Chapter Six

Jo walked into Café Diem and immediately spotted Zane at the counter waiting for an order. It was surprising that he'd beat her here and she checked her watch to make sure she had the time right: 17:05. A few minutes late on her part but still before the 5:15 deadline when he threatened to storm into her office and drag her home.

She shrugged it off and snuck up behind him to plant a kiss on his cheek. When he turned, she could see the stress written all over his face.

"Hey. You look about as good as I feel."

Zane chuckled. He instinctively leaned into her when she sat down beside him. "And you look as beautiful as ever, of course. Certainly better than you looked this morning." She returned his tired smile.

"You'll get no argument from me about that."

From across the counter, Vincent waved right before he disappeared into the kitchen. "Did you order for me?" It was strange for Vincent not to pop over to greet her.

Checking the time himself, Zane put his PDA back into his pocket. "Yeah, I hope you don't mind. I got one of Vincent's specials and a salad. I thought we could share."

"Did you get the—"

"Yes, I got your favorite dessert. I thought you could use it after today." She kissed him again in thanks and set her PDA on the counter. "Sounds perfect," she said.

Zane squeezed her hand and kissed it. "You're perfect."

Her breath caught at his response. She considered him closely, remembering a similar response now lost to time. He had been acting pretty affectionate since she returned to her own body, touching her as much as possible or checking on her every hour. That was after she had to practically pry him off when Allison cleared her to go back to work. He'd wanted her to go straight home—well, straight back to his place. However, since she was in the middle of an office day anyway, she promised to take it easy and leave on time for a change. In order to ensure her compliance, he agreed to leave earlier than usual as well with plans to pamper her for the rest of the evening.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" He let go of her hand, now feeling self-conscious. "Can't a guy be happy his girl is no longer inhabiting the body of his best friend-slash-boss?"

"No, it's not that. It's just—" She shook her head and grinned, letting go of her nostalgic thoughts. "It's just nice to hear … again."

Now it was Zane's turn to be wary of her. He opened his mouth to comment and then shut it, probably realizing the direction of her musings. She moved her fingers to cover his and warmed when he took her hand again.

Maybe they'd talk about it later or maybe they wouldn't.

The next time she glanced over at him, he was trying to catch her eye. She had a good idea of what was coming.

"You still feeling okay?" His question was tentative. As much as it could annoy her, she was more appreciative at his concern right now than offended. This latest debacle in particular had taught him to tread lightly when it came to suffocating her with attention.

Her eyes softened towards him, hopefully letting him know that she wasn't angry with him for asking. "I'm tired and I've still got a little bit of a headache but otherwise I'm fine." He scrutinized her as if searching for anything to contradict her assessment. "Really, I'm doing okay. I'm sure I'll sleep like a log tonight though." She stroked his hand with her thumb until she saw the worry recede from his eyes. "Until then, I believe you promised me a night of pampering."

Zane's look of concern transformed into wolfish glee. "That I did. Do you have anything in mind? I know I do."

Relieved laughter erupted from the both of them. "I bet you do, Donovan. I'll hold you to it." Not caring about being inappropriate in public after the day they'd had, she leaned in to kiss him one more time.

"At least you're not on the clock this time," a voice accused from behind them.

They separated and found Fargo standing at their shoulders, arms crossed. However, the grin on his face betrayed his scolding.

Zane rolled his eyes. "Give me a break, Fargo. I'm still trying to scrub the images you planted in my mind earlier. Sophie's Choice? Nice one, dude." Jo raised her eyebrows in question but he waved her off. "Believe me, you do not want to know." Zane had also said something along those lines earlier; she was going to have to get the details of that particular disagreement.

"No kidding," Fargo added. "I think I've seen as much of you two as I can stand today."

Jo winced and let go of Zane's hand, facing her friend more fully. "The feeling is completely mutual. Yet here you are, Fargo. What's up?"

"Oh! I just wanted to tell you that I'm totally not redacted thanks to you! In fact, Warren said that I have 'a very interesting mind'."

"That's one way to describe you," Zane said. Jo chuckled beside him.

"Very funny, Mr. Grabby." Zane scowled at him at the reminder. "Anyway, what happened with Warren while I was uh … gone? I guess that's what you'd call it?"

If there was one subject Jo could do without over-analyzing, it was being stuck in Fargo's body. "Hopefully, I won't have to call it anything after today." Zane nodded in agreement.

