LOVE DOESN'T HURT.
BY PHOENIX FURY.
A new doctor joins the team. Weary of love, determined to stand alone. Steve slowly falls in love, but is the love returned?
CHAPTER 3 : IT'S YOUR FAULT – I'M SORRY
Max was walking to her car when she heard her name; she wearily turned round to see Steve Sloan coming towards her. They'd only seen each other hours before when they had helped a mother deliver her baby boy in the lift.
"Hey." She said softly pushing back her hair from her face. (I have shopping to get, two dogs that need walking, washing to do, more reports to write and I'm tired and in no mood for this.) She thought.
"On your way home?" Steve asked as he came to stand next to her.
"It's why I'm heading to my car." She gestured to her car.
"Oh right umm… how are you?"
(He looks nervous or apprehensive or something… why?) Max raised an eyebrow and said cautiously, "I'm fine."
"Look Max, I need to …"
There was a screech of tyres that made them both look to see a van come speeding towards them.
Steve pushed her to the ground. Max heard the doors open and pushed her bag under a nearby truck.
They were pulled to their feet by two men wearing black masks.
"GET IN!" They were yanked into the truck.
"Do as they say, they have guns." Steve said under his breath as he eyed the two men pointing the said guns at them.
"No kidding Sherlock." Max muttered.
"Shut up!"
They were immediately blindfolded and taken somewhere. Max had been able to smell the sea and hear a foghorn in the distance so she knew they were near water.
They were pulled out the van and dragged around, pushed into chairs and handcuffed. Then they had their blindfolds whipped off. Max squinted as she got used to the light.
"Mickey Kale." Steve said as his eyesight went normal.
"You know this dirtbag?" Max asked.
"I arrested him, put him away for two years."
"Oh great so he's out for revenge. Fantastic. Why'd you bring me if you want him?"
"Got to give him some company." A thug answered.
"You picked the wrong person, we don't get along." Max said glaring.
"Yeah well if you didn't get into trouble we'd get along fine."
"I've only been here a month and you mean if you were a nice decent human being we'd get along fine." Max said.
"This is all your fault." Steve said.
"How? You arrested him, I don't even know him." Max answered back.
"I came to apologise to you and he caught us."
"Good job."
"Excuse me!" Mickey snapped.
"WHAT!" They turned and yelled at him.
"In case you hadn't noticed I've kidnapped you. Work out your issues later. I wanna talk."
"Oh brother here comes the speech." Max muttered unfortunately not quiet enough.
"That's rude." He slapped her but she just glared at him not impressed.
"Now we're going to leave you two lovebirds together for a long time. You see this won't be opened for a very long time. It's a storage crate. Soundproof so you can yell at each other as much as you like. Have fun darlings I'll think of you while I'm down under. I'll be getting a tan and you'll be starving in each others company. Toddles."
"Toddles?" Max repeated eyebrow raised as the door shut.
"Max you ok?" Steve asked concerned.
"What do you care? You don't even like me." Max muttered twisting her hands. She felt a bruise forming but was only drained of energy otherwise. (Trapped in a lift, deliver baby and now I get kidnapped, what next? … What a long day.)
(I like you too much that's the problem.) Steve thought and then started to speak, "Look I'm sorry I went from friendly to …"
"A prick." Max suggested.
"Yeah."
"Why did you…?"
"You're a girl and…"
She snorted at that and said, "Well I'm glad you noticed."
"Will you let me grovel and apologize?" He snapped back. (I noticed, that would be part of the problem..)
He paused hearing no answer carried on. "I just realized how much danger there is. And…"
"Steve your father goes into more dangerous situations every case. And you don't stop him or Jesse. And you never did with Amanda and Jack. So why me?"
"You're new at this." Steve mumbled knowing that it made no sense. (I'm not telling her the truth.)
"Steve I have six older brothers I can hold my own." She smirked. "Did you know that I do kick boxing and tai kwon do?"
"No."
"I may be female but I'm far from defenceless. I don't need protecting." She felt like she was talking to her brothers. "God this is Déjà vu."
"What do you mean?"
"My brothers were very over-protective it's why I have no contact. They wouldn't even let me learn to drive. I was barley allowed out the house without supervision when they were around. They wanted me to become a schoolteacher or help out at the church. They didn't want me to become a doctor. So in the end I left. Took my gap years and went to med school. I last saw them five years ago." She said softly leaning back to look at the ceiling.
"What about your parents?"
She went quiet for a few moments. "My mum died a few hours after I was born, long enough to name me and write me a letter. I came early and that didn't help my mother's health. She lost too much blood and had a weak heart as well as toxaemia. The doctors had told her she wouldn't last long so she knew that since she found out she was pregnant that's why she remade her will, wrote letters to me and my brothers and … the General."
"The General?"
"My father. He wasn't there and blamed me I guess. We saw him maybe once a year, he barley spoke to my brothers… and well I didn't exist to him so my brothers went on overdrive to make up for it, that's why they're so over protective."
