Zoe's last year as a resident went by quicker than she would have expected, and before she knew it she was standing in the hospital lobby being dumped by her boyfriend of six years who claimed she liked to talk more about surgery than his day. Not that he was wrong per se, but he never wanted to talk about her day either, in fact outside of work and their physical relationship they had absolutely nothing in common. He had no sense of humor and was kind of a whiner. Figuring she was better for it Zoe stopped by the store to pick a bottle of wine and some junk food. She'd just been informed that she'd received the cardiothoracic fellowship at New York Hospital. Her Chief of Surgery seemed impressed not only with her hands but her heart.

Once she got home she noticed a text message from Lavon on her phone asking her to call him as soon as she was home. Deciding his news could probably wait until she showered and poured herself a glass, Zoe went about getting ready for a night in before she finally decided to call her friend back.

"Hey Z!" Lavon sounded relieved to hear from her.

"Hey, Lavon what's up? Did you get married too?" she sighed, not wanting to hear that three hours after being dumped.

"No Z, it's Doc."

"Doc got married? But why wouldn't he..."

"Zoe! Doc is in the hospital, I think you need to come down." Before he'd even finished his sentence she'd jumped off the couch and started throwing things into a small suitcase.

"I'm on my way."

"Text me your itinerary I'll pick you up."

"Thank you, for calling for..."

"Just get here, Z. Be safe, see you soon."

Zoe quickly called into work letting them know she had an emergency and then her mother, letting her know of the situation and promising to keep her posted.

.

Dear Diary,

This can't happen. I need more time with him, I can't lose Doc. I was going to finish my training and then work with him. I was going to learn all the little things a big fancy hospital can't teach me; I can't do it without him. Maybe I'm jumping the gun, he could get better right? Lavon wouldn't have called if we thought he was getting better though. I need to sleep because once I get there I won't, but at this point, I can't even bring myself to blink if I can help it. Maybe I should lay off the coffee for a bit.

Until next time

Z

.

Zoe stood by Harley's bed. He hardly looked like the man she remembered, he was thinner, and his skin was an unhealthy color. He wasn't in a coma just asleep; she'd read his chart...it wasn't good. One thing she did know, is that as much of a shock as this was to her, he was expecting it.

"Zoe?" came a hoarse voice from the bed startling her.

"Hey Doc, I'm here."

"It's that bad huh?" he asked taking a labored breath "If they called you it's bad."

"Well, it's not good." she conceded "But I would have come anyway."

"Hmmm." was all he answered before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

Zoe looked at his monitors a long time before deciding to get a cup of coffee while he slept, she was halfway out the door when she collided with someone. Before she was able to apologize or even see who it was, she felt strong arms wrap around her shoulders.

"Hey runt," Wade whispered in way of greeting. Instead of answering Zoe just wrapped her arms around his waist for a while and rested her head on his chest. "What do you say we go grab some coffee?" he finally asked after a few minutes of standing there.

"I love coffee." Zoe sighed tiredly "I mean that sounds good." she corrected to Wade's chuckle.

They found coffee in the cafeteria and then located a bench outside to sit on, both needing to get out of the hospital for a while.

"So, how does it look?" he finally asked.

"He's dying," she answered honestly blinking away tears, "I read his chart, he's had cancer for a while and he refused treatment...it's pretty wide-spread."

"How long?" Wade asked his jaw clenched obviously fighting back emotion.

"A few hours, a few years...I don't know. If he's here, it's probably sooner rather than later though," she answered putting on her doctor voice as she looked down at her coffee cup.

Wade put his arm around Zoe and pulled her into his side. "Where's Lavon?" he finally asked.

"He was called away on official mayor business, said he'd be back later." She shrugged resting her head on his shoulder. After the day she'd had, it was good to just be with someone who was feeling a lot of what she was. Doc was the one who delivered Wade, he saw him grow up, spent holidays with him when he wasn't with Zoe...he was as much his father as he was hers.

"I'm sorry Zoe."

"For what?" she asked confused.

"I knew he wasn't okay, but when he brushed it off so did I. Maybe if I'd..."

"No. There was nothing to be done, he was good at hiding it and as a doctor, he knew what he was doing. Cancer treatment is horrible, and it's not a real cure. Sometimes it comes back, others it doesn't even work. This isn't on you, I'm not mad anyway."

