Summary: Carter said that things between Zane and Zoe were only a crush and that it wasn't going to last. But Jo asked, "what if it does?" AU on that theme. Jo and Zane's lives go in dramatically different directions. Takes place after 'll Be Seeing You

Chapter One
Homegoing

General Mansfield closed another folder and lay it atop the others stacked on his desk. The amount of paperwork and reports needed for the latest debacle in Eureka had him particularly testy this morning. However, it couldn't be avoided if he wanted to maintain the level of control needed for the many projects he was counting on from their defense labs. He could grudgingly admit that a good number of extremely useful pieces of technology consistently came out of this problematic town. Dealing with the chaos of Eureka was ultimately a good investment, although at times it hardly seemed worth half the effort he spent cleaning up their scientific messes. As a result, the United States was light years ahead of any other country in terms of technologically defensive and offensive resources.

But over the past several months, the defiant cracks in his carefully placed infrastructure were starting to wear on him. Thanks to Dr. Fargo's latest annoying show of independence, there was a lot of unwanted attention on his management of the town — and more people wanting to reap the benefits of his pet project. Senator Wen had already been nosing around a bit too much for his liking and he was quite certain she was biding her time with a secret agenda of her own. That he was somewhat beholden to her for funding made the situation that much more uncomfortable.

It was clear that some changes were required when it came to Eureka's future. Wen and Fargo weren't the only ones causing him headaches. As usual the Sherriff continued to poke his nose where it didn't belong and even Dr. Blake, who he thought had peacefully settled into domestic life after the death of Nathan Stark, was starting to show some of her old fire. He had considered making her head of GD at one point because of her prior track record for working within DOD interests. But at the end of the day, he felt like he wouldn't be doing her any favors by giving her the position. Besides, she was quite well respected both in the scientific community and with the DOD which made her potentially too resourceful to keep under his thumb. If he wanted to keep a tight reign on the town, she wasn't the one to have in charge.

At the moment though, more troubling was his hand picked security chief starting to hold her cards a little too close to her chest — and it was unclear to him whether that was a good or a bad thing. However, it absolutely unacceptable. He wasn't sure if it was related to her allegiance to the Sherriff, Douglas Fargo or some other local influence. He also wasn't particularly interested in finding out. Her bizarre defense of that train wreck Zane Donovan was simply one example. In fact, Fargo was also strangely trusting of the former felon. Donovan had been given a great deal of responsibility recently and that simply would not do. He didn't want that reckless, cocky convict around any of his projects. Even if he had slipped past responsibility for the destruction of the first sky cruiser prototype and the theft of the DED Device, it was only a matter of time before he was caught screwing something up that no one could fix for him.

Yes, Global Dynamics was becoming a big problem given his plans. And he knew just what needed to happen, starting with Josefina Lupo.

Two days. That's all the time she had to pack up her stuff and report to Mansfield in Washington D.C.

It wasn't that she needed more than two days to get her personal effects in order. Because of the destruction of her home and the fact that construction had only recently resumed on it, she didn't have enough to even qualify what she was doing as packing up. It was everything else that had her wishing for more time. Leaving her friends, changing jobs, taking another path into the unknown — it was all contributing to the overwhelming sense of her life going in a completely different direction than she could control.

After hearing her new orders, she had spent the first few hours in complete shock, mindlessly collecting her things and making lists of what she needed to do. She didn't even call anyone to let them know that she'd be gone by week's end. S.A.R.A.H. of course picked up that something important had happened so it was only a matter of time before Carter got wind of it. But outside of her senior security staff, only Fargo had any idea and he was as stunned as her. He had been in the meeting when Mansfield made the announcement along with her second in command at GD — now the new chief of security. He was clearly upset at having been left out of the loop, however, he left it to her to handle who she chose to tell.

It was her heart that couldn't catch up with the idea of leaving Eureka behind. As if her world hadn't been uprooted enough already, all of the people that had been her community for so many years would be gone in a matter of hours. Eureka had been the only stable place she'd lived since she was a girl and there was something extremely dispiriting about leaving it without the proper closure. Even with the changed timeline, this town would always be home to her.

