What a Difference a Father Makes: Pilot
AU- What if Harley had been alive when Zoe came to Bluebell? How would his being there have changed her experiance in this new world?
Disclaimer: First of all this is the first Fanfiction I've written in quite a while, so please be kind. The plan is for each chapter to follow an episode sequentially but by design the story line of the show will diverge significantly as things get going. Much of the dialog of this first chapter is pulled directly from the Pilot of the show, with slight alterations due to conformity with the plot. All credit for the dialog therefore remains with Leila Gerstein and the other creators of Hart of Dixie along with her wonderful characters who have been floating around inside my head for a while. I own nothing. If feedback continues to come back positive I will continue the story.
"Doctor Hart? That was quite a speech."
"Thanks."
"My name is Dr. Harley Wilkes. I'm from Bluebell, Alabama. I have a small private practice there, it's a great place, with great people, and a great place for a young doctor to hone her craft. I'd like to offer you a job."
The first time he'd offered her the position, at the wonderfully inopportune time of her graduation from medical school, she'd turned him down. At the time she was right. Bluebell was nowhere near the plan for woman graduating top of her class from medical school. Anyone one would have agreed with her on that… except Harley. Funny thing how he turned out to be right.
Lucky for Doctor Zoe Hart, Harley wouldn't give up. So she laughed a little every time she got one of his postcards in the mail and set it off to the side. Within the next few years she'd racked up a nice little pile of them on her bedside table. Then the bottom fell out. Her boyfriend dumped her for caring too much about surgery. She lost out on the cardiothoracic fellowship, and at the same time the head of her department basically called her the tin man. And his suggestion? Become a General Practitioner. It was almost fate that she went home that night and found yet another post card.
"Doctor Wilkes, this is Doctor Zoe Hart leaving a message. You win. I'm on my way."
From the time she stepped off the bus in Bluebell it was clear she wasn't in the City anymore. But thankfully within minutes George Tucker had pulled over to offer her a ride. Without even knowing his name she agreed and quickly found out that he too had once been a New Yorker, but had instead chosen to return back to the small town without much of a second thought.
Finally making her way to the office listed on the cards Zoe took a deep breath looking up at the Victorian house that held the practice. The sign outside read "Wilkes Breeland Family Practice." Zoe bit her lip and considered bolting. Family Practice was not the plan, but where was she going to go? Back to New York? Yea right. Picking up her feet she hauled her bags up the steep steps to the door and stepped inside with a hitch in her throat. "Hi, Hello? Is Doctor Wilkes around?"
The woman at the desk looked over her glasses at her and rolled her eyes before looking back down at her crossword puzzle. "What rock have you been living under? Everyone knows Doctor Wilkes is on her yearly fishing trip."
"What? He just sent me a post card?" Zoe sighed looking around the room. Hadn't he gotten her message.
The woman looked surprised and stood up to shake her hand. "Are you Zoe Hart? Harley told me I might be seeing you soon. Excuse me for being surprised… it's just that Harley's been saying that for years now."
Zoe's eyes grew wide and she tried not to appear too concerned by that admission. Question one about Harley's motives, possible stalker? "So what now?
After a non-lunch out about town with the woman Zoe now knew to be Mrs. Hattenbarger she learned that Harley shared his practice with Brick Breeland, who was also away on a hunting trip. "I'm sorry did nobody think it was a bad idea for both doctor's in town to up and leave for the week? Shouldn't we tell one of them I'm here? I only have to stay a year and I'd really like to get started as quickly as possible."
"Trust me; you want to wait for Harley to get home and tell Brick about this little plan. This is not the sort of thing you tell an Alabama man when he's got his hog rifle locked and loaded."
Zoe sighed a little and looked around. This was going to be harder than she thought. The last thing she needed was to get in the middle of some sort of turf war between business partners. Thank fully her mind was soon occupied with the dancing visions of confederate balls past. Young women, all about her age, paraded through the town square in hoop dresses and Crinoline lace and she blinked for a moment trying to believe this wasn't some sort of Gone With the Wind inspired dream. "Okay, someone needs to tell the people of this town that its 2011. Dancing in celebration of the Confederacy? Really?"
"Doctor Hart, the Bells are elite young ladies chosen to keep our history alive." Mrs. Hattenbarger scolded, sounding just a bit insulted. "You can mock all you like but I just wouldn't too loud 'cause their meaner than they look."
Zoe rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh as one of the young women, dressed in butter yellow broke away from the pack to and glided over to them. "When I heard there was a new lady doctor in town I painted myself quite a different picture but you are just so pretty!"
"Zoe, this is Lemon Breeland." Mrs. Hattenbarger introduced.
Zoe reached out a hand to the young woman. "Oh, you're Brick's daughter. It's really nice to meet, I'm really looking forward to meeting your father. I understand he's hunting?"
