Writing a fan fic is probably the last thing I should be doing right now as busy as real life is, but as a southerner (and SEC football fan), Hart of Dixie has charmed me. I got this idea in my head and next thing I know, I've got this whole story mapped out in my head and I just HAD to write it.

It's inspired by the song "Rescue Me" by Frankie Ballard. YouTube it if you haven't heard it. I've always said it should be played in the background of a dramatic scene on TV and I think it fits Zoe and Wade perfectly. The line that set this story into motion is "I know that I can save you, if you can rescue me." Let me know what you think!

Things I Own: More shoes than Zoe Hart. Things I Don't Own: Hart of Dixie

The air had gotten crisp as the sun had set and the breeze had picked up from the north, blowing in the closest thing to fall Bluebell had seen so far this October. He loved nights like this. Sometimes he'd sit on his rickety porch with a beer and his guitar, picking at strings and unwinding after a shift at the Rammer Jammer. Other nights, the cool air made him reckless and he'd go in search of a warm body, if not in Bluebell then in the next town over, a bit of a drive but usually worth it.

Tonight, he was sitting on his front porch in the dark, no guitar but plenty of beer. He could see the carriage house from his rusted out chair. Like his house, not a light was on. There was no sign of movement, no banging of the screen door or shriek over wildlife that had found its way inside. He didn't like how quiet it was, having grown used to having a neighbor.

The sound of gravel crunching in the distance broke the night's silence. He sat forward in his chair, waiting. Headlights appeared moments later, cutting through the dark night, but instead of stopping next door, turned towards him. With a sigh, he sat back and reached for another beer, bathed in the light of Lavon Hayes' expensive SUV. The engine cut, followed by the lights, and the darkness returned.

"You forgot your mail up at the house this morning, thought I'd bring it by on my way home," Lavon said, walking up the steps. He dropped a small stack of magazines and envelopes on top of Wade's beer cooler.

"You just wanted to come by and talk about your date with Didi," Wade replied.

"Well it was a good date." Lavon helped himself to a beer and took up residence in the other chair, this one even more rusted out than Wade's. "I reckon I might start thinking about taking her up to Mobile for a weekend, get away, have some alone time."

"Don't go gettin' ahead of yourself, Romeo. You just started seein' the woman." Lavon raised an eyebrow. He knew Wade wasn't sitting outside for the sake of enjoying the night air.

"You sittin' out here in the dark with a 12 pack of cheap beer, eyes trained on the carriage house, wouldn't have anything to do with a certain doctor's self-proclaimed 'hot date' now would it?" he asked.

"I'm just enjoying the weather. Hasn't been this cool out since the end of March."

"You lie."

"Dr. Hart is free to see whoever she wants which just so happens to be the town's brand spankin' new veterinarian," Wade replied. "The same brand spankin' new veterinarian no one around these parts knows anything about. As far as we know, he's a Craig's List killer from up north, using the small, unsuspecting town of Bluebell as his hideout." Wade played with his beer cap, spinning it on his finger tip before tossing it up in the air and catching it in the opposite hand.

"So you're being a gentleman, sittin' out here and makin' sure she gets home in one piece?"

"Somebody's got to. She ain't got no family around here and let's be honest, she's not in line to win any popularity contests neither. She could go missing for days before someone thought to go look for her." Lavon shook his head.

"Just ask the girl on a date," he advised. "Save yourself from sittin' here in the dark, spyin' on her like the fool you are." Wade stood up.

"I'm not interested," he said. "I'm just bein' neighborly. And now I'm goin' to bed." Lavon stood as well.

"Me and some of the fellas are watching the Bama/Tennessee game up at the house tomorrow. Come on by around 5:00. It's B.Y.O.B., but I'll have plenty of food to go around."

"I'm workin' tomorrow," Wade answered as he pulled open his screen door. "You know how busy football season is at the Rammer Jammer, especially when Bama and Tennessee play."

"As much as you work, I don't see why the boss wouldn't be willin' to give you an evening off," Lavon replied.

"Yeah, well, the boss ain't exactly easy to deal with," Wade said. "Night, Romeo." Lavon stood and made his way back to his car, shaking his head as he went. He would never quite understand Wade Kinsella and he had known the boy since he was in diapers.

