Heads up, the rating changed, and for a reason. I didn't think I was going to write a smut scene, but here we are. If you don't want to read it, it's the last scene of the chapter, everything after "Zane pulled her behind him through his front door". There's some internal monologue for Jo I wanted, but it's not needed for the plot. So if it's not your jam, skip that bit. There won't be too many, if any more smut scenes in this story, and in the chapters where there are, I'll put in the similar warnings for skipping purposes.

Tony took a deep breath of the cool morning air and looked over the setup for the BCE and everyone milling around, waiting for Tiny to return from Titan. He walked over to Dr. Deacon, who appeared to be in charge. Blake and Carter headed over, followed by a small older man hunched over. The relationship auditor. Hughes, he thought the name was. He'd initially thought it was a belated April Fools joke, but it checked out, so he forwarded the email to Dr. Blake to give her a heads up. It should just be a formality. And then they could all get back to actual work.

They walked over, and Blake stiffly gave Deacon the order to commence the return course sequence.

"Activating," Deacon confirmed. "Let's bring her home."

Carter chuckled and leaned over to Tony, "We're here in case she tries to vaporize everyone again."

"That was one time, and we fixed that glitch. She should be fine." Dr. Deacon said. The BCE activated, and a bright blue light shot down from the sky and hit the landing pad, spreading out when it hit the ground. The air crackled with static, and a high-pitched screech noise came from the equipment. The light disappeared, and in its place was Tiny. Which wasn't tiny at all, but a robotic spider the size of a van. It moved its body and front arms up and was taller than the metal poles that made up the BCE.

"Easy!" Carter shouted, alarmed and apparently not wanting to deal with a repeat of whatever incident had happened before.

"Ah, she's just getting her bearings, it's been a rigorous assignment," Deacon said, and true to his word, Tiny did seem to calm down, bringing her front back to the ground and leaning back. She wiggled her entire body, now bearing a closer resemblance to a dog being shown a toy for a game of fetch.

"She's sweet. Hey, welcome home, girl," Hughes waved at the robot, and Tony had to agree. She didn't seem like a robot that would try to vaporize everyone. Then again, appearances could be deceiving.

The dark-haired man who'd been practically vibrating with excitement said, "I've got dibs on her samples." Huggins, he remembered, one of the Titan specialists.

"Hang on-I've gotta deactivate her de-pressurization shield. Shield's clearing in three... Two...one!" Deacon cleared the shields, and Tiny immediately exploded, heat and debris crashing over them all. Tony felt the vibrations and hit the deck, pulling Deacon and Huggins, the two closest people, down with him. Other people around fell to the ground, some under their own power to escape the worst of it, and others, who were not behind the protective glass, like marionettes with strings cut because they weren't fast enough.

As the flames cleared, Tony, Carter, and Blake immediately started towards those who had fallen hardest, assessing their conditions. He heard Blake call for ambulances as he checked the pulse of a nearby tech who was unconscious. Steady, and when Tony pressed his fingers on his neck, he started groaning. Good. A medical team arrived with a gurney and Tony got out of their way and stood up to survey the scene. Smoke still filled the air, and people started to pull out scanners to get readings as the injured were carried away or cleared for duty. He saw Blake check on Hughes, and heard him complain about ringing ears.

"Exploding robots will do that," Carter said as he walked past them and back to the central crash site.

"It's tinnitus. It's a result of the blast, it's usually temporary."

"Usually?"

"If this is your first blast, you'll be fine. Some of us deal with explosions all day. Get used to it." Tony said, not wanting to deal with the paper-pusher right now. What the hell had happened?

"One second she was here, and the next... What happened?" Huggins asked, asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

Deacon carefully stepped around the debris, looking over the damage, "Well, I won't know until I examine her remains."

"Any theories, Dr. Deacon?"

"Well, Dr. Blake, um... There is a strong methane presence on Titan, as a gas, as a liquid, and as a solid. Now, Tiny was in prolonged contact," Deacon explained.

Dr. Blake nodded along in understanding, "So she may have somehow absorbed a dangerously high concentration."

"If that's the case, once I deactivated her de-pressurization shield," he snapped his fingers, "the tiniest of sparks could've caused her to explode."

Huggins stared at the damage, looking horrified, "This is a disaster, I was counting on those samples."

