"Do you want the good news or the bad news?"
Surprised, Zoe looked down at her watch. "Are you early for work?"
Falling into step beside her, Max gave a shrug. "Might be. Good news or bad news?"
"Good news."
"Please." Max prompted as he followed Zoe into the staff room.
Rolling her eyes, Zoe unlocked her locker. "Good news, please."
"I'm working today, and I'm bloody gorgeous."
"And the bad news?" Zoe pushed her bag into the locker.
"There's a new female porter who started on Friday, and I think she's in love with me."
"Two days off and I come back to this sort of devastation?" Zoe smiled as she shut the door of her locker.
"I know, but if you need a comforting shoulder, I'm here."
"I'll try and soldier on."
…
An hour later, Zoe looked up from her patient to find a tall, blonde woman with a friendly smile had pushed aside the cubicle. "Did you call for a porter?"
"Ah…yes. Where's Max? He usually-"
"Maxy is on a break, but I know my way around. What do you need me to do?"
Maxy?! Zoe thought to herself. "Nothing, it's fine."
"Are you sure?" The porter offered that smile again.
"Positive."
…
"Afternoon, Maxy." Zoe offered as she pulled a cigarette from his lips.
"You met her then?" Max rested his back against the wall of the building.
"It would have been hard not to with everyone drawing my attention to her."
"I was going to ask you some tips on letting her down gently, but then I remembered you're terrible at that."
Zoe nodded, smiling. "Thanks for that."
"So, what did you do on your weekend off?"
"Do you want the official version, or the real one?"
"Tough choice but I'll hear the official one from Robyn, so you'd better give me the real version."
"I spent it stuck in a hotel trying to block out the noise of the man in the next room snoring or in a room full of old men back slapping each other."
Smiling, Max took the cigarette from her lips. "Sounds like fun. Did you miss me?"
Zoe smiled, turning back to the ED. "Like a hole in the head."
…
"Did someone call to a porter?"
"Are you always so chirpy?" Zoe snapped. When she looked up, she found the new porter looking shocked and Max stood beside her with a wolfish grin.
"…I need you to take this patient to x-ray."
"Please." Max prompted again.
"X-ray, please."
Max nodded, unlocking the trolley.
…
"How do you do that?" Lisa asked as they waited for their patient outside x-ray.
Max looked up from his phone. "Do what?"
"Make Dr Hanna say please. She's been snappy with me all day."
Max smiled and looked down at his phone. "She's a pussy cat when you get to know her."
Max: I hear you've been snappy with Lisa.
Zoe: Who's Lisa?
Max: That tall, blonde, very good looking new porter who seems to have no trouble telling me how highly she thinks of me.
Zoe: Give it time, she's only known you for 4 days. You'll annoy her yet."
When Max smiled down at his phone, Lisa frowned. "Who are you messaging?"
"Oh, just Robyn."
"She's that red head nurse, isn't she? She seems…nice."
"Not really, she's my sister."
"Oh, good! I mean-"
"Mrs Williams! All done? Brilliant." Max slid his phone back into his pocket.
…
"Will you be going for a drink with the team tonight, Max?" Lisa asked hopefully as she watched him pull on his jacket.
"Yes, Max. Will you?" Zoe smiled and got a glare thrown at her for her trouble as she entered the staff room.
"That depends, Lisa, on whether or not Dr Hanna is going, because she owes me a drink."
"I do? And what for?"
"I did warn you several days ago that you'll owe me a pint for every time you forget to say please and thank you."
Lisa watched the exchange with a slight frown on her forehead as Zoe nodded.
"Well, I suppose I'd better come from one then. Wouldn't want to ruin morale."
"I wouldn't worry about doing that, you're a little ray of sunshine."
"Don't push it, Walker."
…
"Dr Hanna, can I ask you a question about Max?"
Zoe frowned and glanced towards Max, looking quickly away when she saw him gazing at her. "If you must."
"Is…Is he single?" Lisa spoke nervously.
Zoe felt a strange sensation in her chest, one she'd felt off and on all day, and realised with dread what it was. Jealousy. She gave a thankful smile when her phone vibrated on the bar.
"Sorry, won't be a minute, I just need to check this in case it's work."
Max: Robyn's just started a game of snog, marry, avoid over here. Is it weird that I would pick you for all three?
Zoe: Why would you want to avoid me?
Max: It's necessary some days, particularly when you wear those pointy shoes and you've have 2 coffees before 10am.
Smirking, Zoe turned to glance at Max again before giving Lisa an apologetic smile. "I'm…not sure, Lisa."
"Oh. Ok. Thanks. Can I buy you a drink?"
"No, I'd better be going."
"No THANK YOU, Lisa." Max spoke from behind the doctor. "I believe that means you owe me another, Dr Hanna, so you'd better stay."
…
"Your turn, Zoe!" Robyn cried.
"Me? No. Thanks, but No."
Max smirked into his drink as his sister begged. "PLEASE? I will make it a really easy one."
Zoe sighed, catching site of Lisa's hand brushing Max's as he put his drink down. "Fine. One."
"Yay! Ok. Snog, Marry, avoid- Dylan, Noel and Max."
"That's an easy one?!"
"We've all answered it."
Zoe sighed, glancing at Max once more. He seemed to be staring intently at her shoes. "Surely the answer to this depends on what sort of day they're having? Because-"
"You're not supposed to think about it, you're just supposed to answer it!" Lisa supplied, giggling and elbowing Max who finally looked up at Zoe. He gave an apologetic smile.
"Enough of embarrassing the boss, guys! We should be heading home or we're all going to regret it in the morning." Max stood, leading to a few sighs and mumbles of agreement.
…
When she reached her car, Zoe wrote and rewrote a message several times before she finally sent it.
Zoe: for the record, I'd pick you for all three as well.
Max: Why would you want to avoid this gorgeous face?"
Zoe hesitated now, staring down at the phone. Before she wrote a reply then regretted it, she locked the phone and was pulling on her seatbelt when there was a knock at the window. With a slight smile, she rolled it down.
"Do I get an answer to that, or are you going to leave me hanging?" Max leant on the door.
Zoe sighed and glanced at her lap before replying, "Because sometimes you… make me feel too much."
After a long silence, she looked up at Max and found him watching her with a soft smile. "And that's a bad thing? Zoe, you-"
"I need to go, Max."
His smile slowly faded and he nodded before stepping back from the car.
"…Today, I would have chosen the snog option. Let's see what tomorrow brings."
Zoe smiled when she saw Max's wolfish grin return. She adored that grin, and that in itself worried Zoe.