Max knocked on the bathroom door, but when he got no response he pulled it open, walked in and shut the door behind him. "Zoe…"

"You only came because Dylan asked you to?" Zoe wiped angrily at her tears with a shaking hand.

"He did ask me, yes, but-"

"I'll see you at work." Zoe mumbled before letting the duvet drop as she stepped into the shower.

Sighing, Max stood still for a moment before he walked to the bedroom. Scribbling a note to her, he left it resting on top of her stethoscope.

…

Zoe was relieved to find both Dylan and Max gone when she got out of the shower. Trying to ignore the tears that kept threatening to fall, she fixed her hair and make up and got dressed. She was half way towards the front door when she remembered her stethoscope. Swearing softly, she rushed back to her bedroom, but her footsteps slowed when she saw the note.

Yes, I came last night because Dylan asked me to.

Yes I should have told you that from the beginning.

But, Zoe, I wanted to come inside with you the day we got back, I wanted to be the one who looks after you when you're upset, I wanted to be the one who brings you breakfast and makes sure you get to work on time. I wanted to be the one you lean on, but Dylan has taken that place. When he asked me, I jumped at the chance because I wanted to prove to you that I'm not going anywhere.

I want you to let me in, Zoe. Please. No matter how much you pretend that you're ok, I know you're not.

Let me love you.

Max.

…

When Zoe arrived at work, she went straight to Max's cupboard, but found it empty. Searching her pockets, her hands began to shake when she realised she'd left her phone on the table at home. Telling herself to stop being silly, Zoe made her way to the front desk. "Louise, can you please page Max for me."

Louise glanced up. "Max specifically, or just a porter? Because-"

"Just Max. When he gets here, can you tell him I'm in the staffroom?"

Before Louise could reply, Zoe was rushing towards the staffroom, closely followed by Dylan who had seen the look on her face.

When he reached the room, he found Zoe sitting down on the verge of hyperventilating. "I can't do this. I can't work here anymore. How am I supposed to make life changing decisions for people when I almost have a panic attack because I don't have my phone?"

"Just breathe, Zoe. Calm down. It's ok."

"No, it's not, Dylan! I can't be here!"

"..I'll go and talk to Connie, see if I can get you some time off."

"I already tried. It's too close to Christmas to get any time off. I think I'm going to be sick."

Dylan grabbed her a glass was water which she drank in gulps before handing him back the empty glass. He rested it on the floor and continued to rub her back. "Just breathe, Zoe. In and out…in…and out."

Max hesitated in the doorway and then left unnoticed by either of them.

…

Ten minutes later, Zoe's breathing had calmed and she rested back against the couch with closed eyes. "I asked Louise to page Max, and he hasn't come."

"He's probably busy. I saw him going upstairs a while ago. I can go and find him, if you want?" Dylan offered, desperate to help his friend.

Zoe shook her head and suddenly pushed herself up. "I should get to work."

"Zoe-" Dylan began, but she was already out of the room.

Zoe managed to make it through the day, but felt more exhausted than she ever had before. She hadn't seen Max all day, despite paging him twice more, and had ignored all Dylan's pleas for her to talk to Connie about time off again.

As soon as the clock hit 5, she was in the staffroom pulling her bag from her locker.

"Hello stranger." A gentle voice spoke from behind her.

When Zoe spun around and saw Maggie, the fragile wall she'd built up crumbled and her tears began to fall.

"Hey!" Maggie pulled Zoe into her arms. "It's alright. I know I look a bit rough, but it's not worth tears."

Zoe gave a soft laugh and pulled back, blotting at her face with her sleeve. "Sorry. What are you doing here?"

"I've got a locum position here over Christmas."

"I thought you had a good job in America?"

"…I did, but I missed my friends and family too much, and there's a few loose ends I never dealt with that I think I should."

Zoe nodded, embarrassed by her tears now as she rubbed furiously at the mascara she knew was streaking her cheeks. "What ward will you be working on?"

"I'll be in emergency."

Zoe frowned at this. "Connie didn't mention anything."

"We've only just now sorted it. I'm taking over your job for a few weeks."

"…What?"

The man Zoe had been searching for all day finally stepped into the room nervously. "I called Maggie and asked her if she'd come. Connie told me she couldn't give you any time off because there was no one to cover for you, so…I found someone."

Zoe looked from Max to Maggie silently.

"It's only temporary, Zoe. You can take as long as you need, and when you're ready to come back to work I have a job offer from upstairs, so don't worry about me."

Zoe looked back to Max, who was unsure if he'd done the right thing. He'd heard Zoe's conversation with Dylan earlier and had set about sorting her some time off straight away. When Dylan had found out, he'd told Max that Zoe would be angry because she would feel like she wasn't in control.

Suddenly tears threatened again and Zoe only managed a whispered, "Thank you."

Maggie smiled, pulling the younger woman into her arms once more. "Just sort yourself out, Zoe. You're a brilliant doctor, but all of us break at some point if we push ourselves too hard."

"Even you?"

"Even me. Now empty your locker and go home, wash your face and spend a few days doing nothing at all."

When Maggie pulled back, Zoe nodded and offered her friend a smile. As Maggie left the room, she squeezed Max's arm.

He approached Zoe hesitantly as she stood emptying the contents of her locker into her bag. "…Zo?"

When she gave no reply, he tried again.

"…I've got some time off, too. I thought maybe we could go somewhere together."

"Devon?" Zoe asked softly.

"Devon would be nice, yeah." Max smiled as Zoe turned and rested against him, gripping his shirt. "But Greece would probably be nicer."

"I think I'd prefer Devon. But first…will you move back in with me?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

…