Jo overhears a joke that Abe makes at Henry's expense and decides to subtly tease him about it.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I'm merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
Spoilers: Takes place after Season 1 Episode 17, and has minor spoilers for the beginning of that episode.
Author's Notes: This is a series of unrelated one shots and drabbles that I will continue to add to as I think of ideas. This story was written for the Fall 2015 Forever Fanfiction Writing Contest. Thanks very much to Superlc529 for her beta work!
Henry looked down, perplexed at the note lying on his desk. It was a short note from Jo asking him to come upstairs when he got the chance, to discuss the results of the blood work on their current case. Jo didn't usually leave notes for him. When she did, she would normally scribble them out on a notepad. This note was typed and printed out, which seemed rather unnecessary for such a short note. The font used was also unusual. He didn't recognize it, but it had a somewhat fancy, if old, look to it. He decided that it probably didn't mean anything and headed up to Jo's floor to go over the blood work with her.
The second time Henry received such a note from Jo, he dismissed it again as having no significance. The third time such a note was left on his desk, he found himself growing more curious as to why Jo was opting for this form of communication, and in this particular style.
"Something wrong, Doc?" Lucas asked when he noticed Henry staring at a piece of paper, lost in thought with a slight frown on his face.
Henry looked up, slightly startled at Lucas's sudden appearance. "It's probably nothing. It's just that Jo has begun to leave me notes printed out from the computer rather than the handwritten ones that she usually leaves me on the rare occasions that she does leave notes for me."
"Did you complain about her handwriting?" Lucas guessed.
"No I haven't. Jo's handwriting is perfectly legible," Henry replied a bit indignantly. "Though, I'm rather puzzled over the font she used for her notes. It's certainly not something you'd see in professional correspondence."
Lucas moved around to the other side of Henry's desk to look at the note. "Oh, that font is called Papyrus. It's often used for fantasy type things. It gives an old world feel to the text while still being fairly easy to read. I'm a fan of it, even if it is overused," he explained. "Maybe she thought you'd like it since you're so old-fashioned?"
"Hmm, I see. Perhaps that's all it is. Thank you, Lucas."
"No problem, Doc."
After Lucas left his office, Henry turned the word 'papyrus' over and over in his mind. There was something about it that was nagging at him, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out its significance. He did his best to put it out of his mind and returned to his work.
The next morning, to Henry's great surprise, he found a piece of papyrus lying on his desk. It looked new, but it was covered in Egyptian hieroglyphs. He thought it might be related to a case. He wasn't fluent in ancient Egyptian, but he could just about make it out. He let out a long exasperated sigh when he deciphered the writing, which turned out to be from Jo, asking him to come see her as soon as he received her message. Clearly this note on papyrus was connected to the previous notes that Jo had left him in Papyrus font, but once again, he wasn't sure of the significance. Well, he was certainly going to find out.
Henry rode the elevator up to Jo's floor and marched up to her desk, the sheet of papyrus tightly clutched in one hand. Jo looked up at him with an amused smirk on her face. Henry felt himself growing extremely annoyed, though he wasn't even sure why. "Jo, what is the meaning of this?" he asked, thrusting the papyrus into her hands.
Jo pretended to study the sheet of papyrus. "Looks like ancient Egyptian writing on papyrus. As for what it means, well you're the one who seems to know so many languages. You tell me."
Henry sighed wearily and ran a hand over his face. "Jo, I know you left me this note. Where did you even obtain papyrus?"
Jo couldn't help but let out a small giggle. "You can order it online actually. It's fairly cheap."
"And the Egyptian hieroglyphs?" Henry asked, feeling his patience waning.
"I know a guy at a museum," Jo explained with a wry grin. "I had a feeling you'd have no trouble reading them."
"So why? What is the point of all this? Clearly this note, combined with the previous ones printed out in Papyrus font is meant to be some sort of joke. Could you please end this and let me in on it?" Henry pleaded.
Jo chuckled. "Well, you remember last week when I called you up to come to a crime scene that started that investigation into The Faceless?"
Henry nodded. "Yes, of course. What exactly does that have to do with this?"
"Before Abe handed the phone to you, I overheard him saying that I should write you a note on papyrus. It was too good an opportunity to pass up." Jo replied with a wide grin.
Henry's eyes widened in recognition and he let out a low sigh of disappointment. "So this was all a joke at my expense to tease me about being old-fashioned?"
"Oh come on, Henry. Don't be like that. Even you have to admit, it's a little funny," Jo insisted.
Henry was, in truth, somewhat hurt by the joke, but he could see the humor in it. He knew that Jo had no idea how old he really was and that she had only meant to be playful. "I suppose..." he admitted reluctantly.
"Hey, at least I didn't leave you a clay tablet with cuneiform pictographs."
Henry burst out laughing in spite of himself at Jo's remark, and Jo soon joined him. It wasn't often that anything could make him laugh like that, and all of the hurt and annoyance he felt simply melted away. He resolved to never take moments like these with Jo for granted. After all, she wouldn't be around forever.