(The utmost important) DISCLAIMER: Sadly, the characters of EUReKA does not belong to me *sadface*
Foreword: yeah, so my first story didn't get a review, which is kinda sad. Also, English is not my first language, but I'm kinda pretty rad at it. And I love Jo/Zane ever since they were introduced, though I was kinda irked by Zane when he first arrived. But now he's just this awesomesauce of a character and I love his rapport with Jo so much, so I'm writing stories about them. I'd love some reviews to keep me going. Thanks!
NOTES: This takes place right after 5x3 Force Quit, before the coffee scene where they toast to "Maybe". I love me some angst.
ENJOY!
Josefina Lupo walked into the Global Dynamics infirmary, which is now occupied by the remaining 20 survivors of the Astraeus abduction, sans Holly Marten. Her death caused a meltdown towards the director, Douglas Fargo. But right now, Douglas Fargo is not the head of Global Dynamics, but her friend. After breaking the news to him while on the cargo site, Fargo hasn't been the same. He was silent the whole way back to Eureka, and Jo couldn't help but feel all sorts of sad emotions for him. So when she entered the GD infirmary, she was dressed casually, hair down, and lacked the stern, icy-cold exterior of the Enforcer, but was harbouring the warmth of a concerned friend.
As she made her way to Fargo, she noticed some other people, surrounded by their loved ones. The first one that caught her eye was Allison, hugging her two children while looking at Jack lovingly. Finally, the Carter-Blake clan can begin their family life. Allison and Carter were so into each other that they probably forgot they were in the infirmary, not the confines of their home. Then again, so was everyone else. Henry and Grace were in each other's embrace, holding each other so tight, scared that if they held on to each other less tightly they would tear apart again. Jo spotted Doctors Welke and Leonardo, acting very intimate with each other. Huh, she didn't see that coming. For all everyone knows, Dr. Welke was obsessed with his cows, and Dr. Leonardo rarely leaves her green room. Well, no one would've probably seen her and Zane together as well, what with their antagonism towards each other. Zane. She was glad; no, happy, to see him. He'll want to see her. But right now, Fargo needs a friend, and she's more than willing to provide him one.
Jo reaches Fargo, who, unlike the other 19 crew members – wait, Zane excluded – are with their loved ones. "I called your grandmother. She'll be on the first plane here tomorrow morning."
Silence.
"No more limpness?" Jo said with a slight grin in her face, trying to diffuse the tension.
Fargo turns to her and gives a quick grin, "Yeah, all cleared."
Jo sits down on the chair opposite the bed where Fargo is sitting. The two of them sit in the awkward silence, the laughter and chatter from everyone else deafening them. "You know, Larry's been worried sick. Well, he actually fell sick, when he heard that you were kidnapped. At least that's what I heard." Fargo chuckled at this while staring blankly on the floor.
"Good to know he cared. Though if he really cared, he would've continued working instead of calling in sick and leaving tons of paperwork for others to do. That good for noth…" CLANG! The sound of the metal tray across the room crashing down to the floor cut him short. Both Fargo and Jo turned to look at the assailant that dropped the said tray. Zane.
Jo almost stood up from where she was sitting, but decided against it. Zane could wait. "You should go to him," Fargo suddenly said. "Losing someone you love…..to anything, is not a good feeling." She knew how that felt.
Fargo stood up from the bed, but his legs almost gave him out. Jo managed to get up and support him, but he pushes her away gently. "I'm fine," he said. Jo hated this, seeing her dear and cheerful friend Fargo look so depressed. The last time he was almost this depressed was when Stark was gone. But Stark was not Holly, not the love of his life. "I'm going to see…her. You should go and see Zane," he said, referring to Holly. They recovered Holly's body and it's going to be shipped to her family.
"Thanks, Jo. You're a good friend," he said, limping in his steps as he walks away. She watches him go, and catches a glimpse of Zane, his hands trembling while he tries to get the shaver to his neck. It seems that Fargo needs some time alone, so she makes her way to Zane.
Zane's hand trembled as he holds the shaver, trying to shave his unruly scruff. A month of no shaving leaves his cheeks and neck itchy. If only he could readjust his nerves to work properly to shave, like he did with the computer keyboard. "Need help?"
Jo.
A smile crept up his face automatically, not that she can see it, since the shaving cream is covering half his mouth. Or maybe she did see it, because she took it as a sign of approval somehow to grab the shaver away from his hands and starts shaving him. One hand was holding his face in place, the other shaving. Her eyes were focused on shaving his scruff, but his eyes were focused on her.
Are you real? was all he could think about. He wanted to reach out to her, feel her skin against his. But he decided against that and commented on her shaving skills. "Done this before?" he said as she cleans the shaver before going back to his face. She smiles and continues shaving. "Yeah, you could say that."
As she shaved him, both of them in silence, she broke out, "You were electrocuted, and your electrolytes were unbalanced. It took a while for you to regain your motor sensory, and your scruff was starting to annoy me. So I sat you down and shaved it off you."
"And then?" Zane grinned slyly.
Jo chuckled, and she took her hands away, scared that the chuckling might cause her to cut him with the shaver. But before her hands could go far to safety, Zane grabbed them both. They both stared into each other's eyes, each blink saying what their hearts wanted to say so much. Please don't go, don't let me go, don't stop talking, stay, Zane's mind spoke. I'm here, I'm real, it's okay, everything's going to be fine, Jo replied. If anyone saw them, they would think that these two were telepathic or something. "Sorry to bother you two…." A medical attendant said, breaking both their gazes and Zane's hold on her. "I just need to run a few more tests and then you're good to go, Mr. Donovan," the attendant said. "Yeah, okay," Jo said, while Zane wiped the remaining shaving cream off his face.
Jo walks away, stealing glances on her way to the door. Zane watches her go, his gaze fixed on her as he whispers, "Don't go, Jojo."
End note: I really don't know how to end this, but this is how I'll end this for now! Or maybe it's open to interpretation what happens next? Well, it's the coffee scene at the end of 5x3 Force Quit, obviously. Thanks for reading!