Zane's Christmas Gift
Summary: Zane offers a Christmas gift of his own, and it changes everything.
Disclaimer: All rights to the concept and characters of the Eureka television series belong to its creators; the only profit derived is the satisfaction of enjoying the characters as they romp through my imagination.
Note: Spoilers through "Oh Little Town"
***Eureka***Eureka***Eureka***Eureka***Eureka***
The casual holiday gathering at Café Diem lasted a good deal longer than the official Global Dynamics event. Zane hung around, joking with a couple of the guys and showing off his concert tickets as the crowd began to thin out.
Zoe left with Pilar and Kevin Blake around midnight to take them home; she invited Zane to ride along but he reminded her that he had his bike. She grinned and warned him, "You'll end up looking like a snowman before you make it home. Good night – and Merry Christmas, Zane."
He'd grinned back, thankful that she wasn't insisting, wished her a merry Christmas too, and returned his attention to the party. He had a goal, and didn't want to miss any opportunity that might open up… if he actually went through with it. He was still debating whether it would be worth it.
Not much later, Vincent and his staff finally began to clean up, which clued the remaining patrons that it was time to go home.
As Zane had suspected, however, Lupo and her inner circle of friends showed no sign of leaving. They discreetly drifted one at a time to a far corner table where they were mostly out of sight and out of Vincent's way. Sheriff Jack Carter, Dr Henry Deacon, his wife Dr Grace Monroe, Director Douglas Fargo, Dr Allison Blake, and Security Chief Josefina Lupo; all six of them in one place. No doubt if Dr Grant hadn't disappeared, he'd be with them, too. None of the Café Diem staff appeared interested, which meant it happened often enough not to rate notice. Zane wondered what they'd told Vincent that kept these quiet meetings from becoming common knowledge around Eureka. Even he wouldn't have noticed the get-togethers if he hadn't started monitoring their movements.
It looked like they were settling in for a comfortable chat with one another. There'd never be a better time to do this. Still, a very loud voice in his head told him this was a crazy stunt, and a waste of time and effort. He waved off his last departing lab buddy and hesitated, arguing with himself yet again as he donned his jacket in preparation for the chilly ride home. His logical side argued that doing this went against every rule of self-preservation he'd ever learned. What he was considering would condemn him to his own personal hell, with no guarantee of any return for his sacrifice. If the mere contemplation of the deed made his insides all jittery, what would he have to endure if he really did it? Nope, he couldn't do it, not tonight and maybe never. It would drive him nuts.
Two steps from the escape of the door, Zane couldn't resist one last glance back. Allison was leaning close to Jo, saying something to her, and for a brief moment the Enforcer's guard was down. He had no more than a glimpse before her calm composure was firmly back in place, but the stark misery he saw on her lovely face in that brief moment was like a sucker punch to his gut. He stopped in his tracks. His broad shoulders slumped and his chin sank to his chest; no way could he just walk out now. Logic didn't stand a chance against this inexplicably obsessive need to protect Josefina Lupo that had developed since she'd started treating him as if he weren't subhuman.
If there was even the slightest chance that Jo might be helped if he carried out his absurdly masochistic plan, he had to do it, regardless of the personal cost.
He heaved a resigned sigh, straightened and turned back from the door. With deliberately feigned casualness, Zane ambled toward the back corner. He noted that although both the Sheriff and Jo saw him approaching their group, neither of them touched their weapons as they'd been prone to do at first sight of his presence prior to Founder's Day. Carter did look questioningly at Jo, but she gave a minuscule shrug to indicate she had no idea what Eureka's most troublesome resident might want. Still, Carter welcomed him with a genuine, friendly smile. "What's keeping you here this late on Christmas eve, Zane?"
Henry, Grace, Jo and Allison greeted him with smiles, too, although Jo's had less warmth. Only Fargo looked at him with the suspicion that would've been present, warranted or otherwise, not so long ago.
"Actually," Zane said, not allowing his gaze to linger on Jo's aloof features, "I have a gift to give to, ah, y'know, actually, all of you…" one hand gestured vaguely around the table before diving back into his pocket. "But mostly it's for Jo," he added gruffly, his keen blue eyes flitting guardedly from one to the other of the group.
"Me?" Jo asked as she visibly tensed. "Why?"
Zane's words and Jo's obvious trepidation caused Fargo's eyes to narrow with misgiving; knowing what the members of this group had to lose, Zane couldn't blame the guy. But the Director's focus shifted between him and Jo, not around toward any of the others. Interestingly, both Allison and Jack also glanced quickly and protectively at Jo, then back to Zane, watchful but willing to hear him out. Henry draped an arm over his wife's shoulders and waited patiently to see what developed, but he, too, cast a concerned look at Jo.
The scientist in Zane noted their universal reaction and filed it away as another abstract confirmation that they each believed he was more of a danger to Lupo than to themselves, which also indirectly proved that something had happened to each of them, too. Otherwise they'd be closing ranks against him to protect themselves and the Sherriff would be preemptively cuffing him and hauling him off to jail, instead of regarding him as if he was one of them.
Unexpected and weird as it was, Zane had the distinct impression that despite their worry for Jo's sake, not even Fargo was braced for anything worse than mischief. It was a far cry from being treated as a felon capable of creating potential disasters, and although they'd been behaving toward him this way for several months now, it still unnerved him. He'd planned exactly what he wanted to say, but it wasn't so easy with six pair of eyes focused on him – particularly because he couldn't remember ever having that many people giving him the benefit of the doubt all at the same time.
He shifted from one foot to the other, cleared his throat, shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and glanced from Jo to the others again. "Here's the thing," he said gruffly at last. "I know something happened to at least five of you, and I have a pretty good idea what it is." He raised one hand to stem Fargo's instantly visible panic – apparently the Director hadn't expected this topic, which was interesting in and of itself, since it meant they'd thought he was here solely about Jo. Zane lowered his voice, well aware that the DOD probably had electronic ears in a public place like this one, just as they did at GD. "I know it's something that requires major discretion or you'll all end up in serious trouble."
Rather than his words reassuring them, Fargo looked ready to vomit, Jo was as edgy as he'd ever seen her, and Grace shifted closer to Henry with a shadow of fear in her dark eyes. Yet even before Zane could continue, Allison settled a reassuring hand on Fargo's shoulder to calm him; she, Henry, Carter and Jo simply watched Zane and waited, apparently willing to hear him out – which was further evidence of their inexplicably good opinion of him.
It left a decidedly odd feeling in the his chest to know that these people expected better of him that his past behavior warranted. Zane met Carter's gaze and then Henry's; they were the leaders, the ones the others would trust. If there was even the slightest chance of Jo Lupo accepting this, he needed these two men to understand what he was about to do. For just a second he fought back the panic again; a sideways glimpse of Jo's strained expression stilled his dread. This was for her; he was grateful for the benefit of the doubt extended to him by the others, but they were incidental.
Speaking to the group as a whole, he said firmly, "I appreciate the faith that's been shown in me lately, and I want to offer a good faith gesture in return." He abruptly drew his data pad from his inside jacket pocket and extended it to Carter. "Merry Christmas."
"What is this?" the Sheriff asked as he slowly accepted the compact tablet.
