Sorry, for the long wait in this story, again.

Thank you for the reviews, and just reading the chapter. Remember prompts are welcome.

This was the prompt that I was asked to continue, prompted by Bethyboo97 with the prompt: Zoe goes in to labour, who will be by her side, her boyfriend Max or one of her colleagues?. I realise that I wrote the first half of this in 2014. And I'm only now getting round to writing the second half of it. I had to read the first half of this chapter to remind myself. I have no excuse for that, expect writers block and losing interest in Casualty, but I am looking forward to the Zax scenes tonight. (No, I'm not just saying that because this is a Zax prompt, I'm not really a big shipper of them, but I do really like Zoe. )

I'm aware that Zoe can't have children in the show, but this is fictional.

Max and Zoe are in a casual relationship and are living in Zoe's apartment.

I hope you guys enjoy this.

Sorry, for any spelling and grammar mistakes, there could be as I'm writing this on my iPad. I'm sorry if this chapter is rushed, I think it is, but that's only because I'm leaving the story for ages.

I have kind of put this story on the back burner as I have been writing for Home & Away.

Hint of a past character in here, as I loved hers and Zoe's friendship. I won't say who the character is, so that you guys can be surprised.

I'm going to try to get this up before the episode airs, if I don't, I'll hope to have it up, just after the episode, I hope that everyone enjoys Casualty tonight.


The Secret Life Of Casualty

Chapter 73.

"Are you ok?" Max asked, quietly, the two of them were sitting in the kitchen in Zoe's apartment and Max was looking at houses, they both knew that althrough, Zoe loved her apartment, it wasn't baby proof, they needed a bigger place. And since Max had moved out of the student house he had shared with Robyn and Lofty, as he realized that they wouldn't want a baby screaming the house down, at all hours. But he also knew that Robyn was keen to babysit, and Max would have to take her up on her offer when the baby was a little bit older.

His partner turned around to face him, her hands on her bump, she was 7 months pregnant and was on maternity leave. Tess had visited her with some of her daughter's clothes, which was kind of her, but Zoe had choose not to find out the gender of this baby. She looked out of the garden, as she imagined them together. Max walked in to the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his pregnant girlfriend.

"Max!" She scolded him as she spilled her tea. She grabbed a cloth and started to wipe the spilt tea up. Throwing the now wet towel in to the sink, she glared lightly at him and turned to walk in to the living room. She picked up the TV remote and flicked through the channels.

Stifling a yawn, she got off the couch and kissed Max on the forehead as she walked out of the room, up the stairs and in to hers and Max's room. She took off her heels and massaged her aching feet, before getting her pjs out of the draw. Pulling the top, over her head, she absent mindley put a hand to her stomach, as the baby kicked. She pulled back the covers and lay down. But she was struggling to get comfy.

"Max?" Zoe cried, later that night, as she sat up in bed and shook her boyfriends shoulder.

"What Zoe?" He asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"I think my waters have broken. " She told him.

Max rubbed his hands over his face as he looked at her. No, she wasn't joking.

He got out of bed and started to run round like a headless chicken. Zoe tried to laugh, but it hurt her muscles, too. She breathed deeply, just as she had told the many pregnant women, that had passed through the ED, to do.

She felt she could labour at home, but when the pain, got stronger, that's when she wanted Max to call an ambulance.

But when her concentrations got stronger and she felt she couldn't cope with the pain of them anymore, she looked at Max.

"It's ok" Max whispered.

He helped her down the corridor.

But just as Dixie was helping her in to the wheelchair, her waters broke. She clutched at Max's hand.

"Ow" He complained.

Zoe simply glared at her boyfriend. She was the one that was going through pain. Let him go through childbirth, then she would let him complain to her.

"Ready sweetheart?" Dixie asked as she took the handles of the wheelchair and wheeled it towards the door as Max pulled it open to allow Dixie to wheel her out on to the street, and in to, the ambulance.

Max locked the door behind them as Dixie was loading Zoe in to the ambulance. He got in beside her as the doors shut.

He took hold of her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

The ambulance roared in to life as Zoe tensed up.

The ambulance arrived at the hospital, and Dixie parked in the ambulance bay as she turned off the engine as the back doors to the ambulance were opened and Zoe was lowered down.

"This is Zoe Hanna, 40, BP 120/80. GCS 15. " Dixie explained.

By, the time, that Zoe was in RESUS and had been moved on to the bed, Tess had gasped. She could see the head of the baby. It had certainly wanted to come out to meet it's parents.

Zoe felt a stinging sensation as the baby was pulled from her.

She was wheedled to a side room. With the baby being wheeled behind her in a plastic cot.