"Oh Honey, he knows you're here… and trust me there will be a conversation between he and Harley when he gets back… Daddy can be quite imposing… but I'm sure he and Harley will get that all sorted out…"
Zoe nodded unsure of how to take the comment. Was she supposed to be concerned? Lemon hadn't said anything to her directly. "Well I just hope that he'll be willing to get a little more help. I'm sure I can learn a lot from both him and Harley while I'm here."
"And just how long will that be, may I ask?" Lemon inquired a little too sweetly.
"Hopefully just a year." Zoe smiled. There was no sense making an enemy of the distinctly southern lady. Zoe doubted they'd be running off for shopping trips or cups of coffee any time soon, but it was worth being friendly.
Lemon giggled and nodded. "Well you have a good day!"
Determined to get started on some form of work, and realizing that perhaps it may be necessary for there to be at least one doctor at the office, Zoe excused herself kindly to explore the practice and make herself comfortable. Upon walking into the old house again and looking around it occurred to her that she may not be getting her own office as both clearly belonged to the men. Rolling her eyes she poked her head into Harley's office and finally walked in. He wouldn't mind her being there, after all he had been the one to invite her, right?
Sitting down at the desk her phone rang and she looked down at the screen just long enough to see that it was her mother. "Mom…hi, sorry I haven't been answering. Actually there's something I have to tell you. I moved to Alabama. Mom? Are you there?"
She stared down at her phone for a second wondering where her signal had gone, but looked up to see a man standing in the room. "Is Doctor Breeland in?"
"He's hunting." Zoe responded as her phone started to blow up with text messages. She reached over and turned it off. "Sorry, I'm all yours. Are you hurt, sick?"
"Oh, I'm feeling as good as anyone one my age would. There was just some mixup down at the DMV. I don't suppose you could sign this for me?"
Zoe took the paper and looked down at it briefly. "I'm going to have to give you an eye test first."
Without so much as a passing direction from her the man stood the obligatory distance from the eye chart, covered one eye with his left hand and rattled off the letters quickly before switching eyes and going again. Zoe looked from the old man to the chart and back again. "You've done this before?"
"Like I said there's a mixup at the DMV… happens everytime I renew my license." He answered innocently.
Zoe bit her lip. Something wasn't sitting right here. "Right… listen I haven't had a chance to look over any of Dr. Wilkes notes yet, so I really don't feel comfortable signing anything yet… how about this… let's make you an appointment to see me next week after I review your file and then we'll see about getting you that eye test… "
Zoe led him back out into the reception area and snuck behind the desk. "How does 2:30 on Thursday sound?"
"Well I'd really like to get my license today…"
"I know, but I really can't just go around signing off on Dr. Wilkes patients without speaking to him first. You understand, I'm sure." Zoe smiled as nicely as she could, but that didn't stop the man from storming out the front door. "Great… I'm going to be very popular around here."
After the man left Zoe did what she could to settle further. It wasn't too long before Mrs. Hattenbarge returned with a patient sporting a nail through her hand. Zoe jumped up to make quick work and applied stiches just as neatly as she would have if it had been an open heart surgery. "I'm using subcuticular sutures so there will barely be a scar."
"Well it's not like I'm going to catch a fella now." The woman laughed. "Hey maybe you can give some dating tips to my daughter here. You know that thing about potato chips where you can't eat just one? Mable feels that way about lunch, don't you? She's always been chubby but she's put on a good half ton since that boyfriend of hers dumped her."
The woman's daughter, who must have been in her early twenties looked embarrassed and hurt. Zoe looked her up and down and noted that while she was overweight she looked more sad than anything else. Of course sudden weight gain always raised some read flags. "Mable, those dark patches on your face, how long have you had them?"
Mable didn't answer and quickly left with her mother, who muttered something about speaking to Harley about her. Zoe's brow furrowed as she watched them leave, but she said nothing. One thing she knew for sure, no good was going to come from getting involved in people's lives if they didn't want her there.
As the day ended Mrs. Hattenbarger, now fondly referred to as Mrs. H, explained to Zoe that Harley had planned for her to take up residence at the Mayor's plantation. Zoe was skeptical of the accommodations, but Mrs. H said it was that or the streets for the night and Zoe begrudgingly agreed to be driven just out to the estate. Mrs. H dropped her at the end of the drive and Zoe again made the trek alone up to a house she had never been to before alone. Ringing the bell with varying degrees of uncertainty she waited for this Mayor to open, surely with the same lack of warmth she had received from Bluebell's other residents. And then the door opened.
"No way! You're the mayor? Lavon Hayes the Line backer? Two Superbowls, five probowls…" Zoe couldn't hide her excitement.
"Four actually." Lavon responded loving the attention.
"Well I rounded up, you got robbed in '06." It was common knowledge.
