I'm sorry for the delay with this chapter, but getting sick takes a toll on you and I had no desire to write. The good news is that not only did I get my computer back last night, but updates should be back on track now for all my stories. I really do hope you guys enjoy this chapter and reviews would make for a lovely birthday gift today!

Tuesday afternoon when Wade was brought out of solitary confinement his body was stiff and every little movement he made pain was there with a warm greeting. His eye was swollen shut and he was having a hard time breathing without being in constant pain.

The guard that was leading Wade back to his cell was an older guy with only a year left before he could retire and the guard had a soft spot for Wade and for Jesse, he was friends with Earl. He had spent plenty of times with Wade and Jesse to know what was going on with them and he really thought that Wade shouldn't be in there, but at the same time he had done the crime and he had to pay his time like the rest of them. Seeing Wade limping and hearing the soft groans of protest, the guard took Wade up to the infirmary.

"Dr. Hart, do you have a few spare minutes?" Jeremiah asked, sticking his head into her little office after seeing the other doctors were too busy and he felt like Wade needed a good thing right now.

"Yes, of course, what can I do for you?" She asked, getting up from her desk. She froze in her tracks seeing Wade leaning against the wall, his eyes closed. "Wade?" She gasped.

Wade's eye snapped open giving his girlfriend a weak smile. In all his pain and agony he had forgotten that she started today. "Hey, doc," he smirked with a grimace. Seeing her made the pain he was dealing with a little more bearable.

Zoe smiled softly despite the situation they were in; she closed the gap between them and wrapped her arm around him to help him to the cot. Being in each other's embrace was a welcoming feeling after spending so long not being able to hold each other's hand without Wade getting yelled at, as much as she wanted to keep Wade in her hold she helped him lay down. "What happened?" She asked, cupping his cheek, her thumb gently tracing the bruising on his left cheek.

"It's nothing, Doc," Wade told her softly. He didn't want to put her in a place where she would be forced to lie for him. The second he told her what went down she'd have to report it and more trouble was the last thing he was going to need for himself.

"It's something," she said standing up. She quickly got what it was she was going to need to take care of the cuts and his swollen eye the best she could. The first she did was gave him something to take to keep the pain away. Halfway through with getting him taken care of he had fallen asleep. She smiled softly, walking to where Jeremiah was waiting on her to finish with Wade. "It's best if he stays right where he's at for the night, thank you for bringing him to me," she told him.

"It's not a problem," he smiled at her. "I'll be back this time tomorrow to collect him."

Zoe nodded and headed to her office to get a few things taken care. She stayed where she'd be able to keep an eye on Wade while she worked. More than once she found herself questioning what it was she was doing here. She hated seeing Wade like that and at the end of the day she'd be the one to leave him behind. She just didn't know if it was something she could keep doing. Seeing Wade like that was enough to break her, she could deal with all the other inmates coming in for their own reasons, she didn't care what they had done to get the beat down they had gotten, she had asked what little she had to to figure out the best way to help them heal faster, but with Wade she wanted to go hunt Jesse down and figure out what the hell his problem was.

"What happened there?" Warden Hayes asked. Zoe looked up from what she was doing.

"I'm not sure, he told me it was nothing, but we both can see that it's more than that," she sighed, leaning back in her chair. Even if she did know what happened, she wouldn't have told. There was no way she was going to cause more trouble for Wade when all she wanted was for him to be safe.

"Just keep him here as long as you feel is necessary," Lavon told her, shocking her greatly. He chuckled seeing the surprise in her eyes. "I've read his case file and his brother's case file and something just doesn't add up, your boy here had just enough charges against him to get him locked up," Lavon told her.

"That makes sense," Zoe sighed, shaking her head. She had suspected something more was going on than what she had been told. Stealing a car wouldn't exactly land Wade in prison and she knew there was something to do with drugs and a gun but those were on Jesse. "Thank you," she told him, glancing at Wade's sleeping form.

"You're welcome, Big Z," he replied turning to leave. "I know I can be hard but I have to be like that, look where we're at, but underneath it all I have a heart that wants to see the good in every person that comes in here," he said, walking away.

It was the cough that brought her attention back to Wade. She rushed to his side. "You going to tell me what happened?" She asked rolling a chair over to sit on, her hand finding his as her right hand went to his hair.

"I've got it handled, I'll deal with this all when I get out of here," Wade told her sadness in his hard eyes. There was no way he was going to get her involved in anything to do with him or Jesse. This was his problem and he'd deal with it accordingly. "When am I getting my lovely escort outta here?"

"Maybe tomorrow at the earliest, depends on if I feel like it's okay for you to go back there, I was given orders to keep ya in this bed for as long as I think you should be here," she told him with a soft smile.

The laugh he let out turned into a coughing fit, his free hand holding his side. Zoe sighed, running her fingers through his hair; she bent over kissing his forehead feeling that on top of everything else he was getting a fever; after making sure that no one was looking. He reached up to cup her cheek, a warm smile on his lips. "I love you, Doc," he whispered.

"Right back at ya," she smiled, sitting up. "It was Jesse wasn't it? He had something to do with this, when you're this badly hurt it always leads back to him," she commented with a snarl.

"Just leave it alone, Zoe," Wade told her. She went to protest but he sent her a glare, he really didn't want her to get mixed up with whatever it was Jesse up to, this was his battle and he'd deal with it, the less she knew the better it was for everyone involved.

"Fine," she told him softly. "You rest and I'll be back later in the day to check on you," she informed him. She got up but he was quick enough to catch her hand.

"Don't be mad at me about this, Zoe. It needs to be this way," he tired.

Taking a deep breath she looked at him giving his hand a gently squeeze. "I'm not mad at you, just this whole situation. Rest and when I come back I'll tell you about Evie." He smiled not caring about the pain that made his lips feel like they were being split right in half.

"How was it?" Lemon asked later that night when Zoe entered the Rammer Jammer.

"Horrible," Zoe sighed, kissing her daughter's head. "He was brought in and he…" she trailed off, running her fingers through her daughter's hair, she couldn't say it, it was bad enough that the image of her boyfriend beaten and bruised was burnt in her mind every time she closed her eyes.

"That bad?" Lemon questioned with a sympathetic look.

"Worse," Zoe commented, shaking her head. "I don't know how long I can do this for. It was so much easier when I saw him for a few minutes, I worried about him then but now the worry is worse, I hate everything about it," she said. "I want my family to be whole again."

"I get it, Zoe," Lemon told her, reaching across the table to put her hand on top of her friends, giving her some sort of comfort. "He'll be home soon enough."

Zoe looked down shaking her head. Looking up she was meet curious eyes of Lemon. Without giving anything away to make her daughter question anymore on where her father was, Zoe explained how her day had been and what had been said when she talked to the warden about Wade.

"I think maybe I should have a little talk with this Lavon," George said, joining them half way through Zoe's tale. "If anything it will only help Wade out."

"I can't stop you," Zoe told him. "Just find a way to get him out of there."

George promised he'd do the best he could but he couldn't promise her something that he didn't know if he could do. The evidence was against Wade just enough to keep him there.