A/N: Thanks for the latest reviews, folks. Glad there wasn't too much hate for Tansy in the previous chapter - I never really had a problem with her myself. As for Zoe and Judson, read on to find out what happened with them! Yes, I know, y'all were expecting this update yesterday, but I haven't been feeling so well and that caused a delay.

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 9

It had been a decent night, a good first date. At least, Zoe thought so. It was tough for her to know, given she had such a small frame of reference, but that was okay. She and Judson had talked and laughed and got along really well. Sure, they didn't have quite as much in common as she had hoped, but that kind of thing didn't necessarily have to matter so much. They were both doctors, that was good, and he was really sweet and understanding when he realised how nervous she was tonight. Plus, he had been all-but bowled over by the sight of her when she appeared in her little black dress. Zoe wasn't shallow or hoping to be liked only for her looks, but a woman couldn't object to seeing a man's eyes go wide like that - it felt good.

The problem was not how the night began or how it went in the middle, it was more how it ended. Judson had offered to walk Zoe home and, of course, she had accepted. Unfortunately, conversation had started to dry up a fair distance from the carriagehouse, and when they did finally arrive at her place, Zoe was overly aware of the lights being on in the gatehouse. Wade was there, she just knew it.

'Pressure, so much pressure,' Zoe thought to herself, unsure whether Judson would try to kiss her, if maybe he might even hope to be invited inside, not to mention the fact that Wade was most likely watching everything unfold.

"So, uh, I had a really great time, Judson," she said, smiling too wide, she was sure. "Thank you, for dinner, and for walking me home. That was very sweet of you... or some other word that's probably less offensive to a grown man than 'sweet'," she amended, barely resisting the urge to literally face-palm.

"I'm not offended," Judson promised with a kind smile. "And as for paying for dinner and walking you home, well, I guess I was just raised that way, to be a gentleman and everything. Of course, right now, I gotta admit, I'm having a couple of less than gentlemanly thoughts," he told her, almost blushing at his own admission, even as his eyes moved over her body.

Zoe glanced away, feeling weirdly bashful herself. Maybe it was Judson. Maybe it was their potential audience of one across the other side of the pond. Zoe wasn't sure where all her New York confidence had gone to, but it was definitely conspicuous by its absence.

"I'm so sorry," Judson said then. "I didn't mean to embarrass you or put on any pressure..."

"It's fine," Zoe assured him, literally waving away his concerns, "but just for the record, I wasn't planning on inviting you inside tonight. Of course, that doesn't mean a goodnight kiss is completely out of the question."

Zoe winced at her own phrasing, wondering when she became such an idiot. She really hadn't had that much to drink tonight, just a couple of glasses of wine over dinner. Sure, Judson was good looking and charming, and it was forever since she had been on a real date, but she couldn't imagine why she was quite this nervous. Her breath caught in her throat as Judson came closer, his hands coming up to her face as he leaned in some more and finally their lips met.

It was a good kiss. Short and sweet, but good. Zoe hated herself for comparing it to the last couple of kisses she had experienced, both from Wade Kinsella. It was so unfair to rank guys one against the other like that, but she just couldn't seem to help herself. Judson was great, but he just wasn't Wade, she realised sadly, watching her date walk away.

Just as soon as he was out of sight, Zoe turned to go up into the carriagehouse, but had barely gotten her foot on the bottom step of the porch than she heard Wade yell her name. He was by her side in an instant, confirming Zoe's suspicions, without another word being spoken.

"Were you seriously spying on me?"

"No!" Wade denied it hotly, at least until Zoe hit him with a look that had been known to scare potential New York subway muggers into submission. "Well, kind of," he admitted, "but it is not the way it sounds."

"I don't care. Go away, Wade!" she said crossly, shoving past him and continuing on her way.

Slamming her way into the carriagehouse, she really wasn't sure why she believed he wouldn't follow her. Wade wasn't exactly the kind to give up, she had learned that very quickly. He could be as stubborn as she was, Zoe knew, and boy, was he ever out to prove it tonight!

"Zoe, I gotta talk to you," he told her, busting into the room with a purpose. "I know it's late, I know this is your house, but I have got to talk to you," he insisted.

Zoe wasn't sure whether to be intrigued or just all out angry. Wade had no right following her into the house, being loud and obnoxious, demanding that they talk. Maybe she didn't want to talk to him. Maybe she wished he would go away and drown himself in the pond. Maybe, but probably not.

"What do you want, Wade?" she asked him crossly, hands on her hips. "Because it might interest you to know that life doesn't owe you any favours, and actually, just because you want something doesn't necessarily mean you should get it."

"You think I don't know that?" he asked, pointing a finger into his own chest. "Believe me, doc, I more than get that the universe doesn't want me gettin' what I want outta life. Damn, if I don't know that by now."

She almost felt sorry for him. Zoe was trying so hard to stay mad, but it was tough in the face of such a reality check. Of course, Wade knew what it was to be kicked in the face by life, the universe, and everything. Hadn't he lost his momma at the age of ten? Didn't he have the town drunk for a father? Wasn't his lot in life to raise no higher than local bar tender and town lothario?

"Well, not everything you want slips through your fingers," she said snippily then, remembering all too easily why she ever got mad at him in the first place. "After all, you have a wife, don't you?"

