I'm back... couldn't wait to find out how they cope the next day :) Bit happier this time!
As the sun came up the next morning, nothing really changed in the bedroom. Max was still holding a crippled Zoe. His left side had gone numb from lack of movement but he didn't care. Zoe's eyes were still open. Her body still tense. Max wasn't expecting her to move and was surprised by her sudden reaction to the sharp beeping of the alarm clock.
She jumped out of bed, wearily running her hands over her face and shaking her head as if that were all it would take to dispel everything. Despite Max's protestations, she continued to get ready for the day. She squeezed herself into a dress and picked up her heels from where they'd been left near the sofa the night before. She slammed some bread into the toaster and stared intently until it popped up.
"Zoe." She'd never heard Max speak so firmly before. "Yeah? Max, why aren't you ready? We've got to be at work in… half an hour". She sounded like normal, controlled, organised Zoe. Had he dreamt what had happened? Had it all been a horrific nightmare? Part of him dared to hope, but he couldn't allow himself to live in the imaginary world. What to do, though, he did not know.
"You're not going to work today" he told her. He doubted she'd listen to him, but he had to try. "Max. Something happened. I reacted badly, it's over now, I have an ED to run, people to save, you know, paper work to do. I can't sit around….moping all day. I appreciate your concern, but let's move on, get cracking with the new day".
He couldn't win this argument. He'd just have to follow her in and be there for her when she inevitably collapsed.
This was the Zoe he'd fallen in love with. The unflappable doctor. Throughout the day he'd heard her in cubicles, diagnosing and treating stomach pains, cuts to people's legs and other limbs. He'd watched her click through the department in her high heels (which, he noticed, really did maximise her assets). He'd given her nervous glances and sympathetic smiles, which she'd replied to with busy smiles; confirmations that she was doing OK. He could see the tiredness through her make-up. He doubted anyone else could. He noticed her wince when Noel gave her a friendly punch to the arm. But this was Zoe, eager to work, eager to please, eager to look after everyone else. Everyone else but not herself.
He'd be glad when the shift was over, he couldn't wait to get back and hold her, be there for her and look after her. "Are you… nearly ready to go?" He poked his head round her office door and questioned. "Um, define 'nearly'", she replied with a cheeky smile. Seeing her brought a big smile to Max's face. He couldn't believe how lucky he'd got. How was this beautiful, successful doctor interested in him?! "Well, you answered my question right there". He told her as he came in and plonked himself down in Connie's chair. "You're lucky she's not here to see you do that!" Zoe told him. Max was going to wait for Zoe and if that meant watching her do her admin then that's what he would do, he thought to himself as he amused himself by playing with the desk lamp. Zoe could tell from his fiddling that he was distracted, that he wasn't his usual happy-chappy self. But she wasn't going to laze around and be miserable just because that was what was expected of her. No. She wasn't ill and she wasn't going to let this thing hold her back.
"Come on, then, mister" she told Max as she picked up her bag. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed her shut down the computer, tidy her desk and slip her coat back on. He smiled at her as she held her hand out to him.
How had she snapped out of this so fast? She was a completely different person to the figure he'd held all night. He was impressed, angry and concerned at the same time. He knew, though, that he couldn't change her and he just had to wait. This was a journey and they'd face every step together.
As they walked through the door to her apartment, Zoe suddenly stopped. "You OK?" Max asked, rubbing her back. "Yep, yep. Sorry, fine. Just had a... moment. Now, come on, shall we go and watch some rubbish on TV?" Max followed her through and sat next to his beautiful lady on the sofa. She leaned back into him and rested her head on his shoulder. It was nice, he realised, to have a little bit of normality back in their lives. Max relaxed against the sofa, still holding Zoe and kissed the top of her head. "Love ya, baby" he whispered into the darkness.