Wade opened his eyes and jumped, seeing Zoe's face an inch away from his. She was holding a flashlight and shining it into his eyes. He moved back and sat up in the bed.
"Dammit Zoe, what the hell."
"You were snoring," she stated simply.
"Yeah, and?"
"And you may have sleep apnoea," she said as she moved closer, holding up the flashlight again.
"Not again!" Wade moaned as he rubbed his eyes and backed away from her.
"Open up," she insisted.
"No. Yesterday you wanted to check me for Scoliosis, the day before was Dengue Fever. This is not healthy!"
"I know it's not healthy! That's why I need to check you out!"
"Not me, you!" he said as he tried to climb out of bed. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
"I'm worried about you! You don't have to be overweight to have sleep apnoea. You could have a deformed epiglottis," Zoe pouted. Wade rolled his eyes but opened his mouth to oblige her request. "Just what I suspected," she said after a while and turned off the flashlight, Wade closed his mouth.
"And what's that?"
"You don't have sleep apnoea."
"Shocker," Wade retorted with another eye roll. "You need to find work, Zo."
"I know," she said sadly. "But there are already 2 town doctors, how many more could they need?"
"Maybe look in Mobile or Filmore?" Wade suggested, lying back on the bed and wrapping his arms around her.
"I guess I could... I just wanted to work in Bluebell because this is your home."
"I know Babe and I appreciate you movin' your whole life here but it's been 3 weeks, you gotta work otherwise you're gonna diagnose me to death!"
"Ok ok, no more diagnosing. Although let me just take a quick look at your..."
"No!" Wade interrupted. She stuck her bottom lip out. "That face isn' gonna work on me! No more doctorin' unless I really need it."
"Urgh fine!" she conceded.
"Now, if you wanna play doctor, I'd be ok with that. Maybe I need mouth to mouth? Maybe I need a physical?" he suggested with a wink. Zoe perked up.
"The doctor will be right with you," she said in her sexiest voice possible making Wade smile widely. "Let me first get my stethoscope. Oh and my blood pressure cuff." Wade's eyes widened at that. "And I'll need my tongue depressors." Zoe jumped off the bed and ran around the carriage house looking for all her equipment. Wade watched his girlfriend run around and shook his head with a smile.
"Oooh, a reflex hammer could work!" she exclaimed still running around.
"You know you aren't giving me an actual physical, right?" he called from the bed.
"I want it to be as accurate as possible!" she yelled from the bathroom.
"It's very well thought out," he called back. "But your patient is in need of medical attention."
"The doctor is in," she said as she walked out of the bathroom wearing a sexy doctor costume. Wade's mouth fell open and he sat up in anticipation as she approached the bed.
XXX
Zoe walked out of the Hook, Line and Sinker after browsing for half an hour. She was bored out of her mind and had spent the past 2 weeks wondering in and out of every store in Bluebell on a daily basis just to keep herself busy. After Wade told her she needed to look for work, she had gone to the neighbouring towns but no one was hiring and she didn't want to hang around at the Rammer Jammer all day and be a clingy girlfriend even though she so desperately wanted company. She hung out with Lavon sometimes and she was slowly getting to know the Belles but she missed work and being busy.
"Hey Pretty Doctor," Earl said walking towards her.
"Hey Earl. It's good to see you," Zoe responded with a smile.
"I cut my finger the other day and I got this thing on my arm," he said, pulling up the sleeve of his plaid shirt. A long red line was running up his arm and Zoe grabbed his hand to examine it more closely.
"Oh Earl," she sighed. "Let's take you to see Dr Breeland."
"I'd rather cut off my arm than see that jerk Brick Breeland."
"Ok so let's go to Dr Wilkes."
"No way! You're family; I want you to look at it." Zoe sighed again but nodded, taking his hand and leading him in the direction of the plantation.
Once in the carriage house, Zoe found the antibiotics she was looking for in her medical bag and administered them after getting Earl settled in her bed.
"These are not the best antibiotics but they've all I've got. We could get stronger ones at the practice," she insisted.
"No. This'll be fine. I ain' going to no practice."
"You have blood poisoning, Earl. Do you understand what I am saying?"
"Of course I do. I know what poisoning is."
"It is making its way up your arm and if it reaches your heart you could..." she paused and took a breath. "You could die."
"Don' care."
"Earl, these antibiotics might not work. We need to get you to a hospital."
"Negative. I do not go to hospitals."
"Fine. You are as stubborn as your son." Earl just shrugged. "The poison is here," Zoe said, drawing a line on his arm. "I need to monitor it every 20 minutes for 8 hours. If it rises, I am taking you to the hospital, I don't care if you refuse. Got it?" Earl nodded and Zoe left the room to call Wade.
"Hey Doc. The bar is packed, I'll call you in a bit," Wade said exasperated on the other end of the phone.
"Wade, it's your dad. There's an emergency."
"Zoe, if this is your idea of tryin' to cure your boredom, it's not funny."
"I'm being serious Wade. He's here with me at my place. I need you here now."
