Max had barely lifted his head from his hands the entire time Zoe had been in theatre. Occasionally, members of the ED had come to check on her, even some of the staff from other departments. Charlie, who had stayed with Max since she'd been brought in, had had a lengthy conversation with someone called Colette and Mo, who was apparently Zoe's emotional guru, had stuck around for a while. Now, however, the corridor was empty apart from Max, sat in silence a few metres away from an equally quiet Charlie. As soon as Connie appeared wiping her brow, Charlie broke from his staring contest with the wall and began bombarding her with questions.
"How's she doing? Were there complications? Is she okay?" Connie raised her hands, emotionally and physically exhausted.
"She's lost a lot of blood, and there was quite a severe head injury." She paused, lowering her voice as she caught sight of Max approaching them. "We don't know if she'll wake up, never mind when." Charlie ran a hand through his hair, smiling weakly as Max joined them. Connie continued, her tone softer as she looked at the young porter. "You can go and see her now." As Max pushed past her, Connie turned back to Charlie, who was pacing the corridor, slightly uncomfortable with how distressed the usually calm nurse was. "I'm going to be blunt. It was touch and go at times, and I'm not sure she'll wake up at all. All we can do is wait now." She briefly locked eyes with him before disappearing down the corridor. Charlie hesitantly made his way to Zoe's room, pausing as he caught sight of Max, who was gently caressing her face, looking both incredibly old and painfully young. He had what looked like a tape machine on his lap and didn't look up as Charlie entered the room, continuing to talk to Zoe, his voice thick with emotion.
"I am so, so sorry for pushing you. I don't care how long we wait, as long as you wake up. I swear Zo, no one's ever going to hurt you again. I'll find whoever did this and I'll kill them. I will." He kissed her hand and took a deep breath. "Connie operated on you, so I guess she's not all bad. You'd be really pissed though, she's made a right mess of your hair." Charlie edged closer, his anxiousness to see how she was warring with his desire not to interrupt the moment. "You're so beautiful when you're angry, you know. You do this ridiculous foot stomp and you go really Scouse." He wiped his eyes furiously, and it was so teenage that Charlie felt an overwhelming need to comfort him. "I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you, Zoe. And you'd better bloody wake up so I can tell you properly." Max was shaking, whether with anger or tears Charlie couldn't tell. The nurse rested a hand on his shoulder and he spun round, faintly embarrassed to have been caught at such a vulnerable moment.
"Sorry." Charlie whispered. He gestured to the machine on Max's knees. "What's that?" Max shrugged, examining his nails with more interest than necessary.
"I thought it would help." They both looked down at Zoe. "She looks like she's asleep." Max stood up abruptly, forcing a smile and clearing his throat. "I'll leave you to it, I need a cigarette." Stifling a sob, he left the room before Charlie had the chance to reply and gently shut the door behind him, leaving Charlie gazing at the woman he had come to love as a daughter. He took Max's place at her bedside, switching on the tape machine.
"That boy is head over heels, Zoe." Smiling down at her, he shook his head with a weary look of exasperation. "But isn't everyone when it comes to you? You've got us all wrapped round your little finger." He checked her monitor. "Do you remember when you first found out about Nick's tumour? And you turned up at my house, screaming blue murder." He chuckled at the memory. She'd yelled at him for half an hour while he'd made her dinner, then sobbed on his shoulder until he managed to calm her down. They'd talked for hours about Nick, themselves, life in general. Eventually, she'd fallen asleep on his sofa, dressed in a pair of his pyjamas and looking about eighteen. "When I put the duvet over you, you were half asleep and you said 'thanks dad'." He forced down the lump in his throat, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'm right here Zoe. We're all right here."
Oooo, two in one day you lucky people. Hope you enjoy it, sorry it's so short! Please R&R it would be fabulous y'all X