Rifiuto: Non Mirena
She stood in front of the house that had once belonged to her- finished long ago, it was beautiful, with the veranda and the swing on the porch. She wondered if they'd decorated it, whomever lived there now. She didn't understand why she'd come here instead of going to the B&B like the rest of the team, but something... whether it was finding her best friend dead, or having to work her case and catch her killer or if it was being back here and seeing people she had once called family, or if it was just the whole thing- the case, the town, Carter and the others- that had her reevaluating everything she'd done in the last three years.
Taking a deep breath, closed her eyes and thought back on the last time she'd been in Eureka. It had been the day the Astreaus left-
She turned, pulling her gun from the holster at her hip as someone moved towards her. Her dark eyes frantically searched the shadows, and as the person came closer, she cocked the gun. "Whoa, it's just me, Jojo." Zane said, stepping into her view. Still, she didn't lower her weapon; instead, she moved closer.
"What do you want, Zane?" She demanded, her NCIS training kicking in. He felt tears begin to prick his eyes as he saw her holding tight to her gun. Just like before-
"I just want to talk, Jo. That's all." She seemed to think about his request, before slowly returning the hammer to the gun and holstering it.
"About what?" She asked, arms over her chest. She fidgeted from foot to foot; it was so unlike Jo that Zane grew concerned. He knew that part of it had to do with the case...
"Can we talk? At my place?" She bit her lip, and his heart clenched. He'd missed the sight of her lower lip between her teeth. A moment passed, before she nodded.
"Fine. But I'll meet you there."
His apartment was just as she remembered. As she stood in the living room, memories of their time together came flooding back to her. It was almost like she could hear the ghosts of their laughter, their conversations, within the walls of the apartment. She looked up when he held out a cup of coffee too her. Giving him a small smile, she took it, and then, took a seat at his desk, as far away from Zane as she could get. they sat in silence for several minutes before Zane asked,
"Why, Jo? Why did you leave? Why didn't you come home?" She didn't answer right away; instead, she weighed her options. She could lie, or she could tell the truth. She was in investigator, a field agent. She found the truth for a living. Taking a deep breath, she said,
"I... I needed to find myself. Find out what I wanted. Who I wanted. Where my life was leading."
"And it... led you to NCIS instead of home to Eureka?" She swallowed, looking into her coffee. Zane waited. He knew if he pushed her, she'd shut down and he'd never get another word out of her.
"I needed... a change of scene. A change of pace, if you will. NCIS... it gives me that. I have a job that I love, that I'm good at, I have a family-"
"You have a family here, Jo. Carter and Allison and Henry and everyone else in Eureka. It hasn't been the same without you." She slowly met his eyes, hers void of emotion.
"Correction, Zane. I had a family here. I don't anymore." She stood, deciding that the conversation was over. "Thanks for the coffee. As she set the cup on the island in the kitchen, Zane got up, grabbing her hand as she made it to the door.
"Jojo-" She turned back to him. A moment passed, before he leaned down, pressing a kiss to her lips. Never a good idea to kiss your ex, but Zane decided to take a chance. If he was lucky-
She pushed him away, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "Don't, Zane. The last thing I need is you drudging up old feelings while I'm working on solving my friend's murder. I'm sorry, Zane, but I can't do this." And without another word, she left.
Carter had allowed the team the team the use of his office during the investigation; currently, he was sitting in the cell, watching the three- the two men and the other woman- in various places, talking about the case; there was no sight of Jo, whom he'd decided to keep a close eye on specifically. Five minutes later, she came into the office, headphones in her ears, MIA's Bad Girls blasting from her ipod. She jumped, catching the breakfast burrito Tony tossed her, and with a grin and a wrinkle of her nose, Jo settled back in the chair at her old deputy desk.
She'd gone through so much at this desk, and it felt odd to be back. It brought back memories she wasn't sure she wanted to face just yet. As she removed her headphones, and unwrapped her burrito, she caught sight of Carter in the cell. "What'd you do, get caught impersonating a town sheriff?" She asked, taking a bite. The others laughed, as Carter stood, going to the bars.
