A/N: I seem to be writing a lot of long chapters in my fics lately, not sure why, but oddly, nobody ever complains ;) Now, who is up for a bunch more Zade, plus Lavon, Rose, and of course, JT too? Okay then, here we go!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see Chapter 1)

Chapter 11

"Lavon, you're prob'ly worryin' on nothin'," Wade tried to assured him. "I mean, come on now, what guy is gonna stand a chance against you, huh? If Didi thinks she can do better than Lavon Hayes, then that is her problem."

"Maybe," his friend agreed, though he didn't look any happier about the situation than he had before. "All I know is, her ex is back in town and makin' a play for her. I been here before and it ain't a fun place to be standin'," he admitted with a sigh.

"Knock, knock," said a voice as the back door opened and Rose's face appeared. "Is the coast clear?"

"Hey, Rosie," said Wade with a smile, bouncing JT in his arms and getting the kid to pay attention. "Look who come to see ya, bubba."

"Hey, JT." Rose smiled widely as she came to take him out of Wade's arms and give him a hug. "You're gonna be spending some time with me tonight. Can you say sleepover?"

"Sleepover?" said Lavon, eyebrows raised as he looked over at Wade. "I thought this was just a fancy dinner date."

"Pull your mind on up outta the gutter, man," his friend told him firmly. "Rose's parents went away this weekend, so she's stayin' with Zoe tonight. She very kindly said she would have JT with her at Zoe's place while me and the doc have us some dinner at my house. Rose is the one doin' the sleeping over, nobody else," he said pointedly.

"Uh-huh." Lavon nodded, though he didn't look entirely convinced.

Not that he was about to say anything to screw up this night for Wade or anybody. After all, he had spent long enough planning it. After all the talk about the Sweetie Pie dance and everything, it seemed to be firmly established that Wade and Zoe would not be attending, since they just weren't at that point yet. Still, something sparked an idea in Wade's head that he wanted to do something special for Zoe. Probably all the help she had been giving him lately with JT, and maybe also the fact that their first attempt at a date hadn't run so smooth. He came up with the idea of a dinner date over at his place and the night of the dance worked out just right, what with Rose staying over and playing babysitter and all.

"So, you sure you got the food covered, man?" Lavon asked then, watching Wade move around the kitchen now he had JT off his hands.

"Pretty sure," his friend agreed, nodding his head, "and thank you again for-"

"Do not even mention it," said Lavon, literally waving away his concerns with both hands.

"I will pay you back," said Wade definitely.

"We'll figure that out later, no big deal," Lavon promised.

Wade didn't argue anymore, though his friend suspected that was mostly because Rose and JT were there. Money was a major problem right now, that much he had admitted to. It was why Lavon had lent Wade the money to buy what he needed for his meal with Zoe tonight, which was mostly just the food and wine, since Lavon was also lending him the table cloth, candles, and everything else. He must have told him at least a hundred times how grateful he was, but Lavon had told him easily that was just what friends were for.

"You wanna hang out here a while, Rosie?" Wade said over his shoulder as he set to cooking the meal that would then need transporting to the gatehouse later.

"Sure, no problem," she agreed easily, distracted as she was in entertaining JT.

"I just figure if Zoe comes home unexpectedly and finds you with my boy, she's gonna wanna know why, and I can't really have you in the gatehouse now the table's all set and everything."

"Wade, it's fine," she promised him. "Wherever you want us to be, we'll be. All that you're doin' to make this night special for Zoe, I think it's the most romantic thing," she gushed the way only fourteen-year-old girls could. "Anything I can do to help is just fine by me."

"You're a good girl," Wade told her, turning to face her. "I mean it, thank you, Rose, 'specially since I can't exactly pay you-"

"I wouldn't take any money if you offered it to me," she said determinedly. "I don't need payin' to hang out with my favourite little guy, do I, huh?" she said more to JT than his father. "You and me are goin' to have such a fun time."

"You want to make the living room your own for a while, Rose, you go right ahead," Lavon advised her. "A whole bunch of JT's stuff is in the cabinet in there for when he stays over, you should be all good until you transfer to the carriage house later."

