Can I Keep Him?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.

This was supposed to just be a look at Bluebell from the outside but I'm so glad you all like it so much. And I do like Jeremy and Rose together as well. Hope you enjoy and thanks for the reviews, favourites and alerts!

Zoe turned the sign around so the red CLOSED was facing out the window of Doc's. With a sigh, she walked back towards the bar where Wade was counting the takings from the night.

"We should be getting back home soon; Lily will be waiting up for us," she said as she slid onto the red stool across from her husband.

Wade nodded and replied, smiling, "Ya, but you know she'll have Lavon watching re runs of every cartoon by now. I'd say she'll be fine...Lavon might need a day to recover though."

Zoe chuckled and rested her head in her hand. "She runs rings around him. Jeremy was a lot sterner with her, even if she did have him wrapped around her little finger."

Wade looked up at his wife and said, "It's almost been a month Doc and no sign of the kid. You might need to hand over that bet money!"

Zoe glared at him and sat up straight. "Oh I don't think so! Everything is going according to plan. Jeremy will be nearly through all the steps by now."

"Steps? He's not an alcoholic Zoe! What steps are you talking about?"

"The steps to realising that Bluebell had sucked you into its small town hole and refuses to ever let you go ever and you might as well accept it steps," she replied in one breath.

Wade raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you go through these steps?"

"Yes! And he will too. And when he gets through all of them, he will see that all he needs is in Bluebell. I mean, this is a lonely and confusing time for him."

Wade grinned and leaned against the counter, towards her. "Was it hard for you, Zoe? Did you miss me that much?"

Zoe blinked and then said seriously, "Yes, yes I did." Wade's features soften and he leaned forward to peck her lips.

Zoe smiled slightly at him before saying airily, "Where was I?"

"The steps." "Oh ya, the steps. Step one: Denial and removing any reminders."

-New York-

"I'm fine!"

Jeremy shoved another group of papers into the large cardboard box before returning to his overflowing suitcase. He had packed most of his light Bluebell things in one large bag and it had taken ten minutes and sitting on top of the bag to close it. Now he was determined to put all of it away out of sight-if only to prove how fine he actually was.

As he took things out of the bag, he realised that he wouldn't actually need most of them. The clothes were far to light for anything other than an Alabama heat wave and the shoes were either sneakers for lazy days or sturdy boots for working on the various floats, booths or anything else that had become part of his job. His old job.

Jeremy shook his head and tossed them all into the box that was sitting on his bed. He looked into his suitcase again and froze when he saw the final collection of objects.

Smiling slightly, he pulled out the shiny Christmas ornament that Lily had made for him in school. He had hung it up on his tree in pride of place once it was removed from her hand; apparently no one told the teacher not to leave Lily alone with the glue. He placed it carefully back in the box, his heart aching slightly when he remembered her tears at his goodbye.

With a sigh, he turned to the last objects at the bottom of the suitcase. It was a pile of photos that Rose had printed for him a few months back. Picking them up, Jeremy saw ones of Wade, Lavon and him fishing, a few of him and Zoe at events, a number of photos with him and Lily-mostly taken just as she was about to do something reckless and him nearly passing out in fear.

But there was one picture that sat at the bottom of the pile and Jeremy felt his stomach drop at the sight of it. Zoe had taken it at a Bluebell picnic. He and Rose were sitting on a chequered blanket, his back against the tree behind him. Rose was sitting between his legs, her back against his front and she was looking through the flier that he had printed for the day. There was a smile on her face, laughing at his bad puns and he was smiling too; but he was looking at her.

Jeremy sniffed, trying to blink away the tears and regrets at the same time. He tossed the photos in the box, ignoring that the one of him and Rose stayed at the top, before shutting the lid.

He picked up the box with an "I am totally fine!" and stuffed it into the wardrobe and shut the door.

-Bluebell-

"The next step is reintegration. He will try to go back to his normal life."

-New York-

Jeremy let out a frustrated sigh as he finally walked up the steps of the subway station and onto the street. He forgot how crowded the subway was. And dirty. He stopped in the street for a moment, trying to take a breather, but the force of the crowd behind him propelled him forward. He forgot that you did not stand still in New York.

