Bernie woke with the alarm on her mobile and tried to quickly shut it off before it woke Serena as well. However, she didn't think she'd be able to get out of the bed without waking her partner given that Serena was sprawled over her, head resting on Bernie's shoulder. As Bernie shifted, Serena stirred.
"What time is it?" Serena sleep-slurred speech inquired.
Glancing at the screen of her mobile, she responded, "Just gone half three. I need to get back to the ward and then go check on Dom. You stay here and try to get some more sleep." Bernie pressed a light kiss to Serena's forehead before slipping on her trainers and shutting the door behind her. Grabbing the elastic from her scrub top pocket, she rather quickly pulled her hair back in to a ponytail in an attempt to give it some sort of order. In her office drawer she kept a hairbrush and spare toiletries kit to take care of things before she attended to any patients or staff.
Bernie returned back to the ward within a few minutes, depositing the kit back in the office then moved back to the nurse's station to get the changeover report from Ric as Fletch came around the desk, charts gathered in his arms for review.
"Thanks for covering. Any news on Dom?" Bernie asked Ric.
"He's stable, which all things considered is good news," Ric responded. However exasperating he sometimes found the junior doctor to be, nobody deserved the attack that Isaac had given Dom. Like many of the staff, Ric felt guilty for missing the signs that Dom was being abused - especially as his own daughter, Jess, was a domestic abuse survivor, he felt he should have seen what was going on. Nevermind that he was Acting CEO for most of it and thus not on Keller as much as he might have been if he were in his substantive role.
Ric and Fletch updated Bernie on the current status of the patients on the ward and she got to work doing her rounds and making her own assessments, making notations on the charts where needed. Bernie hated to use the word quiet on nights because it had the unfortunate consequence of being anything but. That said, she was rather grateful tonight to have a slower night. After working in her office for a solid hour, she decided to get up and stretch her legs and her back, making use of the stability on the unit to go up to Keller to check on Dom. Alerting Fletch to page her if anything changes, she pulled her mobile out of her hoodie and texted Serena a message letting her know where she was headed. Not that she anticipated a response - she rather hoped that Serena would still be sleeping but she didn't want her partner worrying. She'd send her an update on Dom when she got a chance.
The general surgery ward's light's were dimmed to allow some modicum of rest for the patients, the odd cardiac monitor pushing out beeps depending on the patient's status. Essie and Sacha were working at the nurse's station, updating their own charts when Bernie approached the desk.
Before Bernie had the chance to inquire into Dom's condition, Essie smiled at her. "No change right now. But that's a good thing. His vitals are stable. He's waking with neuro checks, and responding well with pain medications. Incision is nice and clean." She stood and walked around the desk. "Zosia's in with him right now. Did you want a cup of tea while you're in with him?"
"Thank you, Essie. A bit of milk, no sugar." Bernie stood tall and headed into the ward's High Dependency Unit room, checking his monitors and his chart. Not that she didn't trust the observations of her colleagues but more out a sense of habit. She glanced over at the occupied chair, noting Zosia had taken a couple of medical journals with her to read as she sat with her friend, however, in the stillness of the room, Bernie had noted the cardiac junior doctor had closed her eyes.
Sensing movement in the room, Zosia's eyes popped open and upon seeing the trauma surgeon she quickly sat up straight. "Ms. Wolfe. Is there anything you need?"
"No, I was just going to sit with him for a bit." Bernie smiled. "I see I'm not the only one."
"Taking advantage of the timing."
Thinking of her own kids and how she'd feel if they'd been injured or sick, she turned to Zosia. "In all the craziness of tonight, has anyone contacted Dom's parents?"
"I...I'm not sure. I can check with Sacha. He should know." Zosia stood and straightened out, directing Bernie to the chair. "I'll check in again at the end of my shift."
"Thank you."
Zosia stood by the door of the room, pausing before opening the door. "Dom is family. It was hard losing Arthur last year. I can't imagine losing Dom, too."
"His physical wounds will heal soon enough. It's the longer term psychological impact that can have more damaging effects. We just need to be there for him. Support him."
"He hates being molly-coddled."
"I'm much the same." Bernie sighed. After her surgery to repair her cervical spinal fractures and psuedo aortic aneurysm, she hated Marcus's attempts to smother her in the guise of trying to help her heal. She knew he was only trying his best, but it was frustrating to no end. On top of dealing with her physical injuries, she had also been trying to adapt to being back to civilian life - something she'd not always been comfortable with in between tours; adapting to a family life that she'd been away from so much. And then there was the loss of her relationship with Alex Dawson, as she tried to return to her family out of a sense of loyalty and tremendous amounts of guilt.
Bernie shook her head to clear the cobwebs as the door was pushed open and Essie emerged with the cup of tea for her, startling Zosia who hadn't been expecting the blonde nurse.
"Oh, sorry," both Essie and Zosia replied at the same time.
"I've got to head on. I'll see you later, Ms. Wolfe, Essie." Zosia smiled at the other two women before casting a glance at her sleeping friend in the bed then she left the room.
"Thanks, Essie," Bernie responded as Essie handed her the cup and she placed it on Dom's overbed table. "Look, I asked Zosia, but I was wondering if anyone had contacted Dom's family. Do you know if Sacha had called them yet?"
"I'll check and I'll let you know. Either Sacha or Mr. Hanssen was going to try to contact them."
"Thanks." Bernie leaned forward and rested her forearms along the bed.