"It's my research notes about … y'know…" he shrugged and generalized, "everything that's happened. And it's the only copy, other than what's up here," he touched an index finger to his forehead. "The data pad is encrypted, but I'll give Henry the key anytime you say so." His shifted his feet, not daring to look at Jo as he continued, "I… uh… want you to know that I'm available to help… with whatever. I know Henry's the best scientist GD has, and the rest of you are hardly slouches in the smarts department, but if you need anything I have to offer… well, I'm pretty good at keeping secrets." He risked meeting Jo's gaze and offered a tentative smile.
Jo looked down, color flooding her cheeks.
Fargo shifted nervously, looking at the others to gauge their reactions, but didn't say anything. As Zane expected based on the changed behavior he'd noted since Founder's Day, Fargo waited to see what the others would say rather than taking the lead.
Jack passed the data pad to Henry, who took it solemnly with an arched brow. "Well," the Sheriff said slowly, after a keen glance at his former deputy, "I don't think anyone here doubts whether you can be trusted." He ignored Fargo's snort. "You're a good man, Zane."
That sparked an irrepressibly impish smirk from Zane; he leaned forward a little to say in a confidential tone, "Yeah, see… that's one of the things you shouldn't say if you don't want anyone asking questions." Everyone but Jo chuckled, although Fargo's expression was still uneasy. Zane rocked back on his heels and shrugged. "Anyway… that was it. See you all after the holiday."
"Thanks, Zane," Carter nodded, his blue eyes keenly studying the younger man. "Merry Christmas."
Each of the others echoed his holiday benediction, except the person that mattered most.
Jo still wouldn't look up, so after another brief hesitation Zane turned and walked away, as if it didn't cut him to the quick that she was ignoring him. But before he could berate himself for the wasted gesture, he heard the rustle of movement behind him.
"Go after him," he heard Allison hiss.
"He did this for you," Henry added encouragingly, so quietly that Zane almost didn't hear him.
"Go!" Grace agreed, and Zane could almost see the smile he heard in her voice. "Jo! Follow him!"
There was a brief period in which there were more rustled-clothing sounds that Zane identified as forceful physical gestures of some kind, and then Fargo grunted, "Yeah, yeah, okay!… they're right. Go."
In the second of silence that followed, Zane had no problem envisioning Jo violently shaking her head in refusal. The Carter called cheerfully, "Yo, Zane, it's pretty dangerous riding that bike of yours when it's snowing like this. You'd better let Jo run you home."
Zane turned, startled, and looked from one to the other of the group. Carter was grinning widely at him. Henry nodded, eyes twinkling, his arm wrapped tight around his wife whose whole face beamed at him. Allison actually winked at him! Even Fargo met his amazed gaze and jerked his head in Jo's direction. Of course they had to be well aware of the relationship Jo had shared with other-him whenever it was they'd come from… but he'd never expected her friends to play matchmaker like this.
Stunned, he realized his gift had gained him five very formidable allies in his quest to end the standoff between himself and Josefina Lupo. He smiled broadly. This night was turning out to be full of surprises! But would she go for it?
Shooting an almost agonized look in Zane's direction, a red-faced Jo leaned closer to her former boss. "Carter!" she hissed.
"We wouldn't want him to have an accident on the snowy roads. See him home, Jo," he said with a pleasant smile, but in his firm authoritative tone.
She swallowed, visibly tamping down her outrage before she said grimly, "Despite his record, Zane is a competent driver. He can get home on his own."
Zane and the others watched as Carter straightened to his full height without rising from his chair at the table, and looked sternly at the aggrieved brunette. "Zane gave you a gift, Jo. The least you can do is to see him safely home."
For a long moment everyone held their breath.
Then, clearly seething, Jo ground out, "For your information, Carter, since I no longer work for you, I don't have to follow your orders, so don't use that tone of voice with me. But since you're all ganging up on me…" she glared at each of her friends in turn, furious at the situation they'd placed her in. "I'll see him home." Scowling fiercely, the petite brunette rose from her seat, snatched up her jacket and marched past Zane. "Move it, Donovan!" she snapped over her shoulder as she slammed through Café Diem's front door.
Zane mouthed his thanks to her amused friends and dashed exuberantly after her.
Although she was still shrugging into the jacket of her power suit, she was already twenty feet away down the sidewalk.
"Hey, JoJo, wait up!" he called as he loped after her.
She stopped and whirled, glaring up at him as she emphasized each word with a finger jab to his chest. "Don't call me that!"
"Right. Sorry." She was so hot glaring up at him so fiercely with her hands fisted on her hips! He was probably shooting himself in the foot by attempting this when she was already spitting mad, but then again, his chances probably wouldn't be any better later anyway. After all, he'd already accomplished amazing things tonight. Maybe his luck would hold? He took a deep breath and dove right in. "So I was gonna wait until next week to ask, but…" He shoved both hands into his pockets again and took his life in his hands. "Secret Santa gave me these really cool concert tickets, and, I was wondering if you might like to go to the Bruce Springsteen concert with me? It's live at the Meadowlands."
Jo blinked. Clearly that was the last thing she'd expected him to suggest. After an incredulous moment she said, "I'd sooner tase you than look at you, and you're inviting me – me? – to go with you?"
A lopsided grin curved his lips as he nodded. "You know I like to live dangerously."
"You're not going to invite Zoe?" she asked tersely.
Right. Even before Founder's Day she'd spent a surprisingly amount of time with Zoe, and she wasn't the kind of woman who would poach a friend's boyfriend. Neither she nor Zoe had any idea – yet – that Zoe was more serious about their friendship than he was. He'd have to deal with that soon. "I'm not sneaking around behind her back," he explained carefully. "I know she has kind of a crush on me, but I have no intention of taking advantage of her or hurting her. She's just enjoying her first fling with an older guy – a platonic fling, I might add! – while she figures out that she's still in love with Lucas. You'll see. Plus, she'll have to fly out for her next semester long before the concert. So, will you go with me?"
Her tense posture relaxed slightly as he told her about his view of his relationship with Zoe Carter, but she was still scowling suspiciously.
"Okay, what else is keeping you from saying yes?" he prodded patiently.
Jo stared up at him, a bit nonplussed by his audacity in pursuing this when he was perfectly aware of the fact that she'd been avoiding him. Moreover, based on his historic behavior in this timeline, there was something uncharacteristic about this whole thing. "You're giving me a choice about going with you, instead of…?" Her brow puckered, and she glanced back toward Vince's before baldly pointing out, "You could've just blackmailed me into going with you."
He knew exactly what she meant and couldn't blame her for wondering, given the contents of his GD personnel records, not to mention the way he'd behaved toward her since she'd said "yes" to a proposal he'd never offered. If he'd found the means to force Lupo into going out with him before this, he'd have gone for it even though she'd probably have maimed him for doing it. Just to be certain he'd correctly interpreted her implication, he asked, "What, by holding my research over your heads?"
Jo finally met and held his gaze. She studied him keenly for a long moment, during which he visibly refrained from fidgeting under her steely regard. She tilted her head. "That's why you gave up your data pad before you asked me, isn't it? So that if I agree to go with you it will be voluntarily, not because I thought you weren't giving me a choice?"