It was a few more minutes before he practically had to dive through the doors of his building and make his way to the elevators. He had been worried about what he would do for money until he got the interview in California but his brother had actually asked him to help out at his law firm and organise their annual office party.

Jeremy reached his floor and walked out with a sigh. He made his way to the small office that his brother had gotten for him and sat down at the table, which had papers already piled up on it, a computer and a telephone.

This was exactly the kind of work he had done before and was going to do in California. And he hated it. It was all stale and exactly the same. His old company, as well as the company in California, offered packages for any kind of party you wanted. It basically meant that he was ordering the same food, putting up the same decorations and serving the same kind of people.

In Bluebell, it was the opposite. Sure, the exact people attended but that was no excuse to be lazy. If they saw something that was borrowed from the year before, they would call you out on it. Jeremy sat back in his chair as he remembered the events that had planned in Bluebell; they were like the town itself, unique and insane.

For Halloween, they had a giant pumpkin that sat in the town square and had strung a canopy across it so it was like a giant tent. They had gotten a storyteller to tell scary tales by candlelight and right at the most tense, nail biting moment, the canopy split open and candy rained down on the listeners. Everyone had screamed, including Lavon, until they all realised that what exactly had fallen on them. And the candy was all home made too.

For Christmas, there was a huge tree beside the gazebo and everyone placed presents under it to give to charity. The lake had frozen over so there was hot chocolate and lake side Christmas carols for the skaters.

At New Years, Jeremy was sure the entire town had descended on Doc's, even the young kids. At midnight, fireworks went off and the town stayed up in that one bar the whole night telling stories.

Easter was when there was the Egg Hunt and he had hid those chocolate eggs in such weird places, he thought no one would find them. But they were uncovered and the Bluebell people had all pigged out on chocolate.

There many other and weirder events across the year and all of them had been more work than Jeremy could have imagined. But he walked away from all of them feeling like he had done a really great job.

But now though; his job had actually become boring. Just like his life apparently. He had fallen back into the routine that he used to be happy with before Bluebell. He would get up, have breakfast, go to work, have lunch with his brother, finish work, go out with his friends, have dinner with his brother and their girlfriends- who were practically sisters to him now- and then go home. This used to make him happy; this was the life he had planned for himself. But it all seemed so...so...not Bluebell.

Jeremy sighed and let his head fall into his hands. Maybe Zoe was right, maybe he had made the wrong choice.

-Bluebell-

"And finally step three; acceptance."

-New York-

"Tell us about Bluebell."

Jeremy turned his head away from the video game that was on his television and looked over at his Katherine, his future sister in law.

His brother John kept his eyes on the TV and said, "Now, babe? We're in the middle of saving a virtual world!"

Katherine raised an eyebrow from her place on the armchair and replied, "Well, if you don't let him answer, the couch you will be sleeping on tonight will not be virtual."

"Yes, honey." Jeremy smiled as John paused the game and he sat back on the couch.

Katherine was curled up on the armchair while his other brother Paul and his girlfriend Lucy, were sitting on the kitchen chairs that they had brought into the living room. John was sat beside him on the couch and he said, "Alright bro, spill! It's about time you give us the real story about Bluebell."

Jeremy shrugged and replied, "I have told you. I was offered a job by the Mayor and saved up until I could afford to stay in California. That's it."

Paul nearly snorted into his beer and he exclaimed, "Are you kidding?! You were like a changed man when you came back. I've never seen you so relaxed ...and tanned! All you've properly told us is that Lavon Hayes is the Mayor."

"Just, give us more than the story you've obviously rehearsed," Katherine said.

Jeremy sighed and started to pick at the label on his beer bottle. He just invited them around for some drinks, not an interrogation. But, maybe talking about Bluebell would help.

"It's a really small town, like right out of a story book or something. The bus doesn't even go there; you have to walk a mile from the stop. It's got a gazebo in the town square which is carefully looked after. In the spring it's full of flowers and in the summer, you could lay out on the grass under one of the trees. In the autumn those trees just amazing colours and even in winter, the snow looks beautiful. The streets are clean and the shop fronts are painted these bright colours. It has schools and a library; a doctor's office and anything else you could want. But it's not the actual place that makes it so great."