"Oh, Lavon Haye's likes your math. You must be Zoe. Let me show you to your quarters." Lavon showed her around back of the large plantation house to the smaller Carriage house in dire repair the two becoming fast friends along the way. Of all the things that had happened that day, and everyone she had met, Lavon was defiantly her favorite. He was fun and welcoming, something Zoe really hadn't felt since arriving. So when the carriage house was a little less than she had planned for she decided to let it slide. After all, if she could repair a human heart how much trouble would it be to put up a few pieces of dry wall? "You share a generator with the guy in the gatehouse, looks after the place, Wade Kinsella. You got your curling iron going while he got his ac on could be trouble. Oh, and if you do decide to wander… keep your eyes peeled for Burt Reynolds…"
After Lavon left Zoe found herself alone again, this time in a borderline terrifying house full of stuff she would walk next to in an Antique store. Sighing she started unpacking her bags and moving things around until it was homey enough for her to attempt to calm down. One year, she kept tell herself. One year of family practice and she would be back to the grind. She might as well use this time to relax and recover from the stress of residency, right? So rather than move any more furniture around she set up her radio, turned on some calming music, climbed into and started to read a book that didn't outline the best way to open a chest… until the lights went out.
Wade. Lavon had warned her and she hadn't really believed him. She checked her phone, it was only 8:00, too early for anyone under the age of 50 to be going to bed. She wasn't even tired. So without thinking too much about it she pulled on an overshirt and a pair of boots and made a brisk hike over to the gate house to have a discussion with her new neighbor.
Upon entering what could only be described as a southern man's bachelor pad she found the plaid clad man, about her age, surrounded by women and playing Guitar hero. If the sight hadn't been so annoying she might have thought the tall muscled blond was hot. But no. He was in no way the type of guy she could ever be caught dead with… no partying with half dressed women. "You over heated the Generator."
"I'm Wade… nice night gown." He nodded to her smilling , not acknowledging her statement. The truth was, as rude as his behavior may have been she was the one who had marched into his house to yell at him… and he'd been living there longer…
"That smile might make all the girls at the church social swoon, but it's not going to work on me." Zoe hissed a little more harshly then she had intended.
Wade leaned toward her with an even bigger grin. "Well if you're not going to be polite, I'm going not going to show you where the fuse box is. Good night."
Annoyed Zoe stormed out, not noticing how Wade watched her intently as she left. Okay, she thought to herself, that's at least five people in town who hated her already. Awesome track record. Needing to clear her head she decided to go for a walk down the back driveway of the plantation. Wade hadn't needed to be such an ass about the fuse box. Hadn't Lavon said that it was his job to keep up the place? Well her electric was part of the place so he had to fix it…right? A growling sound pulled her out of her thoughts and she jumped a little at the sight of a giant alligator standing in her path. So she screamed…. And someone grabbed her to pull her to safety. It was George.
"Hey, what?"
"Alligator!"
"What? I have some mud in my ear, what did you say?" He asked again, mocking though she didn't notice.
"Alligator!"
"An Alligator? Well that is an emergency. You stay here." He turned to face the creature in question, stared it down and gestured it off. "Beat it Burt."
Amazingly the Alligator turn and waddled off the road without some much as a huff. "That was Burt Reynolds, the Mayor's pet alligator…His favorite movie is Smokey and the Bandit."
Pet Alligator… Zoe rubbed her eyes and wondered what in the world could possibly come next. "Alright… great…I've got to go…"
"Hey, wait. I know you're a New Yorker and all, but down here in Alabama when someone interrupts their nightly jog to climb into the mud to save our well-toned ass we say thank you." George laughed scolding her.
Zoe smiled and blushed a little. "Thank you."
"See small towns do have their perks!" George waved goodbye, heading back out on his run, while Zoe walked back to the carriage house.
The next morning came much earlier than Zoe would have like with late night phone call from Mrs. H.
"Zoe, did you sign Old man Jackson's eye exam for the DMV today?" Her voice was accusatory and Zoe immediately sat up in bed wondering what could have sparked such a question.
"No… I told him to come back next week and talk to Harley… Why?"
Mrs. H sighed with relief and softened her tone. "Cause he just ran someone over… Can you get down here please?"
So once again Zoe found herself wandering through the back Alabama woods that night, this time in quite a hurry to get back to the office. Upon walking in she saw Mrs. H waiting up for her in the lobby looking worse for the ware. "Well Old Man Jackson got his nephew to drive him over to another doctor in Mobile… He's legally blind. Everyone knows he's memorized the eye chart… all you have to do is open his chart. He nearly killed George Tucker!"
"George?" Zoe asked entering the exam room to find her new friend still in his jogging cloths clutching his arm. "If you wanted to see me again you could have just asked. "
George winced in pain. "It's my shoulder."
Zoe nodded went about examining the injury. "It's dislocated. It's no big deal, I just have to put it back into place."
George nodded preparing himself for whatever she would tell him next, but she didn't say anything. She just stuck him with a needle when he wasn't looking. "What the hell?"
"That's just the morphine, that's the easy part. Baby." She commented like he wasn't in total pain.
