A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, folks. For those that were worried, please be assured that the mob is not coming to Bluebell. Honestly, I just wanted a really good reason for Carrie-Sue to leave her baby. It seemed too cruel to have JT be abandoned just because. Anywho, more drama follows!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 32

It was no surprise to Wade when he looked over and found Zoe asleep across the next two seats. They had to have been stuck in the hospital waiting area for at least six hours or more, though his tired and fuzzy brain was struggling with even that simple math. There was no way they were leaving though, not until they heard that Rose was going to be alright. Then when they finally got home, Zoe was going to have to call her private investigator and confirm the story about Carrie-Sue, plus JT would need picking up from Annabeth's place. Wade had a headache from just thinking about it all. He felt like he needed a stiff drink and a long sleep but neither was forthcoming any time soon.

"Wade?"

He was just about awake enough to react to his own name as Brick appeared with a smile that was at least a little comforting.

"Hey, Zoe?" he said, gently shaking her awake.

"What? Rose? Is she okay?" she asked, sitting up too fast and staring at Brick just the same as Wade was.

"She's out of the woods," Brick confirmed, nodding his head. "It was a little dicey there for a while but she's responded well to treatment. Looks like she's gonna be just fine now."

"Thank God!" Zoe cried and Wade grabbed a hold of her, hugging her tight.

Honestly, he was equally as happy to hear that Rose would be alright. Over the past few months, she had become a real asset with looking after JT, and a real good friend to Wade as well as Zoe. She was a nice girl, always had been, and the idea of anything bad happening to her made Wade feel properly sick himself.

"I think maybe the two of you should be heading home now, get some real rest," Brick advised. "I say that as your friend as well as your doctor. In fact, come along with me now, let me drive you. I don't think I want to know what kind of accident the two of you could cause if either one of you was behind the wheel right now."

Wade meant to argue but he didn't have it in him to try. Brick was right, neither he nor Zoe was in any fit state to drive to Bluebell but they really should be getting back. For all they knew, Annabeth was tearing her hair out by now, having been babysitting JT for fully twenty-four hours. At least that reminded Wade to transfer the seat from his car to Brick's vehicle so they could pick the kid up from AB before heading on to the plantation.

"Thanks, Brick," said Wade as they got out of the car at journey's end. "We appreciate it."

"No problem, son," he said with a smile. "And Dr Hart?" he called to Zoe. "I don't want to see you in work until at least tomorrow. You need rest, you hear me?"

"Understood." Zoe nodded her head in agreement, raising a hand to wave goodbye as Brick then drove away. "So, we should call the PI back," she said as the thought occurred to her.

Wade shook his head. "Not right now," he insisted. "You go get yourself some more sleep. I'm gonna spend some time with my boy here," he said, bouncing JT on his hip. "We'll deal with that other mess later, okay, baby?" he said, leaning over to plant a kiss on the top of Zoe's head.

"Yeah, okay," she agreed, her arm around his waist keeping him from walking away too soon. "Thank you for last night... this morning," she corrected. "Coming to the hospital with me, for Rose."

"I go where I'm needed, doc," he said with a sleepy smile. "Now, shut-eye on the double, just like Dr Breeland told ya," he said, pointing off towards the carriage house."

"Yes, sir." Zoe rolled her eyes even as she faked a salute and headed for home.

It really had been a hell of a night.

It was late in the afternoon when Zoe finally woke. She had managed a quick shower to wash the hospital smell off her then collapsed straight into bed and slept for almost eight hours straight, apparently. At least she felt more like a human being now, but she didn't feel all that much happier the moment she remembered all the reasons why she had been so tired in the first place.

Rose was out of danger and that was great, but it had been really scary for a while there. So long as there were no further complications from her appendicitis, she should be fine, though Zoe knew she wouldn't really be satisfied until she saw for herself at some point. Then there was Carrie-Sue. That situation still had to be dealt with, sooner rather than later.

Taking herself straight over to the carriage house, Zoe wasn't exactly surprised to find Wade struggling to keep his eyes open even as he tried to calm a crying JT. She wondered for a moment if her boyfriend would even hear her knocking over the screaming and ended up letting herself in to save Wade the trouble.

"I'm guessing you haven't had as much sleep as I have?" she yelled over JT's wailing.

