A/N: Thanks to those who read and reviewied on the previous chapter. I seem to have lost a lot of folks on this fic, maybe because of how long it was on hold for December/Christmas. Oops? Ah well, we're heading for the happily ever after ending soon anyway. I am just determined to get to the end before I start with any new Zade fics! :)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 31
"Well, I'll admit, I did wonder what had you so busy these past few days, honey, but I could not have imagined all this," said Harley, eyes wide as he stared at the papers spread across the dining room table.
"I know, it all got a little out of hand," Zoe admitted, blowing her hair off her forehead, "but I had some seriously big decisions to make, and now... well, I think I've almost made them, so I wanted to share with you."
"You go right ahead, sweetheart," her father said with a kind smile as he sat down beside her. "I'm assuming this as much about your career as it is motherhood?"
"Absolutely." Zoe nodded, eager to begin explaining herself, and at the same time, just a little nervous about it.
After all, this was her whole life she was plotting out, all across her father's table, and now she had to tell him all these plans and hope he approved. If he didn't, well, there was a chance she could make it work without his support, but Zoe really hoped she didn't have to try.
College was expensive, it didn't take a genius to know that, and then there was medical school. When she was living in New York and attending Yale and everything, her mom had it covered. Now, with Zoe's new plans, she wasn't absolutely sure where all the money was going to come from yet. Besides, if Harley hated the idea of what Zoe wanted to do with regards her education, as well as raising her baby, she wasn't entirely sure how she would deal with his disapproval either.
"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "So, the original plan - back before babies and Bluebell - was to go to Yale and then onto med school, probably Johns Hopkins, then residency in the city. Of course, everything is different now. It has to be, but also, I want it to be," she clarified. "Now, I'm here and I want to be in Alabama, which believe me, kind of surprises me, even now. Not that I don't love being where you are, and where Wade is, obviously, but it is so different to my life before."
"I know it's been quite the adjustment for you, sweetheart." Harley nodded in agreement. "But I happen to think you've settled in awful well in these past few months, and you know, I do love having you here. Of course, if you're wanting to go off to college, I do understand that too."
"And I do," Zoe confirmed, "but obviously, the best choice for school is going to be closer to home. Closer to you and Wade and my friends, plus with the baby to consider, I'm going to need my support network more than ever. So, I've been looking into this a lot..."
Pushing a document across the table towards Harley, she watched his eyes go wide when he realised it was a brochure for a place he knew very well.
"University of Alabama," he said, blinking at her. "Well, that's a fine school, Zoe. You know, I went there myself many years ago, for college and then onto UAB for my medical training."
"I know," she said, smiling at him, "and I'm thinking maybe I could follow in your footsteps? I mean, if they'd take me-"
"Oh, honey, you got into an Ivy League college! I'm sure UA would be more than happy to have you, especially knowing you wanna stay within their remit for the whole eight years."
"Well, seven," Zoe corrected him. "I already completed my Freshman year at Yale and got all my credits, so I could start at Alabama as a Sophomore. I know this Fall probably seems too soon, and you're probably wondering how the baby fits into all this."
"I'm sure you have that all figured out, Zoe," Harley said knowingly and with that same kind, fatherly smile she had come to love so quickly, "and if not, well, I am just bound and determined to help you with it all," he promised.
"I was hoping you might say that," she told him, with a sigh of real relief. "There are one or two trickier parts to all this, but I do have most of a plan, and I'm hoping you'll help me finalise it, because... because I still have to pitch it to Wade," she said then, faltering just a little, "and I'm not 100% sure how he's going to take it."
"Look at you, gettin' all spruced up for your girlfriend." Earl grinned, watching from the doorway as Wade fixed his hair and checked himself over in the mirror in general.
"I want your thoughts on anythin', old man, I'll just go ahead and ask, alright?" Wade replied, though he was smiling when he said it and there was no real malice in his tone.
Truth to say, it was nice to hear his dad say anything at all without a slur in his voice nor tears either. It wasn't that Wade didn't want to believe old Earl when he told him, several months ago now, that he would get up on the wagon and stay there, it was just that he had heard it a few times and it never did stick before.
There were a few tricky days between then and now, that was for sure, but the old man sure had done his best to stick to his promise. Wade couldn't be more proud, or more grateful to his dad. It certainly took some pressure off, allowing him to spend more time being there for Zoe just as much as she wanted and needed.
