Rifiuto: Non Miriena

"Come on, you're probably starving. And there's only so much of SARAH's cooking I or anyone else can take." Jo let Zoe pull her into Cafe Diem; instantly, all conversation stopped as everyone turned to stare at the new arrival. Jo instantly shrunk into herself, pulling the sweater Allison gave her tighter around herself as a form of protection. Gently, Zoe tugged her towards the counter and took a seat, waiting for the ravenhead to join her. But Jo hadn't moved; she stood staring at the other patrons, fear on her face.

It had been so long since she'd been out among people; he'd kept her locked up, away from prying eyes, from anyone who could have saved her, for so many years, that she had no clue how to deal with the people in the cafe. When Allison had kept her in the infirmary, a curtain had been drawn around her bed most of the time, keeping others from her view, but here...

Here there was no curtain to pull, no door to lock, no windows to board up. She was out in the open, completely exposed. Anyone could do anything to her. Anyone could hurt her, grab her, violate her...

Her eyes shifted quickly, taking in the myraid of unfamiliar faces, unfamiliar smells, sounds and uncertain surroundings before turning and beelining for the door. "Oh, sorry!... Jo?" She looked up; in her haste to get away, she'd slammed into Zane. "You okay?" He asked, steading her. Her dark eyes darted down, and she forced herself to stare at her shoes, or the sweater on her body, or the floor, anywhere but at him. When she didn't reply, he nodded, and went to the counter, asking for his usual cup of coffee. "Actually, make it two, Vincent." He corrected, glancing back at Jo. In a matter of minutes, he was back by her side and leading her out the door, hand on her wrist, without so much as a 'hello' or 'goodbye' in Zoe's direction.

"Thank you, for... for saving me back there." She said once they were halfway down the street. He shrugged, giving her a small smile.

"No problem." She blushed, turning her gaze to her cup and wrapping her arms around her small frame. They walked for several minutes, coming upon the skate park, and after several minutes, took a seat on the edges of one of the benches. They sipped their coffee in silence, stealing glances at each other, ignoring the skaters on their boards. Eventually, Zane shifted to face her; his knees brushed hers, and he stared into her dark eyes. "How... how have you been doing? Since... since getting out of the infirmary?" She swallowed.

"Better. It... it's weird, staying at... at Sheriff Carter's but... but at least it's underground. I... I'm used to... to being underground." He nodded. "And... and Z... Zoe... she's... she's nice." She glanced down at her borrowed clothing. "You hurt her. That's what she told me, anyway." He sighed.

"I don't want anything to do with her. We were never together, she needs to understand that. But she's a kid, she'll take it personal until she decides to get over it. Besides, she still loves Lucas- her ex-boyfriend." He clarifed at her confused look. She nodded.

"Your vitals are good. Heartbeat's regular... everything checks out fine... How are you doing, otherwise?" She bit her lip, glancing up at Allison.

"Okay." She whispered. The doctor's eyes rose.

"Just okay?" Jo nodded, glancing back to where Zane leaned against the far wall, hands in his pockets, watching silently. Allison's gaze followed, and she nodded, suddenly understanding. "Ah, so a little more than 'okay' I take it." A light blush covered Jo's cheeks, and she looked down, fiddling with her fingers. Her head snapped up as Allison took a seat next to her, reaching out to lay a hand on the younger woman's knee. "How has Zane been treating you?"

"We... we had coffee this morning." She tucked a wayward strand behind her ear. "I... Zoe took me to the diner-"

"Cafe Diem." She nodded.

"And... I... I haven't been around other people in..."

"Twenty years." Jo nodded again, sniffling. "I know it's scary."

"I... I didn't want to go, but... but Zoe said... she said it would be good for me... to... get out... among... people." She tugged on the hems of the sleeves of the grey woven sweater- now that Allison actually looked at it, it didn't look as threadbare and horrible as it had when she first saw it. It fit Jo just about right; though it was slightly bigger than most would like, Jo didn't seem to mind the extra bulk. The younger woman pulled her ponytail over her shoulder, twisting it around her finger nervously.

"Jo, is something bothering you?" The other woman bit her lip.

"Um..." She cleared her throat nervously. "Wh... when Mr. Grey..."

"Mr. Grey? Who's-" But when she caught Jo's glance towards Zane, she put the pieces together. "Ah. Go on." But instead of continuing, Jo leaned towards Allison, cupping her hand around the older woman's ear. She whispered softly, before pulling back, a frightened and worried look in her eyes. Allison glanced towards Zane, who had enough sense to turn his attention to his PDA. When she turned back, she scooted closer to Jo, taking her hand. "Jo, you don't have to ask for permission to spend time with someone."

"But-"

Allison waited. " Go on, Jo."

"I had to ask per... permission for everything." Slowly, the good doctor nodded.

"I see. So, because Zane asked you out to dinner, you feel you have to ask me if it's all right if you can go with him?" The girl nodded. "What about asking Sheriff Carter?" Jo swallowed. "I'm sure he'd say that it was okay if you went out to dinner with Zane."

Alarm bells went off in Carter's head, upon hearing Allison relay Jo's request.

"HELL NO!"