A/N: So, I watched 2x15 and my goodness, was I ever mad at Wade and the whole crappy situation that occurred during Battle of the Bands. Then I got to PMing with the wonderful LongLiveTheHart and she said 'If only Zoe made it to that bar on time...' That's a very good point, what if she had? I thought about it, and this is what happened...
(Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and any recognisable dialogue from Hart of Dixie belong to Leila Gerstein and other folks who aren't me).
Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)
Zoe was a little shocked when she tried to push her way through the crowd at Tricky Rick's and almost got shoved back the way she came by none other than George Tucker.
"Hey, what is going on?" she asked, hands on his chest to make him stop.
"I'd ask your boyfriend that question," he told her crossly, "because I sure as hell have no idea."
"Wait, what?" she said, shaking her head in confusion. "Is it over? Did you guys not win?"
"We're supposed to be up next, but I doubt we're going on. Man's as drunk as a boiled owl."
"Wade is?" Zoe frowned. "I don't understand, he was fine when I left."
George looked like he wasn't prepared to be of any more help, so Zoe took matters into her own hands. She pushed forward through the crowd, yelling 'Excuse me' but not actually waiting for anyone to move. She found Wade slumped on a stool by the bar, guzzling beer and looking more than a little sorry for himself.
"This is not good," she muttered as she finally made her way to him. "Wade, what are you doing?"
"What does it look like, doc?" he asked her, rolling his eyes. "Staying hydrated," he told her then, toasting her with his beer bottle before moving it towards his lips.
Zoe whipped it out of his hand before he could drink anymore, not so difficult to do given how impaired his reflexes clearly were.
"Look at you," she said, shaking her head. "You're supposed to go on stage in a few minutes. God, you need coffee," she said, immediately ordering some.
"I need a real drink!" he told her, reaching to take his beer back.
Zoe took one step away, Wade reached too far and toppled off the stool onto the floor. Immediately Zoe stooped to help him, but he shook her off, telling her he was just fine without her help.
"Yeah, you look just fine," she told him, slamming his own beer bottle onto the bar. "I don't understand, Wade. What is the matter with you?"
"You wanna know what the matter with me is, doc?" he asked, getting in her face now he was back on his unsteady feet. "Every-damn-thing!"
With that, he turned around and headed straight out of the door. Zoe waited a beat or two, confused as anything by what was happening, then she started to get mad and tore after her boyfriend. She found him not far from the door, seemingly having been punched in the face by the fresh air. Well, he needed to sober up, so it couldn't hurt.
"Okay, you need to explain to me what got into you between a couple of hours ago and now," said Zoe crossly, "besides half the alcohol in the state."
"Oh, I'm sorry, doc," said Wade, rounding on her, spreading his arms wide. "Am I not the perfect boyfriend you were hoping for? Well, I guess we all can't be George 'Golden Boy' Tucker, now can we?"
"Where is this coming from?" she asked, so confused by the turn of events. "You know I don't want to be with George. We had this conversation already, so many times I feel like I'm on a freakin' merry-go-round!" she yelled, getting as mad at him as he seemed to be at her, though she had yet to figure out why he was being like this today. "Wade, is this because I had to leave? I mean, there was an emergency, but I came right back. I thought you understood that I supported you. That's what the sign was for."
"Yeah, 'cause all it takes is a neon sign and everything's perfect," he said, turning away, then turning back and wobbling terribly when he did so. "You really don't get it, do you, sweetheart?" he asked, almost laughing.
"I get that you're drunk and being a real ass right now. Is that what I'm supposed to get?"
"Well, welcome to reality, doc," said Wade, too close to her face again. "I am an ass. I'm an idiot and a loser and the sooner you realise that and just run on back to New York and leave me behind, the better it'll be for everybody."
He turned to walk away again but this time Zoe wasn't letting him get far. She didn't know what was making him say these things, though she doubted it was all about the booze. She had heard him put himself down before, thinking he wasn't good enough, but after everything that had happened today, she thought he at least knew how much she cared about him, how much she believed in him. Clearly not.
"Wade," she said, grabbing his wrist. "Don't talk like that," she urged him.
"Why not?" he asked, turning back, but pulling his arm from her grasp at the same time. "It's the truth. I fail at everything, doc. Every single damn thing I ever did, so what the hell is the point? I can't win this thing," he told her, gesturing back to the bar where the Battle of the Bands continued on. "I'll never have my own bar and I sure as hell don't stand a chance of making things work with you. You're gonna leave and I'll be right back where I was before at the bottom of the pile just like always. So, what in the hell is the point in even pretending?!"
Zoe couldn't explain why she did it. Maybe because he was just being so infuriating or because he was right in her face and scaring her just a little bit right now. One minute she was still and the next her hand swung back and then struck him right across the face. She regretted it the moment she realised what she had done, her hand covering her mouth and tears running from her eyes before Wade had even got his head back straight after it had whipped so hard to the left. He didn't say anything, just looked shocked, and maybe even a little more sober.
"You're such an idiot, Wade Kinsella!" Zoe told him, hating that she was crying but unable to help it. "You just can't see that you're worth believing in, can you? You get so pissed at me for not supporting you, not believing in you, but you cannot, even for a second, believe in yourself. What hurts even more is that you don't even believe in us," she told him, determined to keep going even as it got harder to force the words out, determined to make sure Wade kept listening even when he tried to turn away.
