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“You did what?” Serena looked up from her plate, strands of pasta hanging off the fork.
Bernie’s answer came out as an indecipherable mumble, her mouth full of spaghetti. She chewed quickly and swallowed before trying again. “I booked us a session at the Chill Factory.”
“The Chill Factory.” Serena’s voice bore a distinct edge of trepidation as she repeated the words slowly. “I’m not sure I want to know but remind me what that is again?”
Bernie nodded, smiling brightly at her wife just before she took another bite of her dinner. “You know what I mean. We saw an advert for it on the telly last week. During the baking show?”
A flash of recognition coloured Serena’s face, and she bit back a soft groan. Her insides sunk in dismay. She should have expected this, in hindsight, especially after the way Bernie’s expression had perked up in interest as the clip played on screen.
“That looks like a fun day out for the team. It’ll be a nice change from the usual Christmas party,” Bernie had remarked when it ended.
“I thought you were joking,” Serena muttered, realising now that she had foolishly dismissed it as a passing comment at the time.
Bernie shook her her head, mopping up the sauce on the sides of her bowl with a piece of bread. “I called this morning and they can fit us in for next Sunday afternoon.”
“So soon?” Serena’s voice was flat as she prodded at the strands of pasta on the plate before twirling them around the prongs of her fork, the sentiment of her tone lost on Bernie who nodded enthusiastically.
“Team building sessions are normally booked weeks ahead but Eloise managed to squeeze us in after she recognised who I was.”
“Who’s Eloise?” Serena asked, an eyebrow arched curiously.
Bernie pushed her empty plate away and took a sip of wine before answering. “She’s an events specialist and group facilitator for the company. The admin team passed me onto her when they couldn’t find anything available till next February.”
“The pre-Christmas rush. Seems to start earlier every year,” Serena answered with an exaggerated nod and sigh.
“Yes, and that’s why I explained that was why it’d be ideal to get something in next week before it gets too busy,” Bernie answered and Serena could tell that she was about to announce a coup de grace, from the grin on her face. “And she had it all sorted in less than five minutes,” Bernie announced proudly. “Eloise was very impressed when I told her about AAU and, apparently, we’ve already met. Her brother was brought into the ward a month ago after hitting his head on a shelf at work.”
“And the ED couldn’t have dealt with that minor injury?”
Bernie gave her wife a fond look, knowing that her question was in reflex, her deputy CEO hat donned instinctively.
“They did a sterling job but he was concussed and they thought he should be observed overnight. And it proved to be prudent because the CT scan revealed a hairline fracture. His sister was in a bit of a flap when she finally came in but I managed to calm her down. She sent a card after to say thank you,” Bernie trailed off nonchalantly.
The mention of a card triggered a spark in Serena’s mind. Her eyes had narrowed for an instant at the time when she read the gushing words of thanks, signed off with a phone number and an offer to buy Bernie a drink when she had the time. The Serena of old would have had her stomach in knots with jealousy but she had learned, with experience, that her wife was, as always, oblivious to her ability to provoke spontaneous flirtation from complete strangers. She leaned back in her chair and watched as Bernie cleared the table. A sliver of skin appeared between the hem of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans as she bent over to load the dishwasher and Serena found herself staring with a self-satisfied smile.
No one with a pulse could resist this gorgeous creature but she was the only one who didn’t have to. She fingered the burnished band hanging off the chain around her neck out of habit before pulling her thoughts back to the subject at hand. “So, next Sunday. How are we going to cover the ward if everyone’s going to be coming along?”
A victorious smirk stretched across Bernie’s face. “Fletch is on a day off and Raf and Morven can finish early. I did have to call in a few favours. Ric’s offered to supervise the shift and I’ve convinced Dr Copeland to volunteer a part of his day off as well.”
Serena’s eyes widened impressively. “That sounds like quite a feat. Do I want to know what we owe them in return for the favour?”
Bernie gave a half laugh and shook her head. “Nothing painful or illegal, I promise.”
They picked up their wine glasses and adjourned into the living room, settling onto the sofa by the fire.
“All right, then,” Serena said, sighing in resignation, picking up her iPad and handing it over to Bernie. “Looks like you’ve got this all planned out so you’d better show me what it’s all about.”