"Well hopefully her containment unit is still intact," Deacon said. Carter got sent off to search for the containment unit, with Hughes following closely. Tony kept an eye towards the ground, careful not to trip over the pieces of Tiny's outer skeleton strewn over the place. The BCE was going to need serious repair work, with several of the pieces of the structure having been burned, and others having been knocked out of place and broken with the force from the blast. He started running a tab in his head of all the damage from the site, the time it would take to repair it, and how far that would put them behind schedule. Not to mention the loss of the Rover itself.

"I'm not looking forward to telling the DOD you blew up their billion-dollar rover," Tony said.

"We don't know why she blew up yet, Tony. But we will. And we'll make sure it doesn't happen again," Deacon looked over at him, and something was reassuring in his gaze. "If you'll excuse me, I have tests to run."

"Of course. Just keep me in the loop." His full report to the DOD was going to have to wait until they finished running their tests, but he was going to have to be the one to tell them what had happened. Which meant he was the one who was going to get yelled at, although he would put money on him not being responsible. He let out a sigh. Such are the joys of Army life.

"So, adios Tiny, uh?" Jo asked as she walked over to Grace and Henry, her hands in the pockets of her coat. She saw Tony talking to Huggins, who she could hear bemoaning the loss of his samples, and she managed not to roll her eyes. Surely Huggins would find many ways to torture them in the simulation chamber regardless.

"And where have you been?" Henry asked, and Jo tried not to blush as she felt the ghost of Zane's touch lingering along her spine.

"Oh, I was, uh, tangled up with Zane. With his thing. His pardon thing," she stuttered out, hoping to seem nonchalant, but clearly failing as she saw Grace and Henry trying to hide their smiles. "Uh, so, you guys must be swamped with, uh, wedding plans. Need any help?" she offered, trying to redirect.

"Oh, no, no, it's just an intimate party with friends. No fuss," Grace insisted, shaking her head.

"Yeah, but you guys are making a commitment to each other. You gotta go all out, you know, big and splashy," Jo said, picturing the large floral decorations lining the aisle, the rest of the town ready to celebrate with them. Everyone always liked an excuse to throw a party.

"Oh, we're gonna go all out. Yeah. Small and simple," Henry said.

"Oh," Jo said, though she didn't understand that decision. They were such a perfect couple that they'd managed to fall in love twice, across timelines, against all the odds. She didn't care if it raised eyebrows from those who didn't know, this deserved to be celebrated. She walked over to her brother, who was now talking to someone from engineering about the repairs to the BCE. She took the data pad from the engineer and started looking over the damage, trying to see if there was anything that could indicate the cause.

Tony leaned over her shoulder and quietly asked, "You're not going to blow up when you come back from Titan, right?" She smacked him lightly in the stomach as she moved on to the antennae pole structures for the BCE, wondering why Tiny had blown up, and why did it have to be today. Jo kept an eye towards Grace and Henry, wondering what they had planned for their wedding. They were some of the few people who attended Eureka's church, would they want to have it there? Or perhaps one of the outdoor venues in town. While it was starting to get chilly, the weather was still mild enough to host a crowd of people without problems. And if they had to move inside, well, this was Eureka. They could still do fireworks at the end of the night either way.

Tony hung up the phone with a click, grateful that the call was over. Explaining that the rover worth 3.5 billion dollars had blown up, and they didn't know why still had not been a pleasant conversation to have with the General. Nor had it been fun to have with NASA. His PDA beeped, and he checked the text, hoping it was Henry Deacon with more information. He read it over and gripped the PDA tighter before leaving his office, running into Carter and Blake on his way to the infirmary.

"Hey, what happened with the agricultural lab?" Tony asked.

Allison answered, "Some ethane fog got into the vents and a few people fainted. Jo and the others are fine."

"Good, good," Tony said, forcing himself to calm down. "She still in the infirmary?"

"She's in her office. With Warren," Allison said.

"The bureaucrat from the DOD who's here about you two?"

Allison took a breath to steady herself, "She's the head of security, he wants her perspective on our relationship."

"Yeah, but Jo's giving insight into our relationship? I'm just saying, she dated-" Carter cut himself off, remembering that Tony was still there with him and Allison.

"My sister dated…"

Carter saw Larry across the rotunda and called out to him, "Larry, quick question."

"Yes, Sherriff?" Larry asked through a mouth of Strawberry Danish.

