Here is the first chapter for the sequel of Ten. I didn't plan for there to be such a wait for this chapter. Also I will warn you, that it won't be easy sailing, even after I have Wade wake up. I am thinking as of right now that this one will be a short little story. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Hart of Dixie or the characters used within this story.
The plan was to go to New York, giving Ethan and Candice a chance to spend some time with their grand kids. Zoe was looking forward to going back to the city that had played home to her while she was away from her real home. Each day that passed marking the day they were set to go, the more nervous and anxious Zoe grew. She didn't want to be that far away from her husband in case something good or bad was to happen to him.
"Sweetie, we can always come to you and the kids; it does not matter to us," Candice told her the night before they were to leave.
"I know and I feel bad about that, since you guys are always coming here," she sighed into the phone. It was just her up both kids, were sound asleep in their rooms.
"You shouldn't," Candice told her. "We get it. You can make it up to us once that husband of yours wakes up. And in the meantime we will come to you. We don't want you to feel uncomfortable, Zoe. You would be worrying ten fold if you were to come here, we will be there tomorrow evening, and we will keep the kids a night or two while we are there, am I understood?" Candice asked in her motherly demanding tone.
"Very much so," Zoe replied a faint smile on her face, relieved that her mother understood the heartache and pain she was feeling and knowing just how anxious she was about leaving her husband's side. She would worry about thanking her mom in a huge way once her husband woke up. She could only worry about Wade and their two perfect kids. It was all the stress she could handle.
They finalized the last of the details and talked for a few more minutes after that and hung up. Zoe was getting ready for bed herself, when there was a knock on the door. She had a feeling that she knew who it was.
"Shouldn't you be planning your honeymoon?" She asked, pulling the door open. She couldn't help it, most the time her bitterness and her anger were aimed towards Jesse. He was the closest person to her.
"One of those days, huh?" He questioned, stepping inside the house. If he took her attitude and her words to heart, they would no longer be friends and there was no way he was going to abandon her when she needed him the most. "Honeymoon aside, you will always be important to me Zoe. You are my best friend and my sister," he smiled, seeing her frown turn into a very tiny smile. "You cannot get rid of me that easily," he teased; the truth of the statement wrapped around his words.
"Would be nice at times if I could," she teased back, her annoyance suddenly coming out at him for just being on top of her all the time shinning through.
"I do it because I care about you, because I am one more person that loves you," he replied, toeing his shoes off to move further through the house. "The one person you need," he said softly, looking down. There wasn't a single thing he liked about any of this, not that there should be a good thing with his brother in a coma. Seeing just how broken and fragile his best friend/sister really is. If he thought, it would do any good, he would gladly stroll into his brother's hospital room and slap him until he woke up.
"How is the honeymoon planning coming along?" She asked, following behind him. She didn't feel the need to say a word about him caring about her; she felt the same way, and she told him often enough and he's only assuring her, to keep her from pushing him away.
"That is part of the reason why I am here," he told her, rubbing his neck. "Honeymoon is taken care of; however, I would like to run something by you and please feel free to tell me what you really think about it, because I need to know if I need to change things or leave as is, okay?" He questioned, taking a deep breath.
"Okay," Zoe nodded, all ears.
"We have everything figured out. I hate getting married without my brother there so we have decided that we are going to get married in six months, we can't wait longer than that," he told her, not giving her a chance to make a snarky comment. The date had been the only thing they couldn't lock down. "And if he is still in his coma, then we will get married in his hospital room and only close family will be there," he told her. It was the best compromise they could come up with. It is important to him to have his brother there; he would rather have his little brother standing up there next to him than laying in a coma in a hospital room, but he would take what he could get.
Zoe said nothing, falling into him, her tears coming out silently, hugging him tightly. She really liked that idea, either way Wade was going to be there. Keeping an arm around Zoe, he moved them into the living room.
Jessica and Colin were off to spend the day with Jesse; he insisted, wanting to spend time with his niece and nephew. She was happy that her kids had a father figure to look up too while their father was lying in a hospital room. Grateful even.
She was currently sitting in her husband's hospital room, his limp hand in her own, her thumb gently brushing back and forth against his skin. She places a soft kiss the back of his hand, her eyes closing as she keeps her lips on his hand.
"I really need you to wake up. I can't do this without you," she whispered, placing their entwined hands in her lap. "The kids need you." She grew quiet listening to the beeping that filled the room. "You know this wasn't what I pictured our life to be like," she sighed. "Please wake up, so we can be a family. Little miss Jessie is getting so smart and beautiful as ever," she smiled, using her free hand to cup his cheek. "Colin, is a mini version of you, the attitude to boot," she laughed lightly.
She learned early on that she could sit in his room, holding his hand or on the days that were worse than normal for her, she would curl up to him in the bed and just lay with him, letting the silence take over. She had no need to fill the silence. She talked to him, told him things, kept him updated on everything. She didn't know if he could actually hear her or their kids, but she wasn't going to change things with her husband now. They talked and they enjoyed the silence, being next to each other and this was her new normal when it came to spending time with her husband.
"I love you, please come back to us," she whispered, kissing him softly.
Leaving the hospital, she headed home to collect her kids. She was going to meet her mom and Ethan in Mobile for dinner and not only did she want to freshen up, but she was positive that both of her kids were going to be needing bath's before they left.
"They weren't a problem, were they?" Zoe asked, helping her daughter pick up the mess of color crayons and paper loitering the floor around her.
"Never," Jesse smiled, collecting his nephew's things. "He was just changed and they both had a little snack about a half-hour ago, and they have been washed and put on clean clothes," he told her. "Wade?" He asked, catching her eye over his niece's head.
"The same," she replied. "I didn't get a chance to talk with his doctor, today."
"Mommy, mommy, lookie," Jessica said, pulling her pant leg up to show her mom the neon yellow bandage on her knee, remembering it was there.
"What happened?" Zoe asked, pressing a light kiss to her daughter's banged up knee.
"I fell off the swings," the little girl shrugged, taking the paper and box of crayons to put away in the cabinet.
"She jumped from the swing, wanting to fly," Jesse corrected. "It was a tiny scrape, but she is your daughter and needed to fix her knee up," Jesse chuckled, tickling his nephew's tummy.
"That's my girl," Zoe smiled proudly. "Thanks for keeping them," Zoe said, picking her little boy up, noisily kissing his cheek making him giggle.
"It was no bother," Jesse said, scooping his little niece up, tossing her over his shoulder, Jessica in a fit of giggles, as she was taken to the car. "We enjoy having them here," he said kissing his niece, buckling her into her seat. With her secure, he rounded the car, kissing his baby nephew. He couldn't wait to have a few of his own.
"You are really good with them, you Jesse Kinsella will make one heck of a father," she praised, hugging him. Jesse blushed, glad she couldn't see his face. "Ready to go see Grandma Candice and Grandpa Ethan?" Zoe asked, getting into the car. She didn't need to freshen up, what she was wearing was fine to have dinner with her mom and her stepfather.
Colin babbled away in baby talk; Jessica nodded enthusiastically.