Chapter Text
“Mr Di Lucca?”
Raf’s head snapped upwards at the sound of his name in that familiar crisp voice.
“Yes?”
“You have a patient with a possible aneurysm of the splenic artery.” Serena’s voice was deceptively casual but Raf knew better, from experience, than to take it on face value.
He replied with a vague nod. “She fell off her bike and hit her side hard against a hydrant. ED FAST scans indicate some damage but we’re still waiting on a CT to confirm the extent.”
“So what are you doing about it?” A distinctly hard edge was starting to form round the corners of her words.
Raf blinked. This wasn’t and, he was certain, nor would it be the last time he felt that nervous churn in his belly. There wasn’t a logical explanation - he’d pondered over it often enough to be sure of the fact. It was possible that Serena Campbell would always have the inexplicable ability to make him feel like an inexperienced F1 whenever she used that tone of voice.
“I…” He had barely begun before Serena cut off him off.
“Why is the patient still occupying bay,” Serena craned her head to check, “three, instead of having the scans done?”
“The scanner room is backed up and Ms Wolfe said fifteen minute obs until we get a free space should be sufficient.”
Serena arched an eyebrow. “Did she now?”
Raf nodded. “The patient is relatively stable and since this is a trauma injury…”
“I’d call it a vascular injury.”
“Either way, the patient is being managed so what’s the problem?” a voice interjected from behind causing Serena to swivel her head.
Bernie stood two feet away, arms folded, a questioning look on her face.
Serena answered, almost sweetly. “I was just asking Mr Di Lucca why we’ve not already had the injury fully assessed. She should be in theatre by now if the artery is on the brink of rupturing, don’t you think?”
“Yes, if it were, but I don’t think it is.”
Raf could almost hear the crackle in the air when Bernie took a step closer and kept her gaze level with Serena’s piercing look.
“I, uhmm, think Dr Digby said earlier she needed a consult about a patient.” He backed away slowly but he needn’t have bothered. Neither woman noticed his relieved scamper towards the opposite end of the ward.
Serena picked up the tablet Raf had left on the nurses’ station and studied the image for a moment. “I disagree. Look, there…” She tilted the tablet towards Bernie and pointed at the centre of the screen with her middle finger.
Bernie leaned forward and stared at the display. She frowned and squinted for a few seconds before looking up. “That might be something but we can’t be sure until we do the scan.”
“I’m not arguing about that. I just don’t think we should be twiddling our thumbs waiting in a queue when her artery is within a hair’s width of giving way.”
“Are you suggesting I don’t have the patient’s best interests at heart, Ms Campbell?”
Their eyes met again briefly, just long enough to silently agree that they should adjourn the conversation to the privacy of the office.
****
“I don’t understand what the problem is. You’re the one who’s always telling me not to be so gung-ho.”
Serena raised an eyebrow. “There’s a difference between not being gung-ho and leaving a patient who has potentially life threatening injuries waiting just because you’re too busy to pick up the phone and call CT.”
“I have called,” Bernie answered through gritted teeth, “several times,” she emphasised, “but they are really backed up right now. One of the scanners is down for maintenance and there are more urgent cases ahead of our patient.”
“Oh it’s our patient now, is it?” Serena couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “I would have thought a vascular surgeon should have been the first port of call in an injury like this. Not a mere afterthought three hours later.”
Bernie stared back before letting loose a loud snort. “You’re upset because I didn’t ask for your opinion?”
“Don’t flatter yourself Ms Wolfe. My ego is a lot healthier than that,” Serena replied smoothly as she picked up the receiver of the phone on her desk, “even if yours isn’t.”
“What are you doing?” Bernie frowned, confused.
Serena didn’t answer. She dialed a number, clearly from memory and was rewarded almost instantly with a soft murmur on the other end of the line.
