Five Times They Told (And One Time They Didn't)
Fargo
Fargo sat at his desk, frantically trying to prepare for a call with Mansfield that was under an hour away. He shuffled through documents, trying to find something that could be considered good news in the Generals eyes, but could find nothing. Dr. Abernathy had developed a cure for FPB in cats, and Dr. Eisen had altered a coffee pot so that it made toast as well, but none of the military projects, none of the projects a military leader might be impressed by, were working, nor were they anywhere near a working prototype. The NOLWEPS were, well, semi-functional, but after recent events, Fargo had no desire to discuss them with the general. In fact, he desired not to talk to Mansfield again, ever. He desperately wished that everything was as it had been with Allison in charge and he being the screw up assistant. He hadn't been fond of the way people had treated him back home, but at least they didn't hate him there.
He had been so preoccupied with his panic attack about talking with the General, that he hadn't noticed the man standing in his doorway watching him for several minutes.
"You're different," the voice said eventually, causing Fargo to nearly jump out of his skin. He looked up at Dr. Parrish with wide, surprised eyes.
"Dr. Parrish," he said quickly, rising from his seat. "What do you want?"
"Nothing," Parrish said, shaking his head. "You're just… different."
"What- what do you mean?" Fargo asked nervously.
"You're… you're not from here, are you?"
Fargo's eyes couldn't have been wider if he was in a cartoon. "I don't know what you're talking about," he stuttered.
"Liar," Parrish smirked, leaning against the wall across from the Director. "The real Fargo would have kicked me out the second he saw me. So, what, you're from an alternate timeline or something?"
Fargo wasn't sure how to respond. He could lie, which was what he was supposed to do, because they weren't supposed to let anybody know and he really, really didn't want to get killed. And Parrish was probably at the top of the list of people who really, really wanted him dead. On the other hand, Parrish hadn't taken his suspicions directly to the General, and Fargo really hadn't lying.
"Yeah," was all he said.
"Who were you there? You clearly weren't the jackass who runs this place. So who were you?"
Fargo shrugged. "I was assistant to the Director. I was nobody. But it was better there. I was better there. I mean, I wasn't constantly screwing things up, but everybody didn't hate me."
"This Fargo didn't care if people hate him," Parrish said.
"I'm not this Fargo!" he exclaimed. "I care. I mean, sometimes it's kind of nice that people are afraid of me, but I don't want them to fear me."
"You want respect," Parrish concluded. "You can't just expect it to happen overnight. You have to earn it."
"I don't know how!"
"Start small. Push back some deadlines. Don't get mad at people for things they have no control over," Parrish said, standing up straight and walking toward the door. "Be the you from that reality instead of this one. And for god's sake, take down the posters," he added before leaving.
Jack
When he returned to the bunker, Tess was there, waiting. She knew there was something wrong and he couldn't keep pretending everything was okay.
"I cancelled the movers," she said solemnly.
"Listen Tess," he began.
"Just," she started, closing her eyes in an attempt to will away tears threatening to fall. "I don't understand how a few days ago everything was fine and you wanted me to move in, and now it's like you don't even want to be with me."
"That's not it Tess," he tried to assure her, placing a hand on her arm. She pulled away.
"Then explain it to me. Make me understand!"
"I- I can't."
"Can't or won't," she shot back angrily. She shook her head and tried to head for the door, tears welling in her eyes.
"You're right," he said, grabbing her arm to stop her. "It isn't fair. Do you want the truth?"
"Yes!"
He knew what Allison had said, that if anyone ever found out about what had happened, it could be catastrophic, but he couldn't just let Tess walk out the door.
"Okay, here it is," he said. "I'm not the Jack Carter you know."
"Is this your way of telling me that you're gay, cause honestly, that would make me feel a little better," she said with a half smiled.
"No," he said, smiling slightly though. "I'm not from here. I'm from a different timeline. One where things were different."
He waited a moment for her to process the news.
"So… where you came from… you and I… we were never together?" she asked.
"No, we were. For a year. But… you took the job in Australia and we couldn't make the long distance thing work," he said.
"Oh," she breathed, still processing. "So that's why you've been so weird. Because you didn't want to be with me."
Where had she drawn that conclusion from?
"Yes, I did!"
"Then why did you let her – me – go? My Jack begged me to stay."
"I almost did," he said. "But you – she – wanted to go so badly and I just wanted her to be happy."
She was quiet for a long time before she spoke again.
"So you're from an alternate universe," she said, a small grin forming. "How?"
Allison
"Nathan?" Allison breathed when he walked into the rotunda just as she exited Fargo's office. It was all she could do to not pass out from shock.
"Allison," he replied, wondering why she looked so shocked. "I told you over a week ago that I'd be coming back to take over section 5. You said it wouldn't be a problem, that we were okay."
Allison just stared at him, making very a very unflattering fish face. "You were dead," she said finally.
