Author: Regency

Title: Stop & Go

Warnings: None

Summary: A police stop for speeding is the difference between Serena Campbell's bad day and her very good night. The attention of Sergeant Berenice Wolfe can do that for a girl.

Prompt: Berena #38: cop/person getting a speeding ticket au + "You are a really hot police officer and I am trying to sneakily take pictures of you but you notice and start posing" AU.

Author's Notes: Come squee about Berena with me on Tumblr at sententiousandbellicose!

AN II: Note: I don't know the first thing about UK traffic stops, so this is based on how US traffic stops are conducted. Please adjust your expectations accordingly.

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, settings, or stories recognizable as being from Holby City. They are the property of their actors, producers, writers, and studios, not me. No copyright infringement was intended and no money was made in the writing or distribution of this story. It was good, clean fun.

Berena Appreciation Week | Day 4 | Prompt: AU

Serena was leaving work after a miserable day filled with fruitless meetings in the board room and senseless losses of life in theater. She was tired, she was frustrated, and probably worst of all, she was infuriated. The board had denied Serena's request to expand the budget for trauma facilities on AAU for the fifth time in favor of bolstering the complement of staff on Keller Ward. Sian, whom she was meant to meet for dinner and drinks an hour ago, was the unlucky sounding board for her rage.

"It's ridiculous that we're expected to save lives with a fraction of the resources we need. No wonder we can barely keep pace with the work load. We don't have the facilities. We haven't got the beds. We're hardly fully-staffed, and there isn't any hope of us attracting quality personnel if we're only offering them sub-optimal working conditions."

Sian hummed sympathetically, a noise only just audible over the phone. The restaurant she'd chosen for them was loud, per Sian's usual standards. Serena wasn't looking forward to what the noise would do for her aching head, but she had cancelled on her old friend twice recently; she'd suffer through.

"Things would be better if you were in charge. We both know that." Sian's best attempt to comfort Serena only made her clutch the steering wheel tighter and press harder on the gas pedal.

"Don't remind me, please. I could just take being passed over if I felt like things were improving, but they aren't. They're a mess. Everything is a mess." She wasn't only referring to work.

"Oh, Serena."

Serena was just contemplating talking Sian into a more relaxing venue for their dinner date when she caught sight of whirling lights flashing in her rear view mirror. There was a marked police vehicle tailing her closely; the driver was signalling her to move over to the shoulder of the road. She swore. Just what she needed, another item tacked onto the most arduous day of Serena's career.

"Hold on, I'm being flagged down by a police officer."

"Were you speeding?"

"No, I'm not you." Sian sped as a matter of course. If she was behind the wheel, Serena could be sure to expect to be clinging to the dashboard and door handle for dear life. That was why she usually did the driving when they went out together.

"You were ranting. You get a lead foot whenever you're upset."

Be that as it may, Serena knew she was nowhere near as bad as Sian. Was she taking her turns a little more sharply than was customary for her? Perhaps. Was she pushing the speed limit a tad in her haste to have done with peak hour traffic? It was possible, but hardly anything that warranted police intervention, surely.

"Shush, I'm pulling over." She unmounted her mobile from its cradle on her dashboard to turn it face down on the arm rest and put her car into park near a well-lit, well-traveled petrol station. One couldn't be too careful.

The officer sat behind her for three or four minutes without movement. Their high beams flooded the interior of Serena's car making it almost impossible to see them if she looked back. She was still blinking spots from her vision when a heavy automobile door creaked open and slammed shut. The police officer approached the driver side window, heavy footfalls crunching over gravel.

Serena removed her hands from her screwed-shut eyes when the officer knocked on her window and indicated she should roll it down. Eager to get on her way, she complied. It was time to turn on the charm.

"Good evening, Officer. What seems to be the problem?"

The officer, a striking blonde woman not much younger than Serena, appeared immediately leery of Serena's ingratiating tone. "Um, good evening. Do you have any idea how fast you were going?"