“Hi Jan, it’s Serena. How are things down in radiology?” Serena smiled at the reply and the warmth ebbed into her voice. “Same here, no rest for the wicked and all that. Listen,” She turned and leaned up against the edge of the desk, “I’ve got a bit of a favour to ask. I don’t suppose you could squeeze a patient onto your list just now, could you?”
Bernie pricked her ears and could just about pick up the protesting response.
Serena brushed it off like a fleck of fluff. “Yes, I know, but I was hoping to get the patient into theatre this afternoon and it would really help if I didn’t have to go in blind.” There was a pause, then a reply that drew a throaty chuckle “No, no… the rumours are right. I’m just not quite that good.” Bernie could now pick up the sound of laughter streaming through the receiver without even trying.
The smile on Serena’s face grew into full blown grin. “You’re are a life saver, my dear. I’ll send the patient straight down and,” Bernie could almost swear the timbre of her voice was dropped deliberately, “yes, drinks will be on me at Albie’s.”
Serena placed the receiver back into its cradle and pushed herself onto her feet, smiling smugly. “That’s that sorted then, isn’t it Ms Wolfe?”
Bernie allowed herself an internal sigh of relief, knowing that they would now be able to treat the patient sooner rather than later, but she couldn’t help her next thought.
The end justifies the means.
That niggly phrase sprung to mind and she tried brushing it off as a throwaway cliche under the circumstances. For some inexplicable reason, she was annoyed by Serena’s method of solving their little predicament.
“Easy for some,” she muttered sourly.
“Sorry?”
“Oh you know, we can’t all flirt our way into getting what we want.”
Serena’s eyes narrowed instantly. “What are you implying?”
“Not implying. Just stating facts.” Bernie took a step forward closing the gap between them.
“I got what we needed by asking nicely.” Serena’s answer was crisp as she mirrored Bernie’s action. “Bossy sergeant major doesn’t always work, after all.”
They were well within each other’s personal space, the tension close to snapping point, when the door to the office burst open.
Raf looked between the two of them and announced after a brief pause to catch his breath. “Major RTC incoming and there are at least three injured on the way.”
“How bad was it?” Serena asked grimly.
“Pretty bad. It’s looking likely that they might all need emergency surgery.”
Serena and Bernie exchanged a brief glance before they slipped simultaneously into trauma mode, their argument forgotten. Bernie called out to Fletch as they exited the office. “Can you make sure that theatre is prepped and ready? And call up to Keller to see if they can keep one on hold just in case there’s overspill.”
Fletch nodded and headed for the nurses’ station to make the appropriate calls. Bernie knew they had five, ten minutes at most before hell potentially broke loose. She turned to say something to Serena but she was already halfway across the ward and heading towards the locker room. Any notion she had of following in the same direction evaporated when a gurney crashed noisily as it barrelled through the double doors of the ward.
****
The incident was worse than initially predicted and it was well past the end of their shift when Serena finally had the luxury of heaving a tired sigh as she tugged her scrub cap off her head. It was touch and go and for a moment she’d thought she had lost the boy when his heart stopped. She allowed herself a small smile as she recalled how they persisted and finally won the hard fought battle.
A soft growl emitted from her belly, reminding her that she hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast. Serena straightened her back and forced her legs to propel her forward. Home, food and her bed beckoned.
A smile crept onto her face as she suddenly remembered that she had a day off tomorrow to look forward to as well, and she amended her plan.
Home, food, Shiraz and bed.
****
Serena swept her eyes round the ward out of habit and was relieved to see that it was all relatively calm. Her stomach rumbled again and she quickened her pace towards her destination. The faster she could get changed, the sooner she’d be on her way home. She rounded the corridor and had just entered the locker room when a loud bang pulled her up short.
Her eyes narrowed instinctively before widening in hesitation when she realised what the source of the sound was. A familiar form had just slammed her locker closed. Her back was facing Serena but there was no mistaking who it belonged to. She tried to pull her eyes away but they stayed fastened where they were, fascinated by the fluid movement of muscle and skin. A tiny voice in her head squeaked that it might be better if she came back later. Serena shook her head, berating herself for being silly.
