A/N: Thanks for the latest reviews, nice to see so many people sticking with this fic, even though it's kind of drifted away from the original point... well, stories just do that sometimes *shrugs* It'll come full circle in the end, I can promise you that ;)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 16

"Well, I just thought, when Lavon went ahead and grabbed a hold of Lemon at the election results and kissed her like that, it was one of the most romantic things I have ever seen in my whole life!" Annabeth declared with a grin. "Of course, there was hardly anyone left in town that didn't already know they were together, but if by chance somebody missed the news or didn't believe it, they were left in no doubts after a moment like that."

"So true!" Zoe agreed wholeheartedly, leaning on the reception desk while they chatted. "Unfortunately, a certain person not too far from here found out a little more information about Lemon and Lavon than he really needed to know when he got back from visiting his new girlfriend."

She gestured towards the office door across from her and watched Annabeth's eyes go wide.

"Brick?" she said more softly. "Well, he can't be too mad about Lemon dating the mayor, can he?"

"Oh, it's not that they're together," said Zoe, in a similarly low tone. "It's that he found out they were together before," she said pointedly. "That Lavon was Lemon's affair!"

Annabeth's mouth was open wide with shock and she was clearly about to say something, when suddenly the office door opened and Brick stepped out, glaring at the both of them. Zoe was almost certain that he could not have heard anything they had been saying. Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't guess what the topic of conversation had been.

"Ladies," he said shortly. "I do hope that neither one of you are using this strangely quiet time," he said, gesturing to the empty reception area, "to gossip about things that you shouldn't."

"Gossip? Us?" asked Zoe, her hand at her chest as she tried to look as innocent as possible. "Brick, we wouldn't."

"Absolutely not," said Annabeth just as seriously, shaking her head for good measure.

Though Brick eyed them both with suspicion he didn't argue at all. Just pulled on the jacket he was carrying in his hand and turned to leave.

"I'll be gone no more than an hour. I imagine you two can cope for that long."

He didn't actually wait for an answer, just walked out with a purpose.

"I'm sure we'll be just fine!" Annabeth called cheerily behind him anyway.

"We will, but I'll bet Lavon won't," Zoe huffed, turning back to look at her friend. "You know he has the poor guy jumping through hoops since he found out, right?"

"I'll be honest, I haven't seen much of Lemon the past few days. Until you said it, I didn't even know that Brick knew about the... affair," she whispered the last word, even though they were entirely alone now.

Zoe tried not to laugh. Given some of the things that went on in Bluebell, with regards to affairs and such, she was still amazed how such things must only be talked about in hushed tones. It wasn't that she condoned cheating in any way, it was just that it didn't shock her as much as it seemed to the good people of Bluebell. After all, she grew up in New York with Candice Hart for a mother!

"Well, now Brick knows and he's pretty much blaming Lavon for luring Lemon away from George. Never mind the fact that George was the one who went to New York and left Lemon behind, or more importantly, that Lemon was and is a grown woman who made a choice of her own. Anyway, Lavon is being so cool about the whole thing, even though Brick has made it pretty clear that the only way he'll ever forgive Lavon and accept him in Lemon's life is if he completes all these crazy tasks."

"Crazy tasks?" Annabeth echoed curiously. "Such as what? Ooh, he's not making the mayor run naked through town square, is he?"

"Eew, no!" Zoe made a face. "Why would Brick want Lavon to get naked?"

"I don't know." her friend shrugged. "But I'll admit I wouldn't mind seeing it."

The phone rang then and so Annabeth answered it, while Zoe returned to her office with the file she had come out to get at least twenty minutes ago. It was fine since she had no appointments booked in for another half-hour yet. She figured she would just update some notes from this morning's patients. At least, that was what she had assumed she would be doing, until she stepped into her office and found it occupied.

"When did you sneak in here?" she asked Wade, frowning hard.

"Surprise, doc!" he said, grinning wide as he got up from the chair and came over to give her a kiss.

Zoe turned her head so he only got her cheek, only to see him looking at her with a confused expression on his face.

"Uh, I may be getting a cold. Don't want you to come down with it too," she explained, kicking herself inside as she went around the desk to sit down.

She really hated to lie to anyone, especially Wade. He didn't really deserve it, she knew, but it was easier than the truth somehow. After all, her strange mood was all down to the one thing he had assured her, several times now, that she really didn't need to worry about - the close proximity of his ex-wife Tansy. Unfortunately, none of Wade's reassurances seemed to make Zoe feel any better.

"I just figured, since Brick is cutting out all the time to go ride Lavon's tail, you might have to skip your lunch break again," Wade was telling her when she paid attention then, "and so, if Zoe can't come to lunch, lunch will come to Zoe," he told her, producing a brown paper bag with a flourish and placing it on the desk before her.

