Author's Note: Okay, so I worked hard to make sure I updated at least one story since I think we all need as many as possible after Tuesday. I think you will be both pleased and frustrated with this chapter.

Thank you so much to all my reviewers. I really appreciate all of the kind words and critiques.

Mollie, always good to hear from you. Thank you for your kind words and for not hating me. And, no, you have not confused my stories. Zoe was not ignoring it; she is just trying to figure out the right time and way to bring it up. It's like she told Lemon in Chapter Eighteen, she does not want to force him to confess to feelings for her when she is not sure yet if she want to be with him or George.

Guest: Yes, I considered having her picture Wade, but given the circumstances, it made more sense for it to be George.

Chapter Twenty

Zoe woke in an unfamiliar bed. She did not remember where she was at first, and even after her memory started to come back, she was still confused. The last thing she remembered was watching a movie on a couch in a different room. Now, she was in a bed, though still in the same clothes. As she took in her surroundings, trying to make sense of things, an appetizing aroma reached her nose. She got up and headed out the door, following the scent to what appeared to be a kitchen. George was at the stove, cooking whatever was the source of the smell. He turned around and smiled at her. She noticed he had bed-head, which was kind of adorable.

"What smells so good?"

George smiled, "Well, I wanted to bring you breakfast in bed, but …" he shrugged.

"Yeah, speaking of … how exactly did I get in that bed?"

"Don't worry, I slept on the couch." He said quickly, "After you drifted off, I just figured you might be more comfortable in a bed, so I carried you in there and tucked you in. I hope that's okay."

"Yeah, no, that's sweet." The two of them shared a smile, but then Zoe's face fell, "Wait, did you say breakfast?" George nodded, "What time is it?"

"It's around ten. You seemed tired so-"

"Crap!" Zoe said, wincing. Her voice was a little panicky, something George was able to recognize.

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't visit Wade yesterday."

"What? Why is that-?"

She started to pace anxiously, "I told him I would. God, he's going to be so-"

"Zoe, calm down. You fell asleep; it happens. Wade will understand. You've been to visit him everyday since it happened."

"But I told him I would be there, and then I didn't show up."

"Look, if it'll help, I can tell him it was my fault-"

"No!" Zoe said quickly. She stopped pacing, and George looked at her, confused, "I mean, I appreciate it, but if he knew you were the reason, it would just make everything worse."

"Why?"

Zoe bit her lip in that cute way she did when she was nervous, "Just trust me, okay?" There was a pregnant pause, "I – I have to go. Where's my purse?"

"Should be by the couch somewhere." George said, distracted. She went to look, and George watched her. Now he was pacing, "Zoe, why would it be worse if Wade knew I was the reason?"

"Well, I mean, technically you weren't. I fell asleep, like you said. That could have happened anywhere. The fact that it was with you was just an unfortunate coincidence."

"Unfortunate?" She could hear the hurt in his voice. Standing up, she turned to him.

"You know what I meant."

"Not really, no."

She didn't have time for this. She couldn't deal with this. She had no clue how she felt, and even if she did, that would be a long conversation that she could not afford to have right now, "George I have to get to the hospital and explain."

"Or what?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, her eyes scrunched up in confusion

"I mean, what happens if you don't? What are you scared of happening? Do think Wade is going to be mad at you?"

"No, not mad, just …" Zoe trialed off.

"What? Hurt? Why?"

"George, I told him-"

"We're all his friends Zoe. We all visit him, but you are the only one who has been to see him every day. If I told him I would come and I didn't 'cause I got caught up, or 'cause I fell asleep, sure, I'd feel a little guilty, but I don't think he'd be mad or hurt about it. A little put out at first, but I don't think he'd be all broken up about me not showin'."

"That's different."

"Why?"

Zoe shook her head, "I can't have this conversation right now." She tried to get around him to the door, but he blocked her way.

"Zoe-"

"I have to get to the hospital!"

"Fine. You have to leave, I get it. Just answer one question first." She sighed and crossed her arms, but she didn't try to go around him "Is there somethin' goin' on between you and Wade?"

A lump formed in Zoe's throat. Suddenly, she decided that she found her shoes very fascinating; anything to avoid looking George in the eye. George sighed. That was really all the answer he needed.

