Zoe didn't sleep incredibly well that night as she was looking forward to the morning. However, she managed to drift off, and soon enough the sound of her alarm woke her. She had never felt so happy to be getting out of bed, and therefore she got up and dressed earlier than she would have any normal day.
She went downstairs to get her usual morning coffee, and sat down at the table and thought about last night.
Then it hit her. She was going to be late. She had left her car at work the previous night, so she was going to be late despite her hardest efforts not to be.
"Crap." She muttered to herself and started to down her coffee when she heard a knock at the door. She was a little hesitant to answer as no one ever knocked on her door this early.
She got up, slowly made her way up to the door and opened it, surprised to see Darren there. She smiled.
"Hey." She said, looking at him. It was raining outside.
"Hey." He replied. "I thought you could use a lift to work considering I made you leave your car behind." He smiled.
"Thank you that would be great." Zoe said. "Come in for a minute. You're getting soaked."
"Thanks." He replied and walked into her house. She shut the door behind him and smiled to herself.
"Nice place." He said, looking around. "Very tidy."
"I like it tidy." Zoe explained. "Can't stand mess. With mess comes spiders." Darren laughed.
"True." He smiled and looked around.
"I'll just go and get my bag then we can go." Zoe smiled and ran upstairs to get it.
"Ready?" Darren asked as she came down the stairs.
"Sure." Zoe said and slipped on her heels. She opened the door and let him out before locking the door herself.
Darren went round to the passenger side of the door and let her in before getting in and starting the car. They soon got chatting as he drove.
"You look great." Darren said, trying to make conversation.
"You really think so?" She asked. She could feel herself blushing again.
"Yes." He smiled but kept his eyes on the road.
"You're not too bad yourself." Zoe smiled. "Thats a nice suit."
"Thank you." Darren replied, and they fell into silence.
Zoe was thinking about him as the silence continued. He was really nice, handsome, and about her aged. He was complimenting her, and she was complimenting him. Maybe this could go somewhere.
"Did you know that you are extremely good looking?" She said without thinking, and he smiled. "Sorry. It kind of just came out."
"Don't worry it's fine." He smiled as he saw she was embarrassed. "I was thinking the same about you. I don't mean handsome, but beautiful. Stunning."
This made Zoe melt inside. They both thought each other were attractive, and she really thought she was falling for him. But before they could continue their conversation, they had arrived. Zoe felt disappointed at this.
"We had better get inside." Darren said.
"Yeah we don't want to be late." Zoe smiled before opening the door and letting herself out.
"So, i'll see you around the E.D then today?" Darren asked. Zoe thought he sounded hopeful and she nodded.
"Maybe you can come and give me a hand in resus." She asked, and he smiled.
"That would be nice." He replied and Zoe smiled as they walked in together.
Zoe had shown Darren to his office, and she had left to go to the staff room. The first thing she saw was Linda smirking, wanting to know all about the night before.
"So, what happened last night after you both left?" Linda asked, eager to know.
"Nothing. Really." Zoe said. Sometimes Linda could be really annoying, but Zoe knew she wanted gossip.
"Come on, spill." She pressed on.
"Really Linda nothing happened!" Zoe said, raising her voice. "He took me home, and then went home again."
"Then why did he drive you to work this morning?" Linda asked.
"Because I left my car here last night so he gave me a lift! We didn't sleep together if that was what you wanted to know."
"I didn't say that." Linda told her.
"No but you wanted to here it didn't you?" Zoe sighed. "Mind your own business next time okay?"
"Sorry I just wanted to know." Linda said.
"I know." Zoe could sense that she had upset her. "I'm sorry for being snappy. Its just that if I wanted you to know, i'd tell you."
With that, Zoe had been paged and had to leave the room as an RTC was coming in. She met Darren on the way in.
"Nice to see you Doctor Hanna." He smiled as the both entered.
"Nice to see you too Mr Thomas." Zoe grinned and rushed into Doctor mode.
"Guys we got this one!" Sam said, as she worked with Tess and Linda. "Could you both look after the next one that shouls be coming in about two minutes?"
"Sure." Zoe replied. "We will go and meet them outside."
Zoe and Darren both rushed outside.
"They will probably be another minute or so." Darren said, looking at his watch.
"Yeah. The ETA is never very accurate." Zoe explained and rubbed her hands together as it was cold out.
"Cold?" He asked her and she nodded.
"My hands mostly." She laughed.
"Have you ever heard the saying 'Cold hands warm heart?'" He asked her, and she shook her head.
"No." She smiled as he took her hands and put them in his. They were very warm.
"Better?" He asked, and she was almost speechless. She looked up at him and into his eyes.
"Um, yeah, a lot." She smiled, not breaking the eye contact. They both stared at each other for a few seconds before the gap between them got smaller and smaller. But then, the ambulance came around the corner and they parted.
"Great timing." Zoe muttered, and Darren laughed slightly, before they both went round to greet the patient.