A/N: I know, I know, I know, another big shocking cliffhanger, but there had to be an accident for Zoe to be looking at the medical records which led to the revelation that maybe JT isn't Wade's son. I'm sure y'all understand. anyway, thanks for all the reviewage, panicked as much of it was, and please do remember I said maybe JT isn't Wade's son, as Zoe will explain in further detail...;)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 16

"Wade?"

He heard Zoe saying his name but somehow couldn't find a way to respond to it. His brain had hit overload in the last few seconds and didn't seem to be coming back down to normal any time soon. Wade had put JT back down on the bed because he was honestly afraid he might drop him otherwise, but since then it was like he couldn't do anything else, couldn't think, could hardly breathe.

"No," he forced out eventually. "No, you got this wrong, doc," he told her, shaking his head.

"I wish that were true, Wade," she said softly, her expression pained when he finally looked at her. "I wish I didn't know this, but I do. It's just a fact. You can't be JT's father-"

"That is not what you said before," Wade cut her off, pacing the floor because he just could not stand still right now. "No, you said there was a good chance I wasn't, not that I couldn't be for sure."

"Well, that's true," Zoe admitted. "But the chances are just so small-"

"But they exist," Wade countered fast. "The chance exists that he is my son."

He looked at JT for a moment before his eyes met Zoe's own gaze. She swallowed hard and then slowly nodded her head.

"There is a chance," she told him. "A very small chance, but yes, it does exist. But, Wade..."

"No. No more buts," Wade told her firmly, picking JT back up and heading straight out of the exam room door. "I don't wanna hear this."

He got as far as the practice door and was opening it up to leave when Zoe caught up to him, her hand on his arm.

"Wade, please," she urged him, waiting to continue until he looked at her.

He hated that her face was blurry before his eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of her.

"Zoe," he said softly. "Please, just let me go. Please."

She silently nodded, releasing her grip on his arm and stepping back so he could leave. Wade might've thanked her if he had the voice, but he was concentrating on more important things right then, like breathing and seeing straight and keeping JT from feeling freaked out.

"You're just fine, kid," he promised the little boy, bouncing him in his arms. "Don't you worry about a thing," he said, kissing JT's head.

Wade was grateful to make it to the car without some friend or neighbour stopping him. He got JT into his car seat in record time, then dived into the driver's seat and got to going. He vaguely saw Tom Long raise a hand to wave a cheery hello but Wade turned his face away. He drove back to the plantation as best he could with tears obscuring his vision every now and then and his brain scrambled beyond belief. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now.

"I just never saw this coming," said George, shaking his head. "I swear to you, Lemon, it was not a plan I had or anything I could've predicted when I first came home from New York."

"Oh, I know that, George," she assured him, her hand resting on his arm. "I guess we were both just being foolish, thinkin' we could pick up right where we left off. Whoever heard of two people being together fifteen years and still being as in love as they were in high school?" she said, smiling despite the tears evidently pooling in her eyes.

"I don't think I'll ever stop loving you, Lemon," he promised, squeezing her hand. "It's just not how it used to be."

"We're not in love anymore," she confirmed, swallowing hard. "Lord knows I never thought there'd be a day when I could bear to admit such a thing, not even to myself, but maybe it's all for the best. If we'd gone ahead with this wedding..."

She couldn't go on and George couldn't help her out either. It seemed too bizarre to the both of them, imagining a future where they didn't get married, where they weren't together forever, and yet there was a kind of strange relief that came with admitting how they really felt. The pressure was off now they had both found a way to confess the fact they just weren't entirely happy in their relationship anymore.

"You know, when I was in New York," said George eventually, studying the tile of the Breeland's summer room as he went on, "I missed home so much. Don't get me wrong, city life was great, but it wasn't Bluebell. Of course, I missed you too but, weird as it sounds, I think I missed the idea of you, of us, more than what we really were."

"I understand that." Lemon nodded, hand shooting up to her face to wipe away escaping tears. "Much as I missed havin' you around, I was just so mad at you for choosing anyone or anything over me. It took me so long to realise that's not the same thing as missing somebody just because you love them. Of all people, I believe it was Wade Kinsella that made me see the truth."

