I looked at my watch as I got off the plane, pulling my small suitcase behind me. We were going to have to be quick if we wanted to make it on time. We had to make it on time. It was inappropriate to be late to a funeral, especially when you've been gone for six months. My eyes scanned the crowd as quickly as possible until they fell on a woman dressed in a sundress. I made my way to her, suddenly self-conscious that my outfit was too sophisticated for the southern town.

"Thanks for picking me up, I know there's probably a lot to do today in town." I gave her a sad smile and she leaned down to hug me.

"I can always make time for my favorite New Yorker. Now we have to hurry, but I want to hear all about your fellowship." She said as she took some of the bag out of my hands.

"Annabeth, before we go, do you think this is okay to wear? I mean I'm not really sure what southern mourning is like." I timidly asked her while looking down at my 3/4 length black dress that I had paired with some sandals and sunglasses. It would keep me cool in the Alabama het, but it was respectful.

"You'll be fine, I'm changing when we get back to the house quick. I just didn't want to have to be sadder than I already am by wearing black before I had to," she explained. I nodded and followed her out to the Navigator.

"So how is everyone?"

"They're doing okay considering. It just came as a shock for most f us, people don't just die in Bluebell unless they're over 80. I can't remember the last time we had a funeral for someone so young," she replied, a bit of sadness evident in her voice.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. When I got the call, I was floored. I just couldn't believe it. It's such a tragedy, she was so young," I recalled.

"We'll let's not dwell on the sadness before the funeral. We can't show up all teary eyed. How was New York?" She questioned as she made her way onto the highway to get back to Bluebell.

"It's good, busy."

"Any new boys since we last talked?"

"No, not really. I mean I've met some guys, but no one special. No one wants to date a surgeon because they have no free time."

"I'm sure you'll meet someone soon." I nodded, appreciating her reassuring thoughts. "So how long are you in town for?"

"Just until tomorrow, I have an appendectomy scheduled for early Monday morning."

"Darn. I was hoping we would have some more time to catch up. Lavon's going to be upset."

"I know, I wish I had more time, but duty calls. How is he anyway?"

"He's doing alright. The whole accident thing has kind of thrown off the town, so after the funeral he's just hoping that things start to go back to normal," she reported and went on to inform me about all the other town gossip, skipping over my former neighbor. I didn't ask and she didn't tell. I would know soon enough anyway.

She pulled into Lavon's driveway and helped me get my things out of the car before running inside to change. The boys were already at the church, serving as ushers, so I didn't have to worry about any awkward confrontations just yet.

I felt guilty almost immediately after thinking that. It was incredibly selfish of me to be worrying about that when someone had just died. Annabeth came running downstairs and hopped back in the car, now wearing a black sleeveless dress with a gray cardigan over it.

The church parking lot was packed, so we parked at the Rammer Jammer and walked over. I admitted to her that I was a bit nervous to see everyone after being gone so long and leaving how I did. She reassured me that right now, no one was worried about that. In front of the steps was a huge poster board with a picture on it and a name written under it in cursive.

'Magnolia Breeland' it read, with this year's school picture above. We hurriedly went inside and sat in the first seats we could find.

I scanned the room quickly, seeing Lemon and Brick in the first pew, clinging onto each other. Wade was up front with Lavon and had yet to see me. Rose spotted me first. She quietly got up from her seat next to her parents and slid in next to me.

"Zoe, I can't believe you came," she whispered and hugged me gently. Her eyes were red from crying. I surveyed the rest of her, noting her black eye and the cast on her left arm.

"Of course I came. I needed to make sure you were okay. We need to talk later." I instructed sternly right before the ceremony started. She nodded and then looked up at Pastor Mayfair, who stood left to the closed casket.

"Magnolia Breeland was a lot of things; passionate, fun-loving, caring, and funny to name a few. She brought joy to those around her and loved being the center of attention. To lose someone so young is truly tragic and devastating. But now she is living better than any of us. You may question why she was taken from us at such a young age, well that answer is simple. God needed her in heaven to help him with the rest of us. She may be the lucky one, some might go as far to say. She is up in heaven with Jesus right now while we are on earth, with a huge hole in our hearts. A hole that cannot be fixed or forgotten. Magnolia's love of life perplexed me. She was youthful and energetic and I often questioned just where she got so much spunk from. Was it from her father? Her sister? But I got my answer today. She got it from God. He blessed her with a bubbly personality so she can heal the ones who were having a bad day, or feeling down. God gave us all a gift for 16 years that we took for granted. We didn't expect to have her taken from us so soon. But she wouldn't have wanted this. A gathering in her honor, yes, for sure she would want that," the congregation gave out a subtle chuckle, knowing it was true. "But she certainly would not have wanted to see everyone so upset. She would be running around, making jokes to get people to laugh to heal their hurt. Which is why we are all here today; to try and heal that hurt, just like she would have wanted us to." Reverend Mayfair continued until finally, a slideshow of Magnolia played and we were asked to join the Breeland family in the cemetery for the internment.

