BUS SPEAKER: Bluebell, Alabama, last stop on the Gulf Coast.

Madison: [voiceover] It wasn't New York. It really really wasn't New York. But I was going to figure out a way to make this work. But first, I needed a cab.

Dragging her suitcases and struggling with them immensely, she cursed herself for not following Zoe's example and bringing just one. Instead, she had to haul five, an unfortunate habit picked up from her mother.

Zoe and she were trekking a couple of miles further, a dreadful task made worse by her choice of heels. She wore a white blouse with black shorts, having ditched the blazer earlier due to the sweltering heat, unlike Zoe who persisted with hers. Her feet were clad in strappy black heels, matching a black leather purse.

"I think we're gonna die out here," she said desperately, imagining succumbing to the heat or perhaps a bear attack.

"No, we're not. We're gonna keep going and we're going to make it. We're Harts; we don't give up," Zoe said determinedly, reminding her of why they needed each other, relying on each other's strength.

"You're right. I need to stop whining and hope for a miracle," she said, sighing exhaustingly. Almost on cue, a truck stopped next to them.

"Can I offer you a ride, ma'am?" the man in the truck asked in a thick southern accent. He was cute, with brown hair and blue eyes.

"Thank you, but I have a strong policy against strangers chopping me up into a million pieces," she told him in a sarcastic tone, not wanting to die by getting into a stranger's car; imagine that in the papers.

"If it helps, I'm an attorney, not an axe murderer," he said innocently. She and Zoe looked at each other skeptically and then decided with their twin telepathy (yeah, that's a thing) that they were going to take their chance with this guy; it could have been worse, right? They nodded to each other with a small hint of hesitation in their eyes.

Seeing that they agreed, he stepped out of the car.

"Alright, just- just leave that there, I'll get it for you."

"I think you're going to have a lot more trouble with mine," she told him sheepishly, seeing as she had way more bags than Zoe.

"Okay, um- thanks, this is nice of you," Zoe said to him.

Zoe sat in the front while she sat in the back, trying to find a signal. (I know it doesn't have a backseat; let's just pretend it does.)

"So, let me guess, New Yorker? I lived in Tribeca for a while when I worked at Cravath," he told them, or more specifically Zoe.

Madison looked up from her phone in surprise, that was a top 10 firm in the city, what was he doing here?

"As in Cravath, Swaine, and Moore?" she questioned curiously.

"Yep," he nodded.

"What are you doing here?" Zoe said, voicing Madison's thoughts.

"Take it you're not in town for the crawdads, huh?" He said, smiling at Zoe. He was cute, maybe she'll finally get over her sorry excuse of an ex.

"Um, I've been exiled from Manhattan- this is my purgatory," Zoe said, shaking her head sadly.

"Think of it as a fresh start," Madison said, squeezing Zoe's shoulder affectionately. Zoe turned back and smiled at Madison in return.

"Well, if uh, you consider purgatory to be a place where neighbors take care of each other and every third Tuesday demands a parade, well, you can call it what you want, but I call it home," he said passionately. It seemed the South bred a particular man who was passionate about his home.

After they arrived in Bluebell, the place was exactly how Harley described it: small and sweet. And not to mention looked boring as hell.
Madison, the guy (whose name they still didn't know), and Zoe got out of the car. Some girls in outfits passed them, looking at Madison and Zoe condescendingly. That was saying something considering the outfits they were wearing, dressed up like an extra from the Scarlett Letter.

The man handed them their suitcases. "I'm uh, George Tucker," he extended his hand towards Zoe, seeing as Madison was sorting her suitcases.

"Zoe... Dr. Zoe Hart," she told him, shaking his hand. "And that's my sister Madison."

"Also, a doctor," Madison pointed out in the background. He chuckled in amusement.

"Well, uh, well, good luck, Doctor Hart. I hope you find what you're looking for," he said kindly, looking at them.

Zoe had one of her suitcases and one of Madison's since Madison couldn't carry all five of them by herself. When they reached the clinic, they looked up at the building. Zoe and Madison looked at each other and shrugged.

Zoe pulled the gate open, and they dragged their suitcases in.