"I just need a yes or no answer, and I won't even tell Jo this conversation happened, so don't worry about that."

At hearing Jo's name, Larry immediately looked alarmed and started looking off to the sides, desperate for a way out of this conversation. "Look, I think I have reports that need…"

Carter darted in front of Larry, before stopping, hands on his hips. "Yes or no, is Zane Donovan the most normal guy Jo's dated?"

"What?"

"To the best of your knowledge, of all the people she's gone out with since coming to Eureka, is Zane the most normal? By most people standards."

Larry hemmed and hawed, "I mean, even if you don't believe the rumors, well, I mean, it's just considering, I yeah. Zane's probably the closest to normal Lupo's ever gotten."

"Great, thanks for your help. Not get back to your whatever reports." Carter dismissed Larry as quickly and abruptly as he'd called him over before turning back to Allison and Tony. "See. Zane is the most normal guy she's dated. Consider yourself lucky he's the one you're meeting."

Tony looked over at them and decided to go check on Jo quickly before heading back to his own office. "Okay, I'll take your word for it. If you don't mind, I'm going to see if Jo has anything for me. Excuse me." How the hell is Zane normal? He headed down to her office but was waylaid by Hughes.

"Ah, Major Lupo, there you are! Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, but if you don't mind, I'd like to check on Jo first."

"Oh, I was just with her, she's fine. This will only take a minute. Mind if we use your office?"

"Of course not." Yes, I do. Tony directed Hughes over to his office, which was in the same section as Jo's, just two hallways down, and shut the door. Hughes took a seat in front of his desk and pulled out his notebook.

"I noticed you have the same last name as the Head of Security. Is that a coincidence, or…"

"She's my sister. Jo came to Eureka as a Sherriff's Deputy after she was discharged from the army back in 2004. I was assigned here and filled in less than a month ago."

"Ah, that explains it. The DOD does like to keep the details of certain locations limited, and Eureka is one of the places that they like to keep within the family, so to speak. They bring in new blood of course, but I think they prefer legacy assignments. For security purposes, of course."

Tony mentally filed that tidbit away and decided to look into that later, "Makes sense. Anyway, what did you want to know?"

Hughes flipped to another page in the notebook, peering down, before asking "What's your opinion on Sherriff Carter and Dr. Blake's professional relationship?"

"Look, I haven't been here very long, I don't know a lot of details. I do know that they seem to keep it professional at GD. If I'm honest, the main reason I knew for sure they were more than friends was because of your being assigned here," he said, hoping that was the right thing to say. He'd never had a problem with either of them, and Hughes's presence did seem like a waste of time.

"I see." Warren paused looking at notes. "Your sister mentioned that she was staying with Sherriff Carter due to her house being under construction. I'm surprised she wouldn't have reached out to you."

"Well, her house was destroyed before I came to Eureka, and the DOD only assigned me a one-bedroom apartment. While I would take the couch if my sister didn't have a place to stay, she already has one."

"Alright. And you said you were brought here a month ago. Was that before or after the incident where Dr. Blake's brain was taken over by Beverly Barlowe in a possibly successful attempt to gain access to classified GD intelligence?"

"After," he said.

A siren blared over the loudspeakers before an automated voice sounded "Code Four, Emergency Response activated."

"What was that?" Hughes asked, jumping up in his seat.

"I'm guessing the fog came back," Tony said, "Come on, we're done here."

"Yes, I suppose so," he agreed, looking slightly rattled as he followed Tony out the door. They headed out to the rotunda, running into Jo along the way, buttoning her suit jacket as she left her office.

"Huggins cleans out his simulation every time it restarts, multiple times a day. He overloaded the tanks and now Titan is leaking into the soil and the geothermal vents that run throughout Eureka. Henry and Grace are heading to Main Street, the vents run along there, they're going to look at the hotspots, see if they can evacuate people," she said, handing him a data pad with updated information.

"Is that what caused Tiny to go," he gestured with his hands.

"Yep. Come on, we're meeting with Carter and Allison."

"Good to know." The three of them headed to the rotunda and ran into Carter and Blake in a stairwell.

"Henry and Grace are on Main Street, clearing the crowds and getting people inside, away from the ethane fog."

"Once Fargo and Holly pump the fog off of main street, it's gonna spread underground. The whole town could destabilize," Dr. Blake said.

"All right, well, the vents on main street- Can we, uh, redirect them someplace else?" Carter asked

"Yes, but to where?"

