about the sun rising in the east. Sometimes, one just has to cover their wounded pride with easy lies." Bernie's hand stilled on her back with those words, and Serena moved her head so that she could look at her lover. "What?"

"You don't like lying."

"You're right, I don't. But I did, to myself most of all. But now that you're back, I doubt that I shall have to rely on lies. Right?" Bernie nodded and Serena smiled tenderly as she pressed her lips to Bernie's once more, feeling a halo of love surround them as she fixed the feel of Bernie in her arms on her soul, knowing that she never did want to let her go.