AN: Hello everyone,
This is my second fanfiction. It's about the scene in 2x01 when Lemon comes to Zoe cause she needs her help and Lavon, George and Wade thought Lemon was going to attack Zoe. In the show they left the girls alone, but what if one of them actually tried to save Zoe...?
I chose Wade enter the carriage house first because he was easiest to write.
Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hart of Dixie or any of its characters.

Hostages

1. Wade

"Well, I hate to say this, George, but if no one goes in, it certainly won't help Zoe," Wade said angrily. "I think you'll be happy to explain to the sheriff later why none of us went to Zoe to prevent something worse from happening."

"I'd go right now..." George replied just as angrily, but was interrupted by Lavon. "If you really go over there, you'll make Zoe's chances even worse."

"I don't know," Wade said sourly, "maybe Lemon will focus on George first and Zoe can get to safety."

He turned away from the other two. "You know what I'm not going to argue anymore, I'm going in there." He looked back over his shoulder and fixed George. "Don't you dare come. Lemon won't be the only one to hurt you then." Wade's tone was rarely as serious as it was now. With firm steps, he now made his way to Zoe.

Lemon and Zoe were both startled when there was a sudden knock on the door of Zoe's house. Zoe put her finger to her lips and motioned for Lemon to be quiet. Whoever was at her door would surely leave if there was no answer. Shortly afterwards, however, it turned out that Zoe was wrong in her assumption.

"Zoe, Lemon, it's Wade. I know you're in there, so would you be so kind as to let me in please."

Lemon and Zoe gave each other a shocked look. How did Wade know Lemon was here? Then Zoe stood up and walked to the porch door.

"Hey Wade..." she said uncertainly "I have no idea what exactly you're looking for here, but it's very inconvenient right now. So ... maybe you could come back later?"

"So you're fine." Wade stated and couldn't help but look relieved.

"What? Why wouldn't I be fine? What's all this about?" Zoe was now clearly confused. Then she thought better of it "Never mind. You can tell me about it tomorrow. Because you have to leave now."

"I'm definitely not leaving now," Wade replied. Before Zoe could protest, Lemon's voice sounded from the next room. "It's okay. He can come in." she said quietly.

Zoe sighed and took a step to the side. Wade, who had only been waiting for this, immediately walked past her. He stopped in the doorway and looked at Lemon, who was sitting on one of Zoe's armchairs with a tear-stained face.

Zoe slid into the room next to Wade. She crossed her hands in front of her chest and glared at Wade. "Are you going to explain what's going on?" she asked pointedly, emphasizing every word.

"Um, yeah," Wade said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I was standing on my porch and I saw Lemon go to your place. That alone was strange. But then George got that call from the sheriff telling him he better hide because Lemon was walking around town with a cake knife in her hand." Wade shrugged, "I see we were a little off with our assessment of the situation."

Zoe stared at Wade, "You thought Lemon was going to attack me," she stated, "and that's why you came to save me?" She smiled at this idea.

There was a brief awkward silence between them as Wade didn't know what to say.

Into the silence, Lemon whispered, "George is here?" There was a slight tremor in her voice.

Her words broke the tension that had arisen between Wade and Zoe. Wade turned away from Zoe and towards Lemon. "He won't come, I promise. I think Lavon and I convinced him that he's unlikely to be able to defuse a situation that he was the main cause of."

Lemon nodded, even if she didn't really seem reassured. Her eyes wandered to the window. Behind the drawn curtains was Wade's house. Where George was somewhere.

Wade looked back at Zoe. There was a clear question in his gaze: What's really going on here?

Zoe beckoned him closer with a wave of her hand. She explained to him in a whisper: "Lemon must have had a panic attack. She came to me because her heart was racing. I gave her some sedatives."

Wade opened his mouth to follow up, but Zoe seemed to guess what he was going to ask. "I don't think she wanted to see her father so he wouldn't coddle her."

"Oh," Wade said, looking over at Lemon with concern.

"The knife is here, by the way," Zoe added, pointing to a shelf next to her. "She wanted to give it back to someone, if I understood correctly."

"You've really come to protect me, haven't you?" Zoe repeated the question she had asked earlier.

"Well, yes, I kind of have," Wade replied uncertainly. "Should I have left that?"

"No, not at all" Zoe replied immediately and shook her head. "It's nice that you were worried." She smiled nervously and lowered her eyes to the floor.

Wade couldn't help but grin as well. But then he became serious again. "I'll make a quick call to the sheriff and give the all-clear. Otherwise, we'll have a huge police operation here later." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and took a few steps into the hallway.

Zoe looked at Lemon, who was wiping the tears from her face. Then Lemon lifted her head and met Zoe's gaze. "Did Wade..." her voice faltered and she had to restart, "Did he leave again?"

"Of course I didn't leave." Wade came back into the room. "I wouldn't just abandon you like that." A split second after he said the words, he seemed to suddenly realize what he had said. To the woman who had been abandoned by her groom only yesterday.

Zoe's eyes widened and Wade immediately wanted to apologize, but Lemon just seemed relieved that Wade wasn't leaving. She hadn't noticed his choice of words.

Wade shook his head briefly, then stepped to Lemon's side and knelt on the floor next to her chair. "So how are you?"

Lemon looked at him from the side in disbelief "Can't you tell?" she said, exhausted.

"I...well" Wade looked at her disheveled hair and reddened eyes. "True, you look terrible." He grinned.

Lemon returned his gaze for a moment and then she had to smile too. At the same time, more tears ran down her cheeks. "I didn't mean to cry," she mumbled.

