"The usual, Zoe?" The waitor asked the nurse, who always went to the cafe early in the morning.
"Yes, please. Im running late, so i'm going to need a take out." She replied.
"No problem." He said, as he set to work making her Latte with milk and one sugar. "That will be £1.50."
"Here." Zoe said, giving the waitor the money, and he handed over her coffee.
"There you go." He said, smiling at his regular customer.
"Thanks." She smiled back, and turned to walk out the cafe.

Zoe only lived a few minutes walk away from the hospital where she worked, and she had her own coffee supply at home. But this coffee, from the cafe round the corner, was the best she had ever tasted.

Rounding the corner that gave her view to the ED entrance, she tripped up on one of the concrete slabs that had snapped half way through. Some of the coffee had got out of the hole in the lid, and just Zoes luck, had gone onto her new shoes.
"Darn it." She muttered, and tried to get a tissue out of her bag without spilling any more. She found this a hard task, but then noticed a man standing against the wall next to her. "Excuse me? Could you please hold this for one second?"
"Sure." He said in his low, gruff voice.
"Thank you." Zoe said, reaching into her bag with two hands, and pulled out a few tissues. What she didn't see, however, was the man slipping something into her drink as she bent down to fix her shoes. "Thank you so much." She said to the man, taking back her problem.
"Its fine." He said, and watched her walk away. "Enjoy your drink!" He shouted, making Zoe turn around.
"Uh, thanks." She shouted back. What a weird thing for a stranger to say...

She took more sips of her coffee as she walked into the ED, finishing it by the time she got to the staff room. She put everything into her locker, and walking into the reception to get to work.
"Zoe..." Nick called out. "You're late."
"I know... Im sorry." She said, trying to focus on his face, as it was quite hard all of a sudden.
"Are you alright?" He asked his girlfriend.
"Yeah! Fine." Zoe said, and reached up to kiss him. "Sorry Im late."
"Its fine." He said, looking at her eyes, not believing she was fine. "Are you sure you are alright?"
"Yeah, why?" She lied. She began to feel... almost drunk? No. She didn't drink.
"Your eyes are a little bit glassed over." Nick said, looking closer.
"Nick, Im fine, really." She said, and to her horror, the words came out slightly slurred. She turned and walked away from Nick.
"Zoe." He called after her.
"Got to get to work now! Sorry!" She called back, and rushed into cubicles to get to work with Staff Nurse Andrews.

"Hey Zoe."
"Hey." She replied, trying really hard not to slur her words, but it was really hard, and she failed to do so.
"Whats up?" Linda asked.
"Oh, nothing." She slurred.
"Are you alright?" Linda asked. "You are slurring your words." So it was noticable...
"Im fine." Zoe said, noticing she had a really bad headache, and her vision was begining to blur.
"Are you sure? Your eyes are-"
"Glassy. I know. Nick told me." Zoe said, and she turned her face away from Linda and winced, so that the staff nurse would not see.
"But you feel okay?" She asked.
"Yes. Fine." Zoe replied, turning back and putting on a smile. Linda wasn't convinced.

Zoe all of a sudden felt strange. She felt like she had had more drinks than she could handle. She rushed to the girls toilets and threw up most of her coffee. She wiped her mouth and looked in the mirror. She could see more than one of herself now. This was not good.

She walked out, and ran into the staff room, opened her locker and took out the bottle of water she bought with her. She gulped down half of it, but it didn't make her feel any better. If anything it make her feel worse. She felt really light headed all of a sudden.
"Zoe?" Someone walked in. Zoe turned around to see who it was.
"Yeah?" She said.
"Whats going on?" He asked.
"Nothing." She slurred.
"You're acting like you're drunk..." Nick smiled at her, and looked at her.
"Im not." She said, trying to focus on one of him.
"Then whats wrong?" Nick said, holding her face still so he could see straight into her eyes.
"I don't know." She whispered, scared because her dizziness increased, and she could see darkness on the edge of her vision. It gradually caved in.
"Zoe? Zoe!" Nick called, as she saw his face disappear into the darkness and she felt herself fall sideways. "ZOE?"

"Can I get some help in here please!" Nick called into the reception area, before rushing back to his girlfriend.
"Zoe? Zoe can you hear me?" He asked, and lifted open her eyelids and shined in a torch. "Her pupils are slightly dilated." He said to Linda, Tess and Lenny who came in to help.
"Has she taken anything?" Tess asked, bending down to feel Zoe's pulse. "Pulse is slightly lower than normal..."
"She hasn't taken anything that I am aware of..." Nick said, trying to be professional and not show his worry.
"Okay, lets get a trolley in here." Linda said, and left to room to get one. She brought it in, and put it next to Zoe.
"Lift in one, two, three." Tess said, as Lenny, Nick, and herself lifted Zoe onto the trolley that Linda was holding steady.
"Lets take her to resus." Lenny said, as they began to wheel her out of the staff room.

