Enjoy...

Their break was coming to an end; it was nearly time to return home to the mundane-ness of England.

The thought of going back to all those people, to have responsibility again, to having to separate herself from Max terrified Zoe. She'd not slept well, despite being encased in Max's embrace, she'd woken three times in the night. Each time, Max had held her close, whispering happy thoughts in her ear and kissing her hair gently until she drifted back to oblivion.

When Max woke at 7.20 in the morning, the first thing he felt was a sleeping Zoe; her body tense and her breathing laboured. He stared down at her for a while, just thinking, willing her to talk to him. Really talk to him. After all, she wasn't likely to talk to anyone else, was she?

Eventually, Zoe began to wake, smiling slightly before her eyes opened. Max silently asked and received her permission and touched his lips to hers, just a gentle touch that meant everything.

"Morning" He whispered, staring into her big brown eyes. She nodded back at him; sorrow and pain still evident in her face, but maybe, just maybe, a little less than yesterday.

She was still in her clothes from the night before. She didn't like getting undressed. It was nothing to do with Max, she'd told him. Her skin just didn't feel comfy. It was easier to hide in a jumper of Max's and her trousers than to be naked, to expose herself.

"Come on, I think we should get you in the bath today?" Max tried, gently. She couldn't go forever just washing occasionally with a towel… Plus, it was very hot in Venice!

"No!" She started and looked up at him. She already knew she probably wouldn't win the 'fight', but she felt too tired to have a bath, too tired to go through the motions of undressing.

"Come…" Max had walked round the bed to her side and was kneeling in front of her, holding and gently kissing her hand. "Do you want to go by yourself, would that make it easier?" He asked. He was so gentle, so kind, so patient. Zoe's heart swelled. It was times like this that she remembered how lucky she was. She shook her head, she wanted… needed him there.

She crawled out of the bed, the clothes stuck to her as he made her way over to the en-suite bathroom. She sat on the lid of the toilet seat, waiting for Max. After what felt like an eternity, he appeared in the door.

"How shall we do this?" He asked, gently, trying not to push her.

"I don't know. You tell me. You seem to know everything about me" Zoe snapped back, without meaning to. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You've been so good to me and I'm…I'm…I'm…" Her words were lost as she buried her face in her hands, and Max made his way over to her, shushing her and gently taking her fingers in his. He knew it wasn't the time to say anything, but he sat with her on the toilet seat, gently rocking her as she crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, her face buried in his chest. Once the sobs subsided, he told her:

"Right, we're gonna do this. Me and you, we're going to get through it." A gentle nod of her head told him that she was at least willing to try and trust him.

He began by unzipping the front of his jumper that she wore, and gently taking off each of the arms. She gasped slightly as her flesh was revealed, as though she'd almost forgotten she had a body.

Thinking that it might be a good idea to run the water before undressing Zoe, Max did so. He checked to make sure it wasn't too hot, nor too cold and put plenty of bubble bath in.

Eventually, he'd managed to undress her. It had taken time and encouragement, but eventually they were ready. She sat down in the bath, gingerly, grateful of the bubbles obscuring her view. She laid back and tried to relax, thinking of the days in which she'd had a bath after a long shift of being a very capable doctor. Usually with a glass of red wine.

"Can you…" She tried to ask Max to get in with her, it didn't feel right, her land over the side, grasping his.

"Are you sure?" He questioned, and she nodded her head. He began to get undressed, slowly, too. She hadn't really seen him naked since the 'thing', and he didn't want to scare her. When he was ready, she slid forwards and he shuffled in behind her, her back against his chest, his arms around her waist, his legs next to hers and his mouth kissing her neck.

Nothing was said – nothing needed to be said. Max remembered back to the time they'd last had a bath together, when he'd cleaned her. How much that had hurt both of them, and how far they'd come, even if it didn't feel like that all the time.

"I've been thinking" She began. "About what happened. About how it can't wreck my life. I can't let it become who I am. I am a doctor. Doctor Zoe Hanna." She said the words as if for the first time, and a smile both graced of their lips as they were reminded of her strength and capabilities.

"What that man did to me… It wasn't right. I feel so dirty, so lost, so… so… violated. As though I've somehow been stripped of everything. As though nothing matters and everything is terrifying. More terrifying than you can possibly imagine." She picked up a hand and began playing with his fingers. "You. You. You're great. You're lovely, sweet, charming, handsome… basically perfect. And what am I? Some kind of walking baggage… with more baggage piled on top. We can't have sex anymore, I can't bear to look at myself, and I can't go anywhere without you. I'm stuck inside a massive brick wall of emotions I can't recognise, fears I don't know. I can't sleep because I am terrified there's someone crawling on top of me." She looked down at the dirtying water, kind of glad that Max had 'forced' her into the bath and allowed the dirt to float off.

Max's heart ached with every word, but he didn't stop her, glad that she was talking to him.

"Zo, you're perfect. I know you can't believe that right now. But you are. I've never stuck with any woman for longer than two nights. Does that give you some idea of how much I must love you? I don't care about the sex, I mean, you're gorgeous and of course I want to, but I'll wait. I'll wait for as long as it takes, and if that's years, then so be it." He said, with affirmation, placing a kiss on her head. "You're not baggage. You're not defined by the crap that's happened. You're defined by the amazing woman that you are and I love you for that. And I'm here. When you're ready to work through the emotions. When you're ready, I'm right here, waiting." The water splashed around them as she listened to his gentle words that made her heart flutter.

She smiled up and him and placed a kiss on his chest, her fingers gently tracing his chest. She swallowed, as she prepared for her next statement. "Max… I think I might be pregnant. I haven't had my period since…". He closed his eyes briefly, as though he'd been fearing this moment for a while.

"OK. OK." He kissed her fingers. "It will all be fine, we'll do a test and we'll see. Whatever, I'm here for you" He promised her.

I've been so overwhelmed by all your comments. Thank you soo much! I'm sorry that I'm so rubbish at updating... It's mostly because I'm not very good at thinking of ideas, so let me know if you want this to go in a certain direction!

Amy :) x