"Wade?" George checked, meeting her eyes. "You and... and Wade?"

"Not that way!" Lemon told him, looking scandalised. "My goodness, George Tucker, what do you take me for? Wade Kinsella is a good friend is all and one of the easiest people for me to confide in, given the circumstances. He's known us both as long as we've known each other, plus he's been forced to make some real adult decisions these past few weeks. Talking things through with him made me see I was being such a child over our wedding and all. I've been blaming you, and Zoe Hart, and just about everybody and everything but myself... and I am the one to blame, George."

"To blame for what?" he asked in earnest. "Lemon, you and I just agreed we both feel the same about our future. That's a joint decision, nobody's fault."

Lemon swallowed hard one more time and made herself sit up straight and confident before she went on.

"The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you, George Tucker," she admitted, "but in light of us both being so truthful and honest about our feelings today, I have one other thing I have to tell you, and I can't imagine for a second that you're goin' to like it."

George frowned at that, hardly knowing what to think as Lemon drew in a breath and let it out slow, fighting for composure, as they both had been through this whole conversation.

"When you were away in New York, I found out that my absent mother was livin' in Daphne," Lemon began to explain, knowing as tough as talk of her momma would be, what came next would be harder still, but she had to do it.

George deserved the truth and she deserved to have a chance at moving on in her own life too, though whether he or Lavon would ever forgive her for her behaviour thus far, Lemon had no idea. She could only be honest and then live in hope.

Zoe was well-used to having to keep secrets in her line of work. Doctor-patient confidentiality was a very big deal and she would never, ever break it, not just because it would be professional suicide but also because it would be morally wrong too. Back home in New York, she would sometimes discuss cases she had dealt with in vague terms with her mom or friends, never mentioning names or specifics, and it really didn't matter. Things were very different in Bluebell, where everybody knew everybody else's business. If she breathed even the most non-specific words to anyone, they could figure out what was going on in an instant, and so, Zoe just had to carry around the secrets all by herself.

The only person she could talk to about Wade and JT was Wade himself. Honestly, he was the only one she wanted to talk to anyway and headed straight for the Rammer Jammer when she was done with work. She was surprised to find Annabeth sat at the bar when she got there.

"AB, what are you doing here?" she asked, frowning hard.

"Uh, enjoying a mocktail and waiting on Crickett to talk Belle events, since Lemon seems to have abandoned her duties of late," she said, shaking her head. "Did I miss an appointment with you or something?"

Zoe stopped and shook her head. "No, sorry. I must've got it wrong. I thought you were babysitting JT while Wade worked his shift."

"Oh, honey, that all got changed around," her friend explained. "Wade called me around lunch time, told me he wasn't working after all so he didn't need me to sit today."

"That's what he said to you?" asked Shelley as she appeared on the other side of the bar. "Huh. He called me and asked me to cover his shift because he was havin' a bad time with the baby. I didn't argue, I mean, how can you when the kid is just cute as a button?"

"You are so right," AB agreed.

Zoe hardly heard a word. She mumbled something that was supposed to be both thank you and goodbye then hurried back out of the door. She really hoped Wade hadn't done anything stupid, though she couldn't imagine for a moment that he really would. Finding out JT might not be his son, that had to be a hell of a blow, especially just when he had got so used to being a father and everything.

Driving as fast as she dare, Zoe got home in record time and rushed right over to the gatehouse. She peered in through the window, glad to see that Wade was there with JT in his arms. They both looked okay, as far as she could tell, so that was a good sign. She knocked on the door and Wade immediately came to let her in.

"Just couldn't leave me alone, huh, doc?" he said, not exactly looking thrilled to see her.

"Wade, please don't blame me for this," she urged him. "I have spent all day worrying about you and feeling awful, but you know I had to tell you. It's not my fault that I know what I know."

"What you think you know," Wade corrected crossly, turning away from her but leaving the door open so Zoe could come in.

"No, the facts remain the same, Wade," she told him firmly, following him inside. "The fact is that the chances are small," she said, deliberately vaguely since talking of Wade not being JT's father again would only hurt the both of them. "We can check to be sure. It's pretty easy to do-"

"No," Wade snapped, holding JT close in his arms as he turned to look at her again. "I don't want your test. I don't need it," he told her definitely.

