Title: Watch the Lights Go Wild
Chapter: 1/1
Fandom: Hart of Dixie
Pairing: Zoe Hart and Wade Kinsella
Rating: PG-13
Fictable Prompt: #68 Lightning for Cori
Word Count: 2,327
Summary: Wade shows Zoe that some things take some getting used to.
Warning: Spoilers through 1.10 Hairdos and Holidays
Watch the Lights Go Wild
A loud crash woke her with a start and Zoe shot up in her bed, eyes wide as she glanced around and attempted to figure out if the small guesthouse was about to come tumbling down on top of her. Clutching the sheet to her chest, Zoe's heartbeat was echoing in her ears as she tried to take a deep breath and calm down. The walls weren't caving in; it was just a noise, probably part of a dream. She let out a long breath and started to lay back down when she heard another crash, this one definitely rattling the walls and suddenly every window was flooded with bright light and seconds later it was gone just as fast as it had appeared.
"What the…?" Zoe's grip tightened on the sheet and she glanced at her clock to see what time it was, but she didn't see the red numbers, only a blank clock face. Another noise rattled the night and the flashing was back. "Lightning," she muttered. "It's only lightning." Zoe collapsed against her pillow, sighing loudly.
She'd never realized it was possible to miss the late night sounds that made up New York City until she'd moved to Alabama. Instead of cabs and sirens and people, Zoe usually heard the buzzing of mosquitoes and the humming of bug zappers and the chirping of crickets and all sorts of other nature noises that she deemed it best not to give too much thought to. Tonight, she'd have to add obnoxious, middle of the night thunderstorms to the list.
"It's January!" Zoe cried when the house shook again. The lightning flashed outside, longer this time, making shadows dance in the dark room as her heart started beating even faster. While it was nice that she didn't have to trudge through two feet of snow to get to her office, Zoe still wasn't used to the fact that she didn't need a jacket most days and she certainly wasn't used to storms keeping her awake in what was supposed to be the heart of winter.
As the windows lit up one more time, she quickly closed her eyes, turning her face into the pillow and did her best to block out the noise. But the next clap of thunder shook the entire house and the feeling of her bed shaking beneath her was too much. Zoe pushed the sheet aside and got up, making her way to the front window. She stopped a few feet away, a shiver going down her spine as lightning flashed outside.
She was being ridiculous. This was not her first thunderstorm and she was perfectly safe inside the house. But that didn't stop her from gasping when she saw another streak in the night sky. "Okay, so storms don't last that long, right?" Zoe sighed and walked back toward her bed, picking up her cell phone from the charger to see the time. It was a little after two a.m. She'd just wait it out and then go back to sleep and when she was late for work in the morning she'd blame it on the faulty fuse box.
Zoe wandered back over to the window, pushed the curtains aside and frowned when she saw that it wasn't even raining. How was it possible that there was so much noise and no rain? A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky into the middle of the lake and Zoe let out a loud scream as the water seemed to sizzle beneath it, another boom of thunder echoing for a long moment before the lightning bolt vanished and she quickly turned away from the window and hurried toward the center of the room.
Sitting down on the corner of the couch, Zoe hugged her knees to her chest and closed her eyes as tight as she could. "You're a doctor. You're too old to be afraid of storms. You're being ridiculous," she chastised herself even as she saw the lightning hitting the water over and over again in her mind's eye.
A sharp knock on the door tore another scream from her throat. Zoe's eyes flew open, her chest rising and falling fast as she stared at the closed door. Thunder shook the walls and as lightning lit up the sky, she saw the shadow of whoever was standing on her porch. Zoe swallowed hard, attempting to find her voice to call out and ask who was there, but before she could a familiar voice called her name.
"Zoe? What's going on in there?"
"Wade." Zoe breathed a sigh of relief as she practically jumped off the couch and rushed to open the door. Wade stood on her porch, dressed only in a pair of low-slung gray sweatpants, his hair tousled from sleep and a concerned look on his face. "What are you doing here? You scared me. Do you know what time it is?" She placed a hand over her heart, trying again to get her breathing under control.
His mouth fell open and then he rolled his eyes. "Really, Doc?" he asked incredulously. "I come running over here in the middle of a lightning storm because you were screaming and I scared you? Unbelievable." Wade shook his head and turned to walk away.
"No, don't go," Zoe said. She quickly pushed the screen door open and motioned for him to come inside. "I'm sorry, I'm just jumpy. Did I wake you up?" she asked, embarrassed that he'd heard her screaming. More lightning flashed and she reached for his arm, tugging him into the house and shoving the door closed before she flipped the lock into place.
"Mother Nature had that honor," Wade replied. He ran his hand through his hair as he gave her a quick once over before he glanced around the house the best he could in the dark. "Where's your flashlight?" he asked.
"I don't have one," Zoe replied. Or if she did, she had no idea where it was. "But I think I have a candle." She made her way back toward her nightstand and found the scented candle one of her New York friends had sent her for Christmas. She fumbled in the drawer until she found the box of matches and she turned around and jumped when Wade was standing right behind her. "Here," she said, handing them to him.
"Is it the storm that's got you so jumpy, Doc?" Wade asked as he struck a match and lit the candle as he walked to the couch, setting it on the table and taking a seat.
