Author's Note: Hi again. See, I told you it would be longer. I actually had already written this chapter before posting the previous one, but I wanted to space them out a little, especially since my computer time is somewhat limited Thank you to those who reviewed already, and if you have not reviewed the previous chapter, feel free to do so, in spite of the posting of this one. Thank you to Guest for your comment. Yes, jealous Wade is fun. Jealous anybody is fun really, unless it gets too greek tragedy. Now, some of you review as Guest. I get that you do not have an account and that you want to remain anonymous, and believe me, I totally get that. The problem is, I cannot tell you apart. I do not think you are all the same person, and it gets a little confusing. You may call yourself whatever you want, obviously, but I would appreciate if you put something to differentiate yourself from the other people reviewing as guest. Thank you. Also, some of this was written before Blue Christmas aired, some after, just for the record. Enjoy.

Chapter Eleven

By the time Wade got home, he had already imagined four scenarios of how he could kill his brother and get away with it. While they all had their appeal at the moment, he knew he was being dumb. What would killing Jesse achieve anyway? He chuckled to himself a little.

"What's so funny?"

He heard behind him. Jesse. He tried to keep his eyes neutral and not shoot Jesse the death glare that he so badly wanted to. He just shrugged casually.

"Nothin'. Where's dad?"

"Um, at work, I think. Why?"

At work. Which meant getting drunk. As far as Jesse knew, Earl had drowned his sorrows with alcohol for a little bit after their mother died, but had gone back to relatively normal after a month or so. Wade wanted to keep it that way. Sure, Jesse was older, but what would him knowing do, other than screw him up? One of them should have a normal childhood. Besides, Wade wasn't sure Jesse knew how to keep a secret.

Wade sighed and got up.

"Where you going?" Jesse asked.

"Out."

"You just got home."

"I, uh, forgot. I got somewhere to be. A date."

Jesse nodded, "Zoe Hart?"

Wade grimaced, "Shut up."

After he was out of the house, he headed down to the basement. Sure enough, Earl was passed out, surrounded by empty bottles. Wade sighed. He started collecting them, trying to be careful and work around the few broken ones. Is this the house you want to see Zoe Hart? Is this the living situation you want to observe? Is this the family you want to be involved in? He supposed he got it. Jesse was a safe choice. He had all of Wade's charm and none of his cynicism. Wade sometimes wondered what would have happened if Jesse had noticed it first. Would he have stepped in to protect Wade, keeping it hidden? Would he have filled in for Earl at Miller's? Would he have spent nights watching the old geezer, praying he wouldn't choke and not make it to morning … and half wondering if it might be easier if he did. Wade shook that thought quickly.

After he had cleaned up, he shoved Earl with his foot. Earl grumbled, so Wade shoved him again.

"What?"

"Come on dad, time to get up."

"Why's that?"

Wade sighed, "Because I gotta get goin', and I don't want you passed out here while I'm gone."

"Fine. Hand me another bottle then."

"No! You've had enough."

"You don't gotta be so mean about it." Earl grumbled.

"Yeah. I do. I'm in a hurry." Wade said shortly.

"Fine." Earl said, wheezing as he started to stand, "Then what do you suggest I do?"

"How about getting cleaned up. A shower could do you a world of good."

"I don't need to shower"

"I don't have time to argue about this." Wade said, shrugging on his work clothes. "Just promise me you won't go back to sleep."

"Sure."

"Good. And don't … don't answer the phone or the doorbell or anything, okay?"

"Why?" Earl got a mischievous look on his face, "You waiting for a lady friend to call?"

Wade sighed, "No, but it could be about bills, or work, or, ya know, somethin' legal and I just … just don't pick up the phone or answer the door."

"I'm not five you know?" Yeah, no shit. A five-year-old would be easier, Wade thought. And Wade hated kids. "'Sides, I'm the dad here."

Wade shook his head again. He really did not have time to argue about this.

Earl used to work at the Hardware Store, but in Bluebell, everybody interacted with everybody, so after his mom passed, people knew Wade was filling in, and after a couple times, he knew they would start to ask questions. So Wade made up a story about his dad getting a better opportunity in Mobile, and people thought that was great for him, especially since he just lost his wife. He was healing. If only they knew.

After a little searching, Wade found a place called Miller's just outside the town lines that could use somebody with Earl's resume. He filled the thing out, and got Earl the job. When Earl wasn't up to going in, which was more often than not, Wade could cover. It was a big building, and Earl wasn't too high up on the food chain there. His job was mostly manual labor mixed with a bit of paperwork. It was the sort of job where nobody really noticed who was who so long as the work got done. Besides, it was outside of Bluebell.

