Serena watches Bernie yawn in the driver's seat. The two of them had been at a conference all day, and Bernie even spoke about the benefits of frontline techniques in trauma surgery. Bernie also unfortunately had the late shift the night before the conference.
She'd been fine this morning, always the earlier riser of the two of them anyway and had insisted on taking her car. Serena had given in easily since Bernie's car is definitely the more comfortable of the two.
They'd arrived at the conference early, allowing Bernie to meet with the organisers to finalise the details for her speech. They had both spent the day mostly apart, listening to different presentations that fitted well with their own specialities in medicine, but of course, Serena had found time to listen to Bernie, smiling brightly at just how proud her partner made her.
But now it's almost 7pm, and they are both ready to go home and order a takeaway. The late night and early morning are clearly catching up with Bernie who yawns again, eyes firmly concentrating on the road. Serena isn't sure how exactly Bernie ended up being the one driving as they left the conference, probably just by default since it's her car, but right now it seems anything but fair.
Serena sees a sign for the services two miles ahead and makes the split second decision.
"Pull over. Let me drive for a while."
Bernie glances over at her quickly before focusing her eyes back on the road. "It's fine, love, we've both had a busy day. I don't mind continuing."
"Bernie," Serena says softly. "We've both had a busy day but I wasn't the one up until almost midnight last night. I was fast asleep by the time you got home. Please, just let me drive."
It's quiet after that, Bernie doesn't comment and just continues driving. Serena knows that Bernie heard her, though, when she indicates as they come to the next services.
Serena reaches the driver's side while Bernie is still unbuckling herself and decides to save her the effort, pulling the door open for her. Bernie stands and catches Serena as she passes, planting a gentle kiss against Serena's cheek. "I love you and thank you," she says gently with a smile that has Serena smiling back.
"You're welcome and I love you too," Serena replies, gently squeezing Bernie's hand as they part and she climbs into the driver's seat. Bernie doesn't sleep on the way home, and likely never will when Serena is driving, always wanting to keep her company. But she does allow herself to relax, and for Serena that's enough, to know that her decision to ask Bernie to allow her to drive was the right one. And if when they arrive home, Serena doesn't let Bernie lift a finger, well, who can blame her? Bernie is the woman she loves after all.