A/N: Thanks to those that reviewed on the previous chapter - I'm sure some of you will have missed that update due to the issues with the site last week, so if you do start reading this chapter and feel like you've missed something somewhere, check back to Chapter 29 because it might be that you haven't actually read it yet!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 30

"Okay, thank you so much, gentlemen," said the entertainment reporter, shaking hands with each member of Sippin' Whiskey before she left.

Wade noticed she didn't seem all that eager to let go of Clayne's hand. If he wasn't mistaken, those two were going to be having some kind of follow-up meeting after this interview. Something that was entirely off-the-record, as far as he could tell. The time was when Wade would probably have been the one taking the pretty girl out tonight and buying her breakfast the next morning. Now, the thought didn't even occur to him to flirt that much, because he had Zoe, and she just mattered more than anyone or anything else.

"Hey, Wade?" said Clayne, clapping him on the shoulder. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine," his friend told him, waving away his concern. "Just thinkin' that's all. No problem."

"Well, we're all done here," he reminded him, gesturing to the empty seat opposite them where no new journalist type had come to ask more questions. "You got plans or...?"

"Uh, yeah. I got somewhere to be," Wade told him, though in truth he had no idea where exactly he was going, he just knew he wasn't really in the mood for company. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

Clayne and Jordan left together, both of them raising a hand to wave goodbye. Seemed that Mark was already gone and Wade hadn't even seen the going of him. It was like that a lot these days, him skipping out, doing his own thing more and more. Wade should care about that, he knew he should, but honestly, it was the last thing on his mind.

It wasn't as if he was failing to be dedicated to the band as such. Wade still kind of liked the idea of a music career, truth be told, but those dreams had started to fade a little since reality got that much better for him. Now he had Zoe, now he remembered all the best parts of home, and as time went on, Wade got real bored of appointments and promotions and even screaming fans.

Heaving a sigh, he picked up his jacket and pulled it on, just in time to realise his cell was vibrating in the pocket. Reaching for the phone, he saw who was calling and immediately picked up.

"Tucker. What's goin' on?"

"Hey, Wade. Uh, not much really. You know Bluebell. Most exciting thing that happened this week was a run on some fancy peppermint foot cream at The Dixie Stop."

"Sounds okay to me, man." Wade sighed, sitting back down on his abandoned stool in the empty room.

"You okay, Wade?" his friend asked him, concern evident in his voice. "You don't sound so good."

"I don't know, Tucker. I'm just tired, I guess. Maybe a little, uh, what's that fancy word for finding out stuff isn't as impressive or important as you thought?"

"Disillusionment?" George tried.

"Yeah. Guess I'm feelin' a little of o' that right now."

There was silence for a few moments, before finally George spoke again.

"You're not... I mean, things are okay with you and Zoe, right?"

Wade was a little surprised by that question. "Things are fine with us, 'cept for the fact I haven't gotten a chance to see her much the past couple of days. You know somethin' I don't, Tucker?" he checked then, unsure why his buddy should, but needing to ask anyway, somehow.

"No, I don't know anything," George assured him. "Well, except... now, I don't wanna tell tales outta school or whatever, but I did sent Zoe the papers about the practice a few days back and I haven't heard a word since. Not even confirmation she got them or anything. Seemed a little strange when she was so determined to get things movin', that's all."

Wade found himself frowning as he thought that one over for a minute. Zoe had pretty much made up her mind about giving up the Bluebell practice when they was away in Oswego last weekend. He knew she had talked to George about the paperwork and everything, but he sure didn't know she had the papers yet. Seemed she hadn't been too quick to deal with them if Tucker had heard nothing since, but what did that mean?

It had been a couple of days since they saw each other because they were so busy, her with the hospital, him with band stuff. Work always ended up getting in the way, but Wade wondered at anything stopping Zoe from figuring things out about the practice. He thought it was weird that she hadn't even mentioned to him that she had the papers in her hand. After all, if nothing else, they had been texting plenty. She could've mentioned it, but she hadn't.

"Wade?"

"Still here, Tucker," he confirmed, suddenly realising how long he must have been thoughtful and silent. "Like I said, I ain't seen Zoe in a couple of days, so I don't know what's goin' on, but when I find out, you'll be the first to know, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Wade, but you know, there's no pressure. Last thing I want is for Zoe to make a choice she ends up regretting."

"Yeah, me too," Wade agreed, getting to his feet. "Listen, man, I gotta go, but thanks for calling. You tell Tansy I said hey, alright?"

"I will do that," George said with one of those toothpaste ad smiles that Wade could just hear. "You sure you're okay, Wade?" he asked again then.

"Maybe not entirely," his friend admitted. "But I prob'ly will be. Don't worry, Tucker, it's all under control."

They ended their call then and Wade shoved his cell back into his pocket before walking on out the door. Now he knew just exactly where he was headed.

Zoe thought she had it under control. Usually, if anything was on her mind at all, she was pretty good at compartmentalising, pushing all the worries aside so she could work efficiently. It was dangerous for her mind to go wandering when she was treating patients - one false move really could be the difference between life and death sometimes.

Of course, when she was on a break, she was allowed to become distracted, and she certainly did feel that way today. She stood in the break room for her entire fifteen minutes, holding a mug of coffee that went from hot to cold without her taking a single sip.