The clinic was cute, in an old-timey, small-town kind of way, at least that's what Madison thought. Zoe looked at the space with judgment in her face.

They reached the service desk where a woman with curly hair and glasses was managing the booth.

"Hi. Hello? Is Doctor Wilkes around?" Zoe asked her politely.

"What rock you been livin' under the last four months? Harley passed away," she said, not even looking up from what she was doing.

"So that's why he hasn't written to me," Madison said in realization. She was already wondering why he wasn't responding; he always does.

The lady looked up surprised. "Are you Madison Hart?"

"Yeah, and this is my sister Zoe," Madison said, pointing at her.

"He told me if he kept writing you his letters eventually, you'd show up. Guess he was right," she said in astonishment.

"Why would he want my sister and me to show up?" Zoe questioned.

"Because Harley left you, his practice. Both of you," she told them, looking Madison in the eye. What the hell.

-

Emmeline (the receptionist) and the girls were walking in town.

"It's beyond weird- why us?" Zoe asked the billion-dollar question.

Emmeline sighed. "Harley never really explained."

"Well, clearly the man was one avocado short of a cobb salad, but oddly it works in my favor" Zoe said in satisfaction.

"This is the catch of the day?" Zoe said disgusted looking in the box.

"What were you expecting, sou ve grouper with a mint julep? It's a gulf, we've got catfish. It's fried." Emmeline said looking at Zoe in amusement.

Madison took one look inside the box, saw the greasy mess that was inside, and took it out of Zoe's hands.

She threw it in the nearby trash container not noticing the disapproving look Emmeline was sporting towards her way.

"Look, Chief says I have to spend a year as a GP and I don't want to waste a day, so notify the town crier or whatever and let them know I'm open for business," Zoe said carelessly.

"What my sister means is that we're gonna be here for a year take care of the practice and see where we go along from there." The blonde corrected Zoe's callous sentence.

"Oh no no, the thing is, see, technically Harley only left you half the practice, and he shares it with Dr. Breeland, and Brick, he's been waiting a long time to get Bluebell all to himself." Emmeline told us.

"Sucks for him." Madison thought out loud in amusement.

"Okay, well, let's just find him, tell him we're only here for a year, and then he can be the big fish in the world's smallest pond." Zoe told Emmeline.

"Brick's hunting, and that ain't the sort of news you tell an Alabama when he's got his hog rifle locked and loaded."

Madison couldn't wait to meet this guy; he sounded like a hoot. She then noticed a bunch of girls in weird dresses that were from the Civil War. This was the second time a group of women was wearing that get-up, is it the fashion here?

"Whoa. Okay, someone needs to tell the people of this town that it's 2011". She said looking at them, who would ever willingly do this?

"Dancing in celebration of the Confederacy, really?" Zoe asked looking at Emmeline incredulously.

"Dr. Hart, the Belles are elite young ladies chosen to keep our history alive." The girls just laughed in response. "You can mock all you want, but I wouldn't do it out loud, because, well, they're meaner than they look." She warned them.

"What it is, is tone deaf, no matter how pretty you try to make it," Madison said frowning at Emmeline.

"The Belles? Emmeline, come on." Zoe added in disbelief.

"You can call me Mrs. Hattenbarger. And my husband put the satellite in last year, we watched every episode of the Sopranos, and believe me, that family has got nothing on these girls." She told them pointing at the group.

A girl in a bright yellow dress approached the three of them with a smile on her face which seemed permanently scary.

"When I heard there were two new lady doctors in town, I painted myself quite a different picture, but you...are just so pretty." She said looking at the two New Yorkers, the silent judgment ringing in the air.

And lady doctors? What is this 1864?

"Zoe and Madison this is Lemon Breeland." Emmeline told us. Madison held back a laugh, lemon? She hoped to God that was a nickname.

"Oh, okay- you're Brick's daughter," Zoe said in surprise.

"Alright, um.." Zoe shakes her hand. "Yeah, it's really nice to meet you. I'm dying to talk to your dad. I know he's hunting or whatever, but you must have a way to contact him?"

"Oh, honey, there's no need for that. He knows that you're here. And if I were you, I'd be gone by the time that he returns, because Daddy can be quite...imposing." She said to them in a tone that made it sound like the girls should fear her "Daddy."

