A/N: So I did assure a few of you that you wouldn't have to wait too long for an update and here I am delivering on that assurance. I know that was an unpleasant cliffhanger, but trust me, people, it's all going to be okay. You don't think I'd really badly injure JT now, do you? Of course not! Thanks for all the reviews, in any case, and here's the next part...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 14

"I'm sure JT will be just fine, Wade," said George, looking worriedly at his friend in the next seat over. "You know, Zoe is the best at what she does. Besides, nobody could care more for that kid, 'cept maybe you, obviously."

"I don't even know what happened, Tucker," Wade told him honestly, running both hands down his face. "He was just... he was trying to crawl. He does that sometimes but it never quite comes off, you know? But he really looked like he was gonna make it this time. I swear to God, I took my eyes off him for a half-a-second, just to grab the camera, and before I could even blink, he just..."

Wade's voice broke on him as the tears that had been welling in his eyes spilled over. George pulled him closer, rubbing his back, feeling so damn useless. He hadn't seen Wade cry like this since they were kids and his momma had just died. George prayed to God that they weren't about to go through something similar with JT. The kid had looked pretty bad when he saw him, blood running from the side of his head and all. Zoe was doing what she did best but it had to be tough on her too. She loved that boy so much. She had practically been the mother figure in this life these past couple of months.

"Sorry 'bout that," said Wade, pulling his head up and wiping the tears off his cheeks.

"Nothin' to apologise for," George promised him, patting him on the back one more time. "You're worried for your kid, totally natural, but you know, JT is a Kinsella, and that makes him one of the toughest folks around."

"Like he has a choice." Wade shook his head, swallowing hard before he could go on. "Not even seven months old yet and he's already been abandoned by his momma and damn near killed by his useless father!"

"Hey now, that is enough," said George firmly, meeting his eyes. "Wade, you are far from useless, okay? You're not. Accidents happen, and this was clearly an accident. Anybody who has seen you with your son, or even heard you talk about him, they know that you love him more than anythin' else in the whole world."

Wade stared at George for a few beats and then slowly nodded his head.

"I can't stand the thought that anythin' bad has happened to him 'cause o' me."

"It hasn't," said Zoe from the door to the exam room, getting the attention of both guys in a split-second. "He's going to be fine," she told Wade with a weak smile.

The second she stepped aside, he rushed to where his son was laying on the exam table, barriers up so he couldn't possibly fall, not that he seemed to be in the mood for moving a whole lot right now.

Zoe moved back into the room, George right behind her.

"I cleaned up the wound. There was a lot of blood, but it was clearly an abrasion rather than the result of an impact. Best guess, he fell against the edge of something or onto something with a sharp corner, which scraped along his temple and caused the cut. It's a weird thing but the smallest cuts sometimes just bleed like crazy. It really wasn't as bad as it seemed."

"He doesn't need X-rays or operatin' on or nothin'?" Wade checked, resisting the urge to pick up his son, even though all he wanted to do was hold him right now.

"Since there was no obvious impact and he showed no sign of incoherence, we don't have to worry about fracturing of the skull or anything," Zoe explained. "He should be fine."

"But you're not," said George, seeing Zoe's face clearly for the first time since they all got into the room. "Right now, I can't tell the difference between your face and your white coat," he said, pulling up a chair and encouraging her into it.

"I'm fine." Zoe waved away his concern. "Really, I just... well, I could drink a glass of water, if you don't mind?"

"Sure, I'm on it," George assured her, hurrying from the room.

Zoe nodded absently, watching Wade hovering over JT for a few moments. The shock finally subsided, her professionalism wasn't needed anymore, and Zoe broke down. Great heaving sobs shook her body as she buried her face in her hands and just cried.

"Hey, Zoe, come on," said Wade, suddenly on his knees in front of her, trying to prise her hands away from her face. "Come on, it's okay. You said yourself, he's just fine."