"I'm sorry you got hit by that car… I never would have thought that sweet old man would have been that sneaky…" She told him just before ripping his bone back into place, again like he wasn't in any pain at all.
"Oh you did it again! Have you never heard of bedside manner?" The poor man called out in pain.
"Why is everyone so obsessed with that?"
"Because it's nice!" He yelled before promptly passing out.
"Good, morphine's working." She shrugged before looking up to find a teenage girl holding a flip cam in the doorway
"OMG! It's true."
"Rosie, honey, come on it's time for bed." Mrs. H followed the young woman into the room.
"Aunt Emeline, this is breaking news!" She scolded back. "Rose Hatenbarger, beat blogger for the otherwise torpid official town website. So, how does it feel to save George Tucker, town Golden boy?
"I didn't save him…" Zoe laughed.
Rose set down her camera. "Off the record, why would anyone leave New York. New York is everything, and I know. I read the daily Intel and own all the SATC DVD's. Bet you're a Carrie. I'm a Charlotte, but I wish I was a Carrie."
Zoe wasn't quite sure how to respond. Was that what New York had come to for the rest of the country, just an image from Classic HBO? "Actually, I am a Meranda, who also wishes she was a Carrie."
Rose smiled warmly. "I knew you and I were going to be friends."
"Well I guess I could use a friend."
Mrs. H poked her head back in the room again. "Damn straight. Brick's here…"
Zoe held her breath and waited. Of course he'd come back into town before Harley. Of course she'd have to meet him on her own without the guy who hired her there to back her up… This was going to be fun…
Brick walked into the room, surveying the scene still wearing his hunting jacket and looking more than a little put out at being called back from his trip. He nodded to Rose and greeted her fondly like a member of the family.
"We haven't met, I'm Doctor Zoe Hart." She held out her hand to him but he didn't shake it. Instead he tucked his hands deeper in his pockets and studied her a little harder.
"As far as I'm concerned you're the girl who's decided to practice medicine in my office without my permission… and spoiled my huntin' trip. How dare you see my patients."
Zoe paused. "Well technically, Harley hired me… so I work for you… and that makes them my patients too… and I didn't ask you to come back from your trip… As you can see, I've got things under control here."
"Miss Hart, Harley hired you without discussing it with me first… I see you have met my lawyer. George and I will be having words with Harley when he returns. When he's conscious he doesn't lose." Brick walked over to George to examine her handy work.
Zoe sighed and glanced around for Mrs. H to come and help her. "You haven't even given me a chance. I believe I can do some good here. I can help you."
"Well bless your heart." Brick sputtered. "Well things have been working just fine here in Bluebell. We survived Katrina, we survived BP, by boarding up the windows and piling up the sand bags to keep the rot outside from fouling our community. And believe you me Zoe Hart, we care going to protect this town. Come Hell or high waters."
Unsure what to say to the older Doctor Zoe turned on her heals and left the practice, walking through the dark town again and finding herself at the only store open. The Dixie Stop liquor store and quick mart. Upon entering she ran into none other than Mable again.
"Bad Day?" The young woman asked.
"You have no idea."
Mable laughed. "Yes I do. You met my momma."
"Yea well my mom isn't exactly supportive either. I have sixteen messages on my phone right now telling me just how unsupportive of this move she is." Zoe stopped and looked at the girl again. "Mable, the dark patches on your face. You have melisma. You knew you were pregnant, right?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Marble went to walk away. "I haven't taken a test."
Mable explained that she and her boyfriend had only slept together once. That she'd been fighting to keep him from leaving and given into his requests. He'd left anyway and she was left feeling stupid after he was gone. Zoe's heart broke a little for the girl.
"Well you need a Doctor. Here's my number. Call me if you need anything, okay?" Zoe smiled graciously. Mable took it smiling and headed off just as Zoe was hit head long by another Breeland.
"Zoe!" Lemon ran into the Dixie Stop looking a mix between Heartbroken and relieved. "Do you realize that my engagement party is tomorrow? What am I supposed to do? The photographs, the memories their all going to be ruined."
"What?" Zoe stared at her in utter confusion. "I'm lost here. I may need a roadmap back to your train of thought."
"Oh come on! My fiancé was in a car accident!"
"You're engaged to Old man Jackson?" Zoe laughed a little at the thought.
"No silly, I'm engaged to George Tucker… and now his arm and his face…" Well that made a little more sense.
Zoe nodded and sighed. Suddenly everything came into view; why Brick had returned from his trip when she clearly had everything under control, and why Lemon looked like she might explode at any moment. "Okay, well we can do what we can to fix that… the pictures at least, George's arm is going to take a while to heal. But he doesn't have to wear the sling while you're taking pictures and I'm sure we can get some cover up to take care of that scrap… Would George wear makeup? You know him better than I do."
Lemon stopped for a moment and stared at Zoe, forgetting her own worries as the young Doctor brainstormed how to save her event. "Daddy said you were the one who fixed George up tonight… is that true?"
