"It will be fine." Zoe found herself reassuring Nick, going against every instinct which screamed at her to convince him not to go. "You said so yourself, it's only a few days."
"I know." His tone was flat.
"It wont be as bad as the last operation." Zoe heard herself say. "Azin is in far better health, and after the op, she'll be just fine and you'll be on your way home."
The waiter brought their food to the table, prompting a lull in the conversation.
"When I get back, I'll take you to Rome, just you and me, relaxing in the sunshine." Nick promised.
"That sounds perfect." Zoe smiled at him.
They ate lunch, chatting about inconsequential things, friends in the ED, old times and shared times.
"I have something for you." Nick said softly after the waiter had cleared the table. He pulled a gift wrapped box from the pocket of his jacket and handed it to Zoe. "Sorry for running out on you, I saw it as we walked past the jewellers and I just and to go back and get it for you."
"Thank you." Zoe whispered as she opened the packaging to reveal a deep blue leather box with gold trim. Inside lay a delicate filigree silver heart shaped locket on a silver chain. "It's beautiful." She breathed, her voice catching as she noticed a message just visible inside the locket. She eased it open gently.
'Zoe, you will always have my heart, Nick' the tiny words were written in his own hand.
"Oh Nick." Zoe caught his hand and kissed the backs of his fingers.
"Let me." He said as she lifted it from the box and opened the catch. Nick got to his feet and put it on her, lifting her hair to fasten the catch, settling it against her flesh then placing a sensual kiss on the back of her neck. "Perfect." He breathed as he looked at the heart nestling just below the hollow at the base of her throat.
As they strolled back to the car, Zoe glanced up at the clock tower which formed the entrance to the mall. It was almost half past twelve, if they were going to get to the airport on time they were going to have to get a move on. Part of her wanted to avoid the inevitable, to delay Nick so that the aircraft would take to the skies without him, but she knew there was no way that would happen. Nick opened the car door for her, stealing a kiss as she moved to get inside. Nick drove across town in silence, his left hand resting intermittently on Zoe's knee where the road permitted single handed driving.
Zoe's eyes rested on Nick's face, absorbing his expression of concentration, the determined set of his jaw. Fixing his image into her mind, though her thoughts were spinning. It was barely 48 hours since he had let himself into her office and swept her off her feet as though the last two years had never happened. She was still reeling from the realisation that he had had a very narrow escape from the insurgents of Afghanistan, but would be forever grateful that he and Meyer had chosen Holby City as the place of choice to perform life saving surgery on the little girl. She knew he had no choice in the decision to return to perform the heart operation on the second patient, but in letting him go, Zoe felt as though her heart might break.
"Penny for them." Nick said softly as he caught her watching him.
"Oh they're worth a lot more than that." Zoe quipped. "an awful lot more."
"Really?" Nick smiled as he glanced at her. "Do tell."
"I was thinking about this chap I know." Zoe laid her hand gently over his as he rested it on her knee.
"Oh yes?" Nick played along with the game. "What's he like?"
"Charming, arrogant, sexy, irritating, talented and annoying." Zoe explained. "We used to have a thing going on, quite a serious thing actually."
"A serious thing?" Nick echoed.
"Yeah, then it all went wrong, I did a stupid thing."
"Only one?" Nick teased.
"Alright, I did a few stupid things." Zoe kept her tone light. "And I lost him." She paused a moment, tracing the veins on the back of his hand with a light fingertip. "Then he came back into my life, like a whirlwind."
"Swept you off your feet, did he?" Nick laughed softly.
"Literally." Zoe admitted. "But he was hurt, I had to patch him up, take care of him."
"You did a good job." Nick added.
"I did my best." Zoe assured him. "But other's need him, more than I do, and now he's going away." she paused, the words catching in her throat. "And I'm scared, Nick." She looked up at him, her lips narrowing to a grim smile as he glanced at her. "I'm scared that he's going back to a dangerous place and he might not come back to me."
Nick turned the car into Zoe's street and parked up beside her Mini. He switched off the engine and flicked the release button of his seatbelt and then hers, forcefully flinging the belt back so that it retracted. He leaned over towards Zoe and offered his arms, embracing her awkwardly in the confined space of the sports car.
"He will come back for you Zoe." He breathed, wiping away a tear from her cheek before kissing her deeply.
(For Emz, hope the quick little recap makes sense for you - thanks for the super reviews everyone, sorry for the lateness, my internet connection was playing up)