He stepped aside. "We'll – we'll talk about this later, I promise." Zoe said, still not looking at him, "I just can't right now."

George nodded, but then remembered she wasn't looking at him, "Okay." It came out scratchy. His throat felt soar and raw, like he had been crying, or like he was going to cry. He watched Zoe walk to her car, wearing a sad smile. He didn't know what this meant exactly, but he was pretty terrified of finding out. Could he be losing her? Could he be losing his sweet, amazing, beautiful Zoe, one of the only two girls he had ever loved, who, he believed, he loved even more than the first, to another one of his closest friends?

Lemon woke up to the smell of cleaning solution. She started to cough, causing Lily to turn to her, "Sorry. I didn't know you were up."

"It's fine." Lemon said, "What's goin' on? Where's Magnolia? What are you doin'?" Magnolia, Lily, and Lemon had been sharing a bed the past few nights. Lemon had talked to Lavon and he had said that while he missed her, he understood that this was what she needed right now. It was sort of a relief. Now that she was not sharing a bed with Lavon, she did not fall asleep thinking about why she could not seem to conceive.

"I think Magnolia went down for breakfast, and I thought I'd give the place a little sprucin' up. You've all bee so nice, I wanted to help out."

"Sweetheart, you don't have to do that. We're happy to have you here."

"Well, I wanted to anyway. I mean, it keeps me busy, you know, keeps my mind off …"

Lemon nodded understandingly; "Well, I'll get out of your way then. I have to call George anyway."

"George? Why?"

"Oh, it's just some … legal matters I need to talk to him about. Don't worry about it sweetheart." She did not want to get lily's hopes up, and a part of her was also scared. What if Lily didn't want to stay with them? Maybe that was why god had not blessed them with a child. Maybe somebody up there though she was not cut out to be a parent.

After leaving a message for George, Lemon headed down for breakfast. Magnolia was sitting at the island eating cornflakes. When she saw Lemon coming, she passed the box.

"Thanks." Magnolia nodded. Lemon grabbed a bowl and started pouring the cereal. Magnolia waited patiently for Lemon to get the milk back out of the fridge and come sit down.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Depends?" Lemon said as she poured the milk on her cereal.

"Can you drive me down to see Wade. There's … somethin' I want to talk to him about."

"Sweetheart, I wish I could, but I don't have my car."

"What?"

"Lavon's is in the shop, so he had to borrow mine, and he already left. He won't be back 'til later tonight, and then we're gonna drive down to," Lemon paused. She had not told Magnolia about the guardianship either, "well, to take care of somethin'."

"But I have to talk to Wade."

"What about?"

"I just need somebody to listen."

"Well, that's ridiculous, you don't need Wade for that. You can talk to me."

Magnolia huffed, "Righhhht."

"You can." Lemon protested.

"No I can't. Not about this." She muttered, but Lemon heard her.

"Why not?"

Magnolia stood up straight and straightened out her dress, "Because I need somebody who is gonna take my side."

"And you don't think I will?"

"You never have."

"That's not true. I -"

"Forget it. I'll get a ride from somebody else." Magnolia said, heading out the door.

"What was that about?" Lily asked as she came in from the other room.

"Um … nothin'. You want some breakfast." Lily nodded, and Lemon got her a bowl.

Zoe took a deep breath before knocking timidly on Wade's hospital door, "Hey." She said as she came in.

"Hey doc." Wade said, smiling. He was trying to pretend everything was okay, but it wasn't. She knew it wasn't.

She came and sat down beside him, "Wade, I am so sorry-"

"What for?" Wade asked, interrupting her.

"I know I said I would come by yesterday, and then I didn't."

He shrugged, "Oh, that. It's no big deal."

"Wade-"

"Zoe, you don't need to visit me everyday. It's okay. I know you've got your own life, and I don't expect you to drop everything-"

"I want. I want to come everyday. I want to drop everything. You have to believe me, I wanted to be here."

"Okay. So, what happened?"

"What?"

"You wanted to be here so badly, and you weren't, must'a been a pretty big, important reason."

"I – I fell asleep." Zoe stuttered out.

"Huh."

