A/N: Hope everybody is able to keep up with this fic - I know the site has been very up and down lately, through no fault of the owners, apparently. Anywho, if FF is ever down and you think you might have missed an update or whatever, this story is also available on AO3 - my screen-name there is Ultra :) Now, some canon stuff to figure out, as well as Wade's journey towards bar ownership...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 11

"Oh, wow!"

"Why do I think that is not a work-related message you're reading, Dr Hart," said Brick crossly.

"Because it's not?" Zoe tried as she glanced at him. "But since I'm between patients right now, and also, have been really, really busy all morning and deserve a couple of minutes to check in with my boyfriend, I'm not going to feel bad about it, okay?"

She almost felt like poking out her tongue at him for good measure and might have gone that far too, if not for the fact he had started to look a little strange. Zoe opened her mouth to ask if something was wrong, when suddenly Brick turned to go back into his office and misjudged the door, slamming into the jamb.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" she asked, rushing to check.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, I just..."

As she reached his side, he staggered again, and Zoe only just managed to manoeuvre him to the exam table to sit down before it was too late. He really did look very pale and completely disorientated, none of which could be at all good. Zoe knew for sure she was right when she urged him to allow her to examine him and Brick didn't actively argue.

"Not that there's much point in you looking me over," he said, heaving a sigh. "You won't find anything that I don't already know I have. Dizziness, brief black-outs, lack of co-ordination..."

"Brick, this is... It could be serious," she told him with a look, but it was clear from the one she received in return that he was already well-aware. "Why didn't you say anything? Why haven't you gone to the hospital?"

He didn't want to tell her. He seemed to hardly even be able to look at her, and Zoe understood then what he wasn't saying. He was scared. Brick knew the kinds of things that could be wrong with him and he was terrified of having his worst fears confirmed. She supposed she could understand that. She didn't want him to be sick either, she really didn't, but ignoring it wasn't going to make it go away.

When her cell beeped again in her pocket, Zoe knew she ought to look, but also that she was not going to be able to talk with Wade right now. As great as it was to hear he might be able to make a deal with Wally for the Rammer Jammer, so that he could turn it into his own place, she couldn't meet up with him to discuss it right now. She also couldn't go out and enjoy Spring break with him or with Jonah, as had been suggested. There was something more important she had to do right now, something in the life and death area of things.

"I need to call the hospital and arrange an MRI," she told Brick without pause. "You know that I do."

"I know," He nodded slowly, whether because his head felt wobbly yet or just because he didn't really want to agree, Zoe wasn't sure, though she suspected both were true. "I know I've been foolish, not dealing with this," he admitted, "but you have to understand, Zoe, I can't... I just convinced my girls to accept Shelby into our lives and into our home. I feel like my life is really opening up for me, a whole new chapter, and now this..."

"Oh, Brick" Zoe sighed, reaching out a hand to his arm and squeezing. "I get it, I honestly do, but pretending this isn't happening won't help, you know that as well as I do, and hey, whatever is wrong, it could be completely treatable."

Neither one of them was willing to say that it also might not be, but they both knew, Zoe was all too aware of that. As her phone buzzed one more time with yet another incoming message, she reached for it and quickly checked the screen. Typing fast back to Wade, she let him know she was happy for his news, but that there was an emergency going on right now, so she would have to catch up with him later. His response was immediate and as understanding as ever.

'Go save them lives, doc. I'll talk to you later :)'

She smiled at that, then flipped to contacts and dialled for Mobile Presbyterian. Brick needed an MRI and it needed to be sooner rather than later. Whatever was wrong, they needed to know, before it was too late.

"When you decided to do this whole boat winning competition thing," said Annabeth, mopping sweat from Lemon's brow, "did you know who set it up?"

"I did not," her friend confirmed, making a face as she side-eyed Lavon and his ex. "And trust me, had I known Ruby Jeffries had anything at all to do with it, I may never have taken part, but the fact of the matter is, I need the money, Annabeth. I need it if I'm going to buy the Rammer Jammer and turn it into the kind of place it deserves to be. Besides, it's not as if I'm getting the money from Ruby directly... is it?"

"Of course not." Annabeth shook her head. "No, no, no, it's not like that at all. If you win this boat, it will be on your own merits, proof of your own staying power and inner strength and... and all the things that make Lemon Breeland, Lemon Breeland," she said firmly and with a smile she hoped was encouraging. "It sure as heck has nothing at all to do with that... floozy!" she said of Ruby, wondering at her own phrasing even then.

Not that she had much time to worry about what she had said, because Lemon's own expression soon had her attention. It had changed from concern over Ruby and more than a little pain from standing with a hand on a boat for hours on end, to something very odd, actually.

"AB, I... I need you to know that I never put you in the same category with that woman," she explained then. "Lord knows, I didn't take it well when you and Lavon... But I would never think of you as being anythin' like Ruby Jeffries. That woman is a harlot, no question, and you being such a good friend to me, so kind and understanding and all, I just need you to know that I would never think of you the way I think of her. Her so-called love for Lavon was never true, we all know that, but I'm sure whatever feelings you had-"

"Whatever feelings I had are long gone, Lemon," Annabeth assured her fast, lowering her voice again the moment she realised the few others left around the boat might overhear, or even Lavon and Ruby themselves, over at the judges table. "Truth be told, as sweet and wonderful as the mayor is, my attraction was largely based on... well, how the man is built," she admitted, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks even then. "I'm sure in some other world, where circumstances were different, maybe we could have made a pair, if not forever and always, then certainly for a while," she admitted, "but that would have to be some world where he hadn't met you first."