Zane grinned down at her with an appreciative gleam in his eyes. "You're quick on the uptake, JoJo – sorry, I meant Jo," he apologized quickly at her quirked brow. "Yeah, making sure you knew you have a choice is one of the reasons that I gave up the data pad before I asked you. So what do you say? Want to?"
She stared up at him a moment longer, perplexed, then suddenly, without giving him an answer, turned and resumed stalking toward her car.
He easily matched her brisk pace, falling into step beside her as he watched her mull it over. If she said yes, it would be the start of a whole new ball game between them – and it looked like she was really, seriously thinking about it!
"What are you grinning at?" she asked without looking at him.
He was startled to realize she was right; he was indeed grinning. No wonder she'd earned such a high accuracy rating on target ranges, with peripheral vision this good even in Eureka's faint street lighting. But this was probably not the right time to tell her that he thought even her visual acuity was hot. "Er… just thinking how beautiful you look with snow dusting your hair," he temporized glibly.
She glanced sideways at him, rolling her eyes. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Zane," she warned. "Get in the car."
"Yes ma'am," he snapped a perfect military salute in her direction and dashed around to the passenger side. Sliding in, he settled back in the seat and fastened the belt as she slid in behind the driver's wheel. "But for the record, Lupo, that wasn't flattery." As he expected, she glared at him without answering. He sighed and spoke with all the sincerity he could muster. "Jo, I'd really, really like it if you'd be my date to the Springsteen concert. I'll even offer you a little trade, if you like: I promise to do my best not to blow anything up for at least three days. I can be a bit flexible about how many days – just keep in mind that I hardly ever deliberately blow anything up and I may not be able to hold up my end of the deal." He saw her lips twitch and, encouraged, added, "These tickets are the best Christmas gift I've had in years – actually, pretty much the only Christmas gift I've had in years, and I'd like to share the event with you."
She hesitated, and an odd sadness shadowed her face. She shook it off almost immediately, though, and said cautiously, "Springsteen's not really my thing. And rock concerts tend to get wild."
He rightly interpreted that to mean she was concerned about liberties he might be encouraged to take in such an open environment. Based on the way she'd been ducking him since they'd kissed in the Sherriff's office, he was positive that she was as shaken by that kiss as he'd been. If he gave her the slightest hint that he intended to do it again as soon as possible, she'd never agree to attend the concert with him. "I'll behave. On my honor," he raised his right hand in the easily-recognized Boy Scout gesture.
Jo snickered, her gaze softening to amused tolerance. "You've never been in the Scouts, Zane."
He smirked. "I didn't realize GD's personnel files were so thorough that they included lists of stuff that I haven't done. Amazing how well you know me," he teased, delighted at her chagrin as she realized that his lack of Scout experience was a fact she probably shouldn't have known. He didn't rub it in, though. Instead he sobered and added, "Honest, Jo, I'd like to spend time with you. It has nothing to do with getting answers about what happened before, I promise. You're different, and it's a nice different. I'd like to get to know who you are now. I'll leave the past alone."
Her gaze skittered away from his, and she shifted uncertainly in her seat.
"Just think about it, okay? There's time before the concert. You can let me know later. Don't say no yet. Think about it. It could be fun," he coaxed gently. Apparently his sincerity reached her.
She nodded slowly as she turned the key in the ignition. Reluctantly, and very much against her better judgment, she agreed, "Alright, I'll think about it."
Zane let out a relieved sigh. "Good. That's good. Thanks."
Jo backed out of the parking space and changed gears, directing the car toward his home. After a long moment of silence, she glanced over at him and ventured, "That was really something else, what you did back at Café Diem… I mean, handing over your data pad. "
He smiled at her. "Well, it's Christmas. Seemed like the right time for gift-giving."
"Yeah, but this wasn't just some present you spent a little time and money picking out," Jo reasoned. "You hate stopping before you have all the answers to every facet of a problem. Everybody knows it drives you crazy to have your research cut off." She cast him a quick apologetic look even though it had been this timeline's Jo, not herself, who'd used that fact to make his life miserable whenever possible. His protests and resulting rebellious behavior after being pulled off promising projects were recorded in his file. The other Jo, with Director Fargo's cooperation, had been utterly merciless in her provocation of the former felon. Once Jo had read through his file she'd understood why being in Eureka hadn't changed this Zane's distrust of authority or his continued mischief. Zane had been one very frustrated scientist for the last two years, and for him to voluntarily give up his private research was nothing short of astonishing. "I know you have an eidetic memory, Zane, and you don't really need that data pad… but even so, it must have been difficult to give up your files when there are still open avenues of inquiry."
Caught off-guard by her perception, he scolded himself for not anticipating it and tried to shrug it off. "It's not that big a deal."
She shook her head. "It's a very big deal! It's an amazingly self-sacrificing thing to have done, Zane, and we all knew it. That's why they…" She trailed off as she realized she really didn't want to go there.
Even in the faint light of the dashboard he could see that she was blushing. "That's why they ganged up on you?" he asked, grinning as he used her phrase from Café Diem. When Jo nodded silently, reluctantly, he added cautiously, "I'll admit I was surprised that your friends kind of forced you to spend some time with me."
She glanced over, seemed about to say something but then swallowed and looked back to the snowy street without voicing her thoughts.
Zane hesitated a moment, pondering the wisdom of pushing his luck, but decided to go ahead and ask. "What were you going to say, Jo?"
Her brow furrowed as she considered whether or not to answer. He'd almost given up expecting a reply when she said quietly, "You said… you said it was mostly for me."
"Well yeah." He watched her profile. "If you weren't involved, I'd still be digging for more information, even if it meant people might be sanctioned. But I don't want anything to happen to you."
Jo caught her breath at his simple statement and cast him a startled, searching look.
"What?" he asked curiously. Surely if the other him had loved her as Zane suspected he had, he'd have been willing to endure the mental torture of leaving the current puzzle unanswered, wouldn't he? Before he thought about the wisdom of articulating his curiosity he blurted out, "If it meant that you'd be safe, wouldn't the other me have given up a scientific quest?"
She stiffened at her well-remembered pain at his cold rejection during the ice fungi incident. Although she immediately scolded herself that he'd been sick – and that he'd made up for it rather spectacularly – her mind still flooded with a myriad of images of how immersed in his work Zane could be, and how often he'd placed himself in danger in search of scientific truths, without the least consideration of how she would feel about it. Would her Zane have given up a scientific quest for her sake? It had never come to that. There was no way she could know for certain, could she?
In that brief moment of inattention Jo missed the initial vibrations that would have warned her they'd hit black ice beneath the snow. By the time she refocused, she'd already lost control of the car.
The next few minutes were a blur as Zane held on to the back of her seat with one hand and the door handle with the other and watched in awe as Jo fought the wheel to correct the sliding fishtailing spin that sent them over the shoulder and perilously close to the wooded patch they'd been passing. They came within a hair's breadth of hitting the trees before she managed to steer them away from the probably deadly impact. Jo intuitively countered every direction change and sideslip of the tractionless wheels back and forth across the slick, snow-covered ground, sometimes based only on what she could see in the rearview or side mirrors for long moments of time when their momentum was sideways or backwards. The car crossed back over the lanes and surged across the shoulder, barely evaded trees and sign posts warning about the danger of icy roads on that side of the tarmac, then skidded back across the pavement and off onto the other shoulder again before she maneuvered to a nerve-jarring stop in a snow bank accumulated against the wrong side of a guardrail on the curve.
