"So..."
Charlie looked at Max pointedly, then to Zoe. They were holding hands and both had damp hair, Zoe in her pyjamas, Max looking comically tall in the pyjama's that he had leant him.
"Did he manage to talk some sense in to you?"
He asked, a tentative smile as he watched Zoe glance at Max who squeezed her hand in response.
"Do we get a cup of tea first?"
She asked, leading Max to the sofa where she had been sitting earlier. Tess sat on the chair opposite and Charlie left the other end of the sofa to make a fresh pot of tea.
Max sat down first, holding out an arm as Zoe sat next to him, curling her body up against him, his arm draped around her shoulders, fingers resting against her chest.
"So...is it serious between you two?"
Tess asked after a lengthy awkward pause. She was holding an empty cup of tea on her knee, her eyes glimmered with worry and concern for her colleague.
"You can answer that..."
Max whispered into Zoe's hair, avoiding Tess's gaze.
"Tess, he's a porter not a criminal..."
Tess held up her free hand in defence as Zoe began.
"I know, I know...Zoe, I just worry about you."
She looked to Max who was studying the rug under the coffee table with great interest.
"I know you do Tess, but I know what I'm doing. And if I want to have a relationship with Max then what's the problem?"
She asked, slipping her hand between his thighs, warming her fingers.
"Max..."
Tess looked to Max again who eventually met her eyes.
"Are you in love with her? Just put my mind at rest that you're not going to hurt her, and that she's not just another notch in your bedpost."
Tess asked, watching carefully as Max's expression morphed from indifference to mild panic.
"I think it's a bit early to be saying the "L" word."
Zoe answered quietly, looking pointedly towards Tess who pursed her lips tightly.
"So what happened up there?"
Charlie asked, returning to the room with a freshly made pot of tea, placing it onto the tray in the middle of the coffee table.
"Or should I ask what you spoke about up there?"
He asked, catching the smirk that flitted across Max's lips to Zoe's.
"I've decided that I will go back. I acted irrationally. But I'm not taking back the role of clinical lead, I'm going to go for the trauma post. I just want to be a normal doctor again, Charlie, I'm fed up with all of the politics."
The relief emanating from Charlie was palpable. He smiled, satisfied as he poured everyone a cup of steaming tea, adding milk and passing them out to his guests.
"And are you going to go public about your relationship?"
Charlie asked, relaxing back into the sofa and sipping his cup of tea with visible enjoyment.
Zoe glanced to Max who looked down at her. Charlie noticed the softness in his eyes as he looked at her, the flutter of a smile, but nothing more, no pressure.
"Not yet."
Zoe answered, glancing back again at Max as if to check what she had said was ok. Again he merely smiled in response, taking a gulp of his tea as Zoe looked back to Charlie.
"I don't want the extra attention, I just want to go in, and save lives, my private life is my business and I want it kept that way...at least for now."
She looked over at Tess who was sitting up stiffly in her chair, her mind obviously not eased by Zoe's words.
"So if you wouldn't mind keeping this to yourselves...?"
She asked, looking between them. Charlie nodded into his tea.
"I won't say a word."
He confirmed.
"Tess?"
She asked.
Tess drew in a sigh through her nose, her eyes wide and still laced with that ever-present certainty that Max was going to hurt her friend.
"I won't tell anyone."
She said eventually, her eyes resting on Max. Something about him not sitting right with her. Whether it be his charm, the ease of which he had slipped into Zoe's life when she was at her most vulnerable, or whether it was merely the fact that he was a ladies man who she couldn't bring herself to trust, she couldn't tell.
"Thank you."
Zoe blew into her tea sending ripples fluttering across it's milky surface. She could feel Max's heart beating softly against her back, his arm curled about her neck and his fingers absently tracing the line of her collar bone.
"What about Connie?"
Charlie spoke, asking the question that Zoe had been trying to ignore.
"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it..."
She answered, shifting uneasily further back into Max's body.
"So what would everyone like for dinner? I haven't got much in but we could order a takeaway?"
Charlie offered, gallantly changing the subject, finishing off his tea before the others had got half way.
"Sounds good to me."
Zoe found herself being overly enthusiastic, trying subconsciously to turn Tess's mood around.
"I think I probably should be getting back..."
Tess placed her half drunk tea on the coffee table, looking again at Max who smiled at her, a wide, perfectly symmetrical smile, his eyes curious as they looked her over.
"Tess it's pouring."
Charlie gestured to the window, although the curtains were closed they could hear the hammering of the rain still.
"I'll get a cab."
Tess answered, opening the small black bag she carried with her to find her phone.
"Don't be silly, I've got a spare bed...Tess..."
He placed a hand over her phone.
"You'll never get a taxi in this weather anyway..."
He added, his words convincing Tess who tucked her phone back into her bag and reluctantly sat back in the chair.
"Right, what do we fancy? I'll get the menu's...I think I've got some in a drawer somewhere..."
Charlie left the room to hunt for the takeaway menu's he had kept in a drawer in the kitchen dresser.
"You know all the numbers off by heart surely?"
Max whispered against Zoe's ear, wincing as she poked her elbow back between his ribs.
More to come :) Had a very long busy day so inspiration is dwindling but I'm sure it will speed up soon! Reviews very welcome :)