Of all the times the fire alarm could have gone off, it chose the worst and most awkward time imaginable. You'd just got in from a double shift and hadn't been asleep for more than five minutes when the bloody thing went off.
So now you're stood in the freezing cold car park of your block of flats at 3am, still half asleep as you wait for the fire department to confirm that it was, in fact, 12B burning their toast. Again.
The cold, crisp winter air nips at your legs and you're glad you grabbed your coat on the way out because the air feels like its going to snow soon. You inwardly groan at that.
As much as you like snow, you also hate it. Snow leads to ice and ice leads to injuries and you're already stretched thin enough at work without having to stitch up cuts or set broken bones.
You lean against the wall, let your head rest against the rough brick as you close your eyes. Maybe you can catch a few minutes sleep, because God knows you need it.
"How much longer is this going to take?!" A familiar voice snaps, just as you're about to fall asleep. "We all know there's no bloody fire! I'm freezing, at least let me go and get something proper to wear!".
You look up as you see the cute girl from next door arguing with a fire fighter. That familiar sensation bubbles up in your stomach the way it always does when you see her, but you're too caught up in watching her yell that it takes you a few moments to realise shes wearing nothing but a towel. And a short one at that.
She's not lived next door long, maybe two weeks, and this is her first fire alarm. She's clearly not been warned. Everybody else is decked out in coats and scarves, knowing that yet again, it will be the couple in 12B who burn everything they cook.
The tall blonde woman huffs as she walks away, muttering under her breath as she pushes her way through the crowd. As she gets closer, you notice that her hair is wet and still dripping. She continues to mutter a string of expletives as she passes you to stand in the dark corner, the furthest place away from everybody.
Her damp arm brushes your hand as she passes you and it sends a shiver down your spine. Not because you've got a dumb crush on her... Okay maybe just a little bit, but because of how cold her skin is. You've only ever felt somebody that cold back in medical school when you autopsied a cadaver.
The poor girl is now physically trembling she is that cold, and nobody seems to even care. They're all too busy complaining about what an inconvenience this is to them.
Suddenly, you don't care you've been awake nearly 36 hours. You don't care you're exhausted, or that you have another double shift tomorrow night. It's absolutely freezing and she could get hypothermia, if she hasn't already.
You shrug your coat off as you walk toward her, not even caring about the cold. You have woolly pyjamas on. She literally has nothing.
She looks up at you as you stand beside her, your heart breaking as you notice the blue outline of her lips. You've never been this close to her before, and it's only now that you realise how breathtakingly beautiful she actually is.
"Here," You smile, handing her your jacket. Her deep brown eyes light up at the gesture, but she doesn't take it. "Oh don't be silly" You can't help but scald her. Now really isn't the time. "You're shivering, your lips are blue and any longer and you'll catch hypothermia!".
Although by the shivering, blue lips and pale skin she looks like she's already halfway there.
"T-thanks" she smiles gratefully, reaching out to take the coat from you. Her fingers brush yours in the process and that feeling of dread returns at how cold she is. She wraps the coat tightly around her body. "Y-you live next d-door to me, right?" the blonde asks, her teeth chattering.
"Yes," you nod, holding out your hand for her to shake. It's only now dawning on you that you don't actually know cute blonde girls name. "Serena Campbell"
"Bernie Wolfe" she smiles back at you, sneaking her ice cold hand from out of the coat to shake yours. Her smile is so bloody beautiful that it knocks the wind out of you for a moment.
Bernie coughs, pulling you back to reality. The overwhelming urge to wrap her in your arms and hug her takes over you. How could nobody else care that she was freezing? It angers you, but you're also kind of glad you get to be the one who gave her your coat.
"You must think i'm an idiot" Bernie laughs. Her laugh is deep and hearty and warms you to the very core. "Standing out here in nothing but a towel!"
"What?" You cant help but laugh. The accusation is utterly absurd.
"I'm still on Afghanistan time you see. Over there its morning".
The colour is returning to Bernie's cheeks as she continues to talk. There's something about her voice, it's deep, soothing tone igniting some feelings within you. But you're powerless to do nothing but listen. You feel that she could read the phone book and it would still be beautiful.
She tells you about how she's an ex-army medic and how she's starting a job at Holby City Hospital next week. You're heart speeds up at that little piece of information. You grin and tell her that's where you work too, and you swear you see her face light up with excitement at that.