"Zane? Are you alright?" Jo's voice was strangled, breathless, worried, as she turned her head to check on him, both hands still tightly gripping the wheel.
Adrenalin pumping, he found himself beaming as he stared over at her. "You are so hot!" he enthused.
Jo closed her eyes and sighed in mingled exasperation and relief at the familiar exclamation, sinking back into her seat. However, she still had to confirm his condition, so she rebuked sternly, "This is so not the time, Zane Donovan! Are you okay or not?"
He laughed exultantly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm good. That was incredible! You were incredible! Do you have any idea how many physics laws you just broke to keep us from crashing?"
Jo couldn't help laughing, at least briefly.
Zane's excitement faded to concern as he noticed her last chuckle sounded more like a sob. "Jo? Are you okay?" When she didn't answer, he reached for her, but she brushed his hand away, refusing to look at him. Without a word she gave her full attention to working her powerful car out of the drift, repeatedly shifting gears and working the pedals with a precision that would've warned him she was fuming again even if he hadn't been able to see the set of her jaw, the fiery glitter in her eye, and her scowling profile. Apparently he'd misinterpreted the sound he'd heard.
The moment it sank in that she was livid, he also realized why. He winced in remorse. He'd promised to behave himself only a few minutes ago and he'd already broken his word by bringing up her past relationship with other-him. He had no doubt that his uncontrolled curiosity had diverted her attention: their near-accident was his fault! No wonder she was fuming!
Long experience had taught him that it was less painful to keep his mouth shut when Lupo was this angry with him, so Zane bit back the advice he could have offered to help work the car free, and forced himself to be absolutely silent.
It took her over twenty minutes to rock the car away from the drift, ease around the guardrail on the shoulder and finally get all four tires back onto the road. She cursed rather creatively under her breath several times during the process – using a no-doubt military-based wicked vocabulary that he'd never heard from her before – but otherwise Jo stayed grimly focused on her task and wholly ignored him.
Once she was headed to his apartment again, he expected to be treated to a well-deserved lecture… but she was eerily silent.
When she still hadn't said a word by the time she was turning onto his street, Zane decided he couldn't let the night end like this. It was, after all, Christmas, and he'd won some points with his grand gesture. He couldn't let it go down in flames without at least attempting to regain the ground he'd lost. "Look Jo, I apologize. I know I promised I'd behave. I shouldn't have brought up the other me. I'm sorry for distracting you. It was dumb of me."
"We both know you're far from being dumb, Zane," she said with an edge of bitterness as she eased the car into the only space left in the parking lot of his apartment complex. Jo shifted to 'park' before she finally faced him. "It was my fault, not yours," she said tersely, and scanned him again to be certain he was alright. "I'm such an idiot! I could have killed us both."
Shocked, it dawned on him that she was angry with herself, not with him, for ending up off the road. The possibility hadn't even crossed his mind! "No – no, Jo, it wasn't your fault! It was me! I shouldn't have said… what I said… about… you know…" His voice trailed off in frustration and he pushed one hand through his already unruly hair. "We only ended up in that snowdrift because of what I said. You didn't endanger us, you saved us, so don't call yourself an idiot. You're the most incredible woman, Josefina Lupo," he added in wonder. "The things you can do constantly amaze me."
Jo stared at him in astonishment. "But…" She closed her mouth abruptly and looked away.
"But what?"
She met his gaze fleetingly, searching his expression before she looked down. "Like… what things?" she finally asked, voice cracking a little more than usual.
Puzzled, his brow furrowed. "What things?" he repeated blankly, then it clicked. "You mean you want to know what things amaze me?"
She seemed to shrink in on herself a little at his incredulous tone, and she shook her head. "Never mind. This is your stop, Zane." She faced front again and motioned to his apartment building, the finality in her tone clearly telling him to get out.
"Hmpf! Not on your life, JoJo; you're not getting rid of me that easily," he retorted, rapidly making mental connections with the other data he'd been collating. "This is what you meant when you tossed the ring at me in your office that day," he said, aghast at the conclusion he'd drawn. "You think we don't fit – I mean, didn't fit – because we don't have the same IQ?"
Jo cast him a startled look, then, chagrined, deliberately banged her forehead against the steering wheel and cursed. "I had to fall for a genius!" she muttered under her breath, and did it again.
Zane resisted the urge to grin at her inadvertent admission and instead hastily inserted his arm between her and the surface she was about to thump her head into yet again. "Jo, stop that," he chastised firmly. He used his arm to lever her away from the steering wheel so that her back was pressed against her seat. "That's why you hesitated when he proposed, isn't it? You didn't know why he'd want forever with you because you don't understand how awesome you are."
Shocked at his words, it took her a moment to recover. Naturally she ignored the conversation in favor of dealing with his physical restraint. She started to shove his arm away, only to fall back, biting off a groan and wrapping one arm around her ribs. ''Damn!" she looked down at herself with dawning awareness.
"Jo?" He immediately released her.
Her brow puckered as she did a quick self-evaluation before saying, "I'm okay. I guess I was so mad I didn't notice it was more than twinges." She managed a tight smile for his benefit. "It must've happened when we hit that snow bank. It's not anything major, though – a bruised rib or two on the right, maybe a little cracked, but they're definitely not broken. Broken ribs hurt way more. All I need is a bit of tape and I'll be good as new," she added reassuringly as she noted his increased alarm.
"See, now that's exactly what I mean," he said, expelling the breath he'd been holding. She cocked one brow and he grinned, albeit weakly. "For all my so-called intelligence, and as often as my experiments have blown up, I wouldn't have the faintest idea whether my ribs were bruised, cracked or broken. I'll bet he found that as amazing and impressive as I do." He ignored Jo's arrested expression and added more somberly, "Not that it's a particularly good thing that you know broken ribs are more painful, because that implies that you've had more than enough experience to be certain and I don't like the idea that you've been hurt that badly so often. Stay right there." He abruptly exited the car, loped around to her side and opened the driver door. He really didn't like the idea of Jo being injured, especially because of his own foolishness. She'd probably refuse to call Allison until she'd hurt herself even worse by trying to tape the ribs herself, so there was only one alternative. "Come on; you're coming up with me so we can tape you up before you try to drive home." He extended his hand.
Jo knew she could make it home despite the pain, even though bending over to smack her head on the steering wheel had set her head to throbbing in addition to her ribs. Still, it would be difficult to wrap her ribs by herself. If she let him help her, she could avoid alerting Allison – and by extension, Carter and the others – about how stupid she'd been tonight… at least for now. "Thanks." She took Zane's hand and allowed him to help her out of her seat.
"Sure." Glad that she hadn't argued for once, he slipped an arm around her waist to support her as they walked toward the lobby door. "It's only fair to warn you that my place is kind of a mess; I wasn't expecting visitors."
She grinned up at him and said dryly, "Big surprise."
He laughed, delighted anew at her rarely-seen sense of humor. "Right. You know me."
