A/N: Thanks for the continued supportive reviews, lovely reader peops. Glad y'all are liking my canon alterations so far ;)

(for disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 4

"Hey, doc. Wow, you really look like you could use a drink."

Zoe sighed and leaned heavily on the bar. "You have no idea," she told Wade without hesitation. "It has been a really, really long day. Most people are still kind of skittish about seeing a new doctor, even after the news of Mabel's successful delivery spread, but I think that might just all change after the breakthrough I had today."

"This wouldn't have anythin' to do with Cole Maliska's tick paralysis now, would it?" asked Wade, reaching for the wine bottle and pouring out a healthy glassful.

"It would." Zoe smiled big. "See, his wife was all panicked, and the guy was completely paralysed from the waist down. I mean, at first, I was thinking this had to be really serious, probably Guillan-Barre or something. You know, that's usually fatal, right?"

"I did not, but go on tellin' me about it," said Wade encouragingly, putting the glass of wine down near her hand and leaning on the bar to listen.

Zoe was thrilled at the opportunity to share, even if she knew this was someone who probably hadn't even heard of Guillan-Barre before. It didn't matter so much. She had a friend who wanted to hear about her medical triumph. A good-looking friend that smiled at her a lot. There was no bad there.

"So, just as I'm about to call for an ambulance and prepare Ethel Maliska for the worst, I remembered something I read in Harley's old notes. I don't know whose file it was exactly, but he did talk about tick paralysis. So, I looked up the symptoms just to double check, confirmed with Ethel that her husband had been out hunting, looked for the tick and pulled it right out. Ten minutes later and everything was fine," she said happily, taking a long drink from her wine glass. "Oh, and you should have seen the look on Brick's face when he got back and heard what happened! It was amazing!"

"I'll bet it was," said Wade absently, his eyes decidedly not on Zoe anymore as they seem to follow somebody else's movements somewhere behind her.

"You okay?"

"I am, but I'm not so sure about Betty Breeland. She looked awful strange and she was headed in the direction of the ladies' room."

"Okay, well, maybe we should check, just to be sure," she decided, abandoning her wine and hurrying around the bar towards the bathroom.

Wade gave it a moment's thought and then followed. Not that he could or would go busting into the ladies' room, but he figured if something bad was happening, he probably shouldn't be too far off. He started to rethink that strategy after Zoe disappeared through the door and suddenly he was just some weirdo loitering outside the ladies' room. He was just about to walk away when Zoe suddenly yelled to him.

"Wade, get in here!"

He wasn't quite ready for the sight that met his eyes or the rapid-fire information that Zoe was giving him regarding calling an ambulance, swiftly followed by Betty Breeland insisting that he shouldn't. When suddenly they were talking about MS, Wade was stunned. He didn't know much about medical stuff, but he knew damn well that was not good. He also thought it was something mostly older folks got, a fact Zoe was quick to confirm in her conversation with Betty, while she helped her up off the linoleum. She was so wobbly, Wade wasn't sure whether he should offer his assistance too.

"I'm fine," Betty insisted, "or I will be. These spells usually pass almost as fast as they come on..."

"That may be true," Zoe agreed, "but you need rest and that means you can't perform in the parade tomorrow."

"But I have to. You don't understand. It's such a big event, the last of the season for the Belles. I can't just drop out."

"Come on, Betty, just listen to the doc," Wade advised. "Now, she may not know the big deal this whole parade thing is for the Belles and all, but I do. I get it, okay? Lemon will prob'ly blow a fuse and everythin', but is it really worth riskin' your health for?"

He was pretty sure he shouldn't have intervened, though the fact Zoe looked kind of relieved and even grateful that he had didn't suck. Betty seemed uncertain yet, until the good doctor offered to give her some fake diagnosis to pass along to Lemon. God only knew what a glenoid labrum tear was, but if it worked, that was all that really mattered.

Next thing he knew, Zoe was offering to take Betty back to the practice to get her a sling to really sell the part. Wade said he should probably get back to work if they had everything covered. Zoe smiled real nice at him when she told him they did, but thanks for everything.

She really was something to look at, and on top of that, just an amazing doctor and person, far as Wade could tell. Not that he thought for a minute she would be looking at him the way he was looking at her, smart girl like her and all, but he figured it might just be worth a shot. He would be kicking himself forever if he didn't at least try to see what could be between him and Zoe.

"Oh, and I'll catch up with you later to work on the parade float," she said from the door. "Lavon did tell you I was going to help out with that, right?"

