Okay, so in this fanfic Max is a bit evil and Zoe's struggling with everything. This was an idea that came into my head after trying to realise why Zoe loses her role as Clinical Lead.

Zoe pulled up in her usual reserved parking space, she sighed as she saw Connie's car parked next to hers. Things had became difficult in the ED since Connie arrived, Zoe has been slowly loosing her authority and which she wasn't happy with she's still clinical lead after all, but she had a feeling things were going to get a whole lot worse.

Zoe rested her head on the head rest of her car seat as her mind began to wonder. Many things crossed her mind, Connie and Max in particular. She and Max had been seeing each other for a while now, but Zoe was starting to have doubts. She knew they weren't serious, I mean a doctor and a porter? Max on the other hand was getting too involved, he texted her near enough all day every day, now Zoe didn't mind this, it was what was in the messages; he'd ask her what she's up to, where she is and most of all, who she's with.

The sex, laughter and general friendship was great but Zoe didn't want anything more. Her thoughts moved on to maybe it's because of her mucking about with Max that she's letting the ED slip from her fingers into the ice queens hands? That was it. Grabbing her phone and throwing it into her bag she realised she has to 'break up' with Max and focus on her department, she wasn't going to lose, not to Connie Beauchamp. Sighing out of stress she stepped out of her black Audi and headed towards the ED.

After placing her belongings in her now joint office she grabbed her stethoscope, adjusted her dress and began the day.

"Morning" Ash said to Zoe cheerfully after they accidentally bumped into each other. These two got a long great, they worked brilliantly together and there's an obvious attraction between them.

"Morning" Zoe replied with less enthusiasm.

"Everything okay?" He asked carefully, but genuinely concerned.

"Yes" She half heartedly smiled. Ash knew could see that she wasn't 'okay'. He raised both eyebrows as a silent way of telling her he knew there was something wrong.

"No" Zoe confessed "No, I'm not 'okay', far from it" She continued, looking at the floor. She hated showing vulnerability but couldn't keep faking her smile.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Ash asked, worried about his colleague and closest friend. Zoe was a little taken back by this, they never really spoke about their feelings to each other but always went out for drinks and dinner. She paused for a second, contemplating whether or not to tell him about the whole Max situation, then realised telling him in the middle of a corridor wasn't the greatest of ideas.

Not wanting to seem ungrateful for Ash's friendship and concern she replied with "Maybe later, right now I need to sort something out. Do you know where Max is?".

"He's on a break I think" Ash answered. Zoe knew exactly where Max would be, she thanked Ash for his chat and help then headed towards 'Max's cupboard'.

Before entering she took a deep breath in, grabbed the door handle and let herself in.

"Oh, just let yourself in why don't you" Max sarcastically sang as Zoe closed the door and perched on the table. She avoided eye contact with him making him know straight away that something was wrong. Zoe had a churning sensation in her stomach, she didn't know how he would react to this, she was hoping he'd agree then that would be the end of it.

"And what do I owe this pleasure?" he smirked.

"Not sure. If I'm honest, I don't know why I'm here" She lied, she knew exactly why she was here, to tell him it was over.

"Are you sure it's not for a repeat performance of the other day?" he asked, smirking as he reminisced about them having sex in this exact room, how they nearly got caught gave everything a bit more thrill. He stood up and started to make his way over to Zoe, who was still not making eye contact with him.

All of a sudden a shot of adrenaline, fire and determination pumped through her, she's Zoe Hanna for God's sake, not scared of anyone or anything. She stood up, face to face with Max, eyes firmly locked onto his and began to speak.

"Actually I know perfectly why I'm here, and no it's not for a 'repeat performance', it's to say we're over."

Max's face dropped in shock, things had been going great between them, why was she doing this?

"I really am sorry but I need to focus on the ED, I've got Guy breathing down my neck all of the time, and if it's not Guy it's his sidekick." She paused after arguing her case, realising he was taking this considerably well. "I just need to keep my mind in this department" she continued "Connie's been sniffing around my job before she even set foot into the ED, I'm not going to give her or Guy, or in fact anyone the satisfaction of her taking MY job." Before walking away Max grabbed her arm to stop her.

"So what, it's over between us?" He asked, still taken back by it all.

"Well yeah, that's what I just said." She pulled her arm away from his grip.

"Fine, obviously this stupid ED is more important than me" Max hissed.

"Of course it is, this is my department, my responsibility" She hissed back.

After an awkward moment of silence between them Max spoke. "We're still mates though, yeah?"

"If that's what you want as well, you're a great guy Max, just not for me"

After calling a truce and deciding to be friends Zoe headed back to her office. Max stood in the cupboard staring into space, daydreaming about how he was going to ruin Zoe. There wasn't a chance in hell that she was going to dump him for this stupid place, he needed a way to teach her a lesson and that began with finding Connie.

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