A/N : Been feeling like getting back to writing recently and thought I'd try and bring this story back. Hopefully someone still feels like reading some happy, fluffy Wade and Zoe stuff. Please read and review :)
"NO! Pea yukky!" the curly haired kid screamed as he sent his peas flying through the air, landing on his father's tie.
"Oh boy, am I glad my Froda and Joel are grown up. Don't miss these days" Wanda said gesturing with her head towards the table as the father tried to scrub the green out of his tie and the mother fought to get some food down the screaming baby.
"Yeah…" Wade half-heartedly agreed, sighing inwardly as he thought of the news Zoe had told him the night before.
As Wanda walked away into the kitchen and Wade continued to wipe the glass in his hand he looked around the Rammer Jammer. He loved the place, he had put his mind and soul into it and he was proud to call it his own. But as his eyes drifted back over to the small family of three he remembered a time when he'd come close to letting go of it.
He was coming home from a disastrous shift. The delivery man hadn't shown so they were out of fish, one of the beer pumps was broken and the evening waitress had turned up an hour late. The place was packed with weirdly dressed people coming for the bloody SteamPunk convention Lavon had insisted on holding in Bluebell and they were all complaining. Wade had been run off his feet and could not wait to crack open a cold beer before settling into bed with Zoe.
When he entered their house he thought he'd somehow ended back at the Rammer Jammer. The kitchen was a mess. There was spaghetti sauce on the walls and ceiling, pieces of broken plate on the floor and what he hoped was strawberry jam footsteps out into the hallway.
As he continued up the stairs he saw strings of spaghetti splattered all over the steps, tumbling over the railing and onto the floor below. When he reached the landing he heard soft breathing from the master bedroom.
Zoe laid on her back, on top of the duvet, fully clothed and snoring softly with Noah curled up on her chest in his favourite Tide pyjamas. On the other side of Zoe, hidden from view behind Zoe's very pregnant stomach lay Jackie, snuggled under the covers, resting in the crook of Zoe's arm.
Zoe's clothes were covered in stains and her hair was bundled up in a messy knot, through the doors into the master bathroom Wade could see the aftermath of the battle that had taken place, dirty children's clothing across the floor and water dripping from a soaked towel that was thrown over the bathtub's edge.
The peace and quiet was disturbed as a loud cry erupted from Billy's room. As Zoe jerked awake, Noah rolled off her chest and fell off the bed to the floor. He started crying loudly as he picked himself off the floor.
"Wade. You're home" Zoe exhaled as she came to her senses.
"Yeah, just about. I take this one and you check on Billy?" he asked without waiting for an answer as he scooped the three-year-old into his arms and shushed him.
"There buddy, it's alright, you're a big, brave boy" he said in hushed tones, calming his son.
He sat down on the bed, still holding Noah in his arms. The young boy had just about stopped crying when Wade felt a tug at the back of his shirt followed by a weak "daddy". He turned around just in time to see Jackie return the contents of her stomach up all over him, the duvet and herself.
It set Noah off again and when she'd finished throwing up Jackie joined in her brother's crying.
Wade scooped Jackie up in her other arm and carried the two into the bathroom and set them down into the tub. Then he proceeded in undressing them and spraying the two with warm water. Soon the kids had stopped crying and were laughing instead as their father played with them with the water.
Zoe returned from Billy's room just as Wade was finishing stripping the bed.
"What happened here?" she asked, surprised at her husband's need to change the sheets so late.
"Jackie was sick all over the bed" Wade said as he picked the whole lot off the floor.
"And you I'm guessing?" she asked, noticing he had stripped off all his clothing bar his underwear.
"Yep" he answered as he walked past Zoe out of the room and downstairs to throw the dirty laundry in the washing machine.
Zoe had finished re-making the bed when Wade got back up. "Wade, I can't do this" she said with a serious tone as he walked over to her.
"What do you mean?" he asked, a bit of fear tingling in his voice.
"This Wade" she said gesturing around with her hands. "I can't raise three, soon to be five kids with you never around".
"Zoe.." Wade said, visibly and audibly hurt. "You know I'd do anything for you and the kids"
"Yes, Wade, I know. But this is the fourth time this week that you don't show up until midnight when you've said you'd be home for dinner"
"What do you want me to do Zoe? Leave my business to run itself?"
"No, Wade, of course you should take care of your business but you don't have to be there every moment. That's what staff is for. Hire some more if you keep having to stay to help cover"
"I can't. The Rammer Jammer isn't making enough profit. I'm barely breaking even as it is" Wade said looking down into the carpet. He hadn't confessed to his wife how much the place had been struggling lately, he hadn't thought she needed the extra stress.
"Oh Wade" She moved to wrap her arms around Wade's bare back and hug him tightly. "Maybe it's time to consider selling the Rammer Jammer" she said quietly and they just stood there, quietly, holding each other tight.
Wade pulled out of his thoughts as Wanda came back out of the kitchen.
"Alright if I take off Wade? Got to get Susie to squeeze me in to do something with my hair, me and Tom have special plans tonight" she said, blushing a little even after almost 15 years of marriage.
"Yes! Go, get pampered. Make sure you two enjoy your evenin'" Wade said as he watched the redhead hurry off.
He had decided to make Wanda his business partner after that conversation with Zoe six years ago. She had helped him keep family friendly hours and he'd forever be grateful to be able to keep the business he'd put so much into and help build his beautiful family.
His eyes were still fixed on the door when a familiar dark head of hair walked through the door.
He tossed his towel over one shoulder and walked from behind the bar to greet his wife properly.