Zoe shivered at the cold look in his red-rimmed eyes. She tried not to take it personally, after all, Wade was going through something pretty damn emotional and painful right now. That didn't mean it didn't hurt to have him look at her that way, to have him seemingly blame her for this.

"This isn't my fault, Wade," she reminded him. "I know you want someone to blame and I can understand that, but it's not me. If Carrie-Sue was mistaken or lied or whatever, that's on her. You cannot blame me. I won't let you do that."

At some point, the tears that had been building for a while spilled over, not just for Zoe but for Wade too. He turned away to put JT into his crib. Given how sleepy the little boy looked and how stressed Wade seemed, it probably wasn't a bad thing. Zoe also suspected Wade was trying to hide the fact he was crying, not that he needed to as far as she was concerned.

"Wade?"

"Why'd you even have to tell me any o' this?" he asked as he turned back to face her. "Why, Zoe? I mean, what good did it even do?"

"It's the truth," she said plainly, a little annoyed that he was still trying to make this her fault somehow. "We're talking about JT's paternity, Wade. It matters that we know the truth, so that when he's older, he knows it too. In case you forgot, I was raised by a man who wasn't my father," she reminded him, lowering her voice a little when she started to notice she was losing control of her own emotions. "I just... I missed out on knowing my real dad because of my mother's lies. She hurt me, she hurt my dad... Ethan," she corrected herself, "and Harley too. I don't want JT to go through that and I don't believe you do either. You're a good person, Wade Kinsella. I know that," she said firmly. "Please, don't let fear and pain blind you to what's right."

She didn't want to be so harsh but it seemed to be the only way to ensure that Wade didn't bury his head in the sand on this. When she was done telling him how things had to be, she wasn't exactly proud to see him look defeated. Winning the argument wasn't a victory in this case, not really. It didn't make anybody feel any better.

"Come on," she said gently, reaching for Wade's hand and urging him to follow her to the couch, which he did without protest. "Now, please, just listen to me," she said as they sat down together. "I know this is hard on you and I am sorry about that, but I can help, if you'll let me. A DNA test is easy enough. I can take the samples, send them off to the lab, not the one the practice uses," she added fast before Wade had a chance to argue. "I have a friend who owes me a favour, he could get it done. The results would come straight to me, no chance of Brick or Addy or anyone else seeing them."

"And then what?" asked Wade, running a hand over his face. "What happens if you have this right and I'm not...?" He couldn't even say it, turning to look over at JT's crib and making it more than clear what he meant. "Where does he end up then? Back with a mother who'll just dump him on another doorstep?" he asked bitterly. "Or with some other guy who prob'ly won't raise him half as good as this town can."

"I don't know," Zoe admitted, shaking her head, "but just remember, small as the chance is, is does exist, Wade. You guys look so alike and you've bonded so easily, plus you told me yourself that the supposed date of conception tallies with you and Carrie-Sue... being together," she said awkwardly. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but I have been known to be wrong about things sometimes," she said, forcing half a smile.

Wade smiled too, though the pain in his eyes remained. Zoe so wished she could make it better, she really wanted to do all she could to help him, but there was only so much.

"I didn't mean to take out what I'm feelin' on you," he told her then, taking her hand into his own. "I know it's not your fault, I just... I guess I wish you hadn't told me is all, even if that's dumb 'cause let's face it, wouldn't change the truth of things, would it?"

"No, it wouldn't," Zoe agreed, "but for what it's worth, I wish I hadn't noticed either. You know I would never do anything to deliberately hurt you, right? Not you or JT."

"Yes, I know that," Wade nodded, pulling on her hand until she moved closer and then wrapping his arms around her. "I guess we'll do your test, let your buddy find out the truth."

"You're sure?" asked Zoe, pulling back to look at him.

"Don't see as I have much of a choice." Wade shrugged. "Like you said, he deserves the truth," he said, tilting his head towards JT's crib. "No matter what that turns out to be."

To Be Continued...