"I was going exactly the speed limit."

The officer, a B. Wolfe going by her name pin, tilted her head in dissent. "Afraid not. You were driving well above the speed limit for this area. My instrument picked you up going 38 mph in a 30-mph zone."

Serena balked. This was a matter of principle. "No, no, I know the speed limit too well to exceed it. I drive this road frequently–daily, even. I could drive it in my sleep, actually."

The copper clicked her tongue. "Wouldn't recommend that."

Serena thumped her head back against the headrest of her seat. Her temples throbbed. "Nor would I. I've had the misfortune to patch up a couple of overnight lorry drivers who gave it a try. I was obviously making a joke."

Officer Wolfe's expression said all it needed to about how unfunny Serena's attempt at humor had been. It seemed Serena was thoroughly off her game tonight.

"License and registration please."

Serena produced both. She longed to grumble as to the unfairness of all this but bit her tongue. She wasn't looking to pick a fight with a police officer of all people.

"Thank you, Ms. Campbell. All seems to be in order here." She returned Serena's items after only a cursory examination.

Serena gathered all the patience in her reserves to go on. "Officer…Wolfe, is it? Officer Wolfe, I have had the longest possible day. I want to go home and sleep for as long as I possibly can in anticipation of having another inordinately long day tomorrow. Can we just agree that I should drive slower and let this be a lesson to me?"

The police officer pulled another face, this one angling sharply toward understanding. Serena acknowledged she didn't look entirely unsympathetic to Serena's plight.

"I would, but you've got a number of unpaid traffic citations registered to this vehicle that need addressing."

"No, I don't." Serena was diligent about avoiding a negative driving record. She paid her rare parking tickets within days, if not sooner. Serena wracked her brain for any she might have overlooked or forgotten and came up empty. "That's impossible."

Officer Wolfe's shoulders rose and fell on a sigh, leading Serena to conclude she wasn't the only one to have had a long day. "I ran your tags and found a lengthy list of unpaid parking and moving violations accrued during the university spring holiday this year."

"I didn't even have my car during the spring holiday. My daughter borrowed…" Serena said no more. Elinor Campbell was every bit her father's child. "I don't know if you've reproduced, but on the off-chance that's still an option for you, let me offer a word of advice–don't."

The police woman tucked her overlong fringe behind her ears. There was a tiny, self-deprecating smile playing across her face that Serena recognized as being a gesture of solidarity from one mother to another. "That horse has left the barn, I'm afraid, but I appreciate the sentiment. Am I right to think you weren't in possession of the vehicle when these were written?"

"I didn't even know they existed; my daughter never mentioned receiving any citations. Thank you for bringing them to my attention." Would disowning her only child be too extreme a reaction to the small mountain of fines that surely awaited her? No, Serena would make Edward pay them. Even better.

Officer Wolfe pressed her thin lips together and contemplated the tips of her boots for a spell. "I'll make you a deal. I'm going to have to write you a citation for the unpaid tickets, but–but I can let you slide on the speeding, provided you don't start up again when you pull away. I'll be watching." Her tone brooked no argument, nor did the look in her eyes. The police officer was offering Serena break to be kind, not because Serena had pulled the wool over her eyes. In all fairness, Serena had neglected to pour on the charm. She was too worn out for subterfuge or guile, even when faced with a woman lovely enough to merit either.

Serena smiled, nonetheless. "Thank you. I–" She exhaled softy, relieved. "I appreciate your help."

"Protect and serve, that's my motto. Give me a minute and we'll get you back on the road to your destination. How's that sound?"

"Like the best offer I've had today."

Officer Wolfe smiled slightly broader, a gesture Serena felt compelled to return. "Back in a tick."

"I'll be here."

Serena followed the officer's progress as far as her side mirror allowed, taking in the woman's even stride and tight arse with a sensual interest muffled only by a head full of cotton wool. "You could bounce a marble off that thing," she observed to nobody in particular.