Zoe hesitated, not wanting to admit that she was afraid of the storm, but she knew she didn't really have much choice considering he'd heard her screaming. She nodded as she moved to the couch, sitting down in the corner again with her legs curled underneath her. "It woke me up and then I saw lightning hit the water. That's when I screamed," she admitted, hoping he wouldn't be able to see the way her face turned red. She waited for him to start mocking her.
Instead, he simply nodded. "Storms like this take some getting used to. It's mostly smoke and mirrors though. We probably won't see a drop of rain but the lightning will go on for awhile. Just think of it as a free fireworks show with some extra loud special effects," he suggested as the windows were lit up once again and a loud crash of thunder sounded.
She managed not to jump even though her heart was still pounding uncontrollably beneath her tank top. "That's good advice until the house shakes again." Zoe offered him a small smile. She appreciated that he was trying to make her feel better without teasing her. "I'm sorry about the screaming. I never really liked storms and we didn't get very many in New York City."
"Once it quiets down, you'll be able to go back to sleep," Wade replied. "I'll fix the fuse box in the morning." He started to get to his feet, but Zoe reached out, gripping his wrist to stop him.
"Could you stay?" Zoe knew she was being silly and there was no reason to be afraid, but she'd feel better if she wasn't alone. It wasn't like she was going to be able to sleep anytime soon. "Please," she added.
Wade seemed to hesitate for a moment and then he sat back down on the couch, shifting to throw his arm across the top of it as he faced her. "So, what's new?" he asked conversationally. "I haven't seen you around much since the pageant. Are you avoiding that rain check?"
Zoe bit her lip; she'd really hoped that he wouldn't bring that up. It wasn't that she was avoiding him or the drink she'd agreed to, but she wasn't exactly putting herself in a situation to run into him either. She hadn't been having breakfast at Lavon's lately and she'd stayed away from the Rammer Jammer too. But it wasn't a completely conscious choice; she'd been busy with her patients and helping Rose and…there really wasn't any point to making excuses in her own head.
The truth was that she wasn't sure what he wanted from her and that made her nervous. Even more than that, she wasn't sure what she wanted him to want from her and that downright scared her more than the storm that was raging outside. Wade was her friend; one of the few people she could actually count on in Bluebell and she wasn't sure she'd realized just how much that meant to her until he'd shown up on her porch.
"We're neighbors," Zoe said. "We share a fuse box and we have Lavon and this is a small town and I make really bad choices." Zoe saw him open his mouth and she shook her head, pressing on before he had a chance to say anything. "I don't know what I want and I'm trying to find my footing here and I don't want to mess things up between us. I like that you care enough to come running over here in a lightning storm and I don't want to lose that."
He raised an eyebrow, not saying anything as he just stared at her for a moment. "It was an invitation to get a drink, Doc, not a marriage proposal," Wade pointed out.
She felt her entire face turn bright red and Zoe was grateful for the power outage so he couldn't see just how embarrassed she was. "I know that," she stammered, desperately wishing she'd just kept her mouth shut. "I…" She didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry," she finished lamely.
Wade shook his head, his familiar easy grin slipping onto his face. "I think I like this nervous, awkward side of you. Maybe there's hope for you yet," he teased as he got to his feet and reached for her hand. "Come with me," he said.
"Where?" Zoe asked suspiciously. She just wanted to melt into the couch and pretend none of this had ever happened.
"You can't help but be difficult, can you?" Wade let out a dramatic sigh, bent down and lifted her over his shoulder, laughing when she made a startled noise. He carried her to the door and out onto the porch, setting her on her feet.
"What are you doing?" Zoe cried as a clap of thunder sounded followed by another large bolt of lightning. She started to move back to the door, but Wade grabbed her and spun her around, holding her against his chest as he pointed toward the sky.
"Just watch," Wade instructed. His grip tightened on her so she had no choice but to stay where she was, facing the water as lightning flashed again and again. "Don't think of it as being scary; focus on how beautiful it is."
Zoe glared at him over her shoulder and then turned back toward the water. Her heart seemed to jump each time a new streak appeared and she couldn't stop the shudder that went down her spine when thunder rattled the porch. But she did what Wade said and she watched the lightning itself and concentrated on the jagged edges and how crystal clear some of the bolts were. She started to observe different patterns and shapes within the bolts and she realized it really was a beautiful sight when the water crackled beneath it.
After a few minutes, she started to relax and she felt his grip loosening on her even though he didn't let go. She could feel the warmth of his bare chest against her back and Zoe chewed on her lip as a shiver went down her spine for a completely different reason that she wasn't sure she was ready to acknowledge. She watched the lightning streaks and she noticed the thunder was getting further and further away.
"It's passing," she said quietly, her eyes still on the water.
"Always does," Wade replied. He dropped his arms from around her and Zoe instantly felt the loss as she turned to face him.
"Thank you," she said quietly, her eyes on his. "For staying with me and for showing me how beautiful this really was. Maybe I won't scream next time," she added with a small smile.
"Maybe," Wade agreed. "Have a good night, Doc." He started to walk back toward his place and stopped halfway there, turning back to face her as more lightning lit up the sky. "There's no expiration date on that rain check and there doesn't have to be strings attached," he said pointedly.
Zoe smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. Good night, Wade." She stayed on the porch until she saw him disappear into his house and then went back inside, closing the door and leaning against it. Maybe lightning storms weren't so bad after all.
And maybe strings wouldn't be so bad either.