A/N: I'm just continuing to branch out. Behold my first Eureka fanfiction. Obviously I don't own the rights, or Nathan would never have disappeared. My beta is a bit backed up preparing for a six month working holiday so I apologize for any mistakes you might find.
The first time Zane meets Fargo is when the other scientist comes barging into Zoe's party. And his intrigue is immediately piqued when Jo starts asking questions and Fargo responds – something about S.A.R.A.H. being patched into his computer at G.D. and Zane is so thankful for the action because Jo might be hot as hell but he has been bored out of his mind. He's even more interested when Zoe asks the other man about the periscope. Did Fargo...build S.A.R.A.H.? Unfortunately, he's too excited about having another scientific mind in the room and pressed forward too quickly. He reigns himself back in as he finds himself on the end of a suspicious glare. Luckily for Zane, the pressing desire to help the Sheriff and Stark wins. Fingers fly over keyboard and Zane almost can't believe it but Fargo's keeping up with him – is even faster than him sometimes – and the ex-con relishes the competition. It's a thrill that he hasn't felt with Jo, despite how brilliant she is. Zane knows them that he'll have to take a step back and figure things out but right now, he has to help the man who helped keep him in Eureka.
Afterwards, when GD is returned to normal (or as normal as it gets) – after Henry's been arrested, Zoe's party has restarted and Zane's been hugged to death by Jo, Zane looks around and sees Fargo typing in a last few commands before sending the periscope back up. In all the celebration, no one had congratulated Fargo and the other man hadn't looked like he had really expected it. Zane wonders how often Fargo gets overlooked.
"Nice work man!" Zane stated, slapping him on the back. Fargo stumbled a bit, not expecting the impact. He gave Zane an assessing look before nodding sharply.
"Thanks." He turned back to his PDA as he headed for the door and Zane grinned. Oh, yes. Chasing Fargo was going to be fun. Provided Jo didn't kill him first.
~Next Morning at Cafe Diem~
"I knew it. It's just like I told Allison after the whole Callister debacle – all the good ones are either taken, gay, or robots!"
"Uh, what was Callister? ...sorry," he stated, cringing at the glare Jo sent his way. "Look, Jo..." he sighed and trailed off, crossing his arms. "I wasn't expecting this to happen. I'm really attracted to you but at the same time it's like something just clicked with Fargo. And you know I'm an all or nothing type of guy."
"You know, this would have been a lot easier to swallow if you had mentioned being bisexual. And if I weren't losing you to Fargo," she tried to joke but it came out flat.
"Jo, you're not -" Zane began but cut himself off. After all, he couldn't make any promises. "I should have mentioned being bisexual but it's just been so long since I was attracted to another guy... I just think we should back off until I can get things sorted. I don't want to hurt anyone," he stated. Jo, her eyes still glued to the table, nodded.
"Let me know when you decide."
"Jo -"
"I have to get to work," she stated, rushing out of Cafe Diem.
"Trouble in paradise already?" Vincent asked, refilling Zane's cup.
"You could say that." Zane stated, eyes focusing on Fargo as he entered the cafe and sat at the counter. "Vincent, what can you tell me about Fargo?" The cafe owner raised his eyebrows.
"You're serious?" he asked, his tone relaying the fact that he thought Zane had lost his mind. At Zane's look, he sighed. "Alright, just hang out until after the breakfast rush is over and I'll tell you what I know. But don't try anything until after we've talked. Fargo is skittish and if you screw up, you might not get a second chance," he hissed before rushing off to tend to his other customers. Zane, for once, actually heeded another person's advice – as difficult as it was – and stayed put. Once the cafe cleared out, he moved from his booth to the counter.
"Well?" Zane asked, leaning forward.
"Okay. Fargo is third generation Eureka scientist. His grandfather pioneered cryogenics as we know them today."
"And his dad?" Zane asked. Vincent sighed sadly.
"Died in a lab explosion when Fargo was a kid. The Fargo Curse," he stated, staring blankly at the counter.
"Curse? Seriously?"