"Wade, please, don't be like that."

"Like what?"

"I know I screwed up, okay, and I am so sorry-"

"You don't have to be. You are under no obligation."

"You're mad."

"I'm not."

"Well, you're upset."

"Please stop tryin' to tell me how I feel. I don't need a diagnosis doc, and even if I did, psych ain't exactly your expertise."

"Wade-"

"Zoe, it's fine, all right."

Zoe sighed. She it wasn't fine. She knew he was lying. But she could tell he wasn't going to give an inch. It would probably be best to drop it for now.

"So, um, how are you feeling?"

Wade smirked, "Better, actually. I should be gettin' out of here soon, thank god."

"I know what you mean. I really hate hospitals." Wade laughed, "What?"

"You're a doctor."

"So?"

Wade chuckled, "So, you're a doctor."

Zoe shook her head, but then she started to laugh to. It was hard not to, when Wade was. He had a very contagious laugh.

Rose took a deep breath. This was not going to be easy, she knew. She had never been good at this sort of thing, and as awesome as Wade was, she sort of wished she had Zoe to talk to right now. She'll get her memories back, she assured herself. After all, she had already started. She remembered about George, and she seemed to be remembering her friendship with Lemon. She had not shown any sign of remembering Rose though. But that didn't necessarily mean anything. And even if it did, she couldn't think about it right now. She was on a mission, and she was nervous as hell. She took one more breath, and then knocked.

"Rose!" An adorable squeal came from the other side of the door. A tiny little brunette came running up to Rose and hugged her leg. Rose smiled and leaned down to give the girl a proper hug.

"Hey Jamie."

"Guess what? Guess what? Guess what?" The little girl was bouncing up and down like she had to pee.

"What?"

"My tooth finally fell out. See?" she opened up her mouth wide for Rose to look.

"I do. Impressive. You put it under your pillow yet." The girl shook her head, "Why not?"

"Billy, from my class, he said the tooth fairy ain't real-"

"Isn't." Rose interrupted.

"Isn't real. He said that it's just your parents takin' your teeth."

"Well, that was mean of him."

"Is it true."

Rose thought. She did not want to lie to Jamie, but she couldn't very well tell her there was no tooth fairy either, "Well, answer me this. What would your parents want with a bunch of old teeth?" Jamie's face lit up, and Rose felt proud of herself for renewing the girls hope without actually lying.

"I'll go put it under right away."

"Before you go, listen, is your brother around?"

Jamie nodded, "Yeah, he's out back doin' chores."

Rose smiled, "Thanks Jamie. Now go put that thing under your pillow."

"Yes ma'am." Jamie said, giving a little salute, making Rose chuckle.

She went around to the back of the house and saw Fredrick Dean raking up a bunch of leaves. He was wearing a pair of jeans with a little mud on them, and his t-shirt was tied around his waist.

"Hey there workin' man!" she called out. Fredrick Dean dropped the rake, startled. He turned around, and Rose noticed he was blushing a little. It was a little hard to pay attention to his face though, not that he was facing her.

It had been a while since Rose had seen Fredrick Dean without a shirt on. He was a fairly modest boy, so he usually only took his shirt off during a heat wave, and whenever there was a heat wave, he avoided Rose like the plague. Knowing what she did now, Rose figured it was probably because he was scared the heat would make him do something stupid like tell her how he felt. But, again, she wasn't thinking about that now.

Fredrick Dean was in pretty good shape. In fact, at twenty, he was probably at his physical peek. Rose felt herself grow warm as she tried not to stare at his well-toned torso.

"Hey Rose." He sounded a little nervous, though considering what he had done the last time they saw each other, it was not all that surprising. He definitely liked her. The way he was looking at her … she couldn't believe she never saw it before.

"Need a hand?"

"Uh … sure. I mean, I got it covered, but if you want-" Rose headed over to him.

"They got you workin' hard, huh?"

"Well, you know, you gotta earn your keep. Dad's still a little pissed I decided to commute. He says if I don't get out soon, I'm gonna end up stuck in Bluebell forever and never make anythin' of myself."

Rose shook her head, "That's crap. Bluebell is as good a place as any to make somethin' of yourself."

