A/N: Thank you so much to the lovely reviewers - y'all are very kind ;) I know this story doesn't get updated super-regularly, but Summers in Bluebell is a pretty intense writing experience and I have to fit this one in and around it. I hope you understand. Anyway, this is a reasonably long chapter and I don't think it will disappoint anybody, at least, I hope not ;)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see Chapter 1)

Chapter 9

Wade was starting to wish he never asked Zoe to come along to the Rammer Jammer tonight. He had sort of assumed that he would have the time to talk with her a little, especially when he got his break. The trouble was he really hadn't had a chance to stop for a second yet. It was just him and Shelley, who apparently wasn't feeling a hundred percent anyway, and just about everybody seemed to have come out for a drink and a good time tonight.

What made it worse was that Zoe had found alternate company while Wade was so busy. He could've handled it if she was chatting with a girl-friend or Lavon or whoever, but no. She had caught the attention of the local veterinarian, one Dr Judson Lyons, and it seemed that despite the whole her standing him up and him sleeping with a friend of hers not so long ago, Zoe was all about being girly and giddy over just about everything the animal doctor said to her. It was making Wade feel more and more nauseous by the second.

When finally it seemed he had a minute to breathe, he headed down the bar in the hopes of at least getting to apologise to Zoe for being so tied up tonight. Just as he got there, she walked away.

"Great," he muttered, slamming his hand on the bar top.

"She's just gone to the ladies' room, she won't be long," Judson told him with a smile that Wade just wanted to wipe of his face, even if it didn't look even a little smug.

"Well, I'm sure when she gets back, you'll continue to keep her all kinds of entertained, man," he said through gritted teeth. "She seems to like you well enough."

Judson smiled and shook his head.

"Zoe is very sweet and, trust me, I wish she still had an interest in me, but I burned my bridges there," he said with a sigh, downing the last of his drink and dropping down from his stool. "You do know that she has talked about nothing but you and your son all night, right?" he asked Wade then.

"Say what now?" he checked, startled by what he thought he heard, though it couldn't possibly be true.

"Honestly, all I have heard about since I got here is how great Wade is, how adorable JT is. I don't think she's said one sentence that didn't have 'Kinsella' in it," he said, smiling in spite of what he was saying. "Well, congratulations to you, Wade, on apparently having a fine son, and for inspiring that much devotion in a woman as amazing as Zoe Hart," he said, dropping a bill into the tip jar and heading for the exit.

Wade stared after him, hardly able to wrap his head around what he just heard. It came as quite the shock after everything he had been thinking tonight. He was so certain that Zoe and Judson were rekindling something or whatever. It really hadn't occurred to him for a second that he and his son mattered more to Zoe than the vet ever could.

"Hey, where'd Judson go?" she asked, on returning from the bathroom.

"Not sure," Wade told her, shaking his head. "He said you were great company, but I guess a long day of veterinarianing tired him out."

"That is so not a word," Zoe told him, rolling her eyes as she pulled herself back up onto her stool. "Oh, well, he's a nice guy but mostly I was only talking to him because I had no-one else to talk to," she said, looking pointedly at Wade.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that, doc," he apologised genuinely. "Things in here are kinda crazy tonight."

"It's okay, I get it," Zoe assured him. "Maybe next time you ask me out, pick a night you're not working?"

She seemed to realise just exactly what she had said only after the words were out there. It was the first time either of them had really acknowledged that Wade had asked Zoe out, but that was exactly what had happened, strange as it may seem.

"Don't freak out, doc," he advised her. "Scrambles my brain a little too."

She smiled then, a real genuine Zoe Hart smile, the kind that did things to Wade he couldn't account for and had long since given up trying to. She really was something special, that much he was sure of, which sometimes made him wonder why she was hanging around him so damn much.

