A/N: Okay, folks, I've been sitting on this idea for a while, determined to finish 'New Beginnings' before I got stuck into another Zade adventure, but now, here we are, time to start a new tale and I really hope y'all will dig it ;)

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

Chapter 1

When she told Wade she was going to New York for three months, Zoe hadn't been all that sure if she was really telling him the truth. A part of her had thought she could never manage to stay away so long, not from her friends, not from him. At the same time, she was actually giving serious consideration to just cutting ties with Bluebell altogether, rebuilding the old life she used to have in the city that never sleeps, and staying where she ought to belong. In the end, the choice just wasn't hers to make.

"I hate to do this to you, Z," said Lavon, sounding genuinely shaken, "but I just had to call. No matter what you guys went through or how rough it got, I figured you should know. You know, that you'd want the chance to do... somethin'. I don't know."

"No, you did the right thing, Lavon," Zoe promised him, having to swallow hard and blink fast just to keep herself from bawling like a child. "I'll get the first flight that I can and I'll come straight to the hospital."

It was a short conversation, nothing like she was expecting when she saw her best friend's name flashing on the screen of her cell. She had been gone from Alabama about a month. It was actually four weeks, two days, and six hours since she last saw Wade Kinsella and heard him tell her how he loved her and always would. Now, she was headed right back where she came from to see that same guy once again, only this time, the circumstances wouldn't be so great.

Throwing clothes and other essential items into a bag, Zoe was trying to focus on the things she most needed in order to get to Bluebell just as fast as she could. She began dialling her mom's number even as she ran out the apartment door. She started asking the favour before Candice had hardly managed to say so much as, 'Hello.'

"I need a flight to Mobile, right now. Please, Mom, it's important. Pull any strings you can, I need to be there!"

"Of course, I'll do whatever I can," her mother said immediately, "but sweetheart, why the sudden rush to go back?"

Stopping as she hit the sidewalk outside her building, Zoe had to take a deep breath before she could answer that question.

"It's Wade. He's in the hospital, there was an accident."

"Oh my goodness, how bad is it?" asked Candice, clearly knowing from how freaked out Zoe sounded that it was nothing less than serious.

"I don't know exactly, not until I get there. I just have to get there," she impressed upon her mom.

"Of course. I'll make a call. Just head for the airport and I'll text you the details as soon as I have them."

Zoe thanked Candice and ended the call, hailing a cab as fast as she could and hopping inside. She hadn't noticed her hands were shaking until she was inside the car, trying in vain to text and failing miserably. She had to let the hospital know she wouldn't be in for her shift tonight, or for the next few days, probably.

"You okay, ma'am?" asked the cab driver, glancing at her in the rear-view.

"I'm fine," she tried to say, but the words came out wobbly and Zoe realised her vision was awfully blurry too.

She cried in silence all the way to the airport, wishing she was stronger and wondering how she had ever come to this. In her job, she dealt with people who had been in car wrecks all the time. Many made a full recovery, even when the odds were stacked against them. Logically, Zoe knew Wade was probably going to be just fine, but she couldn't help wondering what it would mean if he wasn't.

What if he had life-altering injuries and was never the same?

What if he died never knowing how much she cared?

It made Zoe's heart ache just thinking about it, and more so, when she stopped being selfish and thought of all the other people that might be affected by Wade being hurt, or worse. Earl had to be in pieces. Lavon sounded like he was worried sick. Then there was Lemon, Wanda, Tom, so many friends and neighbours that were practically like family, all so worried and scared. Zoe suddenly wanted to be there for them as much as for Wade himself. She wanted to be amongst the good folks of Bluebell more than she ever had before. She only hoped they would be as pleased to see her.

"Lavon?"

"Hey, Rose" he said as he turned to find her standing there. "What're you doin' here?"

"I just had to come and see how Wade was doin'," she admitted as they shared a hug. "Mom said there was nothing I could do but... I don't know, I just had to come."

Lavon nodded in understanding and brought Rose over to a row of seats to sit down and talk. Seemed he had fast become the official news giver when it came to Wade, a job he would sooner not have when the only information to share was vague and not especially good.

"They're taking care of him, but apparently, it's hard to tell how bad things are until he wakes up... which he hasn't yet."

"But he will," Rose said definitely, even as her hands pulled at the ends of her sleeves in a nervous gesture. "I mean, he's Wade Kinsella. There's no way he's giving up on life so easy. Not Wade."

Lavon smiled slightly at that. "I like your confidence and I guess you got a point. Wade ain't the type to go quietly, but I can't lie to you, Rose, it ain't good. He took a real bad blow to the head."

"But people get over stuff like that," she insisted. "Come on, you played football all those years, you had your share of hits, and sure, you had a helmet on and everything, but still, it's not so different. It doesn't mean the worst is going to happen, right?"

Though he opened his mouth to answer her, Lavon soon closed it again, unsure what to say for the best. He wanted to be positive about Wade's condition, hoping so much that Rose was right and their friend would be just fine. At the same time, it seemed wrong to give the poor kid false hope.

"I want him to be okay," he said eventually. "I been sittin' here just praying and hoping. Ain't much more we can do."

"Then we'll do that." Rose nodded, sitting herself straight-backed in the chair and putting her hands together, eyes closed tight. "Lord, please help our friend, Wade Kinsella. I know he's not always the best at stickin' to your rules, but he's a real nice guy underneath it all. He has always been nice to me, and he's a great tenant and a good friend to Lavon, and even though things didn't work out, I know Zoe loved him. Wade's not perfect, Lord, you don't need me to tell you that, but when it counts, he comes through for all of us. Please, don't take him away like this. Please, help him to get better."