"Pretty sure we got a couple o' hours somewhere in there," said Wade, handing his son over when Zoe reached for him. "Then he woke up from his nap like this and I can't do a thing with him."

He looked so defeated as he sat down on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. Zoe hated that. Poor Wade. He had been so happy when they won the Bluebell Battle and all. She had been happy too, for him more than herself, and now everything seemed so awful.

"Come on, little man," she said to JT then. "What's going on? Did you have a nightmare? Some big dumb scary monster try to get you? 'Cause they're not real, you know? And even if they were, you would not need to be afraid of them, because you have the best daddy in the world and he would take care of them for you," she said, jostling JT in her arms and doing her best to soothe him.

"You're cute," Wade told her, finding a smile for what she said to his son.

"Hey, I only speak the truth," she said definitely, grinning back at him. "And you know it, right, JT?" she said to the little boy then. "You know you have the best daddy and that there is no reason for all this yelling, don't you?"

It seemed to do the trick, whether it was her words, her voice, or the way she was rocking him in her arms, he certainly seemed to be calming down. Zoe was a little stunned that it worked, to be honest, but she was glad. Of course, it might just be that JT had tired himself out with all the fuss.

Sitting down on the couch, she sat him in her lap and grabbed his sippy cup for him when he reached for it, helping him get a good long drink of water.

"That's better, huh?" she said, kissing the top of his head as he drank.

"You are a marvel, doc," said Wade as he came over to join her, propping himself up at the other end of the couch and letting out a sigh. "I'll tell you somethin' though, I could use not havin' too many days and nights like those we just had."

"Amen to that," Zoe agreed. "You know you should get some more sleep. I can watch JT for a while."

"Don't worry about it." Wade waved away her concern. "I talked to Wally a while back, he knows I won't be in work tonight. I'll catch up on my Zs eventually."

"Just make sure that you do, please," said Zoe insistently. "You'd be amazed how easy it is to get sick from not getting enough sleep and not eating properly."

Right on cue, her own stomach made a terrible gurgling sound, startling poor JT and making Wade laugh out loud.

"Well, doc, I think you and me need to look at gettin' us a real late lunch," he suggested. "You up for raiding the fridge over at Lavon's?"

"Sure." Zoe nodded. "Although... well, I actually came over because I thought we should get a certain phone call out of the way?"

She didn't like to bring it up again and when she saw the look on Wade's face, Zoe was even less happy about the fact she had mentioned it at all, but there was just no avoiding it. It had to be done whether they liked it or not, and they certainly did not.

"Fine." Wade sighed. "Make the call," he said, gesturing for her to hand JT over while she did so.

Zoe passed the little boy to his daddy then took a deep breath as she stood up and pulled her cell out of her pocket. Dialling the PI, she paced across the floor while the phone rang and the guy finally picked up.

"Hi, this is Zoe Wilkes... um, Hart. Candice's daughter," she clarified, feeling stupid that she couldn't even get her own name right.

She missed the smile that came to Wade's lips when he heard her slip. She really had become so stuck in her Bluebell ways this past year, actually thinking of herself more by her daddy's name than the one she originally showed up with. Wade didn't hate that, or the fact that she seemed so dedicated to him and JT either. Sure, he could've done without her calling in some big-shot private investigator to dig up dirt on Carrie-Sue, but in the end, Wade knew Zoe only did that because she cared so much.

Thankfully, the phone call was pretty short. Wade figured there couldn't be much more to say that hadn't already been said and Zoe confirmed it as she rejoined him on the couch.

"He can't be sure exactly what happened, not without digging further into mob business than he's comfortable with. He'd want a heck of a lot more money for that kind of risk and really, what's the point?" Zoe shrugged.

"Can't see one from here, doc," Wade agreed. "So, what we thought is true? She ran to save her life?"

Zoe nodded in agreement. "And dropped JT off here to keep him safe. From what the PI said, I'm pretty sure the guys looking for Carrie-Sue don't even know JT exists."

Wade looked down at his son in his arms and smiled. "Well, I guess as bad as it got, it all worked out in the end," he considered. "I got my boy and he's prob'ly gonna have a better life here in Bluebell than wherever Carrie-Sue woulda drug him with her acting career and all."

