A/N: Thanks for all the love on this fic. Always appreciate those reviews! :)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 31

This time when they arrived at Mobile airport, the heat didn't come as quite such a shock to Zoe. She didn't greet Lavon Hayes like a celebrity - though he still was one in her eyes - but as a friend that she loved already, even though they hadn't known each other long. All in all, she was just thrilled to be back in Alabama and to know she was headed towards Bluebell for at least the next two weeks.

It was earlier in the day than it had been on their first trip into town, so Zoe got to see the sights on the way. There was more than one sign declaring 'Roll Tide', a whole array of truck stops and such that looked like something out of old movies, and miles and miles of rolling scenery that made Zoe smile. City life was great and New York was amazing, but this was something else. A still small voice inside of her just couldn't stop asking, 'Wouldn't you like this better? Don't you just want to stay forever?'

"That is one thoughtful expression, doc," said Wade from beside her in the backseat. "You ain't wishin' we didn't come already, are ya?"

Zoe shook her head as she turned from the window to look at him.

"Actually, I was just thinking how happy I am to be back," she said, not at all surprised to see him smile at the sentiment. "It's so weird, I've spent less than one whole week in Bluebell before now, and already coming back here... well, in this totally weird way, it feels like coming home. Maybe it's just because it's your home," she considered, leaning over as much as her seatbelt would allow for a hug.

"Maybe that's it," Wade agreed, kissing the top of her head, "but maybe it's 'cause this place is in your blood too. I mean, you're Harley Wilkes daughter, that means at least half o' what's in you is pure Alabama, girl."

"Man has a point," said Lavon from the driver's seat. "You may have been raised a New Yorker, Z, but you're one of us too."

That made Zoe smile even wider if such a thing were possible. "You know, you guys have a point. I'm actually half Alabaman. Alabamian? Bluebellian?"

"Southern, baby," Wade advised, squeezing her hand. "Just stick with Southern."

Lavon laughed heartily at that and Zoe couldn't help but join in, settling down in her seat and watching the scenery fly by for a while longer. She was loving the whole trip already and it had hardly even started.

The only thing that concerned Zoe was the view when they actually reached Bluebell proper. There didn't seem to be anybody much in town square, which she knew was so unusual, unless it was a Sunday morning, then the stores were closed and most people were attending Reverend Mayfair's sermon. This, however, was a Friday, which begged the question, where did everybody go?

Before Zoe had a chance to ask, Wade did it for her. Lavon cleared his throat twice before he gave an answer and then it was vague and mumbled, to say the least. Wade and Zoe shared a confused look but said nothing more about it, at least not until they reached the plantation and Lavon headed straight up to the main house, showing no sign of offering to drive the extra distance to the gatehouse, despite the fact they had all their luggage in the back of the car.

"Aww, hell, no!" Wade groaned

"What?" asked Zoe, frowning some. "What's going on?"

Wade sighed and ran a hand over his face. "You remember last time we came visitin'?" he said then, noticing how Lavon quickly got out of the car before he could be questioned further. "Our good buddy the mayor said that he talked Lemon and AB out of throwing us the welcomin' party to end all parties."

"Sure, I remember, but... Oh, no!" Zoe suddenly gasped in realisation. "They wouldn't, would they?" she checked.

"For Bluebell's favourite reformed character and their newest town princess?" he said gesturing between them. "Are you kiddin', doc?"

Zoe didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Not that she didn't appreciate the fact the town wanted to welcome her and Wade back again, but she really wasn't dressed or emotionally prepared for a party in her honour. Of course, the thought occurred as she looked down at her clothes that she probably was dressed just right for a midday gathering in Bluebell. This was no glitzy city party, it was probably closer to a hoedown.

"Okay, the way I see it we got two choices," said Wade as he got out of the car and encouraged Zoe to do the same. "We either go on in there and party with the good folks of Bluebell."

"Or?" Zoe prompted when he fell silent.

"Or we steal Lavon's car and drive like hell," he said, looking to his friend with a smirk.

"You could try, Wade, m'boy, but you know you won't get far," he said with a grin. "Burt Reynolds!" he yelled off to the side.

"You'd set your gator on me, man? For runnin' out on a party?" Wade asked, knowing his friend was joking just as much as he had been.

"On a party that Lemon organised for you at my house?" Lavon countered. "Yes, I would."