The other four people in the room were watching and listening closely. They could see that Jeremy was far away, barely taking any notice of them as he talked about the town that had made an impact on him.

"The people are what really make Bluebell a wonderful place to live. I mean, they are all crazy in their own right but they are all a compatible kind of crazy. Lavon Hayes is a great Mayor and his wife Lemon could run that town and paint her nails at the same time. Tom Long and his wife, Wanda are two of the nicest people you could ever meet and their kids have good hearts. Dr. Breeland is like a father to everyone, not just a doctor. But the people I got closest to were the Kinsella's. Wade owns the bar in town and he used to be the town deadbeat. But then he met his wife Zoe, who was a New York doctor, and she inspired him to go after his dreams. He has his own bar now and he still looks after his father. Zoe is the other town doctor and like me, she came to Bluebell from New York, thinking that she would stay just the year. But she stayed and got married, all the while furthering her career in Bluebell. They have a daughter Lily and I swear, I thought that girl would send me to a hospital bed. She has to climb everything and get into every single dangerous situation there is. But she's a great kid and I love her to bits. And then there's Rose who-."

Jeremy frowned at this and cut himself off. His brothers exchanged glances with their partners and John asked, "What about this Rose?"

Jeremy cleared his throat and shrugged, saying, "It doesn't matter-."

"Clearly she does," Katherine said, "You said her name and you blushed."

Jeremy sighed and looked around at them. "She's...the girl who fixed my car on the first day I was in Bluebell. I, um, I asked her out when I realised that I was staying for a while and she said yes." He frowned again and looked over at his two brothers, as if he was in pain.

"She was my Katherine; my Lucy. And I completely messed it up! I left her because I thought New York or California was all part of my stupid ass plan and now I am miserable! A huge part of me needs to go back to Bluebell because that where my life is now but I messed up so badly."

He sighed and took a deep breath then, as his words slowly sank into his mind.

"Ah crap...I'm moving back to Bluebell."

Jeremy raised his eyes to see both his brothers and their girlfriends looking at him in slight shock. It was John who spoke first, followed by the others.

"I'll get your suitcase."

"I'll call your estate agent to say you're finally selling this place."

"I'm going to find a flight to Alabama."

"And I'm going to find a picture of Rose; he must have one around here somewhere."

As they all shot up from their seats, Jeremy felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders. But he frowned and called to John, "Wait! Aren't you supposed to yell at me for not thinking things through and making rash decisions?! You're the oldest, that's your job."

John smiled at his brother and replied, "Jeremy, whenever I talked to you on the phone when you lived in Bluebell, I could always hear how happy you were. That's all we want; for you to be happy. Now get off your ass and help."

Jeremy grinned and hopped off the couch. He was moving home and his family was just excited that he was finally going to be happy. But actually getting his life back was going to be a lot harder than this.

-A few days later; Bluebell-

Zoe was humming as she picked up her hand bag and made her way to the front door of her house. She was off to work on a beautiful sunny day, and was in a good mood; even if it was the last day of the bet.

Zoe bit her lip as she searched for her car keys and thought of Jeremy. Maybe it would take longer for him to come to his senses. Zoe clicked her tongue when she realised that her keys were in the bedroom and she walked across the room to the open door.

Wade was still asleep, after closing the bar late the night before. He was dozing with his arms folded over his chest and Lily was sleeping beside him, mirroring her father. She had crawled into bed with them as it was raining the night before. Zoe stood at the bottom of the bed after she picked up the keys and smiled at her family. Both her husband and daughter had that blonde hair that seems to shine in the sun, a grin that could brighten a day and, also, both were slobs.

Wade sighed as he woke up slightly and saw her.

"I'm heading to work," she said as she tiptoed out the door and he mumbled a goodbye.

"Bring back a case of beer for the game tonight, could you?" he added right before she left.

"And juice!" Lily called out, her eyes still closed, "Peter Long is coming over to play."

Wade didn't even open his eyes as he said, "I don't like that boy."

Zoe raised an eyebrow and replied, "He's six, Wade. Plus, I doubt that you will have to worry about any boyfriends for a couple more years."

"What's a boyfriend?"

"They are what shotguns are for, baby girl," Wade replied.

