Chapter Five

"Mornin' Doc." A voice said.

Zoe tried to sit up, but her head was throbbing, and the throbbing multiplied by about a thousand the moment her head left the pillow.

"Easy there." She recognized the voice now as Wade's. He handed her a glass of water and she took small, nervous sips.

"What happened?"

"Ya passed out."

Zoe shook her head, but that just made her head throb more.

She groaned.

"Oh, this is all my fault." Lemon said.

"A little." Wade said. His voice was slightly harsh, but then he covertly winked at Zoe and she smiled slightly.

"Hey, now, come on. Let's not go blaming anybody." Lavon said, stepping in to defend his wife. Lemon smiled at his protectiveness.

"Well, if she hadn't gone and thrown that party, Zoe here wouldn't have felt overwhelmed by all those people she could not remember."

"I was trying to help. She needs to know her friends are supportin' her. Besides, the doctor said we need to surround her with familiar things."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean shove a thousands strangers down her throat."

Zoe groaned again.

"Maybe y'all should stop yellin'. Zoe's been through enough without you giving her a migraine." George said. Zoe had not realized he was here. She smiled at him appreciatively. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Wade shift slightly, as if he were suddenly uncomfortable.

"Look, I really appreciate what you were trying to do with the party, and I appreciate you sticking up for me. You're both good friends." Lemon smiled, and Wade nodded. "George is right though, my head is already kind of throbbing, and I kind of just want to relax and get my bearings."

Everybody nodded. Zoe noticed that Wade's face had fallen a little during her last sentence.

As all her friends headed for the door, she called out, "Wade!" he stopped, took a deep breath, and pivoted on her heels until he was facing her, "Could you stay with me for a bit?"

Wade looked at her. He knew he should say no, but he couldn't. She looked so helpless. And even if she hadn't been, he never did learn to say no to Zoe Hart.

"Why not?" he said, shrugging as if he could care less. He sat down on a chair across from her.

"So, did you guys call a doctor in?"

"Yeah. Brick took a look at you."

"Uh, Brick?"

Wade laughed, "Right, that's Lemon's dad, the other doctor in town … and not the best by a long shot."

Zoe smirked, "You sure are confusing."

"How's that?"

"Well, I'm in the hospital and you're my most frequent visitor, I get out, you make sure I feel safe settling in, then, you're AWOL for a few days, you avoid me at my party, I pass out, and suddenly, you at my bedside complimenting me again. What, do you just have a thing for girls with injuries?"

Wade smirked at her, but Zoe noticed it was a little halfhearted in comparison to what she'd seen of his smirks since she woke up in the hospital.

They sat there for a while. Neither of them said anything.

"I wanted to, ask you, I mean, I guess I don't know how to phrase it," she laughed at herself, "Guess I'm not the most eloquent person, huh? I just, when you were not here, it felt weird, and wrong, and I thought I saw you through the window, and you looked sad. Sometimes, we're talking, and I say something, or somebody else does and you get all … uncomfortable." Wade looked at her wide-eyed. Maybe when her memories had fallen out, perception took their place, because lord knew, she never used to be this perceptive when it came to him. "Anyway, I guess, I was just wondering … if maybe I did something, if I upset you, or offended you, if you were mad-" Wade started to laugh. Zoe looked up at him startled, "What?" she said, her tone slightly offended.

"Nothing," Wade said, trying to make himself sound more serious, "it's just, I uh," he started rubbing the back of his neck, an old nervous habit he had never been able to shake. She couldn't really think that he was mad at her, that there was anything she could possibly do to make him keep his distance. Well, okay, there was one thing, but it wasn't her fault, just her decision. "Well, trust me, I ain't mad at you."

Zoe breathed a sigh of relief, "Well, glad we got that out of the way."

"So, can I ask you something now?" Zoe nodded, "Why's you ask me to stay with you?"

"Well, I just, you know, didn't want to be alone."

"No, why did you ask me to stay with you?"

Zoe was quiet for a minute. She did not exactly know how to answer, "Well, I guess, you looked sad, like you thought I didn't want you here."

"And what, George, Lemon and Lavon didn't look just as sad?"

"You're different."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know, I just … ever since I woke up and saw you in the hospital, I knew I could trust you, I knew, somehow, that you would always be there for me. I feel … comfortable around you. For a minute I even thought maybe we were …" she trailed off.

"We were, what?"

Zoe shook her head, "It's nothing."

Wade decided to let it drop. A part of him was dying to know, but the other part was a little scared of the answer.

"You want somethin' to eat? I can run to the kitchen."

Zoe shook her head slowly, trying not to cause it to hurt again, "Just stay with."

And he did.