"Well I was the only Doctor in town at the time…" Zoe rationalized. "Like I said, it was just a dislocated shoulder."
Lemon smiled weakly and tried to calm herself down a bit. "Well thank you just the same Doctor Hart. I don't know what I would have done if anything had happened to George… really thank you."
"You're welcome Lemon… although I don't think Brick sees it the same way."
"Yes well Daddy is stubborn. As Doctor Wilkes has gotten older he's taken on more and more of the work at the practice, running himself to the bone really." Lemon added thoughtfully. "A younger Doctor coming in to help just makes him feel older I think… but don't worry, we'll make him come around. I always say he works too hard."
Zoe smiled at the blond woman finally feeling that she may have a slight foot hold in town. "I appreciate that Lemon. I really do. I hope you have a really nice day tomorrow… why don't you bring George over to the office before the party and maybe I can give him something to numb the pain a little more… you know make it easier for him to have fun."
"Oh well…" Lemon considered for a second. "well, why don't you just bring it with you when you come Zoe. I'd love to have you there. The party will be an excellent chance for you to meet everyone else in town."
"I couldn't impose."
"Not at all!" Lemon gushed. " We have an empty seat since Harley won't be there. He's off fishing with an old friend. Poor man just lost his wife and Harley just couldn't let him be alone… so now you can take his place. Really, I insist."
Zoe thought for a second and shrugged. "Okay, I'll be there. Thank you."
"No, Thank you again, Doctor Hart." Lemon reached out to touch her arm in a kind, almost motherly kind of way. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Zoe watched Lemon glide away from her again and finally let out a long breath. Okay, so maybe the entire Breeland family wasn't so bad. The only problem being that Lemon's fiancé turned out to be the only man in town that Zoe could possibly find herself attracted too. But that wasn't an issue really right? If there was one thing that Zoe Hart knew how to be it was in control of herself. Looking around the store again Zoe realized there was nothing there that she really needed so she said a quick goodbye to Mable and walked back out into the night.
Walking back calmly through the back Bluebell roads to the Plantation Zoe thought back over the course of the day and determined that while all the Harley's patients seemed to like him better, at least she hadn't killed anyone. That was something right? Her goal for the day had been to get started and that meant protecting her bosses interests, which she had done, even if one of them was a little less than appreciative. She was lost in thought when a red muscle car pulled up alongside her, dragging her back out of her thoughts.
"Nice first day. Everyone knows Old Man J memorized the eye chart." Wade called from the car at her, following slowly beside her as she walked
"I'll remember that." Zoe kept walking. "Don't you have some cow's to tip, Waaade."
"Owww.." He continued to follow her. "I'd offer you a ride but I don't want you getting any ideas."
"Right. Because you are just at the top of my priority list." She scoffed looking further down the road. It had to be at least two miles back to the carriage house. But there was no way in hell she was getting in that car. No way in hell.
Wade kept following her. "Well I can't have you walking out here by yourself. You might run into another alligator…"
"How did you know about that?"
"Are you kidding, I heard you screeching like an owl all the way back at my house." He laughed, smiling that charming smile again.
Zoe stopped and turned towards the car appalled. "And you just left me out there to die? Thank you very much."
"Hey, cool down Doc. I was on my way out there to help, and probably laugh at you a little, when I heard Tucker send Burt off." He smiled warmer. "I wasn't about to let you get bit, but I sure as hell wasn't going to interrupt Golden Boy's white night moment either."
Zoe relented and rolled her eyes. Okay, so he had come. That was something, right? "I guess I'll take that ride now… if you're still offering."
"Never really did… but get in." Wade stopped the car and let her climb in the passenger seat. "Like I said; no ideas Doc."
"You're gross." Zoe laughed and they drove the rest of the way without speaking. As she exited the car outside the Carriage house Zoe issued a quick thank you back at Wade through the still open window.
" Any time Doc." He called back. "By the way… I fixed the fuse box… and I'll try to be a little more careful next time."
Zoe blushed a little as he drove off, watching his car make its way back to the gatehouse while she stood on her front porch. Once the lights of the car turned off again she turned to walk back inside, but opening the door she stopped dead in her tracks. "Mom?"
"What the hell are you thinking?"
Apparently the plan was that Zoe would NOT be sleeping on her first night in Bluebell. Like, at all… After finding her mother in the Carriage house the woman had made her explain herself completely, forcing her to rehash losing the fellowship and Harley's relentless drive to convince her to move to Bluebell. Her mother was not moved by the story. In fact she acted as if it was the most ludicrous thing she had ever heard. Her first instinct was to tell her daughter that there had to be some other way of getting the fellowship back without being in Alabama. She even pulled in the big guns stating that her father felt the same way about the move.
Zoe was surprised. Her parents hadn't spoken in nearly seven years, and even then it had been primarily through lawyers as they settled their divorce. "You talked to Dad?"