* * *
“This is so cool, Ms Wolfe,” Morven gushed for what must have been the half-dozenth time since they arrived. “Sorry, bad pun,” she mumbled sheepishly.
Bernie grinned as she pulled on her bright blue waterproof jacket. “I hope you still think so by the end of the session. It’s not building snowmen and snowball fights.”
“You get to build an igloo, if that helps,” a voice interrupted from the doorway to the locker room. Six pairs of eyes turned simultaneously in its direction, discovering that it belonged to a petite redhead in a red jacket emblazoned with the Chill Factor logo across her chest. “Hi,” she greeted the group before turning to Bernie with a huge smile. “It’s nice to see you again, Ms Wolfe.”
“Bernie, please.”
The smile on the young woman’s face split into a huge grin as she took the invitation as a cue to cross the room and wrap Bernie in a hug. “Thank you again for helping my berk of a brother who has two left feet,” she said when she finally pulled away.
“Oi, watch it. That’s no way to speak about your big brother,” a deep baritone replied from behind her. The owner of the voice was clad in an identical jacket and brushed a hand through his hair, which was a similar shade of fiery red, as he spoke.
She turned her head, rolling her eyes in retort. “We’re twins, Noah, remember?’
A soft chuckle rumbled from his throat before he continued. “I’m older than you by three minutes and fifteen seconds. Remember?”
Eloise rolled her eyes and fixed him with a fond glare. “Yes, you’ve never let me forget that and I’ve been busy rescuing your accident prone arse since.” She turned back towards the group and introduced the latest member of their group. “Noah is your other facilitator for the day.”
Serena raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think this was a supervised activity.”
“Not supervising as such.” Eloise’s mouth quirked in a half smile. “But Noah and I will be joining your groups to make up the numbers since there are only six of you. Bernie said you wanted to include some head to head activities as part of your team building.”
Serena turned her head towards her wife to find her nodding in agreement.
“I thought it would make it more of a challenge if it was a competition,” Bernie said, her eyes automatically surveying their motley crew for their reaction.
Morven looked a little apprehensive but Fletch and Raf’s faces lit up in excitement as they started chattering away. Lou gave her a small smile when Bernie’s gaze landed on her before going back to checking her mobile.
‘Great,” Eloise quipped. “Now, we’ll need to organize you into two groups and nominate a leader for each one.”
It was quickly agreed that the two clinical leads would lead each group. Bernie graciously offered to let Serena pick first. She chose Raf and Fletch, mindful of the fact that Josh would now have to join Bernie’s team to even out the ratio. She barely concealed her dismay when Eloise announced that she would be joining Bernie’s team - to make it fair - since she was ex-Army.
“How did you know that?” Bernie asked, tilting her head in surprise.
Eloise’s cheeks pinked a little, Serena noticed with more than a hint of interest, before answering. “You’re ex RAMC, right? I looked you up online after Noah couldn’t stop gushing at how good a doctor you are.”
Her brother rolled his eyes and snorted. “If memory serves, sis, you were the one doing all the gushing.”
The pink turned into crimson as Eloise jabbed an elbow into his side, eliciting a sharp yelp from the young man.
“Just doing my job.” There was a look of faint embarrassment on her face as Bernie replied. “Anyhow, looks like we’re all kitted up and raring to go, Shall we?” she continued, changing the subject, earning her an appreciative look from Eloise, who was now pulling a rainbow coloured beanie over her head.
Serena sidled up alongside her wife as they trooped out of the room, led by the facilitators. “You seem to have a fan, darling. No wonder we managed to get a booking on such short notice.”
Bernie gave her a mock glare, the half smile on her face giving her away. “Stop it, she’s just being polite.”
Serena was about to explain the difference between being friendly and the less than subtle interest Eloise was showing when they stopped as a group at a set of huge metal doors. There were two low racks next to them, both filled with pairs of snow boots in various sizes.
Noah turned towards the rest of the group and announced. “The snow area is through here but we’ll need the right footwear. Men’s sizes are on the right and ladies on the left.”
They were soon busy putting on the final bits of their gear, gloves and hats, after donning their boot, when Raf piped up. “Bernie, you didn’t tell us what’s the prize is. Seeing that this is a competition and all.”
