Confiding in Zane
I couldn't get the idea for this story out of my head. It popped in as soon as Zane kissed Jo. I really hope that she eventually tells Zane the truth and they finally end up together. Jo takes Zane to her favorite thinking place and comes clean about the time line change.
I am dedicating this story to my good friends Cassie and Katie who have been behind me and inspired me on continuing my writing. It's because they care and love me that I am able to keep these stories coming. Thanks you two.
Also, thanks to all of you who send me feedback and help make me a better writer. I may not answer every review I get, but I do appreciate all of them.
I still don't own Eureka or the characters.
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Jo almost ran from the Sheriff's office, Zane had kissed her and she'd kissed him back. She'd really missed having his lips on hers too. She'd even been ready to tell him everything, until Zoe showed up. Then Zoe hugged him and Jo came back to reality.
She got to her car and got in, giving herself a mental shake as she put the key into the ignition. She knew that this wasn't over yet. Zane wouldn't let this drop, it wasn't like him. It was only a matter of time before he came looking for her and demanded more answers about their involvement. He was already too suspicious.
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Zane and Zoe were crossing the street heading for Cafe Diem when he saw Jo sitting in her car looking lost. "Listen Zoe, I need to talk to you."
"Yeah Zane?" She stopped and looked at him, smiling.
He turned to look at her. "This thing between us, um...it's not going to work out. I do like you, but not in the way you like me."
Her smile left her face. "What are you talking about Zane? I thought we've been having fun together. I thought you cared about me." She calmly said.
"I do care about you Zoe. You're one of my best friends, but that's all. That's all we can be, you understand? You've just got a crush on me Zoe, brought on by the way Lucas abandoned you." He explained.
Zoe thought about what he was saying. "Yeah, you might be right about the crush, but I thought we really had something going."
"We'll always be friends Zoe, but I'll never feel that way about you." He said as he looked over her shoulder at Jo still sitting in her car.
"But you do feel that way about someone, don't you Zane? I can tell someone has been on your mind." She said, almost like she could read his mind.
"I don't know, maybe. You understand, don't you Zoe?" He asked.
"Not really, but I will. It has to mean something if my heart isn't breaking, doesn't it?" She countered with.
"I think so. Thanks for understanding Zoe." He said and he kissed her cheek, then he heard Jo's car start.
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Jo looked up and saw Zane and Zoe standing in front of Cafe Diem talking to one another. All of a sudden Zane leaned over and kissed Zoe's cheek. She grabbed her key and turned the engine on, quickly pulling out of the parking spot. She put the car in drive and started to drive down the street when Zane stepped in front of the car. She slammed on the breaks.
Zane smiled at her and walked over to the passenger door and opened it. "Hey Lupo, can I get a lift? Thanks." He said, not waiting for her to answer.
After her initial shock of almost running him over and him getting into her car, Jo drove on and out of town. "Where do you need to be dropped off?" She asked him, trying to act like her heart wasn't pounding a hundred miles and hour.
"Where are you heading?" He asked instead, looking at her.
She looked over at him. "I'm going for a drive, it's been a long day."
He nodded. "Sounds good to me." He told her.
"What sounds good to you?" She asked him.
"Going for a drive with you does." He replied.
Jo looked in her rear view mirror and then pulled over. "Look Zane, I'm not in the mood to play games, so get out so I can go."
He shook his head. "Nope, not going to happen. We have a lot to talk about, and you're stuck with me until we get a few things settled."
"Fine." She pulled out onto the road. "What do you wanna talk about?" She asked him as she drove towards her favorite thinking place, her favorite overlook.
"For starters, you can tell me what we were to each other, and why that kiss didn't feel like a first kiss." He said.
She didn't look at him as she drove. "Can we talk about that when we get there?"
He nodded at her. "Where are we going then?"
"My favorite thinking spot, it's an overlook of Eureka. You can see most of the town from up there, including where my house used to be." She replied.