"I'm thinking Dr. Leonardo's lab. I mean, her plants absorbed the fog and cleaned the air, right?"

"Sort of like photosynthesis! I loved science class," Hughes said.

"Carter, Jo, and I will go to Leonardo's lab to turn on those vents. Major Lupo, you stay here and coordinate with Henry and Fargo, let us know what's going on."

"Got it, Ma'am." Tony headed towards the command center, followed by one of Jo's guards, and fixed his headset, checking that he was tuned to the right frequency that everyone would be able to call into.

"Henry, talk to me."

"People are still inside Café Diem, we've got the doors and windows sealed with duct tape, and Grace is using some of Vince's equipment and ingredients to try and make something to filter the fog, or at the very least, better seal the entrances. We've got methane snow coming down, which is highly explosive. What's the plan?"

"Dr. Huggins has a portable evacuation unit, Fargo and Holly going to try and redirect the fog to Dr. Leonardo's lab, they're hoping the plants will absorb it again. Carter and Jo are headed there now to turn the vents back on. If that doesn't work, someone better come up with a way to neutralize this stuff."

"Well the plants absorbed the fog earlier, but if we can't redirect it, we have methane filters which we could recalibrate to absorb it. And there's a vacuum we can use to clean up the methane snow. But that takes time, and by the time we get that setup, the fog will likely have spread to the rest of the town."

"Well, let's get someone working on recalibrating, this way we're ready to move if this unit doesn't work. And if nothing else, we still have methane snow on the ground around you, we need to get that cleaned up. I'm authorizing the activation of the vacuums," Tony said, pulling up the commands for disaster clean-up, and hesitating when he saw how many models of street vacuums they had, apparently for this purpose. There was one for snow in particular, but seeing as how explosive this particular type of snow was… "Is there any particular model of vacuum that would be best able to handle the methane snow?"

"Yes, uh, there's one for explosive materials, it needs to be operated manually, is designed to render materials inert when they're retrieved."

"Got it," he said as he found the model Henry was describing and got it in Standby mode. "Let me know what's going on with the fog, once that's clear I want everyone to stay inside until we get the snow off the ground."

"Will do." Tony heard the click of Henry disconnecting the call and checked for any updates from Carter. None yet. He headed down the hall to the room where Holly and Fargo were being prepped.

Holly and Fargo were being strapped into the spacesuits, which were best equipped to deal with the current conditions on Main Street. Fargo looked paler than usual, and Holly Martin lacked the usual nervous energy she'd had on his previous encounters, now stiff and concentrating on her equipment.

"You guys know what you're doing?"

"Yeah, hook up the hose to the vents on Main Street, activate the evacuation unit, and send the fog to the Agricultural Lab to let the plants take care of it. We got this." Fargo said, looking nervous.

"Should be a snap. Never tested system, never tested spacesuits. What could go wrong?" Holly said, her eyes flickering between Fargo, Tony, and the equipment being prepped.

Tony just raised an eyebrow, and asked dryly, "Isn't never tested what you guys do in Eureka?"

"I'm not really from Eureka, I was working at DARPA on other projects and got pulled in to approve the Astraeus mission after I went over the FTL Drive."

"Well, you've still been here longer than I have. And you've trained. Just keep calm, take a moment to breathe if you need to. I'm going to be on comms, both of you keep in touch, keep your lines open so we know what's going on. I'll keep you in the loop if I hear anything. You're heading into ethane fog and methane snow, and God knows what else might come up with this stuff," Tony said, testing their comms to make sure they were functioning. After a thumbs up from Holly and Fargo, they all left, them heading to the van that would bring them and the unit to Main Street, him to the command center. He really hoped this worked. There was only one Lupo crazy enough to want to go to Titan, and it wasn't him. Well, he amended, Nicky might also be crazy enough to consider it, and Rico's kids would probably think the whole thing was a blast. Good thing none of them had been assigned here.

Jo breathed a sigh of relief when they got back to GD and they got out of the car, Warren still muttering about her driving, which had been much slower on the return trip. She headed into GD, leaving the three of them behind, grabbing a data pad to see what the damage was. Apparently Tony had already deployed the vacuums to collect the methane snow, and he'd selected the right model. Not bad.

Speaking of Tony, she saw him from behind, talking to someone on his PDA. He hung up, and Jo came up beside him and bumped his shoulder with his own, "Hey, how'd your day go?"

