Author's note: One more chapter after this one. I really hope you're all enjoying the story!
Zane: I like roleplaying as much as the next guy, but I have real work to do. Now is there anything else you want to yell at me about?
Jo: No, I think I'm good for now…but maybe over dinner?
Zane: I'm not sure what time I'll be home at.
Jo: You got a date?
Zane: It's a top secret project. It's hush-hush. But yeah, I'll call you later.
~ Jo Lupo and Zane Donovan in Season Five Episode Six "Worst Case Scenario"
Jo flipped on the hallway light and saw Zane's familiar teasing smile. He was supposed to be at Global Dynamics tonight working on his top secret project and instead he'd broken into her house.
"I just moved in and it looks like I need to change the locks already."
It was pointless to ask how he'd gotten in. Zane had the skill to open almost any lock he wanted, both electronic and manual. She'd change the locks anyway. Zane appreciated things more when he had to work for them.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Zane walked over and wrapped his hands around her waist. She wanted to lean into him and lay her head against the hard plane of his chest, but that wasn't who they were to each other right now.
"You know, you could have moved into my place and saved yourself the trouble," he said, ignoring her question. "You're there often enough."
For a split second, Jo let herself imagine a reality where things with Zane felt solid enough that they could have moved in together. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
"Sure, that would've been fun. Moving from a house where Allison was upset with me about the Matrix to living with you, who alternates between seducing me and giving me the silent treatment because of the Matrix. I just wanted a place where I didn't have people making me pay because of what some computer version of me had done."
Jo broke out of his hold and he said her name as she walked towards the bedroom.
She wasn't supposed to see him until tomorrow, after she'd reviewed the files and was prepared for the conversation they needed to have. Not now, when she was exhausted and emotional.
She grabbed a soft tank top and sweatpants out of her dresser and pulled the black and gray striped t-shirt she was wearing over her head.
"Does this mean sex is back on the table?" Zane asked with a smirk.
Jo wished that she was in the mood to banter with Zane about sex, but it had been a long day where she almost died from being exposed to lethal amounts ammonium chloride gas. Not to mention, she'd counted on having a night alone to pull herself back together before talking to him.
"Jo, what's the matter?" he asked when she didn't respond.
She threw the t-shirt down on the comforter and pulled the tank top down over her head.
"I thought you were supposed to be at GD working on Beverly's computer of doom. You know, that hush-hush project that you and Fargo don't want to talk about."
"Jo Lupo, you are a constant surprise. He actually told you?"
"Just that you were helping him…being a friend."
Zane walked over, picked up the t-shirt she'd left on the comforter and tossed it in her laundry basket. She unbuttoned her jeans and took them off and he didn't even leer at her, just held out a patient hand until she handed them over. He put those in the laundry basket too while she tugged her sweatpants on. It was a small gesture, but it felt loaded with meaning.
"Must've come as a surprise," he said, "me being a friend."
It wasn't, actually. Zane might be cocky and insensitive sometimes, but when he cared about someone he tended to do everything in his power to help them, even if he had to break a few laws to do it.
"He needs friends right now," she said. "I'm worried about how he's handling everything with Holly."
"He's doing better than it looks like, Jo."
She wished that she could believe him.
Jo gathered her hair into a messy bun and secured it with a hairband before turning back towards Zane.
She knew that she didn't look her best right now. The tank top was starting to fray at the hem and the sweatpants weren't a flattering cut. There were bags under her eyes from stress and lack of sleep. Whatever makeup she put on at the beginning of the day had long since faded.
When Zane just stared at her, she had to say something. It was his fault for coming over on a night when they didn't have plans.
"Yeah, I know," Jo said sarcastically. "Sexy, right?"
This time Zane did leer, just a little. Enough to make her feel wanted.
"Extremely," he said.
Jo told her heart not to flutter.
She didn't understand how Zane Donovan could constantly be both the cause of and solution to most of her problems.
He leaned towards her and she wondered if he was going to kiss her, but instead he just took her hand and guided her out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen.
Zane didn't release her hand as they walked and she liked the feel of his skin warm against hers. They weren't usually a hand-holding couple, not in either timeline. They were more of a "scorching kisses in the ruins of her house" type of couple.
This was nice, though.
"Did you eat already?"
She absently shook her head. "Just a glass of wine."
"Good," he said as he guided her to the table and pulled out her chair for her. The table was already set. Before she could ask Zane what was going on, he disappeared into her kitchen and came back holding a bottle of wine and a serving platter.
"More wine if you'd like," he said, "and I have grilled salmon and vegetables."
Jo stared down at the delicious-looking dinner while Zane poured them each a glass of pinot gris. She moved some of the food from the platter to the plate in front of her.