"And you promise to tell me everything once we get there?" He asked.
"Everything I can Zane, I promise." She answered.
"Fair enough." He said and sat back for the rest of the drive. He'd never been to this part of the area, but it felt familiar.
Jo pulled into the clearing that she usually parked in and shut off the engine. She got out of the car before he could speak and headed for the overlook, that had become their spot in the other time line. She'd finally brought him up here last year, just after he'd finally told her that he loved her. She'd been so happy that she'd wanted to share this place with him.
Zane got out of the car and quietly followed her through the trees to the overlook. She sat down on a boulder and folded her legs under her. He moved over to sit next to her on the other boulder, facing her. He decided he was going to wait for her to talk before he started asking questions.
Jo took a deep breath and looked over at him. "I really don't know where to start." She confessed.
"Why don't you start with Founder's Day. That's when I noticed the change in the five of you." He told her.
"Okay, well um...we're not from this Eureka, or this time line." She said uncertain if she was making a mistake.
"Yeah, I kind of figured that out earlier today listening to you, Andy, and Sheriff Carter. How did it happen?" He asked her.
"To tell you the truth, I really don't know. It had something to do with a bridge device and something about wormholes, and it sent us back to Eureka 1947." She explained.
"Time travel is impossible." He told her.
"I'd agree with you if it didn't happen to us, but it did. And when we returned to 2010, it was to a different time line. Things were different here than when we left." She countered.
"A different time line? What are the differences between the two time lines?" He asked her.
She looked down at her hands that were clasped in her lap. "Well, the Archimedes statue is bronze here and in the other time line it's granite. Henry and Grace had just met each other before Founder's Day, and here they're married. Fargo wasn't the head of GD, Allison was, and Kevin in our time line was autistic. Carter and Tess Fontana had broken up and she was working in Australia. And finally, I was still working as Carter's deputy instead of head of security for GD."
"Really? That's a big difference. What about Andy, was he head of GD security?" He asked.
"No, he'd taken over as sheriff after Carter was fired, but when Carter was sheriff again, Andy took off somewhere. I wasn't paying attention, I was just glad he was gone. There never was a head of security for GD in the other time line. Carter always took care of anything that Stark or Allison needed done there." She explained.
He nodded. "Some of what you say makes sense, well all but the time travel part, it's supposed to be impossible. What part of all this is Grant involved in?"
"He's really Doctor Trevor Grant, the co founder of Eureka with Einstein in 1947. In this time line, Grant disappeared with five other people, who they thought might be spies. What happened was, Grant used Carter's adjusted cell phone to come back with us. And some how it changed the time line." She replied.
"I read about him just after I got to Eureka. So, Grant's coming back with you is the reason you came to this time line instead of your original one." He said as he leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees.
She shrugged. "I guess so, that's what Allison and Henry think."
"Tell you the truth, I like this Lupo better than the one that was here before you." He told her as he got off of his boulder and moved over to hers.
Jo smiled at his statement. "You're just saying that cause she loved throwing your ass in jail and I tried to keep it out of jail." She told him.
He sat down next to her on the boulder. "You know I have to ask the next question again Jo." What were we to each other in your time line?"
"This is my time line now Zane." She said, stalling.
"Come on Lupo, you know what I mean." He said as he turned her face to look at him. "We had to be serious if I gave you my grandmother's engagement ring. She gave it to me and told to me to give it to the woman I plan on spending the rest of my life with."
She closed her eyes and sighed. "On Founder's Day, you surprised me by proposing. That was the ring you gave me." She barely got out without crying.
"So, we're engaged in the other time line? I wouldn't call that nothing." He commented on her earlier reply.
"Actually, I'm not sure we are." She said.
"What are you talking about?" He asked.
She was ashamed to tell him, but she'd promised to tell him all that she could. "Well, you see...you proposed to me, but I froze and was never able to answer you. Carter interrupted us and you took my silence as a no. You stormed out before I could say anything else, leaving your ring in my hand."
