"You can't keep doing this." Charlie's voice was barely above a whisper, but in the silent room it felt like a scream. "You can't keep pretending it didn't happen." Zoe rolled away from him, wincing as her leg pushed against the bed. She could make out Max stood by the wall, could feel his eyes burning into her. She knew Charlie was right but she didn't know how to start. It felt like everything was falling apart - that night at the pub, the nightmares, and Max, beautiful Max who she'd seen just hours ago, screaming her name through the glass doors of resus.

"What the hell have you done now?" His voice was so familiar it felt almost out of place, like something you'd loved as a child and then rediscovered thirty years later. She felt Charlie stand up next to her, heard Max refusing to leave the room, leave her side, his voice rising until she sat up slowly. The three men turned to face her, and she smiled weakly, her eyes fixed on Max.

"It's okay, Max. I'll be fine." He came over and cupped her face in his hands, tracing the scar behind her ear from her surgery. She brushed the hair from his eyes, ran her fingers over his bare chest. "I love you." She whispered, and a smile curled his lips before he kissed her in reply, his lips bruising, their teeth clashing until breathlessly he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers.

"I love you too, Spider-Man. Also this guy-" he gestured over his shoulder towards Nick, "seems like a bit of an idiot, no idea who he thinks he is." He grinned as she rolled her eyes, kissing her once more before following Charlie out of the room. She glanced over at Nick, who was holding a bunch of flowers and standing slightly awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"Nice of you to show up." She didn't mean to be so harsh, but it had been over two months since she'd been attacked and he hadn't even called, as far as she knew.

"Zo, I got here as soon as I could." He stepped towards her cautiously, a tension between them that hadn't been there for years. "Something came up..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. I'm sorry." Resting the flowers at the bottom of the bed he raised his eyebrows. "Someone'll come with a vase." It was his way of apologising, of making a truce, repeating her words from all those years ago. She smiled grudgingly and pushed herself up onto her elbows as he pulled Charlie's chair over. The pair sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, both enjoying the nostalgia of the moment. Nick spoke first, and when Zoe glanced over at him she was startled to see him nearly in tears.

"If I ever find out who did this, I am going to make it my life's work to make the rest of their's living hell." He looked at her and reached out for her hand, examining it as though he hadn't seen it in years. She supposed he hadn't.

"That's what Max said. I think his precise words were 'I'll strangle him with his own genitals'." She raised her hand to his face, brushing gently against the stubble on his jawline, longer than the last time she'd seen seen him. "I've missed this." She smiled as he took her hand and kissed it gently, his eyes fixed on hers. "I've missed us." She traced a finger down his neck to his tie and dragging him towards, her eyes flickering towards his lips as she did so. He shut his eyes momentarily before pulling away at the last second, shaking his head.

"Zo, don't do this. There is no us, not in that way. This is about you." He stood up, distancing himself from her as he glanced over to where Max was watching them through the window.

"Nick, don't tell me you haven't thought about it too, about what we could've been. Please-" her eyes were wide, almost frantic - there was no clear line of thought in her head, just a one woman self destruct plan.

"Of course I've bloody thought about it." He slammed his fist onto the back of the chair and she flinched, briefly catching sight of Charlie holding Max back as he tried to return to the room. "But Zoe, we've been through this. I love you, I always will, but as a friend, my best friend. That boy, he loves you with every fibre of his body, and I'm fairly sure you feel the same." He sat back in his seat, breathing heavily.

"How can you know that? I'm not even sure I know that, I don't know anything, everything's just so-" she rammed the heel of her palm against her head to illustrate her point and he grabbed it, his face inches from her's.

"I know because you look at him like you used to look at me." He sounded almost hopeful and Zoe briefly forgot everything that had happened and thought back to six years ago, when they could have had everything and anything. But over Nick's shoulder, Max was straining against Charlie, his hands pressed against the glass. And despite everything she had, and knew she could have, with Nick, Max made her breakfast in the mornings. He stole her cigarettes, he kissed her every chance he got, he'd sing to her when she was upset. He was Max and he loved her, and she loved him and right then that was all that mattered. She turned to Nick and nodded, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thank you."

I've found wifi! So I should be able to update more than I thought, thankfully. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please R&R it would be fantastic x