The more she talks, the more passionate she gets as she's telling you about this one soldier she saved with nothing more than a few scrap bits of material.
The slight crush you had on the cute blonde girl next door has sky rocketed within minutes. You've suddenly got it bad for Bernie. You feel like a love struck teenager.
You're almost sad when you're told the building is safe to re-enter. You don't want to leave Bernie, you would more than happily stay and talk to her, or listen to her talk, all night long.
Although, you do want her to get inside and be warm. You reluctantly make your way inside, Bernie and yourself trailing behind the crowd of tired residents.
She's talking about the army, and your heart is swelling at the pride in her voice. You listen silently all the way back to your floor, and all the way down to the corridor until-
"-Oh shit" Bernie spits, standing outside your doors.
Jesus, shes even more stunning in the light and you wonder, just for a few moments, how somebody can be as beautiful as her. Both inside and out.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, fuck" Bernie groans, pacing the floor in front of you. "I locked my bloody keys in the flat!".
Honestly, you're at a loss of what to do to help her. The only thing you can think of is inviting her inside your own flat and letting her stay till the super gets here to let her in.
"You can wait inside till her manager gets here" You open your door and invite her in. Bernie looks hesitant.
"Really, I wouldn't want to intrude. I've already caused you enough trouble tonight. I'm sure you want to sleep!"
"It's fine. Honestly. It can take hours for him to even show up, so you may as well come inside and have a coffee or something" You shrug, trying to hide the fact that you're excited to spend more time with Bernie.
"Only if you're sure"
"I'm positive, now get inside before the old man from down the hall yells at us for being noisy!".
You tell Bernie to sit on the sofa and make herself comfortable as you duck into your bedroom, pulling out a woolly jumper and some sweats for her to wear. She thanks you again as you hand them to her, asking her if she would like something to drink. Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate? Shiraz? That gets a chuckle out of her as she pulls the jumper over her head.
She's left her mobile in her flat, so you let her use yours to phone the manager as you make some coffee. Bernie growls as she hangs up, informing you that he wont be able to get here till between 10am and 1pm tomorrow. You shrug, tell her it's fine as you sit on the sofa next to her.
Having Bernie here is nice and you wish she would stay forever. Even if she only lives a few meters away, it seems almost too far. She tells you to go to sleep, but you're past the point of sleep now, you're not even tired anymore. Not really.
And besides, sleep would bite into time that could be spent with Bernie. She looks at you sceptically, squinting her eyes as she tries to see if you're lying.
Her hair is drying and is all fluffy and curly and its possibly the most adorable thing you have ever seen.
You stay up talking for a while, chatting about anything and everything. Conversation just seems to flow easily between you. There's no awkward silences. It's nice. Bernie asks about the hospital, whether the people are nice. You can see she's nervous, even if she won't admit it. You tell her that it's a good hospital, and that almost everyone is lovely, that she has nothing to worry about. Also, she needs to make sure she stays on the right side of Jac. Bernie nods at that, like she's making a mental note. But you don't think Bernie would have much trouble defending herself, should she ever need to. She's feisty, that much is evident from the way she yelled at the fire fighters earlier.
It's nice staying up and talking to Bernie, listening to her talk, her melodic laughter filling the room. You're sure that her hearty laugh is your new favourite sound and you will never tire of it.
Oh God, you're like a walking, talking cliche now.
You may as well go the whole hog and say that the room gets brighter whenever Bernie smiles, because it does. You're convinced the woman is actually sunshine.
By now, you're starting to get tired. It's coming on 7am, you're probably going to have to call in sick for work later, but you don't care. Staying up with Bernie is worth it. You yawn and she notices but you shrug it off, trying to distract her with offering to watch a movie, her choice.
She chooses some old black and white film and you pull a blanket over both of you. The film is pretty slow and boring, but Bernie likes it so you push through. You feel your eyelids growing heavier and heavier, and you're losing your battle with sleep. Before you know it, you've dropped off on her shoulder.
Bernie grins, looking down at your sleeping face as she wraps an arm around you and gently pulls you closer to her. Instinctively, your arm reaches out and pulls the body next to you closer as you nuzzle into Bernie's collar bone, dreaming of her. She switches off the movie, gets comfortable and falls asleep with you tucked safely in her arms, not caring if it will be awkward in the morning. She finally has the cute brunette from next door sleeping with her, and nothing else in the world matters.