"I see, but if I remember right, you told me that you would marry me on Founder's Day when you came storming into the Sheriff's office." He told her, lifting her head once again to look him in the eye.
"Yeah, I remember that, and your reply was to ask me in what universe." She replied.
He laughed. "Yeah I did, didn't I? That was when I thought you were the other Lupo and wanted to trick me up so you could taze me."
She tried to laugh and it came out as a sob. "I'm sorry about that Zane, you must have thought I was crazy."
"Yeah, or pulling my leg." He said.
"So, what do we do about it now?" She asked him.
He pulled the ring out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Here, this belongs to you. I mean he gave it to you with love and I have no right to take it away." He explained.
"But it's your grandmother's ring Zane. I shouldn't have it if we're not getting married." She said.
He closed her hand around the ring and held it that way. "You never know Jo. Right now I don't know you well enough to say that I can see us together forever. I only know what the other Lupo was like and she scares me. But maybe someday we will be like you and the other Zane was. I'm willing to see what happens now, how about you?"
She was afraid to hope only to have her heart broken again, but she'd rather have the chance to be with him than without him. "Yeah, I'd be willing to see what happens too."
He smiled at her and leaned over to kiss her. He loved the feeling of her lips on his and he looked forward to getting to do this a lot. "So, how about we have a dinner date tonight?" He asked her when they pulled away from each other.
She frowned at him and he wasn't sure why. "Like a first date? Our first date didn't end well in the other time line." She replied.
"Really? Okay, we'll call this our first date and dinner tonight will be our second date." He told her.
"I think that would be a great idea." She said and smiled.
"We did have a better second date, right?" He asked.
"Yeah, our second date was a lot better." She replied as she put the ring back on the chain around her neck.
"You're gonna have to tell me about both dates then. We'll have to make sure we make these dates better." He said as he helped her with the clasp on the necklace.
"I really missed being able to talk to you Zane. You were always there to listen to my problems or ask how my day went, and then you were gone. Well you weren't gone, but I couldn't talk to you about my problems, mostly my problems with you." She explained.
"I'm sorry Jo Jo." He simply said.
"I wanted so badly to tell you what was going on, but you hated me." She said.
"I didn't and don't hate you Jo. Ever since Founder's Day, there was something about you that I couldn't put my finger on. But, I didn't hate you. You had me puzzled, and you know how much I love puzzles." He told her.
All of a sudden her face fell, and she paled. "Oh my God, I almost forgot about Zoe. I don't want to hurt her Zane." She said.
Zane cupped her face. "It's okay Jo Jo, I already talked to her and told her I couldn't see her anymore. She took it better than I thought she would. She said it must be a sign that her heart wasn't breaking, and we weren't supposed to be together." He explained.
She took a deep breath. "Are you sure? I saw you kiss her, and I couldn't stand it if I ever hurt her." She told him.
"I promise you, she is doing good about this. The kiss I gave her on her cheek was because she understood I had feelings for someone else, and I didn't have to tell her." He said.
"Okay, I just worry about her cause she's like the little sister I never had." She told him.
"Enough talk about Zoe, I wanna know more about Jo and the other Zane. Tell me about our first and second dates." He said.
They sat there and talked for hours, well after the sun went down. She told him about her Eureka with the other Zane, and he told her about Lupo. She told him about all the differences between the two time lines she's noticed so far, and how he'd become an upstanding and well respected member of the community. He laughed when she told him that.
They stopped talking to watch the sunset, sitting peacefully side by side on the boulder. He took her hand as the last rays from the sun sank behind the mountains in the distance. They watched as lights came on in Eureka one by one. Then when their stomachs started growling, Jo ran back to the car for some protein bars.
They were still talking when Jo realized it was almost nine o'clock. "Well, so much for our dinner date."