"You know, the way you have stepped up for that pretty young woman," said Earl then, appearing at Wade's side and turning him to face him. "Makes me awful proud, son, and I know... well, I know your momma would say exactly the same, if she were here."
Wade swallowed hard so he could answer that. "Thanks, Dad," he said, patting his father on the shoulder, before turning away to grab his wallet and keys. "Uh, so, I'm goin' over to the Wilkes house for a while. We'll prob'ly stay there, since Zoe gets too tired for much in the way of goin' out these days. You need anythin', you just call us there, alright?"
"I'm pretty sure I can look after myself for a few hours," said Earl, rounding the sofa and dropping down onto it. "Just gonna watch myself a little TV, take the weight off my feet after a long week o' workin'."
"Sounds like a plan." Wade smiled, watching his father get comfortable with the remote in one hand and no sign of a bottle near the other.
It was still a real nice sight to behold. Of course, nothing was quite as nice to his eyes as Miss Zoe Hart and if he didn't get himself moving, he was going to be late and have her worrying on where he got to. Shaking his head, Wade headed for the door, calling a cheery goodnight to Earl as he set off at last.
Driving over to the Wilkes house, he smiled as the radio switched songs and Willie Nelson crooned 'Always on my Mind.' When it came to Zoe, Wade had to admit, she really was in his thoughts more often than she wasn't, though of course, he didn't have to worry about her not knowing how much he cared, because he was sure to tell her just as often as he could.
Besides, when she needed him, he was always there and determined to be so. It was something to realise that she also wanted him around. Wade hadn't had too much of that in his life. Sure, girls liked him and all, and he liked them, but this was so different. Honestly, Wade had been waiting for the day when he woke up and realised maybe he had made a big mistake, pledging himself to a woman like Zoe and a baby that wasn't even his responsibility nor his blood kin, but it never happened.
"Guess this really is that true love thing all those folks sing about," he said to himself as he pulled the car up outside Zoe's home and saw her face smiling at him from the window. "Yep, reckon that's just exactly what it is," he muttered, unable to keep from grinning back and offering a wave too.
Two minutes later he was out of the car, up the porch steps, and in through the front door, pulling his girlfriend into his arms and kissing her soundly.
"Hey," she said breathlessly as they parted.
"Hey, yourself, sweetheart," he replied, pushing her hair back from her face. "How come you get more beautiful every time I see you?"
"Um, because you need to see an eye doctor?" Zoe suggested. "Trust me, I do not feel beautiful today," she said with a sigh, pulling out of his arms. "My ankles are the size of tree trunks for a start and I can't seem to get more than a few feet without running out of breath. It's exhausting being pregnant."
"If I could make it easier for you, baby, you know I would," Wade sympathised as he followed her to the couch and they sat down together, "but I meant what I said. You are beautiful, no matter how much pressure all this stuff is putting on you."
"And you are incredibly sweet," she said, smiling widely, "and since I know that's not something guys usually want to be told, I'll also add that you're incredibly hot too, okay?"
"I can live with that," Wade assured her, grinning as much as she was as he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "So, I guess we're staying in tonight, huh? I mean, I figured you wouldn't exactly be in a going out kind of a mood anyway, but you just confirmed that one for me."
"Definitely a staying in kind of night. That's okay, right?" she checked, looking up at him with something like concern in her eyes.
"That is a stupid question, Zoe," he told her in no uncertain terms. "Anywhere is okay by me if you're here," he swore, kissing her lips this time, something she was not quick to argue about.
"Hmm, as great as this is," she said after a while, "I did also need to talk to you about some stuff. Some serious stuff," she explained.
"Serious like something wrong with you or the baby serious?" he checked, sure he must look as panicked as he felt when his heart took to hammering in his chest.
"No, no, nothing like that," Zoe promised. "Sorry, when I said serious, I never thought you would assume that. This is more future plans serious. You and me and the baby and what happens next, you know?"
"Sure." Wade nodded. "I mean, we should prob'ly talk about that. I've been meanin' to bring it up myself but... well, I wasn't so sure where to start. Besides, much as I wanna be here for you and the little one, a lot of stuff has to be your decision. You're the one who's pregnant after all, and she is your baby."
"That's true," said Zoe, nodding her head, "but you know any decisions about her will be both of ours, right? I want you to be as involved as you want to be. We're forever, Wade, all three of us. That's what this means, right?" she checked, indicating the eternity ring there on her finger.