"There's the Josefina I know." She licked her lips, looking up at him; her dark eyes shifted, suddenly nervous.
"What's a'matter, Jo? Cat got your tongue?" Tony asked. Jo turned to him, balled up a nearby piece of paper and tossed it at him. "Hey!" She stuck her tongue out at him, only to be hit in the head with a spitball. Carter watched, as suddenly, his office had been turned into a warzone; his mouth dropped as Jo eagerly took part in the fight, throwing at pen at him. Eventually she got up and dumped the last of her coffee- now lukewarm- over Tony's head. The sheriff was amazed at the almost unprofessional way Agent Gibbs ran his team, letting them do what they wanted, act like children- if Jo had done something like that when she was still deputy, she'd have been out on her ass before she could blink.
"You deserved it, DiNozzo, for letting her get to you." Gibbs said, entering the office as Jo and Tony rushed to their respective seats. "Gear up. We got a suspect to apprehend and question."
"Who?" Ziva asked, racing to catch up with Jo.
"A Dr. Jason Hanson- the vic's ex." Gibbs replied.
Carter let the team go first; he noticed them all flash the visitor passes they'd been given upon arrival in Eureka. It was strange, seeing Jo having to provide ID, when he'd been so used to her just walking into GD without any problem. But that was years ago, she was no longer a Eurekian, and that mere fact gave him a headache. As he followed, Jo stopped, gaze going to someone on the rotunda. She seemed to freeze for a moment, before dropping her gear and taking off.
"Jo! Special Agent Lupo! Get back here!" A moment passed, before Gibbs dropped his own gear and chased after her. Jo stopped several feet away, drawing her gun on whomever she was fixed on.
"NCIS! Stop right there!" The others in the rotunda- including Allison, who was coming back from dropping the kids off at school- all turned to see the former Head of Security holding a gun on one of their own. Too stunned to do anything, not a person moved, except the suspect Jo was focused on. The man turned to her, and she felt her breath catch.
Dr. Jason Hanson- Tam's exboyfriend. She'd broken up with him before Jo had left on her walkabout, and the bastard hadn't taken it well. Jo knew that he'd been abusing her, but Tam had denied it, giving every abused woman excuse in the book... And look where it got you, Tammi.
She took a step towards him, gun still pointed. When she got close enough, she moved to grab her handcuffs- only to have him knock her gun out of her hands- before finding herself on the floor with a punch. Her breath was knocked out of her, and it took a few minutes for her to climb to her feet, but once she did, she was off, chasing after the scientist, disregarding Gibbs's orders. When Gibbs was finally able to get to her, she had the man cornered, her gun on him, and she'd given the man a severe beating, venting some of her pent up anger over her friend's death. As Gibbs got closer, Jo lowered her gun and gave the man a swift kick to the jaw.
"Agent Lupo!" She swore at the man in Hebrew; Gibbs needed to remind Ziva to stop influencing Jo, and allowed him to handcuff the suspect and hand him off to Tony and McGee, who'd followed. "What the hell was that?" Gibbs demanded, stepping towards her. She took a deep breath, turning to him.
"Nothing." She replied, following McGee and DiNozzo back to the rotunda. Once there, Ziva rushed to them, having taken witness statements in regards to Hanson. Neither noticed Fargo and Rowely coming up to them- having been alerted to the situation that had taken place in the rotunda. "Rule Sixty-Seven, Jo." Gibbs said, stopping her and making her face him. She sighed, knowing what was coming. "Do I have to spell it out for you?" He asked softly. Jo glanced at Ziva, and after a moment, caught Carter's eye, before swearing softly in Hebrew.
"Ben Zonah..." She met Gibbs' eye, and sighed, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she tipped her head back, saying, "Rule Sixty-Seven: Never let your temper take over the case."
"Or get in the way of catching a suspect." Ziva added, cocking her head. "Correct, Gibbs, yes?" A moment passed, before he slipped between the two female agents on his team, and made to go towards the director, when he stopped and turned back.
"Yes, Ziva, that's correct." He replied, hitting them both lightly on the back of the head. Both women lurched forwards slightly, before turning around to watch Gibbs take control of the situation.
