Carrying on from: 07/02/2015
Re-fuled and Ready for Take Off.
"Get in the car!"
Zoe gave a quick glance over her shoulder to the hospital entrance, watching...waiting for someone to catch them.
"Alright! I'm not a fugitive, hold on..."
He paused, holding the passenger door open.
"...would you rather I got in the boot?"
He asked and she expelled a sigh of frustration, though she smiled nonetheless.
"The front seat is fine."
She murmured, gesturing with a hand for him to hurry up, and she opened her own door and adjusted herself in the drivers seat, glancing again to the main entrance as Max clamoured in next to her and pulled his seat belt across, clicking it firmly into place.
She started the engine.
"Now what?"
He asked as she reversed from her parking space, making sure not to clip Connie's car as she turned.
"We can't go back to mine."
He added and she turned onto the roundabout, her shoulders visibly relaxing as they left hospital premises.
"We'll go back to the boat. Dylan won't be back until late."
She said, changing gear and glancing in her rear view mirror as they left the roundabout and headed down to the marina.
"Are you sure he won't mind?"
Max asked, watching the other cars as they passed them by,
Zoe adjusted herself in the seat slightly and watched for a break in the traffic so that she could turn off into the little road leading down to the boats.
"Why would he mind?"
She murmured, not quite paying attention to him as she pulled away quickly and entered the grit speckled track.
The car bumped and spattered pebbles from it's wheels as they moved.
"I got the impression he didn't like me very much."
Max said and Zoe glanced across at him, feeling the sudden lurch of realisation that he was actually there...
"He's not really a people person."
She said quietly and looked back to the road. She felt her breath quicken, she could feel her pulse in her throat and she swallowed hard against it. She'd given in to him, she realised. But try as she might she couldn't pretend that she regretted it, though the threat of their relationship becoming common knowledge still niggled somewhere at the back of her mind.
She parked and drew in a breath through parted lips, taking a moment before she looked across at him.
"Ready?"
She asked, and he narrowed his eyes, his lips curled at the corners with the ghost of a smile.
"Are you asking me, or yourself?"
He asked quietly and she looked down at her hands.
"Are you having second thoughts already?"
He asked when she failed to say anything, and she smiled slightly and glanced up.
"No."
She whispered, and sighed.
"No..."
She said again, and she pulled on the handle of the door, opening it.
"Coming?"
She asked, and stepped out onto the gravel of the small car park.
He moved around the front of the car to where she stood. They could see the boat from here, could hear the gentle tap-tapping of the masts and the call of hungry sea gulls that landed clumsily on the nearby wall.
"Feel a bit weird..."
Max whispered as they approached the boat.
Zoe fished for her keys in her bag, bringing them out with a clatter.
"It's fine..."
Zoe stepped onto the walkway just as the door of the boat opened to reveal Dylan. He was buttoning up his coat with one hand, the other grasped a lead, and Dervla gave a yelp of excitement as she caught sight of Zoe, wagging her tail and nudging Dylan with her nose.
"Hello."
He said, looking from Zoe to Max, his face expressionless.
"I thought you were staying late with the inspection team?"
Zoe asked, pushing the keys she held back into her bag.
Dylan finished buttoning up his coat and made his way down the walk way so that Zoe had to back down it to let him passed.
"What's Mark doing here?"
He asked, ignoring her question.
"Max."
She murmured and he looked back to Max who tensed at her side.
"What's Max doing here?"
He repeated.
Zoe rubbed her thumb and forefinger across her forehead.
"We just needed somewhere to talk..."
She said, tucking her hair behind one ear.
"I demonstrated my undying love for her through the means of smoking paraphernalia."
Max added, speaking before he really meant to, and Dylan drew in a slow, slightly bored sigh.
"I see."
He said, and looked pointedly to Zoe who smiled slightly.
"Well. No smoking on the boat."
He said and swapped the lead from one hand to the other.
"I won't be long."
He added, and walked away without a backward glance, Dervla trotting along dutifully behind him.
Zoe watched him go before returning to the walk way, and Max followed her, ducking his head to move through the low door into the main body of the boat.
She placed her bag down on one of the kitchen counters and turned to face Max, who stood, hands in his pockets looking about the tiny room, his gaze wandering over the boarded ceiling before finally coming to a rest on her.
She smiled slightly nervously and exhaled a brief, breathy laugh.
"I can't think of anything to say."
She said eventually, and he removed his hands from his pockets and took a step towards her. Gone was the confident Zoe that had kissed him in the day light, outside of the hospital entrance...now that they were alone, she seemed to have been replaced by a much more nervous self.
"Come here."
He whispered, and took her gently by the arms, drawing her close to him so that she had to look up to see him properly.
"We don't have to talk now."
He said, and moved a hand to push a stray hair from her eyes, slipping it behind her ear and looking down at her, his fingers just touching her jaw.
"You know I love you."
He whispered and she felt her cheeks flush. She could smell him, could feel his chest against her own, the soft rise and fall of it as he breathed...
"I know."
She nodded, her voice so quiet it was barely heard and she looked back up at him.
"I'm sorry I've never said it back."
She whispered and he drew up his shoulders, smiling slightly.
"I can wait."
He touched his forehead to hers and she drew in a breath, looking back at him, her eyes taking a moment to focus on how close he was.
"I think you've waited long enough..."
She murmured and she felt him raise an eyebrow.
"Some might say it was perseverance...others might say stalking..."
He mused and she laughed silently.
"I've missed this."
She breathed, resting her hands on his chest, feeling how solid and reassuringly unmoving he was.
"I've missed you..."
She added and she raised a hand to touch a finger against his lips. He placed a kiss at her finger tip and brushed his lips back and forth against it whilst she watched, transfixed by the blue of his eyes, by the twitch of a smile at his mouth...
"I love you..."
She whispered and she felt him exhale, his breath against her face.
"Always have done. Always will."
I've never written a one shot before. I only discovered what they were a couple of days ago, but thought I'd give one a go as I found myself imagining what happened after the kiss at the end of the last episode.
Hopefully someone will enjoy having a read of it! Let me know in the reviews if you do. Thank you in advance xxx