A/N: I want to thank everyone so much for reading, reviewing and enjoying my stories. As you may know, I was struggling with motivation, and with the loss of Dr Hanna goes what little I had left, so this is goodbye from me. I will attempt to slowly finish my other stories, and I may post occasionally stories written with others, or of different ships that i grow to love, but for now this is the end xx
Two hours later, Zoe found herself somewhere she never thought she be. Sat opposite her husband at a kitchen table, tears rolling down her cheeks, trying to explain to him who she was. Why she was broken.
Max's arms screamed to hold her, to kiss her, to tell her it was okay, but he knew that to heal she had to get it out. Get it all out.
"And then you arrived. I tried to push you away, I tried to ignore what I felt, but it just kept pushing back, it needed to be felt. But I was terrified. I've been scared for so long that I didn't even notice until it was too late. I just tried to jump before I was pushed. If I hurt you, you could never hurt me. But you did. I slept with someone and the pain it caused you hurt me more than you ever could." Zoe managed, a sob breaking free from her very soul. "So, for the first time in my life I stopped running, I stopped being scared of the future, but the only future I could see was with you."
Unable to stop himself, Max finally reached across the table and took Zoe's hand. He held it tightly, too tightly, but when Zoe finally looked up into his eyes neither of them could feel the pain.
"I love you, Max, and that doesn't scare me anymore."
They stood them, meeting in the middle to hold one another, to offer comfort that only Zoe and Max could give one another. Their tears soon married and their pain finally washed away.
It was similarly entwined that Robyn found them the next evening. Together, one, on the sofa in complete and absolute silence, but both wore a smile on their lips. Unwilling to break that fragile braid that was beginning to form, Robyn slipped from the room unseen. Though Zoe sensed movement and lifted her head, Max gently returned it to its rightful position on his chest, their heartbeats in sync.
….
Life would never be easy for Zoe and Max, but as they grew together, so did their love. What once was two people became one. A perfect, broken soul that could no longer bear to be separated.
Though there was an age gap, with each passing year it seemed to lessen, and when Zoe died, Max was gone within a week.
Legend said he died of a broken heart, Zoe's final gift still clasped in his hand- a love heart.
'Real Love'