She had as much right to be in the room as anyone else after all.
Still, she instinctively cleared her throat, hoping the noise would announce her presence. In spite of all the drama, their little argument in the office earlier was still fresh in her mind and the last thing she wanted was for things to become even more awkward.
Bernie turned her head a fraction as Serena entered. She stiffened when she realised who it was and hurriedly pushed an arm through the shirt she was holding. Years of sharing communal facilities in the Army meant that she was usually as comfortable changing in front of company as she was in private but something about Serena made her inexplicably self-conscious. Bernie fumbled with the other sleeve and an elbow crashed painfully into a locker door in her haste. It drew a soft hiss of pain from her lips.
“Where’s the fire?” Serena’s voice came from right beside her, causing Bernie to jump. Serena raised an eyebrow as she finished folded up the leopard print scrub cap she was holding and tucked it in its usual place on the bottom shelf of her locker.
The hand finally made its way out of the tangle of cloth and Bernie took a breath to steady herself before answering. “I’m just glad today is over. The brother barely made it.”
Serena nodded in agreement. “It’s over for some of us anyway. Raf is still in surgery.”
Bernie gave her a confused look. “I thought we sent mum up to Keller.”
“We did. It’s that patient with the aneurysm.”
“Oh?”
“Turns out it was more than the splenic artery. She was sent up to Darwin straight from CT and they needed an extra pair of hands.”
Bernie felt her face flush at the memory of their conversation and reacted on instinct. “At least all that flirting was for a good cause.”
Serena’s eyes narrowed. “I thought we’d been through this. I wasn’t flirting.”
Bernie rolled her eyes and snorted.
“What’s your problem, Wolfe?”
Bernie raised an eyebrow and spoke in a singsong voice. “Oh, Jan you’re a lifesaver. Drinks are on me at Albie’s.”
Serena stared at her as if she had grown two heads before bursting into derisive laughter.
“If you think that’s flirting, you’ve obviously no idea what I can do.”
“Evidently.” Bernie replied dryly, emphasising the hard T in the syllable.
There was only so far, Serena mused much, much later, that she could be pushed before she snapped. She took a step towards Bernie and all concept of space between their bodies evaporated instantly. Bernie retreated a step only to find her back pressing flush against door of a locker.
Serena lifted a hand and gently brushed against the open placket of Bernie’s shirt before scrunching it up in a tight grasp. “Shall I demonstrate?”
Their lips crashed together and Bernie found herself shoved roughly against the cold hard metal. There should have been pain, a twinge at the very least, but her body seemed to have lost all ability to feel anything other the sensation of Serena’s lips devouring her own. She gasped and that tiniest of actions allowed a tongue to sweep past her lower lip. Serena pressed her torso forward and Bernie groaned.
Something about that sound made her react on a primal level and Serena’s hand somehow found its way inside Bernie’s shirt. The groan deepened into a moan when the fingers landed inevitably against the heaving swell of a breast. Serena’s hand moved and her ability to think, let alone speak, disintegrated instantly. The pressure increased steadily and was about to draw a growl from her throat before the sound of a couple of nurses having a loud conversation in the corridor outside pierced the haze. Serena inched away, momentarily. She stood dazed for the few seconds it took for her to realise what she had done.
“Serena...” Bernie just about managed to string the syllables together and the fog in Serena’s head was immediately displaced by a rising panic. She opened her mouth, partly to draw desperately needed air into her lungs, but mostly in desperate hope that it would fuel her faculties enough so that she could speak.
The former was achieved but not the latter.
Bernie was left standing, chest heaving, plastered against the locker door as Serena wrenched herself round and strode blindly out of the room.
****
Serena’s fingers trembled as she pulled on her coat. She pushed back the flood of emotions nudging at the far edge of her logical thoughts as she slung her bag round her shoulder and headed straight for the lift. It wasn’t until the doors closed and she let out the breath she was holding that she realised she was still in her surgical blues.