Hey everyone,
Thank you so much for all the reviews of the last chapter. It means a lot.
Hope you like this one too.
Enjoy!
"Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I should've waited. But what good would that do?"
She managed to find a flight home quickly. Thoughts raced through her mind. She just wanted to get home. "What do I do? I have no idea what to do now. Call him? Wait? And if we talk ... what else can I say?" She couldn't define exactly what she was feeling.
She wasn't angry. She knew that she dropped a bomb on him. But she was upset that he didn't stay to talk to her. He left her there alone. That's exactly what he did when she confessed her love for him. "What does he think? that i'm Not surprised? that I wanted it to happen like that?"
She remembered the note she had left him:
"I'm sorry, I couldn't stay. I just wanted to get home. Please don't hate me. I understand how you're feeling. Take your time… please call me"
She decided to try to sleep during the flight ... she realized that she had to start taking care of herself more.
XXXXX
She arrived early to Bluebell and decided to go directly to the practice. She really didn't want to go back to the carriage house, she was afraid of the memories. She was looking for a distraction, and she knew that if she stays alone with her thoughts it would break her and she couldn't afford to break down now.
She achieved her goal. She managed to keep herself busy throughout the day with patients and practice issues. Annabeth realized that something was wrong, but she didn't press her. Zoe didn't leave the practice at all, she didn't want to run into anyone.
XXXXX
It's was time to close the practice, Zoe arranged her things and walked towards the exit. She opened the door and was speechless. He was there, sitting on the steps waiting for her. He heard her coming out and stood up, his body seemed to tense and his eyes were tired. Her eyes widened in shock. Her heart pounded and threatened to get out from her body. They just looked at each other without anyone breathing a word or moving. He slowly began to approach her, she looked at him uncertainly, he pulled her to him, her head rested on his chest and his hands surrounded her. She held him tightly as if her life depended on it. She inhaled his scent and felt herself relaxing. They stood so for several minutes. "We need to talk," he whispered softly in her ear. "Let's go to my house." They began to walk toward her house, walking slowly, they kept a distance between them and avoided touching each other.
XXXXX
They did not speak all the way home. When they arrived at the carriage house, they entered and sat on the couch looking at each other but still made sure to keep the distance between them. Wade was the first to break the silence and start the long-awaited call.
"You ran away ..."
"I ran away? I told you I'm pregnant and you just went without even looking at me," she muttered
"I didn't run away. You know I had to work last night," he hissed
"Yes, I know. I was supposed to come with you," she said bitterly
"I needed a moment to myself, to be alone, to absorb everything that happened there. I came back after three hours and you weren't there."
"I wasn't sure you would come back," she whispered. He looked at her strangely.
"So this is how it's going to be from now on, Zoe?"
"I wasn't sure that there would still be a 'from now on' " she stammered softly.
Wade sighed. He put his hands on his head.
"I thought we passed it," he told her
"I was scared, Wade. This was a complete surprise for me. I didn't want you to think I did it on purpose, that I wanted to tie you down. That I did it so you would come back earlier from New York" she whispered quietly while tears began to fill her eyes .
Wade looked at her, his eyes ranged from shock to disappointment.
"Really Zoe? That's what you think of me? Because if so, I'm not sure what I'm doing here."
For several minutes there was silence. They didn't dare to look at each other.
"I came back after three hours and you weren't there. You can't run away every time you're afraid or when thing aren't going according to your plan."
He paused.
"I… Are you angry?" She stuttered
He sighed again. "Yes, I am angry, but not about what you think. Just let me finish." She nodded and he continued, " what were you thinking? going out at night, alone, leaving only a note and running away ? It's like we're going backwards to problems we had in the past. You got something on your mind? Talk to me about it. If you don't talk, I won't know that something is wrong, and we would be back to the same situation, and once again, you would run away. I don't know if I can handle it." He paused for a second and looked at her carefully. She looked tired.
"You're killing me this way." He continued. "I know you were scared and thought that running away was the easiest solution." He took a deep breath. Her heart shrank. "I called you a few times and you haven't answered," he sighed.
"I was on the flight," she interrupted him, tried to explain.
He closed his eyes for a few moments. When he opened them he looked at her, his gaze wasn't clear. She tilted her head down. He slowly ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "You had me worried so much." He gave a little sad smile, he was tired too. "This can't go on like this."
He paused again.
"It can't be that way, especially now that we're having a child together ..." he whispered softly, Zoe immediately raised her head and stared at him. He caught her reaction.