Zoe snorted with laughter as she walked out of the room and went to the front door. She opened it mid laugh but stopped suddenly when she saw Jeremy standing in front of her, arm raised, ready to knock.

Wade, who had heard his wife's sudden stop and the slight gasp that followed, sat up in bed and said, "Zo? Everything ok?"

Zoe blinked at Jeremy, who let his arm drop. He was standing in a white t-shirt and jeans with a bag flung over his shoulder. "You're here to stay?" she asked him and he nodded.

Zoe smiled widely and turned her head to the bedroom to shout, "Wade! Give me my money!"

"What?!" Wade scrambled out of bed and hurried to see Jeremy, who gave him a slight wave. "Well, heck, you were right Doc," he said, "He came to his senses."

"Yup," Jeremy said, "I've got the old house back from Lavon and my old job with Lemon. I was just stopping by to tell you guys."

He looked past them and asked, "Where's Lily?"

Both Zoe and Wade looked through the doorway to see Lily sitting up in bed, obviously knowing who was at the door.

"Honey, do you want to say hi to Jeremy?" Zoe asked but Lily huffed and pulled the covers over her head.

Zoe sent Jeremy a sympathetic smile but he just shrugged. "I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I haven't even gone to see Rose yet because I had to sign papers for the house."

Wade leaned against the door frame and replied, "Rose has been staying with her parents for the past month. They're probably at work right now but she'll be there." He couldn't have been clearer.

Jeremy smiled at both of them before nodding his thanks and turning to walk off the porch. Right before he walked off the last step, he looked around and said, "Did I ever thank you guys? And tell you that you told me so?"

"No," said Zoe "But it's about time you did."

Jeremy grinned again and hurried off across the yard to his house. The couple watched as he disappeared into his home and then Zoe cleared her throat expectantly.

Wade sighed and said, "How about I pay you by actually doing the chores?"

-The Hattenbarger Home-

Rose sighed as she picked up the basket of clean laundry and walked into her room. It was strange for her to be living back with her parents after all this time; yet it wasn't too unusual for a person her age.

Rose put the basket on her bed and walked over to her chest of drawers. She had just dumped all her clothes from Jeremy's house into the drawers when she had returned to her parents' house and Rose had promised her mom that she would finally clean them out. With a sigh, she pulled open the first drawer and looked through the clothes that were packed in it.

As her hands brushed against a familiar material, she froze. In her hurry to grab her things after Jeremy had left, she had taken one of his shirts. It was blue and soft and even after a month, smelt just like him.

As she lifted it out of the drawer, memories started to return to her.

The first time she had seen him at the mechanic's; dirty, sweating but with a killer smile. The anniversary party when he had first asked her out and his face when she had refused. His face when she had finally said yes. Their first date; their first time.

Waking up with him in the morning and thinking that was how she wanted to spend the rest of her life. But clearly he had other ideas.

She dropped the shirt back into the drawer and shut it tight, breathing deeply for a few moments. It was only when she heard a knock on the door, did she step away from the drawers and walked out of the room.

She hurried down the stairs and threw open the wooden front door, only to see the very man she was thinking about standing right in front of her. They stared at each other for a moment, her in shock that he was here and him, not wanting to make her angry just by speaking first.

"What are you doing here?!" she asked him, holding onto the door for dear life.

Jeremy cleared his throat and said, "I've moved back to Bluebell. For good. I got the house back and Lavon hired me again so..."

Rose blinked at him; making him nervous.

"I know," he continued, "that it may seem like I'm just walking back into your life as I please. I also know that that was our problem in the first place. I can't just walk in and out of your life at a moment's notice."

"Sounds about right," she answered.

Jeremy licked his lips and tried to remember the speech he had practise over and over. It was perfect; the right balance between grovelling and making his point. And he had just forgotten all of it when she opened the door.

"Look," he said, deciding to just wing it-there was no way he was losing her again. "I had a plan; I've had it all my life. That's how I make sense of the world. I don't think I've ever done anything that wasn't part of one of my plans. And then I came here." He took a breath but Rose remained still at the door, watching him.

"This place and you and everyone else...you don't fit the plan but I don't want it anymore. Before I came here, I didn't even know who I really was. But now I do...now I know what I want from life and I will do anything I can to get it all back. I am so sorry."

