There were many things that the two of them hadn't known about each other when Bernie had moved in (she hadn't officially moved in, and if anyone asked they denied living together, it was just that Bernie hadn't left yet), but one trait that Serena found most endearing was Bernie's knowledge of birds (and no, she didn't just mean herself).
It wasn't that Bernie was a bird enthusiast, she didn't go out for hours to get a fleeting sight of a rare bird, but she could identify a bird from a brief glance. She'd said it had started when she was young, on family holidays to exotic locations. Everything had been so different, even the birds, and for some reason she'd become obsessed with learning the names of all the new birds. It was a habit that had stuck, and now Bernie knew the names of birds from twenty different countries.
Serena had attempted to learn the names of some of them, but it hadn't gone very well. Not that Bernie seemed to mind. She delighted in attaching photos of random birds to their office door (which had now become a daily challenge amongst the staff of the AAU, everyone wanting to win, just for the prize of being Bernie's favourite for the day), or throwing the name of a bird across the operating table to Serena, expecting a full description in reply.
Elinor and Serena had finally sorted out a holiday together, the aim being to spend a pleasant few days bonding in Brittany. Bernie had helped there too, somehow. She'd had a private conversation with Elinor after an uncomfortable dinner, during which Elinor had been making plenty of snide remarks about Bernie (she hadn't taken well to the news of her mother being bisexual).
As much as she was looking forward to their holiday, Serena had a few worries. Chiefly, she wasn't entirely sure Elinor and she could survive a week together without killing each other. She was also mildly worried about Jason, even though she knew that Bernie could look after him perfectly well, and Cameron had said he'd pop over to see Jason too (though that concerned her too, they got on like a house on fire, and always seemed to get up to some sort of mischief on their expeditions together).
She was also concerned about how Bernie would cope. It wasn't that she thought Bernie was completely dependent on her, but that had been a few occasions, usually in the middle of the night, when Serena had had to bring Bernie's mind back from whatever dark corners her dreams had flung her to. Bernie had admitted that, without Serena, she wasn't able to get back to sleep after one of those dreams. What exactly was Bernie supposed to do without her there?
She got her answer the second night in Brittany.
It was about midnight, and Elinor and she were just dropping off to sleep, when the first message came through. Grumbling, Serena reached for her phone. Squinting against the sudden bright light, she stared uncomprehendingly at the picture of a robin that had appeared on her phone. Her mind finally caught up, and she quickly sent a message back.
Robin. You're up late x
The response was almost instantaneous, accompanied by another picture.
You're off to bed early!
It was definitely some kind of owl.
Not all of us can be night owls like you (long eared) x
It was a few minutes before the next message came through, long enough for Serena to put her phone down and settle back down into her bed. She half grumbled, pretending to be more irritated than she was, and ignored the snort of annoyance that came from Elinor's bed.
Well done! They were easy ones though, the next few will be harder
The conversation went quicker now, pictures and answers flowing together.
Hummingbird x
Crested egret x
Definitely an eagle x
Pointy tailed blue back x
Shady green one x
Serena was grinning at her last couple of answers, she could imagine the look on Bernie's face. It was one of Serena's favourite ways of winding up Bernie.
You're not even trying now! I'll have to make them simpler again
This time it was a picture of a duck with its head underwater, and Serena was pretty sure she knew what species of duck it was, but she was having too much fun now.
Shy duck x
The next one was a picture of a penguin.
Bird wearing a suit x
A pelican was Big mouthed bird with a lot to say for itself x, and a heron was Very tall bird x
"Can you tell your girlfriend that we're trying to sleep?" Elinor sounded very disgruntled, and Serena decided to ignore the way 'girlfriend' had been said, at least until the morning.
"No, I can't. She's probably had one of her nightmares, and she's doing this to help calm herself back down." Elinor was silent at that, and Serena returned her attention to the picture on her phone.
It was a picture of a great tit, and only one thought came to mind
It's not as great as your pair x
Serena! I've gone the same colour as this now!
Serena giggled at the accompanying picture of a flamingo.
"Mother!"
"Hush, Elinor."
You did rather set yourself up for that one, Ms Wolfe x
She didn't get a verbal response, just a picture of a puffin.