“I was thinking that the bonding and fun would be prize enough, don’t you think, Mr Di Lucca?” Bernie answered.
“It’ll be more fun if there is something at stake, though. Don’t you agree, Ms Campbell?” Morven suggested, giving Serena a hopeful look.
Bernie looked at Serena, and spied a glint in her eyes. “Serena?”
Serena tugged at her gloves ensuring that they were secure before answering. “Spoils for the victor might make the contest more interesting I suppose. What would be enticing enough though?” She tapped a finger on her lips, making a show of pondering for an answer, ignoring the knowing look on her wife’s face. “I know, how about if the winners gets Christmas Eve off? The losing team can cover their shifts alongside the locums.”
“Two whole days off in the season of drunken Santas and DIY disasters,” Fletch rubbed his hands together in glee, a huge grin splitting his face. “I’ll take that.”
Morven snorted loudly. “You’ll need to win first, mate. Which you won’t, because we’re team girl power, right, Lou?”
The nurse smiled and gave Morven two thumbs up, a glove clenched between her teeth as she finished donning the first one.
“So, what do you say, Ms Wolfe? Up for the challenge?” Serena asked, arching an eyebrow.
Bernie’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “Game on.”
* * *
“That makes it two all,” Eloise announced as her group finally made it up the slope, their newly made sled in tow.
Serena couldn’t help greeting her wife with a victorious smirk as she dropped the ropes she was pulling the sled by with a sigh of relief. “Out of shape, darling?” she murmured as Bernie closed the gap between them and reached out a hand onto Serena’s shoulder for support.
“You didn’t think so when we beat your team at the obstacle course,” Bernie replied. “I thought you looked cute with your bum sticking out of the snow.”
Serena narrowed her eyes, heat rising in her cheeks at the memory of her less than dignified tumble into the shallow gully she was crossing when she slipped. “Well, at least I didn’t have someone’s hand on my backside, pushing me along,” she muttered, flicking a glare in Eloise’s direction. Bernie’s team mate, had, in her opinion, been a little too eager to reach for that part of her wife’s anatomy.
“It’s called working together as a team. Which is the point of the exercise,” Bernie answered matter of factly, oblivious to the insinuation.
The rest of their group crowded round the co-leads, Raf turning to Noah with his question. “So who wins and gets Christmas off?”
“We’ll need a tiebreaker,” he replied, thinking for a moment before looking at Eloise. “Capture the flag?”
Eloise grinned. “Excellent idea. We can use this as the target,” she said, pulling out a scarf - bright yellow and dotted with a pattern of green mistletoe throughout - from one of her pockets before plodding towards the opposite end of the area, looking for a suitable spot to plant it.
“So,” Fletch piped up, watching her, “all we need to do is get to the flag first. That’ll be a piece of cake.”
Noah laughed. “Not so fast, mate. The others can slow you down and stop you with the help of these.” He bent over and picked up a lump of snow, shaping it into a sphere, before tossing it towards a large crate that formed part of the obstacle course.
Morven’s eyes widened excitedly as it hit the wood and shattered into a flurry of white dust. “Snowball fight!”
Noah nodded. “You have to stop for ten seconds if you get hit and you’re out of play once you’re hit twice. All live members of the team must reach the flag to win.”
“What if there’s only one person left?” Raf asked, as he looked round the area, judging the distance between where they stood and the scrap of yellow material, standing out against the snow.
Eloise, who had now returned to join them answered. “It turns into a flat out race to the flag. Which means, you have to decide as a team whether you’re all going to go for it and avoid getting hit or protect one person who’ll make the final dash.”
Serena looked at Bernie and could tell from the expression on her face that she was deep into planning her strategy for the best way to win. A fond smile crossed her face. You can take the girl of the Army but you can’t take the Army out of the girl, she mused.
“Right, two minutes to confer with your groups and come up with your action plan.” Noah clapped his hands and the teams broke apart onto opposite sites of the area.
It was quickly decided in Serena’s group that Raf would be their runner on account of his compact build whilst Fletch covered him like a human shield. Noah and Serena would act as gunners and try to take out as many of the opposite team as possible.
“Ready?” Eloise raised her voice, looking round to find unanimous nods around the group. “All right then, three, two, one, go!”