Her grin vanished. "Maybe," she said, more to herself than to him, and shivered as a particularly sharp gust of chilly air whipped through her jacket. Jo leaned closer to Zane's larger bulk as he escorted her toward the familiar lobby door.
He focused on sheltering her from the elements until they were safely indoors, then waited until the elevator doors closed between them and the security guard. Keeping in mind that there was a camera in the elevator, he asked softly, "You really don't know how much you must've meant to him, do you, Jo? He'd only have given that ring to someone that wholly owned his heart."
She sighed. "I didn't even know it was his grandmother's ring until you said so that day. He didn't tell me. Maybe he would have, if…" her voice trailed off.
"If you hadn't frozen?"
Startled, her head snapped up. "How did you -?"
"I've pieced a few details together," he admitted with a lopsided grin, tactfully not pointing out that she'd just confirmed his supposition.
But she realized it anyway. "I just did it again, didn't I?" With a groan, Jo turned around and banged her forehead into the elevator wall.
Zane grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from the wall. "Stop that," he said sternly, although a sympathetic grin tugged at his lips. "And before you say something derogatory about your intelligence again, just remember that I've felt the exact same way every time you sprang one of your traps on me. I'll bet you laughed when you read about those in the files, didn't you?" As he hoped, the memory made her chuckle, and he could see by the amusement in her chocolate eyes that she had indeed read his whole, massive file. "You'd think I would've seen it coming after a half dozen times or so, but I hardly ever did. You're just as smart as I am, Josefina Lupo. We just have different areas of expertise."
She looked up and searched his expression, blushing faintly as she looked away again to hide the sudden moisture in her eyes. "Thanks."
Zane's brow creased. Why hadn't his other self made sure she knew these things?
The elevator came to a halt, and she followed him to his door. As he unlocked it she asked tentatively, "Do you have sonic protocols?"
He glanced over his shoulder as he pushed the door open. "Is this one of those traps? Are you going to use your taser on me if I say yes?" he teased, fairly certain she wouldn't.
She choked back a laugh and stepped past him into his apartment, but didn't answer until he'd entered too, and secured his door. Only then did she say, "My Zane copied the GD technology and built his own security system as soon as he moved out of the jail and into this place – which was a much shorter time span than in this time line. There wasn't anything in your file about it, but by that look in your eye when I asked, I think it's safe to assume that you managed it without being caught."
It took him a second to realize that she'd just openly mentioned the time line change, and in another instant he made the connection; since he had sonic protocols installed and active, it was secure enough to discuss anything at all while they were in his apartment. "Smart," he commented admiringly. "I didn't think about it being safe to talk here."
Jo shrugged. "You would have," she said simply. She wrinkled her nose in distaste as she moved slowly further into the apartment and looked around. "You must have cleaned really hard before you invited me here the first time around," she said. "I've never seen it quite this disorganized before."
A thud drew her attention, and she turned to see Zane smack his forehead into the wall again. "Zane! What in the world?" she quickly retraced her steps and, much as he had done to her in the elevator and the car, stepped between him and the wall.
"All this time!" he groaned, slapping the heel of his hand to his forehead instead. "Barring experiments-gone-wrong, I couldn't get you to say word one about what was going on, and you barely step through my door and start talking without me asking a single question! All I had to do was bring you here and you'd have talked to me, wouldn't you? All you needed was to be certain no one could overhear us?" Once again he pounded his fist to his forehead, frustrated that it had never crossed his mind to try luring her up here to talk to her.
The slender brunette caught hold of both of his hands and commanded sharply, "Stop hurting yourself, Zane Donovan!"
He smirked down at her. "You do care!" he quipped. His gaze heated with anticipation and he asked eagerly, "You gonna cuff me?" He shrugged out of his jacket, dropped it on the back of the sofa, and extended his arms toward her.
Jo growled at him and pointed sternly towards his kitchen. "Infant! Stop being a jerk and go get the first aid kit."
He grinned irrepressibly and saluted. "Yes ma'am!"
Jo shook her head in exasperated amusement as he executed a military style about face and marched away. Remembering a similar situation with her original Zane, she decided to carry out a little discreet experiment of her own. "That parade move is probably the only thing you actually learned before they booted you out of military academy!" That was approximately what she'd said to her Zane back then.
He glanced over his shoulder, his blue eyes dancing – exactly as her Zane's had done. "Nope," he said, and waggled his brows. "That was one of my favorite schools – they had the best sex education in sixteen countries!"
She caught her breath in amazement, eyes widening and filling with tears. One trembling hand came up to cover her mouth, but couldn't prevent the sob that tore free.
Zane was back at her side so fast that she barely saw him move. "Jo," he said urgently, grasping her shoulders and bending down so that he could look her straight in the face. "What's wrong?"
She wordlessly shook her head as her tears spilled over, still trying to silence her sobs even as her other hand reached out and gathered a fistful of his black Santa tee-shirt. Shaking, she stepped closer and buried her face between his neck and shoulder. She felt him stiffen, but almost instantly his arms were wrapping around her, hugging her and gently rocking her as he whispered nonsense soothing noises into her hair. Jo clung to him and wept, overcome with her discovery.
She was trembling. Zane marveled at how delicate she felt in his arms. Josefina Lupo the Enforcer was such an indomitable woman that he was once again caught off guard by discovering that she was a delicate, fragile young lady in dire need of his protection. Then again, this wasn't his first glimpse of her vulnerable side in recent months.
His shirt's shoulder and sleeve were soaked through before she drew a last shaky breath and raised her face so she could meet his concerned gaze. Not quite ready to tell him what had set her off, she managed a shaky smile for him and rasped out, "First Aid kit?"
Zane studied her a moment longer, then nodded. "Coming right up." Unfortunately, like so many other things in his apartment, the first aid kit wasn't where it should have been. After a quick search of the kitchen, accompanied by a multitude of banging cabinet doors, he called, "Just another minute!" as he dashed through the sitting room and down the hall.
He was gone longer than he'd wanted to be; it took him some hunting to remember that he'd left it in his study after he cut his finger working on a mother board upgrade. When he returned to his sitting room from the back of the apartment he discovered that Jo had busied herself with straightening up. A swift look around revealed that she'd placed his magazines, books, DVDs and CDs on their respective shelves, cleared the take-out dinner containers from his coffee and end tables, and tossed his previously-scattered clothing onto the kitchen floor in front of the beveled laundry doors. She was in the kitchen, rinsing dishes and loading them into his dishwasher. She winced with every stiff movement she made, but was probably oblivious to the pain, given her preoccupied expression.
As he watched, she added the last coffee mug to the top rack and then opened the cabinet in which he kept his cleaning products, her hand unerringly going to the box of dishwasher packets. She tucked the small blue gel pack into the proper slot on the dishwasher door, closed it and pressed the necessary buttons to start it, all without consciously paying attention to what she was doing. Next, again without searching, she retrieved a glass from the cupboard and opened his fridge for a drink.
Astonished at her easy familiarity with his apartment – again, something he should have anticipated – Zane only jumped into action again when she groaned at the pain she caused herself by lifting the full gallon of juice. "Hey, let me get that for you," he suggested, suiting action to words.
She relinquished the heavy jug and quietly thanked him as he filled the glass for her.