"Then we should probably just get in there," Zoe suggested, squeezing in between the two guys. "I'm guessing they're all waiting to yell surprise or something?"

"Prob'ly," Lavon agreed, backing up a step to let the new arrivals go first.

"Alright, doc. Let's do this," said Wade, holding out his hand to Zoe who dutifully took hold.

Together they went into the house and no sooner had they cleared the front door, than an eruption of cheers and applause were heard. The entrance hall was chock-full of people, strewn with streamers and balloons, with a huge banner above it all that read, 'Welcome Home, Wade & Zoe.'

"So, this is what you would call a real Bluebell welcome, huh?" Zoe laughed, hiding her face in Wade's chest as he hugged her close.

"Yeah, somethin' like that, doc," he agreed, chuckling himself as he took in the scene around him. "Lemon and Annabeth really went all out. I guess they weren't ever gonna let old Lavon tell 'em no twice."

"Exactly right," the man himself confirmed as he stepped up beside them. "Just about anybody else in this town, I could turn down their request, but Lemon? A second go-around?"

"I guess that makes some sense." Wade nodded, seconds before Lemon herself came charging at him, clearly expecting a hug.

"There was no way you were avoidin' a real welcome home this time around, Wade Kinsella," she said definitely, reaching out her arms to him.

"C'mere, Breeland," he said, taking hold and lifting her off her feet to swing her around and around until she kicked and squealed to be put down.

Zoe couldn't help but laugh, seeing the fairly prim and proper Lemon swung around for all she was worth. It wasn't as if she had to be jealous of Wade manhandling another woman. He had made it very clear, several times, that he looked to Lemon purely in a brother-sister way and she had confirmed much the same herself last time they came visiting.

"Hey, Zoe," Annabeth greeted her with a grin then. "We're so happy to have you back again," she said giving her a hug.

"And I'm happy to be here," Zoe told her honestly, almost surprising herself with quite how much she really did mean that.

After Lemon and AB, there were certainly enough other people who wanted to welcome Wade and Zoe back to town. Tom and Wanda talked a mile a minute about everything that had been going on in town lately, including their own engagement that they were so excited about. Lemon's sister, Magnolia, was all for throwing herself at Wade, much as the girls back in New York did when he played gigs, and Zoe found herself cornered by Dash DeWitt who wanted to know the exact status of 'Zade' as he called their relationship, as well as Zoe's plans for the practice. She was more than a little grateful to be saved from a grilling by none other than George Tucker.

"Sorry, Dash, but we have legal matters to discuss," he said, steering Zoe away from the Blawker's chief reporter. "Well, it's at least half-true," he told her as they got over to the buffet table.

"I guess it is," Zoe agreed, nodding her thanks as George offered to get her a cup of punch. "Although, honestly, I don't really have any definitive answers for you yet, which I'm sure is not what you want to hear-"

"Hey, what you decide is what you decide, Zoe." George shook his head as he handed her a drink. "It won't make a difference to me if you keep the practice or not. Well, actually, I guess I do have an opinion on it but... never mind," he said, smiling awkwardly.

"You're allowed to have an opinion, George," Zoe assured him, "and if you wanna share it, I'd be more than happy to hear what you think. This whole thing is still so crazy to me."

"I guess it would be," George considered. "Finding out a stranger was your father and then that he left you half his business, that's a lot."

"Don't forget the crazy twist that my boyfriend comes from the same town as that father I knew nothing about," said Zoe with a look. "Add that in and what you have isn't so much crazy as full-on, off-the-wall bonkers."

George laughed at the way she phrased it and Zoe couldn't help but laugh too. It was altogether weird, but she couldn't exactly say she regretted finding out about Harley, and she absolutely could never be sorry about meeting Wade. He was one in a million to her, the first and only guy she had ever felt quite this way about. To think she had said no the first time he tried to ask her out. To think she had stormed away from him and briefly thought their relationship might be over when they first came to Bluebell and she found out he had once been married to the girl who was now dating George.

"Hey, baby," said the lawyer himself as Tansy appeared at his side. "You want some punch?"

"Sure, that'd be nice," she said with a smile. "Hey, Zoe. Nice to have you back in town."

"Thank you, Tansy. It's good to be here," she told her, smiling back just the same. "I was just asking George his opinion on whether I should stay in Bluebell or not. Honestly, if you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear those too. Maybe the best way for me to make a decision is just to take a freakin' poll, because I had no idea what to do."

