Bernie had been at work for less than five minutes, and already she wore a frown on her forehead. As she'd been surveying the ward, as had become her habit whenever she arrived for the day, one of the patients had piqued her interest. In bed three lay a man who looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she knew him from, only that he made her feel unsettled.
"Morning, Bernie." Fletch offered as he sat down at the nurses' station with a sigh. When he received no reply, he finally lifted his head from reading his patient list for the day. "Bernie?"
"Mm?" Bernie looked round and then offered Fletch an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I'm just trying to work out where I know the man in bay 3 from."
Frowning, Fletch stood up and looked towards the man in question. "Ah! You will have seen him on Serena's photo board."
"She has a photo board?" Bernie raised her eyebrows, surprised.
"Ah...yes. It's in your office, so you've probably looked at it without paying too much attention or something." Fletch shrugged, going to sit down again.
"But WHO is he?" Bernie pushed.
"Detective Inspector Robert Metcalf." Fletch offered, but seeing the slight confusion Bernie still wore, he added, "Serena's Robbie."
"Serena's EX Robbie." Raf pointed out as he approached, seeing the startled expression on the blonde's face.
"Oh, yeah, right. Sorry." Fletch offered Bernie an apologetic smile before going back to his notes.
Bernie nibbled her bottom lip for a few seconds before finally drawing her eyes away from the man who had once shared Serena's life. The man who was apparently still on this photo board of Serena's. After offering a concerned looked Raf a distracted smile, Bernie picked up her patient files and walked towards her office. Pushing open the door, her eyes surveyed the room until they fell on a board that was haphazardly placed on the wall just beside Serena's desk.
Stepping forward, Bernie dropped her case files and her bag on the edge of the desk so she could survey the board with no restraints. There were many photos of Arthur and other staff members, including several of herself in those ridiculous selfies Serena would suddenly decide she needed to take. But there were also several photos of the man in bed 3. In fact, not that Bernie was counting, but there seemed to be more photos of him than there were of her. The unsettled feeling that had sat in her stomach now began to strengthen. Serena's Robbie.
Bernie sat, drumming her fingers against her desk, her attention flickering between the open patient file in front of her, the clock and the damn photo board that until today, she hadn't even noticed existed. She had been racking her mind for any mention Serena had made of her ex; the infamous 'Robbie the Bobby', but could only ever recall her briefly mentioning him, and never in the most favourable terms. So why did it bother her so that that bloody board had five photos of her, but seven of Detective Inspector Robert Metcalfe?
It shouldn't matter, she reminded herself. It didn't matter. Serena could have pictures of whoever she wanted on her photo board. She turned her attention back to the file in front of her. It didn't matter at all.
"You'll never guess who's turned up," said Serena, placing a coffee on the blonde's desk as she breezed into their shared office, shrugging off her coat as she moved around to her own desk.
Bernie's frown crept back onto her features. Of course she had noticed him barely two seconds having entered the ward. She abruptly pushed out her chair. "What is he, some sort of local celebrity or something?"
The brunette turned, catching only a glimpse of blue scrubs and blonde curls as the other woman exited the office. "What the...?" She tracked the Bernie's progress across the ward through her blinds, eyebrows raised as she watched her snap at Fletch and Raf, sending them scattering as she plonked herself down at the nurses' station.
With a glance at the clock and a sigh, she realised that figuring out the what thorn appeared to be lodged in the lion's paw was going to have to wait until after surgery.
Bernie was absolutely not glaring at the man currently occupying bay 3. She was simply surveying the ward.
"Everything all right, Major?"
The blonde jumped, turning to face a smirking Serena hovering over her chair.
"Finally! It's only taken me four months to successfully sneak up on you," she said triumphantly.
Bernie regarded her with a chuckle. "Expecting a certificate?"
"I'll settle for you buying the drinks at Albie's next time."
"Done," grinned the blonde, pushing herself up, looking forward to an evening of drinks with the woman as soon as their schedules allowed. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a very important meeting."
"Oh?" questioned Serena with a frown. There was nothing on the notice board on their office, and had been nothing in the e-mails.
"Yes, apparently there is a very rare Pokemon down by the pharmacy, and Jason needs someone in the know to get him past the key coded doors," said Bernie, trying her utmost to keep a straight face. "And it just happens that I'm the woman for the job. Apparently Aunty Serena finds Pokemon Go stupid, and would never agree to help," she added with a roll of her eyes as she brushed past the other woman.
The brunette watched her go with a bemused smile on her face. Clearly whatever had been bothering her was no longer an issue. Or else, a few rounds of Pokemon Go with Jason was just the cure she needed. Turning as her name was called, she forced herself to keep a smile on her face as she made eye contact with Robbie, dragging her reluctant feet to his bedside as she was beckoned over.