"Sounds good," she said smiling as she turned so JT was facing the guys. "Say, 'See you later, Daddy. See you later, Uncle Lavon'," she said, waving the little boy's hand at them both as she carried him away.

"Everybody wants to be so damn helpful." Wade shook his head. "God knows what I did to deserve it."

"Hey, I don't know why you have it in your head that you're not worthy, man, but you need to get over that already," Lavon told him firmly.

"Says the man who reckons his girlfriend is just obviously gonna dump his ass for her ex," said Wade, smirking hard as he looked at his friend.

Lavon took that in for a moment and then chuckled when he realised how right he was. "Touché. Maybe we both oughta have just a little more confidence, huh?"

"Maybe," Wade agreed. "Now, don't take this the wrong way, but could you get outta your kitchen so I can cook this meal already?"

"Yes, sir," Lavon agreed, grinning as he headed out.

For all the worries he had about his own love life, he thought it was kind of nice to see Wade making such an effort for Zoe. Those two were oddly perfect for each other, as far as Lavon could tell, and he wished them all the luck in the world.

When Zoe pulled the car up outside the carriage house, she was surprised to see Wade waiting for her on the porch, especially since he looked pretty dressed up.

"Hey," she said as she approached. "What's going on?"

"What's going on is I'm pretty sure I owe you some kind of a real date, Dr Hart," he told her, as they met at the bottom of the porch steps.

"Oh, Wade, I thought we said we weren't going to that dance-"

"I'm not talking about the Sweetie Pie Dance, doc," he insisted fast, clearly realising she was going to get a little hypersonic about it - that was a good call. "I am talking about dinner at my place. Now, I know you got Rose staying over with you tonight, but that is all taken care of. She has JT right with her at Lavon's place for as long as it takes you to get yourself into whichever dress you feel like wearing, then she's on babysitting duty right here at the carriage house until we're done with our date in the gatehouse. I cooked and everything. That sound good?"

"It sounds amazing," Zoe assured him, wide-eyed with surprise but smiling happily nonetheless. "How did you even find the time? How did you...?" she stopped short of asking how he was affording it in the circumstances, thinking better of it at the last moment. "Um, I'm officially speechless."

"I will take that as a compliment," Wade told her with a grin. "Now, since I doubt you can look all that much better than you already do, you got a half hour to get yourself ready, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, watching him suddenly rush away back towards Lavon's place. "And Wade?"

"Yeah?" he replied, turning back to look at her.

"Thank you," she told him, smiling wide.

"Wait 'til you taste the food first, doc. You might not be so thankful," he joked before rushing off.

Zoe shook her head, still laughing as she went inside to get changed. Half an hour really wasn't much time to prepare for a date, but she liked Wade's compliment that she shouldn't need long given how good she already looked. Thankfully, she had given some thought to a potential second date with Wade and had a couple of outfits in mind. She had herself a quick shower and chose one dress over the other in a minute, sliding into the cute little Chloe that couldn't fail to impress and zipping it up. She didn't have time to do too much with her hair and makeup, but since they weren't exactly going out, Zoe figured it wouldn't matter much. She wanted to look nice for Wade, of course she did, but somehow, she didn't think he cared if she made a super-effort of not. She believed that he liked her for more than her looks, after all.

Stepping out onto the porch, Zoe saw all the lights were on at the gatehouse, both inside the house, and outside in multi-coloured strands along the railing. As if he sensed her presence, Wade stepped out of the door and smiled at her from the other side of the pond.

"Stay right there," he told her, startling Zoe just a little, though she did as he said.

A minute later, he was right there with her, eyes wide as he looked her over.

"I stand corrected," he said in apparent awe. "You can look even more beautiful."

"Well, thank you, kind sir," she joked, somehow finding it easier than being serious when he was looking at her like that.

It wasn't that she didn't appreciate that he wanted to stare at her and tell her she looked good. Zoe knew she'd be crazy to not want that kind of attention from a guy she liked, but it threw her off a little bit.

"Come on over to my place, doc," said Wade then, putting his arm around her shoulders as they walked around the pond.