Brick and Lemon stood outside the doors, thanking people for joining them today and for being so supportive. We waited patiently in line and I couldn't help but be at a loss of words. What do you say to someone who has lost a daughter? A sister? I didn't have much time to think because Annabeth and I were next in line.

"Dr. Hart, thank you for coming in for this. We really appreciate it." Lemon said with tears coming down her face. She pulled me into a hug, which I accepted.

"I'm so sorry for your loss Lemon, truly. If there is anything I can do, please just let me know." I squeezed her hand supportively as I made my way to Brick. He had been trying to keep it together for the whole service, but he was starting to break down.

"Dr. Hart," he said weakly, the tears pooling around his eyes.

"Brick, I am incredibly sorry. She was a great girl an I was lucky to have met her." I said, not wanting to bring up how I taught her to drive, seeing as that was how she died.

"I know, she sure was something else, wasn't she?" We both leaned in for a hug and her reluctantly let go.

"Thank you for coming back for this, it means a lot to Lemon and I." He said sadly and I have him a small smile.

"Of course, anything for you Brick." I touched his shoulder meaningfully.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Than I don't feel so bad about the favor I'm about to ask. You see, Lemon and I were thinking about going to our lake house for the summer. We just need to get out of Bluebell for now. Everything here is just a constant reminder of her. I was wondering if you could stay for the summer and work at the practice?" The man in front of me was the picture of a broken man. I was taken by surprise and didn't know what to say.

"Oh, Brick, wow. I wish I could, but I'm all settled in New York and-"

"Just think about it, please. I don't want to leave the town in the hands of someone they don't know. You know how long it took for them to warm up to you. Just let me know." Brick said as he moved on to greet the next mourner. I stood there for a second, frozen. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't come back to Bluebell, New York was my home now, but he was hurting so bad. I understood that he couldn't here. I was truly torn, before I was ripped from my own brain when I saw six members of the football team carry her casket to the hearse that was waiting. I watched Brick and Lemon get in a car behind the hearse and knew it was time to head to the ceremony. I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes, feeling them start to well up. I didn't know Magnolia that well, but it was sad to see the whole town hurting, especially Brick and Lemon. It was definitely sad, but a bit moving how everyone in town came out today to support them. I met with Annabeth who was standing near the Navigator, waiting for me.

"There you are, we still have to wait for the boys because they walked here." She said and hopped in the front seat. I knew I should let Lavon have the passenger seat, but that would leave me with Wade in the backseat. I reluctantly climbed in the SUV's second row and we waited in silence.

"What did Brick say to you?" She asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

"He asked me to stay," I answered, a bit of reluctance in my voice. I knew that people wouldn't understand that I can't just drop everything and move back.

"What'd you say?"

"I haven't given him a definite answer yet, but there's no way I can stay. My life is in New York."

"Ya ever thought that maybe if your life was completely in New York that you wouldn't have come back here for the funeral? You didn't really know her, so if you were completely done with Bluebell, why'd you come back?" She responded. She didn't intend to hurt my feelings, but it sounded like she still had some animosity towards me for leaving. Maybe I shouldn't have come back. This was just going to stir up drama and Lord knows the people of Bluebell don't need that right now.

"I never thought I would see the day that my favorite doctor came back to my town." I recognized his voice immediately, not that it was a hard one to forget, but the frequent calls didn't hurt.

"Lavon!" I said, maybe a little too enthusiastically for this somber day. I jumped out of the car and jumped into his arms. I was really crying now. I didn't realize how much I had missed him until I saw him again.

"I'm so sorry about everything that's happened." I sobbed as he held me tight.

"These kinds of things happen sometimes. There's nothing you can do about it." He sounded sad, but ready to move on. I pulled away and pushed my sunglasses up on top of my head and wiped my tears. I took a deep breath and laid eyes on him for the first time in half a year.

"Hi Wade." I said quietly. He nodded at me.

"Doctor Hart." His voice wasn't overly friendly, but it wasn't rude either. It was just Wade.

"Well we should get going guys, don't want to be the last ones there." Annabeth ushered us back into the car. Wade slid in the backseat with me, but kept his focus out the window.

"So, how'd it happen anyway?" I asked once we had settled into silence.

"Well once you left, her and Rose got real close because Magnolia had just been dumped and Rose was out of a best friend. They were driving to Mobile to go shopping and it was raining. She slid across the highway and hit a tree on the other side. It's a miracle Rose made it, you should have seen the car." Lavon recounted. I instantly felt a pang of guilt because he made it pretty clear that Rose must have been in a pretty dark place to reach out to Magnolia.

