Thank you for your lovely reviews. Here is chapter two!
Chapter Two:
While Zoe was physically present that shift, her mind kept zoning out. Max watched her silently from afar, trying not to get in her way unless she called for him. 4 hours into the shift, Zoe was stood in front of the patient whiteboard and Max needed to erase a name that was written on it, so he rested a hand to her hip, intending to reach past her. Instead, she elbowed him with such force he stumbled back a couple of steps.
"Don't touch me!" Zoe snapped, but when she spun around it wasn't Matt as she'd thought it was, but Max. He was staring at her, shocked, and so were several other colleagues.
Instantly forgetting the task at hand, Zoe dropped the whiteboard pen and hurried away, the tears once again threatening to spill. It was that same teary Zoe that Max found on the roof half an hour later, after giving her some time to cool down.
"Hey" Max offered softly from a few steps back, as not to startle her. Zoe quickly lifted a hand to wipe the tears before turning to him.
"I'm so sorry" she offered weakly, happy when he walked towards her and wrapped her in a comforting hug.
"Don't worry" he whispered, placing a gentle kiss on top of her head. "I think it's just a bruised ego more than anything else" he joked and Zoe managed a wry smile. "Want to talk about it?" The porter offers. He feels Zoe snuggle her head further into his chest before an honest but muffled 'no' escapes her lips. Dropping another kiss to the top of her head he replied with a simple 'okay' before they fall into a comfortable silence.
"I think Maisie's bad mood is spreading" Max laughed after quite some time. Zoe lifted her head from his chest with a smile.
"I hope she's okay" Zoe replied gently. Max nodded.
"She'll be fine" he replies, hoping his sentiments about Maisie right. "I don't think I'll ever recover from having to watch Frozen at 2am though" he adds with a laugh. Zoe rolls her eyes.
"You love it" she points out. "I've heard you singing that snowman song in the shower" Max scoffed. "I'll get up with her tonight if she wakes" Zoe offered.
"As if" he laughed, causing Zoe to smile. "You ready to go back to work?"
"Mmm" she mumbled softly, catching Max's hand as he led her off the roof and back towards the ED.
"Why don't we go out for dinner tonight? We can go to that pancake place Maisie went to with Robyn a few weeks ago. I might even treat you to a glass of wine if you're lucky."
Zoe smiled but gave no reply, resting her forehead on Max's shoulder as they waited for the lift. When it arrived, she was relieved to see it was empty and followed Max in. The lower into the building it descended, the more Zoe's anxiety rose again, but she smiled when it finally reached the ED and Max dropped a kiss to her nose before returning to work.
"Dr Hanna." Zoe mumbled, her eyes focused on the patient file in front of her.
"Hi Dr Hanna, it's Simone. From the crèche."
Zoe reached out to grab the back of Max's shirt as he walked past. Since meeting her on the roof an hour ago, he'd stayed close by, offering her reassuring smiles whenever she glanced at him. "Is Maisie okay?"
"She's fine. She's not sick or anything, but she's refusing to go down for her nap until you come down. She says there's something she needs to tell you."
Zoe let out a sigh of relief and let go of Max. "I'll come down now."
"What's happened?" Max asked, adjusting Zoe's stethoscope as she hung up.
"She-" Zoe began, but the words dried on her lips when she spotted Matt. He was talking to Connie.
"Zoe?" Max asked, trying to follow her gaze.
"You go" Zoe suddenly announced, causing Max's eyebrows to furrow.
"You said you'd go"
"Please Max. Maisie won't settle, she just wants a cuddle before her nap and then you can come back" Zoe was already leading Max towards the crèche, as far away from Matt as she could. Max shrugged his shoulders before dropping a kiss to Zoe's head and exiting the ED, heading into the main hospital.
Zoe tried to get to her office without being seen by Matt, her heart pounding against her chest as she wondered what they were talking about. It didn't even bare thinking about. The consultant was just about to turn the corner to her office when she heard Connie's name call her back. She swore inwardly before turning towards her boss, a fake smile on her lips.
"Mrs Beauchamp" She greeted pleasantly.
"Walk with me" Connie replied, beckoning Zoe with her as she often did. Zoe obliged and found herself walking back towards the main entrance.
"I've been talking to one of the new members of staff from upstairs" Zoe's stomach flipped and she felt the nausea rising in her throat. "He's keen to put on some extra training sessions for our porters. He wants them to be able to handle some of the more difficult situations they may find themselves in" Zoe held her breath. "I was just wondering if Max would be interested?"
"I, uh" Zoe stuttered, letting out a shaking breath. She was playing a dangerous game. "Who would be running the sessions?" Zoe managed to ask, immediately dreading the reply.
"I don't know. I'll get some more details and get back to you. How about we put Max's name down provisionally?" For some reason, Zoe nodded despite the fact that she really didn't want to agree to this at all. The thought of Matt and Max being in the same room was enough to make her feel sick. Even having them in the same hospital was worrying enough. Luckily, Zoe was saved from further conversation by Max rounding the corner, Maisie in his arms.
"She wants you" he announced, unceremoniously placing the child in her arms. Maisie instantly snuggled into her mother's embrace. "Sorry Mrs Beauchamp" he added.
"No, no it's fine" Connie replied with a smile. "Both of you take some time to sort her out". Both Zoe and Max smiled gratefully before taking Maisie into the office.
An hour later, Zoe was pacing the limited floor space in her office with a sobbing Maisie in her arms. Frustrated and exhausted Zoe too soon found herself in tears which only proved to make Maisie cry harder. Settling onto the sofa Zoe cradles the little girl in her lap, using her free hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
"What's wrong Maisie?" Zoe tried, asking the same question she seemed to have been asking for hours. The little girl remained silent despite the odd sniffle. "Come on Mais" she whispered, begging the girl to stop crying. Settling down on the sofa Zoe rocked the little girl in her arms, calming herself with the perpetual motion. The three year old seemed to calm down at this and begin to settle down. Cuddling into her mother's arms Maisie lets her mummy place several kisses on her forehead, letting her eyes grow heavily as Zoe begins to softly sing.
Within twenty minutes Maisie was asleep with Zoe not long behind her. Zoe slept fitfully, waking often with Maisie struggling to sleep peacefully in her arms.
"Mummy" Maisie scolded, as she woke them up for the third time.
"Sorry Mais" Zoe mumbled, barely opening her eyes as sleep threatened to wash over her again. Zoe attempted to put the child down, letting her sleep in her own corner of the sofa but Maisie quickly climbed back into her mother's arms and settled down. Placing her thumb in her mouth the little girl tried to fall asleep once again wondering why her mother kept awaking with a start.
This was exactly how Max found them nearly an hour later. Lifting Maisie from her arms without waking her, Max settles his daughter before bending down and placing a kiss on Zoe's cheek.
"Zoe, you need to wake up" he tells her softly. "Zoe" he repeats, louder this time. Zoe's eyes flicker open at the sound of his voice. "I'm going to take Maisie back to the crèche and you need to go back to work" he tells her. Zoe nods, stretching as she came to. "Okay?" Max asks to which Zoe nods. "I won't be a minute" He adds, gesturing to Maisie who continued to sleep peacefully before giving Zoe one last smile and walking back towards the main hospital.