"Well, you tell "Daddy" that if my medical career hasn't been killed by my mother, or the Chief of Surgery at New York Hospital, it most certainly won't be by some Southern xenophobe dressed up like a stick of butter." Zoe told her smiling a bit to sweetly.

"You have a good day," Lemon told them, in an overly polite tone.

"You too sweetheart," Madison called out to the other blonde as she was walking away.

"I'm going to see some patients. Could you get me a venti soy latte, so I don't fatigue?" Zoe asks her mockingly knowing full well the closest Starbucks was probably in the next state.

"Thanks, that is so nice of you."

-

Back at the clinic, Madison and Zoe stepped inside Harley's office. It was very different from New York, that's for sure. Zoe's phone started ringing; it must be their mother. Madison had been avoiding her calls ever since she got signal.

"Hi. Sorry I haven't been answering. Actually, there's something I have to tell you... We moved to Alabama! Mom? Are you there?" Zoe told her over the phone, and Madison was right; it was their mom.

She was looking around when an old man walked through the office with a note in his hand.

"Is Dr. Breeland around?" He asked in a raspy voice.

"He's hunting. My mom- she's freaking out. Told her I moved here," Zoe said, ignoring the ringing of the phone.

"Are you okay?"  Madison asked him, their first patient; they had to make a good impression.

"Oh, I feel as good as anyone my age would. There's been a little mix-up down at the DMV. I don't suppose any of you could sign this for me?" He handed Madison the paper.

"Let me give you an eye test first," Madison said, looking at the paper.

"Mom?" Zoe finally picked up while the man started reciting the eye chart.

"Uh... no, you know what happened with the fellowship. It's a GP position," Zoe told mom frantically. "Alabama, mom. The state. No, I'm not having a nervous breakdown, okay, I- no, it's. You, too, bye." Amusingly enough, the man didn't stop reading.

He had passed with flying colours, at his age most people would be struggling. Guess bluebell men were stronger than that.

"Alright!" Madison signed and handed the man his paper, with it stating that he had passed his eye test.

"Thank you very much," he told them and hobbled out.

Madison and Zoe had been sitting in the practice for the past hour.

The blonde was bored, immensely, when suddenly, Emmeline and two other people walked in.

"Oh, my latte," Zoe asked surprised.

"Oh, yeah- got thirsty on the way. Drank it. But you got a patient," Mrs. H said, pointing at the two women.

"Oh."

"Finally, something to do in this town," Madison said exasperated. She almost thought no one would get sick here.

She let Zoe stitch her up, seeing as it wasn't her strongest suit.

"I'm using subcuticular stitches, so there will barely be a scar," Zoe said, trying to be nice and polite.

"Well, it's not like I'm going to catch a fella now. Hey, maybe you could give some dating tips to my daughter here," the woman, Colleen, said, pointing her daughter. The girl had suspiciously dark patches across her skin.

"You know that thing about potato chips- how you can't eat just one? I think Mabel feels that way about lunch, don't you, honey? She's always been chubby but she's put on a good half-ton since that boyfriend of hers dumped her." Christ with a mother like that wo needed enemies, Madison thought

"Who needs a boyfriend when you have food to keep you company, trust me sweetheart if he doesn't like you for who you are screw him. You can always count on your tv," She said to the girl smiling.

She gave Madison a small smile of appreciation. Madison knew what it was like to have your mother embarrass you.

"You're all set. Use the antibiotic cream twice a day. Mabel...those dark patches on your face. How long have you had those?" Zoe asked Mabel softly, sensing that the girl was shy.

"I told her to use sunblock. Come on," Colleen got off the table.

"No offense, but we'll be seeing Dr. Breeland from now on. You understand." Dammn, their first patient and they already dislike them. Madison thought this had got to be a new record.

"Mabel wait." Madison went after them. "Here's my number call if you need anything I'll be sure to always pick up." Mabel seemed nice, and Madison needed friends in a foreign town that seemed wary of strangers.

—
First Chapter revized. Hope you guys enjoy it.

No beta, we die like Ned Stark

-Imanstar52