"I'm serious. I want to know what happened during my evaluation. One minute I'm in the infirmary picking on Zane and the next minute I'm back in my own body and Warren's quizzing me with some association exercises. What did you say to him? And why is he offering me his tickets to the ballet the next time I'm in D.C.?"

Two sets of eyes turned on Jo and she could feel the blush rising to her cheeks. She was NOT going to relive that mortifying experience with them right now. "It doesn't matter, does it? The important thing is that you've still got your job. Congratulations Fargo."

He smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Any word on what caused this kind of neural transfer?" he asked more seriously.

Jo sighed. "Not really. Henry went over your schedule, but there was nothing to explain it, not Fowler's matter relocater or anything else. My schedule was a dead-end too since I'd been in my office all morning. Zane and Thompson were the only people I saw."

"And this time, I know I wasn't involved; like I'd ever do something that freakish on purpose." Fargo and Jo grinned at Zane's defensiveness.

Remembering something Zane had mentioned earlier, Jo frowned at the man in front of her. "And I'm glad you were able to hold your bladder until we could switch back." She had to stop herself from shuddering.

"Yeah, your kidneys would disagree, I'm sure. You can thank your boyfriend's threats for that one." Fargo's displeasure at the reminder turned to shock. "Wait. You had to change into my suit. You didn't take advantage, did you?" He attempted to cover himself, making a ridiculous spectacle in the middle of Café Diem fully clothed.

Jo rolled her eyes. "Fargo, unfortunately, I've seen pretty much everything there is to see of you, in case you've forgotten. Why would I take liberties now? Or ever?"

"I don't know. You did dream about me that one time."

"Yes and I'm still traumatized," Jo quipped.

Zane looked back and forth between the two of them. "Am I missing something going on between the two of you?"

"No—"

"Well…"

Jo's denial and Fargo's equivocation were met with curiosity from Zane. "You weren't in town yet," Jo explained.

"Thank god. Who knows what freaky dreams we would have been subjected to if he were around." Jo had to agree with Fargo on that one.

"As I was saying, Fargo, your modesty has not been compromised any more than you've already compromised it on your own. Allison just told me to report any side-effects to her and Grace. Henry is trying to get to the bottom of it and will let us know. He's hoping the worst is over though."

Zane scoffed. "Famous last words in this town." Jo and Fargo nodded.

Vincent chose that moment to emerge from the kitchen with their order, offering his usual good cheer.

"Here we go. Salad, with extra olives for Zane, and a Vincent's Special. For two," he added, giving the scientist a sly wink. Jo was going to have to talk to her friend about encouraging Zane like that. She couldn't have her lover getting even more cocky on her.

Zane grinned but with a bit of shyness she noted. "Thanks, Vincent." He didn't mind people thinking that she had him wrapped around her little finger, apparently. However, she was adamant that no one needed to know the extensive benefits he received for catering to her.

"No problem at all." The older man smiled at Jo and then shifted his attention to the man behind them. "What can I get for you, Fargo?"

As nice as it was to get an update from her friend, the day had long since caught up to her and she was eager to get back to Zane's apartment and make it an early night. Before Fargo could respond to Vincent's question, Jo hopped off the seat, pocketing her PDA and grabbing their to-go containers. "I'll leave you to it."

Zane followed, patting Fargo on the back. "Seriously Fargo, good news about your job."

"Thanks. It's one less thing to worry about." He sighed sadly and Jo offered him a supportive smile to counter his hint of melancholy. Moving into the seat she had vacated he put on a brave face for them and waved goodbye. "Get some rest, Jo. And Zane, try to keep your hands to yourself for five minutes."

He chuckled at his friend. "Not a chance. And I don't hear her complaining."

Jo nudged him in the arm and made him carry their food containers to keep him out of trouble. "Well, I don't!" Zane repeated when they were outside. It's not that what he said wasn't true but he needed to learn a thing or two about being so solicitous concerning their private life.

He was incorrigible. But he was her kind of incorrigible.

Her car was parked in front of the Café so she opened the door and directed him to put the food on the front seat. "I'll see you in a few minutes?" Instead of placing the containers on the seat, however, he ducked into the passenger side and waited for her to join him.

"Okay," she said to herself. Circling the car, she got in on the other side. He looked over at her and she narrowed her eyes. "You're planning something aren't you?"

"Maybe." It didn't look like he was interested in giving away any details though. "Thanks for the ride. I walked over from my place."

There was only one way to get to the bottom of things. Jo stated the car and headed back to Zane's apartment.

TBC …