But there was a small part that was wondering whether her transfer was the universe righting itself. After what had happened with Zane the other day the future was looking a little shaky. That kiss, those emotions, the danger of discovery . . . just thinking about it made her nervous and uncomfortable. Mostly, it was seeing Zane with Zoe solidifying that things were never going back to what they were. No matter what she did, those years with him were gone.

Jo did her best to block out the wave of regrets. The pain of it still threatened to overwhelm her, especially now. Besides, there was nothing she could do; she was leaving Eureka and him. Now it was time to really do what she had been threatening for weeks. It was time to let him go.

As upset as she was about Zane, it was the effect her reassignment would have on her other relationships that caused the most distress. Henry, Allison, Fargo and Vincent were some of the closest friends she'd ever had; Zoe and Carter were like family. She couldn't imagine going one day, much less weeks at a time without seeing any of these people. And leaving them for what? Some shadowy DOD mission that General Mansfield had tapped her for? But it wasn't her place to question it. She was still on auxiliary military status and when they said jump, she said how high. At one point she had lived for the adrenaline rush of combat. Even in Eureka she had her moments of genuinely enjoying the excitement of saving the day. It was crazy to her how the mystery and rush that she'd lived through in the past few years gave her Ranger days a run for its money. More surprising was how it was the quiet moments in between disasters that had made her feel fulfilled whether it was sipping a Vincepresso at the counter in Café Diem in the afternoon or having "guy talk" with Carter over reality TV and a beer.

To Jo, the two days seemed like just a few hours now that she was preparing to leave for the airport. Carter had offered to hold most of her belongings in S.A.R.A.H's storage alcove. He had also offered a ride to the airport but the military had arranged for her transport so there was no need. It was better that way since they would probably get a little emotional and both hated when that happened. Henry, Grace and Fargo had joined her, Carter, Allison and Zoe for dinner the previous night and she spent most of the day making the rounds to Café Diem and GD to see as many of her other friends and co-workers as she could.

Zoe hadn't mentioned anything about Zane and Jo didn't seek him out either. There was no point saying goodbye to him. All this sadness she was internalizing and he wouldn't even know to miss her.

She took a walk through town before stopping at her final destination: the Sherriff's Office that held so many memories for her. Inside, Carter was sitting behind his desk with his feet propped up waiting for her. Andy was suspiciously absent. Jo walked in slowly and took a long look at everything around her wondering if she would make her way back here again. Her gaze lingered on the jail cell, remembering all the frightening and tragic and funny things that had happened in there. A vision briefly appeared of a roguish smile and bright eyes playfully drinking her in.

Carter, seeing where his former Deputy's focus had stopped, got up from his desk and walked the few steps to stand next to her. "I'm really going to miss you. You know that right?"

Jo's sad expression brightened slightly as she turned to her friend. "Yeah, you can't live without me. I won't tell Allison." They both grinned before turning away from the cell, Carter leaning against his desk and Jo hopping up on her old desk. They sat in silence taking in the occasion until a familiar black SUV parked itself outside of the office.

"Looks like my ride's here."

Carter peered out the door and reluctantly stood up to accompany Jo as she took her final steps in Eureka. She hadn't made a move to leave yet so he put his hands in his pocket and walked over to where she was still perched on her old desk.

"Good luck, Deputy." Jo smiled at him and jumped off the desk to grab her bag.

Before heading to the door, she turned slowly for one last look at her friend. "I think you'll need the luck more than me." They both laughed as Jo walked towards the door and her future. "Later Carter," she yelled back.

From the window, he watched her climb into the SUV, her military professionalism in place. "Take care of yourself, Jo."

TBC

Author's Note: Wow, I started this well over a year ago after the end of season 4.0. I doubted my ability to tackle anything this angsty. So I outlined it and put it aside and then wrote a little and put it aside again, etc. Then about a month ago, I ran across it yet again and thought I'd give it another go as an exercise in getting back on the writing horse. I figured it was a better learning experience to share it than have it sit in oblivion forever.

Full disclosure: my beta edited an earlier draft but I tinkered with it since then (sorry, love). So any typos or clunkiness is all mine. But I'm happy to report that this is pretty much all written. I'll post the first few chapters now and the last half after I'm done giving it another edit.

Thanks so much for reading. Input and reviews are always welcome, time and energy permitting.