"Are you worried about JT?" she asked then, suddenly alerting Wade to the fact that his own smile had probably faded when his thoughts took a turn. "Because I'm sure he's fine. Rose may be young, but she is a highly recommended babysitter and her mom is home tonight, so everything should be fine."

"I'm not worried about him, doc," Wade assured her. "I trust Rosie and her momma with my boy for the night, I got no fears there. Actually, I was just feelin' bad about leaving you all by yourself so much tonight."

"That's not really your fault," she reminded him. "Busy bar, lots of thirsty customers. It's a good thing. You need your job, Wade, now more than ever. Babies are an expensive hobby."

"Don't I know," he said, rolling his eyes. "Damnit, I never did pay my share for your credit card, did I?" he remembered then, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, doc. What with one thing and another-"

"Relax, it's no problem," she assured him. "I've spent more on shoes in a few hours that I put on my card for JT in a month. It's covered."

"I can't just let you pay for half my kid's stuff, Zoe," he said seriously.

"Yes, you can," she insisted. "Don't think of it as me doing you a favour if that's too weird for you. Think of it as me buying JT a gift, okay?" she said, smiling widely. "You keep telling him I'm his Aunt Zoe and aunts buy gifts for their nephews, right?"

"I guess so." Wade shrugged. "I should pay you back though."

"Pour me another glass of wine and we'll call it even," she said, waving her empty glass towards him.

"Comin' right up, doc," he said as he did what she asked.

It didn't balance the scale and they both knew it, but Wade knew arguing with Zoe would do him no good. He really didn't have money to spare to pay her for the stuff she'd bought JT anyway, so he ought to be grateful she wanted to help. Of course, it put yet another weird spin on whatever was between them these days. Did he really ought to be in debt like that to a woman he was sort of dating?

"Okay, this time we'll let it slide," he said, presenting her with her drink, "but from here on out, I pay for my own kid. Now, I ain't sayin' I'm not grateful for the help and all, 'cause you know I am, but... Well, whatever this is," he said, gesturing vaguely between them, "I don't want it any more complicated than it already has to be."

Zoe nodded that she understood and took a sip of her drink. She really didn't know what it was she was supposed to say, she only wished she did. Whatever was between her and Wade, it was so completely undefined and she wasn't prepared to make any more of an attempt to name it than he had. She was aware that he liked her and the truth was she really liked him too, but with his reputation with the ladies and her crush on George Tucker, it didn't seem plausible that they'd ever be more than friends. Then JT showed up and Wade's life was turned upside down. Zoe happily jumped into the adventure with him, and frankly, she had given George little to no thought in the last few weeks, save for when she had planned on yelling at him on behalf of Wade and JT.

Her attention was taken, along with Wade's own, when someone called for service. It was a shame the Rammer Jammer was quite so busy tonight, but like she said herself, it was probably good to know that Wade's job was secure at least.

"You're in demand," she said with a wry smile.

"Seems that way," he agreed. "Look, if you wanna hang around, I'd at least like the chance to drive you home. I understand if you don't wanna do that, I mean, it'll be pretty late-"

"I'll wait," Zoe told him fast.

The winning smile that earned her from Wade was so worth sacrificing a couple of hours sleep for, and it wasn't as if she had to be anywhere too early tomorrow. Besides, this was supposed to be a first date of sorts, she at least wanted to spend a little time with Wade, even if it was just as long as it took to drive from the bar to the plantation.

"Hey, Zoe," said a voice behind her then.

When she turned to find George stood behind her, the smile faded quickly from her lips.

"Wow. Somebody made you pretty mad, huh?"

"Yes," she told him sharply. "And I'm looking right at him."

"Me?" asked George, his hand on his chest. "What did I do?"

"Um, you went behind Wade's back to talk to Earl. You went over to Wade's house and made him mad. You had a fight with Wade in front of JT making the poor kid really upset," she said, counting each point off on her fingers until George eventually stopped her.

