Advice from an Old Friend

Jo runs into an old friend from her time line while having dinner at Cafe Diem. Can he help her deal with the Zane of this time line? Just go with me on this, in this fic, the further away from Eureka you get, the less the time line has changed. I thought I heard something about it on the second episode of the season, not sure if it was something I just wanted to hear. LOL This is a one shot fic, and has nothing to do with any of my other stories from this time line. LOL

I own nothing in this fic, except for the idea of the story. Oh and this takes place somewhere before the end of the second episode of season 4. It's before Andy becomes toast.

This fic is dedicated to my Zane and Jo friends, thanks to all of you for your feedback. I really do appreciate it. It makes me a better writer.

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Jo was sitting in a booth at Cafe Diem when in walked Zane and one of the nurses from the infirmary at GD. This was not going to be good. She really didn't want to sit here and watch him flirt with another woman. She'd had to watch him do that the night before and it almost broke her heart.

She was about to give up and leave when someone sat down next to her. She looked up and was shocked to see Taggart. "Tag? What are you doing here? I thought you went back to Russia to oversee the ice crystal growth there?" She asked.

"I'm all done there. They have a handle on the growth and the fungus is getting better, now that they know what they're looking for. I thought I'd come back and see what kind of trouble I might get into. You look a little down, what's up Jo?" He asked her, taking her hand in his.

It's a long story Tag and I'm not sure I can really explain it." She replied.

"Does it have anything to do with a different time line?" He asked her with a smile on his face.

Jo stared at him in shock. "What did you just say?"

"I asked if it had anything to do with the time line change. I know about it Jo, I knew the second I got to Eureka. There are differences here that I couldn't figure out. I ran into Henry and that robot deputy and they kind of confirmed what I'd expected." He said.

"How could you possibly have figured it out? And how come you're not a part of the new time line?" She asked.

"I guess because I was so far away from Eureka when it all went down, I wasn't effected. That's what Henry said about it. He and that robot deputy assured me that everything would be alright as long as I don't go and talk to anyone about it. Well, except for the five of you who actually are from the Eureka I remember. That deputy is a right cheerful bloke." He told her.

"Yeah, he's cheerful alright. He's got my job too." She explained.

"So, that's what's got you down girl?" He asked.

She shook her head and cringed when the nurse laughed loudly at whatever Zane had said. "That's not all."

He looked over at Zane and then back at Jo. "I thought things were going great for you and Zane. What's he doing with that sheila over there?"

"In this time line, we never got together. To make matters worse, in our time line, Zane asked me to marry him, and I froze. Now I don't have a chance to make things right with him. In our time line, Zane probably hates me as much as this one does." She explained.

"I wouldn't say that he hates you in this time line Jo. He keeps looking over here at you like he's not liking me sitting here with you." He said.

"I doubt it's that reason. He doesn't like me Tag, he can't stand me." She confided.

"Of course he's interested in you Jo, he's paying more attention to us than he is to his date." Taggart told her.

"I want to look, but I don't want him to know I'm looking. Hurry up and hug me Tag." She told him.

He turned his body and hugged her. She was able to look at Zane's table without making it look obvious. She watched him grab his date's hand and leave Cafe Diem. She waited until he was gone to sit back and look at Taggart. He was smiling back at her.

Jo didn't know what to think. Did it really mean that this Zane had feelings for her or what? "Wow, he didn't look happy, did he?"

He chuckled. "Nope, he was down right pissed off."

"But that doesn't mean he has feelings for me Tag. He's a jerk when ever I'm around, and from what everyone says, I love throwing his ass in jail." She said.

"Aw girl, don't ya know that's how a guy sometimes tells a gal he likes her?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes. "What is this, the third grade?" She said.

"Nah, just give the guy a chance and he'll come around soon enough. He'll make it known that he has feelings for you." He said.

"I don't know Tag, I had a great thing with Zane, the Zane in the other time line. What if I can't have that with this Zane? I can bare to lose him twice. My heart won't survive it again." She said.

"I wish I could promise you that everything will work out for you Jo." He told her.

She smiled as he wrapped an arm around her. "I know that Tag. I just wish that I could wake up from this nightmare and everything will be back to normal." She said.

"I know Jo, I know. I wish that I could help you." He replied.

"How long are you planning on sticking around this time Tag?" Jo asked him.

"I might stick around long enough to make sure that you're going to be happy Jo." He replied.

She smiled at him. "Well, I had better get back to my place, I've got to get up early for work tomorrow."

He stood and let her out of the booth. "Mind if I walk you home Jo?" He asked.

"I'm a big girl Tag, and I can take care of myself." She replied.

"I know that, but I'd like to still walk ya home. Can't a friend walk another friend home?" He asked her, as he walked with her towards the door. He held it open for her as he waited for an answer.

She smiled and walked outside. "You know, you're right Tag. I'd be happy to walk home with you. It's been a while since we had a good long talk."

"That's right girl. I miss the old days when we'd go hunting and paint-balling together. Shall we?" He asked as he held out an arm for her.

Jo laughed and put her arm through his, as they headed out towards her place. "Yes, we shall. Who talks like that?" She asked as he laughed with her.

"So, Fargo in charge of GD and you're head of security there, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's a good job, but I miss being Carter's deputy. So far, you're the only good thing I've found in this time line. Thanks for coming home Tag." She said as she hugged him.

"Aw, you're welcome Jo." He said as they crossed the street, heading towards her place.

They didn't notice Zane sitting, alone, on the bench in the town square. He didn't look very happy at seeing Jo walking towards her place with Taggart. He'd heard that they'd been an item once, and he didn't like that it looked like they were getting back together. No, he didn't like it one bit. He'd been trying to make her jealous by doing what he'd said that day in the jail. Now he was the one jealous.

He watched them until they turned the corner, and then went home to plan on how he could win her over now.

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Okay, that's it. I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading and please review.