Chapter Text
“Your package will be delivered in 3-5 working days,” the email had read.
3-5 working days.
Today was thursday. 5 working days later.
Bernie huffed an irritated sigh as she blew her fringe out her eyes, contemplated the growing pile of paperwork on her desk even as she clicked the email closed.
“Nothing to do but wait, I suppose,” she muttered under her breath, pulling the file at the top of the towering stack towards her. Absently tapping her pen against her lip she began to read and fill in the discharge papers for one Mr James Cunningham, unfortunate enough to have had three of his toes amputated.
“Good morning, good morning, good morning,” a familiar voice accompanied the creak of the office door being shoved open as Serena blustered in.
“Morning,” Bernie responded absently, brow furrowed as she mentally recalculated the dosage of Tramadol prescribed to Mr Cunningham. She barely even registered the warm hand on her shoulder or the kiss dropped against her temple.
“What’s gone wrong now?” Serena’s voice was cheery despite her obvious concern, and Bernie sighed in resignation as she threw down her pen, scrubbed a hand across her face.
“I’ve spent the past forty-five minutes trying to figure out why Mr Cunningham has been prescribed quite so much Tramadol.”
“Oh honestly, Bernie, just correct the prescription and send him on his way!”
“But-”
“No buts, so long as we’re within regulation limits I don’t see what the problem is?”
“But-”
“Who wrote the prescription?”
“The overnight covering.”
“Mr Gupta?”
“That’s the one.”
“Here, let me see,” Serena held out a hand and Bernie obediently handed the file over, exchanging it with a grateful smile for the cup of coffee that Serena had brought for her.
She hummed in satisfaction as she sipped; black coffee, doctored with an extra shot of espresso, just the way she liked it.
“Hmmm… Says here that Mr Cunningham has had Tramadol prescribed before, from when he had his spleen out, but that he complained the dose was too low to have much effect. I’d imagine that was why Mr Gupta decided it was safe to give him a little more,” Serena leafed through the file, tapping a triumphant finger against Mr Cunningham’s previous clinical notes.
“Yes, but that’s still a big jump in doses, don’t you think?”
Bernie took another sip of her coffee, wrapped her free arm self-consciously around her ribs as she watched Serena contemplate the issue.
“Mmm, yes, I do see what you mean. Still, I don’t think he’s at any risk even if we do give him this higher dose, unless you have any other concerns?”
“Well, I did examine him this morning and he did seem a little…”
“Yes?”
“... on the hypochondriac side of things?”
“Ah. I see.”
Serena snapped the file closed with a flick of her wrist and gave it back to Bernie, eyes twinkling as she came closer.
“In that case, then, Ms Wolfe, you must do what you think is right,” she drawled, setting the file down on Bernie’s desk even as she crowded her against it.
“Now, someone owes me a proper Good Morning, I think,” Serena murmured, pressing close to steal a kiss. It wasn’t quite as chaste as it should have been (but then again, anything that involved Serena Campbell rarely was) and Bernie whimpered a little as Serena pulled away, nipped at her bottom lip.
“Good morning,” Bernie whispered, swallowing hastily as Serena smirked and dropped one last peck on her cheek before wandering back to her own side of their office.
“What do you have on today, then?” Serena flipped through her own diary, glancing down at her theatre list for the day.
“Splenectomy at 11, then a liver resection after lunch. That is, if the red phone doesn’t ring,” Bernie replied, settling back at her desk to scribble in Mr Cunningham’s revised Tramadol prescription.
“Good, good, I’ve got that gall bladder removal at 10 and then Mr Whitford’s leg to fix in the afternoon. Lunch together?”
“Yup, sounds like a plan.” Bernie glanced up at Serena and gave her a shy smile, not quite hiding her blush as Serena sipped from her own cup of coffee and fairly smouldered at her.
“Oh, before I forget, something came for you yesterday when you were in theatre. I signed for it, I hope you don’t mind?”
3-5 working days.
Bernie’s heart leapt to her throat even as she leapt out of her chair.
“I- uh-”
“It’s just a package, Bernie.”
And now Serena was looking at her with genuine concern, that familiar eyebrow creeping higher and higher as she took in the degree of Bernie’s flustered panic.
“Yes yes. Erm. Thank you,” Bernie stammered as she all but tripped over her feet to retrieve the package from Serena’s desk.
“My my, must be something exciting , then. Care to share?”
Quite involuntarily Bernie’s eyes fluttered closed and she barely managed to bite back a moan by chewing on her lower lip.
Damn that woman and that voice of hers.
“Why Ms Wolfe , you’ve gone all red,” Serena’s voice was that familiar low purr now, and Bernie had no doubt she presented a right picture; she could feel the blood pounding in her ears and flushing across her cheeks.
Deep breath, Bern. Poker face.
“If you really must know, it’s Cameron’s present. I, uh… Got him something to celebrate him maybe going back to med school.” Bernie’s lie rushed out of her in a single breath.
Serena’s cocked eyebrow told her that she disbelieved every single word that Bernie just uttered. Squaring her shoulders, Bernie decided the best course of action was to stare Serena down. This was a matter of principle, now. She couldn’t just crumble whenever Serena decided to let that voice come out to play.
The seconds ticked by.
Bernie stood her ground.
“Well then, a mystery for another day, I suppose,” came Serena’s response after several long moments of charged silence between them.
One last smirk and Serena bent her attention to her own paperwork, humming slightly under her breath as she flicked through her patient’s notes.
Bernie let out a silent sigh and quickly stashed her package under her desk, shoved it deep into her satchel.
It wouldn’t do to have her girlfriend (the word still felt foreign to her; Alex and her had skipped girlfriend and gone straight on to lover ) knowing exactly what she had ordered online.