Wow!

The hits and response to this has been incredible! Berena fans certainly know how to welcome a gal.

I really wasn't expecting much response to the first chapter so thank you everyone that has reviewed and messaged me, to everyone that has read it and to everyone that has added me to various alerts. You've spurred me on to get another chapter out today so I hope you all like it! I may have worked on this during my lunch break and on my travel home whilst stuck in traffic. Good use of my time if you ask me :P

Anyway, please do let me know what you think of this chapter. Many thanks again! xx

"Bernie?"

She struggled to her feet, her shoulder and lower back tensing in protest. There was smoke coming from one of the cars but she couldn't tell which one. She knew she had to get help but first she needed to get everyone out of the cars.

Without warning she felt as though her body had been hit by a large blast. Her feet felt stuck to the ground. Her nose was suddenly filled with the intense smell of burning flesh but her eyes told her that the cars weren't on fire. Heat prickled against her neck and she swore she could hear people shouting.

She'd been here before...

"Bernie, answer me!"

Serena.

Her voice cut cleanly through the others. "Serena?" She stumbled toward her car and knelt by the window she'd crawled through. Serena had been in the back of the car, she remembered now. She hadn't been feeling well and crawled into the backseat to sleep a little while Bernie drove.

There was a muffled sob. "Oh god, I was calling you and you didn't answer. I thought..." Serena sighed. "Are you alright?"

"I..." she wasn't. She couldn't tell if she'd been injured, the adrenaline still pumping through her veins masking any high levels of pain. Physically was a mystery but mentally... "I'm fine..." she lied."Can you move?" She tried to peer through the window but the shadow from the overhead light in the front seat prevented her from seeing anything.

"I slid down onto the floor and the seats slammed back..." she coughed and let out a little sigh of pain. "I can't breathe..."

"It's going to be ok," Bernie said, her voice stronger than she felt inside. "I'm going to try to move the seats forward."

"Keep talking to me," Serena's voice wavered slightly.

Bernie talked as she moved into position, narrating everything she was doing while she prepared to get Serena out of the car. "I'm going to ease the passenger seat forward first, alright?"

Serena whimpered her consent.

"Are you in pain?" Bernie asked.

"It's just hard to breathe," Serena said softly. "Get me out of here."

Bernie nodded and slowly moved the seat forward inch by inch. She didn't want anything to move suddenly in case there was anything wrong that Serena couldn't yet feel.

Once the seat was as far forward as she could manage, Bernie leaned over to check on Serena. "Everything ok?" She asked, getting her first look at the other woman.

"Fine," she breathed out. "My legs are ok but my shoulder hurts a little."

"I'm going to move the driver's seat forward now. I want you to use your legs to brace against the roof ok?" She waited for Serena to give her ok but when nothing came she leaned over a little more to catch her attention. "Serena?"

"Go slowly," Serena let out a shaky breath.

"I will," Bernie said, wishing she could see the other woman's face. "Brace yourself," she warned. Just like she did with the first seat, Bernie inched the driver's seat forward. She stopped occasionally to check on Serena but the other woman encouraged her to keep going.

Serena landed against the roof with a graceless thumb and let out a groan.

"Are you ok?" Bernie was at her side instantly. Her immediate concern was head injury but she couldn't see any signs of bruising.

"I think my shoulder is dislocated," Serena said. Bernie checked her eyes and was relieved to see that they were bright and focused. She could rule out a major head injury for the time being.

"Anything else?"

"I don't think so," Serena sighed. "The dripping is driving me crazy."

Bernie laughed softly. "Let's get you out of here," she said, helping Serena out of the car.

"What happened?" She asked as Bernie moved her away from the car and made her sit down on the road.

"I don't know," Bernie said. "I don't remember anything."

Serena's eyes grew concerned. "Did you hit your head?" She reached toward her with her good arm but Bernie brushed it away gently.

"I flashed back to the IED accident," she said as she checked Serena over to see if she had any other hidden injuries. "It blocked out this accident but it will come back to me."

"Are you alright?" Serena asked.

"I will be," she smiled and touched Serena's cheek. "Stay here. I need to check the other cars."

Bernie made her way to the other cars and tried her best to ignore the various aches and pains she felt. The first car, the one that had the most damage was too crushed for her to see anyone inside. The other car held a young couple, a man and woman that couldn't have been much older than Cam. They were still strapped into their seats and after a quick observation, Bernie could see that they seemed to be ok apart from being unconscious. They were breathing fine, their heart beats strong. She didn't want to move either of them before they were awake. In the state she and Serena were in, she knew she wouldn't be able to move them.

"How are they?" Serena asked from behind her. Bernie turned to look at her but before she could answer, she watched as Serena's face blanched.

"What is it?" Bernie asked, moving toward her.

"You need to sit down," Serena said, tying off the makeshift sling she'd made with her scarf.

"What..." Bernie looked down at herself and froze. A dark patch was spreading across the thigh of her jeans. She felt with her hands and noticed a small tear in the fabric. Now that she'd seen it, she felt it. "Oh god..." The pain seared through her leg.

Serena had managed to stand up and had made her way toward Bernie as quickly as she could. "Lay down," she said, her good arm slid around Bernie's waist and together they carefully got down on the ground.

As she and Serena worked together to lower her jeans enough to assess the damage, Bernie could feel the adrenaline seeping from her body. She could already tell that her leg wasn't the only thing that was injured. Her lower back felt numb. Her eyes drifted to Serena's concerned face. "Any excuse to get my trousers off..." she mumbled and Serena's head shot up. Bernie smiled and Serena let out a nervous laugh.

"Is now really the time to be making jokes?" Serena smiled.

Bernie shrugged. "Seems as good a time as any," she winced when the fabric of her jeans were peeled away from her injury. "Anything to keep you from looking so worried."

Serena smiled gratefully and once again turned her attention back to Bernie's leg. "I can't see anything in the wound but there isn't an exit."

"Probably just a flesh wound," Bernie said, shifting up onto her elbows to get a better look. Before she could comment, a stab of pain shot through her stomach. Her cry of pain caused Serena to hook her good arm under Bernie's neck and lower her back to the ground.

"Where does it hurt?" She asked.

"My stomach," Bernie replied.

She felt Serena pull at her coat. "There's a small tear in your coat," she said as she pushed it aside. She paused long enough for Bernie to become concerned.

"What is it?"

"You didn't feel this?" Serena asked as their eyes met.

Bernie didn't like the look she found there. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Serena looked back to whatever it was she'd discovered. "It feels like metal. Perhaps a piece of one of the cars?"

"I have..." She couldn't say it. She didn't want to say it. "Get it out."

"No," Serena moved so that she hovered above her. "I don't know what it's done inside. There isn't a lot of blood which means whatever it is, it's stopping blood flow."

"Serena I want it out of me," Bernie could feel the panic rising. The familiar cold feeling she'd had before. The helplessness made her angry. "Get it out!"

"Not until I have reason to," Serena said firmly. She brushed a hand over her cheek and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Tears prickled in Bernie's eyes; unable to do anything but stare at the night sky she let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes.

One... two... three...

Gah! Why do I do this to myself?!

Thanks for reading and remember I love making new friends so drop me a line and let me know what you thought of the new chapter.

Now I'm off to watch Holby. Woohoo!