Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka or the characters.
A/N: So I heard about a challenge to write a Jo/Zane fic based around a fairy tale. Here's my Little Red Riding Hood version. It takes place in season 4, after the mid-finale. It's rough, so forgive!
XXXXX
Jo pulled the red-hooded parka around her shoulders even tighter. GD had placed on order a whole set of Petro-Tek clothing, but it would take a while to get that large and expensive an order. Meanwhile, the entire town of Eureka was huddled up inside where it was still warm and climate controlled.
Everyone except Jo and a few unlucky engineers who had been volunteered to fix the climate systems. The generators for the system, instead of being located inside GD, were stationed at three separate points around Eureka's perimeter. They not only kept the climate moderate year round (with minimal interference with nearby weather patterns), but they also helped maintain the EM field and camouflage around key routes by controlling the 24 towers around Eureka.
If there was a malfunction in one of them, it was an issue of not just out of control climates. It could be a security risk. Which was why Jo was trekking through the woods alone, carrying with her supplies for the stations.
A sudden movement of black out of the corner of her eye had her whipping around and cursing under her breath. She had forgotten to move her firearm to the outside of her parka. How could she have let down her guard? She slowly placed the basket she was carrying on to the forest floor, eyes seeking out any disturbance.
A few cracks of a twigs alerted her to the footsteps of another, and she reached down to find a hefty dead branch.
"Hey Jo!"
She glared at the figure emerging from behind a few trees. Zane. But there was still danger, and she glared at him. "Shhhh. Keep quiet. Do not make any sudden moves."
"Why? What's going on, Jo?"
She pointed to the tree limbs above them... and to the hundreds of icicles dangling off of them, poised like daggers.
She whispered furiously at him. "What the hell are you doing out here, Zane? The town is under quarantine. Not to mention it's well below zero out here."
"I thought I could help with the generators," he whispered back after a few nervous glances up into the trees, his hands stuffed deep into his black GD regulation parka. Jo had on her own, a bight red one, which she usually wore hunting.
"There are already people assigned to that, Zane. Go back to Eureka and stay indoors." She was mad at him for startling her, for putting them in danger... and for him not being safe and warm inside, where she would rather be.
"Sure sure. Why are you out here?"
Jo sighed and motioned him a little further until they had entered a small clearing where they could talk without fear of deadly falling ice.
"I'm delivering parts from Henry to all of the locations. We have teams stationed at each one. Allison sent along some hand and foot warmers, and Vincent insisted I deliver their lunch, as well. But listen, Zane, you need to get back."
"I think I can help-"
"No. Fargo already selected the teams for this. They know the generators and can fix whatever is wrong. You need to head back."
He stared at her for a few moments, then shrugged and trudged off. Jo winced at hearing his loud footsteps and hoped he would be safe getting back. She sent Allison a quick message with her phone that he might need to get looked at for piercing, and that she should be ready.
XXXXX
Zane was not about to leave the woods just yet. He could fix those generators better than anyone, and Fargo knew it. That was why it stung that he had not been chosen to be on one of the repair teams. And truthfully he would have liked it if Jo had come carrying a care package for him, instead of for someone else.
He knew which station she was heading to first, so he took went straight for the farthest, the third station. It was higher up in the mountains, and she would be there last.
The two engineers there were relieved to see him, and even happier to believe the lie that Zane was their replacement. He made up something about taking shifts to reduce exposure, and they happily scurried off to find warmth.
It did not take him long to figure out that this station was the one that had been malfunctioning. He sent Henry a quick note about the part he would need, and tidied up the system as best as he could while he waited for Jo to arrive.
At the sound of footsteps, Zane turned with a big smile on his face. Only it was not Jo.
XXXXX
Jo hiked up the last part of the hill to the third station. She was tired and cold, and her face felt frost bitten, despite the ski mask she put on as the sun started to disappear behind a few clouds. She was already thinking about the warm cocoa she would drink when she got back.
Jo's GPS indicated the third station should be just ahead, but she did not hear any conversation or muffled movement as she had from the last two. Walking quieter, she made a stealthy approach.
There was one person standing facing away from her, looking down at the generator controls. He turned as she approached, and relief washed over her again.
"Zane! I told you to go back into town! What are you doing here?"
He cocked his head to one side. "O'm supposed to be here."
His words were stilted, someone out slowly. He must be freezing, she thought.
"Did Fargo or Henry call to reassign you? If so, why wasn't I told about it?" She hated surprises.
"Change of plans, I guess." But instead of turning around to the generator, he stayed and stared at her.
"Did you know that when I saw you earlier?"
No response. Something about this was making her head itch. Something was off. She listened, and there was no noise. There should have been some sounds in the forest around them.