"No problem. You're doing too much, Lupo," he said huskily as he stowed the juice back in his refrigerator.
She glanced around, a question in her dark eyes, and then blushed as she realized she may have overstepped his comfort level. "Sorry. I… like to keep myself busy."
Zane realized she'd taken it as criticism instead of concern, and quickly assured her that he didn't mind. "I was only surprised at how quickly you accomplished so much. And I don't think you should be moving a lot, at least until we get your ribs taped up. It's pretty impressive, though. It usually takes me hours to make this much progress."
Jo sipped the juice. "That's because you keep stopping to read the books or change the music when you should be putting them away," she said absently, once again looking around.
Bemused by the flood of proof about how well she really knew him, he wondered how long it would be before she realized what she was revealing. "Mostly the same?" he asked, tongue in cheek.
"Yeah, mostly," she answered with a grin as she fleetingly met his gaze then resumed her perusal of his apartment. Belatedly, then, she recognized the mischief she'd glimpsed in his sky blue eyes. She froze and blushed as she caught on that the things she was doing and saying must be like waving a red flag in front of a bull for someone as bright and inquisitive as Zane. And she'd been doing it since the moment he closed the front door! "Sorry. I'm making a mess of this, aren't I? It's been a long day, and it's really late. Maybe I should go." She barely kept herself from saying, 'before I say something I really shouldn't.' It was probably far too late for that anyway. She set her glass on the counter and wrapped an arm around her aching ribs, avoiding his keen gaze.
Zane's hand on her arm stopped her half-step toward the exit; he indicated the first aid kit he'd brought back to the kitchen. "Not before we tape up those ribs of yours. C'mon, Lupo. Let's get the jacket off." Knowing she'd protest, he added, "Either we do it here, or I take you to the infirmary at GD and call Allison."
She hesitated only briefly before she muttered, "I hate that infirmary." She turned and allowed him to ease her jacket off her shoulders and down her arms.
Noting that she was nervous and tense again, he donned his most innocent look and joked with a suggestive leer, "Want me to help with your blouse, too?"
As he hoped, she smiled a little. "I can manage buttons just fine, thanks." She'd only undone a couple though when she stopped. She looked up. "No wise-cracks, Donovan," she said firmly, despite the wobble in her voice. She pointed a stern finger at him. "I will tase you if I have to."
His dark brows arched. "No teasing, got it," he acknowledged her instruction… but didn't promise. Depending on what she was worried about, it might be worth getting tased over. He watched with unabashed interest as she chewed on her lower lip while she unbuttoned the remaining buttons.
Never in a million years would he have guessed he'd see what he saw when she opened the blouse and slipped it off her shoulders.
His jaw dropped and he pointed. "That's -!" His focus shifted from the black lace that barely covered her breasts to her rosy-hued face, then back to her chest. "Is that -?"
Jo's chin lifted and she glared at him as she dared him to finish that sentence.
He swallowed hard, licked his lips, and tore his gaze from the sexy lingerie back to her defiant face. "She – you – kept them?" he whispered hoarsely.
Her blush deepened, and her own voice was more than a little raspy as she answered, "Apparently she liked you more than she let on. When I… got here… every last pair that you bought back in the beginning was in her drawers, and they'd all been worn."
He gulped. All those times the Enforcer had tased him or physically restrained him, cuffed him and hauled him off to jail, she'd had his lingerie on under that uniform, or under one of those power suits she'd assumed with the title of Chief of Security? "That is so hot!" Zane groaned, his eyes glazing over as he stared hungrily at the beautiful woman standing half-undressed in his kitchen.
Jo's defensiveness dissolved into appreciative amusement as he abruptly leaped toward the ceramic sink, turned the cold water on full force and dunked his head under the tap. He let out a yelp as the icy liquid soaked his hair and ran down his neck and shoulders, but he stayed there for several long moments. When he finally groped for the spigot and turned it off, Jo draped one dish towel over his broad shoulders and another over his head, but refrained – with effort –from toweling his hair herself.
By the time Zane had mopped himself up, she'd opened his medical kit and had everything ready for him to tape her ribs. She grinned cheekily at him when he finally turned to her again. "You know Zane, you're really good for a girl's ego."
Zane looked her over with a very familiar heated look in his blue eyes. He fisted his hands, then flexed his fingers, clenched his jaw and picked up the wide tape he kept on hand for the inevitable injuries that occurred to an adrenalin junky like him. "Okay. I can do this," he said to himself, prompting a gurgle of laughter from Jo. The twin silk-clad mounds jiggled, and he closed his eyes and moaned, urgently practicing more self-control that he'd previously realized he possessed. When he opened his eyes it was to find her watching him with an intimately sexy grin. "Jo!" he warned gruffly.
She assumed a somber expression that still couldn't diminish the warm amusement in her eyes, and held very still as Zane once again set himself to tend her. His hands were trembling, and when he started talking she remembered her Zane once telling her that the only way to keep his focus off the constant temptation to touch her was to ramble on about something else.
"It wasn't just you that triggered my curiosity, you know," he began, apparently choosing the next strongest topic on his mind. "Well actually, it was at first – only you, I mean. You covered it up pretty quickly, but I knew almost right away that you weren't playing some kind of weird prank on me that day you said you'd marry me. It was your expression, before your usual mask dropped into place. It didn't really sink in that day, and I'd have written it off if that had been the only thing, or if you'd been the only one. But all the anomalies started at the same time, and it was only you five, six if you count Grant. I didn't put it all together at first. I kind of noticed everything in the back of my mind. Arms up, JoJo."
She obeyed, thankful that he was too focused on wrapping her ribs to notice how she misted over at the old nickname, which wasn't at all unwelcome after what she'd realized tonight. Jo blinked the renewed moisture back, determined not to cry again, then sucked in her breath as he tightened the first loop.
"Too tight?" he looked up, pausing.
"No," she said. "Keep going."
Zane nodded. "Right. So…" he carefully started to wrap the next band around her finely-muscled torso, deliberately keeping his gaze below her breasts. "I know I asked you a while ago about what was going on, but that night I spent in the jail with my grandmother's ring, that's when I started putting it all together. In your office you said you'd been thinking about why you hesitated, and you thought you'd figured it out. You ended that confusing little speech by tossing the ring at me, and once Carter finished grilling me and left me in the cell, the fact that it's an engagement ring naturally connected with the way you rushed into the jail on Founder's Day and said you'd marry me."
Jo shivered as his fingers brushed against her skin, and stiffened to resist further involuntary reactions. His narrative faltered for a brief second, but then continued so quickly that she might've written it off as her imagination… except for the additional guttural arousal in his voice when he continued speaking.
"With my grandmother's ring in my hand, I realized you hadn't been playing some freakish gag on me that day. My best guess is that whenever you came from, you and other me must've been in love for quite a while, and he must've proposed to you in the Sheriff's office that day, probably in that same cell since you looked relieved to find me there. Correct me if I'm wrong, JoJo," he glanced up as he finished the second band, and met her now-shadowed gaze. "When he proposed, that's the hesitation you mentioned in your office?"
She nodded once, jerkily. She'd already inadvertently confirmed that she'd frozen when he proposed, but she knew what Zane was really confirming was his understanding of the sequence of events.
