Twenty Seven Percent
Author's Note: A slight reworking of a particular scene from, 'Back in the Ring' S18 E43.
It was fast approaching the end of her shift and Serena Campbell was sat at her desk in the consultants' office on AAU, grudgingly completing the paperwork that she hadn't quite managed to get round to yet today. On any other day, she would have had this all done long before now – barring any major incidents - but it's the end of Jason's first day on AAU and Serena had wanted to make sure that her nephew was getting on alright and equally not intimidating any of the staff during his observations and as a consequence, she'd rather fallen behind on her own work.
There is only one patient file left to update when her concentration is broken by the office's other occupant, Bernie Wolfe performing her usual struggle with the office door as she enters the small room. That said, Serena's frown vanishes when she spots that Bernie has a hot, steaming mug in each hand, wordlessly offering one to Serena.
"Ah, Bernie," Serena gratefully reaches out for the proffered drink, "if there's caffeine in this, I might have to kiss you." Bernie smirks at her and hands her one of the mugs without comment.
Serena is slightly surprised when, instead of sitting at her own desk, Bernie walks round the back of her chair and perches herself on the edge of Serena's desk. Serena leans back in her chair, grateful for the brief respite from her work and twists to her right to face her colleague.
A few stolen minutes with her friend, after a long day.
"So is there any particular reason why you are neglecting a perfectly good chair over there?" Serena tilts her head to indicate the one left at a haphazard angle on the former Army medic's side of the office. Bernie is part-way through sipping her drink and Serena is happy to wait, her smile indicates that she's got no problems with where the blonde is sat and is quite content for Bernie to remain there.
"Maybe I like it here?" Bernie shrugs nonchalantly, eyes sparkling and the reply provokes the two consultants to fall into an easy discussion about the day's events.
Bernie is teasing Serena about her unorthodox yet ultimately correct diagnosis for Danny Morrison's sickness. Her amusement removes the seemingly ever-present strain courtesy of the divorce from Bernie's face and for that reason alone, Serena is quite content to let Bernie have her five minutes of fun, even if it is at her expense. She is quite aware that if it was anyone else, she would have shut the conversation down long before.
"You know, if I were a betting woman..." Serena watches as Bernie's words trickle to a stop and her gaze moves from Serena's face, over her shoulder towards the office door. "Hang on, here he comes, look lively." Serena turns round to see her nephew, in his new suit enter the office and without any preamble launches straight into his findings.
"I've finished collating."
"Excellent." Serena offers Jason a smile.
"Patients are waiting for more than an hour to be moved or discharged. They aren't able to go home. So new patients aren't able to be transferred because Ms. Campbell-"
"Serena, Jason." Serena interjects to correct her nephew but Jason carries on as if he hasn't heard the interruption.
"Isn't signing off her patients' discharge papers in time. This is causing a backlog because you take too much time over this."
"Hang on, hang on," Serena isn't sure she likes where this is going, "let me get this right, you're saying I'm the root of the problem?" Serena just knows that Bernie is finding this funny so keeping her right hand hidden from Jason's gaze, she drops it into her lap and surreptitiously moves it across to Bernie to pinch her so-called friend's leg but as Serena's fingers make contact with blue scrubs, Jason's next words stop her in her tracks.
"You have spent a lot of the day staring when you could have been working. In fact," her nephew pins her to her seat with the intensity of his gaze, "the efficiency of the ward could be increased by approximately 27% if you spent less time staring at Ms. Wolfe," Jason's smile is almost predatory, "Serena."
Her nephew turns on the spot and leaves the office, leaving Serena dumbstruck until she hears Bernie snort beside her. Suddenly remembering where her hand is, Serena snatches it back and turns to face the blonde trauma surgeon about to tell her that it's not funny but finds she can't say a word when she spots an expression on Bernie's face that stops her in her tracks.
A moment or two later, the expression is gone, replaced by amusement and Bernie, making full use of the height advantage in her current position, leans towards Serena as if to whisper conspiratorially.
"So, have you been staring at me, Serena?" Bernie's voice is definitely amused and Serena finds her mouth has gone dry.
She has no idea what to say, her automatic reaction is to refute the suggestion: yes, she always knows where the blonde (who is almost indecently close to her at the moment) is and what she is doing at any given time but she wouldn't call that staring. Serena doesn't know what she would call it but she doesn't think that's relevant right now; without moving, Bernie somehow seems to have reduced more of the distance between the two of them.
"Because Jason seems to think so..."
"I, err..."
Jason. The mention of Serena's nephew refocuses her mind, if she has been staring, Jason would have seen it and he wouldn't lie about it, a part of her fervently hopes that he hasn't written down that particular observation as part of his report to Mr. Hanssen.
"Can you blame me?" The flirtatious words are out of her mouth before she can censor them and they make Bernie laugh, the blonde leaning back to Serena's simultaneous disappointment and relief.
"Fancy a drink?" Bernie asks as she stands up.
"Definitely." Serena reckons she probably needs a stiff drink or two after this conversation.
"Wonderful, I'll go and get changed, don't leave without me." Bernie stops at the office doorway and turns back to Serena, the expression from earlier back on her face. "Oh and I think you'll find there was caffeine in that," Bernie indicates the mug in Serena's hands. "I'll be in the locker room."
Bernie leaves the office and Serena follows her progress across the ward, suddenly with an almost audible sound, the penny drops and Serena knows. She knows exactly how Bernie feels about her and in that same instant, Serena realises that she herself has fallen for the former Army medic; she's never had any previous interest in women, but the fact that Bernie is a woman isn't really registering. She's simply Bernie, the person that Serena...
Her brain belatedly catches up and Serena realises what Bernie has just said; she abruptly stands, discarding her half-drunk coffee on her desk. She looks across the ward to the double doors just in time to see them swinging shut. Hoping she looks more confident than she feels, Serena follows the blonde surgeon's path towards the locker room.
AN2: I'd be most grateful to read any feedback...