S&MJ x
Chapter 4: "You coming Mary Jane?"
"Okay, we've got Zoe Hanna here, 40 year old female who was trapped in a upturned lorry after it rolled down a bank, possible head and chest injuries, several lacerations to the face and neck, airway clear, sats are 22, gsc of 14 and she's had 10 of morphine already" Dixie rhymed off to an anxious looking Ash. "Zoe!" yelled Max from across reception. He'd been waiting anxiously for her since everyone found out about the accident, and it had been a long wait as it had taken them 3 hours to get her out. Max attempted to enter resus. to see what was going on with his girlfriend, but he was restrained by Lofty. "Just wait, yeah mate? They're doing all they can. She's in the best hands." He said, putting an arm round Max and taking him to get a coffee.
6 hours later, Zoe was out of surgery and stable. She still hadn't come round yet, and Max was sleeping in the chair beside her bed. He hadn't let go of her hand all night. "Max" whispered Robyn, as she entered the room Zoe had been placed in so her hourly obs. could be done. "Max!" She said again, louder this time, touching his shoulder. "Huh, what... Zoe?!" Max mumbled, waking from his light sleep. "No, it's me Robyn. I'm leaving just now, thats me finished my shift. Do you want me to bring you some dinner/breakfast from the supermarket?" She asked with a sympathetic smile on her face. "Yeah, that would be great" Max mumbled lethargically. "I was going to go to the shop earlier but I didn't want to leave her in case..." He trailed off. "I know, I know. She'll be fine. It was only a small internal bleed and a few cuts and bruises. It could have been a lot worse. She'll wake up soon, I promise. I'll see you in 20." She said, and walked out, leaving Max alone, with only the beeping from machines to keep him company. He kissed her hand. "What am I gonna do with you spiderman, huh?" He smiled.
At 4am, 10 hours after the surgery, Zoe still hadn't woken up. "Shouldn't you be concerned? I mean most patients are awake by now, right? I mean, I've moved patients who've had surgery an hour after they're out and they've been awake and asking me about the weather! What's wrong with her?" asked a frantic Max, pacing the room. "Calm down Max, it's okay. We had to give Zoe quite a lot of anaesthetic to make sure she didn't wake up during the procedure and different people come round in their own time. She's fine Max, no change is good sometimes. It gives her body the best chance to heal properly. It's probably best this way." Rita assured him, smiling. "I've never thought of you as the panicky type before?" She half stated, half asked. "Yeah well I've never loved anyone like this before." He replied, sinking down into the chair again, watching his girlfriend's chest fall and rise. "I didn't think you guys had been together that long? Is it pretty serious?" She asked, checking Zoe's obs. and updating her notes. "Well, we were kind of a casual thing for a while, we kept it from everyone, and then she left to go to Africa obviously, and we ended, then she'd been back for two months when we decided to get back together again." He replied, flicking through his phone to check if anyone had rung. "Oh, so that's why you were so down all the time! You genuinely had a girlfriend!" She smiled, with realisation dawning in her eys. "Yeah" Max laughed. "And when no-one believed me, I kinda had to go along with it because I couldn't exactly tell everyone I'd been dating my former boss!" Rita laughed at her colleague and left the room."I'll be back in an hour" she smiled, and shut the door. "Max?" Zoe whispered groggily, stirring in the hospital bed. "Hey beautiful, it's okay I'm here, it's okay." He said, relief flushing over his face. "Max, I'm sorry, I should never have... wait, what's actually wrong with me?" Zoe asked, suddenly realising her current predicament. "It's okay, don't apologize Zo, you had a small internal bleed, so you've been in surgery, and a few cuts and bruises, but apart from that you're fine. No broken bones or anything." Max said, squeezing her hand. "Did the lorry driver get out?" she asked, slowly remembering what had happened before she ended up in hospital. "Yeah, but he had a massive heart attack in surgery, so he's in an unstable condition just now, but I heard from Ethan things are looking up." He said smiling. "But you concentrate on getting better first, okay?" He said, kissing the top of her head, and allowing her to fall asleep in his arms.