Essie did a quick check of Dom's vitals, jotting the updated results onto his flow chart before replacing it in the slot at the end of the bed. Pumping out some disinfectant gel on her hands, she gave them a rub before heading out onto the ward. It wasn't long before she popped her head back in the room.
"Sacha got hold of Dom's mum. Carole is on her way."
"Thank you, Essie."
Once Essie returned to the ward, Bernie sat back, looking over at her friend in the bed. She wasn't prone to talking much about herself, with exception to Serena. It often took some time for her to feel comfortable opening up about her life, especially her military past, but she thought Dom might appreciate a few stories about her unit.
Taking a drink of her tea, Bernie took a moment to recall some of her favourite ones. She started relating an incident wherein two of her newest medics - who amusingly had reminded her of Dom and Arthur when she had first started on Keller - had finished helping on a minor surgery and were taking some time clearing up afterwards when one of them came running out of the supply tent with a large squeal - followed by her smiling lieutenant who was holding up a non-venomous desert racer snake. Bernie didn't mind the snakes around so much anymore as they tended to get rid of smaller rodents and lizards which had a tendency to try to hide amongst the medical equipment. That's not to say that the first time she found a snake that had crawled into her bunk she hadn't yelped a little.
She'd continued telling stories until the door was pushed open and Essie arrived with another woman in tow. Looking down at her watch, she realised how late it had got, surprised but grateful that she hadn't been paged. She turned her head, noticing the other woman approach Dom's bed, tears in her eyes.
"Ms. Wolfe, this is Dom's mum, Carole," Essie said, introducing the two women. "Carole, this is the consultant that found Dom and worked on him with Sacha."
Carole Copeland turned to face Bernie, and without any warning threw her arms around the startled trauma surgeon. After a quick moment though she pulled back, seeming to recognise Bernie's surprise. "Thank you so much, Ms. Wolfe. I don't know what I'd do if Dazzle died."
Essie quirked an amused eyebrow at Bernie and grinned at her response to Carole's comment.
"Dom's doing well physically now. He'll be a few days recovering from his wounds and surgery in hospital, then he'll need some recuperating time at home. His friend, Dr. Marsh, has offered for him to stay with her for now."
"Thank you. I knew that Isaac Mayfield was a no good weasel. I could sense it. But there's no sense trying to convince Dom when he's got his mind set on someone."
Bernie sighed. "Sometimes you just need to tell them you're there for them when they're ready to accept it. You can let them know you're away of the abusive behaviour but until they're ready to see it and accept that they need to change their situation, it's hard to change things from the outside - as much as we would like to." Looking down, for a moment to regain her focus. "But, we can be here for him now, support him as much as he wants or needs. It will take time."
"Thank you," Carole said gently, then went to pick up her son's hand in her own. Her brow creased she took in the paleness of Dom's face aside from the bruising that had formed around the side of his face.
"I'll leave you to stay with him for as long as you like. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," Bernie said as she moved towards the door. "I have to go back down to my ward, but Sacha or Essie will be able to help you out."
As Carole moved over to take the seat Bernie had recently vacated, she turned to the other woman. "Ms. Wolfe, thank you for being there for Dom. It's good that he's got friends out there who look after him. He's mentioned you many times. I know he appreciates that support."
Bernie took a deep breath, her emotions threatening to overwhelm her. "The feeling is very mutual. Dom has helped me out a few times as well. Good night - well, good morning, now I suppose." She headed out the door and over to Essie, letting her know she was heading back to AAU and for her or Sacha to page her if there were any changes.
When she arrived back on AAU, she headed for her office, a little surprised that Serena was in there working at her computer, a coffee and a pastry on her desk in front of her.
"Hi," Bernie said, approaching Serena's side of the desk and half sitting on it as she faced her partner. Serena reached out and pulled Bernie's hands into her own. "I didn't expect you on the floor yet. Did you sleep okay?"
Serena shrugged. "Fair, I suppose. How's Dom?"
"Still in a medicated sleep. Everything looks pretty good so far. His mum is with him now and Sacha or Essie will let us know if there are any changes."
"Sounds good." As Serena stood up, Bernie gathered her into her arms, Serena sighing as she relaxed against her partner. "Why don't you head home and get some sleep? Ollie will be here shortly."
Bernie shook her head, burying her face into Serena's neck. "I think I'm just going to go grab a shower and kip out in the on-call room for a few hours. I'm not on tonight, so when you're done your shift we can both go home."
"You're not going to get a good rest there - your backā¦"
Bernie pulled back and raised an eyebrow, given that she had only left Serena in there to sleep just a few hours ago and now her partner was back working after a broken sleep. "My back has seen better days and I've slept on much worse. It will survive a few more hours." She pressed a kiss to Serena's forehead.
"Fancy a curry tonight? We can order in. I doubt either of us will be in a state to be cooking anything."
"That sounds delightful. Love you." Bernie kissed her before pulling back slightly, her eyes already drooping with exhaustion.
Serena smiled affectionately at Bernie. "Go, before you get pulled into a trauma."
"When did we get so old?" Bernie asked as she picked up her purse and a few things and started for the door.
"Speak for yourself," Serena grinned mischieviously, giving Bernie a quick kiss and pat to her arse. "Get some sleep and I'll see you in a few hours. If you're lucky, I'll give you a back massage when we get home."
The sound of Bernie's laughter followed her out of the office and across the ward as she headed for the lifts.