Zoe was smiling but inside her mind was racing a little. This whole surprise second date thing was a sweet idea, but she really hadn't been ready for it, not even a little. Things with her and Wade were so undefined lately, which she was okay with in a lot of ways. They didn't have to put a label on what they were to each other, and yet, Zoe wasn't entirely comfortable not knowing where she stood either. She knew Wade liked her and she liked him. She didn't have to worry about him seeing other girls because JT pretty much made sure of that, but she wondered if things would be different if Wade didn't have a six-month-old son.

"You okay?" he asked as they reached the gatehouse.

Zoe realised her confusing thoughts must be showing on her face and quickly shook them off.

"I'm fine," she promised. "I was just..."

She stopped short of giving any real explanation when Wade opened the door and she saw the table perfectly set for a meal for two. The other furniture and all of JT's stuff had been shoved aside for the occasion and it was the most romantic thing. Zoe could hardly believe Wade had done all of this for her.

"It ain't much," he told her modestly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can cook and all, but it ain't exactly what I'm best at. Still, I did what I could, doc, so I hope you like it."

"It all looks wonderful, Wade," she told him honestly. "You really shouldn't have gone to so much trouble. You have enough to do with work and JT and-"

Zoe was startled when he silenced her with a kiss, but she couldn't complain at all. He really was very good at that.

"How about we sit down and eat now?" he asked then.

"Sounds good," Zoe agreed, thanking him when he pulled out the chair for her.

Wade as a father had been a surprise. Wade as a gentleman was maybe even more of a revelation, but Zoe liked it a lot, and was very proud to have inspired him to it.

"So, better than the first date?" asked Wade nervously when he and Zoe were both done eating.

"Much better," she admitted, smiling across at him, fingers playing absently with the stem of her wine glass. "I had no idea you could be this way, Wade Kinsella."

"This way?" he echoed, staring at her curiously. "What's that mean?"

"I don't know. Serious, romantic," she told him, seeming to blush even as the words left her mouth. "Come on, when we first met, you have to admit, you came off a little... well, don't take this the wrong way, but you were kind of an ass."

Wade hadn't exactly been enjoying the wine he bought just for Zoe's benefit, but he hadn't really meant to go spitting it back into the glass the way he did then. He wasn't sure whether he was more offended or amused by Zoe's description of him, but he couldn't have swallowed his mouthful for anything when he heard her say it.

"Wow," he said, coughing a little. "That's some opinion you have of me, doc."

"I don't have it now," she said, rolling her eyes, clearly trying not to laugh by now. "Hey, I'm willing to admit I wasn't exactly my best self when we met either. What a difference a few months makes, huh?"

"Oh, yeah." Wade sighed then. "You can say that again. Never expected to be sittin' here surrounded by a crib and a pile of diapers at this point in my life. Still, tough as it is sometimes, I can't ever regret my boy showing up like he did."

A strange smile was spreading over Zoe's face when he looked at her then. Wade couldn't quite figure out what it was for and so went ahead and asked her.

"You," she told him honestly. "You have this reputation around town, you seem to love that you do, but it's not for real. I see how you are, Wade Kinsella. You love your son, you love your father. You care about people and you're a really good guy."

"Hey, don't you go sayin' that too loud. Like you said, I got a rep to protect," he told her, smirking hard.

Zoe laughed and rolled her eyes. "I was being serious," she told him anyway.

"You think I wasn't?" he teased her, getting up from his seat and holding out a hand to her. "Come on now, doc, enough talking. I know this ain't exactly a fancy location, but we ain't gotta be where all them other couples are to have a dance, right?"

"You're asking me to dance?" she checked, frowning slightly. "There's no music."

"In classy joints like this, you dance to the atmosphere," he told her, taking a hold of her hand and pulling her to her feet before she could argue anymore.

Zoe smiled and stepped into his arms without further protest. She felt a little silly at first, but as she and Wade moved in their own silent slow dance, it didn't seem so bad. Actually, it felt pretty good. She started to wonder why she was ever so worried on the way over here for this date. She meant what she said before, Wade was a great guy and the only changes she had seen in him these past few months were for the better. Maybe they weren't even changes exactly, maybe she just got to know him better and that made the difference. Maybe this was always what Wade was like underneath it all.

"What's on your mind, doc?" he asked, clearly noticing how thoughtful she had gotten again.