"And one of us – probably me, knowing me – took off instead of sticking around to work it out."
Jo shook her head this time. "It wasn't your fault, Zane. I hurt you. I'll never forgive myself for the look on your face…" she sucked in a ragged breath and closed her eyes. "Hesitating was the worst mistake of my life!"
Zane straightened up and pulled her into a gentle hug. "Don't sweat it, JoJo. He knew you, right? It was a dorky plan – okay, yeah," he quickly backtracked as she stiffened in protest, "I know. You don't have to tell me that it was romantic to propose to you where you first met – assuming you first met in the Sheriff's office, like me and Lupo did here – but really, other me didn't think it through to the logical conclusion. Of course, I've got the benefit of hindsight, but I'm sure that once he got past the fear that your hesitation meant you were rejecting him, he'd have remembered that you don't react well to surprises and he'd have gone back to talk to you."
Jo gazed up at him with a spark of hope. "Do you really think so?" she whispered, not even questioning how this Zane knew that about her.
He smiled down at her. "It's what I'd have done, and I'm him, aren't I?"
She smiled tremulously, eyes shining with wonder. "Yes. Yes you are."
The handsome scientist leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Okay, you need at least one more band around your ribs," he said, releasing her from his arms and returning to the necessary task.
Jo braced herself against the tremors that coursed through her as his hands once again skimmed over her midsection while he wrapped the material firmly around her ribs. He had to have noticed, but so far he was behaving with incredible propriety… something she almost wished he wouldn't.
Zane was, in fact, perfectly aware of her body's reactions to his touch and his nearness. But he had more than one goal, and right now her mental and emotional health was at least as important as her physical well-being. If there was any chance of their relationship developing, here, in this timeline, then he needed to address the things the other him apparently hadn't. He had no idea when or if she'd be this open to talking with him again, and he couldn't afford to waste this opportunity.
"Yeah, I figured I must be pretty much identical to the other me, since you knew stuff about me that you could only know if we were a whole lot closer than we've been here. From a couple of the things you guys said when you were talking with Andy about Dr Grant, I eliminated my first theory about an alternate universe and went with a timeline change. It really confused me when the five of you – but especially you – started treating me like an ally instead of a screw-up. Even after a couple months it's still weird," he paused, frowned thoughtfully and rubbed his chest, "Kind of feels funny right here…"
He glanced up to find Jo looking down at him with such compassionate understanding that he had to look away again. He cleared his throat and busied his hands. "Yeah, see, that's exactly what I'm talking about. You got exactly what I meant, didn't you? You know me… probably better than anyone except my mom has ever known me. I figure we must've been pretty tight in your timeline. When you thought I was a hallucination of other-me, you said you were over me, but I hope you're not really over me, Lupo. I hope the way you kissed me and the way you just looked at me means there's a chance that I could have what he had with you. I'd kind of like to prove to you that we can and do fit, and to show you why other-me felt like you were worthy of our grandmother's ring."
Jo was crying again – fighting it, of course, but silent tears slid down her cheeks despite her best efforts.
Pretending he hadn't noticed was difficult when all he wanted to do was hold her close and comfort her, but she was still listening and there was more that he needed to say. "I want to know the woman that willingly risked her career to save me from being carted back to prison, the one that cares deeply about ensuring the safety and well-being of all the crazy scientists and citizens of this insanely brilliant town. I'm blown away that a woman with your incredible Ranger qualifications and advanced law enforcement training is willing to even associate with, let alone occasionally collaborate with a felon like me -"
"Former felon," Jo croaked, barely restraining a sob.
Zane chuckled, touched anew by her staunch insistence on inclusion of that detail. "Okay; former felon. The point, JoJo, is that since Founder's Day you've gone to bat for me more often than anyone else in my whole life. As near as I can determine, this timeline change has only affected local history, so the further you go from Eureka, the less the timeline changed. My best guess is that I must have been a screw-up when you first met me, just like I've been here. Since you and your little band of time travelers showed up, you've all repeatedly trusted me like… like… like I've never imagined anyone could."
He fastened the end of the last bandage and straightened up, frowning thoughtfully. "It's weird, and I never pictured myself being one of the good guys, but somehow – don't laugh, now – I kind of like being on the right side of the law. I'm starting to feel kinda like I belong, especially when I'm near you." He retrieved her shirt from the counter and helped her slide her arms into the sleeves, continuing to ignore her silent tears as she automatically started to re-button her blouse. With a deliberately admiring smirk he continued, "It's not just that you're so incredibly hot, either, though that was certainly the main factor that attracted me to the other you." He met her guarded gaze and the smirk gentled to tender smile. "I think you're a genuinely good person, Josefina Lupo, underneath that scary, dangerous Enforcer persona you wear most of the time."
That drew a watery chuckle from her, and tinted her cheeks a lovely shade of pink. He wiped away the next tear with his thumb, studying her with perplexed curiosity. "I don't know why I didn't see these things in the other Jo, but they must have been there. Maybe way down deep… maybe I just never paid enough attention to this side of you to notice it. I don't know," he shrugged. "Appearances aside, Jo, I've seen how you really listen to people. You remember things about them, and you do things for them without expecting anything in return, like this Secret Santa thing –"
She interrupted, shocked, her tears abruptly ending as she pulled away from him and demanded, "How do you know about that?"
He gulped, suddenly realizing he'd been so focused on explaining what he admired in her that he'd momentarily forgotten the Secret Santa fact hadn't been gleaned solely through his usual observation and deductive reasoning. This had serious potential to blow up in his face. "Uh… lucky guess?" he tried.
Her lip curled, and her hands settled on her hips. "Not this time, Donovan."
Zane smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Okay. Well… You've been avoiding me since I – um – kissed you at the Sheriff's office, but I've been watching you. You've been tired and… and… way too quiet, even for the other Lupo. And at the party when I asked if you were okay… well, your answer was too generalized to reassure me. You clearly intended to convey the tough sentiment everyone expects of the Enforcer. But as hot as it is to get tased, cuffed and tossed in a cell, I guess I've learned that there's more to you than that. So when I couldn't get a rise out of you today by inviting you to… sit on Santa's lap…" he couldn't resist another smirk and waggle of his brows before he sobered and confessed, "I was sorta worried about you. So I… um… stayed around after the party."
Jo's brow furrowed. "I didn't see you."
"No," he agreed with a lopsided grin. "For once, you didn't."
Ignoring his self-satisfaction, she quickly grasped the implications. Outraged, she punched his nearest arm. "You were eavesdropping! You heard me and Zoe!"
He pursed his lips and nodded as he rubbed his now-throbbing shoulder, figuring he might as well admit the whole truth before she guessed for herself. Maybe she wouldn't be quite as upset with him. "Yeah. And before that, I, um, overheard you and Fargo – which, as a matter of fact, was a perfect example of how good you are to your friends. The way you calmed him down and reassured him about the party was nice, JoJo… smooth. I, uh," he cleared his throat and shrugged apologetically. "I also heard you humming "Silent Night". Nice voice, by the way. It sounded good." She blinked, apparently not quite sure how to answer that one, so he quickly continued, "I hadn't quite wrapped my mind around you singing Christmas carols when Zoe suddenly popped up and I found out you were Secret Santa."