"What is this, Zane? I don't have to start worrying that you've been switched somehow, do I?" She looked up at him. "You're not an android, or from an alternate reality, or dealing with some body swapping?"
He grinned and leaned forward to press a light kiss to her lips.
"It's all me, Jo Jo."
She narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
"I don't buy it. Did you accidentally clone yourself and one version of you is here making nice while the other is playing mad scientist?"
Zane chuckled at her question before he turned serious.
"Look, I know I've been acting like a jerk because of the bizarro AI version of you," he admitted as he sat down at the table. "And I know that my screwing around during the disaster simulation made your life more difficult. I wanted to make it up to you."
It was exactly what Jo had been wanting to hear, which was exactly why it all felt too good to be true.
"Until the next time you shut me out or make a snarky comment while I'm working with Carter?"
Zane let out a frustrated sigh. He piled some food on his plate while he calmed down enough to respond.
"I know I've been an ass. I'm sorry. I need to work through it on my own and not take it out on you. It's just…Jo, you don't know what it was like to see the two of you together."
"I had to watch you and Zoe," she snapped.
Jo had to watch the two of them together right after another version of Zane had proposed to her and she'd been too scared to give him the right answer. If there was a heartbreak competition, he didn't get to win.
"You know that all Zoe and I ever did together was flirt," he said in a steady voice that Jo assumed was meant to calm her down. "She's fun and all, and it was a bonus that it annoyed Carter, but it was never anything serious. Plus, up until that point, you'd never given me the time of day."
They'd had this discussion before, but it still didn't erase the memories of Zoe saying she thought Zane was the "future Mr. Zoe Carter" or watching Zane pull Zoe into a close hug.
Suddenly, she realized that was what it must be like for Zane, only with much more recent visuals.
"I'm not interested in Zoe," he said firmly.
"I'm not interested in Carter," she replied.
Zane nodded and picked up his fork. "Glad we got that settled."
They both ate in silence for a few minutes until Jo couldn't take it anymore. Zane kept sneaking brief glances her way and she had no idea what was going through his head.
"Is it?" she asked, "Settled?"
Zane set down his fork and looked her right in the eyes.
"It is for me," he said. "As you so bluntly pointed out, I have nothing to worry about unless I annoy you so much that you kill me or dump me. It's probably obvious from this dinner and the apologies, but I'm gonna do my best to make sure that doesn't happen."
He looked sincere and Jo felt her anxiety go down a notch.
"If you stop annoying me completely, we'll miss out on the make-up sex," she joked.
A crooked smile lit Zane's face. He reached out to cover her hand with his.
"I'm sure I can annoy you just enough to keep things fresh, Jo Jo."
She laughed at the wink he sent her way and interlaced her fingers with his.
"God Jo, I really am so glad to be back. I'm so glad you're you."
She could hear the relief in his voice and it settled her nerves. They'd both been through a lot lately and it didn't help that situations like the body-swapping disaster exacerbated their problems before they had a chance to really deal with them.
"I'm glad you're you too."
Because of the lives they led, her words held unexpected weight.
It was true, though. The Zane in front of her might not be the exact same one she fell in love with, but in either timeline, he was the same man. He was a troublemaker with a heart of gold and a brain full of brilliant ideas and smartass comments. She loved him.
Ever since he came back, Jo had been afraid that she would lose him again. Neither of them were confident in serious relationships. When Zane returned all messed up from his time in the Matrix, Jo was sure that his insecurity would torpedo their relationship before she could figure out what to do to make things right.
So she reached out to Fargo and Zane…Zane broke into her house with dinner, an apology, and a promise to do better.
"I'm glad you're you," she repeated.
Zane's eyes softened and he ran his thumb over the skin of her hand.
"So am I forgiven?"
She nodded.
"Yes?"
"I mean, if I thought there was an eighty seven percent chance of you getting together with someone else we knew, I'd probably lose it for a while too," Jo acknowledged. "Even if I did realize the math was wrong. So yes, I forgive you."
"What did you say?"
Zane dropped her hand and leaned forward.
"About the eighty seven percent chance?"
"No, although we'll get back to how you knew about that later. Why would you say the math was wrong?"
She should have figured that he'd get stuck on that point instead of just accepting her forgiveness and moving on. Zane wasn't used to people telling him he was wrong.
"What are you grinning about?" he asked.
Jo couldn't help the grin. She was going to enjoy this.
"Well, it's not often I get to say 'I told you so' and really mean it. Especially when it comes to computer programming."
Zane frowned and tilted his head.
"And what exactly were you right about, Jo Jo?"
Jo took a sip of her wine just to draw out the suspense.
"That algorithm you used was off. It was pulling the wrong data and hadn't been adjusted for context. That eighty seven percent you've been freaking out about was ridiculous. Fargo helped me prove it."