"Are you crazy?" Wade said in dismay, "No one expects you not to cry or not to care. The two of you were together for 15 years. It's totally okay that you're not exactly happy."

"Yeah I know," Lemon sighed, her eyes returning to the closed curtains. "But George was with me for 15 years too and he didn't cry, did he?" She didn't expect an answer from Wade and he didn't give one.

Deep in thought, Lemon stroked the spot on her ring finger where her engagement ring had been for almost a year. "I just don't know how I'm going to stand it. I miss him already." It was clear that she wasn't talking about the ring.

"Oh Lemon," Wade said. He reached for her hand to stop her from staring at the spot where the ring was now missing.

Across the room, Zoe frowned. She bit her lips as she stood watching Wade hold Lemon's hand.

Wade was unaware of Zoe's reaction. He looked firmly at Lemon. "You are the strongest, most willful and stubborn woman I know. If you can't handle this, I don't know who else could."

Wade hesitated briefly and cast an uncertain sideways glance at Zoe, who was still standing there looking at the scene. Then he continued. "Remember when you pretended to be my girlfriend and we went to the bar to get rid of Joelle's ex-boyfriend?

Lemon turned her head and looked at Wade in confusion. "Yeah..."

"Well, back then you told me I deserved better. You deserve better too, Lemon. You clearly deserve better than a man who, out of 15 years of relationship, picks the day of the wedding to leave you."

Lemon swallowed. "Thank you," she mumbled before falling silent again and thinking about Wade's words. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her face again.

"I need to return the ring. And I need a job. Then I can get my own apartment and finally take my life into my own hands." She said resolutely.

Immediately afterwards, however, she looked unsure again. "I can manage that, can't I?"

"Of course," Wade replied honestly.

"Although I have no idea where I want to work" she smiled weakly. "I was reading through ads this morning. It looks like I don't have any dreams at all."

"So…, if you need a job, we could really use some help at the Rammer Jammer. I know it's not your dream job, but... it's better than nothing." Wade shrugged his shoulders and looked at Lemon waiting.

She hesitated briefly. "You're right. And who knows, maybe it's my dream job, I can't know until I try. It's a start..." Lemon nodded, as if to convince herself.

Wade grinned, "Very well, I'll talk to Wally. And Lemon, don't expect to find what you want right away. You must find yourself first."

Lemon agreed with Wade and then got up from the chair. "I should go now. Back to my dad's..." she sighed "it'll probably be a while before I can afford my own place."

Wade had also stood up. "That's true. But hey, if you don't want all the pity and everything tonight. I've got a sofa at my place. I know it's not the best place to sleep, but I'm sure it would work for one night."

Lemon stared at Wade in surprise for a moment. Then she nodded slowly. "You know what, that's not a bad idea. At least for one night out before I face all the madness tomorrow." This time the smile on her face was genuine. "If only you could..." She gestured uncertainly towards the outside.

Wade immediately understood what she meant. "Sure, I'll go ahead and get you when they're gone" He winked at her before turning to the door. He glanced briefly at Zoe, but she immediately turned her eyes to the floor and said nothing about the conversation in which she had been the silent listener. Then Wade stepped outside to reassure Lavon and George and then send them away so Lemon could go to his house unmolested.

Zoe looked at the closed door, her brow still furrowed. She didn't notice Lemon step up next to her.

"Wade and I would never start anything together in our lives, just so you know," Lemon now said to Zoe.

"What?... I didn't even... You and Wade... I didn't mean... So, I didn't say you guys were starting anything." Zoe stammered.

Lemon shook her head in disbelief. "If you say so," she snorted, "I just wanted to make sure. I'm not exactly keen on you being jealous of me again."

Zoe looked a little embarrassed at Lemon's words.

"And I didn't miss the looks you gave me when Wade was just comforting me." Lemon added.

Zoe opened her mouth to retort, but then didn't seem to know what to say to Lemon. She avoided Lemon's eyes and stepped nervously from one foot to the other.

"It's okay," Lemon said, amused. "Even if many people don't know it, behind the tough exterior, Wade is an honest and good guy with his heart in the right place. And that's more than I can say about George Tucker at the moment. But, of course, you have to know for yourself who you want."

Zoe looked at Lemon in astonishment. Not only had she just stood up for Wade, she had also, without saying so directly, given Zoe permission to choose George. This was clearly not something Zoe had expected.

Before Zoe knew what to do with it, Lemon continued. "I would just advise you to listen to your heart when making your decision." Lemon paused briefly. "Otherwise you'll lose both men and end up alone." Although Lemon said this resignedly, you could hear the sadness in her voice.

"I..." Zoe was completely taken aback by Lemon's speech. She was silent for a moment while she collected herself. After thinking about the words again, she finally replied, "Thank you Lemon, you really helped me."

Just then, Wade came back in. "So the coast is clear," he said cheerfully to Lemon. "We can go as soon as you're ready."

Lemon nodded goodbye to Zoe. Then she walked past Wade outside, who also turned to follow her.

"Wade," Zoe called after him. Wade stopped and looked back at her. "If you have a minute tomorrow, could you come to my office? I'd like to talk to you in private." She tried a shaky smile.

"Sure," Wade said, surprised, but also visibly pleased.

"Fine. See you tomorrow then. Good night, Wade."

"Good night, Doc," Wade replied, now with a big grin on his face.

Long after the door had closed behind them, Zoe was still standing in the hallway, unable to wipe that same goofy grin off her lips.

AN: So, I hope you liked it. Please write a comment and let me know.
I think the second chapter will be about Lavon. I'm not sure if I'll be able to write as much as I do now, but we'll see...