"Okay, okay, I get it," he assured her. "I had no idea that in the process of my stupidity with the Kinsella family I also made you every kind of mad there is," he said, shaking his head and apparently completely bemused. "I'm sorry, Zoe. I did already apologise to Wade and asked him to pass on my apologies to his father too. I really didn't mean for things to get so outta hand. Come on, you know that's not me," he said, meeting her eyes and putting on that 'Hey, I'm good old George Tucker' smile.

Zoe heaved a sigh.

"Fine, I guess you didn't mean to be such an ass," she declared huffily.

George laughed at that and hopped up onto the next stool over.

"Wow, that's the weirdest forgiveness I ever received, but thanks anyway," he told her. "How about I buy you a drink, see if I can work my way back from ass to nice guy by degrees?"

"I just got a refill, but the fact you would offer buys you some points," she told him, unable to keep from smiling by now. "How come you're here by yourself anyway? I thought Lemon was usually glued to your arm."

"She's... Well, she's a little mad at me too," he admitted, smirking when he said it, for reasons that Zoe couldn't possibly guess. "There was kind of an incident here earlier. Would you believe that Annabeth, of all people, got real mad at Lemon and actually yelled at her in front of everybody?"

"Wow," Zoe gasped. "Today is just full of surprises, but good for AB," she said then, taking a sip of her drink. "No offence to your charming fiancée, George, but Lemon can be more than a little bossy and controlling with some of her friends, and I for one am not sorry that AB stood up to her."

"Hey, I'm not gonna fight you on that," he promised, hands raised in mock surrender. "Actually, there was some truth to what AB said, and hearing her do it was not exactly unamusing," he admitted. "Of course, the last thing Lemon was going to appreciate was me laughing at her so, yeah, not exactly her favourite person right now."

Zoe laughed, she couldn't help it, just as Wade came over to ask George what he wanted to drink.

"Since I accepted your apology, at least you don't have to worry that I'm gonna spit in whatever you order when you're not lookin'," he said with a grin.

"That's good to know. Thanks, Wade." George nodded, before ordering a beer. "If it helps at all, I have also apologised to Zoe as well, since it seems when you interfere with the Kinsella clan you also incur the wrath of the nearest New York doctor."

"You been giving Tucker a hard time, doc?" Wade asked her, smirking some.

"I told you I was going to tell him he did the wrong thing and I did," she said easily, swirling her wine in the glass. "Nobody can be right all the time, not even lawyers who think they are," she said, looking sideways at George and smirking almost as hard as Wade had been when he walked away.

"Well, I'm real glad I came in here tonight," said George, laughing all the same as he finally got his beer and took a swig. "At least I can keep you company, Zoe. It's not like you to drink alone. Where's Lavon tonight?"

"On a date with Didi," she confirmed. "But I'm not here alone. Technically, I'm kind of on a date."

George frowned as he looked around both her and then himself. "Am I sittin' on the invisible man?" he asked curiously.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "You're hilarious, by the way," she told him, completely dead pan. "Technically, I am here with Wade," she explained then. "I don't think he expected to be quite so busy when he asked me, but hey, what can you do?"

George's eyes were a little wider than they had been before when she really looked at him. Zoe wasn't sure how to take that particular look of surprise. If he thought it was strange for her to be on a date at all, she was going to be offended, and if he found her choice of going out with Wade to be odd, she might be doubly so.

"I'm sorry," he said, suddenly shaking his head. "I, uh... I didn't know that you and Wade were... I mean I figured y'all were friends and you were helping out with JT but..."

"All of that is true," Zoe assured him. "It's just... Well, he asked me, and I wanted to, so I said yes. It's not a thing," she tried to explain, wishing she hadn't attempted it the moment she began. "I mean, it could be a thing, but so far it's just a drinks-type date that hasn't been very date-like actually."

"Okay." George nodded. "Well, that's... that's cool, I guess," he said, finding a smile eventually. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to be weird about this. It's none of my business in the first place, but now that I think about it, as strange as it seems at first glance, you two could probably be really good together."