Wade smiled, taking her left hand in his and kissing her ring finger. "That's what it means," he assured her. "Still, I didn't wanna step on your toes or anything, so I was kinda waiting for you to say something first."
"Well, that works out, because here I am, saying something first." Zoe smiled, though she looked kind of nervous yet.
She pulled herself to sit up straight then and cleared her throat as if she was about to recite the pledge of allegiance or some such. Wade might've been less surprised if she had, truth be told.
"So, I've been thinking a lot about the future, with you and the baby, obviously, but also my education, my career as a doctor. You know I still want to pursue that, right?"
Wade looked at her like that was the dumbest question in the world, mostly because it was, and then watched Zoe wave it away before going on.
"So, I plan to be a doctor someday. Not a surgeon, that was pretty much a whole other life, and since I've met Harley and spent time at the practice, I would really love to be a GP. Now, that's a lot of work. It's four years of regular college, then four years of medical school, and then more training on top of that, although I could do a lot of the training part here, with Harley and Brick, when I get to that point. It's kind of the remaining seven years of actual school that need figuring out, and I think I have a plan."
She eyed him warily, as if she expected Wade to jump in at any moment and derail that plan she was talking about. He really did not want to do that and hoped not to have to. Until he heard some more of what Zoe had to say, he couldn't exactly give an opinion anyway.
"The University of Alabama is in Tuscaloosa, that's just a four-hour drive from Bluebell. They also have a School of Medicine over in Birmingham, which is an hour from Tuscaloosa, but still only four hours away from here. It's a heck of a lot closer than Yale, that's for sure. Harley seems to think we can figure out actually getting me enrolled for the Fall semester, and then I could attend classes from September. I already completed Freshman year, so it would be three more at UA itself and then four at UAB in Birmingham, like I said."
Wade watched her closely and listened intently even when she seemed to have run out of words. Truthfully, he was expecting her to say a little more and just assumed she was thinking on what came next. Seemed maybe not when she prompted him to speak up instead.
"Please, say something," she urged him.
"Not sure what it is you wanna hear, sweetheart," he told her honestly, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, this all sounds great, you being so much closer than you would be at your old school and everything, but I guess I'm wondering where the little one fits into all this. I figure you won't be takin' her to classes and such?"
"No, obviously not," Zoe agreed. "She would need to be taken care of, plus while Harley would be paying for college, there would be rent and essentials that we would have to cover. I mean, right now I'm assuming it's we?" she said, her voice growing quieter than Wade was accustomed to. "Okay, I know I'm asking a lot," she said then, taking hold of one of his hands in both of her own, "but Wade, if we can make this work, and I think we can, it could be so good. Just think, you and me, in our own place in Tuscaloosa. There's a lot of good housing near to campus that's not so expensive, and you could get jobs just as easy there as you do here, you know, waiting tables or handyman stuff. They might even pay better since it's a bigger place. Obviously, I would work too, as much as I could around school, and we'd have to share the childcare, and when we were both busy, we would need a reliable day-care, but I've been looking into that too, and I've found a lot of great options."
She seemed to run out of air somewhere towards the end of her speech and sucked in a large breath when she was done. Zoe's eyes met Wade's own gaze and she looked altogether frightened of what he was going to say in response to her plans. He really wished she wouldn't.
"Well, that is a lot to take in, Zo," he told her eventually, "and I don't know how it'll work exactly, but I figure, it's you and me, so somehow we'll just make it be how it's meant to be, right?"
"Really?"
"C'mon, Zoe, you know how much I love you, what you and this kid mean to me. Didn't I make that clear enough already?" he asked, showing her the ring on her finger that she had mentioned herself a short while back, the symbol of that love and devotion he spoke of. "Now, I'm not saying it's gonna be easy, or that I ever much considered the idea of leavin' Bluebell to live in Tuscaloosa or Birmingham for years on end, but," he added fast before Zoe could cut in, "I don't mind doin' it. For you, I will. For our future and this kid we're gonna raise together, 'cause it's gotta all be worth it in the end, right?"
"I think so," said Zoe, nodding her head, sending tears rolling down her cheeks even as she smiled. "You are an amazing man, Wade Kinsella," she said definitely, throwing her arms around him.
He hugged her back without hesitation. "Yeah, well, that's probably how I got an amazing woman like you, Zoe Hart."
To Be Continued...
