(a/n – I needed a distraction.)

4 – Hospital Fundraising Gala

"I swear this hospital has more fundraising galas now than it ever used to!" Bernie's voice was filled with anguish as she looked at the invite on the desk between them. Serena merely raised an eyebrow.

"The joys of the cash strapped NHS in these trying times. At least it is a chance to make the most of a free bar whilst swanning around in a posh frock all evening. You know the drill. Flirt with a few stuffy old men and make the trauma bay sound sexy." She winked and Bernie pouted.

"I'm not good at flirting."

"Nonsense."

"I'm not good at flirting with men, then."

"So flirt with the women there."

"But the only woman I want to flirt with is you."

"Bernie, as sweet as the sentiment is, you know as well as I do that if we don't charm a few thousand pounds out of Holby's elite, we will never have enough equipment to keep functioning in emergencies. Please try your best. Then when we leave you can flirt with me as much as you like." Bernie sighed.

"Fine. I'll try my best."

In the end, Bernie didn't need to go to the fundraising gala. Hanssen had informed the couple of a frontiers in trauma medicine conference which he thought one of them should attend. However, the final day of it was the Friday as the gala was being held. It was easily decided that Bernie should attend the conference, because they all knew that she would be more comfortable there than at the gala any day.

Serena zipped her dress and finished applying her eye makeup, before knocking on Jason's door to inform him that she would be leaving anytime soon, depending on when the taxi arrived. As she stood in the hallway, her eyes fell on a framed photo which was stood on the table by the phone. It was of her and Bernie on their wedding day, smiling happily at one another as if nobody else around them mattered. Her heart clenched as she thought of Bernie, who she had last seen three days ago when she boarded the train to her conference. She was due back sometime that evening, and Serena allowed her mind to wander to thoughts of returning from the gala to her wife's form curled under the bedsheets once more. It made the whole thing worth it. Outside, a taxi beeped its horn.

Serena circulated the ballroom with grace, laughing at the terrible jokes and bobbing her head at the many compliments sent her way. She chatted with Hanssen regarding key beneficiaries and took a breather by the bar with Ric Griffin, who had his eye on a very pretty woman in the room.

A couple of hours into the gala, and Serena felt sure that she had managed to attract some donations for AAU and the hospital in general. Her feet were tired from the heels and she desperately wanted to head home as soon as possible. She had promised Hanssen that she would float around the room until midnight however, and so tried not to obviously watch the clock as older gentlemen flirted with her.

Serena was heading out of the ballroom in search of a bathroom where she could reapply her lipstick when she checked her phone to see a text message from Bernie sent ten minutes previously.

'The sky is nice and clear tonight, go and take a look!"

Serena smiled fondly at her screen before changing direction to the entrance. Bernie was always one to take delight in the smallest of things: spring flowers, clear skies, receding tides. As she pushed open the doors and looked up towards the heavens, a soft voice penetrated the silence.

"I was hoping you'd check your phone." Serena pivoted towards the source of the noise and her face broke out into the biggest grin imaginable.

"Bernie!" She met her wife halfway and they wrapped their arms around one another happily. Bernie leaned in to brush their lips together and Serena hummed happily.

"I made the earlier train so I thought I'd come and watch you flirting with the men of Holby." Serena's eyes shone as she stroked the lapels of Bernie's dress uniform.

"And the outfit?"

"As it was such a last minute idea I didn't have anything else which looked presentable. Are you complaining, Mrs Wolfe?"

"Not as all, Major Wolfe." Serena leaned back in for another kiss then gestured towards the inside of the building. "Shall we?"

They entered the ballroom together and Henrik Hanssen was the first to notice their arrival. He gravitated towards them and nodded at Bernie.

"Major Wolfe. How was the conference?" Bernie pulled a face.

"There was one speaker who was appalling. Kept going on about how this technique and that were currently being pioneered on the front lines. I was performing them a decade ago, they're not especially at the forefront of medicine today. I made sure to tell him so too." Serena laughed as Hanssen looked slightly aghast.

"Please tell me Holby City Hospital is still allowed to attend future conferences," was his response. Bernie nodded.

"Definitely. In fact, the chairperson asked me to deliver some trauma slots next time. She was especially keen for me to talk about how I've transferred my military techniques to an inner city hospital. So I hope the trauma bay is due a windfall." She raised her eyebrows at her wife and the CEO, who looked proud and impressed respectively. Henrik smiled.

"I rather think Mrs Wolfe here has done a tremendous job at representing Holby City tonight." Bernie grinned and Serena smirked.

"Thank you, Henrik. And now, given the fact that it is quarter to midnight, I do hope you will allow me to leave this function early. My rather talented trauma surgeon of a wife has just returned from a conference you see, and I'd like to spend some time with her."

The Swede looked at the two pairs of glittering brown eyes staring him down and nodded.

As Serena and Bernie exited into the night they both looked upwards, and thanked their lucky stars that they'd found one another.