"He called me after he got your message. How do you think I found you?"
Zoe was a little touched that he had reached out to her mother, until she realized what else that meant. " Why would he call you instead of me?
"Oh, you know you're father."
Not really, Zoe thought to herself. Ever since he had moved to Europe their conversations had become few and far between… in fact, ever since her parent's divorce they hadn't exactly been close. But that was because he was a doctor, right? Because he was busy and she had her own life too…
"Let's go Home." Her mother pushed. "You don't belong here."
Zoe sighed and looked down at the cup of coffee she was holding. "I don't know mom… I just got here. Don't you think I should give it a shot at least? I mean, Harley put his partnership with Brick on the line just to get me down here… I need to at least wait until he gets back to hear what he has to say."
Her mother looked put out. "Zoe you belong in New York… or at least the city. If not home, then go to Boston or DC somewhere a little more like how you were brought up… I really believe that's what's best."
Mother knows best. Zoe halfheartedly nodded along with her, too tired to think properly. What she really needed was a nap. It had been a long couple of days and all she could think about was curling up to go to sleep. So she waved off her mother and curled up on the couch, drifting off a sleep a little to the familiar sound of her mom chatting away on her cell phone. It was five thirty before she woke up again and blinked to find all of her bags repacked and sitting by the door.
"What's going on?" The fog lifted from her mind as she sat up. "Mom?"
"Oh good, your awake. We need to get going dear."
Zoe stared at her confused. "Going?"
"Yes, I booked us on the next plane back to New York. Just like we agreed…"
Oh crap. Zoe shook her head. Physiological warfare was her mother's best friend. She had caught Zoe in a moment of weakness and managed to use it to her advantage to undo everything her daughter had accomplished in the last day. "No mom… I told you. I don't want to leave until I've spoken to Harley…"
"Zoe…"
"No, really…. Listen I've got to get ready to go to an event in a few hours, but why don't you stick around and we'll talk when I get back. Okay?" Zoe jumped up and grabbed her bag back from the door before riffling through it to find something just dressy enough for the engagement party.
"You've been here five minutes, what even could you possibly have to go to in a cocktail dress?" Her mother called after her as she shuffled into the bathroom. Doing her best to ignore her mother calling out to her from the other room Zoe went about putting on her dress and doing her hair. It wasn't until nearly a half an hour later, when she was already to go that she suddenly realized that she had no idea where in the world the Breeland's lived.
She said goodbye to her mother who looked more than a little bit exasperated and made the walk back to Lavon's house to ask for a ride.
"Zoe Hart you're going to Lemon's engagement party?" Lavon skeptical.
Zoe nodded. "Crazy, I know. But Lemon asked me herself and I just couldn't say no."
"Alright girl, well get in the car." Lavon laughed leading her out to his SUV.
Arriving at the Breeland home several people in town looked Zoe up and down as she entered the party on Lavon's arm. Brick saw them enter and instantly made a beeline for the pair.
"Miss Hart, I don't recall inviting you to my home."
"Brick…" Zoe smiled, unsure what to say.
"Actually Daddy, Zoe is my guest. Isn't that right Zoe?" Lemon appeared out of nowhere attempting to smooth things over. "I invited her last night…"
Brick started to argue but Lemon raised a hand to quiet him. "Daddy, you've always raised me to be a lady, and I do believe being welcoming to new members of town is just good manners. Zoe, honey, why don't you just let George here show you to the bar and introduce you to some of our friends. Lavon, can I please speak with you in private…. The fundraiser for the covered bridge is coming up and I would really like to discuss who you think should be given the role of guest of honor."
Brick looked absolutely baffled by the change of events as Lemon led the Mayor away and Zoe let George guide her towards the refreshments table.
"How's the arm?" Zoe asked, taking note of the fact that Lemon had managed make the sling he was wearing match his suit. And no makeup, which Zoe took to mean that Lemon wasn't nearly as worried about the day's pictures as she was about her fiancé.
"It's doing okay." George nodded. "Brick gave me some pain medication so I should be okay for a while. How about you? Starting to find your bearings yet?"
Zoe looked around at all the guests and shrugged. "Getting there. Of course my mom showed up and demanded that I come back to New York immediately… but I think I'm going stay. It might be good for me here. You know… if Brick ever stops hating me and Wade ever stops trying to turn off my power."
George threw back his head a little as he laughed. "So you met Wade. Aww he's not as bad as he seems. He's just a good 'ol boy is all. A little rough around the edges but mostly harmless."
"A friend of yours?" Zoe asked raising an eyebrow. The two men seemed to be polar opposites and she could hardly see them hanging out.
George smiled and nodded like he knew how crazy it sounded. "All our lives. In fact my groomsman would be here right now if he hadn't gone and got himself banned from the party…"
Now that seemed a little more likely. Zoe laughed and shook her head. "How did he do that?"