"If there's a button, they push it," Vincent stated matter-of-factually. "Do you know that his personnel file uses the phrase 'inappropriately pushed buttons' thirty-eight times?" Vincent asked as he shook his head in amusement. Zane laughed.
"Still, he's got to be pretty smart if they still keep him around," he stated as Vincent began wiping down the counter.
"Oh, Fargo's brilliant – even by Eureka standards, which is why he's assistant to the head of G.D. But because of his immature personality and accident proneness a lot of people regard him with impatience and irritation." Vincent shared, frowning.
"I noticed," Zane muttered. "How accident prone is he?" he asked.
"Well, he had one of his projects transmitting on the same frequency as self-replicating nanoids, so we nearly had an army of Starks taking over the world. He activated Cold War missiles, which nearly led to World War III. Uh, he forgot to take out B.R.A.D.'s AI when he built S.A.R.A.H. and nearly got roasted and then suffocated to death."
"How the heck did that happen?"
"S.A.R.A.H. felt that Eureka was facing imminent destruction because Henry was leaving and was trying to have everybody make up. When they shocked her system, she shut down and B.R.A.D.'s personality took over. And then there was the time he got himself stuck in a force field," he continued.
"Oh, do tell me what happened there." Zane said with a smile.
"Oh, not any force field. It was a discontinued project. The force field continually expanded. They thought they were going to have to drop Fargo down into Section 14 and drop a nuke on him." Zane's face blanched.
"What happened?"
"The force field lost power – so it quit growing but it began drawing it's power from Fargo. Since it would have eventually killed him, Carter had Jo shoot Fargo with a sonic pulse. When the force field died they resuscitated him."
"He died?" Zane asked quietly.
"Just for a minute," Vincent assured. "Don't worry about Fargo. He's small but scrappy, just like Jo. They always pull through." Zane groaned.
"Vincent, what am I going to do?"
"Well, which one do you get a 'zing' with?" Vincent asked. "Think about that, because as much as I love standing here giving you love advice, I've got to prepare for the lunch rush."
"A 'zing'... I think I may have already had mine. Thanks Vincent!" Zane shouted, throwing down his money and racing out the door.
Zane raced into the Sheriff's office and found Jo sitting at her desk. She looked up as he came in and grinned widely before it dropped. A sad smile crept onto her face.
"Come on," she swallowed heavily. "I'll give you a lift to G.D."
~Page Break~
Zane fidgeted nervously as he rode the elevator down to Section Four. He didn't know how much time he lost completing G.D.'s battery of tests before finally giving them a blood sample and swearing over his soul and first-born child before being released. All he knew was that he needed to see Fargo now. As the elevator doors opened, he followed the never-ending corridor down to Fargo's office but the bespectacled man wasn't there. Deciding it would be futile to try and search for the other man, he settled in to wait.
"A man could die of boredom waiting for you," he stated as Fargo entered the office a half-hour later. Zane mentally chastised himself as Fargo emitted a squeak and jumped. Vincent had told him that the other man was skittish, but Fargo breathed deeply and collected himself.
"Some of us work, Mr. Donovan," he stated coldly before moving around Zane and sitting at his desk. Zane grinned. Oh, yes. This would work out perfectly.
"Zane. Mr. Donovan is my father and I don't talk to him," he stated, joining Fargo on the opposite side of his desk and leaning back. Fargo sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"What do you want," he asked petulantly. Zane shrugged.
"Just you."
"What?" Fargo asked incredulously. "Look, Zane, that's a pretty bad joke when you're dating Jo, so-"
"We broke up," Zane interrupted. "Kind of had a 'zing' with someone else."
"You felt it, too?" Fargo asked before he could stop himself. At Zane's slow smile, Fargo's eyes widened behind his glasses and his face flushed.
"Well, well, well, Mr. Fargo," Zane began, pushing himself off the desk and leaning forwards. With one hand on each arm of the chair, he effectively pinned Fargo. "What other secrets are you hiding?" he asked slyly.
"Well," Fargo began shakily. He was obviously flustered but he rallied. "Wouldn't be much fun if I just told you."
~Review~