Zane was wearing the same parka and pants he had been earlier, but the jacket was undone. "Aren't you cold?" she called out, still standing a few paces away from him.
"The generator gets hot sometimes," he replied, eyes hooded, his gaze never leaving her face.
Jo knew this was a complete lie. She had just spent half an hour getting a lecture from Dr. Gera on how the generators were not an adequate heat source... because they ran cold. They were protected from heat-seeking scans.
"How is it coming along?"
"Fine."
"You fixed it, then?" she asked skeptically.
"Yeah."
She was having a flashback to when a spore had caused fast-growing ice to spread through his chest. Something was off about Zane... and she needed reinforcements.
"What are you doing?" he barked. Jo froze, her hand halfway out of her pocket with her phone in hand.
"Calling Stark and letting him know the generator is fixed."
She watched him, and he made no sounds of surprise or confusion. Zane was supposed to have been confused by why she chose Stark. Especially because he was dead. Instead Zane just nodded.
"Hey Stark," she said cheerily into the phone.
"Jo?" Carter's voice was confused on the other end.
"I'm up here at the third generator with Zane. Good call on moving him up here. The problem is all fixed up."
She heard Carter whispering furiously on the other end. He would know where to go, and who was with her now. "We'll be there as soon as we can," he promised.
She closed the phone and pocketed it again. Also in her pocket was her gun. She did not want to shoot Zane if she did not have to, but she felt better knowing she had it.
"Can I help you pack up?"
He shook his head, but she tried again.
"No really, since the problem is fixed we can-"
Jo was not surprised when Zane lunged for her. Not very, at least. He was not acting like Zane, and her reflexes kicked in. She took hold of his arm and used his own strength and force to pull him to the ground and twist his arm around his back. Her knee pressed on to his kidney.
"Now why did you have to go and do that?" she muttered.
Zane - or whatever was underneath her - said something muffled.
"What?"
He turned his head to the side, but instead of repeating himself, rolled. He rolled with such strength Jo herself was knocked to the side. Zane was never that strong - they had sparred enough in the old timeline for her to remember that.
She leapt off the ground only to have her legs swept out from under her. A boot descended towards her head, and as it impacted she lost consciousness.
XXXXX
Jo woke up groggily. She shifted, and realized there was a large weight on top of her. Adrenaline kicked in and she struggled to sit up.
"Shh! Shh!" It was a body... a naked body. Zane. She froze. Zane had attacked her. In an instant she registered the fact that his naked skin was touching her also mostly naked skin. Her jacket was gone, and her shirt had been ripped off. Now was a perfect time to freak out.
She rolled, and suddenly she was on top, pinning his shoulders to the ground, glaring. Instead of trying to resist, his hands moved to cover her mouth. She tried to bite down, but his fingers were out of reach. She snarled.
"Jo! Jo! It wasn't me! I went to the third station to help. The other two scientists left. One returned and attacked me. He took my clothing, and somehow changed himself to look like me. Stuck me in the tent. Told me he'd either let me go or kill me."
He was talking quietly and quickly, and it took a few moments for Jo to really hear what he was saying. It... made sense. And then she was acutely aware of how compromising their situation was.
"Why are my clothes ripped open, Zane?" she whispered. She looked around, and saw that they were in the supposedly arctic-ready survival tent provided to all of the teams. It was also very small.
"I... I was freezing Jo." He blushed, and she tried not to feel bad for him. "And you would be, too. They took all of my clothes, and your parka. Both of us were going to freeze."
"Shared body heat," she sighed.
He nodded. "I wanted to make sure we'd be alive for you to kill me over this." This was Zane alright, down to his need to make a joke in awkward situations.
"Okay," she admitted. "That was smart thinking. Carter should be on his way. Only..."
Zane must have noticed her worried expression. "What?"
"There was a gun in my coat pocket. Carter has no idea what he's walking in to. They could look like you, or even me now."
"Jo? Now that you know I'm not a bad guy... could you please let up a little bit?" He motioned to where she had him pinned.
Jo did not usually blush, but she did realize she was still holding him down rather roughly, and he was starting to noticeably appreciate it.
"Oh, sorry." She rolled off, self-conscious. The minute they were no longer touching, the reality of the weather hit home. Every hair on her body immediately stood up as goosebumps rippled up and down her flesh. So she rolled right back to him.
"You know, Lupo, this was not how I envisioned our first time mostly naked together."
Despite herself, Jo smiled. She leaned close. "And how did you imagine it?"
Zane's answering smile was cut short by the sound of shouting. Footsteps, a male voice, and gunshots. Fueled and warmed by adrenaline, Jo easily secured her clothing, shivering at the sudden loss of Zane's body heat. There were shouts from outside, and Jo heard Carter's voice.