Tony grinned, and put an arm around her shoulders, tucking her into his side, "Oh, besides the lethal gas that tried to take over the town? And the reports I'm filing that say that one of these idiot geniuses is responsible for creating it, which also blew up the very expensive Titan Rover? Pretty good, but could have been better. Yours?"

"Oh, same. And remember, they're your idiot geniuses now," she said, smiling back at him, enjoying the opportunity to tease him.

"God, don't remind me," Tony groaned. "So, ethane fog, methane snow, an environment practically designed to kill people. And you still want to spend six months there?"

"Yeah, I do," At Tony's look of confusion, Jo couldn't help but laugh. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but it's space. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I don't want to give it up."

"I guess you're right," he paused, and they continued towards the parking garage. "So, Zane's pardon came through."

She forced a smile to her face, trying not to think of the last time she'd seen Zane, "Yeah, he's now eligible for the Astraeus mission."

"Good for him," Tony grumbled, before he changed his tone, teasing, "You're still sure you want that one, though?"

"Tony, can you drop this?"

"I'm just saying, you're a combat veteran, in charge of security for a Class-H classified government facility, you're a candidate for a mission to outer space… and you're not exactly ugly."

Jo punched him in the stomach, pushing him away, appreciating the compliment, but there was no way they could acknowledge it, "Wow, thank you for that stellar recommendation. Not exactly ugly."

"And that's what you're focusing on, of course. Look, I'm just saying, you could do better. It's not like you're the dregs at the bottom of the barrel or anything."

Jo fixed him with a stern look, "He was accepted to MIT at 13, attended Yale and Cornell as well, revolutionized particle physics when he was still a teenager, is considered to be one of the best computer programmers in the world, and also happens to be funny, charming, and handsome. How much better am I supposed to get?"

"He's still not good enough for you."

"Well, I happen to disagree. And seeing as how it's my life…"

Tony seemed to admit defeat, "Fine, I'll stop complaining about him."

"Promise?" At Tony's grumbled face, she couldn't help but laugh. "Also, never tell him I said he was charming, or funny, or any of that. His ego doesn't need the help."

"Oh, no danger of that, trust me," he chuckled. "So, since this is just about done, want to grab dinner?"

"Actually, Henry and Grace's vow renewal is tonight, you should come."

Tony tensed up, and he looked uncomfortable, "Oh, I wouldn't want to impose. Besides, I don't know Grace and Henry that well, and they said they wanted to keep it small."

"Well now can be the time to change how well you know them, and everyone else. Besides, you wouldn't be imposing, I'm drafting you to help set up."

"Oh, I'm free labor," he said, relaxing his shoulders and rolling his eyes.

She shrugged in reply, "Vince is catering, and you're getting free dinner."

"I could get free dinner anyway, without having to set things up."

Jo just glared at him, "You're coming, deal with it. It can be willing or I can drag you, your choice."

Jo and Tony walked into Henry's garage, greeted with the sight of Fargo and Holly carefully moving delicate instruments out of the way, dodging the automatic vacuums shaped like R2-D2 cleaning the floor, though Tony looked surprised when an arm unfolded from one and it started dusting the shelves. Dr. Leonardo should be here soon with the lilies Grace had originally picked out, though Jo had convinced her to use less baby's breath. Jo might not like the scent of lavender, but Grace had liked it at the lab, before they were overtaken by ethane fog.

Zane walked in behind them, holding a box of decorations, "Where should I put these?"

Jo directed him to a table that was being used as a base of operations and looked over the scene, mentally laying out the venue. Vince was bringing in small tables for the reception, and once they got the decorations cleared the drinks and food could be set up there. She ran a finger along the soft white voile, already gathered to be easily put up for the arches. It didn't look like much, but oh, with the string lights, and the paper lanterns in place, it would be magical.

She handed Tony a length of the fabric, and gestured towards the beams that she'd had someone set up earlier to form the makeshift altar, "Come on, help me hang this." Tony's face turned in annoyance, and he started grumbling under his breath.

"No complaints from either of you, or you both get tased."

Tony's head popped up, alarmed by that particular threat. "What?"