Wade almost looked as if she slapped him in the face rather than yelled at him a little about something she knew perfectly well was true. At least, she thought it was true, until he explained to her why it wasn't.

"No, Zoe Hart, I do not have a wife," he told her definitely. "Matter o' fact, me and Tansy signed our divorce papers yesterday, somethin' you woulda known all about if you had been around at all for me to talk to you about it," he said with a look.

Zoe opened her mouth, then closed it again fast. She had been avoiding Wade since his wife showed up, that was true, but she had a good reason. As far as she knew, he was married and yet had been coming onto her for the whole time they had known each other. It made her feel bad and awkward in a way she didn't want to examine. Plus, it made her jealous. So, freaking jealous! Not that she was about to admit to that, no way.

"You were still married," she said, more grumpily than angrily, though she had been trying for the latter. "When we met, all this time. I had no idea."

"And if I had known it would end up bein' such a big deal to you, doc, I'd have told you all about it," he told her then, his tone calm and reasonable, sweet even, Zoe thought.

He probably had a point. She wished he didn't, but he probably did. Her arms folded across her chest as she started to feel defensive. Maybe she got all of this wrong. She realised she definitely had when Wade continued talking.

"You know, me and Tans, that was... I mean, she's a great girl, she honestly is, but we never shoulda gotten married. We were drunk is all, and I just... Honestly, I don't even know what I was thinkin'." He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I don't know whether it makes it better or worse, but like I said, we got officially divorced yesterday. You can ask George Tucker if you don't believe me."

"I believe you." Zoe shrugged, looking away, wondering why it was suddenly so hard to face Wade head on.

"Well, that's somethin', I guess, but you know, even before the paperwork got signed, there has been nothin' between me and Tansy in a real long time. 'Til she showed up here a couple o' days back, I had not seen her in a year. Hell, we hadn't slept together in three."

"Fine," said Zoe, shaking her head. "I don't even know why you're telling me this. It's none of my business."

"Well, you seemed all kinds of pissed about it, doc, whether you had the right or not," said Wade, smirking terribly. "Come on, Zoe, you're always talkin' about what great friends we are and all. You're allowed to care that I didn't tell you I had a wife. Just like I figure I'm allowed to care that, apparently, your no dating in Bluebell policy flew right on out the window tonight when you decided to go all-out with Jud the vet."

Zoe bristled at the way he phrased it. To go all-out implied she had done much more with Judson than she actually had, and it wasn't as if Wade didn't know better, since he was clearly watching the two of them say goodnight before he came over.

"It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind, about anything she wants," she said smartly. "Yes, it's true. I did have a no dating in Bluebell policy, but then I thought, well, a year is a long time. It's probably not entirely healthy for me to socially isolate myself for that long of a period. So, when Judson very kindly asked me to dinner, I accepted. Do you have a problem with that?"

Zoe wasn't sure what answer she wanted or even what she expected. Wade liked her, she was well aware, but as far as she knew, he was only really interested in getting her into bed. They got along well as friends too, that much was true, but he wasn't a relationship kind of guy, not at all. Hadn't he just got through telling her he never should've married Tansy, what a huge mistake that was? He was the one-night stand type of guy and Zoe definitely was not the one-night stand type of girl.

"Zoe, I don't..." he began to say, looking pained and awkward as he stumbled over the words. "I just don't want things gettin' screwed up is all. I'm sorry that Tansy blowing into town came as a shock to you, and I'm sorry that you felt like I lied to you or kept something from you that I shouldn't have. I'm just... I'm sorry, okay?"

Zoe sighed and nodded her head. "Okay. I accept your apology, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry too. I was rude to you before, when you were trying to be... complimentary," she said, referring to the moment when he had made comments about the very dress she was wearing in that moment. "I think I was rude about Tansy too and I shouldn't have been. I'm sorry, Wade."

"Well, then I accept your apology too, Zoe," he assured her, smiling across at her. "So, now that we got that cleared up-"

"We can go back to being friends again, right?" she said, cutting in fast. "Please, Wade? I'm just so bad at relationships, all kinds of relationships. You and Lavon, you guys are the best friends I have around here, and honestly, I can't handle the idea of losing either one of you right now. I know I come off so New York City tough sometimes, but you know how rough these past couple of months have been for me."

"Hey, come on now."

Zoe didn't realise she was crying until suddenly Wade looked awkward, then came striding over to pull her into his arms and hug her close. She let him hold her, hugged him back after a moment's pause, trying not to notice that she felt more in that moment of consolation than she had when Judson kissed her. God, she was such an awful person, she really was.

"Zoe Hart, you are the most confounded woman," said Wade fondly, pulling back to look at her then, "but you ever need someone to back you in a knife fight, I'll be there," he promised her with a smile. "You got friends, doc. Don't ever think you don't. Like you said, me and Lavon both, we're here for you, okay?"

There was just no way she could form words in that moment, so Zoe only nodded, swiping further tears from her cheeks as fast as she could. She forced out a very soft 'thank you' as Wade finally let her go and headed right for the door, muttering something about letting her get to her bed or whatever.

Zoe watched him go, a part of her wishing she had it in her to call him back, to even ask him to stay. In the end, she bit her lip and said nothing, going to bed still in her little black dress, still with tears in her eyes.

To Be Continued...