"We could always go to Cafe Diem and grab something to eat and head back to my place to finishing talking." He suggested.
Jo slapped his knee. "I hope that you don't expect me to spend the night on our first date." She joked.
He laughed with her. "No, that can wait for our next date." He joked back.
They laughed at the jokes, but then he got serious with her. "How long did you date the other Zane, before you did spend the night with him?"
We'd been dating a few months before you actually spent the first night with me." She replied.
"Really? Care to elaborate on why it took me so long to make the fist move?" He asked.
"Well, it was more me. I've had some really weird and bad relationships. I'd dated someone who turned out to be a robot, then there was Tag, then you. The only reason you spent the night then was because I had a bad case of food poisoning from Carter's barbeque." She explained.
"Carter food poisoned you?" He asked, shocked.
"No, it wasn't Carter's food. It ended up being something one of Zoe's friends made and brought." She said as she shivered and got off of the boulder.
He got up too and took her hand, leading her back to her car. "So, I took advantage of a sick woman?" He asked not happy with himself.
Jo stopped and turned to look at him. "No, Zane you took care of me. You stayed the whole night and held me when I was cold and cleaned up the mess if I didn't make it to the bathroom in time. You were great and that's the night I knew I loved you."
He smiled. "Oh. I guess the other me was a pretty good guy. Are you sure he wasn't boring?" He started walking again.
"No, he wasn't boring. In fact, he was more like you than you think. At first he was a self centered jerk, just like you were on Founder's Day. But then he started changing, like you've been doing. He started changing, I guess to impress me. Instead of the criminal, he became a respected part of Eureka." She explained.
They'd reached her car by this time and he opened her door for her, but wouldn't let her get in yet. "How long did it take him to tell you he loved you?"
"It took about a year for him to tell me, and I said it first." She answered.
"Well he was an idiot then. I've only gotten to know you since Founder's Day and I'm already falling for you Jo Jo." He said as he let her get into the car. He then went around the car to get in himself.
"Don't say that Zane, unless you mean it." She replied as he got into the car and she started the engine.
He buckled up and looked at her. "I've never lied to you Jo and even Lupo would tell you that if she were here. But then again, if she were here, you wouldn't be."
She smiled at him. "Yeah, you're right."
They drove back to town where Jo parked near Cafe Diem. "Why don't we just get a booth here so we can talk." She suggested.
"Sure, sounds good to me." He replied as he got out of the car and waited for her to join him on the sidewalk.
"Just remember, you can't tell anyone what I told you and we can't talk about it in town around anyone. The five of us would be sanctioned if it got out that not only are we from another time line, but that we time traveled too." She explained.
"I promise not to say a word to anyone but the five of you. Does anyone else know about this?" He asked her as they walked.
"Yeah, Henry told Grace about it after she got back from her convention. Andy figured it out right away, but lost the data when he needed to be rebooted after the lightning fried him silly. Then Carter told him again after that. I'll have to let them all know that I told you, and hopefully that's all who knows." She stopped and covered her face.
"Jo what is it?" He asked concerned.
"I just remembered something. Beverly Barlowe knows about the time travel. She'll be able to use it against any of us if we don't find her and keep her quiet." Jo explained.
He placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sure that Carter is on top of all this. Let's go enjoy our dinner, remember this is going to be a better first date than your other one."
She smiled at him and let him take her hand as they walked the rest of the way to Cafe Diem. "It already has been Zane."
He held the door open for her and they walked in. "Good, let's keep it that way."
They saw Allison, Jack, Henry, Grace, and Fargo sitting at a table in the back of the room and away from everyone else in the room. They decided to go and join them since Jo figured it was the perfect time to let them know that she'd told Zane everything. She might as well get this over with and not prolong this moment.
"Hey guys, mind if we join you?" She asked as the approached the table.
Jack and Henry got up and grabbed a couple of chairs for them. "Sure Jo, hey Zane." Jack said.