"Amen."

The affirmation came from another voice and Lavon was on his feet in a second when he realised who was there.

"Zoe!" Rose was quick to follow after Lavon, the two of them rushing at their friend and taking turns at hugging her tight. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Gotta say I agree with that," Lavon agreed, "though I sure do wish the circumstances were better."

"Me too," Zoe agreed with a sigh. "How is he?"

"They're not tellin' me much," said Lavon, shaking his head. "I figure it's just 'cause they don't know, but maybe it's 'cause I'm not family?"

"Well, I'm his doctor... or I was, before we..." Zoe shook her head. "He's registered at the practice and my name is still on the sign there. If they know anything, they're going to tell me," she said with real determination, dumping her bags in the waiting area and marching her way up to the desk, heels clanging against the tile.

"If anybody can make sure Wade is okay, it's Zoe," said Rose then. "If he's going to wake up for any person in the world, it'd be her, right?"

"Lavon Hayes say amen to that."

Zoe Hart had seen her fair share of patients in her time, hooked up to monitors, covered in bandages, the whole nine yards. It usually looked worse than it was and she was usually the one telling the visiting family and friends exactly that. It was strange how not comforting and stupid those words sounded now she was on the other end of them, now she was seeing somebody she loved in this state.

It had been bad enough more than a year before when it was Rose in the hospital bed, suffering badly from the after effects of a burst appendix. Sure, it had all worked out in the end, she had responded to the treatment and everything was fine. With Wade, Zoe wasn't sure it would be even as simple as that.

Head injuries were a whole other ballgame. A bone could be set, an infection could be treated with the right drugs, there were usually very few complications or problems. Heads were complicated and there were way too many variables, a hundred different outcomes, from one end of the spectrum to the other. Zoe felt sick just contemplating a handful of the possibilities, standing at the edge of the bed in which Wade was laying, so pale and silent he was just a shadow of the man she had left behind a month ago.

"Oh, Wade," she said softly, edging a little closer. "I go away for a few weeks and look at the trouble you get into."

She tried for a joke, in spite of everything, and wasn't surprised when it nearly choked her. It felt wrong to cry but worse to try to laugh. There was nothing funny about this situation, and yet, if the roles were reversed, she knew Wade would be saying something stupidly funny. It was what he did when things got serious and strained, most of the time, anyway. Sometimes, even a well-timed joke didn't help. Sometimes, it was just hopeless, helpless.

"You couldn't have just run over whatever was in the road?" she said, sitting down in the chair by the bed. "No, of course, you couldn't. You're just dumb enough to care more about the dog or the deer or whatever it was you swerved for than for yourself, and now look at you. Wade, why couldn't you...?"

Zoe wasn't even sure what the rest of the question was going to be. All she knew was that she needed Wade to be okay. She needed him to wake up and look at her, flash her that good old church social smile, and say something stupidly corny like, 'What's up, doc?' She would actually laugh at that right now, even if it was stupid.

Carefully picking up his hand in both of hers, Zoe let her fingers intertwine with Wade's own and held on tight.

"Wade, I know things weren't great with us at the end. I know it hurt you when I left for New York, and I didn't do it just to get back at you, I swear. You hurt me too, a lot, when you did what you did... but that's not important right now," she realised aloud. "What's important is that I'm here, okay? I'm here, and so is Lavon and Rose, and we're trying to track down George, but I just know that everybody in town is so worried about you. You know, your dad, and Lemon, and everybody at the Rammer Jammer..."

Zoe stopped talking very suddenly when she was sure she felt something at her hand. Looking down at Wade's fingers interlinked with her own, she watched closely, waited for some kind of movement, pressure, anything at all.

"Wade?" she said after a few moments of silent stillness. "Wade, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand," she urged him, sure by now that she must have imagined it the first time.

As per usual, Wade proved her to be wrong when suddenly his hand flexed against her own. It wasn't much, but it was something. With a little encouragement, Zoe got Wade to repeat the trick once more, then got to her feet, moving her face closer to his own.

"Wade, this time, if you can hear me, I need you to focus on my voice and try to open your eyes," she said urgently. "Please, just open your eyes and look at me."

It took a little while, but before too long, Zoe saw Wade's eyelids begin to flicker. She didn't worry too much, after all, he wasn't exactly fast to wake up when he had just been sleeping normally. It was something that he was responding at all, and then, when he eventually prised up his lids and stared into her eyes, it was worth all the effort and every second of waiting.

"Hey, Wade," she gasped out, breath leaving her body all in a rush and legs feeling wobbly as she gazed at him. "Hey."

It was a little concerning when he didn't say anything back, more so when a frown creased his brow and his eyes began to dart all around the room.

"Oh, okay, don't panic," Zoe said fast. "You're fine. Well, not exactly fine, but you're okay, you're just in the hospital. You had an accident, but it's going to be okay, Wade, I promise you," she said definitely, hands on his arms to steady him as he tried to move around too much.

"I... I don't..." he began to say, suddenly looking back at her. "What in the heck is goin' on? Are you a nurse or somethin'? Who's Wade?"

Zoe sat down very heavily in the chair again, unable to answer any questions or even say a word. He wasn't kidding when he asked who she was, and worse, who he was himself. His eyes stared at her with no recognition at all, not even a hint.

It seemed Wade Kinsella had amnesia - he didn't know Zoe Hart at all.

To Be Continued...