Max paced the floor of the small porters cupboard, Zoe stood with her back to the door, arms folded.

"Do you want to see him?"

She asked, watching him pace, his hand to his lips, chewing intently on the skin at the side of his thumb nail.

He slowed his pace and raised his eyes to look at her but remained silent.

"I can find someone else to bring Kathleen back down from X-ray?"

She asked, taking slow steps toward where he stood.

"I don't think she wants to see him either..."

When he eventually spoke his voice was low and soft. He let his hand fall to fold his arms across his body. Zoe stopped in front of him and placed her palm against his cheek.

"What happened...between you?"

She asked, squinting her eyes, trying to make out the blur of emotion behind his blue eyes.

He shrugged.

"Robyn's dad was always more of a dad than he was."

He said simply, averting his gaze.

She trailed her fingers across his cheek, across his jaw and let it fall from his face to his arms, folded about his body. She unfolded them and placed his hands on her hips, her own about his shoulders.

"No secrets."

She whispered, stroking the hair that curled at the nape of his neck. He inhaled slowly through his nose, looking down at her, taking a step forward to close the gap between them and intertwining his fingers as they came together at the base of her spine, holding her close.

"He fucked off when I was eight."

He spoke quietly, his cheek against hers, his breath fluttering her hair.

"With some woman, I don't know who, never met her."

He cleared his throat, she felt his chest vibrate against her own.

"I've only seen him twice since then. The first time I eleven. It was boxing day and Henry had built me this little trailer for my bike out of wood – it was brilliant. I was in the garden painting it when he came round. I don't remember saying anything to him but he knew that Henry had made it. He picked it up, I was just about to paint my initials on it in blue, I remember because when he picked it up I dropped my pot, I had blue paint on my hands for a week..."

Zoe felt him rub his thumb across the back of his other hand as he held her.

"Anyway, he picked it up and threw it back down on the pavement. It smashed and I remember crying. Henry fixed it but I don't think I played with it again."

She held him, his cheek warm against her own, she moved her hands against him, stroking his back gently.

"And the second time?"

She asked, her voice cracking as she spoke.

He puffed out a breath and squeezed her closer.

"I was eighteen and I decided to track him down. I couldn't drive so my then girlfriend drove us to meet him at his house. I don't know what I was looking for from him, but whatever it was I knew as soon as he opened the door that I wasn;t going to find it."

He paused briefly, clearing his throat again.

"Anyway, tp cut a long and very boring story short, I walked to the chip shiop on the corner to get us some food, came back and found him fucking my girlfriend."

At that he leaned his body back from her so that he could see her face, his eyes dulled of their sparkle. He touched a finger to her cheek, her eyes glittered with tears and she smiled a strained half-smile that caused her lips to wobble.

"Don't you cry!"

He smiled, stroking her cheek with his fingertips, brushing them across her lips. She sniffed and exhaled.

"Sorry."

She breathed, rolling her eyes.

"Why are you sorry?!"

He laughed slightly as he spoke, pulling her into him again so that he head rested against his shoulder.

She shrugged into him.

"I can't imagine how you'd get over something like that..."

She whispered. He squeezed her harder, rubbing his chin against her, kissing her hair.

"I don't suppose I did. But it taught me a lot...that the more I'm afraid of something, the more I know I have to do it. I figured that out when I was a kid. I can lead a protected life, hiding away from the scary world. Or I can take on the things that scare me the most. The more it might hurt, the more I might die doing it. The more worth doing it must be. Like you."

He whispered against her.

"Me?"

She asked, smelling him, the smell that was just him, no one else.

"Mmm".

He nodded again.

"I wanted you. I was bloody terrified of you rejecting me. But I knew that if I tried, if we worked, then we would be incredible."

He smiled into her hair. She smelled of perfume and antibacterial hand gel.

"Cheesy huh?"

He grinned, leaning away from her to look at her again. She squinted one eye, her lips upturning at one side.

"little bit."

She whispered.

"But I'm glad you did."

More soon (more exciting too) xxx