"He did not, but I appreciate the extra pair o' hands."

One more smile and Zoe was gone from his sight.

"Now that is something to look forward to," Wade said to himself as he slipped back behind the bar to see who needed drinks.


"So, I think we have firmly established that float building is not exactly in my wheelhouse." Zoe sighed, rubbing her hands together and finding, unsurprisingly, the red paint was just not coming off. "Sorry I wasn't much help."

"Hey, you did your best," Wade assured her, adjusting the shirt he had thrown over his shoulder as they walked along together. "I don't imagine New York type supersonic space surgeons are much called on to build parade floats, right?"

"Supersonic space surgeon?" Zoe echoed, biting her lip so she didn't laugh. "Seriously?"

"What? Geez, doc, how should I know what the real words are? I know what a doctor is and then I am out. Unlike some, I didn't get such a fancy education. Just your basic Kindergarten thru twelfth grade, that's all."

The way he said it wasn't exactly self-deprecating, but there was no way in hell Zoe was going to make any comments about Wade's lack of formal education as compared to her own long journey through academia. He was such a nice guy, so friendly and helpful from the first moment she arrived in town, or four miles outside of town to be more specific. He was also insanely hot, which was every kind of distracting, especially when they were working on the float. In his tight white T-shirt, lifting, carrying, bending and stretching, she got all the best views of the guy. There wasn't an inch of him that wasn't totally edible.

"Zoe?"

"Huh? What? I'm fine," she said fast, realising too late how dumb her reaction had been. "Sorry, guess I'm just a little tired. Were you saying something or...?"

"Nothin' important," Wade assured her, stopping walking and turning to face her.

That was when Zoe realised, they were back on the plantation, right outside the gatehouse, in fact. She really must have been distracted for a good long while to not know they were home, but she wasn't about to admit as much. Wade might have asked what was on her mind and then she would have to tell him, causing the highest level of embarrassment possible.

"So, thank you for walking me home, I guess?" he joked, smiling widely.

"Oh, you are more than welcome," she countered, as seriously as she could, keeping the bit going, even though it was kind of lame. "So, I guess I should..." she said then, hiking her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the carriagehouse on the other side of the pond.

"I guess." Wade nodded. "'Course, if you had a mind to come inside a while, I wouldn't exactly object."

The look in his eyes was unmistakable and Zoe couldn't deny she was tempted, but she knew it was better to resist. After all, she wasn't the one night stand type, which was doubtless all Wade was really looking for, and if not, it still couldn't make much of a difference. A year. That was all the time she had to spare for Bluebell, and then she was leaving, back to New York where she belonged.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she said, shaking her head, wondering when her voice got so soft - probably around the time Wade got so close.

"Really? 'Cause it sounds like a fine idea to me."

Zoe swallowed hard. "Well, you know, I did walk you home. So, I guess if you wanted to give me a kiss goodnight..."

She was half-joking, but only half, maybe not even as much as that. She couldn't go leaping into bed with Wade Kinsella, she just couldn't. She had only known him a few days, and there was no future in it, it would be insane, but one kiss? What harm could that really do? She realised fast she was about to find out as Wade slipped his hand into her hair, the other at her waist, easing her closer.

"Goodnight, doc," he said softly, before finally covering her lips with his own.

She wasn't quite sure what she was expecting. Her memories of kissing Wade the night she was drunk were fuzzy at best and she was well aware he was trying not to respond then. This time was different and given Wade's reputation she was braced for something pretty epic as far as kisses went. He certainly didn't disappoint, to the point where, when it seemed like maybe he was about to pull away, Zoe put her arms around his neck and locked them tight, throwing herself into the moment for just as long as it lasted. After a while, when she started to get lightheaded and was even beginning to wonder if a one night stand would really be so bad, she made herself pull away.

"Okay," she said, gasping in air. "I, uh... Yeah, I really need to go now."

She turned and walked away just as fast as her legs would carry her in the direction of the carriagehouse, not looking back for even a second. Wade never said a word and, quite honestly, she was glad. If he had, she might have turned around. If he had offered her the chance to stay a second time, she might even have caved.

"Where is your brain?" she asked herself in muttered tones, just as she reached the door to her own house and went inside. "Stupid, stupid," she continued to tell herself, going so far as to smack herself in the forehead as she landed on her back on the bed.