Wade finished his beer and left the bottle on the counter of his small kitchenette. He took off his shirt, tossed it aside and made his way into his bedroom. He was about to fall into bed when another set of headlights flooded his room.

He watched through his window as Judson, the town vet, walked Zoe to her door. He rolled his eyes as they hugged and the vet planted a kiss right on her lips. Even from across the way, he could see the smile on Zoe's face, could practically see her falling for the animal doctor.

"Dumb ass," he muttered. He wasn't sure if he were talking to himself or the vet. Or even Zoe, for that matter. He waited until the car had pulled out of the driveway and Zoe had disappeared inside before he fell across the top of the covers. Thoughts of Zoe Hart's shorts and his plans to go fishing come morning lulled him to sleep.

"And then, we went to this really awesome Italian place. I mean, yeah, it was a bit of a drive, but it was nice, you know? We got to talk, get to know each other. Did you know he had a Wheaton Terrier named Hammy when he was six? I always wanted a dog when I was a kid but my mom wouldn't let me have one, said it would get in the way when she had parties at the house for her clients…"

Lavon sighed and swigged his orange juice, half listening as Zoe went on and on about her date the night before. She had walked through the door fifteen minutes earlier, talking Judson this, Judson that, hadn't took so much as a breath to complain about the lackluster water pressure in the carriage house or even Burt Reynolds sleeping on her bottom porch step. She didn't let up when Wade walked in.

"Anyway, I had the best manicotti I've had in a really long time. And the breadsticks? They were to die for…"

"And then they came home and made out on the front porch of the carriage house," Wade interrupted. "Next time, tell the animal doctor to shut his headlights off. Damn things woke me up, lightin' up my bedroom like midday."

"You blew a fuse yesterday morning when I was halfway through curling my hair, we'll call it even," Zoe retorted before going back to her dating recap. "So the breadsticks were amazing. They were buttery and they had just the right amount of garlic and parmesan. I probably gained 10 pounds just breathing in the smell…"

"Zoe, Lavon Hayes might be your friend but he sure ain't your girlfriend and therefore does not care about the very fine details of your date," Lavon finally interrupted. He'd had enough. Zoe stopped talking and frowned at Lavon. Wade walked up behind him, a cart of milk in his hand.

"Me, I just don't care," he said before swigging right out of the carton.

"You're a pig," Zoe told him.

"It's 'bout empty anyway," he answered. He reached for an apple as two pieces of toast popped out of the toaster.

"If I can't talk to you about my date – the first good date I've had in a while – then who am I supposed to talk to about it?" Zoe asked. "It's not like I have girlfriends coming out of my ears down here."

"Little Rose done took quite a shine to you," Lavon answered. "I'm sure she'd listen."

"'Course you'll probably end up on her blog," Wade added, smothering his toast with butter. Grabbing another apple, he started towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Lavon called after him. It wasn't like Wade not to stick around for a while, eating and maybe playing a few rounds of Madden before moving on to the rest of his day.

"Got things to do," Wade answered. "Places to go, people to see, fish to catch."

"My offer still stands about the game. Even Dr. Hart here is joining us."

"Yep, I'm bringing the wine," Zoe said, swiveling on her stool to face Wade. "I grew up a Penn State fan, but even I know the historical significance of the third Saturday in October."

"I'm working," he said again. "But y'all have fun." And with that, he disappeared outside. Zoe frowned and turned back
to Lavon.

"What's with him?" she asked. "He wasn't all - 'Wade' - like he usually is."

"All 'Wade?'"

"You know, disgusting, inappropriate, that sort of thing. Although he did drink straight from the carton so he hasn't gone completely insane."

"Wade Kinsella is a complex man," Lavon answered. "Despite what he'd like us all to believe."

"Please," Zoe replied, slipping off her stool. "The only thing 'complex' about Wade is the layer of dirt under his fingernails." She quickly rinsed her dishes off and added them to the dishwasher. "White or red tonight?" she asked.

"Both," Lavon answered. "And make sure you bring enough to share. Rumor has it you sure do enjoy your wine." Zoe narrowed her eyes and Lavon laughed.

"I'll see you later," she said. She made an effort to exit the kitchen with her head held high, only to stumble over the door jam in her Wellies. Lavon laughed as she huffed and slammed the door.