"I know," she sobbed, "and he is," she promised, letting him hold her as best he could in their current awkward position, "but it's JT. When I saw your car, I just knew something was wrong, and then when you pulled him out and there was blood... I'm a professional, Wade. I was a freakin' surgeon for God's sake, I can handle blood and injuries and life-and-death situations but... but it was JT," she said again, knowing that for Wade at least it would make total sense.

"I know, doc. I know," he promised, pulling her into his arms and holding on tight. "But you fixed him up real good and he's gonna be just fine, all 'cause o' you. I swear you are an angel, Zoe Hart, and I don't deserve you."

A gurgle of tear-filled laughter escaped her throat at that remark.

"An angel? Really?" she checked, pulling back to look at him. "You are some kind of crazy, Wade Kinsella," she told him, her hand at his cheek.

"Crazy about you," he assured her. "Crazy over this kid of mine too," he admitted, getting up to go back over to where JT lay, little eyes fluttering closed.

Shaky as she was, Zoe got up to and took up her position on the other side.

"He can stay here a little while longer, just in case," she explained, "but in a couple of hours, if all his vitals are still strong, you can take him home and he'll be fine."

"What about the cut on his head?" Wade checked, gesturing vaguely near the bandage taped there. "That gonna heal okay?"

"He may have a small scar," Zoe admitted, "but honestly, at this age, there's every chance it'll fade as he grows up. You probably won't be able to see it at all in time."

Wade nodded that he understood, eyes fixed on JT's little chest rising and falling.

"I swear I still don't know how it happened. One second, he was crawling, the next, he's... he's face down and hollering and bleeding. Uh, he's not gonna suffer for losing so much blood, right? 'Cause if he needs some o' mine, he can have it."

"He didn't lose enough to need a transfusion," Zoe promised, taking a hold of Wade's hand across the bed and squeezing. "I promise, he will be just fine. I'll run some tests just to double-check for anything unusual, in case he fell on something metal or dirty that could've got something into his system, but that is all purely precautionary. He's had the usual shots for his age and as a rule kids are pretty resilient."

"Your cooler was out of water and it took a while to find the bottles," said George sheepishly from the door, proffering a cup at Zoe.

"Thank you, George," she said gratefully, taking the drink and sipping at it.

"No problem," he promised her, hands in his pockets as he surveyed the scene and realised he really was a spare part in these proceedings. "Well, I should probably be heading out, leave you to it, now we know the little guy is gonna be just fine."

He turned to go but didn't get far before Wade called out to him.

"Hey, Tucker. Thanks for everything, man. I mean that," he said definitely.

"What are friends for?" he said, shrugging his shoulders before heading on out.

Zoe sighed and looked back down at JT. "I guess Lavon had a point about snow days. They really are super unlucky in Bluebell."

"I reckon next time this kinda weather rolls around, we just get in the car and drive until we're out of its reach. No more snow for the Kinsella boys, not a chance."

When Wade smiled at her, she smiled back, but honestly, Zoe wasn't feeling so great about what he said. She understood Wade's need to avoid any more snow days after all this drama, but she also noted that he wasn't exactly itching to hold onto her hand anymore and he hadn't mentioned her in his plan to out-run the next snow storm, just himself and JT.

It was selfish and stupid to feel jealous or left-out, especially in circumstances like these, but Zoe couldn't help it. Sometimes, she felt so much like a part of a family when she was with Wade and JT, but moments like this reminded her more than ever that she really wasn't. She was just an outsider amongst those she loved, and not for the first time.

"I know I screwed up today. Screwed up worse than I ever have, I reckon, and let me tell you, there have been more than a few times in my life when I have monumentally messed things up, not just for myself but for a whole bunch of other people too." Wade sighed, leaning down on the edge of the crib, watching over his son. "You ask folks around here and they'll tell ya, 'Those Kinsellas, they're best avoided if you don't want trouble,' but that all changes from here on out, JT, I promise you that. I was already tryin' to be everythin' you needed, but that ain't good enough. So, no more tryin', more actual doin'. I am gonna be the daddy you deserve, son. I promise you, somehow, I am."