Of course, as she replayed the epic kiss she just experienced with Wade, she realised that, as stupid as she may be for getting into something with a veritable stranger from Alabama, she couldn't exactly regret what had happened. Wade was even better at kissing than he was at building floats. Better than any other guy she had been close with before. Maybe the stupid thing wasn't kissing him. Maybe it was saying no to a whole lot more.

Zoe shook her head and stood up fast from the bed. "Cold shower," she told herself firmly, marching straight to the bathroom.

She hoped rather than believed it would work!


She was avoiding him. Zoe knew it was stupid and childish, but she couldn't help it. Two cold showers in the last twenty-four hours had done nothing to keep her from thinking about Wade, even dreaming about him the night before, and that was not good. Actually, it was very, very good, but she knew she just couldn't go there. Wade was great, but he was not at all serious about her, Zoe was sure on that, and even if he were, she couldn't get involved, she just couldn't. Mostly, she was pretty sure Wade wanted to get her into bed, which would be fine, if she was that type of girl, but she just wasn't.

At least the parade went off without a hitch. Zoe wasn't exactly surprised to find that Betty was all dressed up ready to dance on the Belle float, despite all the warnings, but then she saw Wade talking with Lemon. God only knew what he said to her, but before Zoe could go rushing over to all-but demand Betty take her good, sound medical advice, Lemon was the one to tell her cousin she couldn't be a part of the parade after all and that Annabeth Nass would be taking her place.

Zoe didn't get a chance to ask what happened. The parade was starting and Lavon was hurrying her along, encouraging her up onto the mayor's own float, complete with actual crimson tide. Zoe did as she was asked, forced to wait until the parade was over to finally confront Wade.

Dragging him off to the side where no-one could hear, she was quick to ask what had happened. "What did you say to Lemon? Please tell me you did not tell her about Betty's condition, because that is not okay. I know you're not bound by doctor-patient confidentiality, but I am, and you only know what you know because I called you into a situation that-"

When his hand suddenly slipped behind her head and his lips covered hers, Zoe had a momentary flash of determination to push him away, but that was all it was. She was actually horribly disappointed when Wade pulled away himself, all of a few seconds later.

"What?" he said, shrugging one shoulder. "You were freakin' out. After last night, it seemed to me like a fine way to get you to stop."

Before Zoe could get her bearings enough to respond to that, Wade carried on talking.

"Look, I didn't tell Lemon a damn thing about Betty's medical condition or whatever. I just said maybe her little cousin might be feelin' a might delicate this morning, not fit for Belle duties. Now she's gonna think Miss Betty had too much to drink last night, prob'ly gonna think I had a hand in it too, but my reputation proceeds me, doc, and I got no problem with that. It was better than tellin' the truth, which I knew woulda got you into a whole heap o' trouble, and it was a damn sight better than a girl gettin' herself hurt for the sake of a damn parade, right?"

Zoe was floored, absolutely stunned, though she wasn't sure why. As much as Wade was clearly a player, something he just happily admitted, he could also be incredibly sweet. He had the capacity to be a really good friend, even to someone he only met a week or so ago.

"You are always saving me," she said then, shaking her head in wonder. "Maybe you really are a knight in shining armour after all."

"Those guys are gentleman, doc," he told her with a smirk, "and I think we more'n proved last night, I had no real plans on being one around you."

Zoe smiled, even as she felt the heat rising in her cheeks. "You were when it counted, that night when I was drunk."

"Yeah, well..." said Wade, rubbing the back of his neck. "There's a big difference between encouraging girls into bed and takin' real advantage."

"Very true." Zoe nodded, turning to walk away, but then changing her mind at the last moment and turning back again. "And for the record, last night wasn't all you," she admitted. "I was there too, a willing participant, even though I probably shouldn't have been."

She was making it more awkward and she knew it. Zoe wished there was a way for her to be better at all this, but there just wasn't. If she could just let herself go, let herself see where this thing with Wade could go, even if it was just for one amazing night, then she would, but she couldn't do it. Even if this could be more, she was only in Bluebell for a year. Besides, Wade was proving to be such a great friend. Keeping him in that role would be a lot better for her than a short-term lover.

"But we're okay, right?" she checked. "You know, staying just friends?"

Wade stared at her a moment, then smiled and nodded his head. "Sure thing, doc. Whatever you want. Now, how 'bout we go get ourselves a drink? Reckon we earned it today," he suggested, arm around her shoulders as he led her in the direction of the Rammer Jammer.

"Yeah," she agreed, smiling up at him. "That sounds good."

To Be Continued...