If Zoe didn't feel bad before, she certainly did then. There she was, mad at Wade for something he hadn't even done, and here he was, bringing her a thoughtful lunch treat. Shaking her head, she got up from her seat, marched right around the desk to come stand very close to Wade. She took his face in her hands and pulled him to her then, initiating a good long, deep kiss that went on quite a long time.

"Wow," said a voice, just as they parted. "I was startin' to wonder if you were ever gonna stop long enough to breathe. Y'all must have amazing lung capacity."

"Rose," said Zoe, looking over at her standing in the doorway. "Hi."

"Hi, yourself," she said, sporting an amused smile as she moved further into the office. "Is it okay I'm here, or were you two about to sweep everything off the desk and get carried away?"

"Hey, now, that's not a bad idea," said Wade with a salacious grin, before a thought seemed to occur to him. "Hey, aren't you a little young to know about that kinda thing, Rosie?" he asked her with a look.

"And exactly how old were you when you started 'dating', Wade Kinsella?" she asked him, complete with air quotes, because they all knew she wasn't talking about the kind of fairly innocent dates she went on herself.

"Kid has a point," he told Zoe, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'll bet she does," she said, rolling her eyes. "Thank you again for lunch."

"Not a problem, doc," he told her, stealing one last quick kiss before heading for the door. "Always nice to see ya, kid," he teased Rose, ruffling her hair as he passed her by.

"Oh my God!" she gasped, clearly affronted, as Wade's laughter echoed down the hallway. "Sometimes, I wonder what you see in him," Rose told Zoe as they sat down on either side of the desk.

"Really?" her friend checked.

Rose rolled her eyes. "No, not really," she admitted. "He is pretty hot for his age, and he can be real sweet when he wants to be too."

"Yeah, I know he can." Zoe sighed, eyes fixed on the doorway that Wade just passed through on his way out.

He really was sweet, and hot, and a million other positive things that made him practically the ideal partner for her. It seemed like a crazy concept on the surface, the idea of her and Wade together, but it worked. They were reaching a point where she was starting to believe the L word might be becoming relevant with them, which was kind of nice, but also kind of scary. Most especially because she was still so stupidly worried about Tansy.

"Rose, do you remember when Wade was married to Tansy?" she asked, shifting her eyes to her friend then. "I know it was a while ago."

"I remember people talkin' about it, but I don't think I really knew what the big deal was. I was only ten," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "Why would you ask about that anyway?"

"Oh, no reason," said Zoe, waving it away with her hand, or at least trying to.

Perhaps she should've known better than to think Rose would just let it go. The look on her face proved for sure that she wasn't going to. Zoe sighed.

"Okay, fine! Tansy has been staying in the carriagehouse, my carriagehouse," she explained, knowing it was stupid to keep on pretending the place was her home when she hadn't lived in it for several months, but somehow, she couldn't help but feel possessive even now. "She is right across the pond from Wade, the way I used to be, and she... she's his ex-wife," she said with extra emphasis.

"Yeah, ex-wife, Zoe," Rose reminded her with a look. "They're divorced, right? And honestly, from what people say, it was never exactly a real marriage anyway."

"They wouldn't have had to get a divorce if it wasn't legal," said Zoe smartly.

"Sure, it was legal, but that doesn't mean it was real," her friend told her in much the same tone. "Come on, Zoe, you know Wade has never felt about any other woman the way he feels about you, not even Tansy. He's head-over-heels for you. In my whole life, I never knew him be this way with anybody else."

Zoe knew Rose had a point, not least because she wasn't the first person to say these things. So, Wade was different with Zoe, and he clearly cared for her more than he ever had any other woman. That was great, but it didn't quite quell all of her fears.

"You know, she came over to the gatehouse a couple of days ago, very early, before we were out of bed," she explained then. "She was barely even dressed and she just drops in, unannounced, to borrow some toothpaste, or so she said."

"I'm sure if that's what she said she wanted then it was probably true," said Rose kindly. "And hey, even if she was looking to... rekindle things with Wade, which I don't really believe she was, but if," she said fast, "I honestly think he would turn her down."

"Really?" Zoe checked, sure she should believe it, thinking that maybe she actually did, but there was just that niggle of doubt, born from too much rejection in her life, no doubt.

"Really," Rose said determinedly. "You and Wade are just about as solid as any couple I ever saw, so can you please quit worrying about your relationship and help me with my lack of one?" she urged her. "You said you'd help me convince Max Burgess that he absolutely wants to date me!"