"How are you not mad? I am!" he accused.

"Of him wanting us to remember him healthy? He's an old man Wade, chemo would probably just kill him faster. I hate this, but there's no one to be mad at."

"I'm a jerk, your dad is in there and I'm picking a fight, making you comfort me."

"He's kinda your dad too." Zoe conceded bumping his shoulder.

"You wanna know something crazy?" he asked with a half laugh.

"Crazy would be welcome right now."

"I used to think someday he would be, I just figured you know eventually, in the long run, you and I would...well be like..."

"Me too." she finished for him. "But that wouldn't change how he sees you, you've always been a son to him...even before he knew about me." she shrugged hoping their little moment wouldn't make things awkward.

"Should we go up and see if he's awake?" he asked.

The three friends sat quietly around Lavon's kitchen island each nursing a glass of something alcoholic. Time passed slowly and finally, a ringing cellphone broke the trance. Wade quickly looked at the screen before answering the call.

"Hey, Tans...yeah I'm at the mayor's place." Lavon shot Zoe a look over Wade's shoulder, she didn't know what it meant but tried to mirror it anyway and obviously failed as Wade gave her a concerned look. "Yes. Dr. Wilkes' is in the hospital Tans, no but...I know. Tansy, I'll be home later. Bye."

"Hey if you have to go...you've done enough." Zoe offered.

"No, I want to...I mean we're all finally together."

"Right, and as mayor, I say we eat our feelings and drink," Lavon stated pulling random leftovers from the fridge and junk food from the pantry.

"So...I got dumped today." Zoe offered around a bite of cold egg roll.

"WHAT?" Both men asked Lavon choking on his crab dip.

"I guess it was technically yesterday," She corrected looking at the wall clock, "in the hospital lobby after six years and a thirty-hour shift." she nodded reaching for the wine bottle.

"Big Z, are you...I mean...Lavon Hayes can kick his ass." that made her smile.

"I didn't even cry." she shook her head, "six years and he just broke it off in the lobby. It should have hurt more right? I should have cried...but I guess we were more coworkers than anything. I don't think we liked each other as people." she offered.

"You also worked 30 hours, heard that, then got home to hear about Harley. Then you flew out here to deal with everything having a parent in the hospital entails. Could be that it just hasn't caught up to you yet."

"I don't know Lavon, maybe. Logically you're right, but I don't know that when I finally break down and cry it'll be about him." she shrugged.

"Well, I think he's an ass." Wade offered causing Zoe to laugh for the first time in a while.

"Girl I wasn't trying to be funny."

"Maybe not, but you have the same mad pout now that you did when I was eleven...it's funny on an adult."

"Fine, mayor you're beating this guy without me. Maybe he was right, Z here can be a brat. See?!" he asked shaking rice out of his hair while Zoe tried to look innocent.

"Okay you two, time for bed. Who's staying and who's going?" Lavon asked crossing his arms over his chest and standing at his full height dwarfing the other two.

"I gotta get home," Wade answered.

"And I should probably get to Doc's" Zoe agreed.

"I'll drop you off." Wade offered.

"I can walk, it's just next door. You should get going."

"Burt Reynolds is out there." Lavon warned.

"Fine."

.

Dear Diary,

I need to sleep. I've lost count of how long I've been awake now, but my mind just won't shut off. I'm so tired I can't sleep. The longer I'm awake the more I think I might have to give up my cardio-thoracic fellowship. If Doc...well if Bluebell needs another doctor I'm willing to step up. Okay, that's it. I'm going to close my eyes, take deep breaths and just sleep.

Until next time,

Dr. Z

.

After almost a month in Bluebell the death of Harley Wilkes didn't come as a shock to Zoe. Watching him slowly slip away as she could do nothing more than talk to him or hold his hand had been hard. She was a trained doctor; she should have been able to do something more. But what really shook her to the core, was realizing through her long conversations with Harley that her dream for herself had changed in the course of that month. She no longer mourned the loss of her fancy fellowship. Sure, she would have preferred to work with Harley at her side, but a part of her was excited to start fresh in Bluebell. Dr. Breeland had even stopped by the house a few nights before Harley's death and told her that Dr. Wilkes' practice would be waiting for her when she was ready. He actually stayed and spoke with her a while, they never mentioned Harley's condition or what they both knew was coming but they spoke about the practice and about some of the family she'd never met. He would never be her father, but that night she realized could be a good mentor.