"We're not interrupting anything are we?" Zane asked as he sat down next to Jo and Allison.
"Nope, we're just getting ready to have dinner and taking a break after the crazy day we've all had." Grace said.
Vincent came over and asked Zane and Jo what they wanted to eat and then left to go and make their dinner. Jo waited until Vincent was back in the kitchen before she broke the news to them all. "Um, I have something I need to tell all of you."
Fargo leaned forward so that he could see Jo's face. "Maybe we should talk about this later."
"No, we need to talk about it now. I just want you to know I told Zane everything." She said nervously. Zane took her hand under the table and gave it a squeeze.
"You what?" Fargo asked loudly.
Henry placed a calming hand on Fargo's shoulder. "Calm down Fargo, you're attracting too much attention over here."
"But...but, oh why did you have to tell him?" He asked her.
"Calm down Fargo." Jack told him. He looked over at Jo and Zane and understood why she did it. She finally looked happy in this time line. "You can't say anything to anyone about this Zane, not even Zoe." He said.
"You don't have to worry about that Sheriff Carter. Oh and I'm not dating Zoe, I just wanted you to know. I already promised Jo I wouldn't say anything to anyone. I understand what'll happen if I do." Zane promised as he once again squeezed her hand.
"Why should we believe you Zane?" Fargo asked.
"Oh calm down Fargo, I won't say a word to anyone not at this table." Zane promised.
"Well, like I said Andy and Grant are the only other two people in town who know." Jo reminded him.
"Make that just Andy. Grant left town today with a new id and a new life ahead of him." Jack said.
"Did he say where he was going?" Allison asked him.
"He said that he's always wanted to travel and I guess that's what he's going to do." Jack replied as Vincent brought the food to the table.
They ate their dinners and sat back just spending time together talking. Fargo felt like a third wheel, since everyone else seemed to be paired up. He became animated when his phone rang and it was Claudia Donovan on the other end. He said good night to everyone and quickly left Cafe Diem.
"So, Fargo and Claudia Donovan, huh?" Jack said.
"Yeah, he seems to really like her a lot. He was kind of upset that Julia never came to Eureka and they didn't get together in this Eureka." Jo told everyone.
"So, this Fargo isn't much of a jerk as the one I knew." Zane said quietly.
"No, he's a jerk, just not as self centered." Jack replied.
"And he's not as sure about his role as director of GD as the other Fargo was." Allison commented.
"Yeah, but with your help Allison, he's doing a good job." Jo added.
"Well, an okay job." Zane said.
They all laughed and talked a little while longer, before getting up and saying good night, and going their separate ways. Jack and Allison headed back to her place, Henry and Grace went home, and Jo walked back to her car with Zane. They were quiet as they walked, each lost in their own thoughts.
Zane stopped her before she could open her door. "So much for our perfect first date." He told her.
"It was perfect Zane. Now we have our second date to look forward to." She said.
He nodded. "I guess I just didn't think that our first date would have two other couples and Fargo involved in it."
"You thought about our first date before today?" She asked him.
He took her hand in his. "When I first met Lupo, I'd thought about it and even asked her out. Then when you got here and I thought that she's changed, I thought about it again." He answered.
Jo got curious about what Lupo said. "So, what happened when you asked her out?" She asked.
He cringed. "She told me she didn't date felons and tazered my ass when I called her an ice queen." He told her.
"I'm sorry Zane. I wish there was a way to make it up to you." She told him as she got into her car and waited for him to get in.
Once he was in the car and buckled, she started the car. "There is a way you can make it up to me."
"How?" She asked him.
"You can try on the lingerie I ordered while I was in the jail cell a couple of years ago." He replied.
Jo looked over at him shocked. "You still have them, all of them?" She asked him.
He smirked at her. "I still secretly hoped that she'd change her mind and accept them. I take it I did the same thing in the other time line." He replied.
"Yeah, but it was a few months before I let him see me in the lingerie. I kept all of them boxed up until we started dating." She told him.