He looked at her like she just told him the sky was green and the grass was blue.
"That's not possible. I ran it myself."
Jo tried not to take offense at the fact that Zane was more certain of his programming skills than he was about their relationship.
"You're not always right, you know."
Jo got up and headed to her office. She heard Zane's footsteps on the wood floor and knew he was following her. Once Jo got to her desk, she turned on her computer and logged into her e-mail.
She opened the file Fargo sent her and turned to face Zane. He glanced at the code onscreen and then looked back at her.
"I know that I'm not always right with the personal stuff, Jo. Believe me, I know. I screwed up and this conversation probably won't make things any better. But all of this…" He gestured towards the computer. "This is what I do. And I'm a hell of a lot better at it than Douglas Fargo."
Jo had been expecting this reaction, but that didn't make it any easier to take. His eyes kept drifting to the code like it was a direct challenge to everything he'd ever accomplished.
"Take a seat, take a look, and decide if it's better to be right or to have a girlfriend."
Zane's eyes snapped back towards hers.
"Girlfriend, obviously. If this is some sort of test, Jo, I pick you."
She smiled at his quick response.
"Just…take a look. You need to see it. We'll talk after."
Zane reached out to grab her arm before she could walk away.
"I choose you, Jo. I don't need to look at a computer program to know the answer to that question."
The conviction in his statement warmed her inside. He'd chosen her in two timelines now. She just needed to convince him that she felt the same way. She never got to do that the first time around when she froze at his proposal before engaging in some accidental time travel.
This time, she could make sure that he knew how she felt. She loved him, quantifiably. Jo would give him all the data he needed to back that up.
"The computer program is so you finally believe that I choose you too, Zane." She went up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek before pulling away. "I need you to understand. I want you to look."
Jo left the room and Zane sat down at the computer. She could hear the clacking sound of the keyboard as she headed down the hallway and went to the kitchen. She put away the leftovers and placed the dishes in the dishwasher, taking her time to clean the kitchen. Once she was done with that, Jo went to the living room and opened up the book she started a week earlier.
She curled up in the corner and started reading.
At some point, she must've fallen asleep because the next thing she heard was Zane saying her name. He shook her shoulder and she opened her eyes.
"What time is it?"
Zane brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen out of her messy bun. There was something soft and gentle in the way he looked at her.
"It's late. You should get to bed."
She must've nodded because he backed away. Zane put the book that had fallen to the floor on the coffee table and held out a hand to help her up. He continued to hold her hand as they walked to her bedroom.
"You looked at it," she said after he pulled back the comforter. "What did you think?"
Zane pulled her into his arms. Jo relaxed into his hug.
"I think that you were right and I was wrong and I have a really smart girlfriend who needs her sleep."
His breath brushed by her ear as he spoke.
Jo moved back, but stayed in the circle of his arms.
"I'm sorry, can you say that again, maybe after I get something to record you?"
Zane gave her an amused look.
"The part about how you need your sleep?"
"The part about how you were wrong and I was right," Jo said with a grin.
"Smartass." Zane placed a hand on her neck and moved forward to give her a long, lingering kiss. "We'll talk about it more in the morning and I'll say those words as many times as you want. Now get into bed."
"Zane - "
"You spent a chunk of the day in the infirmary, Jo. You need sleep."
Accepting that she wasn't going to win this argument and would have to wait until the morning to have a full conversation about all of this, Jo took off her bra from underneath her tank top and sat down on the bed.
In her sleepy haze, she almost missed the fact that Zane was walking towards the door.
"Wait, where are you going?"
He turned around and leaned against the doorjamb.
"I was heading home."
Jo didn't want him to go. She needed him here with her, even if they didn't talk about Fargo's updated algorithm, just to prove to herself that everything was going to be okay between them.
"Stay," she said.
"I thought you might want some alone time."
Jo shook her head. "Not tonight. Not after everything we've been through lately. Stay, Zane. Please."
"Okay," he agreed easily.
Zane went to the other side of the bed and pulled off his shirt. She watched the way his muscles flexed as he undressed to his boxers.
"You keep looking at me like that, Jo Jo, and we're not going to get any sleep," he teased.
"I wouldn't want to wear you out," Jo replied.
Then she yawned.
Zane chuckled and then climbed into bed. He put his hand on her waist and pulled her closer, until she was tucked up against him. Jo's life got mixed up and turned around with surprising regularity lately, but she felt steady and calm cuddled up with Zane.
"You can wear me out tomorrow, I promise." He kissed her forehead and ran a comforting hand up and down her back. "I'll even let you record me saying that you were right and I was wrong so you have a copy in case it never happens again."
She laughed against his chest.
"It will happen again."
Zane let out a soft hum. Jo was just drifting off when she heard his response.
"Small price to pay for a lifetime of this."