A/N: Recently, I rewatched Season 1 of Hart of Dixie, and unsurprisingly, I started getting that old urge to write fix-it one-shots for some of the episodes. This one, I had considered writing before, but somehow, never quite got around to it. A rewatch of episode 1.16 'Tributes and Triangles' did the trick and here is the full-on Zade result! I have a feeling there may be one or two more pieces of this type coming up in the next while, though finding time to get them written down isn't easy when I've got so many other fics going on, so bear with me, peops! :)

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and any recognisable dialogue from Hart of Dixie belong to Leila Gerstein and other folks who aren't me.

Drinkin' to Drink

It wasn't smart to keep on drinking, but the more Zoe allowed Wade to fill her glass, the more she listened to him sympathise over her situation and sound kind of bitter himself, the less she felt the lead weight in her stomach that seemed to have taken up residence a while back.

Having a friend to talk to was never a bad thing. Having one that seemed to understand was even better. If anyone knew father issues, it ought to be Wade. If anyone knew George Tucker issues, it seemed it was definitely him too, though Zoe was having trouble figuring out why.

"Okay, maybe this is the scotch muddling my brain," she admitted, kicking off her shoes and settling more comfortably into her seat, "but George is your best friend, right?"

"For more'n twenty years now." Wade nodded, adding a little more liquor to his own glass.

"So, you should be happy about his whole MOTY award thing, and yet, presenting Mr Drunk and Annoyed," she said, free hand outstretched as if she were introducing him somewhere.

Wade laughed at that. He laughed at a lot of things, even when he was sober, but a whole lot more when he was drunk. Either way, he made Zoe want to do the same. He just had one of those great, infectious laughs.

"Hey, don't me wrong, old George Tucker is a hell of a guy," said Wade, slurring just a little before he took another drink.

"Just watch him spread his wings and fly?" said Zoe, giggling into her own glass as she quoted the song she had heard when she first walked in.

"Yeah, well." Wade sighed. "He means well. Does good things, makes all those good, upstanding decisions. His parents love him, all the teachers in school always loved him. Neighbours, friends, clients, Lemon, obviously... among others," he said, something distinctly pained in his eyes as he glanced over at Zoe then. "Must be nice is all, to be that guy. Not like I'm ever gonna find out now, is it?"

Another gulp of whiskey and then he was refilling his glass. Zoe drank too, putting her own glass beside his so she could get another shot herself. She should really slow down, but she figured whatever whiskey was in her glass wasn't going into Wade. That had to be better. He had quite the head start on her from what she could tell.

"You're a good guy too, Wade," she told him over the rim of her newly filled glass, continuing on even when he scoffed at her. "I mean it. You know, most people in this crazy little town are not exactly big Zoe Hart... Wilkes... They're not big fans of me, at all," she said definitely, so not wanting to get back into the name thing right now. "The only people I really know I can rely on are Lavon, who is so the big brother I never had, and... well, you," she told him honestly.

There was a definite smile of what seemed to be the genuine kind on his lips then. Zoe was glad to see it, even if it didn't last all that long.

"Don't forget the Golden Boy," he said, taking another sip. "Seems to me you and he are awful close."

The way he said it wasn't pleasant, but Zoe supposed she couldn't really blame him. The whole town knew she had some feelings going on for George, though frankly, she was starting to wonder at this point why she did. Sure, he was good looking, charming, kind and sweet, but those same qualities applied to other guys too. Maybe what really made her want him so much was because she knew she couldn't have him, shouldn't want him. Maybe it was the New York connection or the fact that he was the one who first picked her up on the side of the road and brought her to Bluebell. Fuzzy as her brain was getting, Zoe was having trouble remembering right now.

"George is a good friend," she said aloud, knowing it to be true. "Do I find him attractive? Yes. If he were single and asked me out, would I jump at the chance? Absolutely," she admitted. "But he's with Lemon, and I'm not my mother."

"Okay, you lost me on that last part," Wade admitted, upending the bottle of scotch to refill his glass and frowning when he realised every drop was gone.

Zoe frowned, realisin that meant she wasn't getting a refill either. That was no good.

"To the liquor cabinet!" she said free arm raised in the air as if she were going into battle.

The fact it took two attempts for her to get out of the chair and onto her feet ought to have told her that she really didn't need any more booze tonight. Zoe chose to ignore that good sense part of her brain, staggering over to the cabinet and hunting down more scotch.

"Don't go hurtin' yourself there, doc," Wade advised, leaning back almost too far in his chair to watch her.

"I'm good," she assured him. "Although, no more scotch. Vodka or tequila?" she asked, holding up one option in each hand.

"To hell with it, bring 'em both!" Wade declared loudly.

Zoe didn't need telling twice, coming back to where he was sitting, and stumbling a little on the edge of the rug as she went. The two bottles came down on the table a little harder than she meant for them too and the momentum brought her to her knees.

"Wow. Floor moved," she told Wade with a giggle.

"Yes, ma'am, I'll bet it did," he agreed, laughing with her as he opened up the vodka bottle and put it straight to his lips.

Zoe opened her mouth to complain, then changed her mind, uncapping the tequila and following suit.