"This better not be your way of gettin' me home," he said and Zoe noticed that he sounded scared.
"I wouldn't use your dad's health as a ploy Wade," she snapped back. "He's ok, I just... you need to come," she added calmly.
A few minutes later, Wade ran into the carriage house and stopped at the doorway when he saw his dad lying in the bed. He ran his hand over his chin and looked at Zoe with wide eyes.
"He has blood poisoning and is refusing to go anywhere. I gave him an antibiotic but I need to monitor him for the next 8 hours to see if the line rises above the mark I made," Zoe explained, getting up from the couch and walking towards him.
"What happens... what happens if he... if the..." Wade stuttered. Zoe took his hand and put her other hand on his cheek.
"He should be ok, I've seen this before and this treatment does work. I did the best I could with the antibiotics I had but we just need to stay positive." He just nodded and swallowed hard.
Wade watched Zoe move around the room as she checked on Earl every 20 minutes. When she wasn't checking on him, she was watching him intently, making notes in a notebook. When he asked if he could do anything, Zoe told him that she had everything under control and he could relax.
"Zo, what don't you let me do somethin'? I'm jus' sittin' here and you look exhausted. Tell me what to look for," Wade said, rubbing her shoulders. She sighed and nodded before explaining what he needed to do.
Zoe felt someone shaking her and she opened her eyes to find Wade on his haunches looking at her. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and sat up on the couch.
"How long have I been asleep for?" she asked groggily.
"Bout 5 and a half hours," Wade responded softly, moving a piece of hair that had fallen into her face to behind her ear. Zoe looked around and saw it was dark outside and jumped up.
"Why didn't you wake me? How's Earl? Oh my gosh, what kind of a doctor am I?" she panicked.
"Relax Doc. He's in the clear. The line has gone way down." They walked over to the bed where Earl was sleeping and Zoe saw that the line had receded to half of where it was when they started the observation.
"I'm so glad he's ok!" Zoe said, wrapping her arms around his waist for comfort. Wade wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
"Thank you for everythin' you did," Wade said.
"I didn't do much, I was asleep for most of the time," Zoe said disappointed in herself.
"Hey, none of that!" Wade responded letting her go and moving to stand in front of her. He put his hands on her shoulders. "You did more than anyone else woulda done for him and that is why I love you. Brick and Harley woulda just shipped him off to the hospital despite what he wanted."
"What did you just say?" Zoe asked, not sure she heard him properly. Wade looked confused as he thought back to his words and when he realised what he said, his eyes widened and he stepped back.
"I uh... I don'... I meant... you know... like... love in a... different way..." he stammered while running his hands through his hair. Zoe giggled and kissed him.
"I love you too," she said when she pulled away.
"Really?" Wade asked hopefully.
"Yeah, I know it's super soon but I think I've loved you since I first saw you lying unconscious in the ER." Wade laughed at her and pulled her into a hug.
"I can't say the same cause I was unconscious and all. But I think I knew I loved you the first mornin' you woke me up before rounds." Zoe smiled up at him and he leaned down and kissed her. The intensity increased within a matter of seconds as Wade pushed her up against the wall. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He moved his mouth to her neck and Zoe moaned loudly when he reached the spot under her ear. She opened her eyes for a brief second and saw Earl lying in the bed about 6 feet away. She had completely forgot that he was there after being swept up in the moment.
"Wade," Zoe said.
"Zoe," Wade moaned followed by a low growl, his kisses on her neck getting more urgent.
"Wade," Zoe said firmly, pushing him away slightly. He moaned again, moving back to her mouth.
"Would you stop!" Zoe urged, pushing him away properly. He pulled away and looked at her.
"What?" he asked, still holding her up against the wall.
"Your dad is like 6 feet away."
"So? We'll be quiet," he insisted, moving back to kiss her. Zoe smacked him away.
"Don't be gross!"
"We can go to my place," Wade suggested, tightening his hold on her and stepping away from the wall, walking towards the door.
"No! We are not leaving your sick dad alone so we can have sex!" Zoe whispered loudly. "Put me down!" She wiggled her legs trying to get herself free.
"He's fine now!" Wade said, smirking and shaking his head as he carried on walking to the door. He stopped at the door when he heard Earl groan. He turned them around and saw Earl starting to open his eyes. Wade rolled his eyes and put Zoe down and she ran to Earl's side to check on him. Giving up, Wade made himself comfortable on the couch while she worked.
The next morning, Zoe was sitting at the Butterstick having her daily buttermilk muffin when Brick and Harley walked in.
"Zoe," Brick said approaching her.
"Hi, Dr Breeland, Dr Wilkes," she greeted looking up.
"We heard what you did for Earl," Harley said. "Sounds like you did great work."
"Thank you," Zoe beamed up at them.
"Yes, excellent job. Most of the townspeople just ignore him," Brick added.
"Well, he's important to Wade which makes him important to me. Plus he's really sweet and deep down a really great guy," Zoe said with a smile. The doctors bid her farewell and walked to the counter. Zoe sat back and smiled to herself proudly.