"Don't you dare complain, she'll do it," Zane warned as he grabbed a set of drapes and a step ladder and got to work covering the walls and ceilings of the garage with the swaths of white fabric. Once the fabric was hung, they started putting up the strings of lights over it, letting them hang and twinkle delicately, intermingling with the pleats of the curtains. Tony was careful not to make any audible complaints, though the dark look on his face made his feelings clear. The frown did lift when Vince walked in with a couple of his waiters and the food, including the angel food cake. Carter and Allison were the last to arrive, and they'd oohed and aahed appropriately at the vision the garage had been transformed into, and Allison quickly helped her with the finishing touches and Dr. Leonardo's flowers while Carter worked on the lanterns.

Jo checked her watch and figured that Henry and Grace would probably be leaving Café Diem shortly. "Ok, I'm going to go pick up the bride and groom. Vince, cut the lights five minutes after I text you, and be ready."

"Got it," Vince said as he started pouring drinks. She started walking out, then turned at the door to survey the scene one last time before Henry and Grace arrived for their wedding. Her eyes tracked over the drapes, the lights, the flowers, the food, everything, and everyone that had taken over Henry's garage. Small, simple, but still magical. Like walking into a fairytale.

Perfect. For Henry and Grace anyway.

Jo clapped as Warren told Henry to kiss the bride, and heard whistles and clapping coming from the others behind her. Grace and Henry looked absolutely radiant, grinning at each other through their kisses, seeming to have forgotten about their audience, despite the volume. They eventually broke apart and headed over to Carter and Allison. Jo turned back to Vince and directed him to start cutting the cake.

A hand appeared on her arm, and when she turned back, she was pulled into a hug, Grace's curls tickling her nose. "Thank you, Jo, this was perfect."

"I'm glad you liked it. So, how's it feel, being married, again?"

"Good, but then again, I have the perfect woman for a wife. No offense, Jo," Henry said, pulling Grace away from Jo and back to his side.

"None taken. Congratulations, you two," she said as she was pulled in again for quick hugs with the both of them before they moved on to talk to Fargo and Holly. She headed over to where Tony was standing, hands in his pockets, his eyes flitting between all of the people present before settling on her. She stopped in front of him and crossed her arms, leaning in, "So, not too bad, right?"

He nodded slowly, "No, not too bad."

"Good. Come on, what are you doing in the corner. Mingle, talk to people."

"I am a grown man, I do not need to be told what to do in social situations."

"I know, I just want you to feel welcome here. It's a nice town. And there's no one else around for miles, so you're kinda stuck with these guys for company."

"I know."

"And I might be gone for several months,"

"Oh my god."

"And I want you to have people to talk to when I'm gone. So go chit chat."

Tony took a deep breath in through his nose before saying through gritted teeth, "I am perfectly capable of making friends, Jo. I don't need my little sister to do it for me. I would have been fine if I came here and you didn't work here."

"I'm sure you would have been," she said as he walked off towards Carter and Allison, who were clinging to each other while avoiding Warren. He was looking at Carter and Allison sadly, and Jo felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she realized what the outcome of the audit was. Oh God, why did I ask him to officiate? She hurried over to him and shuttled him back out to his car, still holding a plate with a piece of cake in his hands, but Jo didn't care. This was a perfect evening so far, and she'd be damned if Warren Hughes, the fucking relationship auditor, of all the insane things, ruined it for anyone.

She kept a smile on her face until he got into his car, and felt it slip as it drove away to GD's private airport. Thank God he was gone. Maybe they could have a pleasant reception after all.

Footsteps crunched on the gravel outside the garage, taking her out of her thoughts. "So, nice wedding," she heard Zane say behind her as his arms came around her waist and pulled her against his chest, tucking his chin on top of her head.

"Yeah, it was," she said turning around in his arms and slipping hers around his neck. He led her over to the wall of the garage, pressing her against the yellow boards and leaning his head down to hers. She smiled as she kissed him, one of her hands coming up to cradle his cheek. She felt his arms tighten around her waist, and one of his legs slip between hers, their bodies molding together for the third time today. Sparks flew up her spine as she was lost in the feel and taste of Zane, her head spinning.

Jo thought she heard the sound of someone's shoes on the gravel behind Zane, but ignored it in favor of focusing on the feeling of Zane's mouth on her neck.

"Seriously? You're in public, this is someone else's wedding, or vow renewal, or whatever!" Tony spluttered. "You can't wait to grope each other until you get home?" Or maybe she shouldn't have ignored that sound.

