Author's Note: Okay, so I know I said I might not update for a bit, and I was supposed to be working, but I could not concentrate on my work and I could not sleep, so you guys get a treat. I hope you appreciate it. Some of the stuff teased last chapter will be hinted at, the other stuff will not happen quite yet, but it will happen, don't fret. Oops, that rhymed. Oh well. The party will probably be next chapter, but I think the stuff here is good. Also, that you wikipedia and -stuff-works for the information on amnesia. I really want this to be as accurate as possible. If you know anything about amnesia, and think I am doing it wrong, please let me know. Thank you for your reviews. I really appreciate them. Enjoy.

Chapter Three

Zoe woke up to the smell of French toast; she was relieved that she recognized the smell. She considered getting up, the toast sure smelled good, but she decided to just lie there for a moment.

It was a nice bed, comfortable enough. She wondered how happy she had been here. Was she some spoiled New York Princess who hated the country, or had she always wanted something like this, and been a total fish out of water in New York? Supposedly she had made a home for herself here. She supposed she must have liked it, waking up in this bed to the smell of French toast. Or did she even like French toast? Could she eat it? Did she have any allergies? Surely someone would tell her that; not informing her of allergies would be dangerous. But what if they did not know? What if she had some weird allergy that she was embarrassed of and had kept it a secret? What would happen then?

Zoe reached behind her and grabbed her pillow. She threw it hard against the wall and let out an aggravated scream. Everyone here was trying to help in his or her unique way, but none of them really knew how it felt. Not Lemon with her overly sensitive actions, not Lavon with his laid back concern, not George with his awkward silences, not even Wade, who it seemed had disappeared recently. Hadn't Lavon said he would call him? Maybe he had forgotten, or maybe Wade was just too busy to come see her. Maybe he just did not want to be around the crazy girl with no memory. She could not really blame him; she tried to put on a brave face, but she felt so lost. What do you do when every bit of who you are has been scraped from your mind and you haven't a clue about anything. She did not know what she liked, what she did not like, how she felt about things. And all these people said they were her friends, but how could she know for sure? Everything was so screwed up, and her head kept hurting when she tried to remember something. She walked over to the pillow, picked it up, and started hitting the bed with it. The more she hit it, the worse she felt, like all she had been feeling since she woke up in the hospital bed had finally come bubbling to the surface and was now exploding out of her. Her vision started to blur as she felt her eyes well up, and she started sobbing. She must have been quite a site, bawling as she beat a bed up with a pillow over and over again. Her eyes began to sting and she felt as though she might throw up. She pounded harder and harder, until she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. Suddenly she was crying into somebody's chest as she heard a voice make shushing sounds.

"Why can't I remember?" she heard herself say.

"It's okay," The voice said, "It'll be okay."

Lavon came into the kitchen as soon as he smelled the French toast, "smells great." He said.

Lemon stuck her nose up and huffed. She was still pissed at him. Lavon had dealt with Lemon's moods before. In fact, if he was perfectly honest, they were one of the things he loved about her.

"Still in the doghouse, huh?" lemon ignored him, childishly. Lavon went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, "Come on, honey, you know we both just doin' what we're doin' 'cause we got the best intentions at heart."

"Married people are supposed to support each other. If I say something, I expect you to back me up, not laugh at me along with Wade and do what you want anyway."

"I do support you, but supporting is different than agreeing with."

Lemon shook her head and stepped out of his arms, "Well, then, I suppose you've made up your mind. If you don't mind, I have more work to do. Zoe's parties tonight, and I have a lot of setting up to do. A surprising number of people were able to RSVP at the last minute. It's hard to believe that just four short years ago, they all hated her."

"They includes you, honey. In fact, I think you were the president of that anti-fan-club."

"We'll no need to rub it in my face now."

"Come on, Lemon-"

"Hey." A voice from behind said.

"Rose. What are you doing here?" Lavon said kindly to the nineteen-year-old.

"Lemon called and said she needed some help settin' up. I been really anxious to see Zoe since I heard, but I figured she'd want her space. I'm glad you called me to help though."

"Well, of course. You're one of her oldest friends."

"Yeah, I was gonna stop in and say hi, but when I went over I saw her and George hugging through the window. Seemed kind of intimate, so I thought I best not interrupt."

"George." Lemon said, surprised, "George is over there? And they're huggin'? Are you sure?" Rose nodded. Lemon turned to Lavon, "You don't think he told her anything, do you?"

Lavon shrugged.

"Told who what?" Rose asked.

"Rose, sweetheart, you have to understand, with Zoe's condition, everybody's a stranger. Knowin' she has a strong relationship with somebody who she doesn't even know could be mighty traumatizin'."

Rose's eyes widened, "You're not sayin' … you mean Zoe doesn't know her and George are engaged?"