Puff puff x
Her phone started to ring, and Elinor groaned. Slipping out of bed, Serena headed towards the balcony as she answered the phone.
"Puff puff?" Bernie's voice was laced with laughter, and Serena smiled at the sound.
"I couldn't think of anything else, and it's what I used to call them when I was younger anyway."
They were both silent for a few seconds, save for Bernie's chuckles, until Serena decided to bite the bullet.
"You're up quite late?" She styled it as a question, giving Bernie the chance to make excuses. Instead she was greeted with a silence, and could feel the nerves rising up her stomach.
"It was my accident. Doesn't usually bother me, but it wasn't entirely an accurate dream. It wasn't me and Alex in the car, it was me and you, and I wasn't the one who got badly injured. I've never been so terrified in my life, and when I woke up, you weren't there, and I panicked." She made a noise that was halfway between a laugh and a cough. "Bit pathetic of me, considering I'm the most fantastic, fearless doctor at Holby."
"Now Bernie, it's not pathetic at all. It's the first time we've been apart since you came over to stay. It's perfectly natural that you should get a bit nervous being by yourself again."
"A bit nervous? Serena, I nearly tore the room apart."
"Well you better make sure you put it back together again before I get home!" Bernie laughed again, and Serena smiled, pleased that she seemed to have cheered Bernie up again.
"Anyway, Bernie, you really should get back to sleep, you have an early shift tomorrow." There was a silence again, and Serena continued. "I can talk to you for a bit, if you want. Just until you go to sleep."
"I – That would be – Thank you."
"What do you want to talk about?"
"I – well – what's your favourite bird?"
"Whatever did I do in previous life to be in love with an ornithologist?" The inhale of breath from Bernie suddenly made Serena realise what she'd said. "Oh, Bernie, I – I didn't mean – Well, I did mean, but –"
"Serena, it's fine, I promised you when I got back that I would talk to you rather than run away. I won't – I don't – I can't say it back yet, I don't – What's your favourite bird?"
"Puffin."
"Ah, I should have guessed. Any bird you nickname as a child is destined to become a favourite. Why?"
"You just said yourself that it's my favourite because I nicknamed it."
"But to nickname it you must have seen it somewhere, so why?"
"We went on holiday somewhere when I was very young, and there was an island off the coast that had a colony of puffins living on it. They did boat trips round the island, and it was so enchanting. I'd never seen the sea before, or puffins, it was all so new and incredible. My parents took me on that boat trip twice a day for the rest of the holiday. I loved the puff puff island so much."
"That's lovely." Bernie's voice was slurred with sleep, and Serena smiled softly.
"So what's your favourite bird, Bernie?"
"Ducks."
"Really?"
"It was always nice coming back home from abroad and seeing something so normal as a duck. You're a bit like a duck."
Serena paused for a few seconds, thinking.
"I'm trying to see the compliment in there, Ms Wolfe, but I must admit I'm struggling."
"You're home." Serena barely caught the half-mumble, and rapidly blinked back tears. She tried to think of something to say, and then realised she could hear the gentle snuffling that meant Bernie had finally slipped into slumber. Serena ended the call, stepping softly back into the bedroom.
Elinor had turned her bedside lamp on, and was sitting up in her bed, looking thoughtfully at her mother.
"Sorry for interrupting your sleep, dear, I just needed to talk to Bernie, she doesn't sleep well."
"I know, I gathered from what you said earlier, and from your half of the conversation. Sorry for eavesdropping." She didn't sound very sorry, but was still giving her mother a thoughtful look that slightly unnerved Serena.
"You love Bernie very much, don't you, mum?" Whatever Serena had been expecting Elinor to say, it wasn't that.
"I – Well, I – Yes. Yes I do."
"Yes, well, she does seem to make you happy, and she's quite nice too, I suppose. I'm not quite used to it yet, but I'm sure I'll get there. Good night." Elinor turned the light off and lay back down in bed, leaving Serena in the dark. She wasn't quite sure exactly what Elinor had meant, but it seemed she wasn't quite as against it as she had been at the dinner. And Bernie thought of her as home. As Serena got back into bed, she could feel a warm glow deep inside. No matter what else was going on in her life (and with Elinor), Bernie thought of her as home.