Jo crouched by the door to the tent, a double zippered entry, and listened. The scuffle had blocked out the noise from her changing, thank goodness, but she did not want to risk drawing attention to them if the wrong side had one.
But when she heard Carter's voice called call out, she decided to risk it. First she pressed her lips together with a finger, indicating Zane should be quiet. Then, in a quick motion, she unzipped the tent and rolled out, coming up to a standing position on the outside.
The entire world spun and she thought she might have a concussion. It was then when a number of her other parts starting aching that she realized she was more banged up than she had originally calculated.
"Jo!" She heard Allison's voice, but could not tell which direction it came from. She desperately tried to focus her eyes, and she could tell a form was moving in her direction, but it was hard to tell if it was friend or foe.
Friend, likely, because before she knew it an arm was wrapped around her waist and she felt herself slipping to the ground.
"I was... attacked. By someone who was able to look just like Zane. The real Zane is in the tent. They put us in there ... messing with the generator?"
"It's going to be okay, Jo. Jack... she's taken a pretty hard blow to her head."
"Wow, Doc, you're good," Jo mumbled. She closed her eyes. She was so cold now that she was no longer naked and pressed up against Zane. That had been so nice.
"No, you're bleeding, Jo. Hey! Stay with me here. Open your eyes!"
Jo tried, she really did try. But her eyelids were just too heavy.
XXXXX
Zane sat in the chair next to Jo's bed. Her tussle with the hired saboteurs had been rougher than anyone had guessed; the man must have kicked her several times before tossing her in to the tent with Zane.
Because of Jo's phone call, Carter had managed to piece together that they were at the third generator station, and something was wrong. Andy and Carter had come together, with Allison in case there was a medical issue. When the man attacked Andy, the bullet had simply bounced off. There were up sides to having a robotic deputy.
Jo's eyes fluttered open, and Zane's breath caught in his throat. She was gorgeous, as always. He hated the brief flash of fear the clouded her eyes, but it cleared up and she smiled crookedly at him.
"Do I look as bad as I feel?" she groaned.
"Pretty much. But hey, at least you didn't have to spend an hour in the thaw tub." He shuddered. Frostbite was painful in the beginning, when everything was freezing, but then it had felt pleasantly numb. The thawing process had hurt a lot more. "Next time, I'm just going to tell them that I don't want the fingers or toes anymore. Really."
"Did we get them?" she asked after a moment.
He nodded. "They won't tell me much, but it sounds like some rival company tried to dismantle our security perimeter, but only got as far as the climate controls."
"He... looked like you."
"I haven't gotten my hands on the technology yet," Zane held up his bandaged fingers, "but I am guessing it was some sort of face-only device. That's why he needed my clothing. And your coat."
"From now on, none of my people goes out alone," she promised solemnly. "I want everyone in teams of two."
"You can tell them that when you are well enough to go back to work. Dr. Blake said she'll want to keep you here overnight, just to make sure you're healing."
Her brow crinkled. "Why were you there anyway, Zane? Why didn't you go back to town like I asked?"
"Maybe because I thought I could fix the generator better than anyone else? But maybe also because I wanted to be the one you were bringing a picnic basket too full of goodies."
She blinked in surprise, and Zane had the pleasure of being able to catch Jo off guard. "You stayed out there in the freezing cold because... because you wanted a picnic with me?"
"Listen, Jo, I'm not sure exactly what's going on with you guys... but I want to know. And I want to hear it from you. I need you to give me a chance to prove that you can trust me. I hated that the bad guy took my face and even now you were afraid of me."
"I'm not afraid," she started to protest, but he would not let her finish.
"You were. Because you didn't know which Zane I was going to be, right? Well, until you give me that chance, I'm going to keep doing stupid things to get your attention, Lupo. Like wandering around in the woods looking for you."
"A picnic? All you want is a picnic? Then you'll stop doing stupid things?"
"I'll stop doing stupid things on purpose to get your attention," he offered as a counter.
Jo sighed, and internally Zane cheered as she finally relented. "Okay. A picnic."
"Perfect! I already had Vincent whip something up for us." From under the bed he lifted up an honest to goodness picnic basket, filled with Cafe Diem dishes. He motioned to the blanket covering her from the waist down. "And you've already brought a picnic blanket. Perfect."
That brought a smile to her face. He watched her carefully, and while she seemed cautious, he thought there was more amusement in her expression than disgust.
"You know," Jo said thoughtfully a few minutes later while chowing down on a grilled cheese triangle, "you never did tell me how you imagined the first time we'd be naked together."
Zane grinned at her mischievously. "Well, we'd start out by having a picnic."