He smiled at her, and Rose got that familiar weak-kneed feeling. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time.

She grabbed the rake from him and started on the leaves.

"You took my rake."

She shrugged, "So. Get your own."

"That was my own." He was trying to sound mad, but she could hear the chuckle in his voice. He to the shed, got another rake, and came back. They raked in silence for a bit, both waiting for the other one to talk first. Finally, Rose broke the ice, "So, how come you never told me how you felt?"

He stopped mid-rake. Rose looked over at him. His face was red as a tomato, "I … I don't know." He stuttered out.

"Liar. You do so."

"Well, if you're so sure, how about you tell me, huh?" he snapped.

"How would I know? I have know clue you liked me like that, so how would I know why you kept quiet about it?"

He took a deep breath, "Okay, maybe, maybe I was scared."

"Of what? Of me?"

"Yes. No, I mean, not of you, just that you wouldn't, that is, I mean, you never seemed interested." He avoided her gaze.

"Of course I was interested you idiot."

He looked up, a hopeful smile on his face, "You were?"

"Duh."

"Well then, how come you never said anythin'?" he countered, turning it around on her.

" 'Cause, first you were with Magnolia, and then you were hung up on her … well, you know, I thought you were."

"I wasn't."

"Well, I know that now." She said, exasperated.

Both of them put down their rakes and stood where they were for a minute or so.

"This is ridiculous."

"What?"

"We keep goin' all silent and gettin' awkward."

"Well, it's not like it's just me."

"I didn't say it was. In fact, I distinctly remember usin' the word we."

"Well … okay then." Fredrick Dean said. He didn't know what to say exactly, but silence was apparently working against him. It made sense; Rose hated awkward silences. It was part of why she talked so much; she had gotten in the habit of filling dead air.

Rose rolled her eyes and picked her rake up. She headed over to him and returned it. "I like this rake. You're not careful I might just steal it."

"It's just an ordinary rake."

Rose shrugged, "Yeah, but you got so possessive when I took it."

"Yeah, 'cause I was usin' it."

Rose smiled, "I saw. You were like the All-American Redneck. Workin' the yard out here with dirty jeans and your shirt tied around your waist."

He blushed, partially because he realized how dirty his jeans were, and partially because he had forgotten that he took his shirt off earlier. "I – I didn't know you were comin' over." He sputtered.

"Again, duh. I didn't call and you ain't a psychic last time I checked."

"I would've changed." He said, looking down. Rose moved closer to him, and when he went to untie his shirt so he could put it back on, she stilled his hands.

"I didn't say I minded." He looked up, realizing how close she was.

"You mean the jeans or …?" He just let the sentence hang there.

Rose just chuckled, "You embarrass so easily."

"I do not."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. It's not. It's – I think it's cute." This time they both blushed a little.

"Yeah?"

Rose nodded, inching forward and putting her arms around his neck. She felt him shiver at her touch and felt a strange kind of pride knowing she had that affect o him, "Yeah, but if you put that shirt back on you're a dead man."

He chuckled nervously, "You are the funniest girl I know."

"I better be." She closed the distance that was left, bringing his head down to her level and kissing him. It had been amazing the first time, but this, well, this was different. Last time Rose had been caught totally off guard, but this time she initiated it, and she was ready. It started out gentle, but then it got hungrier. Fredrick Dean wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and pulled her closer to him. She let her hands travel to his bare chest, still kissing him senseless. Despite not getting together with Fredrick Dean, Rose had dated. There had been this kid named Max, who was nice enough, and definitely romantic, but they hadn't had much in common. She had also met a couple guys since she started college. She was still a virgin, but she was by no means inexperienced. She knew how to kiss, and tease, and make a guy moan, just like Fredrick Dean was doing now. He seemed to know what he was doing too, which didn't surprise her. Well, maybe a little. As far as she knew, he had only ever kissed Magnolia, but then, Magnolia was a slut, so …

She heard somebody clearing their throat, and they both turned to see Fredrick Dean's mom. They stepped away from each other as quickly as they could.

"Well, I guess you're done with the leaves then."

Both of them were red in the face, and then Rose started laughing. Fredrick Dean joined her.