"Tony, go away," Jo said, annoyed as her head fell back against the wall. Tony was glaring at them both, mostly seeing Zane from the back and how he held Jo close to him.

She saw Tony's eyes narrow as he saw exactly how low on her back Zane's hands were. "Hands where I can see them, Donovan." He was ignored by Zane, but the others inside came out to see what the fuss was about.

"And here I thought we ran a respectable town," Henry said, a laugh in his eyes and an arm around his wife.

"Exactly. Sherriff, back me up, aren't there any public decency laws in this town?"

Carter just took a drink of his beer and used his glass to hide his smile. "Eh, it's a wedding. People get carried away. Besides this" he gestured to Jo and Zane, still frozen in the position Tony had found them in, "is what you saw?" at Tony's nod he shrugged his shoulders. "Could be worse."

"She's my sister," he said, making his displeasure with the situation well known.

"Yeah, I know it's Jo and Zane. Trust me, this" he said, pointing at Jo and Zane, "could be worse."

"Carter," Jo said through gritted teeth. She grabbed Zane's arm and led him back into the garage, her cheeks heating furiously, as Zane tried to figure out what Carter had meant.

He ducked his head to hers and asked quietly, "How much of me has Carter seen?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, tone clipped.

"In," his voice dropped even further, "the other timeline. What exactly has Carter walked in on?"

"Don't worry about that."

"Jo, I'm going to worry about whether or not Carter's seen my dick."

"He hasn't seen that. At least, I don't think so."

"Jo!"

Zane pulled her behind him through his front door and crowded close to her as she kicked it closed. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her as he heard the slam of the door and pushed her against it. Jo smiled against his mouth and ran her hands up his sides, one hand going around to cup his head and tug him closer. His hands wandered down to her ass and groped, and his head dipped to her jaw and neck, pressing closed-mouth kisses that alternated with his tongue, creating a path towards her chest. Jo reached up with one hand to her shirt buttons and started undoing them for him, giving Zane easier access to the rest of her. He reached her collarbone with his mouth and started sucking, having learned that leaving marks any higher would result in an angry Jo. But he did like seeing her with his marks.

Jo moaned as his mouth made its way to her breast, his teeth scraping against the edge of her bra before soothing with his tongue. Pleasure built along her spine as she felt his mouth form a grin against her. "Yeah, you like that, huh?" he asked, his voice smug. She could only whimper and nod in response as he pulled along her outer thighs, and she jumped, wrapping her legs around his waist. He pressed her closer to the door, and she could feel the outline of his hard cock against her.

"Bed. Now," she panted, shoving her hands under his shirt, desperate to feel his skin against hers. He carried her through his apartment, pausing his attentions on her chest to make sure they didn't trip. She took advantage of the opportunity to kiss down his neck, licking and biting at his pulse point, needing to taste him. He let go of one of her legs to open his bedroom door, and she released her grip around his waist when they got to the bed, allowing him to lay her down. She moved to the head of the bed, watching as he pulled his shirt over his head, exposing his muscled chest and the beginnings of the hickeys she'd started to leave on his collar. He pushed her shirt over her shoulders and reached behind her to undo the clasp on her bra, allowing her to slip it off.

She felt his grin against his neck as he returned to his ministrations, kissing, biting, and sucking along her neck while his hands massaged her breasts, and her hands reached between them to undo the button on her pants before moving on to his jeans. One of his hands came down to her ass to help push her pants down, and she kicked them the rest of the way off. He took his hands off of her, and she felt him shift as he shoved his jeans and boxers off before coming back to her, slotting a leg in between her thighs. Her hips canted up to meet his, and she couldn't help but whimper at the feel of him against her.

"Yeah, you like that, don't you JoJo?" he asked, grinning against her neck. She nodded and pulled him closer to her, her nails blunt against his neck. He pressed kisses along the lines of her neck, soft bites against her collar bone. "Mmh, this why you keep coming around, JoJo? No one else can give it to you like I can?" Jo paused, tilting his face up to look at her. A leer was on his face, but something about it, something in his eyes, the way the smile didn't quite reach them, something was bothering him. She knew Zane Donovan well enough to know that.

This why you keep coming around? Is that what he thought? That she only wanted him in her bed? Was that why he kept talking about leaving?