"Oh, God!" she gasped when she was done swallowing. "That is just... damn!"

Wade continued to laugh at her, even as he slid down from his chair and landed on the floor beside her.

"Hi," she greeted him happily.

"Hi, yourself," he replied, grinning widely. "You know, you're too good for him."

"Too good for who?" asked Zoe, feeling even fuzzier than before, and she wasn't altogether certain it was the alcohol as Wade stared intently at her.

"Tucker," he said, almost spitting the name out as if it were tougher to swallow than the vodka or tequila ever could be. "Sure, he's the Golden Boy and everything, but if he loved you like you loved him-"

"I don't love George," said Zoe fast, laughing at the very idea.

She stopped as fast as she started when that notion finally sank in. It was true. Surprisingly, it was in fact the absolute stone-cold truth. She didn't love George Tucker at all. She liked him, she was attracted to him, but love? No, she didn't love him, at least not as any more than a friend, and even then, she would probably think of Lavon as more the type of close friend she would love. Well, him and...

"Wade?"

"What?"

She didn't know what came next. Zoe thought she needed to say something, but suddenly the words had left her entirely. She meant what she said before, about Wade being a good guy, a good friend too, and of course, he was very attractive himself, she always knew that. She hardly would've so easily considered making him her one and only attempt at a one night stand a few months back if she didn't. Plus, what Judson said about her enjoying fighting with Wade more than dating him, that was so true, it scared her to death to think about it. That was why Zoe had tried not to think about it for a while now. In that moment, she couldn't seem to think about anything else.

"Zoe?" said Wade himself then. "You're not goin' to throw up, are you?"

She shook her head, unable to even form the word 'no' right then. Just when she thought she did know what she wanted to say, Wade spoke up again.

"You know, love or not, I know you like George well enough, and what I said is still true. You're too good for him. Hell, you're too good for anybody. I was kidding about ol' George havin' a halo before, but you are... you're like an angel to me, Zoe Hart, and it is torture bein' so close to you, knowin' I can't get any closer, 'cause I'm not... I'm just not worthy."

He was drunk. It was the only reason he was saying all these crazy things, Zoe was sure, but then again, she was drunk too, and she wasn't saying anything that wasn't true. There was a Latin phrase that she knew once, before her brain got pickled in whiskey and tequila, something about finding truth in wine or alcohol or something. Also, the truth could set you free, that was another phrase. Probably not quite so relevant right now though.

"You're not unworthy," she told Wade then, her own voice to soft to her own ears. "I don't think that."

"Yes, you do." Wade sighed. "Everybody does," he told her definitely, taking another pull from the vodka bottle. "You're fallin' behind," he said then, gesturing to the bottle in her own hands.

Zoe didn't take her eyes off Wade as she took another gulp.

"Nobody thinks you're worthless," she told him, the moment she got her breath back from the drink. "Anybody who does is just... stupid! You... you're Wade freakin' Kinsella!" she said, suddenly too loud and she knew it, but at least it made them both laugh again. "And I happen to think you're a really great guy... when you're not blowing up the fuse box, or making bets on my relationships, or stealing my shampoo."

Wade's laughter died down to a dull roar and he smiled a sad smile.

"That's a lotta ors, doc."

"You do a lot of dumb things," she told him straight, "but we're all guilty of that." Zoe shrugged. "Doesn't mean you're dumb or bad or... or unworthy of anything or anyone," she insisted.

Zoe wasn't sure when they got closer together, but when Wade nodded his head in understanding, she almost felt him move as much as saw him. His features started to go out of focus before her eyes and she wasn't convinced it was the effects of the alcohol, especially not when she felt her lips meet his own.

She had to be crazy, Zoe was very sure on that, and yet, she wasn't stopping. As Wade's fingers tangled in her hair and his other arm pulled her into his lap, she didn't struggle, didn't try to get away at all, because frankly, she was having the time of her life. It felt good, maybe the best anything had felt in a good long while, and she figured, why not? It wasn't as if either of them were cheating on anyone or doing anything wrong. He liked her, she liked him. Why not just let this happen?

Zoe had no good answer to that question, so she stopped asking it.

It was dark out when Wade woke up. He fought to remember if it had also been dark when he went to bed. Honestly, he didn't exactly recall how he even got home. The last thing that was clear was writing the song for George Tucker and drinking Lavon's liquor cabinet dry of whiskey, and then...

With wide eyes, Wade turned over in his bed and found the person he half-expected to be there, and yet, couldn't quite believe he was right. Zoe Hart (or possibly Wilkes, since she seemed adamant about a name change) was laying right there next to him, naked as the day she was born. Well, they were both in the same state of undressed, which wasn't exactly a surprise, as a few more slightly hazy but real nice memories came back to Wade's mind.

He hadn't intended for things to go this way. Sure, he had wanted to get Zoe into his bed for quite a while now, everybody knew that, but he never actually thought it would happen like this. She wasn't supposed to be drunk, neither was he, but apparently, it had happened all the same. It had happened and it had been pretty damn good, from what he could recall.