She watched the screen of her iPhone as she walked back to her house from Lavon's football party, eager for it to chirp again as she and Judson planned their second date. It looked like he had plans to cook her dinner at his place and afterward they'd 'play it by ear.' All she was waiting on was a time to be there. She was glad no one was around to see how eagerly she opened his next message.

"How does 6:30 sound?" she asked out loud. "Why Judson, 6:30 sounds like a date," she answered herself, typing back a simple 'yes.' She was so engrossed in her phone that she nearly stepped on Burt Reynolds who had taken to sleeping on her bottom porch steps most nights. She squealed, stumbling as she tried to maintain her balance.

"Burt!" she shrieked. "Go away!" The alligator looked at her but didn't move. "Shoo!" she said, backing away from the reptile. She didn't care what Lavon, Wade, George or anyone else said about how harmless the creature was. People simply didn't have alligators as pets. "Get!"

"Aw, come on, Doc," came Wade's voice. "He likes you. Let him sleep."

"I already share my bedroom with frogs, flies and rodents I haven't seen but that have left signs of their presence. I'll be damned if I'm sharing it with a crocodile too," Zoe told him.

"Gator," Wade corrected. "Burt's a gator." Zoe glared at him. He sighed. "Burt, get on out of here," he said, waving his hand to shoo away the alligator. Burt blinked twice then turned and slithered away. Zoe was sure she wasn't imaging the creature had an attitude.

"Stupid reptile," she mumbled before she turned to Wade. "And what are you doing home? Lavon said you were closing down the Rammer Jammer tonight."

"Slow night," Wade answered. "Turns out half the town was in the mayor's living room. We closed a little early."

"Bama won," Zoe told him. "By a lot."

"'Course they did. Half of Tennessee's starters are on the injured list and the ones that ain't are freshmen playing against the No. 2 team in the country. Nobody thought they'd win. But they did give the Tide hell for a half." Zoe looked at him with something like disbelief.

"You're a Tennessee fan," she stated. "Isn't that like, treason around here?"

"I'm not a Tennessee fan," Wade replied. "I don't even pay much attention to football."

"And yet you know Tennessee's injury report?"

"This is Alabama, Doc. You'd have to live under a rock to not know anything about football around here. All anyone could talk about when the season started was Tennessee's quarterback. Then he got hurt and that was all they could talk about. Now that Bama's spanked Tennessee for another year in a row, that'll be all they talk about – least until it's time for the next big game."

"Alabama and LSU," Zoe supplied. "The No. 2 team versus the No. 1 team. They're already talking about it. By the time Alabama had put up three scores on Tennessee, the whole room was speculating on what the spread will open up at."

"You know, you can talk circles around half the guys in this town when it comes to football," Wade commented. It was impressive, considering the fact she wandered Bluebell's dirt roads in $600 high heels.

"Yeah, well, like I said, I grew up a Penn State fan. My…," Zoe stopped suddenly, a look of sudden realization on her face. Wade noticed.

"My what?" he prompted. Zoe sighed. There was a hint of sadness behind it. He noticed that too.

"I was going to say my dad and I used to watch Penn State play on Saturdays. Then I realized – he's not my dad. I hadn't really said that out loud yet." Wade shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He wasn't good at this – trying to be understanding or supportive or whatever he was supposed to be in moments like this.

"It's a shame you didn't get to know Harley," he finally said. "He was a good guy. A real good guy." Zoe smiled sadly.

"Well," she said, "I had my chance. I just didn't take it until it was my last option."

"Funny thing about chances," Wade stated, looking off across the yard. "Some people jump at every chance they get. Others let them slip by. But I reckon it all turns out okay in the end." Zoe studied him.

"Since when are you a philosopher?" she asked. Wade chuckled.

"That's not philosophy, Doc. That's just life." Zoe continued to study him. He could see a flicker of curiosity behind her brown eyes. It made him uncomfortable, like she could see through him and was dangerously close to cracking his tough shell. He smiled softly. "Night, Dr. Hart," he said.

"Night, Wade."

He turned and walked back to his house, listening to the sound of Zoe climb the porch stairs and the screen door shut softly behind her.

Since we don't know much about any of the character's backgrounds, especially Wade's, I've taken the chance to develop my own ideas of what they are which are most likely 100% different than what the show has in mind.

Also, I'll try my best to stay away from spoilers but may use upcoming events in the town or even new characters that will be introduced for my own writing pleasure – like Judson.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think and I'll update soon!