Standard disclaimerI don't own Eureka and my therapist assures me I never will
This is the Universe that split off when our current cast of characters were sent back to 1947 so basically after the botched proposal
Zane sat stock still in the wing back chair facing the front door in Jo's living room. He had barley moved from this chair in almost three days.
The first day Carter had shown up and simply dropped off a take out container from Café Diem.
The second he dropped off another container and suggested Zane take a shower.
Today was pretty much the same. Carter offered no explanation as to where Jo had gone and Zane didn't ask any questions.
"You two need to start talking to each other and you better both start listening too." Carter told him as he walked out the door.
His mother had always said that his temper would be his undoing. Zane didn't explode with anger the way Jo did, quick release and it was over. Sometimes he envied that explosive nature. No, Zane smoldered, anger taking hold and eating away at him. It was anger at the theft of Mrs. Spadaro's endowment and his inability to find who did it to make him that made him snap and steal the money from the DEA. Anger got him kicked out of MIT and Yale and Cornell. Worst of all it was anger that may have cost him the best thing that had ever happened to him, Josefina Lupo.
Four days ago life had pretty much been perfect, they were happy and in love. So in love that Zane was about to do the one thing he never in his life thought he would do, propose. The plan was simple, it was perfect. Recreate the way they met, drop to one knee and then happily ever after. Simple right? Nope Jo had frozen, probably in shock that Zane would actually ask her of his own accord. No cattle prod or tazer or three angry brother's necessary.
And instead of giving her more then a few mere seconds to digest the life altering question he had spent months thinking about, he had bolted out the door when Carter came in. Not only that but he hid. He hid from Jo and he smoldered. For hours he ignored her phone calls letting that ember inside of him burn telling himself that he just needed to calm down and that when he saw her again she would say yes and life would go back to perfect.
Yep that's what he told himself would happen, so eventually he went home to Jo's. Trying to tell himself that anger had dissipated enough that they could talk.
Jo was sitting in the chair waiting for him when he arrived. Relief washed over her face at the sight of him "Thank God you're ok. I've been looking for you everywhere"
He spread his arms wide then let them drop to his sides "here I am, what now?"
She stood to face him "Zane earlier, I wasn't saying no."
"But you weren't saying yes either!" He cut across her, again livid she couldn't just follow the script into the happily ever after that he never wanted before her and didn't want with anyone but her now.
"You caught me off guard Zane, if you would have just given me another minute…" she started again.
"You think that minute would have made a difference Jo? You think that in 60 short seconds you would have been able to tell me yes? Or would you have finally realized that I just wasn't enough for you?" Even as he said them Zane didn't really believe the words, not after all this time but he couldn't stop the anger.
"Zane I want to say yes. I'm saying that yes I want to marry you."
"It's too late Jo, I take it back. I put myself out there and you balked, it's done, over." The anger threw the words back at her that she had used on him when she wanted to get serious. The rational parts of his brain screaming at him to apologize take her in his arms and beg, grovel and plead for forgiveness for the past few hours.
His words pierced her usually calm exterior and instead of smoldering she ignited in her anger. "You are the biggest hypocrite I have ever met. You act like I'm pushing too hard when I want to get serious but I backed off because I love you and I waited. You probably spent weeks or months thinking about asking me to marry you. The scientist in you weighing the pros and cons, giving yourself a hell of a lot more time the three minutes you gave me. Damn it I only need four minutes the second you walked out I knew my answer. So you don't get to come in MY house and lecture me on balking Zane Donovan."
She grabbed his arm roughly and shoved the ring into the palm of his hand. "You want to take it back fine! Just remember that I loved you enough to get over the anger at your rejection and give us another chance. I put myself in your shoes and gave us another shot. The question is can you do the same. Or are you too petty. Are you going to let your inflated ego get in the way? Or can you pull your head out of your ass and see things from my point of view. And the bigger question is will I still be around when you figure it all out."
Grabbing her keys Jo slammed her way out the front door. Tires squealed as she backed out of the driveway and she didn't look back.
Have you ever heard that an explosion can be used to put out a small fire? Well it's true and Zane felt all the oxygen sucked out of his fire. She was right; she usually was about their relationship stuff. For a super genius he sure was an idiot sometimes. So he sat in that chair staring at the door wishing he could break the laws of physics and somehow travel back in time to just before he ran out of the Sheriff's office. He sat thinking that he didn't deserve her, didn't deserve the trust and faith she had always shown in him.
Across town Jo sat cross legged on the couch at SARAH wearing some old clothes Zoe had left behind when she left for Harvard. Carter stared at her from across the room; she had barely said five words to him since she had shown up here late on Founder's Day. For three solid days she had done nothing but stare mindlessly at whatever Reality TV show SARAH felt like watching.
Carter had no idea what had gone on between them after the botched proposal. All he knew was Zane was sitting at Jo's house clutching an engagement ring and staring at the front door. And Jo was sitting on his couch barely eating or sleeping and definitely not talking. One or both of them needed to break this stalemate and soon before things really got out of hand.