The funeral had been hard, but she got through most of it with either Lavon's arm around her shoulder or Wade holding her hand. She hadn't thought much about the hand holding until she caught Tansy giving her quizzical looks a few days later. Maybe it wasn't exactly appropriate for a married man to hold another girl's hand, but Dr. Wilkes was like a father to Wade and like it or not Zoe was the only other person who felt close to what he did. Either way, after about a week the looks seemed to stop, and Tansy even smiled and waved when she saw her about town. Now all she had to do was meet with George Tucker about Doc's will. It was the last thing she wanted to think about, preferring to just throw herself into officially moving and work but he insisted it was important and wouldn't let up. Which is why she's put on her most professional looking shorts and actually did her makeup before heading over to his office.

"Hey Zoe, I'm glad you could finally make it. Please have a seat." George smiled standing from his desk. "Can I get you anything before we start?" he asked.

"Coffee?" George chuckled at the petite doctor rarely seen without a cup of coffee...or a glass of wine.

"Coming right up." He came in a few minutes later and handed Zoe a large cup of coffee. "First, I'd like to say how sorry I am for your loss, Dr. Wilkes was a wonderful man." George started.

"Thank you." She took a sip of her coffee hoping he wouldn't see her cringe at the words every person in town save maybe Wade and Lavon had said already.

"Okay, well let's just start with the basics. Dr. Wilkes did leave a will, which helps us a lot, in it he stipulated that you get his practice, the house and most of his money. He did actually have a certain amount set aside for Wade Kinsella before you came into the picture, but he never amended that part after you came into his life." he told her seemingly waiting for backlash...maybe it was the New York attitude everyone claimed she had.

"That's good. It's Harley's money, I'm glad he didn't change it. He always loved helping the people of this town and Wade really helped Harley get around in the last few years when he was getting up in age. I wouldn't mind if he left it all to Wade."

"Well, maybe you don't understand. The doctor had quite a bit of money, he came from 'old money' as we in the south like to say. Even with the generous inheritance, he left for Mr. Kinsella you'll probably want to look into having someone help you manage the amount he left you."

"Um, okay. So, is that it?" she asked.

"Not really, see because of the family history the house wasn't really the doctor's to leave you." he told her nervously.

"What? I don't understand, he said his father left it to him."

"Yes, that's just it. The house has to stay in the family..."

"Okay, and what am I, chopped liver?" she asked in agitation.

"Well, you were born out-of-wedlock."

"Wedlock? Who even says that anymore?"

"Look, Zoe, I'll do what I can but until we can find something you may have to stay somewhere else."

"Are you kidding me?" she asked in frustration.

"Look I know this is inconvenient..."

"No, inconvenient is driving thirty miles for peppermint latte. Losing my father's ancestral home is a little more than inconvenient."

"I know, you're right. I just need a way to prove in court that you are a part of the family." he offered.

"And DNA doesn't count?"

"Not in the south, we need something that'll prove that even though you're not a Wilkes in name, and you didn't grow up in Bluebell that the community still sees you as part of the family."

"So, you're saying I went through that whole Belle-ing, and the hoop skirt, and the mocking because it was a Wilkes' legacy and this stupid ring means nothing?" she demanded flailing her arm about.

"Wait, what did you say?" he asked looking at her hand closely now.

"That's right, I said that the stupid Belle ceremony was for nothing."

"No, when did you become a Belle?" he asked confused.

"Well Doc said when I turned 18, I officially became a Belle... so that summer I did the whole 'wear the hoop skirt, get the ring' thing."

"Huh, maybe the old man did know what he was doing. I'd already left for school by then, so I didn't know you were a Belle. That's quite possibly the best defense we have against your aunt Maureen, the only other Wilkes who'd claim the property."

"So, what happens now?" she asked looking into her empty coffee cup.

"Well, you sign a lot of papers for the money and the practice, then I call you sometime today with a court date and we get you that house. At some point I also have to make Wade Kinsella accept money from Harley Wilkes." he cringed.

"Good luck with that."