"Look Zoe, I'm not going to lie, I freaked out. I'm still freaking out right now. The last few hours ... I have never had so many different thoughts in mind." His eyes were puzzled. "I think I understand now how it is like to live with your head," she couldn't help smiling. "At first I didn't understand how it happened, and what we did wrong, but on the way here I had plenty of time to think about everything and I realized it doesn't matter.
You have to know that I'm not angry about the pregnancy. I can't be angry about that. I'm also not angry that you didn't tell me as soon as you've discovered because I know you and I can imagine what you were going through, alone."
"I told Annabeth," she snapped. He smiled. "Well, of course you did. I wasn't expecting anything else. "
He moved closer to her.
"I think it still doesn't resonate with me ... and it will take time before it happens, I guess you're feeling the same way. I have no idea what to do next. All I know is that I need to be here so we can freak out about it together"
tears kept running down her cheeks. She moved closer and hugged him.
"Besides, how hard could it be?" He grinned, she looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Well, fine. We have no idea what we are doing, but we'll manage. We can talk endlessly about how we are not ready, but that doesn't change the fact that this is happening"
Zoe took a deep breath and tried to organize the thoughts in her head and what exactly she was going to say
"I know it won't be easy, it wasn't in my plans either, at least not in the near future, I always knew I wanted children, but I thought it was going to happen when… well, it doesn't matter. But it happened and I admit that with all the fear and concern that I have at the moment, I am a bit happy ...maybe very happy" she said softly, Wade took her hand in his.
"I love you, Wade, and I know we can do it right. I know that we have many things to deal with and we will. Now, I imagine you have a million questions but can it wait until tomorrow morning? I'm exhausted "
"Yes, of course. But Tomorrow I have to go back to New York," he noted. She sighed
"It's okay, I was expecting it" she was a little disappointed
"I have to, today I had the day off but I have to go back and figure out what will happen next ..."
"It's alright, do what you need, I'm here and nothing will happen to me." He nodded.
"And Wade. I'm sorry I worried you so much, you know I didn't mean to"
"I know."
"So have you eaten anything today?" He questioned her
"Worried already?" she frowned
"Never stopped"
A smile covered her face. She knows how much he cares for her and loves her.
"Yes, I ate, Annabeth took care of me, you can relax," she squeezed his hand lightly.
He pulled her to her feet, "Let's go to bed," he suggested. Half an hour later they were asleep.
XXXXX
Zoe woke up the next morning to an empty bed. She was frightened but then she noticed the note that was placed on the pillow next to her
"Good morning babe, I didn't want to wake you. I'm on the way to New York, I'll update you when I get there. Let me know if you need anything, anything !"
She relaxed. She realized that he needed to be there and she supported him, but deep down she hated the idea. She really wanted him to be with her. "Only two months," she told herself.
XXXXX
Like the day before, today she spent most of her time at the practice. She did everything to distract herself. She hasn't been in the mood to see people.
She returned to her home in the evening and saw from the outside that the lights were on. "Okay, that's weird. I thought I turned off all lights this morning," she thought to herself.
She opened the door and her eyes widened in surprise
"What are you doing here?" She said in a squeaky voice
"What do you think I'm doing here?" Wade smiled at her
"But how? what about the two months?" she stuttered and sat next to him in bed
"We've reached a special agreement. During last week they managed to understand most things, so we agreed that I will continue to advise them from here, I will be available to answer their questions, or anything else, and once a month I'll go there just for a weekend to see how everything is going for them and monitor a bit" he sounded confident
Zoe was speechless.
"I ... thank you," she hugged him tightly.
"Hey, look at me. You didn't really think I would leave you here alone, right? Or that I would miss these months? Not a chance," Once again, she didn't know what to say. She hugged him again.
He looked very tired. Obviously, what can be expected from a person who flew from Alabama to New York back and forth in one day?
"But Wade ... this is important to you. This is your dream"
He took a deep breath and stared into the air.
"Look Zoe, I enjoyed it and I loved this opportunity, especially since it was for a short period, but if it was for a longer period, there is no way I would agree. Bluebell is my home. The Rammer Jammer, that's all I've ever wanted and I was lucky enough to get it and maybe I'll have luck again in the future and I will get more offers"
"It's not luck," she stated firmly, his eyes directed at her, he was surprised. "Wade, this is the result of you working so hard. You earned it rightfully. I know it wasn't easy at all and I know that I'm so proud of you."
Now it was his turn to be speechless. He closed the small distance between them "Thanks Doc, it really means a lot to me." He told her before locking her lips with his, his hands moved to grab her waist and he brought her to him.
They slowly broke away from the each other.
"Speaking of the Rammer Jammer ... Let's go feed you"
"Yes, please !" she exclaimed excitedly.
He laughed and kissed her forehead. They both got up and left the house.