It was a couple of days after her return from Brittany that Serena had her first shift again. Bernie's shift had started a couple of hours earlier, so she was long gone by the time Serena woke up. Not that this bothered Serena too much. They had long ago agreed to always have lunch together, so that, even on the most hectic of days, they always spent some time together.

When Serena finally made it down to the kitchen (Jason was at Alan's, so she didn't need to rush to fit in with Jason's routine), there was a key on the table, with a note next to it in Bernie's characteristic scrawl.

Thought it was time I returned your spare key

Serena groaned. She had known this would happen. The last time she'd tried to give Bernie a key (after three weeks of Bernie not returning to her own flat, except for fresh clothes), Bernie had refused to accept it, mumbling something about "I don't need my own key, I've not moved in". She had spent the next three nights sleeping in her own flat, until she had turned up on Serena's doorstep in the middle of the fourth night, looking sheepish and admitting for the first time that, without Serena, she couldn't get to sleep after a nightmare. Serena had wordlessly let her in, not saying that she had seen the shadows under Bernie's eyes growing the past few days, and was becoming seriously worried about her.

She had hoped that disguising the key as a temporary measure whilst she was in Brittany would make Bernie more likely to accept it as a permanent thing. However, Bernie had either missed the deeper meaning, or chosen to ignore it. Serena glared at the key. She was aware it wasn't the key's fault, but right now it was a symbol for everything that could be about to go wrong in her and Bernie's relationship. Why did Bernie have to be so damn difficult about things?

AAU was eerily quiet when Serena walked in. Raf and Morven had been chatting at the nurses' station, but set about looking busy when they caught sight of Serena.
"Ah, Mr di Lucca. We're a hive of activity today, I see."
"It's difficult not to be, when we only have three patients in, and the red phone refuses to ring!" Serena laughed, and then glanced between Raf and Morven, not really wanting to ask them where Bernie was (she didn't want to seem like she couldn't survive two minutes without seeing Bernie, after all), but she knew she needed to.

"Where's Ms Wolfe?" Raf and Morven simultaneously glanced at the office Serena and Bernie shared, and then back at Serena, both of them looking like they were holding back laughter. Serena followed their gaze, noting that the blinds were down which, when Bernie was in there alone, could only mean one thing.
"She's doing paperwork? I must be having a nightmare!" Morven couldn't contain herself at that, and collapsed back in her chair, howling with laughter.
"Ms Wolfe didn't see, particularly keen on the idea, I must admit," Raf chuckled, and Serena joined in with the shared mirth for a few seconds, until she remembered the reason why she needed to talk to Bernie.
"Yes, well, unfortunately I'm going to have to distract Ms Wolfe from her favourite pastime." She gave Raf and Morven a small smile before turning to head towards the office, missing the slightly panicked look that Morven shot Raf, and the whispered:
"You don't think they've fallen out, do you?"

Bernie's head shot up when Serena entered the office, and Bernie looked so relieved to see her that Serena found herself wondering if Bernie returning the key really needed dealing with right now. Bernie's hair, usually so neatly curled, looked as if a hand had been run through it in desperation one too many times. Her desk was unnaturally tidy, although the pile of unfinished paperwork had barely decreased.

"Serena, I am so pleased to see you!" Bernie had that soft smile on her face that she reserved just for Serena, and Serena knew if she didn't address the key issue now, she never would.
"Bernie, why did you return your key?" The smile fell from Bernie's face, to be replaced by a nervous look.
"I – it isn't my key, it's the spare. You said it was the spare when you gave it to me."
"Yes, well, I only said that so you would take it." Internally, Serena cringed. She hadn't meant to say that.

"Oh". Bernie sounded confused, but there was also a current of hurt in the monosyllabic sound.
"I didn't mean it quite like that. It's just, well, the last time I tried to give you a key to my place, you ran away."
"I had only been staying over at yours for three weeks."
"I know, but I – it's an awful thing to say – I wasn't sure if you'd have the same reaction or not."
"Since then I have tried to talk to you about things, Serena, rather than running."
"I panicked, for a change. I'm sure you're delighted to hear that. I thought that, if I told you it was just a spare, you would realise I meant for you to keep it." Bernie stared at Serena for a few seconds, before replying.
"I don't think anyone would have worked that out."

Serena chuckled sheepishly, moving to sit on the edge of Bernie's desk.
"So, are you going to keep the key?"
"It's your spare, Serena."
"I got another one cut before I gave it to you."
"I don't –"
"Oh, come on, Bernie. It makes sense for you to have one. You must remember the other week when I was working late, Jason was at Alan's and I'd forgotten to put the spare key on top of the porch light for you. You were sat on the front door step for three hours before I got home. You having a key to my home is not a sign that you've moved in. It's a sign that we're at that point in our relationship where you have a key to my place. Please take the key, Bernie."

