Berena Advent 2024
Day 7 - Fruitcake
Bernie suddenly wakes up in a huge double bed that was extremely comfortable and smelt divine. Obviously she wasn’t in the room she’d been allocated, it didn’t smell like her hospital room on base either, then she noticed a devastatingly stunning woman with grey hair who was sitting in a chair by the window reading a book, she thought it was probably a nurse sent to watch over her.
‘What….. what am I doing here?’
Serena looked up at her and raised her eyebrows in her usual joking manner, thinking Bernie is joking around and informing her that:
‘You only had to ask me if you’d wanted to get back into my bed Major, you didn’t have to go collapsing in Reception in order to get in here. Your children were completely devastated by what happened downstairs, they think that all their questioning brought this about and have gone home to regroup, don’t worry they’re coming back to see you tomorrow.’
‘Oh no, I collapsed? Where was I? How do you know I am a Major? How do you know my children? Are you my nurse?’
The questions kept on coming, the blonde just closed her eyes then placed her left forearm over her face while groaning and complaining about a tension headache starting.
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Serena felt as if she had been hit by a sledgehammer right in the middle of her chest, she was devastated that Bernie had relapsed and didn’t recognise her. She sat back down, exhaling harshly and just stared out of the window into the distance, the next thing she remembers was coming back into the room from the sound of the woman in the bed snoring loudly.
Her mobile beeped receiving an incoming message, checking it she noticed it was from Charlie. A wave of relief washed over her that it wasn’t Cameron because the boy was as selfish as his father and it’d be all about him and how his mother’s illness was affecting him. Charlie is a completely different kettle of fish, she was more empathetic than the rest of Bernie’s family.
Serena explained her mother’s behaviour towards her and she thought Bernie was playing at being a fruitcake teasing her initially but now she realised she has had a relapse. They just hope that after she’s had a good sleep she will hopefully be back to how she was before the collapse.
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Serena had just come off the phone to Max the Lead Consultant in Neuro at Holby she’d given some insight into what Bernie’s brain is going through and experiencing and how she’s feeling about it. Once she wakes up Serena is to act as if nothing else is going on and treating her as she has been doing for the past two days, knowing how difficult it would be for herself when Bernie doesn’t remember her or respond as she did earlier. As a doctor she knows it’s not all about her or the kids, it’s most certainly all about the love of her life who’s been returned to her safe and mostly sound.
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Bernie was tossing around in the bed, she was having the loveliest dream about her past in Holby before something happened and she’d left and returned to the Army and Africa. Always lingering in the background was a beauty that took her breath away and caused her heart to race in her dreams, thoughts or real life.
She shot awake, sitting up and shouting out:
“Serena.”