Wade sat up when he heard the knock, thinking it was Zoe. Her guilty conscience had caused her to stay pretty much the whole day. She even apologized when she left to pee. Right now she was off getting them dinner.

"Hey man." George said.

Wade was a little disappointed. Despite the fact that she had been there all day, or maybe because of it, he already missed her. Still, George was his friend, and he was happy to see him.

"Hey Tucker. Good to see ya."

George smiled. He made to sit down, but then just started pacing.

"You tryin' to make a hole in the hospital floor or somethin'?"

"Wade, um, you, you're my friend, and I don't, that is, you're still in here, and I don't want to make you uncomfortable-"

"George, take a seat." George obliged, "Now what's goin' on?"

George sighed, "You, uh, you seen Zoe yet today."

Well, that was unfortunate. Zoe was not exactly his favorite topic to discuss with George. "Yep. She's actually just in the cafeteria now." George nodded uncomfortably, "So, you gonna ask me somethin' else, or-?"

"No, I am, I am."

"Well, spit it out then."

"I'm just tryin' to figure out how-?"

"I just told you how. Spit it out."

"Well, remember that whole, transference thing?" Wade nodded, "See, that's supposed to be her transferrin' feelin's she has for one person onto another. Thing is, if that were true … Zoe's started to remember how she feels about me, meanin' she shouldn't be transferrin' anymore, right?" Wade nodded, growing more uncomfortable by the minute, "Thing is, yesterday, we were hangin' out and … I sort of got the impression that maybe whatever she had been feelin' before, for you, well, that she still does."

"George, she's just confused, okay-"

"I know, I know that, and I don't want to make a big deal, but, I sort of got the impression from her that it wasn't exactly … one-sided."

"What?" Wade asked with a laugh. It was a nervous laugh, and it was a little too much, and he knew it, but this was well beyond his comfort zone, and completely unexpected.

"I just … there was somethin' I was involved in, and I can't say what, 'cause I don't know what she told you, but she said if you knew I was involved, it would make everythin' worse."

Wade shook his head, "George, I don't know what you're talkin' about, but you must be misreadin'-"

"I'm not." George said abruptly, "Look, I know Zoe. I know her really well. I know when she's lyin' or hidin' somethin'. "

"Well, then that's between you and her I guess, but I don't know where she would get the idea that it won't one-sided. The last time it came up, I was pretty clear about where I stood."

"So, you're sayin' there's nothin' goin' on?"

"Not on my end."

"You swear?" Wade nodded, feeling like mud. George sighed in relief, "Okay. I'm sorry for ambushin' you."

"That won't an ambush Tucker. Relax. Why does everybody keep apologizin' to me today."

George chuckled, "So, you wanna hang out?"

"Um, I'm kinda tired," Wade lied, "Maybe another time."

George nodded and headed out.

Not long after, Zoe reappeared, "Hey." She said as she made her way to the chair.

"Hey. You just missed Tucker."

Zoe froze where she was, "What, um, what was he doin' here?"

"Just visitin'." Zoe breathed a noticeable sigh of relief and sat down. "We had an interestin' conversation. You came up."

"Oh?" she was trying to be casual as she took out the food, but he could hear how nervous she was.

"Yeah? He said some things-"

"Nothing happened."

"What?"

"I mean, it was sort of a date, but I swear, I was not lying when I said I fell asleep. That is all the happened. Sleeping. Separate beds. Well, me bed, he couch. But nothing'-"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, you sayin' that's why you didn't come by yesterday? 'Cause of Tucker?"

"He … he didn't say anything?"

"Not about that, no. He mentioned somethin' that you said me knowin' his involvement would make it worse, but he didn't tell me what. I'm guessin' this is what he was referring to." Wade tried to keep his voice neutral, but he knew he was coming off a little hostile. He hated that, but you can't always control your tone. He used to be so much better at hiding his emotions, before Zoe.

"It wasn't George over you Wade. I swear. I was tired. I - "

"And why'd you think that would bother me?"

"What?"

"Why would I care if Tucker was the reason?"

"Well … because …" she kept opening and closing her mouth like a fish.