Laying back down in the bed beside her with a smile on his face, Wade reached a tentative arm around Zoe and pulled her a little closer. He was half-hoping she would wake up, at the same time half-terrified she might. After all, when she sobered up, there was every chance she'd want to bolt, maybe just pretend this whole thing never happened.

No, that wasn't Zoe, not really. Sure, she might wish things hadn't happened exactly like they had. Wade had to admit, he would've liked to have been a little more sober so he remembered it all a little better, but still. Even a little worse for wear for the booze, Zoe wasn't the type to jump into bed with just anybody, and she had paid him some real fine compliments before they got down to business, that he did know.

Sighing in her sleep, Zoe suddenly shifted a little, but closer to Wade rather than further away, putting her back tighter against his chest and holding onto the arm he had wrapped around her waist. If he smiled any wider, his face was going to split in two, Wade was sure, but he didn't care.

Planting a kiss in Zoe's hair, he settled back down to sleep a while longer. Unfortunately, he had his eyes shut maybe all of five minutes before a ruckus started up.

"Wade?! You in there, man?!"

Lavon's yelling was swiftly followed by the man himself barging in.

Zoe sat up too fast and Wade came up with her, unsure what he was supposed to say or do when faced with both her and Lavon, now realising the truth of the situation all at the same time.

"Oh, no. No, no, no!" Lavon intoned, quickly turning his back.

Wade and Zoe both noticed that the sheet had fallen off her body and worked together to cover her bare chest again.

"Is it safe now?" asked Lavon.

"I guess," said Zoe uncertainly, pushing her hair back over her head with her whole hand. "Um, what's up?"

"What's up is I just had Magnolia over here, looking for Wade," he said, turning around carefully, seemingly unsure that he liked what he was seeing even then. "Seems she thought she owed you an apology for somethin'... I don't know exactly, but she also had some news about Harold Tucker."

"George's father?" Zoe frowned hard.

Wade was sure he was wearing the same expression. "What happened?"

"'Parently he had a heart attack or somethin'," Lavon explained. "Everybody is over at the hospital. Seems to be pretty bad. There's talk o' surgery and all."

He looked just about as awkward as any man ever had and Wade couldn't really believe it all had to do with George's dad. Of course, that was a nasty situation and Wade felt just awful for his buddy, but no doubt Lavon was having more trouble with seeing his two tenants and friends unexpectedly in bed together.

"I'll just leave you two to... yeah."

With that, Lavon made a hasty exit, leaving Wade with Zoe who was wearing a very weird look on her face. He had hoped, just maybe, she would have no regrets about tonight, but Wade wouldn't bet on it.

"I, uh... I need to get dressed," she said, more to herself than to him, swinging her legs out of the bed and reaching for clothing that was spread around the floor. "Oh, God!" she groaned, trying to right herself.

Wade made a fast assist and watched her breathe deeply a couple of times before returning to normal.

"Wow. I haven't drunk that much in a really, really long time," she admitted, then seeming to notice Wade's hands grasping her arm.

She turned to look at him over her shoulder and he was at least relieved to see her smile.

"Thanks, Wade," she said in a way that actually sounded like she meant it. "Tonight was... well, I'm going to admit, I don't remember every minute of it," she said, blushing even after everything, "but it was good. It was... special. I mean, if I was going to do the one-night stand thing, weirdly, I... I'm glad it was you."

The mixed emotions in Wade were so violently opposed and crashing into each other at every turn, he felt sea sick just trying to process, but he had to try. Even as he watched out of the corner of one eye while Zoe quickly got dressed, he wondered at what she just told him and what it meant.

It was special, what they shared, that wasn't nothing, and she was glad it was him. Still, she also said it was a one-night stand, no more, no less. That part stung a whole lot more than it should.

"Zoe, I'm not..." he began, only for her finger on his lips to silence him.

"It's okay. I know," she insisted with a smile that looked more brave than genuine. "I'm not expecting anything. We were drunk, we were both looking for something. I don't blame you, Wade, and I trust that you won't blame me, but I get it. One night, no encores, so strings. It's okay," she said one more time, replacing her finger with her lips for one sweet moment.

As soon as she tried to get away again, Wade made a grab for her.

"What if that wasn't what I wanted?" he asked her straight, eyes meeting hers dead on. "What if... what if I said that maybe you and me could be more than... this."

He hoped he was being clear, though he couldn't be certain. Drunk as he had been and still was, with Zoe in a similar state, it probably wasn't the time for this, but it seemed like a real now or never kind of moment. Everything hung on what she said next.

"I... I don't know," she admitted eventually. "Maybe? My head is so... This night, it's just... And now, with Mr Tucker..."

"I get it." Wade nodded in understanding, trying desperately not to smile given the serious circumstances she just referred to. "Maybe's good. I can live with maybe, for now."

Letting go of her arm, she was free to go if she wanted to. It was nice to realise Zoe was lingering just a little longer, stealing more quick kiss before she finally slipped out of the gatehouse. Gone for now, but hopefully, not for long.

The End

A/N2: Shout out to LongLiveTheHart for encouraging the madness - if you want to join her, feel free to leave a review to let me know if you liked this fic, and to encourage me to write more like it, if that's how you feel! :)