Hey everyone, welcome to day 21 of the Hart of Dixie countdown to Christmas!

Enjoy!

Zoe giggled, wrapping herself around Wade as they left his room, to head back upstairs to where their families were waiting for them in Zoe's hotel room to start Christmas Dinner, as they wasted more time than they had thought. After one of the more awkward moments that turned out beautiful, they turned the tv on. And like Wade said, another airing of A Christmas Story was playing. This time Wade left her alone so she could watch the movie. She doesn't get what the hype of the movie is all about.

"Nice of you two to join us," Jesse remarked, waiting to dig into the Christmas feast before him.

"We lost track of time," Wade remarked, taking a spot at the table, Zoe headed to her room.

"I've got to change real quick," she commented, shutting her bedroom door, wanting to take her damp clothes off, as they hadn't dried all the way from being in Wade's hotel room. She quickly grabbed a random black dress, tossing a red sweater on over it.

"How was the dance last night?" Jackie asked once she finished saying grace for Christmas dinner.

"It was good," Wade nodded, adding a few pieces of ham to his plate. "We had a blast," he smiled, looking over at Zoe.

"Nothing screams a good time like doing the Running Man to good old Rudolph the red nose reindeer," Zoe laughed.

"Or how about the Macarena to Frosty the Snowman?" Wade asked laughing as he passed plates of food to Zoe around the table.

"Uh no the best was the Cha-Cha slide to 12 days of Christmas," she giggled, taking the mashed potatoes from Wade.

"There was a good Cotton-Eyed Joe moment in there as well," Wade commented, pouring gravy over the mashed potatoes, ham, turkey, stuffing, corn, and the dinner roll on his plate. Zoe found that rather disgusting, and kept the gravy on her plate solely to her mashed potatoes.

"And the moment Santa and two of his elves showed up more than a little tipsy," Zoe smiled, rolling her eyes at how that just about ended the dance. For them it did. When Santa showed up 5 drinks to the wind, they retreated back to her room, to continue watching Christmas movies. The trilogy of Home Alone.

"He did just about crash into the fireplace after he took out the hot chocolate bar," Wade tacked on, shaking his head. "I do hope they were able to salvage the rest of the dance after that," Wade commented, off-handly.

"The dance did end at midnight," Jesse commented, a smirk on his face. "The dance was saved after the fiasco with the drunken Santa. Where did you two go, because you weren't in the room when I came shortly after one?" Jesse asked, keeping his amused laughter to himself.

"We weren't tired after the huge intake of sugar we had consumed at the dance, so we checked out the Christmas lights around the resort, played a little air hockey in the arcade, and watched a movie," Wade retorted, daring his brother to say more. "Why did it take you over an hour to return to the room after the dance ended, Jesse?" Wade challenged his brother.

"We will discuss Jesse's behavior once we get home," Jackie stated, wanting her sons to drop what they are doing before it ended in a fight. The very last thing she wants is to have her sons fighting in front of company on such a blessed holiday for all of them. Christmas is about coming together, not fighting.

"We're happy to hear that you guys had a good time last night at the dance," Earl commented, sending a warm fatherly smile Zoe and Wade's way. "And we will be talking about what you've been up to, Jesse. You've been MIA more than you should have been," Earl stated, looking at his son, waiting for Jesse to say something he shouldn't.

"I was enjoying my time on vacation, much like Wade and Zoe were doing," Jesse challenged his father.

"Except they joined us a few times more than you did," Earl stated. "Now eat up," he told his eldest. Sending Wade a look to keep his mouth quiet when Wade let a small chuckle escape over Jesse getting reprimanded for ditching family on a family vacation.

"Who else are we expecting?" Zoe asked, looking at her mom who sat next to her at the table, the knocking on the door, not stopping.

"No one," Candice frowned, tossing her napkin on the table in front of her as she stood to answer the door.

Zoe watched her mom pull the door to their hotel room open, to reveal the one person Zoe thought she wasn't ever going to see again, standing on the other side. She gave Wade a weak smile when he touched her arm. She focused on the food on her plate and not the whisper yelling coming from her parents.

"It's my dad," she whispered for Wade to hear, seeing the concerned look on his face from the corner of her eye.

"I thought you wanted him here?" He asked, confused as Zoe is acting like she doesn't want to see him.

"I did, I do, I don't… know," she sighed. "I had gotten used to the idea that I wasn't going to be seeing him for another year. Having him showing up unexpectedly like this is shocking and quite the surprise," she rambled out, wanting to be anywhere but where she is.

"I don't know how to feel over this, but he did make an effort for you Zoe, you can always get the answers you want after we leave," Wade suggested, taking a bite of his food.

Nodding Zoe pushes herself from the table and walks over to her parents. Giving her dad a small smile. When she gets close her dad offers a hug and she easily slips into his arms, feeling the warmth and love that can only come with being in her dad's arms.

"Let's hash everything out later, come eat with us, dad," Zoe offers, leading her dad over to the table. "This is Jackie, Earl, Jesse, and Wade," she introduced the Kinsella's to him. "This is my dad, Ethan," she finished the introductions.

Awkward as it was with her dad showing up unannounced, in the surprising way he did, the conversation did flow a bit slowly at first. With everyone finding their footing it didn't take long for things to flow once more with laughter and stories being told around the table. It almost felt normal, like everything was going to be okay. A feeling that's hard to get behind because come tomorrow when they leave, they'll be going back to New York without her dad.

"Do you know what you're going to say to your dad?" Wade asked as they sat on her bed, the door being forced to stay wide open while the adults clean up. Jesse sulking in a chair, Earl making him stay.

"Nope," Zoe sighed, playing with her hands in her lap. "I want to know why he's been avoiding everything when it comes to me, but I don't want to start a fight with him," she explained

"There has to be a way to get the answers you want without starting a fight with him," Wade commented. He did find it weird. He can ask his parents anything, and he can piss his parents off, but they won't fight with him, even if he is looking to have a fight with them when he doesn't get his way.

"Yeah, maybe," she shrugged.

"Wade, we're leaving," Jackie said, stopping in the doorway holding a present. "This is for you, Zoe," she said, handing the present to Zoe. "It was nice meeting you, dear," Jackie told her, pulling Zoe into a hug.

"Thank you," Zoe smiled, hugging the older woman. "It was nice meeting you as well," she shared. Not really sure if she would be seeing Jackie before they all leave over the next couple of days. She'd make time to spend a few hours with Wade before they are set to leave and never see each other again.

"I'll meet you for breakfast, tomorrow at 10?" Wade asked.

"I'll be there," Zoe smiled, sharing a side hug with Wade.

Taking a deep breath, Zoe entered the main part of the hotel room, where both her parents sat, in a very uncomfortable silence, now that their guests have left. "Dad," Zoe said, taking a seat across from her mom and dad.