Lifting a single foot out of the car, the cold breeze whirling around his barely visible ankle is what distracted his attention the most. It felt oh so different to the climate he had been used to for the past 18 months; temperatures of over 25 degrees daily, making shorts perfectly acceptable attire all year round. Yet somehow, the unfamiliar coldness felt homely and welcoming, after all this time he was glad to be finally back on British soil; back where he belonged. Locking up his car he strolled confidently across the car park, his eyes looking up and taking in the building before him - Holby City Hospital. He had missed this place, more than he could ever have imagined. Michigan had been great, more than great, but it wasn't and never would be Holby. He was finally back home, back in his domain and back for the one thing that he needed the most. The only one thing that had been on his mind since the moment he left; not leaving his thoughts from the moment he woke up until the moment he fell asleep.
Sauntering across the department, the atmosphere felt considerably welcoming to him, the familiar sterile hospital smell and the fretting group of patients clogging up reception - he was home and it had never felt more right. The familiar sound of heels soon caught his attention, his eyes widening as he turned around. Some things never changed.
"Nick" Zoe gasped, her breath catching as she caught sight of him, subconsciously she walked faster, turning into a slight run as she eagerly rushed over to him "Oh my god, Nick" She gushed, flinging her arms around his neck as he pulled her into a much awaited hug. Her fingers clutched tightly to the back of his shirt as she held him, her head resting on his shoulder as she inhaled his all so familiar scent, savoring the moment as his hands ran up and down her back, allowing herself to relax instantly at his touch. It had been 18 months since she had last seen him, 18 long months since he had held her in his arms like this and it was still there, stronger than ever - the swirl of butterflies in her tummy and the goosebumps across her entire body at the feeling of being held by him. She lifted her head to look at him "I can't believe it's you" She breathed, barely audible as she ran her fingers across the back of his head, her nails raking through the hair she found at the small of his neck. Her eyes locked with his as he mirrored her actions, his hands reaching up and tenderly cupping the base of her skull, his fingers running through the end of her silky brown hair.
"I've missed you" He breathed, resting his forehead against hers "Can we go somewhere and talk?" He whispered softly, consciously sensing the gathering crowd and eyes burning into them as they both got lost in the moment together.
"Of course" She whispered, eyes remaining locked with his as she reluctantly loosened her grip from around his neck "follow me" She instructed, taking his hand and leading him to her new office which she had just been appointed due to Connie's acceptance of Clinical Lead.
"I can see your love for shoes hasn't died" Nick chuckled as she led him into the room, his eyes instantly clocking the stack of shoe boxes sat at the back of the room "what's this, your spare office?" He asked, watching her every move as she slid onto the edge of the cluttered desk.
She let a small smile escape her lips as he wandered over to her, his hands resting against her hips as he stood between her legs. He could sense that she was nervous as she exhaled deeply "Not exactly" She sighed "I'm not Clinical Lead any more Nick" She admitted in barely a whisper, her eyes looking up to meet him as her hands moved to rest on top of his. She felt as though she had let him down, the one thing that he had trusted her with and she had let it go.
"Oh Zoe" He breathed, tenderly tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, tracing the outline of her jaw with a single finger as he found himself completely lost in her deep brown eyes once again, "I don't care about that" He softly reassured her, recognising her look of disappointment over the matter, "I didn't come back for the department, I came back for you"
"Nick, don't" Her breath caught as she tried to hold back her tears, "don't do this" She shook her head as he opened his mouth to speak.
"I realised something being away for so long" He began, ignoring her rejection for him to continue "even after all this time, your still the one I want" He admitted, moving closer until his body was pressed against hers, his hands moving up and down the side of her body as his grip on her hips tightened "you're all I thought about, you've always been the one I've thought about" He whispered as he rested his forehead against hers, he could see the tears beginning to form in her eyes already, but he wasn't going to stop until she knew the truth of how he felt, "from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to sleep, you're all I ever think about it, and I couldn't go on any longer, I want you back in my life..." He proposed "...for good"
"You always do this" She sighed, a single tear escaping and rolling down her cheek. He cupped her face in the palm of his hands as he lifted his head to look at her. "You always mess with my feelings" She exhaled deeply "It's taken me years to finally get over you Nick" She admitted "My life was starting to go somewhere again and then you waltz back in and expect me to fall back into your arms again" She took a moment to catch her breath "You know that you're the love of my life and you take advantage, as soon as you're feeling lonely you come crawling back to me, I'm sick of being used by you" She continued to rant as she let all of her emotions out, the tears continuing to fall down her face as she did so.