"You wound me," he said sarcastically.
"No. You were dead," she said more forcefully.
"Sorry Allison, I know you wished I was, but I'm still alive and kicking. Woah, Allie, what is it?" he asked, noticing the tears in her eyes.
"In my universe, you died," she said without thinking.
"You're… universe?" he asked. "Should we get you an MRI?"
"I'm fine," she said.
"Then what are you talking about? What do you mean your universe?"
"Six days ago… we got sent back in time to Eureka's founding. Things went wrong and when we came back, the timeline had changed. This are… different. Including the fact that you… you're alive here."
"O…kay. Are you sure you don't need an MRI, 'cause I'm thinking it might be a good idea."
"I'm fine," she said again. "Just… surprised."
"So… how'd I die?" he asked curiously.
"Saving the world," she said. "From a time loop. On our wedding day."
"Wedding day?" he repeated. "We were getting married?"
"Yeah. I guess we didn't here."
"Clearly," he nodded. "We got together again, for a little while, but I… we got into a fight sort of. You said you never wanted to see me again and I thought it was best if I leave."
"What… what was the fight about?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to know.
"Well, you weren't all too happy when you realized I was gay."
Allison blinked several times, trying to determine whether or not this was some kind of joke. Based on the look on his face, he wasn't joking.
"Yep, that's about the same face she made," he nodded. "Assuming you're telling the truth about this whole alternate dimension thing and you're not just crazy."
"What about Jenna?" she couldn't help but ask.
He gave her a strange look. "Who's Jenna?"
Henry
"Okay, spill," Grace said, entering the garage.
"What?" Henry asked loudly, unable to hear her though the large, noise cancelling headphones he worse.
She stepped closer and pulled them from his ears. "Spill," she repeated.
"Spill what?" he asked.
"I don't know, whatever it is that's making you act so weird."
"I'm not acting weird," he said suspiciously.
Grace raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, okay. So what is it? Are you having an affair?"
"What, no!"
She shrugged. "Well, what do you expect me to think? There's only so many possibilities. So what is it? Did you get teleported through time and change the past, which changed the present and you're the only one that remembers and wherever you came from we were married or something?"
He just stared at her, socking at how specific her guess was.
"No way!" she exclaimed, her eyes as wide as her grin. "So it's true?"
"Well, I'm not the only one who remember the other timeline," he said.
"This is so cool," she said. "So you're not ever my Henry. Do we even know each other there?"
"We're acquaintances," he replied slowly.
"This is crazy, the thought that theres a universe out there that's different from this one, and that you know what it was like."
"Yeah, crazy," he agreed.
"So, what are you doing to fix it?" she asked.
"What?"
"Oh come on, I can't see how you could be so different from my Henry that you wouldn't be trying everything you possibly could to get back to your own timeline."
"There's nothing we can do," he said with a halfhearted shrug. "The device is fried."
Grace stood up straighter. "Nonsense. There is no task so big the Deacons can't handle it."
Jo
"I loved you," Jo whispered to the unconscious form of Zane Donovan. It wasn't her Zane, not the Zane she loved, but seeing him get electrocuted still hadn't been a good experience for her.
"I know you'll think I'm crazy," she said. "So I guess it's better that you're in a coma. I don't belong here. I'm not supposed to be here and things aren't supposed to be like this. My universe… it was better. Everyone probably says that, huh," she said with a tearful smile. "My universe is better that yours, so ha. But really, that was better. For me at least."
She was quiet for a few minutes. "You asked me to marry you. And I… I hesitated. I wasn't sure. But now… now I just wish I still had you. I wish I'd said yes. I wish I had my Zane and that we were getting married."
"What was he like?" Zane asked slowly, his eyes opening halfway.
Jo's eyes widened.
"You weren't supposed to-" she started, worried about the consequences of her stupidity.
"Relax Lupo," he said. "I won't tell anyone. Can I get some water?"
Jo turned and called for a nurse to bring some water.
"He must have been a pretty great guy," he said when the nurse was out of earshot once more.
"He was," she nodded.
"Not like me."
"He used to be like you. A delinquent, a jerk. But he changed. He was… different."
Zane took a long drik from the cup of water, coughing slightly. "I'll help you," he said. "Get him back, get things back the way you had them."
Home
"Oh thank God!" Fargo said when they reappeared in Eureka, 2010, right in the middle of Founders Day. "We're home," he exclaimed, throwing himself to the ground and kissing the dirt.
"Okay," Jack said. "What do you say we all do a quick check that this everything is the way it's supposed to be, then forget this whole affair never happened."
Everyone nodded in agreement and wandered off in their respective directions, Jo to find Zane, Henry to the crowd of people, Allison to her house, Jack to the bunker and Fargo to GD.
When everything was exactly as they left it, only one small change, the agree to just live with the fact that the Golden Gate Bridge is blue.