"When did you last see him?"
"When he dropped me off at boarding school after taking me away from aunt Izzy's and Bentley clan. I was nearly ten. He put my brothers in military school, sold our home and disappeared into his work. My aunt and Amanda's dad, my uncle Ken told me that I look exactly like my mother while my brothers look like the General. I think that's why he pretended I was invisible."
"I'm sorry." And he really meant it, he couldn't imagine being invisible to his father.
"No worries. As the saying goes 'what doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger.' I'm still standing I might be a little too independent and stubborn as Izzy says but hey it's genetic." Max said wriggled her hands she was beginning to realize how small the place was. It was literally a box with light creeping in through cracks.
"Max you ok?"
"This place is small and fairly dark so the answer's no. Keep talking." Max said twisting her hands even more.
"Keep breathing."
"Uh-huh."
"Did you hear anything that might tell us where we are?"
"Well I could smell the sea and hear a fog horn when we arrived so we're near maybe a port or something." She felt a vibrating at her waist.
"Good."
"I can feel my beeper going off, so they must know we're gone I hope… Steve, have you got your phone?" Max asked suddenly with an idea.
Steve said calmly, "I left mine in my car to charge. You?"
"Yeah but I can't reach it."
"Ok lets see what we can do." Steve turned to the sideways as did Max. "Where is it?"
"Pocket."
His eyes went to her shirt pocket, which was over her breast. "Coat pocket?" His voice sounded a little rough to his ears; he hoped she didn't hear it. (Please be blouse… what no, coat, COAT! Please be COAT!)
"Ya-huh."
Steve twisted to get his hands in her pocket turned back to face her. "You had to have a flip phone didn't you." Steve grumbled as tried opening it.
"Well if you put it in my hand then I can open it." Max said smirking slightly.
"How are we going to -?"
"Hands free speaker thing in my pocket." She said realizing what he meant.
He dropped it in her hands and helped her hook it up and then did as she had suggested and used his fingers to type in the hospital number.
"Hi dad … umm I've been kidnapped."
"What!"
"Max is here with me. Mickey Kale did it. Were by the sea in a big metal create … could you come find us. It's ten minutes away from the hospital."
"On my way son. Is Max ok?"
"I'm fine Mark." Max reassured the doctor.
"Bring a key cause we're handcuffed together."
"Oh lord I'm on my way."
"Now we wait." Steve said as the line went dead.
"Steve and Max were kidnapped. Their handcuffed to a chair in a big metal create ten minutes from here by the sea." Mark said as he stripped off his lap coat grabbed some paperclips and tweezers.
"We better hurry then. Do you think they'll be alive when we get there?" Jesse asked.
"Well they didn't say anything about a bomb or air. They sounded fine." Mark said reassuringly.
"I meant will they have killed each other." Jesse said as they raced to the car.
Mark nodded. "You're right, we better hurry."
"Steve, Max!"
Max and Steve looked over as the door opened.
"Dad thank god."
"Your both alive." Jesse said in wonder.
"Wwll we're not six feet under." Max said.
"We were worried that you might … be arguing." Mark used a spare paperclip to unlock the handcuffs.
"Now we catch Mickey." Steve said determined as he watched Max take a deep breathe of air as she got out the crate. "Where are we gonna find him though?"
"Down under… Australia?" Max questioned.
"Airport." Steve said as they ran to the car already dialling on his phone.
They raced to the airport and to the information as they met up with a two uniform cops.
Steve flashed his badge. "Flight to Australia."
"Leaving in ten minutes from gate 4."
"Hold it." Steve said as they ran to gate four.
Steve was looking down the rows as he walked down the aisle. And there was Mickey by the window. He was dressed in jeans, Australian rugby shirt and a leather hat.
"Good day Mickey." Steve said cheerfully.
Mickey leaped up and shoved Steve away as he made a break for it.
"Aren't you going to say goodbye Mickey?" Stevecalled as Mickey ran down the aisle.
And he ran straight into Max's fist.
As he rolled on the ground holding his nose and was handcuffed by the two cops.
"Mickey Kale you're under arrest. Don't worry you will be going down." Steve smiled as he was dragged away. "How about we got out for a drink?" Steve asked Max as they watched him driven away.
"Yeah I could do that. It's been a long day." They walked away leaving Mark and Jesse gawking.
"They're getting along, finally."
"You two coming." Steve called over his shoulder, which had Mark and Jesse quickly following.
Later on that evening, glasses were raised high as they said, "Welcome to the team Max."
END OF CHAPTER 3.
I've been away in South Africa so that's why it's taken so long to write. Faced my fears and went bungee jumping. I felt like I had no legs and that I was going to throw up afterwards until I had a few shots and a can of lager then I felt nearly human again. I am half way through CHAPTER 4 so don't worry.
I hope you liked, please review.
PHOENIX FURY.