It seemed to happen all in one moment; the kiss. Serena had such little time to think, to react, that she could barely breathe.

It was a moment unlike any other she had experienced. Bernie's lips upon her own, kissing her tentatively, how warm she was, how soft her lips were, and how the touch of her fingertips at her neck made her shudder with such violent, unexpected pleasure.

She pulled back, a frown flickering between her eyes. Still the thoughts in her head made no sense, there was nothing but the beating of her own heart, nothing to stop her when she leant back in, more sure, more firmly, clutching at Bernie's arm, urging her closer, needing her closer.

The high pitched creak and rattle of a trolley outside in the corridor was what bought such a strange, beautiful moment to an end. A hand on the door, the shadow of a body before the door swung open and Dr Copeland was there, leaning heavily against the door, looking between the two women.

"Ms Campbell..."

He paused, tilting his head to one side, eyebrow raised, eyes narrowed as he took in the flush of their cheeks and the unsteady tremble of Serena's left hand as she tucked it hurriedly between her knees.

"Everything...alright?"

He asked slowly.

"Yes! Yes, everything with Fletch, it's-"

She exhaled, attempted an uneven smile, leaving the end of her sentence unfinished.

"What was it you wanted, Dr Copeland?"

She asked when he failed to say anything more.

"Oh! Jason is waiting for you in your office."

He gestured loosely with a hand.

"Jason?"

"You're late...apparently."

He smiled, noting Bernie's strained look with more than a little interest.

"Late! What time is it?!"

Serena started, pulling up her knees, readying herself to stand up.

"Quarter past?"

"Oh...Goodness. Right, ok, I'll be there in a moment."

Dr Copeland gave a brief nod of his head and took a step backward into the corridor, the heat of his fingers leaving smudges of white on the metal plate of the door.

Serena drew in a long deep breath, suddenly overly aware of the woman still next to her, their bodies pressed against one another from their shoulders to their thighs.

She cleared her throat and raised a hand to rub her fingertips across her forehead.

"I should...get going."

She whispered. Bernie nodded slowly, swallowing. She glanced sideways at Serena who seemed unable to meet her gaze.

"I'm sorry."

She said suddenly, her voice louder than she had meant it to be.

Serena paused as she began to get up, looking back at her.

"Are you?"

Bernie felt the sudden rush of blood to her cheeks, meeting Serena's eyes for the first time. The air seemed thinner now, and she licked her lips and cleared her throat for the second time.

"Should I be?"

She asked quietly. It was Serena's turn to sigh. She got to her feet slowly, running her hands over the back of her scrubs.

"Serena?"

The brunette paused, helpless.

"Help an old girl up off the floor?"

A small smile twitched at the corner of Serena's mouth, barely traceable, a blink and you'd miss is smile. She held out a hand, mentally bracing herself as Bernie's fingers grasped her own and she tugged gently as she stood.

"Can we talk about this?"

Bernie asked suddenly, all in a rush before she had time to think twice.

Serena glanced down between them, dropping her hand and holding it against her chest with her other.

"I'd better get Jason home, who knows what wrath I will incur if that shepherds pie is not on the table at precisely the right time..."

"Serena...come on."

It was a whisper, nothing more. She closed her eyes for a moment.

"Not now, Bernie. Just...not right now. Ok? It's been a long day, let's just get home."

"Ok."

Bernie pushed her hands into her pockets.

"Ok."

She repeated, a murmur of a word on her breath as she followed Serena from the room, defeated.

As she followed the other woman to the office she replayed in her mind what had happened, as much as she could remember. She had let her guard down, acted impulsively and now, as she walked behind Serena she realised what she had sacrificed, and what she could lose. She realised all of this in such a sudden blow that she gasped silently for breath and clenched her fists by her side, unable to watch the woman walking a head of her, too terrified to wonder at what was going on inside her mind.

"Auntie Serena."

She heard Jason before she realised they had reached the office and Serena had opened the door. She stopped abruptly.

"You're late."

"Yes, Jason. Sorry, we've had a very trying shift-"

"Yes, I was told about Nurse Fletcher. Is he going to be alright?"

"I don't know, Jason. But I hope so."

She glanced about the room. Coffee cups from earlier, sandwich wrappers with half a sandwich still in the paper. Bernie...

The room smelled faintly of warm cheese.

"Let me just get cleared up here and we can be on our way."