"He, uh, he seemed to have the impression that you thought that I had feelin's for you." Zoe didn't say anything, "And I just can't figure out where that would come from." He looked up at her. He knew he shouldn't be doing this. It was dangerous territory, but if Zoe still thought of him, even with her memories coming back … and he had to know how she knew what he felt. He had been so careful not to give her that impression.

"You really don't remember, do you?" she asked. She sounded slightly disappointed, almost sad.

"Is this about the night I got drunk, 'cause I though-"

"No." she shook her head, "You know, it's kind of strange, me remembering something that you don't for a change."

He chuckled, "Yeah, yeah I guess it is."

Zoe was quiet for a minute, "So?" Wade prompted. She bit her lip nervously, "What don't I remember Zoe? If it wasn't from the night I got drunk-"

"It wasn't."

"Then when?"

"It was the night you got shot." She avoided his gaze, "I wanted to ask you about it before, but you were recovering, and I was confused, and I just … I don't know."

Wade tried to keep calm, although his heart was beating a million miles a minute. What could have happened the night he got shot, "Zoe," he said in the most neutral tone he could muster, "What happened the night I got shot?"

"It was right before you passed out." She said quietly. She wasn't looking at him, which he sort of got. If things were reversed, he would probably avoid her gaze.

Zoe took a deep gulp of air, "You, um, you told me you loved me."

He felt like his heart had stopped. His breath was caught in his throat, and all he could do was stare at her.

She looked over at him shyly, "And, I mean, I know we've talked about this before, and you made it clear that you didn't think of me like that, but when you were … you told me that you loved me and I just need to … if you want, I promise I'll drop it, and we can never talk about it again, but I just need to know," she paused in her rant and took another deep breath, "did you mean it?"

He tried to think, tried to form words, tried to get oxygen to flow to his brain, but he couldn't. He just kept staring at her, trying to come up with something to say. The truth? Could he go there? Or would he lie to her again? And what about George? What did she want him to say? Did she want him to mean it? It was his turn to take a deep breath, "Doc. I …"

"Excuse me, Dr. Hart. I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over."

"Right, of course. Sorry. I was, uh, just leaving." Zoe started to get up, but Wade's hand reached out, grabbing Zoe's wrist, stilling her.

"Is there anyway she can stay?" he asked, his eyes pleading.

"I'm sorry. Those are the rules."

"But if you could make an exception-"

"Then we would have to make exception for everybody. Besides, you need your rest. There are reasons for these rules you know."

Resigned, he let go, missing the feel of her skin instantly.

"I'll, um, come see you tomorrow." Zoe said, nervously.

"You better. Else I'll tell Lavon to sick Burt Reynolds on you."

She smiled.

The nurse looked at him, concerned.

"Oh, he's not crazy, it's an inside thing."

The nurse smiled, as though she had not just been doubting Wade's sanity.

Author's Note: So, hi. I hope you liked this chapter. The first scene was not exactly what I wanted, but have you ever thought of the perfect scene, but been no where near your computer and then when you get to one, it's not as good as it was the first time around because you can't remember it all. That's what happened with the first scene.

The part where Zoe tells Wade I actually wrote a while back, but I had to change a few things because it was originally from her perspective, not his.

I loved writing the Rose stuff. I know this is dumb, and kind of egotistical, because so much of the Rose/Fredrick Dean stuff is stuff I made up myself but, I have got to say, I really love this couple. Also, if you like Max, I apologize. I was not trying to insult him, but I am still pissed at the writers for just getting rid of Fredrick Dean without even offering an explanation. He's a sweet kid I guess (A little delusional to think he could date a thirty year old at fifteen), but I wanted Rose with Fredrick Dean. Max is so not good enough for her.

Just to clarify about George. He is not mad at Wade or trying to attack him, he just wants answers. He already lost one fiancé to a friend he trusted, and now he fears it may be happening again.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope it helped you deal with the devastating heartbreak we have all been feeling. I have cried so many times in the course of the past few days, and I've been listening to songs like "You Won't Find This" by Carrie Underwood and "Best I Ever Had" by State of Shock. I've also been listening to songs from Oklahoma, the 1998 London Cast, but that was a phase I was going through before "Where I Lead Me" aired, and it's a good distraction. Great Musical.

I guess that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think, and have a nice day.