"Zoe, you know that's not true at all" He sighed, wiping away her falling tears with the pads of his thumbs. Leaving Zoe was the worst mistake he had ever made in his life, and he knew that, he admitted that he had let her down in the past, but he had come back to change that. "You know how much I love you" He spoke softly, moving his face closer to hers.
"But not enough to stay with me" She drew in a deep intake of breath in an attempt to fight back the continuing tears, "you're never going to be the settling down type Nick, everything's just fun and games with you isn't it?" She rhetorically asked, her anger and sadness evident as she tried to remain calm, "you are the man of my dreams and you know that I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you" She admitted "but you're Nick Jordan, you're not that type of guy, so, I've learnt to deal with it" She sighed "now will you just go back to Michigan, because I'm happy" She shouted through gritted teeth, trying to pull away from his grasp.
"For once in your life will you just shut up and listen to me?" He demanded, his grip on her body becoming tighter as he stopped her from fighting back. He was more than used to fighting with her, when they first met they would argue day in day out about silly little things, it was what attracted them to each other the most; their way of hiding their true emotions to each other. But he wasn't go to retaliate to her this time, he didn't want to fight anymore, he wanted her to know the truth and he wanted to look after her, "I'm not going back and I'm not going anywhere without you" He firmly told her, "I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to be the one to make you happy, the one you wake up next to every morning and the one who kisses you goodnight. I want to look after you and take you out for meals and I want you on my arm in public, because nothing would make me prouder than being with you" He felt a lump forming in his throat as her tearful eyes burned into his.
"How can I know you mean it this time?" She asked in barely a whisper, wiping the tears from her face.
"because I want you to be Mrs Jordan" He softly replied, his hands moving back to cup her face. Looking into her eyes he could see his desire mirrored in hers, taking the biggest chance he could make, he lowered his head forward, his lips brushing against hers as he placed a soft and gentle kiss against her lips, turning into a full blown kiss full of passion as she responded by wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. It had been almost 4 years since he had kissed her like that, 4 long years that they had both longed for and the feelings were rushing back to the both of them faster than ever in those split seconds that their lips were joined. "I mean it" Nick breathed against her lips as he pulled away momentarily "I will buy you the biggest rock this time, we can get married as soon as you want and buy a nice house" He proposed "but I can't go on living without you Zoe, I need you in my life" He admitted, returning his lips back to hers, the tip of his tongue caressing her lips as she parted them just a fraction, her arms stretching to pull him closer towards her in the heat of the moment.
"What are you waiting for then?" She asked, teasingly jumping off the edge of the desk and sliding away from his arms. She knew she had him right where she wanted him and she loved teasing him to the point where he couldn't take it anymore, "haven't you got a rock to go and buy?" She winked as she turned back to look at him over her shoulder.
"Come here you" He grinned, lifting her up as she jumped into his arms, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist as he carried her back over to the desk "I love you Mrs Jordan" He moaned against her lips as he lay her back on the now empty desk.
"I'm not Mrs Jordan just yet" She teased, a smile dancing on her lips "but it does have a nice ring to it" She pushed his jacket from his shoulders, not wanting to wait a moment longer as he hitched her skirt up to gather at her hips.
"Let's go away for a while" Zoe suggested, fastening the buttons on her shirt back up "just me and you, I need a break from Holby and I think we've got a lot of catching up to do" She smiled as she watched him smarten out his tie. "You never did take me to Rome.." She subtly hinted.
"Rome it is, I will make some calls" He placed a gentle kiss on her lips as he wandered back over to her, "Now go and do what you do best" He mumbled, ushering her back to work. As she walked away he drew his hand back, smacking her bum as she teasingly waggled her hips.
"Don't..." She protested as she saw exactly what he was about to do, "...Do that" She took an intake of breath as she felt the palm of his hand against her.
"it's mine now, you're mine" He whispered in her ear as he placed teasing kisses to the back of her neck "I love you, now go, I've got a little surprise for you later" He continued to tease.
"little being the operative word" Zoe joked, as she went to open the door.
"you are cheeky" He shook his head as he chuckled at her, "I don't think you realise you're in for the best night of your life" He winked, knowing exactly what it did to her; it was her ultimate weakness. One single wink and he always had her falling at his feet, "now go before you're summoned" He smiled, lightly pushing her out of the door as he closed it behind her. Reaching over to the phone as he went to organise their soon to be trip to Rome and long awaited Wedding that needed to be organised. After all this time, he had finally gotten the girl of his dreams back and once again, Zoe Hanna had not been able to resist the love of her life. Truth was, they couldn't stay away from each other, one look from the other had them both weak at the knees. They belonged together, and that was exactly how it was going to be. Mr and Mrs Jordan against the world once again.