Lemon shook her head, "and nobody can tell her, either. She has to remember on her own, else the shock could be too much for her."

"But that's crazy. They love each other!"

"I know, but it's too risky."

"But she has to know!" rose said defiantly.

"Now, Rose, don't you go doin' something stupid."

"You know, I think you're just jealous. You married the Mayor, but you're mad George got over you, so now you're tryin' to ruin things for him and Zoe."

"Rose, now, that's enough." Lavon said, stepping in, "Lemon is a good friend of Zoe's, we all are, and we all care about her and want her to get better. We're just following the doctor's orders, and you best do the same. Now, why don't you let Lemon tell you what she needs you to do for the party?"

Rose huffed, but nodded.

After a minute, Lemon composed herself, "Good. Now, here's a list of things we need to get done. Why don't we sit down and divvy out the work?"

Rose nodded sullenly. She had never understood why Zoe had become friends with Lemon Breeland. Very few people did, in fact. One day, they were at each other's throats, the next, they were being confidants to one another. Rose had asked Zoe about it, but Zoe had always been vague in her answers. Rose was stubborn, but not stupid. She knew that when you were trying to get sap out of a tree and nothing was coming, you didn't stand around waiting for the tree to produce sap, you found another tree. So Rose just had to bide her time and find hers.

"Feelin' better?" George asked as he brought Zoe a glass of water. She sipped it slowly as she thought about his question. Was she feeling better? Well, she had let out a lot of what she had been holding in, which felt good, and she had stopped crying, which was good, but she had not solved anything, which was bad, and George had seen her break down and try to beat up a mattress, which was embarrassing.

"I guess." She said lamely.

"You don't have to lie to me, you know. I mean, if you need to talk-"

"I said I guess I'm feeling better." Zoe snapped. George looked taken aback, "Sorry, it's just, I guess I don't like to be pitied."

George nodded, "I know."

"That's weird."

"What's weird?"

"Having someone know more about you than you do. It's like being in an alternate dimension where everything is backwards, except at least there, you have a frontwards world to work off of." Zoe paused for a moment, "I wonder if I like sci-fi?"

George laughed, "Well, you got your guilty pleasure shows, but I don't think you're really a big science fiction fan."

Zoe nodded, "Thanks." She was silent for a minute, "You know, I'm not sure what's worse, having people refuse to tell me things about myself, or having them tell me basic things that I should know about myself but just can't seem to remember." George sat there, watching her, unsure of what to say, "Hey, what were you doing here anyway?"

"I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you were okay."

Zoe smiled, "That's sweet. I wish Wade had the same thought. He hasn't been to see me in two days." She shrugged and pushed her hair back, "Guess he figures since I'm out of the hospital, I'm out of the woods, metaphorically speaking, of course. Am I big on metaphors?"

"Um, you're a bit more clinical than literary, but you're smart, and you have your poetic moments." George answered. Zoe smiled again, "So wade hasn't been by."

Zoe's face fell, "Yeah. Not since he drove me here."

"And you miss him?" George asked.

"I don't know. I mean, he came to visit me every day in the hospital, and now that I'm out, zilch." She paused for a minute, "I guess I'd gotten used to him."

"Well, I can try and track him down if ya like." George offered.

Zoe shook her head, "I don't want you to go to any trouble. Besides, he knows where I am. If he wanted to be here, he'd be here." she shrugged, "guess we're not so close after all."

George hated seeing Zoe so disappointed.

"Look, I'm gonna head into the big house and say hello to everybody. You wanna come?"

Zoe shook her head again, "Not yet. I think I want to rest a little more. Maybe in a little."

George nodded, "All right, well, you want me to bring you back anything?"

Zoe's eyes lit up, giving George a warm, happy feeling, "Well, the French toast really good, even from all the way over here."

George chuckled, "French toast it is. I'll be back soon."

George closed the door behind him. Zoe sighed and collapsed back on the bed. He had not reacted to her requesting French toast, so it must not be unusual. She must at least not dislike them. Great, one mystery solved, about twenty million to go.

When George opened the door to the main house, he found Rose Hattenbarger and Lemon decorating up a storm.

"Hey there Rose, Lemon. Listen, I hate to interrupt, but is there any French toast left? Zoe's kind of hungry."

"Well, why doesn't she come over then?" Rose asked.

"I think she's a bit beat. It's been an … eventful mornin' for her."

Lemon glared at George, "You didn't tell her anything she's not supposed to know yet, did you?" she asked accusingly.

"Of course not. I know what the doctor said." George said as he headed over to the kitchen to get some French toast, "She's just struggling a little to adjust."

Lemon nodded. There was a time when talking about Zoe to George had been awkward, just as talking to him about Lavon had been, but so much had changed now, and Lemon was glad that she and George had been able to become friends.