"Are you going to make me wait a few months before you let me see you in them too?" He asked her with that smirk still on his face.
She laughed at his question. "I'm not sure if I should tell you yes or no. I mean you haven't even given me the boxes yet, what if I don't like them? What if you didn't pick out the same ones that the other Zane did?" She teased him. It felt good to finally be able to talk to him like this again.
He realized she was teasing him and laughed with her. "Fair enough. Come in and I'll show you the lingerie and we'll discuss when you'll try them on for me, if you like them."
"Alright, but if I say no about modeling them, there will be no arguments." She said.
"Deal." He told her as they pulled up to his place.
They got out of the car and he took her hand as they walked up to his door. "I guess you've been here before huh?" He asked.
"Yeah, well not your place. This might look a lot different than Zane's place from the other time line. You've made different choices the he did, so you might have different tastes." She replied.
"I never thought about that." He said as he opened the door and led her inside.
Jo walked into his place and looked around. So far his apartment looked pretty close. "Wow, this is so familiar and yet I can see a few differences."
"Oh yeah, like what?" He asked as he sat down on the sofa and watched her.
She also sat down on the sofa next to him. "Well, this sofa is a darker brown in the other time line, and there are no pictures here that were in your apartment in there. Of course I took some of the pictures in your apartment." She explained.
"I see your point there, maybe you can take some for me and we can hang them in here." He suggested.
"If you really want to." She replied.
"Sure, I'd love it. Stay here a sec, I'll get those boxes." He said, getting up and going into his bedroom.
As she watched him walk into his room, she wondered if his bedroom looked as familiar as this room did. She didn't have long to wonder as he came out of the room with his arms full of boxes. "Wow, you weren't kidding were you?"
"I told you I kept them. You start looking through these and I'll get the rest." He said and walked out again.
Jo looked at the boxes and grabbed one. When she opened it, tears came to her eyes as she remembered her modeling this pair for Zane. It had been his favorite. She pick them up and caressed the familiar material. It might be new to her in this time line, but she'd worn this lingerie for the other Zane many times, especially this pair of bra and matching panties.
He walked out of the bedroom and saw the tears in her eyes and almost dropped the boxes. "Jo, are you okay?"
She looked up at him and nodded. "I just have a lot of memories of these." She held up the lingerie.
"So, I guess I have the same taste as he did, maybe just a little?" He asked.
She nodded. "I'd say so. If I promise to keep from crying, can I see the rest of them?"
He moved over to the sofa and sat back down with her. "Sure, open these next." He said as he handed her the boxes.
She opened the boxes one at a time and was surprised that he'd picked out everything the same as the other Zane. She told him stories about certain pieces and when she'd chosen to wear them for Zane. He couldn't believe that he was actually jealous of himself. It almost felt like he'd lost a memory of how they were in the other time line.
Jo made a promise that she would try each and everyone on for him soon. He needed to get to know her a little more before she was ready to take the next step with him. She wanted to get to know him too because he was a little different than the other Zane, but he was slowly becoming her Zane.
Finally, it was time for her to leave...even though she didn't want to. "You keep these safe for me and I'll let you know when I'm ready to use them." She said as she pushed the boxes toward him.
"Okay, I hope it's soon." He replied with that smirk on his face again. He walked her to the door, where he kissed her goodnight.
She wrapped her arms around him and returned the kiss. "Goodnight Zane. I'll see you in the morning."
"Goodnight Jo Jo, sweet dreams tonight." He said as she walked to her car. He watched her drive away and knew that he'd do anything to keep her secret about the other time line. He wasn't going to lose her now that he was finally going to be with her.
He closed the door only after he couldn't see her lights any longer. He couldn't wait until tomorrow, and the tomorrow's to come.
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Sorry it took so long to write this one, every time I thought I was done with it...another thought popped into my head. Thanks for reading, please review.