It Should Have Been You...
Just one more sip. One last taste of the sweet red liquid that had always been their to support her in the drowning of her sorrows. The flavour had been lost a long time ago, it was irrelevant. All that mattered was that it was there, the only thing that was a constant fixture in her life. It was there and for a while it numbed the pain; the pain of watching the man she had always loved marry another woman.
She had met Yvonne a few times, she often wandered around the Ed, waiting for Nick to finish. Occasionally, she would drag Nick to the pub after his shift, for which Zoe was secretly grateful. It meant that while Yvonne socialised with the other staff, Zoe could spend time with the man she wanted to spend all her time with.
Up until the day she had heard the news of their engagement, Zoe had no real problems with Yvonne. She had always assumed that they weren't serious, that she would inevitably win Nick back. But now, Yvonne was taking her place, she was taking the title that Nick had promised would always be hers. Yvonne was going to become Mrs Jordan.
Slouched in her chair at the back of the church, wine clutched firmly in her hands, she watched closely. She studied the chemistry between Nick and his bride. It wasn't obvious- it wasn't even close to what she had shared with Nick. The spark between the two doctors had overtaken everything else, it was overpowering. Now, it had died out. All they had left as far as Zoe understood was a simple boss- employe relationship.
The words of the priest stung in Zoe's ears. It made everything feel so real- she wasn't living a bad dream. It was actually happening- she was loosing Nick all over again.
"Do you, Niccolo Jordan take thee Yvonne Rippon to be your lawfully wedded wife?" That was it. She ran. She ran away from her seat on the back row, dropping the wine as she did. The commotion caught the attention of almost every guest, heads turned to see and icy glares were shot from Yvonne's family and friends.
Nick had only then noticed what everybody was staring at- Zoe was leaving.
"Zoe" he called out, dropping Yvonne's hands.
"If you go after her, don't bother coming back" Yvonne hissed, feeling her blood boil. She of all people, knew that Zoe and Nick still cared for each other, that they always would. Nick ignored her words and ran towards his dark haired beauty. It was like a movie, the clichéd slow motion run. A lump formed in Zoe's throat at the sound of his voice. Concern and care laced it.
"Can we talk?" He asked, his voice quieter now. His arm gripped hers, the firm hold that she was so used to. The firm hold that she had missed. Closing her eyes momentarily, she let him lead her away.
"You going to tell him what's wrong then?" Nick asked, placing his hand on her chin and lifting it so she could look up at him.
"I'm sorry for ruining your big day like that" she whispered, finding herself relax in his presence. The wine had calmed her slightly but not as much as she had hoped.
"You didn't ruin it. If anything you made it bearable." Nick admitted stroking her left cheek, smiling at the sharp intake of breath from her as he did so. Even after all that time they still did unspeakable thins to each other.
"What? It's your wedding day- isn't it supposed to be the happiest day of your life or whatever?" She smiled weakly, rolling her eyes at the expectations of marriage.
"What if I've already had the happiest day of my life?"
"Nick just stop with all these stupid questions, what are you trying to say?" There was an edge of irritation to her voice. When she received no immediate response, she let out a deep sigh and rose to her feet. It wasn't until she had walked a few steps that Nick caught her hand. The rush of belonging and want shocked her as they stayed completely still, hands entwined. The world was slowing down once again.
"The happiest day of my life was the day you stormed into it." He finally admitted. He finally told her what he had wanted to for so many months, so many years.
Zoe span around, no words came to her. She simply sat down beside him, hands still firmly glue together as if the world depended on it. The pleading look in her eyes encouraged him to continue; to open up some more.
"The first time I ever saw you, fretting around in Resus, I knew I wanted you." They both chuckled quietly as the events of that day flooded their minds.
"It's always been the looks that attracted me. Along with your stubborn, head strong personality. Your witty, comments and your cheekiness" again a small chuckle was heard from both Nick and Zoe.
"You know how the groom is supposed to shed a little tear when their bride walks down the aisle?" He continued finding it considerably easier to let his emotions out to Zoe. It was a shame they had left it so long. "I did cry- just a little bit mind. But not when Yvonne walked in, as awful as that sounds. I cried when you walked in. Late as always." He winked towards her as he spoke the last few words. Their usual banter and flirtation hadn't been lost after their breakup.
It was true, Nick had let a small tear fall when she had burst in. Dressed in her usual figure hugging style dress, white this time. Perfectly fitting for the occasion. The flattering sweetheart neckline was scattered with small diamantes that caught the light beautifully. The bronzed goddess look to her skin was evident.
"Yvonne, she um. She seems great" Zoe gulped, attempting to steer the subject away from herself. She couldn't deny that she was pleased by all his compliments but it was the wrong time to be saying them. His wedding day should have been full of compliments towards his bride, not his ex.
"She is. She's almost perfect, she's just not you."
Zoe gulped again, fighting off the tears that threatened to fall. Once again she tried to ignore his comments.
"Have you thought about the future, you know kids and all that?" Her heart was aching at the thought of her Nick Jordan settling down with another woman, and raising children. Children that she would kill to raise with him.
Nick seemed to have snapped out of his trance now and answered her honestly.
"Yvonne can't have children" there was no pain to his voice, not even a change in his eyes. Unlike the rare times when he would speak of Zoe's infertility.
"Not that it matters. There's only woman I've ever wanted children with"
"Nick, please just stop it. You're choosing all the wrong times to tell me all this. It's your wedding day for God's sake!" Her voice shook, and she sniffed back the tears before he could notice them.
"There's no time like the present. I'm sorry I've left it until now to admit all this but I haven't stopped thinking about you, us since, you know. And maybe marrying Yvonne was always going to be a mistake. I'll never know will I, we're not officially married yet and we never will be. But I can tell you this, it didn't feel right at all standing there, promising my life to a woman I barely even know. It should have been you." By the time he had finished, tears stung his own eyes.
"It should have been you. It's always been you"
Thought it would be a good idea to show our favourite couple if Yvonne hadn't have died and her Nick had gotten married (or almost married!) ;) Please let me know what you thought xx