Evening ladies and gays!

So I thought it was about time that I updated this fucker. Thank you to everyone that has messaged me about this fic and I'm sorry that it took me so long to update it. It's been a rough ride lately and I figured we could all use a little break from the doom and gloom so focused my attention on prompts and The Clinic.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I'd love to know your thoughts!

Sending you all lots of virtual hugs – Bernie style!

xxx

Chapter 06

Boom... boom... boom...

"Bernie!"

The heat was unbearable. It surrounded her. Stung her lungs. She was suffocating.

"Bernie?"

Alex.

"I got you," she said.

Bernie felt herself being dragged away from the heat. The rush of dusty air filled her lungs and she coughed violently.

"Keep still," Alex whispered. "You're hurt..."

She tried to reply. To say something... anything. She coughed again and pain seared through her chest and neck. She couldn't feel her legs... Black seeped into her consciousness. A feeling of calm washed over her.

"Bernie? Stay awake..."

Beep... beep... beep...

She woke with a gasp. Her eyes wide, her throat dry. A strangled cry sounded around the room and it took Bernie a moment to realise that it had come from her. The machine beeped rapidly and she coughed around the tube in her throat. She knew she needed to calm down but she couldn't. Fear had its claws hooked into her body and she recognised the panic before it had even begun.

A door slammed open and feet thundered against the tile floor as her colleagues ran into the room. "She's awake," someone said. "Get Raf!"

Yes! Bernie felt a flash of relief push at the panic but it wasn't enough. She still felt as though she was going to choke.

"What happened?" Raf's familiar voice was a welcome sound to Bernie's ears and she felt tears tingle in the corner of her eyes. She felt his hands on her shoulders once he understood what was happening. His face appeared above her and he smiled. "We have you," he said, before turning to shout instructions to the waiting nurses. "Try to keep calm and we can get that tube out, ok?"

Calm was a trait Bernie was proud to have mastered during her time in the forces but as she lay on her back staring up at Raf, she found it wasn't easy to find. "You have it," he encouraged. "There you go."

The process of taking out the tube from her throat took a matter of minutes but to Bernie it seemed to take an eternity. Once the tube was gone, Raf leaned over her and checked her vitals. "How are you feeling?" He asked, a smile on his face. He looked as though he hadn't had much sleep.

"Fine," she managed to squeeze out. "Dry..."

Raf quickly retrieved a glass of water from the table next to the bed. He placed a straw in it and held it out for Bernie. She took a sip. The water felt icy as it passed over her sore throat. She coughed again. "We'll get you some ice cubes," he said. "They might be easier to take."

Bernie shook her head slightly. "What happened?" Her throat protested when she tried to say anything more.

"During the crash, the first car was going so fast that when it collided with you a piece of the frame splintered. From what the fire and police departments have found so far, the shard was what broke the front windshield of your car. A piece of the metal was lodged into your torso."

Bernie stared at him. It didn't sound real. She had survived two car accidents in little over a year. What were the odds? "Damage?"

"Nicked your large intestine," he said and Bernie saw his eyes shift.

"And?"

"We repaired it and you'll need to watch what you're eating for a while," he said. "No wholemeal, vegetables, raw or dried fruit..."

"What..." she winced at the pull in her throat. "Why... long..?"

Raf nodded and she was glad that he understood what she was asking. "You lost a lot of blood," he said after a moment. "We couldn't get the bleed under control and by the time you got here you'd already lost so much..." he sighed. "It was the bleed that led to the complications. We had to let the wound bleed while we sutured the intestine..."

Bernie nodded, she didn't need him to continue. She finally understood what had happened. In order to fix the wound, they needed to let her bleed to allow them to get access to the intestine. But the blood she lost was greater than what was going into her. It was something she'd seen so many times in the field. She'd lost a lot of young men and women that way. It was never easy. She was grateful that this had happened to her while here in Holby. She may not have survived at all had she still been in the field. The thought made her blood run cold.

"Can I get you anything?" Raf asked. Bernie looked up at him and he smile immediately. "She's sleeping in her office," he said and Bernie was at least glad she was able to get some rest. "I'll get her for you."

Serena.

She was overwhelmed with a strong desire to see her, to hold her. She wanted to see her, to see her smile and the tease that was always in her eyes. She loved her. She loved her with every fibre of her being. And despite her worry that she had made a mistake in telling her, she knew that as soon as she was able to tell her, to show her what she meant to her, she wouldn't walk away from it. She'd never walk again.

Serena.

Bernie smiled and she closed her eyes as the last pangs of panic faded from her body.

Serena.

Beep... beep... beep...

Taa daa! Hope you liked it. Remember to let me know what you thought and thank you so much for reading! xxx