Rose sat on the park bench in the middle of town, twitching anxiously. She had not been allowed to see Zoe since she passed out. It was driving her crazy, not knowing what was going on. She still could not believe how fast Wade had sipped across the room to catch her. He could be so heroic, though he would never admit it. That was the thing about Wade, when it came to his sexual reputation or how he talked to girls, you could not find a more arrogant person, but when it came down to real stuff, stuff that mattered, he was humble as pie. Everybody in Bluebell was a good neighbor, of course, but Wade, he was something else. He kind of reminded Rose of Ivanhoe, popular with the ladies, heroic, with a soft spot for damsels in distress. Like when Zoe fist moved to town. Almost everybody had shunned her, but Wade had been a friend to her, even when she insisted he only made things worse and he called her a maniac. Whether it was catching Zoe Hart as she collapsed, or talking his dad off a roof every month, no matter how tired he was of it, there was no question: he was a true hero.

"Hey." Rose heard a voice behind her called. It was a voice she knew well. It belonged to none other than Fredrick Dean, the guy she had been majorly crushing on through most of high school. He had never seen her like that thought, they were sort of friends, and had things in common, but he had been crazy about Magnolia Breeland, and even after she had broken up with him, breaking his heart, he had been hung up on her. He never mentioned he to Rose, and he got weird if she ever brought her up, thought she rarely did. Even before the Fredrick Dean rivalry, Rose had never liked Magnolia. It did not matter anymore though, because Magnolia had gone off to New York for college, and Rose was over Fredrick Dean, so it was all just high school memories.

"Hey." She replied, smiling her bright, infectious smile.

"You seem twitchy." Rose shrugged, "Thinkin' about Zoe?" Rose looked at him surprised. He rolled his eyes, "I was there too you know."

Rose nodded, "It's just so bizarre, seeing her like this. She's a doctor, and she's always been so strong. Now suddenly she's passin' out. I mean, she's my best friend. Ever since my aunt left, she's basically been all I had."

"That's not true." Fredrick Dean said comfortingly.

"I guess you're right. I mean, Lavon is nice to me. Not really a close friend though. Not somebody I can always count on."

"I promise you, there is someone, other than Zoe Hart, who no matter what, he will always be there for you."

Rose sighed, "Yeah, there is Wade." Fredrick Dean's face fell, and he sighed, frustrated. Rose stood up and flipped her hair back, "Thanks for listening." She said, the walked away without looking back at him. He sighed again as he watched her go. She just didn't get it.

By the time Zoe woke up, it was pretty late. She did not know how late, but it was dark out. She could barely make out Wade, sitting in the chair near her bed. As her eyes adjusted, she noticed he was watching her intently. She wondered if he knew she was awake.

"Why are you still up?" she asked.

He seemed a little startled by her question, which led her to believe that he had not noticed her waking.

"I'm just, uh, keeping an eye on you." he said, placing his hand behind his neck.

"You like playing guardian angel?"

"Trust me, I'm no angel."

"I know."

He looked at her, slightly offended. Or maybe it was just mock offense. She could not tell, "Wha'd'ya mean by that?" He asked.

"Just that in our conversations, I've noted a little devil."

He laughed, "Well, you always were pretty quick-witted."

Zoe smiled. She was quiet for a minute.

"Wade?"

"Hm?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?" This time, he seemed really surprised.

"Why would you ask a thing like that?"

"Well, I guess I was curious. I mean, I haven't seen you with anyone."

He got up and started pacing, his smile seeming a little to forced "Why are you asking questions. You know you ain't supposed to do that."

"About me, not you." Wade shook his head, frustrated. He didn't say anything. "Well, come on, I don't see why you'd have to keep something from me about you, unless I was-"

There was a knock at the door. Wade froze. He looked somehow relieved and disappointed at the same time. Zoe herself just kept getting more and more confused.

After a couple more knocks, Wade headed over to the door and opened it up, revealing Rose Hattenbarger.

He smiled his charming Wade smile, "Hey kid." He said.

She scowled good naturedly, then went passed him.

"Um, I don't recall invitin' you in." he said teasingly.

"Doesn't matter. It ain't your house." She called to him over her shoulder. She went over to Zoe and stood over the bed. Wade flipped the light-switch on. "Oh Zoe. How are you? I can't believe it. Look, if I did anything-"

"Rose, maybe you shouldn't go all … Chatty-Cathy on Zoe right now. That's the kind of thing that's gonna make her fall again, and I'm getting a little tired of catching damsels in distress."

"Hey, I am not a damsel." It was a knee jerk response, but then the other part registered, "Wait, you caught me?" she was giving him that same grateful smile she used to give George Tucker, and the thought made him light up for a second. He felt like flying. Then, he felt like scum. His face fell, and Zoe, who had been looking at him with such trust, looked confused.

"Oh, boy." The words came from Rose. Wade turned to her, and saw her looked at him, at Zoe, then back at him. Her eyes met his, and he knew, she had noticed.