When he looked at her like that, his eyes locked onto her own, he didn't just take her breath away, he chased every thought out of her head too.

"Not much," she admitted. "Just... thank you for tonight, Wade," she said then, hands clasped tightly behind his neck. "It's been the most amazing night... and you didn't even know it was my birthday."

"It's your birthday?" he asked wide-eyed. "Doc, I didn't-"

"I don't really celebrate it or anything," Zoe told him fast, "but if I did, I don't think it could get better than this."

Wade nodded his head slightly and then he was leaning closer and Zoe felt herself pushing up onto her toes to meet him. It was just supposed to be a simple kiss, a goodnight kiss or a thank you maybe, so she tried to tell herself, but Zoe couldn't bring herself to pull away at all, and when Wade seemed to try to do so, she couldn't bear to let him.

Somewhere along the line they landed on the couch together, hands everywhere, lips trailing kisses on any exposed skin they could find. Maybe they were being stupid, Zoe was sure she had to be losing her mind, but it felt so good, she wasn't entirely sure that she cared. Certainly, Wade didn't seem to be arguing with the direction of travel.

"Zoe! Wade!"

Rose's voice came loud and clear, not to mention full of panic, from the other side of the pond.

"Oh, my God!" "Oh, hell, no!"

Zoe and Wade spoke over each other as they disentangled themselves, leaping up from the couch, and taking off at a run, Wade in the lead as Zoe paused to whip off her heels before she gave chase. She arrived at the carriage house door a beat or two after Wade burst through it. Rose was talking a mile a minute and JT was screaming like the world was ending from Wade's arms.

"What happened?" Zoe gasped breathlessly.

"I swear I don't know," Rose told her, crying hard by now. "I must've dozed off on the couch, but he was fine before. I woke up to him screaming and crying. He's burning up and he has this rash. Oh, God, is it bad?"

"Let me see," she urged Wade until he handed over his son. "Okay, JT. It's okay, it's okay," she told him, much as his daddy had been trying to do, for all the good it had done.

Zoe laid JT on the bed and checked him over. Rose was right, he was a little too hot and he did have a rash, but it disappeared with pressure applied, which counted out meningitis at least. Trying not to think about whose child she was looking over, Zoe put her doctor head on and worked quickly to figure out what was happening. A minute later she stepped back and sighed.

"He's fine," she promised Wade and Rose both. "I promise, he is going to be fine. He's pretty hot and sweaty, but that's all. He's just a little overheated, that's a heat rash, nothing worse."

"You're sure, doc?" Wade asked, ashen-faced with panic when she glanced at him.

"I'm 99% sure," she told him. "Honestly, what he really needs is a cool bath, some clean clothes, and a good night's rest. If he won't settle because he's feeling sore and uncomfortable, you can give him some liquid Tylenol but I'll be amazed if he's not pretty much fine by the morning."

"I'm so sorry," Rose said, blowing her nose. "I didn't mean to spoil your date or freak you guys out. I just... I panicked, I guess."

"No problem, Rosie girl," Wade promised her, scooping JT back up into his arms and giving him a hug. "Better you panic when there's no trouble than let something bad go on gettin' worse, I guess."

"He's right, Rose," said Zoe, moving to hug her young friend. "You did the best thing. You weren't sure, so you called for help. Nobody's mad about that."

"I should get him home now, see about that cool bath and clean clothes, like you said," said Wade, heading for the door.

"I'll walk you out," said Zoe, giving Rose one last squeeze of the shoulders before she followed Wade to the door.

JT had already quieted down some, probably because his daddy was there, but he clearly wasn't feeling great still.

"Not exactly how I saw this night panning out," said Wade with a look the moment they reached the porch.

"Me either," Zoe admitted.

"Zoe, about before..."

"Not now," she said, shaking her head. "Go take care of him," she advised Wade. "We'll figure everything else out later."

"Sounds like a plan." Wade nodded, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead. "G'night, Zoe."

"Goodnight, Wade," she replied, smiling as she watched him walk away.

No, their date had not ended how she thought it would and she was sorry JT was feeling bad, but for the most part, she had to admit, it had been a really nice night.

To Be Continued...