"Probably," Zoe agreed. "And at least some day when JT asks, you can tell him a better version of the truth than we thought before. His mom does love him. She didn't leave him behind because she didn't care."

It was some comfort, but not much, Wade thought. Chances were good neither he nor JT were ever going to see Carrie-Sue again either way. That was sad, but at the same time, he couldn't mind all that much. She was most likely safe wherever she was and Wade had no particular yen to see any of his exes again, least of all that particular one right now.

"Well, I can't ever regret knowin' your momma" he told JT then, "'cause without her, I wouldn't have you, bubba," he noted, kissing the top of his head, "but I know for sure that I got better now," he said, looking up at Zoe with a smile.

"Come on, cowboy," she said, grinning back at him. "Let's go eat, then we can get a cab back to the hospital to check on Rose and pick up your car. Not long after that, I think we could both use an early night."

"For once in my life, doc, I really hope you're talkin' about just sleeping," said Wade, dragging himself to his feet, as she did the same, and wrapping an arm around her back.

"Yes, just sleeping," she promised, her arm sliding around his waist as they moved on out of the door, leaning on each other as they headed up to the house for lunch.

"Doctor says I'm going to be just fine," Rose promised, even as Zoe hugged her for a fourth time with tears glistening in her eyes. "What is wrong with her?" she asked Wade over her friend's shoulder.

"We've had a pretty rough couple o' days, all told," he said, yawning even now. "She's just... over-emotional."

"I'm a horrible friend, that's what I am!" Zoe insisted, pulling away from Rose at last. "I have not been paying enough attention to you. If I had, this would never have happened. I would've noticed the symptoms, I should've seen this coming," she said definitely.

"Zoe, come on." Rose rolled her eyes. "I was in the Bluebell Battle with Frederick Dean. I was convinced my stomach ache was just butterflies and stuff. There's no way it would've occurred to anyone that my appendix was waiting to burst on me."

"Yeah, well, if you could just not have anythin' else like this happen on her watch again, I'd appreciate it," said Wade with a smirk. "Doc here really likes to blame herself for this stuff."

"No, I don't," Zoe countered whipping her head around to look at him, "but I do feel bad," she added, switching back to Rose. "I'm just really, really glad you're okay now."

"I'd be even better if I could get a hug outta this bundle of fun," she said, grinning as she reached for JT.

Wade handed him over without pause and the little boy scrambled all over Rose in the hospital bed.

"Hey, baby," she said, cooing over him. "How's my favourite guy?"

"You know when girls said that, they used to be talkin' to me?" said Wade, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Aww, you're still my favourite guy," Zoe insisted, giving him a hug. "But seriously, you cannot drive home like that."

"So, what? You're gonna drive my car?" he said, looking unimpressed.

"You don't trust me?" she checked, tipping her head back to look up at him with an expression that could not be good.

"Baby, of course I trust you," Wade insisted, "but we're talking about my car and..."

"And?"

There was an awkward silence and then Rose spoke up.

"See, JT, this is what an old married couple look like," she told the little boy who giggled at the joke even though he couldn't understand it. "Well, you might as well be, the way you're bickerin' and all," she told Wade and Zoe when they gave her twin unimpressed expressions. "It's cute though."

"We're cute," Zoe said happily, grinning by now.

"Yes, ma'am, we are," Wade agreed, kissing her lips.

"Aww, but you're the cutest, JT." Rose had since become distracted by her young charge and was soon surprised by him too. "Oh my... Guys, has he done this before?" she gasped as she realised JT was now standing up on the bed, albeit holding onto one of her hands.

"Hey, that's an old party trick," Wade insisted. "He walks these days, you know?"

"You walk?" Rose asked JT. "Well, aren't you just the smartest?"

Wade moved to pick his son up off the bed then and place him on the floor, encouraging him to show Rose just exactly how smart he was.

Zoe stepped back a moment and watched the scene play out. The man she loved, his son, and her best friend. Forget what had happened with her mom or Ethan, never mind that she hadn't exactly known Harley, screw the boyfriend that had dumped her without pause or the hospital that said she didn't deserve the fellowship she thought she wanted.

In Bluebell, Zoe had not just found the job she ought to have but more importantly, the family she never even knew she needed. Now, more than ever, she was sure that she made the right choice when she decided to stay right here in Alabama. She never wanted to be anywhere else.

To Be Continued...