Author's Note: So, I don't know if anybody remembers me on here in the Hart fandom. It's been a while. But I still love the show. I actually have less time to write than I've ever had before, but I want to make time. I'm not promising quick updates or anything, because I think we all know how impossible that is, but I want to get back into the fandom again. So, this story is one I've wanted to do for a while. It's a songfic for a song that I felt would be really good for Zade for the cliffhanger at the end of season two. The song is called "Austin" by Blake Shelton, but instead of Austin, I'm saying New York, because it's Zoe. Still, I think the essence of the song will stay. I hope you like it. And I want to try and work on my other stories for this fandom. Let me know which ones you want updated most. Also, I've recently joined archiveofourown, so if anyone thinks I should post my HoD stories there, let me know that too. Sorry for the super long author's note, and the super longer wait for anything from me in this fandom (or most fandoms). I want to say I especially love writing for this fandom because I think I got more support for my HoD stories in the form of reviews than from any other fandom, so, please keep that up. Thank you, and enjoy.
New York
He had her number. It wasn't like he didn't have her number. It wasn't like he couldn't call her. He could. He should. He wouldn't.
Zoe stared at her phone for the millionth time, wondering if it would ring, if it would be Wade. He knew how to reach her. If she could have left without him knowing how to reach her, maybe she would have, but she couldn't so …
She kept waiting for him to call, those first three months, dreading it, hoping for it. Then, she couldn't take it anymore.
"I am not some girl who waits by the phone." She said to herself in the mirror. And so, she changed her number. It had been her mother's idea really. A fresh start. Leave Bluebell behind. Leave Wade behind.
Did she want to leave Wade behind?
And time passed. She worked in the hospital, and things were going well. They were going really well. She was getting her head on straight. Things were … good.
He had told her he loved her. Right before she left, he had said it, and she didn't know how to deal. He had cheated on her. How could she forgive that? And she was back in New York. Finally! She belonged in New York. Didn't she?
It was long shifts at the hospital that had her drifting off to sleep at work and as soon as she got home. Her head would hit the pillow, and she would dream of Wade. She was in his arms. He was telling her he loved her. But then she woke up, and he was gone.
And she would see couples everywhere she went and wonder, had he moved on? Was there some other girl that Wade held at night now?
Finally, she broke and called him.
The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.
She got voicemail.
"If you're callin' 'bout the car I sold it, if this is Tuesday night, I'm bowlin', if you got somethin' to sell, you're wastin' your time, I'm not buyin' -" long message, Zoe thought, and since when did Wade bowl? "If it's anybody else, wait for the tone, you know what to do, and P.S. if this is New York callin', that thing I said before you left … I still mean it."
Zoe dropped the phone. What the hell? Was he expecting her to call? He couldn't have known. Anybody could have heard that message, and even without the actual words, it wasn't that hard to decode. How … it had been almost a year. Was he really still waiting for her?
She spent the next three days analyzing it. She wished she had some friends to help her analyze, but she didn't have time for friends with her schedule at the hospital. She missed Lavon, and Rose, and Annabeth. She missed Wade. Not that she could talk to Wade about Wade. And Lavon would be pretty biased too.
He still meant it? After all this time? But maybe not. After all, he could have recorded that ages ago. She didn't know how often he updated his message. That could be old. And the thing about bowling, that was weird. Because Wade didn't bowl, did he? Maybe he joined a league. What else had changed? Had he really sold his car?
Three days of deliberating, acrobats in her head, and she gave it another try, not sure what she was going to say.
It rang a three times, and then she heard his voice again,
"If it's Friday night, I'm at the ballgame, and first thing Saturday, if it don't rain, I'm headin' out to the lake, and I'll be gone all weekend long. But I'll call you back when I get home, Sunday afternoon. And P.S. if this is New York callin', that thing I said before you left … I still mean it."
Zoe took a deep breath. She heard herself spit out her new cell phone number. No, "Hi Wade," or "It's Zoe." No pleasantries, and definitely nothing more than that. Just ten digits.
She waited. She agonized about it all Saturday, and then Sunday came. She remembered what his machine had said. He was going to call back on Sunday.
Or was he?
Would he?
She had no clue what she would say.
But then the phone rang, and she saw his number come up on the caller I.D. She let it ring a couple times, and then she picked up. And she just started talking, hoping he'd let her.
"If you're calling about my heart, it's still yours. I should have listened to it a little more. Then it wouldn't have taken me so long to find where I belong. And by the way, this isn't a message. This is New York, and I … I love you, Wade."
She didn't hear anything at first. Her heart dropped down to her shoes. Her eyes stung. She thought about hanging up. And then-
"Come home, Doc."
Author's Note: So, what do you think. It was really rushed, and not my best, but hopefully it is enjoyable. I hope to be on here more in the future. No promises though. Please Review.