"It's a big decision, I guess," Tansy considered, gratefully accepting her drink from George. "I mean, I'm sure I never had to make such a life-changing choice in my whole life. Closest I come was... well, nevermind."

Zoe opened her mouth to ask what she was going to say, then realised it was probably something about marrying Wade. It was strange how little that bothered her now. After their fight when she first found out her boyfriend used to be a married man, Zoe really hadn't thought much more about it. Though she would never say as much to Tansy for fear of hurting her, Zoe was pretty sure Wade never really loved his wife, not in the way a person should if they were going to be married. That was why it just didn't bother her anymore.

"You know they told me you were beloved here, that you just fit right in in our little town, but I didn't believe it until I saw it," said a voice Zoe knew well.

She turned to see Jonah stood behind her, and felt perfectly comfortable in reaching out to give him a hug.

"Hey, it's good to see you. How're things in Mobile?"

"They're not bad," Jonah told her, nodding his head as they parted. "And you are looking one hundred percent happier than the last time I saw you, Dr Hart... or should I be calling you Dr Wilkes now, given recent revelations?"

"It's still Hart right now," Zoe confirmed, wondering where the 'right now' had come from, but deciding not to worry about it for the moment. "As for me fitting in, I was reminded on the way here that I am made up of at least half Southern DNA, so why shouldn't Bluebell love me?"

"No reason I can think of," Jonah told her, smirking hard. "Of course, I'm glad enough that this town is happy to have just as many doctors in it as want to show up. I may be working in Mobile, but I've taken to commuting back and forth a lot, for good reasons," he said, pointedly lifting his hand, the fingers of which were very much intertwined with someone else's own.

"Oh, wow," Zoe gasped, looking from Jonah to Annabeth and back. "I didn't know you were... I mean, is this a new thing or an old thing rekindled or..."

"It's new," AB confirmed, smile on her face a mile wide. "Well, kind of, anyway."

"I had the biggest crush on her when we were kids," Jonah explained, eyes shifting from Zoe to his girlfriend. "Of course, she only had eyes for Jake Nass back then."

"That's because I was a stupid-head," Annabeth told him definitely, leaning in to plant a quick kiss on his lips. "I know better now."

"Aww, you two are so cute!" Zoe declared happily. "Okay, now, I have to go find my boyfriend because you're actually making me miss him, even though we've only been apart for fifteen minutes!" she said with faked frustration.

"Isn't the first part of a new relationship just the best?" AB enthused with a giggle.

"I don't know." Zoe shook her head, finally spotting Wade across the crowded room talking with his dad and smiling at the sight. "I don't think there's been a part of what I have with Wade that hasn't been 'the best' yet," she said honestly.

She managed a vague 'excuse me' as she moved past AB and Jonah then, focused only on Wade who she met in the middle of all the excited party guests.

"Hey there, doc," he greeted her happily, taking both her hands in his own. "Thought maybe I lost you in all this crazy."

"Not a chance, cowboy," she promised, reaching up to kiss him.

The assembled party-goers reacted with a rapturous applause, plus whooping and hollering to boot. Zoe felt the heat rising in her cheeks as she and Wade parted, but of course, he wasn't in the least bothered to have everybody's attention.

"Y'all got nothin' better to do than stand around starin' at us?"

"It's your party, sweetheart," Shula told him with a grin. "You're supposed to have all the attention."

"Yes, indeed," Lemon agreed wholeheartedly. "As if you would have it any other way than being the centre of things, Wade Kinsella."

"Well, I didn't know anybody was allowed so much fuss but you, Lemon," he snarked back at her. After his friend walked away, he turned back to see his girlfriend staring up at him with the giddiest grin on her face. "What's that look for?"

"Nothing," she told him, shaking her head. "I'm just really glad we came here, and I'm really, really glad to be with you. Just don't get a big head about it, okay?"

"No promises, doc," Wade told her, kissing her one more time, never mind what anybody else thought about it.

To Be Continued...

A/N2: I want to try to finish this story by the end of November, since December is going to be full on with Christmas stuff (both fic and RL) and it's close enough, I don't really want to leave the last part until January. This will mean extra-fast updates (I hope!) so look out for more very soon ;)