"Told Lemon she looked like a stick of butter yesterday… she took great offense." George laughed like it was the most normal thing in the world. "My fiancé can be quite the formidable opponent."
"Or ally as I've found out." Zoe looked back over at Lemon who was in the corner speaking to Lavon in hushed tones. Those two must have done quite a bit of work together in their respective roles in the town because they looked to speaking to each other in a very comfortable manner. "I really appreciate you and Lemon inviting me today. Really I do."
"Well it's our pleasure Dr. Hart. And may I just say again, welcome to Bluebell."
Zoe smiled widely and nodded, thinking to herself that maybe Bluebell was not the worst place to be. George took the next several moments introducing her around to several other members of the community before Zoe was pulled from the table she was at by a tap on the shoulder from Mable.
"Doctor Hart? Remember how you said you would be my Doctor if I needed one?"
Zoe looked at the young woman who was obviously in pain. "What's wrong?"
"I keep having this pain, every few minutes or so… But I'm working and I just can't…." Mable stopped, using the handrail closest to her on the porch to hold her up as she experienced another shooting pain through her abdomen.
"Mable how long has it been since you slept with your boyfriend?" Zoe asked, wondering exactly how pregnant the young woman was.
"I don't know….January?" Mable looked up terrified before doubling over in pain again.
"Okay, we need to get you inside. You're having this baby…" Zoe whispered pulling her into a closed off room hoping to get some semblance of privacy for the young mother.
It wasn't too long before Mable's yells of pain began to alert the other guests at the party to her condition and Zoe wasn't at all surprised when Brick finally walked in asking what the hell was going on. Zoe explained the situation as best she could, but surprise upon surprise Brick insisted that he would be the one to deliver the baby.
"No no no." Mable demanded. "Don't you come near me. Doctor Hart and I are in this together. She's my doctor."
Zoe didn't say a word as Brick stepped back and allowed her to take back her place helping the girl. Sighing he ran his hands through his hair and went about gathering the necessary equipment to deliver the child. Within minutes Mrs. H had arrived to help and together the two women went about the process of guiding Mable through the birth. Brick, being stubborn sat off to the side supervising. The baby was two pushes away from being born when Mable's pain intensified in a way uncommon for childbirth and Zoe requested that Brick come to help. The infant was lodged against her pelvis and the only way to get the baby out was to perform surgery right there in Brick's den. Brick of course was initially against letting the young doctor attempt something so dangerous but Zoe knew it was the only way to save mother and child. So despite his warnings Zoe did what she had to do and Brick finally snapped to help. Mable's daughter was born without any further complication.
"A Baby, you've got to be kidding me?" A voice came annoyed from behind them and Zoe turned to find the same sour look on Mable's mother's face that she had seen the day before.
"I have a patient recovering here."
"Doctor Hart, it's okay." Mable whispered beside her. "Look at mom, I made a beautiful perfect person. How she grows up, how she looks at herself, that's on me now. And I'm not going to expose my baby to you. So please get out."
Zoe watched in awe as the older woman left the room looking put out. Mable's strength that day had truly amazed the young doctor; Stepping up to the biggest challenge of her life without any falter when she hadn't even seen it coming. Twenty four hours ago Mable had just been a local girl on her own with no real plans for the future, and here she was now suddenly a mother and willing to take on the world. Of all the cards Zoe had been dealt as of late none were nearly as difficult as Mable's and she hadn't handled any as gracefully.
Giving mother and daughter a chance to bond Zoe stepped out into the hallway and finally took a breath of relief.
"I hear you've done some fine work Doctor Hart." A new voice came from behind her and she turned around to face an older gentleman still in his fishing gear. It had been nearly four years since she had seen him but Zoe instantly knew him to be Harley.
"I thought you were on a fishing trip." Zoe smiled walking over to him to shake his hand.
"Just got back into town a few moments ago, thought I would come by and wish the happy couple congratulations and of course I felt just a tad guilty at having left you to your own devises right to start." Harley smiled at her more warmly than anyone ever had. "Bluebell seems to be agreeing with you quite well Doctor Hart."
"Some of it is."
"Harley! Back from your trip I see." Brick walked back into the hall pretending to be cordial. "I've been waiting to talk to you regarding the practice, do you have a moment? We'll just slip right into the dining room and hash this out..."
Harley smiled which Zoe took to be his usual good natured response to everything. Brick turned back to her and pointed to a chair in the corner. "Why don't you just wait right there Doctor Hart, I'm sure this won't take long."
Uncomfortable with the situation Zoe considered just sneaking back out into the party, especially since she could hear every word coming from Brick in the other room. Being referred to as a mistake, and reckless, and a crazy whim of the other doctor's were not her idea of a good time. But curiosity got the better of her and she stayed, listening quietly waiting to perhaps here the real reason Harley had brought her down there.
"Do you not think I can handle this Practice?" Brick questioned. "We have a contract Harley. A binding legal document that say I have the right to know who you're hiring and I have the right to say yes or no."