"Pupils are still slightly dilated. Now been out for three minutes." Tess said.
"Can I get a line in?" Nick asked, and Linda came to carry out his request. "Get some fluids in her."
"You said you thought she had taken something?" Lenny said to Tess.
"I suspected it, yes." She nodded. "Why?"
"She probably wouldn't have taken it that long ago. If we can get a urine sample, we can see if there is anything there..." Lenny suggested, before they heard a groan coming from the bed.
"Nick?" Zoe whispered, as she opened her eyes slightly. "Nick?"
"Yes, Im here." He said, putting his hand on her head and stroking her forehead with his thumb.
"Whats going on?" She slurred still.
"How long has her speech been like that?" Tess asked.
"You collapsed, sweetie." Nick said to Zoe.
"She sounded a bit like that earlier in cubicles, but she insisted that nothing was wrong." Linda told them.
"I think we do as Lenny suggested." Tess said. "It sounds as if she has taken something."
"Yes, I agree." Nick said, turning his attention to Zoe. "Zoe, darling, did you take anything this morning before coming to work?"
"No. Just coffee." She said, only just remembering going to the coffee shop.
"Just coffee?" He asked.
"Just coffee." She repeated.
"Okay, maybe we do blood and urine samples." Nick said, getting a vile from one of the draws and putting a needle into Zoes arm.
"Ouch." She moaned, sleepily.
"Its alright." Nick comforted her. "Just getting a blood sample."
"Kay." She said, closing her eyes again.
"Get some rest." Nick said after finishing the blood sample, and held Zoes hand for a while. "Linda can you get these bloods checked?"
"Sure." Linda said, taking the viles from Nick, and leaving Tess, Nick and Lenny there to think of another way to figure this out.
"She said she had coffee?" Lenny said.
"Yeah, she always gets it early in the morning from that shop round the corner." Nick said. "She hasn't ever had a problem with it before."
"Maybe it was a one off?" Tess said.
"This is strange." Nick said, looking at Zoe, who was now peacefully sleeping.
"Well, lets just wait for Linda to get back with the results of the bloods. Tess, can you get a urine sample?"
"Sure." She said, as Nick took one more look at Zoe, and then went to go and find Linda.

Nick found Linda walking back up the stairs as he was walking down.
"Anything?" Nick said, turning around to follow Linda.
"No. It came back clear." Linda said, confused.
"I guess we are relying on the urine test then." Nick said, as they reached resus.

"Tess, how long until urine tests come back?" Nick asked.
"They said at least an hour." Tess replied.
"An hour?"
"Yes."
"Okay." Nick said, and took a seat next to Zoe who was still sleeping. Some of her hair was stuck to her forehead so Nick moved it out of the way. He smiled when Zoe smiled in her sleep.

An hour later, Tess came back in with the results.
"Did anything show up?"
"Yes." Tess grimaced. "Rohypnol."
"Rohypnol?" Nick asked, shocked. "Where do you think she got that!"
"The only thing I can think of is the coffee." Tess replied, and they heard a shuffling behind her.
"I think I know who it was." Zoe whispered.
"You do?" Nick went and sat next to her again, holding her hand.
"Yeah." She said. "I think I got coffee on my shoes earlier and I asked this man to hold my coffee while I got it off."
"And you think he put something in your drink?"
"I don't know. I can't remember." Zoe shook her head, now waking up a bit. Her speech wasn't as slurred anymore.
"Well, the effects of the drug will wear off in a few hours." Tess told Zoe. "We are keeping the fluids in you, to hopefully flush most of it out quickly."
"Thanks Tess." Zoe said.
"Its no problem. Feel better." She said, before leaving Nick and Zoe alone.

"I got rohypnoled." Zoe smiled, and chuckled.
"Its not funny, you know." Nick smiled at his laughing wife. She quietened down a little. "You scared me."
"Did I?" Zoe said, turning to look at Nick with her still glassy eyes.
"Yes." Nick said. "You collapsed onto me in the staff room."
"I did?" Zoe said. "I can't remember."
"Im not surprised." He shook his head. "Rohypnol gives you amnesia."
"I know." Zoe said, trying hard to remember.
"Look, rest some more." Nick said, kissing her on the forehead.
"Okay." Zoe said, turning to face him and she closed her eyes.
"I love you Nick."
"I love you too." He said. "Now sleep."
"Kay." She said, before drifting into dreams.