A/N: So happy to see so many folks have enjoyed this fic - thanks so much for the reviews, everybody! :) Now, the finale of our odd little rom-com adventure...
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 9
"What in the heck is that?!"
Wade was aware that his question probably came out too loud and too fierce, especially given who he was talking to. Not that he worried so much about Lemon and her so-called delicate condition. Eight-and-a-half months pregnant she may be, but that didn't mean her death glare had lost any of its power.
"Oh, poor, uneducated Wade, let me explain it to you," she said, as he came out from behind the bar for a closer look at the frame she had been hanging on the back wall of the Rammer Jammer. "This is what we call a wedding photograph. See, the bride and the groom, they kind of give it away."
Wade rolled his eyes. "I can see it's a wedding picture, Lemon, and I can also see that it's AB and Joel in that picture, but why is it on my wall?"
"It is on the wall of this establishment to allow the people who were not fortunate enough to share this auspicious day with the happy couple, to be able to get a glimpse into how happy our Annabeth was in marrying her fine new husband, one month ago today. Come on now, doesn't everybody look so happy? Even you?"
He couldn't argue with her. Wade had learned a long time ago, there was really no point at all in even trying to tell Lemon she was wrong, because from the day she started talking, she determined to always be right in any fight she picked, and even the ones she didn't. To this day, he never won an argument with her, mostly because Wade was smart enough not to try.
Looking at the picture she had hung, he had to admit she made a good point anyway. Everybody in the photograph looked happy, not just Annabeth and Joel but also Wade, Lavon and Lemon, and all the other friends and family present. Of course, in looking over all those people, there was one in particular that his gaze caught on and refused to shift. There was no doubting that Zoe Hart, Maid of Honour extraordinary, had gotten under Wade's skin like nobody else ever had. Of all the women he ever met, got to know and/or took into his bed, she was special, different, and in ways he couldn't even begin to explain.
When he left New York and headed back to Bluebell, he figured he would get over her as time passed, maybe even forget her eventually. It had been a fool's errand. One month later, and still, he dreamed about her almost every night, not to mention during the day. He had almost text her, even almost called her, so very many times, but what was he going to say? There seemed no point, and so, he resisted the urge. Of course, that didn't mean it wasn't still there, more often than it wasn't.
"You can be honest with me, Wade," said Lemon then, staring hard at him when he glanced her way. "You miss her, don't you?"
"Annabeth?" he tried, knowing before it ever happened that he was like as not going to get a smack on the shoulder for his trouble.
Lemon didn't hesitate. "Fool. You know very well who I am talking about."
"Yeah, well, maybe I do," Wade agreed, heaving a sigh and adjusting the towel on his shoulder, "but that doesn't do me any good now, does it? Zoe Hart is... well, she has a life that I couldn't fit into, even if I wanted to try, which I don't," he said definitely. "Bluebell's all I've ever known and all I'm ever gonna know. Suits me fine, same as it suits you. I don't plan on changin', Lemon. Ain't in me to."
"Maybe it's not," she agreed, looking at him in such a way as to almost be creepy somehow, especially when she started to smile a real strange smile, "but then, you don't necessarily have to, at least, not all that much."
Wade frowned. "Does pregnancy make people crazy? 'Cause you are startin' to sound all kinds o'-"
The words died on his tongue as movement out of the corner of his eye made him look towards the door. He had to be seeing things, some kind of hallucination or mirage, brought on by all this talk of New York and the wedding and all. Wade was certain he was having some kind of dream all over again, at least until Lemon gave him one more sound thwack in the chest with the back of her hand.
"Don't just stand there, dummy," she hissed across at him. "Go over and say somethin'!"
He meant to, he really did, only Wade was so dumbfounded at the sight of her, of Dr Zoe Hart from New York, standing right there by his own bar, that he hardly knew how to put his body in motion, much less find words to say. It was only when Lemon quite literally gave him a shove that he managed to get himself to go, rounding the bar from the far end, then finally approaching the vision that he still could hardly believe was real.
"Hey, Wade," she said with the smile he had spent a whole month dreaming about.
"Hey, yourself, doc," he replied, all the breath going out of him in a rush, causing him to have to inhale real deep before he could try for any more words. "So, you're here."
"I'm here," she agreed, nodding awkwardly. "It's hot."
"It is that," Wade agreed, amused by the way she flapped her hands around, as if that might help somehow. "We're kinda used to it ourselves, but comin' from New York..."
"Really, really comes as a shock to the system," she confirmed, "but then, I guess the cold hit you pretty hard when you came to my city."
"I don't think I noticed it all that much." Wade shook his head. "Always seemed kind of sunny and warm where I was at."
It was a horribly corny line that he regretted the second he said it, until he realised that Zoe was smiling and blushing, looking altogether pleased with the compliment.
"I'm havin' a real hard time takin' in that you're here," he admitted then, one hand running over his head.
"Well, you did recommend Bluebell pretty highly. Something about getting out of the city, down in the sunshine, among the fine people, where I could get my relaxation on. In fact, I seem to recall you personally guaranteeing that I would come back from my trip a new woman."
Wade wasn't sure if she were leaning in closer across the bar towards him or if it was him leaning into her. Probably a little of both, actually.
"A new woman, huh?" he said, clearing his throat when his voice began to fail him. "Now, that'd be a real shame, Zoe Hart. Pretty sure there's not a thing about you I'd wanna see change."
"Oh, well, see, that could be a problem," she told him, wincing a little, "because I am changing. All that work in the ER, it was good, but hard. In the end, I decided maybe I needed a break from the hospital, something a little different, and as it turns out, your doctor, Brick Breeland? Apparently, he was looking for an associate for his practice..."
Wade felt his eyes going real wide when he heard that, as the gears in his head turned a mile a minute, processing what she just said and what it could mean.
"You're not here just for vacation," he realised aloud.
Zoe smiled and shook her head. "I'm here for a while, to work as a GP alongside Dr Breeland. I talked to Lemon and Lavon, they said they would be very happy to have me stay up at the plantation. Apparently, there's a carriagehouse."
"You're stayin' here?" Wade checked one more time. "Geez, doc, you sure know how to floor a person, but then, I guess you been doin' that since the first day I met you."
"I was hoping that while I was in town maybe you'd be my tour guide, like I was for you in New York? I mean, I know Bluebell is a lot smaller than the city, but I asked around and it turns out that, for my particular needs, you come highly recommended as the best man."
She smiled almost as if she were joking somehow, but her eyes gave her away. There was something very sincere and just a little nervous in her face. Wade could understand that. She just upended her life to show up in Alabama like that, and even though he knew he wasn't the whole reason for her doing it, he seemed to be a large part. He hardly knew how to deal with that, except for one thing.
Reaching across the bar, he pulled Zoe closer, crashing his lips against her own. Thankfully, she came to him willingly, her arms up around his neck as she kissed him back, long and hard. God only knew where they went from there, how long she would stay, if anything would come of their relationship, but at least now they had the chance to find out. Wade couldn't be happier about that if he tried.
The End
A/N2: I already have an idea for another Zade fic, also a little rom-com-ish, but longer than this one, I suspect. Should be able to start posting it in a week or two, so do look out for that, if the idea appeals. In the meantime, final reviews with your thoughts and comments on the end of this story would be very much appreciated, thanks :)