Zoe locked the car door, reaching out a hand and taking hold of Max's as they neared the hospital. He glanced sideways at her, squeezing her fingers. This was new...
She followed his gaze, a smile twitched at her lips and she squeezed him back, taking a moment to notice what he was wearing.
"Were you wearing those jeans when we left?"
She asked, frowning. He raised an eyebrow comically.
"No...I decided to come into work today in my pants but got cold feet when we reached the round about and popped these on..."
He paused as she looked up at him.
"Of course I was wearing them when we left..."
He stifled a laugh and she rolled her eyes.
"Why did you ask?"
He asked as they reached the doors to the hospital. They opened with a satisfying hiss and belch of warm air, allowing them into the building.
"They're all worn and too tight...How come I haven't seen you in them before?"
She asked, looking down at them again so that he felt compelled to follow her gaze with a self conscious glance.
"I only wear them when I don't have any clean clothes left."
He murmured, shivering against the warm air that blasted them fro, the overhead heater in reception.
"Well..."
She looked down at them again to his crotch, smiling as she traced the outline of what lay beneath the denim with her eyes.
"We must stop doing laundry at once."
She concluded, greeting Noel with the wave of her free hand, watching with a smile as he stared down at their intertwined fingers.
"I just can't get my head around it."
He spoke out loud as they paused at reception, Zoe letting go of his hand briefly to flick through a stack of envelopes.
"hmm?"
She murmured.
"You two...Holby's unlikeliest couple..."
He gestured to the two of them with a nod of his head.
Zoe raised an eyebrows and sucked in her cheeks.
"Stranger things have happened..."
She breathed, removing one of the letters and handing it back to Noel before placing the rest beneath her arm, holding them tight against her body and reaching for Max's hand again.
Louise placed a hot cup of coffee down in front of Noel, pursed her lips and cocked her head to one side, hands on her hips, regarding both Max and Zoe with a squint of her dark eyes.
"Seriously though...what do you see in him?"
She asked, looking pointedly at Max who arched both of his eyebrows.
"Thanks!"
He exhaled, watching as Noel took a sip of his coffee and scalded his tongue.
Zoe raised a hand, leaning her upper body over the reception desk and beckoned Louise over with a curled finger. Noel leaned in too, blowing cool air over the surface of his coffee.
"Seriously?"
Zoe whispered. Louise nodded, taking a sip of her own coffee and pausing, holding the mug against her bottom lip.
"He's got a huge..."
Noel exclaimed with a noise of repulsion and wafted a hand in her direction whilst Louise screwed up her nose.
"I don't want to know!"
Noel looked to Max who suppressed an amused grin despite the flush of his cheeks.
"You asked!"
Zoe smiled, raising her hands in defence and moving back away from the reception desk, slipping her fingers back to intertwine with Max's, and pulling him with her as she passed through the wave of double doors toward the staff room.
"Someone needs to go to Specsavers..."
Max murmured, leaning against her as they made way for a passing trolley. Zoe smiled and squeezed his fingers as she pushed down on the handle to the staff room and opened the door.
Inside Robyn was on all fours with a foot in Lofty's hand which he was peering it with confusion. Zoe paused in the door way, Max at her side.
"Do you need a doctor? Or will Zoe do?"
He asked, tilting his head. Robyn twisted her neck so that she could turn to see them and wriggled her foot free of Lofty's grasp.
"No...no, I'm just wearing my shoes in for the Christmas party..."
She explained as Lofty buckled up the band of the shoe about her ankle.
"You are both coming aren't you?"
Lofty asked, looking to them.
"Yeah..."
Max murmured, frowning.
"Will there be many vertical people there?"
He asked.
Robyn rolled her green eyes.
"I hope so."
She huffed as she scrambled clumsily up to a standing position where she teetered slightly on the four inch heels. Lofty caught her elbow with one hand, holding her steady as she regained her balance.
"What's that on your coat?"
Zoe asked. Now that Robyn had stood up, her coat had fallen the full length of her body and as she tucked it about herself to keep herself warm the bottom was noticeably lined with glistening silver lines.
Robyn glanced down and brushed at them with her hand.
"Oh...snails. Yeah, I went to a party last night and err...woke up in the garden."
She muttered, her cheeks glowing a brilliant pink beneath her freckles.
"Ah..."
Zoe nodded, unsure of what else to say.
"So..."
Max pushed his hands into his pockets.
"This party...do we bring anything? Dress up?"
He asked.
"I'm not dressing up."
Zoe interrupted, taking the opportunity to drop her bag down next to the kettle and set it to boil.
"Nope. Everything's sorted."
Robyn said, a look of satisfaction on her face as she smiled and placed her hands on her hips.
"We're just asking everyone to donate whatever spare cash they have to the children's ward..."
Lofty leant to one side and picked up a large wooden box, around it were carved pictures of children.
"What is that ?"
Max asked peering at it. Robyn huffed.
"I mentioned we were raising money for presents for the children's ward to a patient last week. He'd made it for his grandchildren but apparently it was too big..."
"Or too terrifying..."
Max interjected, peering again at the crooked faces of the wooden children. Robyn cleared her throat.
"Anyway, he gave it to us to use."
She concluded, taking the box from Lofty and moving to place it back down on the work surface, teetering on her heels whilst she placed the little donations sign back on top of it.
"Ah, I love it when patients give you things."
Rita said from where she sat against the window nursing a half drunk cup of tea, only briefly looking up from the magazine that she was reading.
"Apart from venereal disease..."
Max quipped with an amused roll of his eyes. Zoe arched an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?!"
She asked, his smile slipping from his lips as he sucked in a breath.
"Well, I'm just saying, that would be an unfortunate...gift...for someone..."
He murmured as he exhaled, folding his arms tightly across his chest and rocking back on the heels of his shoes.
"Are we talking about a someone who Is actually you?"
She asked, again raising an eyebrow in response.
He puffed out his chest dramatically.
"No! We are talking about someone who is actually someone else. Not me."
He said, lowering his voice.
"Really?"
She breathed.
"Really! My friend Paul...he's a nurse, he caught it from some Thai woman whose name I can't remember...sounded like a sneeze?"
He paused, noting her expression.
"I do have other friends..."
He added, tempting her with a quirk of his mouth, the tip of his tongue just visible through his lips as he smiled.
"Hmm."
She murmured, eyeing him with suspicion.
"I will believe you. But only because you are wearing those trousers."
The Christmas party is coming up soon...! xxx