She meant every word, but didn't feel at all offended when Lemon stared at her a while, trying to figure out if she could be sure she was hearing the truth. She couldn't blame her poor, tired, overwrought friend for thinking maybe Annabeth would step aside for her own sake. She had tried to before, but it hadn't taken too long to realise, once her lust for the mayor was sated, she couldn't really picture dating him for real. Theirs was not a true love romance. She had thought maybe, possibly, for a short while, but today had proven to her once and for all that she could let Lavon go quite easily. Seeing him with Ruby Jeffries didn't personally injure her, it just made her heart ache on Lemon's behalf.

"I'm sure I don't deserve you bein' my best friend, Annabeth Nass." Lemon shook her head. "But I promise you, nobody could be more proud to have you in their corner than I am."

"I haven't said anything as regards the mayor just to be a good friend, Lemon," she said firmly, a hand on her shoulder to physically steady her as much as reassure her, "but what I'm saying now is for exactly that reason. Are you sure you wanna keep up with this competition? 'Cause I get the feeling some of these folks are in this for the long haul..."

"Trust me, AB, there is nobody stood around this boat more determined than I am," she said definitely. "I am going to win this."

Annabeth was sure that was true. She never once in her life doubted Lemon Breeland's tenacity and she wasn't about to start now. Of course, she did notice that her friend's eyes had strayed to Lavon in the far corner of the room when she spoke those words. As much as this boat would doubtless be won by Lemon, there was a very good chance that the mayor would be too, someday soon!

"Oh my God, longest day ever!"

Zoe literally collapsed onto a stool and let her head fall forward onto her arms atop the bar, the second she was done talking. She made quite the comical sight, at least as far as Wade was concerned. Of course, that didn't mean he didn't also have some sympathy for his girl.

"I'm guessing you could use a glass o' wine?"

"A bottle of wine. Wine in an IV," she told him, tapping her wrist, before considering. "Okay, so that would probably be really dangerous actually, but yes to the glass of wine, and please, make it a big one."

Wade smiled as he reached for one of the larger wine glasses and filled it up with the house white. He placed it on the bar in front of Zoe and tried not to laugh when she grabbed at it and gulped down at least half, without even pausing for breath.

"Ah, I needed that," she said right after, finding her own smile then as she looked up at him. "Hey, you. Sorry about that. Long day."

"Yeah, I got that part." Wade nodded, leaning down on the bar next to her. "Anythin' I can help with?"

"Unfortunately, no. Stupid patient confidentiality." She rolled her eyes. "But what I can tell you is, Jonah dropped by, trying to convince me to go join in the spring break fun with him, and I was actually super-tempted, you know, just for a little bit, but things were so crazy and complicated at the practice, I couldn't leave."

"Well, spring break ain't over yet, doc. I'm sure we can slip a keg stand and a little Girls Gone Wild fun into that hectic schedule o' yours over the next couple o' days. Least I would hope so," he said, with a look he knew she would understand.

She laughed at that, then leaned in and kissed his lips. "Maybe," she told him, grinning widely. "So, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you about Wally's offer yet. Did you make a decision?"

"I did." Wade nodded his head, lowering his voice further as he checked that nobody was listening in. "Seems to me I'd be crazy to say no, right? This place does pretty well, and if I take it over, there goes my only real competition. Plus, Wally's totally happy for me to do whatever I want, even change the name and everything."

"Wow. Sounds like an offer you can't refuse." Zoe shook her head. "So, you're going for it?"

"I think so. I mean, yeah, I just..."

Zoe stared him and began to look worried. "What? Is there a problem? Does Wally want more money than you have? Because there are options..."

"No, no, it's not that," Wade assured her, feeling dumb as he struggled to say what he wanted to. "I have the money, and I know it's my choice and everything, I just kind of... I guess I wanted to be certain that you thought it was a good idea too."

Maybe it made him some kind of pansy-ass. Maybe it made him the best boyfriend ever. Wade really had no way of knowing for sure. He felt so out of his depth with all this relationship stuff sometimes. All he really wanted was for Zoe to tell him what was what, so he could stop feeling so stupid. She went one better when suddenly she was pulling him closer and planting a good firm kiss on his lips.

"You are so great," she told him, smiling wide. "I love that my opinion matters so much to you and that you wanted to consult with me on this, but Wade, this is your money and your dream and your bar. If you want to go for this, then I support you, one hundred percent, but you know I also would have been right behind you if you chose to go a different way too."

"Yeah, I guess I do know that now," he told her, unsure whether he felt more or less dumb after all of that. "So, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna tell Wally that I wanna buy this place. Gotta admit, I'm kinda excited about it too."

"Which absolutely makes sense. I am so happy for you, Wade!" she said, reaching out to hug him tightly.

He hugged her back, kissing Zoe's cheek at the same time, feeling practically giddy about this whole situation. Over her shoulder, he looked around at the Rammer Jammer, thinking how strange it would be to call it his own, but also how damn amazing it would be too. His own bar, being his own boss, living his dream, just like Zoe said. He wasn't kidding about being excited, even if, at the same time, there was a degree of fear gnawing in his chest. Hopefully, he could ignore that, until it finally went away. Wade wasn't sure he entirely believed that, but he sure hoped it was true.

To Be Continued...