Jo adjusted herself, and then flipped them over so that Zane was on his back, and Jo was straddling him. He looked at her appreciatively, his hands coming down to her hips, fingers tracing the edge of her panties. She placed her hands on his chest and leaned down to kiss him, slowly, softer than they'd been kissing all evening, softer than they had in this timeline. He hesitated, seeming to have realized that something shifted here between them in his bed.

She broke away, keeping her forehead pressed against his, their breath mingling hot between them. Her eyes stayed closed, not wanting to see his face as she whispered "That's not why." She started kissing down his chest, saying with her lips, her tongue and her teeth what she couldn't say with her voice. I love you.

Her lips on the dip of his collar bone. I love you.

Her tongue across one nipple, her fingers pulling lightly at the other. I love you.

Her hands running up and down the front of his chest, mapping the muscles that she'd known for years, that had changed slightly over time, but still covered that heart she loved. I love you.

Her teeth biting and sucking a mark into one hip, feeling him writhe beneath her, hearing a whispered "JoJo," strung out with pleasure. I love you.

She remembered the first time she'd said those words aloud to him, in the other timeline. They'd clung to each other, both as sweaty then as they were now, then from the heat of a second sun, now from their own activities. That time, he'd pulled away from her, practically begging her to take it back.

God, she didn't think she could stand it if he asked that of her again. After everything they'd been through, everything she'd been through, that would be what ruined her. She couldn't risk that.

Jo continued her path along his hips, alternating between kisses and licks as she made her way to his hard cock before turning her attention to that. Zane's choked-off grunts and moans filled the air as she licked from his balls to the head, briefly taking it into her mouth, bobbing a few times. His hips stuttered and she pressed them down, keeping him in place as she sucked on his cock, tracing the veins with her tongue, pulling up to suck on the head. "Fuck, Jo," Zane gasped out, sounding as though she'd punched him in the stomach, reaching down to her shoulder and pulling her up off of his cock. "I'm so close Jo, need you, need to feel you," he begged, tone equal parts reverent and desperate. He pawed at the edges of her panties, pulling them down off of her, grabbing her ass, and pulling her to him. She finished shimmying her panties off and settled on top of him, leaning over to the bedside table and fumbling with the drawer to grab a condom.

She reached down between them, rolling the condom over him, lining his cock up with her, and sunk down until he filled her until she could feel his balls against her folds. I love you, please don't leave. She waited a moment, adjusting to the feel of him inside her before rocking up and then sliding back down, moaning at the feeling. She felt his hands grabbing at her body, one holding tight to her hip, the other roaming, starting at the flat planes of her stomach before returning to her breast, kneading, causing sparks of pleasure as she rode him, going slowly, wanting to draw this out.

Zane slipped the hand on her hip around her back, pulling her down so she was laying on him, and started thrusting into her, dipping his other hand between them to her clit. She led his face to hers and kissed him deeply, savoring the taste of him, slipping her tongue into his mouth as she moaned against him as she felt her orgasm build at the base of her spine. Oh, she was so close, so close to coming at Zane's hands for the third time today.

"Zane, oh God, Zane, I'm so," she blabbered.

"Me too, JoJo, me too. Fuck, Jo, you feel so good. Always feel so perfect," he said, punctuating each word with another thrust, causing Jo's eyes to roll back in her head as he hit that spot that always felt so good.

"Zane," she cried out, clinging to him, needing him, always needing him.

"I've got you, Jo, I'm right here," he said, pressing kisses to her shoulder, holding her tight to him. She looked at his face, screwed in the way that let her know that he was as close as she was. She gently kissed his cheek and leaned her forehead against his temple, needing to be connected to him at every point possible. His fingers against her clit sped, and she felt her orgasm finally crash over her, moaning and crying out for Zane, pulling him to her as though she could somehow be closer to him than she was at that moment. He held her tight as he continued thrusting into her, chasing his own release, and as she felt hers ebb away, his movements became more erratic, the previously steady rhythm broken by him coming.

She swallowed his groans when she kissed him as they both came back down to earth from the edge, still clinging to each other. After a few minutes of lying there, panting to catch their breath, he tapped her hip, and she took the signal to lift her hips up as he slipped out of her before shifting over to his side. He removed the condom and tied it off, throwing it away before coming back to her, pulling her against his side, his thumb stroking her hip. Jo wrapped an arm around his waist and placed her head on his chest, his heartbeat a gentle white noise that eventually lulled her to sleep.