"Crap!" I said a loud. I had totally forgotten to call Wade and let him know what was happening. I quickly dialled his number.

"You want that date already, don't ya Doc?" He said jokingly.

"No, Wade, this is serious." I took a deep breath. "Your dad has been admitted to hospital, I don't have the prognosis yet, but you need to come!" I said, getting tearful.

"I'm on way!" He replied and suddenly the line went dead.

I stood up and paced around the waiting room for a bit. I felt horrible, I came back to Bluebell for a fresh start to the rest of my life but I couldn't be there in the way I wanted for the person who I was starting fresh for.

Just as I was about to bug the nurse on duty for the billionth time, I saw Dr Reynolds emerge from Earl's room.

"Dr Reynolds? Do we have a prognosis?" I asked in a rush.

"Not as of yet, ECG was clear, chest x-ray determined bit of fluid in the lungs but nothing of concern," He commented.

"What are you looking at now?" I asked.

"His symptoms include, elevated heart rate, he's running a fever," I nodded, thinking of a possible prognosis. Dr Reynolds disappeared back into the room and I heard Wade coming through the doors.

"Zoe, what's happening? Is he going to be okay?" Wade asked. I could see the panic in his eyes.

"Come sit down," I pulled him over to a couple of seats.

"You're scaring me Doc!" he said.

I took a deep breath and grabbed a hold of his hand. "I found him on your porch, he was writhing in pain from his chest, I suspected cardiomyopathy, which is a heart disease that results from alcohol abuse. However tests have shown up clear and his heart is fine, only showing elevated heart rate."

"SO he's going to be okay?" Wade asked me hopefully.

"I can't tell you that because I'm not sure myself…"

He sighed and walked around for a bit. "How long until we find out anything?" He asked.

"Not until they can find any real leads," I said.

"They're doctors Zoe! They should know!" He yelled at me.

I could feel the tears brim my eyes. I knew he wasn't frustrated at me personally. "I know that, but we are not miracle workers,"

He looked at me and sighed. "I'm going to get some air,"

"I'll come with you," I offered.

"Nope, Alone." He remarked as he departed through the doors.

A few hours had passed and the doctors still couldn't find any complications with Earl. They were focusing on his heart looking for different things that could have lead him to his episode.

Doctor Reynolds once again came out of the makeshift room to give us an update.

"Have you found anything yet?" Wade asked.

"We are going to run some blood tests, to see if anything shows up, however my team and I believe that you're father probably suffered a side effect from too much alcohol, and in the case the results come back clear, like we suspect, he's free to go, he will just have to be watched carefully over the next few days," Dr Reynolds concluded.

"Right," Wade spoke up. "Can we see him?"

Dr Reynolds nodded at Wade. "He's in Room 6"

I looked at Wade, who offered me a small smile and proceeded to go see his father. I sat down in one of the cold hard plastic chairs and dialled Brick's office.

"Yes Dr Hart?" Brick answered.

"Hi Brick, I'm just at the hospital." I replied.

"What? Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine, but Earl Kinsella isn't… Has he come to see you?"

"Yes, he saw me yesterday morning, had a laceration on his thigh, quite infected too but I gave him antibiotics to clear up the infection,"

"Oh no!" I said. "I've gotta go Brick,"

I hung up the phone and raced into the room. I walked over to Earl, and checked his heart rate. His heart rate was back to normal and his fever had dropped.

"What are you doing Doc?" Wade asked me.

"I think I know what the problem is." I replied. I whipped back the sheet that was covering Earl's lower half, only to reveal a bandage and a copper red line travelling towards his upper half. I carefully removed the bandage from his leg to reveal a nasty laceration that was indeed infected.

"Did you know about this?" I asked Wade.

"Uh yeah, he did it the before yesterday, I told him to go to see Breeland," He replied.

Just as I was examining the laceration, Dr Reynolds returned. "What in the world are you doing?" He asked rudely.

"I have a prognosis," I replied, continuing with my check.

"An invalid one, do I need to remind you Dr Hart? We had Mr Kinsella checked for cardiomyopathy which was negative."

I looked at him dead in the face. It hit me, there was no such rules about me being able to practice in this hospital because I hadn't started my job yet, it was because he was an arrogant asshole who thought he was better than me, or at least afraid that I was better than him. "The patient has blood poisoning, he acquired it from the laceration on his thigh. Yesterday Mr Kinsella visited his GP, who prescribed him with a course of antibiotics to clear the infection however since Mr Kinsella is an alcoholic the alcohol prevented the drugs from working and in turn he contracted sepsis." I concluded.

Dr Reynolds looked at me, his mouth opening and closing. "If the patient has said blood poisoning how do you explain the elevated heart rate, and fever?"

"I believe that Mr Kinsella knew something was wrong, and when his son wasn't home, he started panicking thus leading to an anxiety attack!"

The next morning

I walked into the kitchen to fix myself a cup of coffee. The past twenty four hours had been an absolute mess. I left the hospital after Earl was given the all clear; I had barely three hours sleep.

The door closed behind me and I heard the footsteps of Wade. I didn't know if he was still angry or not at me, he hadn't said anything to me after I diagnosed Earl, not even a good-bye when I was leaving.

I turned around to look at him. "How's your dad?"

He sent me an apologetic smile. "Yeah, he's a lot better this morning, he got Jell-O for breakfast, he looked like a little kid on Christmas morning," he chuckled. "And that's because of you Zoe. I'm sorry about last night and the way I treated you."

"No I understand, it can be frustrating," I added.

"How can I make it up to you?" He asked.

My face formed a grin. "How about a date tonight?"

He laughed. "You just can't wait,"

"I can too!" I retorted. "However, I don't want to waste any time because we've lost so much,"

He walked closer to me. "I really want to kiss you now," He told me.

I giggled. "One little kiss couldn't ruin anything," I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing his face closer to mine, I pressed my lips to his, leaving him wanting more.

"Now Miss Hart, that's no way to treat a man!" he joked.

"Well, what can I say? We haven't even been on a date yet…"


Next:

- Zoe and Wade's first date