She watched as the baby grabbed on to her finger. This baby really was a miracle as a few years ago she'd had a fertility test and the results come back as her as negative. She couldn't have children. She was disappointed. She had considered adopting, or asking her best friend Jessica, act as a surrogate for her, but the nurse had just lost her son, Zoe didn't think it was fear to ask her to carry another baby, especially when she knew that she'd have to give it to Zoe when the time came.

She looked down at the baby, as if, it could give it's mother any hints on what to call it.

She looked up when the door to the side room opened.

Zoe blinked as she realised who it was. She wasn't expecting it and she was thrilled to see her friend.

"Jess!" She said, delightedly, she hadn't seen her since she left Holby for America, a couple of years ago.

"Hey, Zoe" Jess greeted her quietly.

Zoe turned to Max. She had a feeling that he had something to do with Jessica arriving in Holby.

Max nodded. And went on to explain how he had gotten in to touch with Jessica. He'd asked Tess who her friends where and Tess had explained. He'd then taken Zoe's phone from the draw in her office.

Max's flashback.

"Hello? Is that Jessica Harrison?" Max asked.

"Sure" She replied, unsure, who this was, because it wasn't a voice she had heard before.

"I'm Max Walker; a porter at Holby City Hospital " He explained to her.

Jessica nodded.

"Zoe needs a friend " Max finished.

And it was with that, Jessica understood that Max wanted her to return to Holby. How long for, she wasn't sure, but she knew from Zoe that Adam had moved on, and sold the house that him and Jess (with their kids) had lived in. She had paid for her flights, for later that night, while Linda offered to mind her kids.

Arriving, at the airport, she paid the taxi and headed in to the airport, checking in, buying a bottle of water and waiting for her flight to be called. When it was, she headed the gate and showed her boarding pass and passport as she stepped on to the plane and settled down in to business class. She had never flown business class, before so had decided to treat herself.

Arriving back in Holby, Jessica grabbed a taxi and watched as she was driven to the hospital she had left.

And, it's why Jessica was standing by Zoe's bedside, now. She handed over the gift she had quickly brought on her way over.

Zoe looked at her, she hadn't been expecting anything. She opened the pink get bag and pulled out the pink babygrow that she gotten her friend. And the small bracelet.

"Thanks Jess" Zoe told her.

"It's fine " Jessica replied, as she left but offered to come and visit Zoe and Max soon. She grabbed a taxi and rented a flat on Farmead for a few nights, it was her former home but she knew it was only for a few days, before she returned to her children.

Back at the hospital, Tess had been to see Zoe. And, for Max, so had Robyn and Lofty.

Max picked the baby up, and rocked her, softly. While Zoe tried to get some sleep.

End of flashback.


The next morning, Zoe was awoken by her daughter, to see Max asleep on the chair, with his coat over him.

Later, that afternoon, Zoe and baby were discharged.

"Are you ready?" Max asked, with a smile, he couldn't believe he was a dad.

"Yep" Zoe replied, as she got off the bed and straightened out her skirt and picked up her heels which were on the floor. She put them on and looked at the baby in the car seat.

"Let's go " Max said as he held out his hand towards Zoe, she took it and stood up again as Max held the car seat in his hand.

Walking, in to the car park, hand in hand, as Zoe spotted her mini. She knew that she should really upgrade it, now she had a baby, but Zoe loved it.

They returned to a house, that Max had brought while Zoe was in hospital. But he didn't tell her as he wanted it to be a surprise, he knew he didn't earn much as a porter, so he had asked Zoe's parents for help and a few of the ED had helped him to move the things from her apartment in to the house.

"Max, where are we?" She said as she stepped in to the hallway, the house looked completely unfamiliar and it definitely wasn't her apartment.

Max turned around to face her, with a grin on his boyish face.

"It's our new home " Max announced as he put the keys down on the bookshelf in the hallway, and took the car seat out of Zoe's hands.

Zoe walked in to the living room to put baby Aashi, in the basket. She then placed the baby monitor on the table in front of her as she stood up to walk in to the kitchen where she realized that the cups, plates, cultury and pots and pans were all still in boxes and she didn't want to go rooting through them. Instead, she settled on a glass of water as she walked back in to the living room and sitting next to Max. He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead as she raised her glass of water. She took a sip and then had an idea. She raised her glass again.

"To us" She said, a smile on her glossed lips as she clicked glasses with Max as they concentrated on being the best parents that they could be to their daughter .


Probably one of my favourite chapters to write.

The name chosen for Max's and Zoe's baby is Indian and it means smile. The reason I choose an Indian name is because, Sunetra is from India.

Next chapter: After an exhausting shift, on her way home, Lily is involved in an accident. Will she be alright? Prompted by CasualtyFanforever81.