"I'm glad you were able to talk him down." Serena takes a sip of the red wine from her glass, eyes focusing on her girlfriend as she slides another poured glass toward her, "Come on, you deserve it."

Bernie raises her eyebrows, smirking as she lifts the glass between her fingers by the stem, "And you got an apology to boot."

"That I did."

The blonde pulls a chair closer to the other woman's desk as she takes a seat, "I'm so sorry he treated you as he did."

"Don't worry about it." Serena shakes her head, "It's over now...and this isn't my first glass, so if it weren't over, I wouldn't care anyhow."

Bernie nods, red wine isn't really her thing, but she'll drink it anyway. She swirls the liquid in the glass, "We have the children to ourselves for a few days while Marcus works on himself." Bernie notices her partner raise an eyebrow, "I thought you'd enjoy that a bit."

"Well, seeing as I was just screamed at about stealing them, you can imagine how much more relaxed that makes me...knowing I don't have to deal with his egotistical negativity. Also, so that Charlotte doesn't have to be told that she's quote faking it unquote." She takes another sip of her drink, "It wasn't his antics with me, it was how he treated Charlie that angered me."

"I know." The blonde reaches over, placing her hand over her girlfriend's as it rests atop the desk. "We have an agreement...he and I."

"Two of you have gotten to be friends, have you?" Serena raises an eyebrow, amused, "Should I be worried?"

"About what? I didn't like sleeping with him when I was married to him, why would I want to now?" Bernie hears her partner begin to chuckle heartily, "It wasn't bad, it was just...uninteresting." She smirks a little, "Best thing out of it were the children, so it was worth it...I suppose. I haven't decided yet."

She continues to hold her girlfriend's hand tenderly, amused by the woman, "Are we crazy? Taking all this on now?"

"I don't have a choice...nor do I want one. These are my children and I owe them the world." Bernie replies quietly, "It's stressful and...seems futile in Charlotte's case, but...I'd regret not doing it." Her tone honest, speaking from the heart, "Everything in my body tells me to grab you and run away from here. Go back to France, or Nairobi...or somewhere, anywhere but here. I can't though. I can't do that to them. Not anymore."

Serena nods, "I understand."

"You shouldn't need to though." She shakes her head, "This is so much and our relationship...is still so new. You have every right to throw in the gloves and want no parts of this."

"I wouldn't dream of it." She finds herself smirking a little. "I know that...if the tables were turned and it was Elinor...I know that you would always be there with us."

Bernie smirks a little, "Couldn't keep me away." She leans in, tenderly capturing her girlfriend's lips and holding her there. The coffee and truffle undertones of the wine relaxing her a bit as she pulls away slowly, rubbing her nose against that of the other woman's, "I don't deserve you." She whispers against her lips.

Serena sets her glass down, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend in a hug, tears play at the corners of her eyes. "The feeling is mutual." She could stay like this forever if she was allowed to, but she clears her throat, breaking away. Serena lifts up her glass, finishing off the remaining contents before standing, "I'm going to head back upstairs." She needed to see with her own eyes that her near step-daughter was actually okay though she wouldn't admit it.

Bernie chugs the rest of her wine down, probably the only way it was going to get consumed anyway. She stands as well, taking her girlfriend's hand casually as Serena leads the way, "I'm right with you."

Things weren't going to be perfect for them. Not anymore. Not that it ever really was to begin with. There would be no honeymoon phase. There would be this. The two of them and this family they've managed to stitch together. They wouldn't change a single thing, if they did, it wouldn't be their family. It wouldn't be their life.