"Bernie, I know it's your day off…"
Bernie shut her eyes. She had plans to see Cameron for lunch and was even hoping Charlotte might make an appearance, so it would happen that AAU gets over-run. "But?"
"Well, it's quite busy here-" Raf began.
"You need me to come in?" Bernie spoke flatly, already torn between seeing her children and going to help her colleagues out.
"..Yes and No."
"Raf, I have things to do, so just spit it out." Bernie sighed, running a hand through her still damp hair as her eyes scanned her small closet for something to wear. She'd never owned many things, but now half of them were in one side of Serena's closet and Bernie was now cursing herself for coming back to her flat to get ready.
"Well, we are quite busy but we're all handling it, so we don't exactly need you to come in, but the coffee machine at pulses has broken, none of us have time to go to a café, and Serena might possibly kill a patient on purpose if she doesn't get a caffeine fix soon."
Bernie let out a laugh that was a mixture of relief and amusement. "I'll bring her something in if you promise not to start me working when I get there."
"Deal." Raf breathed a sigh of relief before asking hopefully, "See you soon?"
"She can't be that bad, Raf, it's only just gone 11am!" Bernie laughed, finally choosing the black shirt that Serena had recently had to restitch the buttons onto after a few too many shiraz made her a little more desperate than usual.
As though in response, Bernie heard Serena snapping at Raf about making personal phone calls while at work, followed by the bang of the phone being hung up rather angrily.
"I could kiss you!" Raf exclaimed when, half an hour later, Bernie entered the ward holding a tray of coffee rather precariously in one hand, a bag held more firmly in the other.
"Ah, well-" Bernie flushed, still unused to these sudden displays of emotion that she seemed to face every day on AAU.
"Perhaps I'll leave that to Serena." Raf smirked as he heard the yelling of the very woman come floating down the corridor. "Miss Campbell, someone to see you!"
"Well tell them I'm busy! Who the hell thinks that I have time for-oh." Serena came to a stop as soon as she lifted her head to find a rather nervous looking blonde stood before her. "Oh, I could kiss you!"
Bernie flushed again, deeper this time as Serena put a hand on either side of her face to do just that before picking up one the largest coffee to take a gulp from, followed by a rather guttural moan.
"I ah," Bernie cleared her throat, glancing at an amused Raf before looking back at Serena. "I also got a flask filled for later and got you a pain au chocolat." As Serena looked as though she might snog her in the middle of the ward again, Bernie turned away to put down the tray, busying herself by telling Raf which drink was which. When she finally looked back at Serena, the brunette was smiling at her over the edge of her coffee cup, her eyes telling Bernie she would definitely get lucky later.
"I think our colleagues will be rather grateful to you, Ms. Wolfe, for saving them from the wroth of a un-caffeinated Serena Campbell. Perhaps you'd like to hang around for them to give you their thanks?" Serena's voice came out like silk and Bernie had to shut her eyes for the briefest of moments.
"I need to go, but I'm sure you'll be able to pass on all their thanks later on." Bernie gave Serena one of those small smiles that said so much.
"I'll do my best to remember every single one." Serena promised, eyes not leaving Bernie's.
A throat clear from Raf stopped their subtle flirting in its tracks. "As you're here, Bernie-"
"No! I am not here, remember!" Finally breaking eye contact, Bernie grabbed her mobile and turned towards the lift, making sure not to look at Serena again lest one or the other of them say, or do, something else.
Raf smirked as Bernie rushed from the ward, his eyes fell on Serena- lips parted, eyes shut and face looking serene, almost as though she'd just had an org- No! Do NOT go there, Raf. "That was kind of Bernie."
Eyes opening slowly, Raf endured the last of the look Serena had given Bernie, and as his boss walked back to what she'd been doing, Raf found himself a little hot under the collar. Bernie was definitely going to get the thanks for his idea, that he was sure of.