Zoe expected to feel strange talking to George about her potentially dating Wade. The truth was it actually did seem pretty weird on the surface, but only because she was still wrapping her head around the concept of her and Wade being more than friends anyway. Having George know about it really didn't bother her as much as she thought it might. In fact, she felt completely fine with it, especially since he seemed to be supportive of whatever this thing with the two of them was.

"I say good luck to you, Zoe. To both of you," George said then with a genuine smile, clinking his beer bottle against Zoe's wine glass.

"Thank you," she replied with a smile. "And I hope you and Lemon are okay after what happened earlier."

"I'm sure we'll be just fine," George told her easily, though the smile he was wearing that time didn't look half so convincing somehow.

"I don't know, George just seemed weird about the whole him and Lemon thing," said Zoe thoughtfully as Wade drove them both back towards the plantation. "They've been together a long time, right?"

"Since we were all fifteen," Wade told her. "Aside from the time he was in your home town, o' course, they've been pretty solid the whole way through."

"Then I guess they'll figure it out," she said, shoving her hand in front of her mouth when a yawn escaped. "Sorry about that."

"Doesn't matter to me, doc," said Wade as he put the car in park between his home and hers. "Honestly, I'm amazed I kept my eyes open long enough to get us here."

"You're working too hard," she told him, turning to look at him, the both of them leaned back in their seats with their heads lolling on the headrests.

"Ain't got a lot o' choice in that. Gotta work, gotta raise my boy." Wade shrugged, taking his turn at yawning too. "Like the man in the song says, 'I'll sleep when I'm dead.'"

"Take it from a doctor, if you don't sleep, you'll end up dead," said Zoe seriously. "I'm kind of getting used to having you around, Kinsella, so don't go and screw it up by bowing out on me now."

"You don't get rid of me that easy, doc," he told her with a smile. "Listen, I'm sorry tonight wasn't really what it shoulda been. Next time I ask you out, I promise not to be tending bar at the same time."

"That sounds nice," Zoe replied, smiling across at him and then sighing as her eyes fell shut. "I could just stay here, couldn't I? Getting from the car to the house is going to be way too much effort. Let's just stay."

"Well, my, my, Zoe Hart," said Wade, with laughter in his voice. "Offering to sleep with me on the first date? I did not think you were that kind of girl."

Zoe laughed loudly, covering her mouth with her hand when she realised quite how loud her outburst had really been. She felt her cheeks burn a little at the very implication of what Wade was saying, but on the whole, she found she didn't entirely hate the concept.

"Maybe we should get out of the car," she said then, taking a deep breath and putting herself in motion.

Wade did the same and they came to meet around the front of the vehicle, needing to pass each other in order to get to their respective homes.

"Well, for what it's worth," she said, looking up at him, "the parts of the night I did get to spend with you were actually pretty good."

"Yeah, as sucky first dates go, it wasn't so bad, was it?" he agreed, meeting her eyes. "I guess all that's left now is to say goodnight, Zoe Hart."

"Goodnight, Wade Kinsella," she replied in kind, afraid to hardly breathe never mind move, for fear that he really would let her walk away without a kiss.

She ought to have known better. Zoe barely had time to process what was happening before Wade's hand was on the back of her neck and his lips were pressed against her own. It was a good kiss, but brief, sweet even, before he pulled back and smiled at her a moment then walked away. Zoe swallowed hard, took a second to get her bearings and then headed for her own house. She was just opening the front door when she heard Wade calling from across the pond.

"You were serious about that second date, right?"

Zoe looked back at him, unable to keep the grin off her face.

"Serious as all get out!" she yelled back at him in a terrible version of his own accent that made them both laugh.

So maybe their first attempt at going out together hadn't gone so well, but the night had ended just fine as far as Zoe and Wade were concerned, and apparently, there would be other dates. There was no bad there.

To Be Continued...