Author's Note: It's almost October and I'm still writing for August? What madness is this? Because I've managed to get so behind, I'm only going to pick a few September words and keep it moving. I've got one more M/M August word written already that I may post today or tomorrow. I'll apologize upfront for how crappy this one is. I just had to post it so I can hopefully get to some better written ones.

collogue: to confer secretly

It was long and difficult, but the surgery was finally over and, most importantly, a success. Placing the patient's chart on the stack at the desk, Matt took the first relaxed breath he'd had in hours. That was as much celebrating as he'd do. After the last loud self congratulations had been cut short by news of Siobhan's death, the thought of doing so again didn't hold any appeal.

He was tucking his pen in his pocket when he saw Patrick and Maxie huddled together. Normally, he'd wonder what was going on, but he decided to let it go, though he let his gaze linger for a few more moments. They parted quickly and Maxie spared him a brief glance, blew a kiss, then hopped on the elevator. He was a little hurt by it, but let that one go, too. At the moment, all he could think about was going home, eating, and relaxing. The first step would be changing clothes. He was in the middle of doing so when his brother approached.

"So. I heard you just finished doing a pretty fantastic job with that last patient. And oddly enough, you weren't the one I heard it from."

It was uncharacteristic for his brother to want to hear him brag. "As much as I would like to tell you about it, and in the process teach you a thing or two, I'm beat. I just want to go home and crash." Matt pulled on his shirt, figuring that would be it, but Patrick continued to push for details, delaying him about fifteen minutes.

It wasn't until he reached his apartment building that hunger hit him full force. He wasn't looking forward to searching his refrigerator for something to eat, knowing whatever was in there wouldn't be satisfying at all. As he got closer to his apartment, he could smell someone's delicious dinner wafting through the air, and his stomach growled. Some lucky neighbor was having what smelled like an absolutely delicious dinner. The closer he got to his door, the stronger the scent. It was pure torture, knowing he wouldn't be eating anything remotely as good. But when he opened his door, the fragrance hit him full force.

He tossed his keys on the table by the door and followed his nose. He stood in the kitchen, dumbfounded by the sight of a pot of pasta on the stove next to a bottle of wine, a corkscrew and glasses. Stepping fully into the room, he turned towards the dining room. Maxie was placing two plates of pasta down on a table set with candles. She turned and jumped a little when she saw him.

"You're early," she said. "I thought I had a few more minutes. Are you surprised?"

"That would be the word, yes."

"Good surprised though, right? Not why are you in my apartment and how did you get here surprised?" She looked a little worried that he might fall into the latter category.

At her question, he realized why she'd been huddled with Patrick. His brother had the spare key to his place and it explained the interest in hearing him talk about his surgery. It was a stalling tactic. Matt set her mind at ease with his response. "Definitely good surprised."

A relieved smile on her face, she said, "Great. Hold that thought." Maxie went back to the kitchen. He turned to watch her pull out a cake from the fridge and set it on the counter. Matt thought he might be in the twilight zone. Maxie had cooked and baked? He continued to watch her silently as she returned with the now uncorked wine and glasses.

"Not that I'm ungrateful, but what's the occasion? Did I forget an anniversary?"

Maxie filled the glasses as she answered, "No, I realized that we hadn't seen each other in a while. I know that things have been really heavy for both of us at work and thought we could relax together."

Still firmly settled in the shocking sight of her in the kitchen, he took a seat at the table, as she did the same. After a few moments, Matt attempted the right tone with his next statement. "I can't believe you cooked."

When Maxie laughed, he figured it hadn't come out as innocently as he hoped. "Don't worry, I didn't cook. I got it from that Italian place that we tried. And the cake? The Pillsbury doughboy did the heavy lifting on that one. I did just enough to be able to say I made it."

He hoped she didn't see him sigh with relief as they dug into the meal.