He swallowed hard and looked over Rose's face. She was frowning slightly at him, wanting to believe him but at the same time, so cautious. This man had broken her heart once before after all. Jeremy put his hand in his jean's back pocket and pulled out a small jewellery box.

Rose's eyes widened and she said, "Oh my-Jeremy!"

"I'm not asking for an answer right now or even in a year! This is to prove that I'm serious about staying here...and I'm serious about you Rose. I missed you so much and I never want to lose you like that again. I'll wait as long as it takes for you to make up your mind; no pressure."

He held out the box to her and after a moment, Rose took it.

"Just think out it please," he said as he walked off the porch. He sent her a grin, one that never failed to have her smiling as well. "After all, I'm not leaving Bluebell."

Rose watched as Jeremy walked away down the street, greeting people as he went. Rose shook her head with a smile; everyone was glad to see him back. She shut the door and leaned against it.

She turned the small blue box over in her hands before opening it. The silver band held three diamonds, not too big but not miniscule. It was simple and elegant; it was exactly what she would have chosen. She snapped the lid shut and pressed the box against her chest. She was caught between running out after him and thinking the whole thing through.

So, Rose did the only thing she could think of; she got her coat and went to talk to Zoe.

-Doctor's office-

"What am I going to do Zoe?!"

The brown eyed doctor sipped her coffee before placing the cup back on her office desk. How many times over the years had she heard Rose say those words? Zoe looked at the younger girl, sitting across from her in one of the office chairs and folded her arm on the desk.

"Sweetie, I really think that he's back here for good if that's what you're worried about."

Rose sighed and leaned her head in her hand. "I just...want to believe him so much Zoe. I mean, Jeremy was the first guy that I ever felt completely connected to. With all my other boyfriends in this town, I was always changing something about myself for them; so they wouldn't see me as little Rose. I never let any of them see me in my mechanic's gear, especially covered in oil stains but that was the first thing Jeremy ever saw me in! But he didn't care and neither did I and why is this so difficult?!"

Zoe tried not to laugh at her friend and she cleared he throat before speaking. "Rose, when you were a teenager all you wanted to do was define yourself by what other people thought of you. That's why I knew that Fredrick Dean would never work out because you were trying to be someone else for him. But honey, Jeremy knew who were from the start and he didn't want anyone but Rose. That's why he proposed right away because he doesn't want to date you; he wants to marry you."

Rose sighed and bit her lip. Zoe tilted her head and added, "Did you ever realise that Wade and I got married soon after I decided to really stay in Bluebell?"

Rose frowned and tried to remember before replied, "Ya I guess. Why?"

Zoe smiled softly and said, "I was tired of waiting for him; tired of getting him to wait for me. We knew each other; we loved each other; so we got married. Sometimes sweetie, when it's the right person and the right time, you've just got to go for it."

-Meanwhile; The Kinsella Home-

Lily sat down by the lake side, her legs tucked underneath her as she made mud pies. Her hands were covered in dirt and Wade grimaced from his place on the porch as he imagined the nightmare of trying to get her clothes clean again.

The door of the next house opened and Jeremy stepped out onto the porch. Wade nodded to him as he walked over to their side of the yard.

"Hey!" the blonde man said, "Here to grovel at my daughter's feet again?"

Jeremy sighed and leaned an arm against the porch. "Lily must be the most stubborn seven year old I've ever met. I mean I'm a 24 year old man for goodness sake; I should not care what a child thinks of me."

"Except you do and when she looks at you with betrayal in her big brown eyes, you want to throw yourself into the lake," Wade said.

Jeremy looked up at him and asked, "What did you do to make her look at you like that?"

"Told her she couldn't put a saddle on Burt Reynolds and ride him to school."

Jeremy snorted and looked back at Lily, who was still making mud pies, except now they looked like towers. He strolled over her and sat down beside her with a sigh. She gave no notice that she had seen him so Jeremy said, "Hi Lily." The little girl kept working so Jeremy tried again.

"I know you're mad at me for leaving; a lot of people were. But I'm back now and I'm here to stay."

Lily paused and her eyes darted towards him. She paused and then asked, "You promise?"