It seemed that Bernie’s team had had a similar idea, with Lou chosen to be their runner. It took a few moments for the first snowball to fly through the air but they were soon being tossed from both sides in a flurry of white. Serena saw that Eloise was aiming for Fletch as he and Raf plodded through the knee high snow and pitched a lump of snow in her direction. It hit her on the shoulder and she groaned, stopping in her tracks and reaching for Bernie’s arm to steady herself. A second snowball was launched, possibly with a little more force than required, and Serena smiled in satisfaction as it hit her squarely on her backside.
“I’m out,” Eloise cried and shrugged apologetically at the rest of her team who were now moving slowly towards the flag.
They were soon down to Serena and Raf with Bernie covering Lou. Serena launched the snowball in her hand and whooped with delight when it landed on Lou, almost knocking the hat off her head. They were going to win because her next projectile would surely take out Bernie.
Serena was midway through making her snowball when Raf groaned dramatically. She looked up to see the remnant of sparkling ice clinging onto his hair. He sighed dramatically. “Guess it’s up to you to win us the days off, boss.” Raf clapped a hand on her shoulder for good luck before making his way back to the rest of the group resting on various objects on the obstacle course as they watched and cheered.
Bernie closed the distance between her and Serena. They both looked at the scarf, which was at most ten feet away.
“So, do you want to give up now and save yourself the embarrassment of losing?” Bernie said, a confident smile on her face.
Serena turned to her wife, a look of mock affront on her face. “You’re assuming that you’ll win just because you’re a big macho Army medic?”
Bernie shrugged, answering, “I might have the edge in that department.”
An idea blossomed in Serena’s mind, one so spontaneous and genius that she couldn’t keep the grin off her face. She trudged through the snow, stopping only when she was close enough to place a hand around Bernie’s waist. “Well, darling,” she said, silkily as she did, “as you’re so fond of saying, in a trauma situation, you always need a plan B.”
The hand crept steadily up Bernie’s back and buried itself under her hat, pushing it away as fingers reached that tumble of curls. Serena tipped her chin upwards and Bernie gasped as she found herself being yanked forward firmly, their mouths meeting in a forceful kiss.The contrast of heat and cold as they met sent a moan bubbling up from Serena’s throat and she parted her lips, inviting more warmth, more of the silky softness that was Bernie’s lips. She wasn’t disappointed. A hand reached for the back of her neck and they pulled closer enthusiastically. They stayed locked together until wolf whistles from Fletch and Raf broke them apart.
Bernie stumbled backwards, dazed and Serena took the opportunity to take large steps towards her prize. Five feet, two feet, and she was nearly there. Just then, a split second before her fingers grasped the fringe of the scarf, she felt a whoosh of air sweep past her as Bernie lunged forward and grasped it, her hand raised victoriously as she waved at her teammates.
“Clever distraction, sweetheart but you’re forgetting that I’m the one with the commando training. Sorry.” The look on Bernie’s face was far from apologetic as she tucked the slip of fabric into a pocket. She flexed her fingers and winced before pulling her glove off. The initial sting of cold was numbing but that soon passed and she was left with a throbbing pulse, working its way through her ring finger.
Serena was about to fire off a witty response when she noticed the way Bernie’s lips were drawn tight . “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing, really,” Bernie muttered stoically and started to shove her left hand into a pocket only to have it pulled back out, firmly but gently.
“This is going bruise.“ Serena examined the hand, turning it one way then the other. “I will kiss it better when we get home but we should get this off before it starts to swell, darling.” Serena tugged gently, twisting one way, then the other before dislodging the ring off Bernie’s finger. She reached around her neck and fumbled for a moment before finding the clasp to her chain, undoing it carefully and slipping Bernie’s ring on. The bands clinked together as she refastened it before tucking the rings back under her collar.
Serena glanced towards her team and smiled apologetically, barely able to stop herself from grinning smugly when she saw a look of disappointment on Eloise’s face. She turned back towards her wife and tipped her head graciously, acknowledging her defeat. “And yes, you win.” There was the tiniest smirk on her face when she continued. “Which means you’ll have Christmas Eve off. So guess who’ll be doing all the food shopping and preparation for Christmas dinner this year?”
The look of horror on Bernie’s face was one she’d treasure forever.