She shifted uneasily, her gaze skittering away from his keen blue eyes.
Deciding that if she hadn't tased him yet she probably wasn't going to, Zane said, "Look, it's okay. I'm not gonna spoil your fun by telling anyone else. And in my own defense, I'd have figured it out on my own. I mean, who else could it have been? Every good thing that's come into my life lately has been sourced in you and your friends. It wouldn't have taken much deductive reasoning to realize that it's the kind of thing I might have told a girlfriend about, y'know, say, in a different timeline?" He bent his head to look her in the eye, grinned and teased, "Also, the fact that you included me in the family photo collage you gave to Carter is kind of a dead giveaway about how close we all were. I was very touched."
Jo grimaced, startled. That hadn't even occurred to her when she'd been creating the collage. For as alienated from him as she'd been feeling, apparently her subconscious hadn't had any doubts. She cursed softly under her breath, blushing yet again.
Delighted, Zane chuckled. "Don't worry. I don't think anyone else noticed that particular anomaly. And oddly enough, I think Carter really does consider me to be a friend. You were right when you told Zoey that you'd nailed it; he definitely likes that photo. In fact, you nailed it with everyone's gift. Like I said before, you're awesome. You're funny and loyal and so intuitive about people and situations – you believe in things, ideals that I'd practically forgotten about. I find it unbelievably hot that you break the rules for the sake of what you believe in, like when you did what needed to be done to protect Grant. You make me remember that there's a higher purpose than alleviating my own boredom. It's like you're making an honest man out of me -" He broke off at Jo's strangled cry and widened eyes.
She clapped a hand over her mouth, too late, and would have turned away if he'd allowed it. But his hands were on her shoulders, and he was staring into her eyes with distress obvious in his anxious expression. He thought he'd hurt her, she realized, and shook her head, "No, I'm… okay…" she gasped out between sobs, wrapping both arms around her ribs because she was now crying so hard that it hurt.
"You're not okay, JoJo," he retorted bluntly, and, lacking any other alternative, he once again pulled her into his arms and held her, offering the only comfort he could. He hushed her when she made it worse by trying to talk, and when she yielded and melted against him, he gathered her up in his arms and carried her out to the sitting room so they could both be a little more comfortable until she had it out of her system.
But once he was seated on his sofa with her curled on his lap, she didn't cry much longer. He held her loosely as she regained her composure, certain she'd want to retreat. However, much to his delight, Jo stayed right where she was.
"I don't usually blubber like a girl," she sighed tremulously, still sniffling.
Zane chuckled. "JoJo, you do know that you are a girl, don't you? It's perfectly natural to act like a girl every now and then. It's not some kind of weakness," he gave her a gentle squeeze. "So… what'd I say or do? C'mon, you have to tell me. How else will I know what to avoid when we go to see Springsteen?"
She drew a slightly hiccupped breath, and slowly tilted her face to look up at him as she gathered her thoughts. "Allison and Carter and Henry… they kept telling me… people are the same, that you were the same, you know… at the core." She plucked at his shirt, nervous. "I didn't believe them. It seemed like there was so much distance between us, so much bad feeling… I thought… I was afraid… that you weren't… wouldn't ever be…" her voice trailed off and she swallowed hard, gaze flitting from his face to her hand and back. "But that's… that's twice tonight… that you said exactly the same thing as… as before."
His brow furrowed as he thought back. "About military school…" that had been the first time she cried tonight. In retrospect he recalled the way she'd waited for his reply, and it was easy to see that she'd deliberately prompted that response from him. But a quick review of their conversation since then didn't reveal a second set up like the first. "Okay, what else?"
"When you proposed," Jo said, so softly that he could barely hear her, her face tucked against the crook of his shoulder and neck, "You said I'd made an honest man of you and we should just make it official."
Made an honest man of him… ah!
Still twisting his tee-shirt, Jo whispered haltingly, "I kept catching these glimpses, like you really were my Zane, and then… not… and I've been so confused, and… and… s-scared a little maybe… and…"
Zane settled his hand over hers, stilling the nervous movement and holding her hand over his heart. "And lonely?" he asked, remembering what S.A.R.A.H. had said.
She nodded against his shoulder and huddled a little closer to him, as if she would crawl right into his skin if she could. "I missed you," she sighed. "And when I saw you with Zoey…" she shuddered.
Zane suddenly had a whole new perspective on why Jack Carter had been so weird about seeing Zane with his daughter. It hadn't been because he was a former felon after all! It was because he knew it was hurting Jo and she wouldn't do anything about it because she loved Zoe like a little sister. He groaned. "I can't believe you all still treated me with respect when I was being such an ass!"
Eyes closed, secure in the circle of his arms, Jo yawned and wriggled to a slightly more comfortable position across his lap. "Not your fault. Zoey's a great girl. She was right about you, you're definitely worth dating. Besides, it wasn't like…" she yawned again. "Wasn't like you weren't free to date her…" As tired as she was, and despite the pain evident in her voice, she was still excusing his behavior.
He closed his own eyes, aggrieved. "No wonder you've been avoiding me," he whispered regretfully. And no wonder her friends had looked at her with concern tonight when he approached them. They'd each known how easily Zane could hurt Jo.
"It didn't help much. Grace says some things are meant to be. She said it was clear you and me were meant to be together," she confided, her speech beginning to slur. "She said it would all work out…"
He looked down and saw that she was almost asleep. With some of her makeup washed away by her tears, he could clearly see the dark circles beneath her eyes. He'd suspected that she wasn't sleeping well; now he had undeniable proof. She must be exhausted. He tenderly rubbed small circles on her back, and her lips curved upward a little. She actually looked content cuddled up to him like this, he decided, more than a little pleased at the discovery.
"Love you, Zane," she breathed, and her body finally relaxed completely.
Zane swallowed hard and reached for the throw blanket she'd so recently folded and laid over the back of his sofa. He tucked the flannel around them both, marveling at the turn of events. This incredibly smart and sexy woman loved him, Zane Donovan, geeky boy genius and general all around pain-in-the-butt. From now on it was going to be his personal mission in life to prove to her that while he may have lusted after the old Jo Lupo, he was hopelessly fascinated with and enchanted by who she was now. He wasn't certain yet that what he felt for her was love, but it was nowhere near as outlandish as it would have been a few short months ago to contemplate the idea that he might one day soon give that ring back to Josefina Lupo.
Interestingly enough, with Jo slumbering peacefully in his arms, it no longer seemed to matter that he'd given up his data pad to the time traveling group. Offering it to them had worked far better than he'd hoped; he was positive his gesture had provided Jo with relief from the strain she'd been under… and he was feeling pretty optimistic himself. If he could predict the future based on the events of this Christmas eve, giving up his quest for the truth about time travel wasn't going to bother him much, if at all. He was going to be too busy investing himself in a relationship with Jo.
Pressing a soft kiss against her dark, silky hair, he vowed to do whatever it took to make certain she never again doubted that the two of them fit. "Merry Christmas, JoJo," he whispered.
She nestled a little closer, and with his cheek resting on the top of her head and a smile on his lips Zane, too, drifted to sleep.