"There you are!" said Serena, noticing Bernie's presence in their office. "Where've you been?"
Guiltily, Bernie replied, "I, umm… I went to see Hanssen. I've accepted the secondment."
Serena, devastated, says, "What?"
Bernie avoids Serena's eye, instead replying, "I think the prospect of me leaving has put too much pressure on us to decide how we feel."
"No! No, it made me realise… I told you I don't want you to go." She moved closer to Bernie, holding onto her, desperately.
Pushing Serena away, Bernie said, "But that's what you don't want. You need time and space to decide what you do want."
Teary-eyed, Serena whispers, "It's the same thing."
"No it's not. I know that I don't want to hurt you because I care about you…" she hesitates as if she wants to say something, but instead turns and rushes out the office.
Desperately Serena follows, pleading, "No,wait! Look, please? Please don't do this. I can come and see you… we could meet halfway…"
"Stop please!" Bernie looks around, embarrassed and turns to leave only muttering, "I'm sorry."
Serena stands, rooted to the spot watching Bernie leave, only getting pulled out of her thoughts when Raf said her name. Serena whispers, "I don't want to talk about it." She hurries off to her office and sits heavily in her chair. She leans forward on her desk, her head in her hands, muttering, "Stupid, stupid idiot!" tears rolling down her face.
"Come on, Campbell, pull yourself together," Serena murmured, wiping away her tears. She was pulled abruptly from her sorrow by a sharp rapping on her window. Serena looked blankly out the window thinking she would see Raf or Fletch. Instead she was surprised when she saw an astoundingly beautiful woman, staring back at her with a look of concern on her face.
Getting quickly out of her car, pretending she hadn't been crying, Serena asked the woman, "Who are you?"
"Oh, I'm Caroline Scott. You look upset. Is anything the matter?"
"It's nothing, just personal problems," Serena replied.
"It didn't look like nothing," Caroline insisted.
Sighing, Serena replied, "It's Berenice bloody Wolfe! She's left us all in the lurch, like chickens without our heads."
"Are sure that's all that's bothering you?"
"Yes… No. She and I, that is, we… Never mind."
"You were an item?"
Serena shook her head.
"Oh, you had feelings for one another. It all makes sense. Don't worry we've all been there."
"Thanks. Do you want to get a coffee? I'm Serena, by the way."
"That would be lovely, Serena," Caroline all but purred.
Serena smiled and began at a brisk pace toward the hospital, with Caroline just keeping up.
"So," said Caroline, "What ward are you on?"
"AAU… so we'll be seeing quite a lot of each other. Will your position be identical to Ms Wolfe's?"
"Yes… General and Trauma Consultant Surgeon and Co-Clinical lead. Quite big shoes to fill. I've never done it but I'll be glad to give it a go. Although I do wonder who the other co-lead will be. I hope it's not someone ghastly. Please tell me it isn't a man!"
"Well, I can hardly tell you she's a man considering you've looking right at her. And don't worry, I'll be there to help you fill Ms Wolfe's rather large shoes."
"You're the Co-lead? Shit! I'm so sorry, I have a big mouth and I never think before I speak."
"Don't worry about it… I have the exact same problem."
They ordered their coffees and made their way to AAU. However, that would be the last conversation they'd have for a while because of their extremely busy surgical schedules and the mountain of paperwork piled on their desks. One afternoon, they were both stuck in the office with more paperwork to do. Serena glanced over at Caroline, before nervously (and awkwardly) asking, "Do you want to get a drink with me at Albies tonight?"
Caroline was shocked but still replied, "Yeah, that'd be lovely."
After their shifts ended, they made their way to Albies discussing the surgeries they'd done in the past week. Once at the bar, they ordered their drinks… for Serena, the usual Shiraz, while Caroline ordered a scotch.
A couple of hours (and many drinks) later both women were more than a little tipsy. They were very giggly, until suddenly, Caroline stopped laughing and stared at Serena seriously. Serena is taken aback but stares back with curiosity.
"I really like you," Caroline admitted.
Serena smiles, "Good. Because I really like you, too."
They lean in, slowly until their lips brush together. Softly, but passionately, they move their lips, increasing the passion until the need for air stopped their efforts.
"Serena," Caroline whispered, huskily. Then she kissed Serena with even more hunger and passion then before. Serena wrapped her arms around Caroline's shoulders pulling her closer, until their bodies were completely touching. Suddenly, Bernie entered Serena's mind and she pulled away quite abruptly.
"I'm sorry," muttered Serena. "I can't do this right now."
"No, I'm sorry, it's my fault. I shouldn't have pushed myself onto you. I don't think I can do this either right now. Shall we take things slowly?"
"Yes," Serena smiled. "That'll be lovely."
"Come on, I'll drive you home."
The car drive was silent, but it was a comfortable silence. Every so often, the silence was broken when Serena would tell Caroline which direction to go. When they reached serena's house, Serena made to open her car door and exit the car, when Caroline grasped her wrist. She turned around in her seat, smiled and Caroline and kissed her. It was soft, and chaste but they still knew what they wanted… Each other. However, both wordlessly agreed that they weren't ready. With a soft smile, Serena got out the car and with one last look at Caroline, entered her house.
A few weeks later, Caroline and Serena had arrived at work, when Serena stopped dead in her tracks, shocked. Caroline stopped and leaned in, "Are you okay?"
"Yes. It's just that I've realised that Ms Wolfe is returning today. That there, is her car," she pointed to the spot where a graphite sports car was parked.
"Oh. That means that I'll no longer work here any longer. It means I won't see you everyday."
Serena took Caroline's hands, "I won't let anything happen to us. We can meet after work or during lunch. We will make this work. Okay?"
"Thanks, Serena."
Serena stared at this woman, and one thought entered her mind, 'I love you,'. She couldn't believe that only in a few short weeks she had fallen so deeply for the woman before her. It hurt to see Caroline struggling with her tears. She looked deep into Caroline's hazel eyes, "Nothing is going to happen to us. Okay? I promise you. This is only a minor issue. I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't get hurt. Because believe it or not, I have feelings for you… Strong ones that I can't control, so you're going to have to live with that. Understood?"
"My God, Serena," said Caroline, tearfully. "You really do know how to make a girl fall for you. And by the way, I have feelings for you, too."
Serena took her hand, and led her to the hospital. Caroline looked down at their clasped hands, shocked, and asked Serena, wordlessly if she really wanted this. Serena smiled, reassuring her. So, after the usual coffee, they headed up to AAU, where they entered the office, pretending that they didn't know that Bernie had returned. It made it easy for them considering she wasn't in the office anyway. Almost as soon as they'd got into the office, Hanssen arrived, asking to speak to Caroline in private.
"Anything you want to say to me can be said in front of Serena, Mr Hanssen," Caroline stated.
"Okay, well… considering Ms Wolfe has returned from her secondment today, your services are no longer required, Ms Scott. I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to pack your things until we do need you again."
Ten minutes later, Caroline and Serena were heading down to the car park, to Caroline's car. Teary-eyed, they spoke a quiet, "Goodbye," and Caroline drove away. Serena watched her go, this scene all too familiar for her. However, she realised that she could still see Caroline anytime she wanted, unlike when Bernie left for Ukraine. So with a smile on her face, she returned to AAU and immediately took on a relatively simple case. However, she decided to get a second opinion. She was discussing her patient with Raf, when she heard a quiet voice say just one word, "Serena." She only knew one person who could put so much passion into just her name… It was Berenice Wolfe.