Later, she was hanging around the reception desk, staring at nothing at all, until finally Marcy had poked her in the arm with a pen, hard. When she flinched away, complaining about possible injury, her friend just rolled her eyes.

"What is wrong with you today? I called your name four times. Physically jabbing you was the only way to actually get you back in the land of the living."

She had made excuses when Marcy went on to ask what was wrong, because trying to explain it would be practically impossible. Well, not impossible exactly, but Zoe was pretty sure that even if she could find the words, nobody was ever going to understand her reasoning, because it made no sense.

Now, sat at home with an array of paperwork in front of her, she felt no less overwhelmed. It wasn't that she didn't understand the legal jargon or anything. George had added Post-Its and such to make clear what everything meant, where she needed to sign, and what happened next. He also promised that she could call him at any time if she needed to ask questions.

Zoe assured him then that it was fine. She knew what she was doing, signing over her rights to half the practice, the place where her natural father, Harley Wilkes, had worked for decades, the father she never met and never could. Dr Breeland would do a good job running the place by himself, Zoe knew. Wade had agreed that, as much of an ass as Brick could be sometimes, he was a pretty decent doctor. Nothing compared to Harley, so he said, but pretty decent.

Bluebell had functioned very well long before Zoe Hart came along and it would continue to do so. It was going to have to, because her life was in New York, and Wade's life was in the city now too. It made sense to just sign the papers and be done.

"If it makes sense, then why aren't I just doing it?" Zoe asked herself out loud, still playing with the pen in her hands, rather than clicking it on and signing on the dotted lines.

She was still contemplating when the door buzzer sounded. Zoe went immediately to see who was there, finding herself smiling widely when she found it was Wade. By the time he got up to the apartment, she had the paperwork hidden under some books where it wouldn't be spotted. She thought she was being smart, but clearly, not as smart as she ought to be.

"What's goin' on, doc?" asked Wade as she ushered him inside.

"Going on? Nothing's going on," she told him, laughing too much, then off the disbelieving look on his face, she heaved a sigh. "Okay, fine. There's something going on, but it is not a big deal, okay?" she told him firmly, moving over to the coffee table and retrieving the papers. "I got these from George, five days ago," she said, handing them to Wade.

"Well, that I already knew," he told her with a smirk. "Tucker called me today, askin' if I knew why he hadn't heard from you at all about this," he said, gesturing with the papers. "Seems he thought you'd be sendin' 'em back pretty fast."

"Believe me, I thought I'd be sending them back fast too," said Zoe, taking the paperwork back and sitting down on the couch with a bump. "I have had the pen in my hand at least a dozen times, and every time I get close to signing my name I just... freeze," she explained, looking up at Wade in desperation. "What is wrong with me?"

"Hey, there is nothin' wrong with you, doc," he promised, coming to sit beside her. "This is a big deal, signing away a big inheritance and all."

"That's just the thing, it's not really a big inheritance," Zoe reminded him. "I mean, it's not a million dollars or a castle or anything, it's just a little doctor's practice, from a man that, yes, was my father, but I never knew him. And it's not as if I'm letting anybody down, not really. Bluebell has a doctor, Brick is totally qualified and experienced, and I'm not even GP material. I'm a surgeon, used to a busy hospital setting. It's not me and I should just sign it away," she said sensibly, "and yet, every time I try, I feel like I'm cutting something off. Something major and important somehow. Does that sound crazy to you?" she asked Wade in earnest.

"No, Zoe, it does not sound crazy," he promised her, putting his arm around her and kissing her temple. "Listen, doc, I can't tell you what to do about all of this stuff. It's your decision, your choice to make. Last thing I want is for you to do anythin' that'll make you unhappy."

"Thank you," she said with a smile, "but I think the real problem might be that I'm not even sure I know what would make me happy right now," she confessed. "Well, except for you, obviously."

"Obviously." Wade grinned, stealing a real kiss from her lips this time. "So, for all your talk about bein' sure your life is in New York, you seem pretty tied up in knots when it comes to signin' away the chance to be elsewhere."

"Apparently," Zoe agreed, dumping the pen down on the table with a clatter and leaning back into the couch cushions, curled into Wade's side. "Ugh, I just wanna close my eyes and pretend my life is simple."

"Yeah, I guess we all feel that way sometimes," her boyfriend agreed, just holding onto Zoe for a while as she clung to him. "Hey, I was just thinkin'," he said eventually. "All this album promotion stuff'll be over in a few more days, at least, that's what Brad was sayin' last I talked to him. Maybe, if you could get a few days off too, we could take these papers back to Bluebell in person. I mean, maybe what you need to help you decide on whether to sign or not is another look at what you're really givin' up?"

Zoe considered that for a moment and then sat up a little to look at him. "You know, what? I think you might be right. It's not like going back means I've made my choice. If I want to keep the practice, I can make arrangements with Brick while we're there, and if I don't, I can just sign the papers and hand them over before we come home. At least I'd get a chance to see everybody in person again, even if it's just to say goodbye."

She wasn't sure why those last few words caught in her throat, but Zoe chose not to think about it much. The smart choice would be to just sign the papers, mail them back to George Tucker, and be done, but Wade's idea of going to Bluebell again, it appealed to Zoe so much. Somehow, she just couldn't bring herself to say no.

To Be Continued...