The Secret Life Of Casualty

Chapter 88.

Zoe leant outside the ED, having a ciggie and holding her hand up with her wedding ring on, she had known betraying Max was wrong but she couldn't help it, commitment scared her. She had a long drag on her cigaratte, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes. She walked in to the ED, down the corridor. She headed in to the staff room. She opened her locker and pulled out her scrubs. She pulled on the green baggy pants and top, putting her stethoscope around her neck. She headed in to RESUS.

She headed over to the RESUS bed, shocked that the patient was her old friend Sam Nicholls, her and Tom had been involved in a car crash. Tom had escaped with a few bruises and scratches, but Sam had taken the force of the crash.

"Robyn, ring orthopaedics, please" Zoe said, looking at her leg, it was definitely dislocated.

Tom was in RESUS, trying to help, but he was just getting in Zoe's way. She looked up. "Tom, you know you can't help treat her " She told the former Doctor. "Relatives room, I'll come and find you, once I have any news"

"Fine" Tom muttered, turning around and bursting through the ED doors.

Zoe sighed, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, she was beginning to feel stressed.

Robyn got off the phone. "Zoe?"

"Um?" The doctor said, continuing to examine Sam.

"Surgery can take her"

"Good" Smiled Zoe in relief, as two surgeons, dressed in scrubs, come down to take her.


A dark, tall figure strolled confidently in to the ED, his briefcase by his side.

"Mr J?" Noel seemed shocked, Mr Jordan hadn't been seen in the ED, since the death of his girlfriend.

"Hello Noël, where's Dr. Hanna?" Mr Jordan replied.

Noel opened his mouth to speak, to tell Nick that Zoe was no longer Dr. Hanna, she was Dr. Zoe Walker.

But Nick was already walking off in search of the woman that he had loved.

"Hello stranger"

Zoe's eyes widened, she knew that voice. She turned to face him. "Nick" She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "What are you doing here?" She asked, after regaining her breath and dropping the ciggie on to the floor.

"I come back to see you" He told her.

Once, upon a time, Zoe would have loved to hear them words, but she married, it was something with Nick she had never quite manage to achieve.

"Excuse me, Nick?" She said, remembering that she said that she would go and find Tom, to update him on Sam's condition. She headed back inside and found Tom, pacing the room.

"Tom" She called. Sitting down.

"What? Is Sam ok?" Tom's words were hurried, directed at his former boss to find out weather his wife was ok.

"She's fine, the surgery was a success " Zoe informed him and she could see the tension leave him, as he stood.

"Can I see her?" He asked.

Zoe nodded as they both walked out of the room, heading to the lifts. They travelled up to ITU in silence.

Seeing Sam attached to wires and machines and a ventilator doing her breathing for her, reminded Zoe when she battled hypothermia on her wedding day, as well, as her other friend, Jessica, who had ended up in a coma.

Tom took a seat beside his wife. "Wake up Sam, please" Tom squeezed his wife's lifeless hand as Zoe left them alone.


Max and Zoe met up in his 'office' on the first break they had both got. Zoe had told him that she had something to tell him, but didn't say what it was about, leaving Max worried.

Zoe was quiet, so it was left to Max to speak. When, he first arrived at the hospital he had heard the rumours: about the consulant and the former clinical lead, it's why Nick had handed the role over to Zoe, because he knew that she would make an excellent team leader.

"If you love someone, let them go " Max told her. He still loved Zoe, but after her betrayal, he was hurt that she would betray him again.

"OK" Zoe nodded, a single tear rolling down her cheek. She knew that she had to apologise for what she did. "Max"

He looked at her. "Yeah?"

"I really am sorry" She told her husband, her head down.

Max sighed, "I know you are Zoe "

Nick walked outside and headed over to his car, giving Zoe and Max some time to themselves.

Zoe pressed her lips to her husbands cheek.

"Where's Zoe going?" Robyn asked, as she joined her brother at the end of the shift.

"She's leaving Robyn " Max told her as Lofty also joined them. He looked at Max with sympathy in his eyes, having heard the conversation between brother and sister.

As, Zoe opened the door to Nick's car, she took one last look at Max and sighed as she got in to the car. Nick rested a hand on her knee. Nick had no idea where they were going, but that was part of the adventure with them. Nick turned on the engine and the car roared in to life, and Zoe found she was happy to leave her old life behind.


After a few hours drive, with a few stops at services, Nick arrived at the place he now called home. It was a cottage with a big garden, ideally for their future children to play in, but both Nick and Zoe knew that she couldn't have children. They were other ways around that: adoption, surrogacy and fostering.

Nick wrapped his arms around Zoe as they both stood in the kitchen.

"This is what I've always wanted, Zo" Nick told her, placing a kiss on her head.

"Me too" Zoe agreed as she took Nick's hand and led him up the stairs to bed.


The next morning, Zoe woke to see

She padded downstairs to see an envelope addressed to her. She ripped it open to find divorce papers inside.

Zoe felt sad to see her marriage to Max come to an end, but she knew that this was the right thing to do for herself and him. She picked up a pen and signed her name, before looking at her hand and taking her wedding and engagement ring off. She put them in the envelope and put the envelope in her bag, ready to take to the post office. She posted the envelope and then set about searching for local hospital jobs.

She got a job as consulant, based on her past experience at the ED. And found, she was loving it, to her surprise, she also discovered Adam Trueman and Jessica Harrison were working there to.


I really liked writing this one, thanks for reading. I'm putting this up early as I know I will forget. Sorry, to those of you who are Zax shippers, and wanted her to stay with Max, I had Nick in mind as I wrote this.