She had been holding the key in her hand since leaving the house, and she held it out to Bernie now. For a few seconds Bernie just stared, eventually reaching out to take it. Her fingers brushed Serena's hand, but she withdrew her hand much more quickly than she usually did. She was turning the key over in her fingers, and seemed to be building herself up to saying something. Serena was watching Bernie tentatively, and had just decided that Bernie was finally going to say something when there was a knock on the door, followed by Morven's voice.
"Ms Wolfe? You're needed in theatre." Bernie jumped to her feet and hurried out of the office, not even giving Serena a passing glance. Serena felt her stomach drop. This was not going to end well.

Serena didn't speak to Bernie for the rest of the morning. The quiet when she'd arrived had been the calm before the storm. Serena had been dashing around the ward the whole time, catching the occasional glimpse of Bernie, usually following a patient down to theatre.

Just before her usual lunch break, Serena was called into theatre. It was a relatively simple operation, but a time consuming one. She resigned herself to a late lunch, and sincerely hoped that Bernie wouldn't take the opportunity to have an early lunch just so she could avoid having to continue the conversation about where their relationship was.

When she arrived back on the ward, calm was reigning supreme once more. The only person in sight was Morven, who was sat at the nurses' station, working her way through a stack of paperwork that the morning had generated. Serena made her way towards Morven.
"Dr Digby, where –"
"Ms Wolfe left about an hour ago. She said she didn't know when she was going to be back." Morven gave Serena an apologetic look, but Serena didn't notice. She was too busy trying not to burst into tears in front of the entire ward. She hurried into the office and sat at her desk, breathing deeply.

It was things like this that made Serena wonder if a relationship with Bernie was really worth all the heartache. She should have guessed Bernie would run off again, though she would never have believed that Bernie would run off in the middle of a shift. She obviously didn't know Bernie as well as she thought.

She didn't feel hungry any more (truth be told, she was feeling sick, and was seriously (well, not too seriously) considering throwing up across Bernie's desk), so she decided she was going to work through her lunch. Not that she got much done. She was too busy glancing over at Bernie's desk, and wondering, to properly focus on paperwork.

It was about an hour later, and Serena had managed to complete two forms (by Bernie's standards, that was practically a day's work), when Bernie finally returned. Serena fought her instincts and stopped herself from looking at Bernie, deciding to let Bernie take the lead this time. Serena instantly regretted her decision as a key was placed on the desk in front of her.

"Oh Bernie, don't do this, there's no need –" Serena stopped speaking as her brain finally processed what she was seeing. Yes, it was a key, but it wasn't the key she'd given Bernie. It was shiner, for a start, and made from a different metal. Serena raised her head to meet Bernie's gaze.
"Bernie, what –"
"I thought I'd pop out during my lunch break and get it done, I didn't think it would take that long. More fool me. I couldn't find a place that cut keys at first, but I finally found a gift shop that offered a key cutting service. Of course, because it was a gift shop there was a massive queue, and then the machine broke and I had to wait for it to be fixed. I got the key for half price though." Bernie finally seemed to realise that Serena wasn't entirely sure what was going on. "It's a key to my flat, Serena."

Serena had only been in Bernie's flat once, and that hadn't been Bernie's idea. (Serena was actually quite embarrassed about the whole thing. She had insisted on going to the flat with Bernie and, when Bernie hadn't wanted to let her inside, she had taken it completely the wrong way. She had nearly burst into tears in the hallway and Bernie, flustered, had pulled Serena into the flat.) Personally, Serena hadn't thought there was anything wrong with Bernie's flat. It was a little on the small side, and didn't have as many personal touches as Serena's did, but it was comfortable. When she had asked Bernie why she hadn't wanted Serena in the flat, there had been a lot of nonsensical mumblings before Bernie had admitted it wasn't so much the flat she was embarrassed by, but rather the comparison of her own flat to Serena's house, and what her flat represented. (It was like Bernie's scars. They didn't bother her, it was what they represented that did.) It was because of this that Serena was staring at Bernie in confusion. She didn't need a key to Bernie's flat.

"Bernie –"
"I know you – well – we never go to the flat, but it made sense. If we're at that stage in our relationship where I should have a key to your house, you should have a key to mine. I probably should have told you what I was planning to do, but –" She was cut off by Serena, who had leapt to her feet and had wrapped her arms around Bernie's neck, pulling her into a tight embrace. Bernie returned the hug, nuzzling her cheek against Serena's hair.

"I thought you'd gone. I thought you weren't coming back," Serena mumbled into Bernie's shirt. Bernie broke the embrace, holding Serena at arm's length so she could look Serena in the eye.
"I made that mistake once before. I'm not going to do that again." They shared a smile, getting lost in each other's gaze, not hearing the knock at the door until Raf flung it open. For the first time, Bernie didn't instantly flinch away from an onlooker observing their open display of affection, instead taking a few seconds to gently squeeze Serena's hand, before turning to look at Raf, who was looking both pleased and uncomfortable.
"Sorry to interrupt, I just needed to discuss this patient with you." Serena allowed herself to get lost in the familiar medical language, the smile on her face as bright as the key she had just received.