Running a hand through his hair Carter decided that someone had to be him. He plopped down on the couch next to Jo and turned her body to face him.
"SARAH, can you please turn the TV off?" He asked looking into the air. Turning back to Jo she simply blinked at him and said nothing. "Talk" he demanded.
Jo shook her head "It's over Carter. He proposed, I hesitated, he took it back and I left. Nothing left to say."
"Do you honestly know why you hesitated, not the version you told him or the one you keep convincing yourself it is. But the honest to goodness reason" he paused for a minute. "Look you don't have to tell me, but you need to tell him. You two are good for each other but your biggest problem is you pretty much refuse to talk to one another about any thing important. Look I lost my wife and my marriage because I was too stubborn to talk to Abby and I didn't listen when she tried to talk to me. I almost let Zoe go because I stubbornly refused to tell her that I wanted her to stay. If Zane is the guy you want then you need to fight for him. Talk to him. listen to him."
Jo raised an eyebrow at him, "When did you become the girl in our friendship?"
"Well one of us has to be and it sure isn't going to be you." He had at least gotten a little smile out of her noting that the corners of her mouth had twitched up ever so slightly.
"I don't even know where he's at Carter. He's probably long gone by now."
"I'm pretty sure he's still sitting in your living room, staring at the front door. It's where he was today and yesterday and the day before that. I didn't let him starve and I made him take a shower so you won't have to air the place out." Patting her shoulder her stood and left the room.
Jo closed her eyes for a fraction of a second and then stood to leave.
A dim lamp lit the living room as Zane watched the headlights flash through the blinds as a car pulled into the drive. Carter had already made his daily visit so maybe finally Jo was coming home. Footsteps climbed the front steps and crossed the porch but stopped on the other side of the door.
Long minutes passed and finally Zane's curiosity got the better of him. His muscles ached from having been stuck in the same position for hours, ok days. Bare feet softly padding across Jo's hard wood floors, he stop just shy of the front door. Fingers flexing on the handle, he took a deep breath and turned it, pulling the door open.
She stood, face unreadable, eyes closed on the other side. He watched her roll her shoulders back and tilt her head up to meet his eyes.
"I'm sorry" he whispered hoarsely as he pulled her inside into a hug closing the door behind her.
"Me too." She buried her head in his neck "we need to talk." She pulled him over to the couch and she sat facing him.
For several long minutes they simply stared at each other, this was of their problem and Zane knew they had to talk to move forward. Clearing his throat he took her hands in his.
"I am a complete ass who says hurtful things when I'm angry. Mostly in a let me hurt you before you hurt me kind of way."
Jo started to say something but Zane cut across her. "Please just let me say this."
He swallowed hard. "I'm not good at talking to people about well anything that has to do with real feelings. I can count on one hand the number of people who really gave a damn about me before I came to this town, before I met you. My Josefina, you are the best thing that ever happened to me. I love your passion for life, your unwavering faith in what you believe in, your drive, your heart. I could go on but…" He stroked her cheek. "I'm worried that one day you are going to wake up and realize that you deserve much better the egotistical, snarky, jackass that I am."
Jo raised her own hand to his lips to stop him. "I put up walls to protect my heart. I like to think that I am an open book with you but I'm not. The truth is everyday I worry that you will realize that you are a brilliant, funny warm hearted guy and I am a grunt with a gun who can't keep up with you intellectually. I hesitated because I was afraid that if I told you yes and I started to believe in forever that my heart would be crushed when you finally left me, just like everyone in my life has. I want us to work Zane and we need to talk about us every once in awhile. No more secrets, no more holding things like this back. Ok?"
He nodded "And we need to listen to each other." Apparently Carter had given her the same advice. "I love you Jo and I don't think you are a grunt with a gun."
"I love you Zane and you are more then I thought I would ever have and are more then I deserve."
Zane reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring. "My grandmother gave me this ring and told me to find a woman who was way too good for me and then spend everyday trying to prove to her that I deserved her love. Apparently I only listened to the first half." He smiled ast her "But if you agree to wear her ring, marry me and make me the happiest I have ever been I promise to spend every day of the rest of our lives trying to prove that I am worthy of your love." He paused
"Marry me Jo-Jo?"
Tears filled her eyes as Zane finally slid the ring on her finger. "Yes, Zane of course I'll marry you."
She leaned over and kissed him.
Many hours of post engagement celebration later Zane rolled over and stroked Jo's arm, "You know Carter really is a pretty good friend. Maybe we should be nicer to him?"
Jo laughed rolling her eyes, "No way, we should never let him know he helped. You think your ego's big? You haven't seen Jack Carter when he thinks he successfully meddled in someone else's life. We'll never have another moments peace again."
"Ok so what do we tell him? You know he'll ask?"
She wiggled her eyebrows "Just tell him that we made up with some adult recreation and he'll drop the subject."
"You really are brilliant Jo, never let anyone tell you otherwise."