Sian, who'd kept silent for the duration of Serena's exchange with the police woman, piped up, "So what's the copper like?" and scared the remaining life out of Serena.

"For crying out loud, I thought you'd rung off already."

"And miss that? Not a chance. Is she cute?" Her enunciation of the word 'cute' more closely resembled how someone might describe a Pekingese or a pool boy, not a statuesque woman in uniform with an arse that would make a footballer consider a career change. One was adorable, the other was gentle but unyielding–and, dare she say, edible.

"Why does it matter if she's cute?"

"Don't be difficult, you were being all come hither. You only do that when the police officer's a little bit cute. You can't fake it."

"I wasn't flirting." Not intentionally, at any rate.

"You were giving her the Serena Campbell Special. I remember it well."

"There's no such thing–"

"I've lost out on boyfriends due to that potent combination of vulnerability, flirtation, and antagonism. Me. Trust me, it's real." Sian knew Serena right to the ground. Serena could never resist a challenge and she wasn't afraid to take one for the team.

"You should be thanking me for taking Edward off your hands before it was too late; Sian Campbell doesn't exactly roll off the tongue." They both shuddered. Edward got away lucky, Sian would have made a compelling black widow in another life.

"So…your police woman? Tall, short? Round or rangy? Dark or fair? Don't leave me in suspense, it's dead as the grave over here."

Serena rifled through the deluge of impressions she had of the police officer for something that wouldn't encourage Sian to keep asking questions. She glanced back in the rear view to find herself the subject of the uniformed woman's steady perusal. She resisted the impulse to wave. "Pretty," she said to Sian at last. "Pretty and Intense."

"Why intense?"

"There's something about her. I can't explain it." She couldn't, actually, and she wasn't sure Sian would understand what she meant if she tried. It was the eyes. Officer Wolfe had the saddest, kindest eyes. They saw right through Serena and saw fit to keep looking. Serena supposed she could do with more kindness in her daily life. She'd settle for having it for the next five minutes till she could get to Sian and the bottle of red her best friend had waiting for her.

"Take a picture, I want to see this pretty, intense police officer."

"No way. That is not an option." She lowered her voice in case the officer could hear her. "She isn't an option."

"Rena, you haven't been out with anybody since your fling with Angus fizzled. I can tell you're intrigued by her. Try her on!"

"She's writing me a citation!"

"Only because of Ellie. Maybe if you play your cards right, she'll tear it up."

"That doesn't actually happen for most people."

"It happens for me all the time."

"As you've proved time and time again, you aren't most people."

"Neither are you, Serena Ballerina. Pretty," she harped. "Intense," she emphasized. :Bet she looks fit as a fiddle in her uniform. Not that you notice, of course." Serena raised an eyebrow at her friend's blatant manipulation. Serena had noticed how well Officer Wolfe filled her black patrolman's kit. She'd have to be dead not to notice.

"I can't believe I'm considering this." Only she wasn't merely considering it, and Sian knew it. She kept her mouth shut lest she talk Serena out of another of her harebrained schemes. "If I end up being arrested, I expect you to post bail for me and represent me in court."

Sian readily agreed, the enabler.

Having ascertained the police officer's position from her side and front mirror, Serena very carefully stuck her arm out the driver side window with her mobile tucked into her fist. After some minor adjustments, Officer Wolfe's fine physique filled the screen of Serena's mobile camera. The police officer was leaning against the front end of her cruiser, scribbling Serena's details on her citation pad. Her blonde head was turned downward, obscuring the face Serena had hoped to show her friend, but the rest of her was visible. It would have to do. Serena snapped a photo and ducked back into her car to check it. It had come out grainy without the flash engaged and Serena bit her lip, questioning the wisdom of attempting to take a second, clearer picture of the officer. Much as she had in university, Serena abandoned all good sense to try again at Sian's prodding.