"I can't even imagine." I mumbled, looking down at my hands. My eyes wandered over to Wade, who was still looking out the window. I took a breath and my hand ventured over to his. I lightly tapped it with my pinky finger. His head turned towards me.

"Can we talk later?" I mouthed to him. He nodded slowly, and I could see the hurt in his eyes. Maybe it was because this was such a sad day, or maybe it was because he has been like this since I left, I don't know, but he wasn't Wade anymore. At least he wasn't the Wade I knew.

The internment was equally as sad; the sight of Brick and Lemon crying made me start to cry. I don't think there was a dry eye in the place. I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes, as did many people. I was standing next to Wade awkwardly as Reverend Mayfair said some more words about Magnolia. He must have seen the tears coming down my face because he put his left arm around me and pulled me into his chest. I moved closer to him, glad to have some sort of comfort. After Brick and Lemon laid flowers down on the casket, everyone slowly started to disperse form the cemetery.

"I'm just going to be a minute." I told Lavon. He nodded as I walked off.

"Hey Harley, it's me. I know you're probably surprised to be hearing from me now, but I'm only in town for one night, it was sort of a last minute thing. Brick actually asked me to stay, and I know I can't, but there's something inside of me that knows that it's not right to leave these people here without a doctor that they don't know. I wish I know what you would've done if you were me. You'd probably stay here and save the day, but that's not me. I tried doing that before and it obviously didn't turn out well," I paused for a second before continuing, "I'll try and come by tomorrow and clean up some of these weeds. I love you." I touched the headstone and backed away. The three of them were waiting for me at the car.

"Sorry, I'm ready now." I assured and climbed back into the car. While sitting there, I couldn't help but notice how nice Wade looked in his suit. It reminded me of the night we first got together.

When we got back to Lavon's, Wade headed to the gatehouse to change and I went up to the spare bedroom at Lavon's. The carriage house wasn't occupied, but it was dusty, seeing as no one had been in there for 6 months. I changed into a pair of jeans and a blouse and went down stairs to find Lavon cooking dinner.

"Smells good, what're we having?"

"Chicken Marsala." He answered, but we went back to silence after that.

"Look, Zoe, I know what Brick asked you, and I just wanted you to know that you wouldn't only be doing him a favor, but you'd be doing the whole town a favor. It hasn't been the same since you left. Wade, for one, mopes around constantly, Rose is lonelier now more than ever, Annabeth has no one to have girl time with for the rest of the summer, and honestly, I just miss my best friend." I was a bit shocked by his speech.

"Lavon, I miss you guys so much, but I can't just give up my life in New York to move back here."

"Well why not? If Lavon Hayes's memory serves him correctly, you gave up your life in Bluebell to move back to New York." I sighed; I knew no one would understand why I can't stay.

"Lavon, please don't do this. I'm sorry, alright, but I just can't." I made myself clear and he went back to cooking. We sat in silence until Annabeth came back down and Wade entered not shortly after.

"So what time is your flight tomorrow Zoe?" Annabeth asked me when we had sit down for dinner.

"9:30. It's a Redeye back to JFK. I get in at 6 and have an appendectomy scheduled for 7:30."

"Oh, that's nice. So what's New York like this time of year?"

"It's just starting to get warmer, the flowers are blooming. It's beautiful. Nothing like down here though. And I don't get to see the outside very much. Just when I'm walking to and from work."

"How long are your shifts?"

"Regularly 10 hours, but if a trauma comes in, I've been there for a solid 34 hours once because right at the end of my shift, a bus crash happened, so we were filled. I had to stay the next 14 hours and then I worked my next 10 hour shift. That was a long few days for sure." I remembered, noting how tired I was.

"Wow, sounds like you're living the dream up there Doc." Wade said sarcastically. I stifled a little laugh, but took a slight offense to it.

"I am. I'm doing what I love." We finished dinner and drank a bit of wine before Lavon and Annabeth headed to bed because it was a long day.

"So, I guess we can have that talk now." Wade said when Annabeth and Lavon were out of earshot.

"Wade, I just wanted to start off by saying I'm sorry. I should have told you in a better way that I wasn't coming back, it's just I was so busy, and I didn't know what to say."

"A phone call would have sufficed."

"I know, and that's why I'm apologizing. You deserved at least a phone call. Are you mad?"

"Zoe, I told you I loved you and then I don't hear from you for six months. I want to be mad, but I'm not. I'm not mad."

"Then what are you?"

"To be honest, I don't know. I didn't expect to see your face again, so I didn't really have a huge speech planned if ya know what I mean. But you'll be gone by tomorrow anyway, so what's the point?" He said softly, which shocked me. I hadn't expected him to just give up.

"The point is that I want us to be okay."

"Doc, you're leaving the state to go live 1,000 miles away. It's useless." He said even quieter as he put his beer down and walked out the door. I stood there, alone in the kitchen, with his last sentence flooding my brain.