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"Stupid, stupid hair" Zoe Hart mumbled as she pulled pin after pin out of her ridiculous hair do. "I asked for a blow out, not a blow up" she started to yank at a practically cemented in pin as she walked through the center of town.

"PRETTY LADY!" Zoe jumped out of her skin. Looking up she spied a male figure teetering on top of roof waving down at her. "THIS IS GOODBYE" he yelled, barely giving her a second glance.

"You've go to be kidding me!EARL?!" She shouted back but got only an exaggerated wobble as a reply. Zoe's heart dropped into her stomach as she watched the drunken man threaten to throw himself off of the roof.

"Man, its that time of the month again?" Zoe spun around quickly to see Tom Long steadily walking towards her.

"What?" she asked confused and then shook her head not really caring. "Run and get someone, he's going to kill him self!"

"Sure thing Doctor Hart" He said giving Crazy Earl a far too entertained half smile before taking off at a steady jog; towards what she hoped was help.

It took five minutes but people started emerging from different corners of the town square. All the while Zoe attempted to talk him down.

"Its okay Earl just take it easy, don't do anything rash!" she pleaded to no avail.

"I'm gonna jump" he threatened again, slurring his words and almost losing his balance. Zoe couldn't take it anymore she quickly raced around to the side of the building and spied the fire escape running straight up the side of the wall.

Zoe centered herself but didn't jump until a collective intake from the crowd spurred her on. She quickly scrambled to gain purchase on the bottom step of the ladder and halled herself up. "Okay Earl, I'm coming" she said, to herself rather then anyone else.

Zoe took the ladder as quickly as she could in five inch heels and grappled her way over the low wall at the top. Crazy Earl was now ten feet in front of her, his arms flung out wide and tripping over his own feet as he stared out over Bluebell.

"Earl?" Zoe tried to put a comforting tone to her voice as she began reasoning with him again.

"What!" he shouted spinning around to see the small brunette carefully making her way towards him. "Pretty lady, I'm gonna jump!" he repeated, but made no further movement as she got closer. Zoe took that as a good sign.

"ZOE!" She heard her name yelled by Shelley, the bar maid, who must have been standing in the crowd. Heck, all of Bluebell must have been down there.

"Easy Earl, just come with me" Zoe tried to reason again, but Earl simply turned back around almost losing his footing on the very edge of the roof.

"I'M JUMPING! TELL MY FAMILY GOODBYE!" he bellowed across Bluebell, arms raised to the sky and eyes closed. Zoe's tongue got stuck in her throat, fear encased her entire body, she was not two feet away from the drunken man and he was going to die.

"I'M JUMPING" One foot precariously dangled over the edge of the building, like he was just going to take another step and be just fine. Zoe's mind raced as to what she could do, but still no words escaped her mouth. As the drunken man leaned forward to topple over the edge, Zoe sprang towards him and Crazy Earl's hand instinctively latched onto her wrist.

"Okay, time to come down" a familiar voice shocked Zoe into yanking her body back and pulling Earl away from the edge; his hand was still holding her wrist in a vice like grip. Wade didn't take his eyes off of the drunken man, trying to calm him down with his body language.

"Leave me! I'm not moving" he slurred, dragging himself and Zoe back to the edge of the roof. Her eyes widened as she realized what a position she had put herself in. There was no way of getting Earl to let go without him freaking out, and freaking out was the difference between staying alive and being smushed on the pavement below.

"You're not gonna jump" Wade said his palms up. Earl just looked down from the edge, Zoe could feel her heart beating in her ears. This was how she was going to die. Dragged off a roof in Bluebell, Alabama.

"Wade" she almost whimpered, her voice so quiet she wasn't sure he had heard her.

"HERE I GO!" Earl screamed.

"NO!" Zoe yelped, he breathing coming in short gasps.

"Dammit Earl come with me!" Wade moved forwards, a protective arm reaching across Zoe's body and almost touching Crazy Earl. "Stop this!"

"I won't" Earl replied stubbornly, looking at the bar tender for the first time that night.

"I'm not gonna do it" Wade said, shaking his head. 'Wait? Do what?!' Zoe's head screamed, but she knew that wouldn't help the situation. "Now come on, look at the Doc there, she's about to pee her pants"-Wade and Earl gave her a sideways glance-"Come with me before you hurt yourself"

"Only. If. You. Do. It" Earl wobbled ever so slightly and Zoe almost squeaked with fright. Wade finally looked at her, his piercing blue eyes a steel trap she was ready to fall into, if it meant staying alive.

He reverted his gaze to Earl "No, just come with me"

Crazy Earl leaned his body far over the edge, dragging Zoe with him...

"MOON RIVER wider then a mile!"-Earl pulled himself back a small smile playing on his face. Zoe's body was flooding with adrenaline-"I'm crossing you in style, some day" Wade flung a hateful glare at Earl, (which he seemed to miss) but continued to sing anyway.

Zoe couldn't keep her eyes off of Wade "Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker" and to her surprise Earl started to sing along too. "Where ever you're going, I'm going your way" the drunken man seemed to lose himself in the song as the crowd belong took up the melody as well.

A sharp tug on Zoe's wrist sent her flying forwards, everything went black for a second before she felt herself held stock still, encompassed in two strong arms. She opened her eyes quickly to see the ground staring up at her, this time she couldn't help the small cry that escaped her mouth.

"Its okay Doc" Wade soothed, pulling her back carefully onto the safety of the roof. He placed her behind him, a worried glance quickly swept away by sheer determination. "I'm done"

Earl stared to run towards the edge again and Wade flung himself forward without thinking. "We're after the same, rainbows end"-Wade's arms where now fully in front of the wobbling man and he was clearly on his last nerve-"waiting round the bend, my huckleberry friend, moon river and me"

As the song finished Earl took a deep bow and a shit eating grin plastered across the man's face. Zoe couldn't help but stare in wonder at the man that had saved not only her life but Crazy Earl's as well. The crowd bellow broke out into applause and Zoe almost didn't hear Wade coaxing Earl away from the edge "Okay, okay, Hey DAD, It's time to go home, lets go"

'Dad?" Zoe's mind cried out. She watched blindly as Wade helped his father down off of the roof and she followed slowly behind them. Wade didn't once spare her a backwards glance.

Upon landing her feet on solid ground Lavon Hayes bounded up next to her, a petrified look on his face. "Dammit Zoe, what did you think you were doing?"

"I was trying to help" she stated breathlessly. "What was all that?" she said gesturing to the roof and at the retreating figures of Earl and his Son.

"Every month, Earl cashes his government check and heads straight for the licker store. Then he gets drunk, he climbs up on that roof and every month his son comes and sings him down"

"Wow" Zoe couldn't believe it, but she'd seen it happen. She'd been apart of it. Zoe watched in awe as the guy she thought was a jerk, became the man that continuously beat the odds. "I had no idea"

"You know what? Yeah, maybe 99 out of 100 people will disappoint you. I don't know, I think, we find the magic of the world in the marginal error"

That night the last thing Zoe saw of Wade, was him hiking his drunk father higher onto his shoulder and practically carrying the man home.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home, you need to relax and wash that mess of a hair style out"