It didn't take long to figure out that Wade would be filling in pretty much all of the time. But he had school. Meaning "Earl" could only clock half as many hours as the other employees. It would be easier if it were more of a paperwork thing, because he could do that from home, but neither he nor Earl had any particular skills in that area.

Wade was looking into getting a part time job, something local. It wouldn't make as much, but without the commute, he could clock more hours, and he doubted he could hold down this job for Earl much longer anyway. As it was, he was skipping school and failing a couple classes. Plus, even at a place like Miller's, eventually, somebody was bound to notice that a minor was doing the manual labor.

By the time Wade got back, it was five thirty. It had not been a long workday, just a few extra hours. Earl didn't always get hours on Saturdays, and when he did, Wade took full advantage. After all, he could clock more hours Saturday.

All he wanted to do was relax after a long day, but luck never seemed to be on his side. When he walked into the house, he heard Earl slurring and wheezing to somebody on the phone. Great. Just great. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

"Who's on the phone?" Wade asked, trying to keep the agitation out of his voice. He told his dad not to pick up for anybody.

"I am!" Earl said with a cackle, as though it was the funniest thing in the world. It was clear he had had more to drink since Wade left. Not that Wade was really surprised.

Wade sighed, "I meant on the other end." He didn't try to hide his agitation this time.

Earl, while still not as helpful as he could be, seemed to get that Wade was in no mood to joke around, "Some girl. Callin' for Jesse."

Some girl. Could be anybody. Could be Zoe. Weren't they going out in, like, two hours? Why did she need to talk to him so bad now? Did she just need to here his voice or something lame and mushy like that? God, they barely knew each other! Maybe it isn't Zoe. Maybe it's some other girl. Maybe he's done with Zoe.

Either way, he had to get the phone away from Earl.

"Give me the phone," he said firmly.

"You ain't Jesse."

"Just give me the phone!" Wade was getting angry now. He tried to calm himself down. He couldn't let himself get all freaked out.

"Why?"

"Because whoever is on the other end has been hangin' on while we been arguin', and if they haven't hung up, they're probably pretty pissed. It's better if you let me deal with whoever it is, you just … just take a shower, you smell like road kill." and he did.

"I smell fine." Yes, just like you're fine at being a parent, fine at holding down a job, and fine at handling your licker. If that is how you want to define the word, then you definitely smell fine.

"No, you don't." This wasn't his job; it wasn't his responsibility. Why did he have to make sure his own father showered?

"Here, take the phone, I'm gonna go … do, whatever."

'Do Whatever?' that could mean anything. More likely than not, whatever involved alcohol. Great. Wade tried to call after his dad, but Earl didn't turn around. After swearing under his breath, and taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he put the phone to his ear, "Hello." Nothing. Maybe they hung up. "Hello, you still there?"

"Hey." He heard a shy yet familiar voice say. He got that feeling in his stomach that he always seemed to get when he heard her voice, or heard about her, or talked to her, or thought about her, or was near her, or … he shook himself.

"Zoe?" He asked, going for casual.

"Yeah."

Then he realized, she had been hanging on all that time, during the yelling and Earl, and … shit. He winced. Better her than some child services lady, but still. Why did it have to be Zoe? He could practically feel her judging him; small-town hick with the drunken father who doesn't shower. He cleared his throat, "Um, how, uh … how much of that did you hear?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"How much do you want me to have heard?" There was a kindness in her voice, a tone she hadn't used with him since that day at her house when she had hugged him. He remembered how her hair had smelt, then brought himself back to reality. The truth was, while it was nice of her to ask, it basically meant she had heard everything, and she couldn't unhear it, even if he told her to. He snorted at the thought, then decided to change the subject, "What's up?"

"I was actually calling for Jesse. Is he there?"

Right. Jesse. He had forgotten. How could he forget? His dad had told him who she had asked for. He shook his head at his own stupidity. What was it with this girl, making him forget things and getting his hopes up about nothing?

He considered his options. He could tell her Jesse wasn't home, but that seemed like the sort of lie that would come and bite him in the ass later. He knew Jesse was home, but he didn't know where in the house. Maybe if he called for him and he did not answer they could just leave it at that, "Yeah. Yeah, he's around here somewhere. Jesse!"

"Hey." Jesse said, coming into the room. Shit.

"Hey. Phone." Wade said bitterly, handing the offending piece of plastic over.