A tapping on the door startled Wade from the solemn oath he had been making to JT and he looked up to see a familiar figure through the screen.

"Hey, Dad," he said, letting him into the house. "Whatcha doin' here?"

"I heard what happened, son," said Earl, his hand on Wade's shoulder. "You doin' okay?"

Wade nodded dumbly, reliving all the panic and pain he had gone through earlier in the day. Earl watched all the emotions play across his son's face and then wasted no time in pulling Wade into a hug. They clung to each other for a few seconds before seeming to sober up at the very same moment.

"You wanna see your grandbaby?" Wade asked, sniffing hard.

"Surely do," Earl agreed, going over to the crib, his arm still around Wade's shoulders as they went.

They both looked in on JT, who smiled at the sight of his father and grandfather, reaching with both arms to get to them. With shaking hands, Wade reached in to pick him up, visibly nervous about the whole embrace and yet also so glad to be able to have his little boy close. Earl knew that look on his son's face. He'd worn it himself more than once.

"You know somethin' similar happened when you were a little thing?" he said, shaking his head as he recalled it. "I swear I was never more ashamed o' myself than the day I realised you was hurt on account o' me."

"What are you talkin' about, old man?" Wade frowned, sitting down on the end of the bed and watching Earl prop himself against the back of the couch.

"Well, now, you must've been maybe a year old or so," his father explained. "You was sitting in the shed watching me puttin' a cabinet together for your momma. I figured you were far enough from the sharp tools and such, I didn't need to worry on you gettin' hurt," he said, clearing his throat before he could go on, the memory seeming to affect him even now. "Seemed I was wrong, 'cause the next thing I knew, you was screaming blue murder. To this day, I got no idea how you ever got that splinter in you, and it was a fair size, 'specially in a little tiny hand like you had then. You were just screamin' and hollerin'. Your momma came running out to the shed with Jesse on her heels and she just fixed you right up, got the splinter out, cleaned you up, calmed you down, whipped you right away to the doctor just to be on the safe side. You were fine, o' course," Earl concluded, taking a deep breath to compose himself just when he seemed set to break down altogether. "But I remember that day clear as any I ever lived. Can't ever quite shake the guilt o' knowing my boy got hurt on my watch."

"Dad, come on." Wade shook his head, shifting a sleepy JT in his lap. "That was not your fault."

"And this weren't yours, not really," Earl insisted. "Accidents happen. 'S what I got told back then, 's what they're sayin' now about what happened today, and they're right, Wade. You are a good father, son. I see it and I am damn proud of you."

Wade swallowed hard before answering in a voice that was still softer than he intended. "Thanks, Dad."

Earl nodded once then reached a hand into his back pocket for an envelope. Wade wasn't sure what that was about and didn't get a chance to ask before his father explained.

"So, I figure half your problem is how tired you are from working too hard to keep a roof over my grandbaby's head."

"I'm doin' okay," Wade insisted, but Earl shook his head.

"That is a pile o' hogwash, Wade, and we both know it," he insisted. "Now, it costs plenty to raise a baby, I know it, and when a man needs help with such a thing, he turns to his family. Here."

Wade shifted his grip on JT so he could reach for the envelope that Earl offered him. In the end, they switched over, Earl taking the baby while Wade looked at what he had been presented with - an envelope stuffed full with small bills that seemed oddly dusty and dirty around the edges.

"There's gotta be a few hundred bucks in here," he said, staring wide-eyed at his father. "What did you do, old man?"

"I saved," he said definitely, offering no further explanation. "Saved up the money and now... well, if you wanna know, I'm working on saving myself next. Truth is, it's goin' on two weeks now since I touched a drop o' the hard stuff."

If the money hadn't shocked poor Wade enough, the idea of his father being two weeks sober surely did. Maybe a snow day in Bluebell could bring bad things, but as Wade looked from the money in his hands to the picture made by his father playing happily with his son, who seemed right as rain even after his earlier ordeal, he had to think the unlikely weather had caused some kind of miracle to take place too. It was the only explanation he could come up with for all of this.

To Be Continued...