"Yes, I did promise that," said Zoe, nodding in agreement, just as her cell buzzed on the desk, signalling she had received a text message.

She glanced down to see that it was Joel, letting her know he would be arriving in Mobile tomorrow morning and asking how he went about getting to Bluebell from there. Zoe grinned big as she hastily tapped out a reply.

"I hope that's an important doctor-related text," said Rose snippily, "because if it's just you flirtin' with Wade when I am in pre-dating crisis-"

"I promise I'm almost done," Zoe said fast, completing her text and hitting send within a few seconds more. "I'm so sorry, Rose, but you're not the only person I'm playing Cupid for right now."

That put a curious expression on Rose's face, in place of the mix of annoyance and urgency that had been there before.

"Who else needs matchmaking in this town?" she asked, leaning in closer when Zoe signalled for her to.

"Can you keep a secret?" she checked, unsurprised when Rose nodded madly. "Well, you know how lonely Annabeth has been since her divorce...?"

Lemon never knew being caught between the two men she loved most in the world could be so frustrating. Well, perhaps she did. Being engaged to George and secretly pining for Lavon had been hard enough, but now she found herself in a very different and yet equally bewildering set of circumstances.

Of course, she loved Lavon. She was more than happy to be rekindling their romance, out in the open for all to see. Yes, she had kept the part about their affair a secret and planned on letting it continue to be that way as much as possible. Zoe and AB knew, also George and Wade, but that was all, at least until recently. Her daddy was never supposed to know that Lavon was the man Lemon cheated on her fiancée with, but now he did and he was really taking it hard.

"Daddy, don't you think that... well, hasn't Lavon done enough to prove himself to you yet?" she asked desperately, watching him pour himself a scotch and drink it down fast.

"I'm sorry, Lemon Meringue," said Brick, shaking his head, "but that man has not behaved honourably in this situation. He could've ruined your reputation, heck, your whole life with his conduct, and just because he says he loves you now and that he wants to do things the right way... well, maybe you believe him, but I require a little more proof than words."

Lemon scoffed. "So, your way of making sure he's worthy of my heart is to have him do all your yard work and every task around the house that you can't or won't do for yourself?"

Brick looked thoughtful a moment and then slowly nodded his head. "Yep, sounds about right to me."

Rolling her eyes, Lemon threw herself down in the nearest chair and crossed her legs, turning away from her father to look out the window. Poor Lavon. He didn't have to take on any of the crazy things her daddy had him doing. He was the mayor, for Heaven's sake, and he had nothing prove to her father in any case, and yet, he was doing it. She had asked him why, why he would put himself through so many demeaning tasks.

"Because I love you," he had told her without pause, "and also, because your daddy means an awful lot to you. You will be happier about being with me with his approval than without it, and so, I will gain his approval. Whatever it takes, for you."

It had to have been one of the sweetest things she ever heard in her whole life. Lemon appreciated the sentiment and revelled in the warmth of the love and affection he poured onto her. She returned it too, in equal measure, at any given opportunity. She just wished that the tasks her daddy kept on coming up with for poor Lavon were not quite so degrading. Also, she wished he would stop adding onto the list at every opportunity!

No sooner had she thought such a thing as she realised she could no longer see Lavon from the window. Instead, he was at the door, knocking politely before stepping inside the house.

"Dr Breeland?" he said, nodding once. "Wood's chopped, car's clean, leaves are all cleared from your drive way and your yard. I have done everything on every list you have given me," he stated, tossing the scraps of paper onto the table, then wiping his sweat-covered brow with the back of his wrist. "I'm done with every task I set out to do now, except one," he said, a single finger raised as he spoke of that final thing. "I am not done loving your daughter, sir. I don't ever think I will be. Dr Breeland, I am in love with Lemon, and you can believe that, or not, but it's true as I'm standing here," he said definitely. "There is no changing it."

"Lavon..." Lemon began, bowled over once again by a pretty speech he had made, knowing from the way it was said, the way he looked at her when he was done saying it, and all he had done in the past few days, that it was undoubtedly true.

"Well, maybe you do love her," said her father then, drawing the attention of both Lemon and Lavon, "but you said that once before, didn't you? To her, at least," he said, glancing between them. "Didn't stop her going back to George. Didn't stop you from dating other women."

"Daddy, you can't keep on punishing either one of us for our past mistakes," said Lemon with as much determination as he was showing. "We accept each other for our faults, because we love each other. We're committed to each other."

"Really?" Brick checked.

"Yes, sir," Lavon replied immediately. "In fact... I'm about to ask Lemon to move in with me, and I'm hoping she'll say yes."

At that remark, Lemon's eyes went very wide. "What?!"

To Be Continued...