The lights from their respective vehicles dappled the uniformed woman in amber and blinding white. Officer Wolfe was looking into the distance toward the petrol station as if deep in thought. She cut an intimidating, dashing figure in dark blue. She radiated strength and discipline and purpose. Every inch of her was damnably attractive. From her high cheekbones to her fine neck, to her tapered waist. Officer B. Wolfe was the embodiment of what Serena liked in a prospective partner. A reasonable degree of competence. A sort of elegiac quality about her person that intrigued Serena to no end. Body all athleticism taken off the field. If nothing else, the police officer was the last of those. Her trouser-clad legs stretched down to the dusty shoulder of the road in unbroken lines; they seemed to go for miles.

Serena engaged the flash option and took a picture of the woman before she could talk herself out of it. Serena had shot the photograph off to Sian and shoved her mobile under her thigh by the time Officer Wolfe returned with her completed citation slip.

The police officer seemed to be mulling something over as she passed Serena the ticket. "Did you…You didn't…" She seemed to be tripping over her own tongue. She had gone a soft pink here and there, round the cheeks, her neck and ears. Serena was charmed, wondered if Sian hadn't had the right of it. Angus had been months ago, time to move on.

"Something the matter, Officer Wolfe?"

The other woman huffed and finally shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

"Then, I guess I'll be off. Unless you object."

Officer Wolfe considered Serena from underneath that fringe of hers, looking conflicted. That hair can't be regulation. Serena liked it nonetheless.

The officer produced a contact card from the back her citation pad. "Erm, here's my card. In case you have any difficulty with the magistrate and you need somebody to vouch for you. My, uh, mobile number's on back."

Serena took it and gave it a look. It certainly looked like the genuine article. Berenice 'Bernie' Wolfe, Sergeant for the Holby City Police Department. "And why might I need that, er, Bernie?"

The police woman shrugged and shoved a hand into her pocket. "For any reason you like. It's entirely to your discretion."

They weren't just talking about traffic citations anymore. Serena made sure to give the woman a flirtatious smile as she tucked the card into her purse in the passenger seat. "I'll call you."

"Only if you want." There she went, getting authoritative again, as if it negated the pleasant flush assailing her fair skin, or had any hope of making Serena behave.

Serena leaned out the window to get that little bit closer, just to see Bernie's eyes grow dark and hungry. "I will call you."

Bernie's eagerness was unmistakable, matched only by Serena's own. "I can't wait," she said.

They regarded each other carefully. By her limited experience being stopped by the police, Serena could attest that this wasn't the done thing. And, needless to say, she didn't go out of her way to charm police officers just trying to do their jobs. But Bernie Wolfe was right up Serena's street and she must have seen something she liked in Serena, too. This was mutual.

"Goodbye, Bernie."

The police officer lowered her chin in pleasant acknowledgement. "Ms. Campbell."

Her eyes were the sort of dark and inviting that was anything but unreadable.

When she returned to her cruiser and pulled away, leaving Serena alone beside the busy petrol station, it was minutes before she got her breath back. Bernie Wolfe would have been formidable in or out of uniform, Serena was sure of it. She was hoping to experience the best of both those worlds.

She picked up her mobile to set it on its dash-mounted cradle before she got back on the road. "Still there?"

"Uh huh."

"I suppose you caught all that."

"Uh huh."

"And you got the picture I sent you?"

"Did I ever. Rena, did you look at this picture before you sent it to me?"

"No, I didn't have time. Why?"

"I think she's looking right at you in this."

"She isn't."

"Oh, sweetheart, she very much is."

Serena waited for the nearest red light to check her phone gallery for the most recent photo she'd taken. Sian was right. Instead of the positively Heathcliff-esque image she'd intended to snap, there was her officer all in black, staring directly at the camera. She was watching Serena's ridiculous antics with an arguably fond, incredulous smile. Serena got the funniest feeling this was the moment Bernie had decided to take a chance on her.

"I'll be damned."

Sian chuckled. She loved to see a plan came together. "Maybe, but at least you won't be arrested."

Leave it to Sian to look on the bright side.