"You're in a good mood." Jesse said sarcastically.

"Whatever." Wade figured he better leave the lovebirds alone. If he stayed, he'd be tempted to eavesdrop, and with only one half of the conversation, he knew that would give him more questions than answers.

"You want to go on a double date with Zoe and Wade's brother?" George asked, making sure he heard her right.

"Yes." Lemon said, looking through George's closet to pick something for him to wear. "Why, is that so strange?"

"No. Well, kinda. I mean, I didn't know they knew each other."

"Neither did I, but apparently they do." Lemon said, unsure why George seemed to be making such a big thing out of this.

"Does Wade know?"

"That they know each other?"

George shook his head, "No, that Jesse is takin' Zoe out? Does he know? Is he … you know, okay with it?"

Lemon looked at George, confused. He was being a little … strange, "Why wouldn't he be?"

"'Cause Jesse's his brother." George said, trying to be casual about his suspicion.

"And? What, Jesse needs his approval to go on a date?"

"Well, I mean, it's Jesse and Zoe."

"I'm aware of that."

George sighed. He really wanted Lemon to just get the point he was trying to make, but it did not seem like that was going to happen, "I just … I think it would bug him."

"Why?"

George shrugged, "I don't know. It's just a vibe I get I guess. Something about Zoe … he's different with her than he is with most girls."

"What, you think he has a thing for her?"

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"Sweetie, come on, this is Wade we're talkin' about here."

"I know."

"So relax, everybody's fine with this. Now hurry up and put this on, we gotta be at the theatre in three hours, and I don't want to be late." George looked at her like she was crazy, "You never know what's gonna happen. It's better to start early and not have an emergency than to start late and have one."

George rolled his eyes. Well, that's what made her Lemon after all.

"Hey." Wade said as casually as he could. He went to the fridge and grabbed a can of Pepsi, "You want one?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Sure."

Wade tossed a can to Jesse and opened the other one.

"So, uh, what was that about?" Wade asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. This was dangerous territory considering what Jesse knew, or at least thought he knew. But Wade had to ask. He had to know.

"What was what about?"

Did he really not know, or was he just trying to get Wade to cop to something again, "You know, that phone call?"

"Oh." Jesse said. He didn't say anything after that.

Wade sighed, "If you don't want to tell me, fine, but let me know so I'm not standing here waiting for the next hundred years."

Jesse chuckled, "Well, as you know, it was Zoe. She, uh, she called to cancel our date." Wade looked up, his breath catching. She had canceled? Why? He tried to keep his face neutral, but a grin was threatening to make its way onto his face, "Yeah, turns out she doesn't want to go out with me 'cause she's really, really into you. In fact, she asked me to put in a good word for her, but I told her that wasn't necessary."

Wade's face fell, "Very funny." He said sarcastically. Jesse chuckled, and Wade gave him annoyed look. "Shouldn't you go get ready or whatever?"

"Ready?"

"Yeah, you and Zoe are goin' to the movies or something, right?"

"I just told you she canceled." Wade rolled his eyes, "I might have yanked your chain a little about the reason, but she did cancel. Well, postpone."

"She say why?"

"Just that it was complicated. Somethin' about forces beyond her control." Wade smirked. That sounded like her. "Of course, we'll probably reschedule." he turned to Wade, "That is, unless you have any objections?" he raised an eyebrow at Wade, and Wade just scoffed and shook his head.

"She's all yours my friend. All yours."

Zoe had left a message for Lemon, saying Jesse had postponed the date due to some family thing. She could not let on it had been her; Lemon might want to know why. That was far too risky. She made up the family excuse because she got the impression that Lemon was the sort of person who would go after people who had "wronged" her friends, and Lemon confronting Jesse would be just as bad as telling Lemon thinking it was her.

So, instead, Zoe spent her Saturday with Harley. She almost wished she had sucked it up and gone out. Being in a date-like setting with George could not possibly be any more awkward that a Saturday night "family dinner." Harley had ordered take-out from this place called Fancies because Zoe had said she wanted to stay in, and now they were just sitting there, staring at each other. Zoe brought her fork to her mouth and tried to chew as loudly as she could to drown out the deafening silence.

"So," Harley said, clearing his throat, "Did you have a nice time at the Breeland's?"

Hm. How to answer that, "Yeah, we, uh, watched movies."

"Oh?"