"Hey, doc" he said as he placed a kiss on her lips.
"Ooh, Mr and Mrs Kinsella, how was your first date? Bet it was magical!" Wade looked up from Zoe's face to see that she'd been followed in by their daughter and her bubbly friend Daisy. They had clearly been discussing Jackie's big date from last night as the two were all goshing, excited to hear the story.
"It's not very interestin'" Wade said as he walked back behind the bar and fetched three glasses of lemonade for the ladies.
"Oh, common dad. I bet it was romantic" Jackie said, looking up at him expectantly.
"Alright, alright" Wade threw up his hands in a gesture to show his resignation. "It was at one of them silly basket auction things. Someone else bid on my basket but your mom over there was so desperate to go out with me she bribed the poor girl to give her my basket"
"Mom!" Jackie exhaled laughing.
"Who was the other girl" Daisy asked, jumping in her chair in excitement.
"Oh I don't remember" Zoe said, waving her hand as to signal it didn't matter.
"Magnolia Breeland" Wade said with his signature smirk.
"Oh my gosh. You so should have gone out with her Mr Kinsella" Daisy said in awe. Magnolia was a famous fashion designer now, living in New York, only coming back to Bluebell to visit occasionally.
"Hey" Zoe said, offended. "What about me"
"I'm sorry Mrs Kinsella, but she's just so cool" Daisy said, still awestruck.
Wade, trying to catch his breath from laughing, said "I'm sorry Daisy, but Magnolia's a lot younger than me. She was only around y'all's age back then".
"Oh" Daisy said disappointed.
"Why'd she bid on your basket then?" Jackie asked confused. She could not imagine wanting to go out on a date with a grown man.
"Well…" Wade started before putting his hand up and scratching his hair in that way only he could do.
"Magnolia was a couple years older than you are now" Zoe jumped in to save Wade "and you have to remember your dad was a lot younger then as well. And he was quite the ladies man" she said with a hint of teasing in her voice.
"Daddy! You told me you'd never even looked at another girl before momma" Jackie exclaimed, shocked at the revelation.
Zoe couldn't help herself and burst out laughing. "Sweetheart, that's a load of crap" she managed when she'd calmed down.
"So, what happened when you'd got the basket from Ms Breeland?" Daisy asked, excited to hear what the newly proclaimed ladies man would do on a first date.
"We had a picnic, fell in love and were happy ever after" Wade gushed out.
The girls did not look completely satisfied with that answer and Jackie could feel her father was not telling the entire story. But the bartender was saved from any more explaining as an annoyed Brick Breeland stormed into the bar.
"Dr Hart, there you are. Were you ever going to pick up your phone? Annabeth has been waiting for you in your office for nearly an hour now!" the old man said in that scolding voice only he could perfect. He was getting far to old for the job but no matter how much Zoe tried, she could not get him to retire.
"What? My phone's not rung once" Zoe said as she rummaged her purse, looking for the phone, coming up empty handed. "I must have left it at home" she added sheepishly.
Brick sighed in frustration. "Typical. Well, are you going to go see Annabeth or what?"
"Yes, yes, jeez, I'm coming" Zoe said as she hurried off after her partner.
Wade laughed as he watched his wife leave and then turned back towards the two young girls in front of them but they were already deep in discussion.
"Can you believe your dad was a stud?" he heard Daisy say, disbelieve in her voice.
"No, he's such a dad" Jackie said back and Wade chuckled to himself as he got back to his bar duties.
...
Annabeth was still waiting, sitting nervously at the edge of her chair, when Zoe returned to her office.
"Zoe, thank god you're here. I got a call that my test results were in." she said, jumping to her feet as Zoe walked through the door.
"Annabeth, hi. Oh okay, lets have a look" Zoe said as she made her way to her desk where a small stack of files waited for her. She rummaged through to find Annabeth's folder and opened it with caution, preparing herself for what might lie within.
"Is it good news? I've been feeling like something's different, like it might have stuck this time" Annabeth said, struggling to keep still as she watched her friend read her file.
"I'm sorry, AB, it's negative again" Zoe said with a sigh as she stood up to go round her desk and comfort her friend who'd burst out crying at the news.
Annabeth and Lavon had been trying to have a child ever since they got married 15 years ago. They had tried for years the natural way, doing every trick and remedy they could find and then finally giving up and trying the technical treatment. This was their seventh round of IVF. It broke Zoe's heart to see her friends struggling so much, and it only made her feel worse thinking she just couldn't stop getting pregnant.
Zoe was laying in the hospital bed, nursing new-born Noah when she heard a knock on the door. She looked up and saw Annabeth and Lavon walking through the door.
"Can we come in?" Lavon asked.
"Of course, come on in" she gestured with her hand, waving them in, before removing Noah from her breast so her friends could get a good look at him. "Meet Noah Harley Kinsella".
"Oh, he's precious" Annabeth said as she bent over and cooed at the tiny boy.
"Beautiful name, Z, congratulations" Lavon said as he kissed his friend on the forehead.
"He really is beautiful, Zoe" Annabeth said as she straightened up and wiped a tear that had escaped down her cheek.
"Oh, AB" Lavon grabbed his wife in a hug and comforted her.
"I'm sorry Zoe, it's just, I'm late and I thought maybe, but took a test this morning and still nothing" Annabeth said in between sniffles.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Those tests are wrong all the time. You guys will get there, you deserve to be a mother Annabeth" Zoe said to her friend who nodded slightly and diverted her eyes back to the brown-haired baby.
...
So I decided to keep AB and Lavon married, always felt those two made a really great couple. Hope you liked the chapter