"Oh I promise on all the gummy bears in the world," he replied, knowing that to her, that was the most solemn promise a person could make. Lily bit her lip but huffed and went right back to ignoring him.

Jeremy sighed and stood up. But he looked down at Lily and said, "Well I hope to see you at the party for Lavon's birthday."

With that he walked back over to Wade and shrugged. "Best I can do right now."

Wade patted his shoulder and replied, "Don't worry about; at least she said to words to you. That's more than I got from the Burt Reynolds incident."

The weeks passed and Jeremy fell right back into Bluebell. It almost felt like he had never left except for the fact that Lily and Rose were still avoiding him. Lemon had kept him busy though; she wanted Lavon's birthday to be flawless.

He had just finished putting up the rest of the decorations in the Mayor's house on the afternoon of the party and was heading back to his home. He opened the door and was ready to pull his shirt over his head as he stepping into his bedroom to have a shower.

But he froze in the doorway when he saw Rose sitting on his bed.

She was sitting with her legs crossed and her left hand stretched out in front of her as she admired the ring sitting on her finger. Jeremy barely moved, afraid this was all a dream and then Rose spoke.

"You do realise, that you can never leave me again."

She met his eyes and raised one shoulder in a shrug. Jeremy felt a grin stretch out onto his face and he hurried towards her. Rose laughed wildly as he hugged her and they feel down on top of the bed. The feeling of having her in his arms again threatened to overwhelm him so Jeremy hugged her tight. Rose ran her fingers through his short brown hair and he could feel the cool silver band across his skin.

He raised his head to look at her and spoke softly. "I never actually asked...Rose will you marry me?"

She scrunched up her nose and replied, "I'll have to think about it!"

But the end of her sentence peppered off into a laugh as Jeremy had grabbed her sides and tickled. He bent down a head and kissed her, her arms tightening around his neck to keep him there.

"You're making me the happiest man on the plant." Rose pressed a hand to his cheek, their mouth still hovering across each other.

"Well, you're not bad at making a girl ecstatic either."

When they walked into Lavon's house later that evening, the party was in full swing. Lemon stormed up to him, demanding to know why he was late, when she saw Rose's hand clasped in his own. She squealed and grabbed them both in a hug before running off to find Zoe.

He and Rose exchanged grins before Rose spotted a certain blonde haired seven year old. She nodded in Lily's direction, which was out on the porch through the open door. Jeremy turned to see the small girl staring up at the night sky and he gave Rose's hand a squeeze before walking out again into the air.

Lily was leaning on the porch rail looking up at the moon and stars and pretending not to see him. He crouched down beside her, ignoring what it must be doing to his suit and sighed.

"I was lost for a really long time you know. I didn't know where my home was until I found Bluebell. And a girl who wanted to marry me; and best friends who wanted to help me. But most of all...a little girl who wanted to keep me because I reminded her of her alligator."

Lily was hiding her face in her arms now and Jeremy leaned forward again.

"Lily...can you keep me?"

Lily sniffed and suddenly threw her arms around his neck. Jeremy smiled and stood up, holding her in his arm. She raised her head from his shoulder and replied, "Only if you work on not being so grumpy."

Jeremy laughed and nodded his head as they turned to walk back into the party. Jeremy spotted Wade and Zoe by the kitchen island and they smiled when they saw their daughter with him.

"I found him!" Lily said, "We better make sure he doesn't get lost again."

Wade snorted and Jeremy replied, "I won't, don't worry."

"Jeremy!"

They all turned around to see Lemon dragging Rose by the hand towards him with Lavon trailing after them. Lemon reached them and put Rose's hand up, the ring glittering in the air.

"I'm planning it," Lemon said seriously, her eyes telling him that he and Rose had no choice. Jeremy looked at Rose who shrugged and replied for him. "We'd loved for you to help Lemon."

The blonde woman immediately began to plan and plot with her husband there trying to calm her. Rose and Jeremy exchanged glances and she sent him a wink. He sighed happily and looked around at the packed room, filled with friends and people who cared for him.

He looked at Zoe who smiled and nodded. She knew what he was thinking.

How did they end up in Bluebell, Alabama? Of all the places on the planet, why was it this one town that was right just for them? But the two ex New Yorkers really didn't care; all that mattered was that they were home.