"Let me do it."

Bernie's shoulder brushed accidentally against her own as she pushed past her, moving to the desk.

"It's fine. You get off-"

"I can tidy up my own mess, Serena."

"I can do it!"

Serena's voice was louder than expected, strained with panic, her brown eyes wide.

There was a moment of uneasy silence, a pause whilst Bernie glanced from the mess she had left to Jason who was watching them, expressionless.

All of a sudden Serena was moving again, gathering cups and packets, dropping grated cheese onto the carpet and swearing to herself before reaching the bin. She pushed down on the peddle with her foot, the lid juddered slightly but refused to open. She stepped on it with more force. Nothing.

"What have you done to my bin?"

She asked sharply, refusing to look back at Bernie, cringing at the feel of damp stale bread between her fingers.

"I wasn't aware that the bin was yours, specifically"

Came the response. Serena raised an eyebrow, she could hear the other woman moving closer, could almost feel the warmth of her even from this distance. How hot her lips had been...

"What makes you think I've done something to it?"

She was right behind her now, looking over her shoulder.

"Auntie Serena says you quite often break things. She also says you are very messy. I can see that now."

Jason offered, his voice grating on Serena more than ever before. Jason. She pursed her lips into a stiff white line. If he would just...go away. She regretted the thought immediately.

"Does she now!"

Bernie's voice was almost a laugh. Serena drew in an unsteady breath.

"It's not opening."

She said simply, removing her foot from the peddle.

"Have you pressed the peddle correctly?"

Bernie asked, trying it with her own foot to no avail.

"I'm not a complete imbecile."

Serena murmured. She could feel the brush of Bernie's scrubs against her own, just gently, sending goosebumps across the skin of her forearms.

"Why don't you just lift the lid with your hand?"

"Because it's supposed to open the other way!"

There was a tension in her voice, a high note of panic that was almost untraceable and to her horror she felt the prick of tears in her eyes and a sore lump lodge itself firmly in her throat.

Bernie hesitated, torn between embracing her and the knowledge that Jason was watching them, analysing them...every movement, every word, touch...

She cleared her throat.

"My niece has one of those bins where you wave your hand at it, or something, and the bin lid opens automatically."

An attempt at levity.
"Wow."

Serena choked out. One word laced with so much sarcasm.
"I promise you, it's really good. Kept her toddlers entertained for hours."

Bernie was flailing now, she knew it, jabbering on about something that was neither helpful nor relevant.

"Ah yes, a bin full of germ ridden rubbish, the perfect toy for the under 4's."

Serena was still clutching the rubbish in her hands, and every so often more strands of flaking dried cheese would fall to her feet.
"Perhaps we could go round and see it?"

Jason asked, his voice loud and jarring in the small room.

"I'm sorry?"

Bernie asked, not following.

"The bin"

He clarified, and Bernie let out a breathy laugh of confusion.

"It's not that good."
"Really good but not that good?"

He asked, frowning.

"Really good for a bin, but not really good for an evening out."

She said slowly.

"You should learn to be clearer about what you mean."

He said, his frown dissipating as quickly as it had appeared.

"As interesting as this conversation is, we really should be getting home. Dinner isn't going to cook itself."

Serena interrupted the moment, opening the bin with her hand, pulling back the lid with stiff, jerky movements. She let the rubbish fall into the bin, suddenly overcome with the ridiculous realisation that Bernie's lips had been on the rim of that cardboard coffee cup just as they had been upon hers only minutes earlier. She snatched her hands back as though she had been scalded, holding them tightly to her chest before turning to face Jason.

"Ready?"

She feigned a smile.

"Yes. Goodbye Bernie."

Jason opened the office door, grinning widely as he passed Bernie by, oblivious to the strained look behind her eyes, or the way she reached out to grasp Serena's wrist only briefly, the words she wanted to say catching in her throat.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Serena said quietly, weakly, speaking to their hands, her eyes lowered.

"Goodnight."

She added, pulling her arm from the other woman's grasp, leaving the office with only the whisper of Bernie's 'Goodnight' in reply behind her.

-.-

This is my first attempt at a Bernie/Serena story. I've only been watching them for a few episodes, though have watched all of their scenes together, so please let me know what you think of the characterization.

Reviews very welcome! I'd love to hear what you think, and whether or not you would like to see more. Thank you in advance xxx