Zoe was fake-smiling so wide she felt like the corners of her mouth were going to fall off her face. This was torture. It shouldn't be this hard. He was her father for god's sake! He was her flesh and blood. That had to mean something to her. She was a woman of science, always had been. Genetics should mean everything to her. Medically, this man was her father. Why couldn't that be enough? Ethan Hart's face flashed through her mind, smiling at her encouragingly. She couldn't do this. She had a father. And he was gone. She couldn't just replace him with some guy who shared her DNA. It wasn't right. Sure, her dad had been distant near the end, but now she understood why, and for the majority of her life, they had been close. They had been really close. He had snuck her into labs so she could see stuff first hand and tell her stories about the hospital. He always got sheepish when he saved the day, saying he didn't want to be arrogant, or teach her to be, but she thought he deserved to toot his own horn. She thought he was amazing. She wondered if things would have ever gone back to normal. Would he have adjusted to the idea? Would they have gotten close again if he hadn't … she made the thought stop. She would not let herself finish it. Finishing that thought led to bad, dangerous places that she couldn't go.

"Zoe?" she heard someone ask. Then she remembered where she was, and realized she had probably been silent for a while. "Are you okay?" he was looking at her with such concern, a father's concern.

"I'm just … not very hungry. Can I be excused?"

She pushed her chair back before he answered, "Do you want to talk? Is there something-"

"I should call Lemon. There's this assignment we're working on-"

"You just saw Lemon."

"And I promised I'd call tonight."

"Surely that can wait a couple minutes."

He was trying to be sensitive and stern at the same time. He wanted to find that balance. It was a balance all parents searched for. Her father still struggled, and he had had thirteen years of practice. Then she started to get angry. Ethan Hart put in thirteen years; years of diapers and teething, chickenpox and the flu, puberty, her first period, her first teenage-temper-tantrum. This guy didn't get to swoop in looking at her all concerned and take his place. The concern in his eyes was a father's concern, and DNA or not, he was not her father. He didn't raise her; he barely knew her. And sure, that wasn't his fault, because her mom had kept her a secret from him, but that did not change the fact that she had a dad who she loved, and who had just died. Harley Wilkes had no right to just try to be her father. He father, her real father, deserved more than that.

Harley was still standing there, waiting for her to say something, but she no longer cared. He was blocking the way to the stairs. She couldn't get up to her room, but it wasn't really hers anyway. She turned around and before Harley could process what was happening, she went through the kitchen door and out the back.

It was pretty late when the phone rang, but Wade hadn't been sleeping anyway. Well, he had, but not well.

"Hello?"

"Wade?"

"Dr. Wilkes?" Wade asked, confused, rubbing the sleep from his eye.

"I'm sorry to bother you at this hour, but I was just wondering if you knew where Zoe was?"

Wade's eyes shot open, "What is she … is she like missin' or somethin'?"

"She's …" Harley paused. Wade could tell the man was panicked, but did not want to let on. Considering Wade was slightly panicked too, he decided he would help him out.

"I'm sure she's fine. Not like there's any dangerous axe murderers livin' in town." He heard Harley react slightly, "I mean, nighttime in Bluebell can get confusin' if you ain't from around here. She probably just got a little lost. If you want I can go out and look for her." It did not really require an answer. If Zoe was missing, Wade was going out to look for her, with or without Harley's blessing, but it might give Harley peace of mind to know he was going.

"It's pretty late…"

Wade could tell that Harley was trying to let Wade off the hook. He thought this was all about him doing Harley a favor. It wasn't, "Not for rowdy teenagers on Saturday nights. In fact, I was just goin' out anyway."

"I don't want to ruin your night."

"It's fine. Honest Dr. Wilkes, I'm happy to do it. Be like a scavenger hunt; those are usually pretty fun." Wade actually hated scavenger hunts, but he was going to say what he had to. He wanted to calm Harley down.

"Well, if you're sure."

"Night Dr. Wilkes. I'll bring her home safe."

Author's Note: Hey. See, I told you this one would be longer. I really enjoyed writing it.

The Kinsella family background stuff is always fun to write, especially with the aid of Blue Christmas, though I didn't change a lot after it aired. Does anybody know what kind of job Earl is qualified to do (or was before his wife past)?

The George/Lemon scene was a little hard, because I wasn't sure exactly how much I wanted George to have noticed as far as Wade and Zoe. Plus, there's the whole issue of George's feelings, and I do not know where I am going with that yet.

The Zoe/Harley thing was not exactly planned, but I felt like I needed to do more scenes with them, and then it all just sort of happened. I have started on the next chapter, and I think you will be pleased.

Please let me know what you think.

Have a nice day.