"You mean so much to me," she said, grabbing a hold of his shirt so he had to stay put. "I hate that you can't see that. I hate that just when you're about to get your shot, you're ruining it for yourself. Not me, not George, not even Meatball and his awful singing, just you. It's like you're afraid to actually succeed, and that is the stupidest thing I ever heard. You're great, Wade Kinsella. You're an amazing person and you can do amazing things, if you just try. I know that, and since you don't, I guess I'm going to have to stand right here and tell you, every day, until it sticks. I'll do that Wade, if that's what it takes, but please, do not let a good thing slip away just because you're afraid."
Zoe wasn't sure if she was getting through at first. She wasn't even sure what the good thing was that she was talking about anymore. The chance for Wade to get his bar, the two of them being together, it could be either or both. Whatever it was, Zoe worried Wade was too drunk to understand. She worried more that when she hit him she did some real damage. After a while, she realised it wasn't the booze or some kind of head injury that was keeping him quiet. It was the same emotion that had been trying to steal her own voice this whole time.
"I'm sorry," he forced out eventually, eyes brimming with tears.
"Don't be sorry," she urged him, hands sliding up to either side of his face. "Be Wade Kinsella. Be the incredible guy I know that you are. Come back inside with me, win Battle of the Bands, get that prize money, and make this bar of yours happen."
"I don't know," he said, voice still shaking.
"Well, I do!" Zoe said determinedly. "You know, when I first came to Bluebell, I didn't know if I could do it. It scared me to death to be in a place where nobody liked me, where I didn't understand the customs or the ways of the people. I wanted to run away, all the time, but I didn't, and a you know who kept me going on the roughest days?"
"Lavon?" he guessed, smirking just a little.
"Sometimes, yes," she admitted, smiling because she couldn't help it, "but a lot of times, it was you. You were a real friend to me when I needed one. Even when you were being a pain in the ass, at least I knew you cared what happened to me. Now... now we have something so good. I don't know why you've got it in your head that it has to go wrong, or why you think you're bound to fail, but I don't see it that way. I don't see you that way," she promised him.
"Er, guys?" George called from the door.
Zoe and Wade both turned to look at him at the same time.
"Sorry, but... I got the manager to shift us down the list, but we have to go on in a minute. Last chance."
"Last chance," Wade echoed softly. "Guess I gotta do this then."
Zoe smiled as she met his eyes.
"You've got this, Kinsella. I know you do," she promised him. "And no matter what happens, you've got me, okay?"
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding his head. "Yeah, I know that," he said, sounding like he might actually did believe it.
Just in case he had any doubts left, Zoe pulled his head down and kissed him firmly on the lips. When they parted, she was as relieved as anything to see Wade smile.
"Well, what are we waiting for, Tucker?" he said, looking to George then. "Let's do this."
Zoe breathed a sigh of relief as she followed Wade and George back inside. She went to take a seat at the bar next to Tansy and ordered herself a large glass of wine that she felt she really needed after that.
"Everything alright?" asked Tansy, frowning at what Zoe assumed was the terrible state of her face after all the crying.
"I think so," she said, nodding her head. "I hope so," she added, turning towards the stage just as the music started.
Any worries she had faded away as Mind Face, featuring George Tucker, played their set. They were so good and it was clear the crowd thought so too. Despite how much he had clearly had to drink, Wade played the best Zoe had ever heard him play, and he and George were word perfect and note perfect on each song they sang.
It was no surprise to Zoe when a short while later the winners of the Battle of the Bands was announced as Mind Face, though it did come as a bit of a shock when Wade lifted her up off the bar stool and carried her onto the stage with him to collect the prize money.
"You're a crazy person!" she told him as he finally set her down, though she was laughing all the same.
"Yes, ma'am," he told her, grinning like a fool. "Crazy 'bout you anyway. You got no idea what you did for me back there, doc," he said then, getting a little more serious as he met her eyes. "If you hadn't shown up when you did-"
"Well, I did," she said before he could wonder about that too much. "And I meant what I said, Wade. I really do believe in you, and if I need to, I will keep telling you that every day until you believe in yourself too, because the truth is... the truth is I just love you, so much."
He looked momentarily stunned by those words, maybe even more than he had been when she slapped him before. Then that same old Wade Kinsella smile that she loved so much broke through the shock.
"Yeah, well, the truth is I probably love you too, Zoe Hart," he told her, pulling her closer and kissing her deeply. "Damnit, doc," he said when they parted, "I'm starting to think maybe we really are stuck with each other."
"Sounds good to me," she told him, reaching into his back pocket and producing the prize cheque. "So, does this mean I get a drink named after me too?" she asked, smiling widely as she waved the cheque triumphantly.
"Baby, you can have the whole damn bar named after you if that's what you want," he told her sincerely.
Zoe made a face and shook her head. "And waste that fancy sign I already got made? Not a chance."
On that note, Wade had nothing he could find to do but kiss her one more time.
The End
IMPORTANT: For those that don't know, I'm watching Hart of Dixie for the first time and trying to avoid spoilers, so while I will be extremely grateful for any reviews I might get on this story I would appreciate nothing that might spoil me for anything past s2e15. Many thanks in advance :)