"That's right, you do…Brick its more complicated than that." Harley did what he could to calm his longtime friend. "I respect you as a Doctor and as my partner, but Zoe needs to be down here… "
"What is so special about this girl that she has to be here Harley? Why in God's name does that high falutin' New York surgeon need to be down here seeing my patients?" Brick questioned harshly.
Silence followed as both Brick and Zoe waited for an answer. Zoe sat in the chair staring at her hands biting her lip and questioning her decision to stay for the next thirty seconds that seemed to pass like molasses. Finally Harley's answer came just loud enough that it rang like a bell in Zoe's ears. "Because she's my daughter, Brick."
All the air left the room and Zoe thought she might faint. Barely thinking she stood up and walked out of the house quietly, back down the drive and back towards the plantation. She got to the end of the block before she realized she was lost and sat down on the curb.
"You okay Doc?" Wade once again called out to her from his car. "You look a little lost."
"Hi… would you mind giving me a ride back to the plantation? I don't think I'll make it on my own."
"Hop in." He smiled at her widely. Again they didn't speak, pulling up to the carriage house much the same as the night before, only this time her mother was waiting for her outside with a limo. Zoe said thank you and goodbye to Wade and climbed out to face the music.
"Finally your back. We have to get going I have wine chilled in the car for us." Her mother hurried.
"Why do you really want me to leave so quickly mom?" Zoe asked suspiciously. "Is it because you don't want me to meet Harley again?"
"What? Oh don't be silly."
"Or is it because you don't want me to find out that he's my real father…" Zoe stood her ground. Her mother turned back around, every muscle in her face having fallen at the realization that the truth was out.
"Oh my god. Zoe, I can explain."
It hit her like a ton of bricks when she realized that this was her mother admission of guilt. It was all true. She hadn't really believed it until now but Harley really was her father. "What's there to explain? That my entire life has been a lie? This is the answer to everything isn't it? Why Harley wanted me to come down here so badly, why dad stopped loving me? Because I wasn't his to love. He knew, didn't he?
"When you were ten you fell off the swings. They thought you would need a transfusion, but when he donated blood…" Her mother tried halfheartedly to explain. "He tried to stay in your life but I guess it was too hard."
"That's why he left?" Zoe asked finally understanding what had caused her family to fall apart. "And what about Harley? Why would you keep us apart. He's my father."
"He was a mistake. I met him on a cruise. It was Greece, he was handsome, older a gentleman, it was a fantasy. But I was engaged to someone real."
"Did you love him?" Zoe asked quietly, thinking of the kind old man who had complimented her work that night.
Her mother rolled her eyes at the romanticism. "It does not matter. I did not belong with him, just a my child does not belong in a place like this. I gave you a father who was from our world. I protected you."
"You gave me a father who ran. You gave me a lie. It should have been my choice." Zoe stepped back from the woman she had thought she knew.
Her mother shook her head like this was the stupidest conversation she had ever had. "I'm sorry Zoe, really truly deeply sorry. But can we just go home and discuss this in therapy like normal people?"
"You go. I'm staying here." Zoe hissed before turning on her heals and going inside to unpack her things. She heard the car drive away a moment later and shook her head at the fact that her mother honestly didn't have anything else to say to her. She thought of her father, and her heart broke a little more. He'd known this whole time and never told her. More so, he'd known this whole time and left her to wonder if it was something she had done to make him leave her. Then she thought of Harley. He'd never attempted to change her world, just asked that she become a part of his without explanation. Could she forgive him for coming in at act two and attempting to pull her back from the brink without so much as a reason why?
The next morning Zoe got up and dressed unsure of how to face the day, but knowing that she had to keep going somehow. Walking up to the practice she paused before walking through the front door and considered what it was going to feel like to see Harley again knowing what she knew now. Taking a deep breath she stepped inside and padded quietly over to his office and knocked on the door.
"It's open." He called back and she reached out to twist the handle gently before stepping inside. "Oh, Doctor Hart… I was wondering if I would see you again."
"Can I just…" Zoe tried to get her bearings. "Growing up I was told that to be a surgeon I couldn't let myself feel. But then I came to Bluebell. All the food here is fried. The whole town smells like mold. And clearly the sex education system is lacking… but maybe you could use a good Doctor? One who cares about her patients? Maybe there are some things you can teach me? Nobody ever believed in me the way you have… You've been sending me those postcards… You knew one day I'd be lost… and maybe following in your footsteps for a while I might find my way?"
Zoe wiped a tear from her eye as she finished waiting to see the old man's reaction. Harley sniffed a little and stood up from his desk before walking over to her and pulling her too him in their first father daughter hug. "I would like that very much Zoe. Very very much."
Zoe pulled back and took a deep breath before nodding. As emotional as the moment was she still felt the pull to distance herself a little. She need to learn to love this man as much as he appeared to have loved her from afar. "Okay… so where do we start?"