"Listen, have either of you seen Wade around. He hasn't been in to visit Zoe for a while, and she seems a bit bummed about it."

"Well, I think whatever row they had a few months back is making him a little reluctant, but he swore he would come for the party tonight, and he knows I'll hold him to it."

"Only a fool would incur the wrath of Lemon Breeland-Hayes." George said with a smile.

Lemon smiled at George appreciatively. "Well, Rose and I have to get back to work. Take as many slices as you like. The syrup's in a jar in the fridge and there's some decaf in the pot."

George smiled and nodded thankfully, then went about assembling a plate for Zoe.

Zoe searched through her drawers, trying to figure out what Dr. Zoe Hart would wear on a day like today.

"Hey." She heard a voice behind her say. She stood up and hit her head on the top of the drawer.

"Ow!"

"Guess that's a hazard of bein' surprised by someone when you're goin' through those things. Sorry 'bout that, but I was just so anxious to see you. Seems its been ages, and nobody wants me talkin' to you. 'Guess they figure I can't keep my mouth shut about some things, but when the Mayor came back in the room, there were enough people that I could sneak out."

Zoe stood and looked in the direction the voice had come from. She saw a skinny girl, who wore glasses and had long brown hair and big expressive eyes. The girl was smiling up at her, and the smile looked awfully familiar, "You're the girl from the pictures." Zoe finally said, happy to be able to recognize somebody, even if it was only from a picture on her dresser.

"I beg your pardon?"

Zoe went over to her dresser and picked up the frames to show the girl, "There's one of you and George here, and one of you and me over there. I saw a few others earlier. "

The girl nodded, "Right, you don't know who I am."

"Um, sister?" Zoe guessed.

"Well, not by blood or anything, but I'd like to think we've grown that sort of bond." The girl stuck out her hand, "I'm Rose Hattenbarger. Pleased to make your acquaintance. "

Zoe shook her hand, "The pleasure is all mine."

Rose giggled, "You always were a stitch. So how far back do you remember? Is it full blown, or is it just the past few years? Is it anything like in that movie with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore? Do you remember that movie? Course, if you don't that don't necessarily mean anything seein' as how I don't know if you've seen that movie. But I've read lots amnesia on the net. What Drew Barrymore had in that movie is called anterograde amnesia. That's where you can remember stuff from before, but you can't absorb any new information and retain it. It's probably not what you have though, because you don't remember me, and you knew me before your accident. You probably got retrograde amnesia. That's what most people get. Did you know that it mostly affects your autobiographical memory, not your factual memory? That's why people with retrograde amnesia can remember who is president and how to brush their teeth, but not there name or where they were born. Assumin' it goes that far back, of course, some people just forget a couple months. Did you know that when people with amnesia start to get their memories back, it goes all the way back to the earliest memory, and works forward, almost like they're livin' there whole life over again. It's funny, cause you'd think it would go the other way, memories coming back backwards, working from the moment of trauma, but I guess the mind doesn't work like that. Movies don't usually show it right though. I think-"

"Rose." Zoe interrupted. Her head was spinning. This girl seemed nice enough, but god could she talk. Zoe was not sure if she had always found this annoying, but had been patient out of respect for the friendship, or if she only found it annoying because her brain was so sensitive right now, but ether way, she could not take any more of this right now.

"Yeah."

"Um, could you, uh, go and check on George. He was going to bring me some French toast, like, twenty minutes ago."

"Yeah, well, with me gone, Lemon's probably recruited him. I guess he could use some saving. But it's so great to see you Zoe, and I hope you feel better. We'll talk more tonight, okay?"

Before Zoe could ask what tonight was, Rose was gone.

After Rose came and got George, Lemon grabbed her husband, and kissed him harder than she had in days.

"So, I take it you're not made anymore?" Lavon said as he rubbed her arm affectionately.

"How could I be, after you stood up for me with Rose? It meant a lot, you standing up for me like that."

"Of course." Lavon said, kissing her again. They finally separated and she melted into his arms. "You know I'd do anything for you."

Author's Note: First off, I'd like to make it clear that, in spite of, and partly because of her talkative nature, I love Rose. I think she's awesome and I really enjoyed writing her. I know Zoe loves her too, she's just got a lot going on right now.

Second, I am sorry there was no wade in this chapter, but he will be in the next one. I also know some of you were probably disappointed when you found out it was George, not Wade, who comforted Zoe during her freakout. I'll be honest, I did consider having Wade be the one to find her, but he's trying to keep his distance right now, so I did not think it would make a lot of sense. Please don't be too mad at me, and remember, George loves Zoe too, and he is not a bad guy, he's just not Wade. i hope you enjoyed and please review. the more reviews I get, especially the detailed ones, the more inspired I am to write. Have a good day.