I don't even know what this is…

SPARTA. Or the product of my imagination. But probably Sparta.

I don't own Eureka.

Zane grunted as he released the pulleys of his weight machine and they clanged loudly as they shot back up into place, echoing in the empty gym. He sat up and grabbed a towel he'd thrown over a nearby weight rack to wipe his slightly moist brow. He breathed deeply to regulate his heart rate and picked up his water bottle, squirting some in his mouth as he scanned over the abandoned fitness center. It was actually kind of eerie; maybe he should go home… why was no one here? Lazy asses. Sure it was 10:30 at night, but still. Just as he started towards his bag, the door swung open, and in she walked.

Zane fought hard to suppress his smile. He'd been watching this babe of a woman come in every day for a month now. And she wasn't just an ordinary woman who ran feebly on the treadmill with arms flailing in the attempts to fit into size smaller jeans, no way. She went straight to the punching bags every time. And she attacked them. Whether she had a bunch of pent up rage or just enjoyed a different form of exercise, she was amazing: jabbing and pummeling and kicking with honed skill. He looked on as she unzipped her jacket and began to stretch with her back to him. When she began her workout, his smile managed to sneak onto his face – he couldn't help it! Zane could tell from her method that she was one hell of a woman. After a few minutes she spoke up without turning around.

"You gonna do something or just stare at my ass all day?"

"All night" he corrected and heard her snort in response as he walked over. "Besides, I was just admiring your form."

"Yeah, I bet you were."

"I certainly was Ms…"

She momentarily stopped and looked over at him, sizing him up. She seemed to find something trustworthy in what she saw, and finally responded. "Lupo. Jo Lupo."

Zane bowed extravagantly. "Zane Donovan, at your service."

The corner of her lips twitched upwards as she turned back to her now somewhat battered punching bag. He took that as an invitation (or at least not a rejection), stepping behind the poor old beat-up thing and braced it against the storm that is Jo Lupo. She doled out a particularly hard punch and Zane felt the impact travel up his arms. Hoo. She may be small, but damn she was powerful. Jo threw in some combos and Zane whistled. She paused again.

"That impresses you?"

"Maybe if I saw it put into real action it would" he taunted.

"You asking to grapple with me?"

"Why, Jojo, I thought you'd never ask" he said with a wink as he stepped out onto the mat.

She smiled at Zane's nickname for her and followed him out. She rotated her shoulder blades as he quickly stretched. Then they got into their stances. And oh, what a grapple it was.

Zane aimed a few punches at her abdomen and she blocked them with ease. That was fine; he was just testing the waters. She threw some at his head and he dodged out of the way.

"Hey! Watch the face!"

She grinned. "I just wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off it."

"That's my sexy smirk, Jojo. That's all for you."

She rolled her eyes as she threw her next jab – which he blocked of course. The next few minutes followed the same pattern, both aiming with precision, both getting repeatedly blocked. It looked like a stalemate until Jo's phone started ringing. Talking Heads – this girl was cooler than he'd originally given her credit for. She glanced over at the sound and Zane took advantage of the distraction to sweep his leg under her feet in an attempt to drop her. But she turned back quickly and responded with some sort of scary ninja-like ability, caught his leg, and flipped him over so his face was squished against the mat. That hurt.

"That all you got Zaney boy? Or are you just going easy on me because I'm a girl? Oh – did I mention you just got dropped by a girl?" she said teasingly. Zane hated losing. He twisted his ankle out of her grip and actually managed to pull off his move this time. She thudded onto her back on the mat, and Zane rolled over, pinning her arms down and keeping her still while simultaneously making sure not to crush her.

"That was all planned, babe. Lull you into a false sense of security and then pull out the big guns."

She struggled under him, but finally realized that their body weight ratios kind of guaranteed his winning that fight. She huffed and glared up at him, opening her mouth – no doubt to spit out some scathing comment – but she stopped. Her eyes flicked down to his lips. Zane suddenly realized how close their faces were, how he could feel her breath hot on his mouth, how her parted lips looked so tantalizingly pink and plump…

They were both shaken out of their intense focus on each other when Jo's phone started ringing again.

She let her head drop back onto the mat and groaned. "God, he just won't give up, will he?"

Something turned in Zane's stomach. He? A guy? She didn't have a boyfriend, did she?

"Who won't give up?"

"My psycho boss. He wants me to start working weekends – like I don't put in enough hours already."

Zane heaved an internal sigh of relief and sat up. He walked over to her bag, and the phone stopped ringing as soon as he reached it. That's right technology: be afraid, be very afraid. He picked up the handheld and typed something in, then placed it down again and bounded over to his bag. Jo had sat up at this point as was watching his motions with a quizzical expression on her face.

"What'd you do to my phone?"

Zane held out a finger. "Hold that thought, seems I have a text." He picked up his own phone and placed his hand over his heart in mock surprise.

"Why, Jo! I would love to meet you at The Caffeine Cave around ten tomorrow morning! We can talk about this lovely boss of yours" he said with a sparkling smile on his face.

She stood up and went to check her phone, finding the text he had sent to himself. She bit her lip and looked up at him. "Coffee shop, huh? Guess I'm a bit of a traditionalist."

"Well, I think you made the perfect choice since wrestling isn't exactly the best choice for a first date" he said, gesturing towards the mat.

She zipped up her bag as he talked and walked up right into his personal space, whispering in his ear: "Oh, but I do so love to wrestle Mr. Donovan." And with that she walked towards the door, hips sashaying sexily. All Zane could do was watch her retreating figure since his brain had decided to shut down. She turned back once she reached the door.

"See you at ten." And with a wink and a dazzling smile, she left.

Zane swallowed hard. He was suddenly wholly appreciative of the adjacent locker room showers.

A/N: I'm working on my other story! I just… lack inspiration. So we'll probably have Christmas some time in February. 'Tis the season! Or not, in this case.