Title: An Australian Werewolf in Eureka

Disclaimer: Not my characters, of course, and no copyright infringement intended.

A/N: Again, this takes place after the first half of Season 4, including I'll Be Seeing You, and after my first story, Better Late Than Never. It'll make more sense if you've read that one, but if you haven't, the short summary is that Zane figured out and Jo has confirmed the whole alternate reality thing.

Scene 2

Jo hated being a coward. It just wasn't her style. If she had trouble, she wanted to face it head on, kick it in the ass, spit on its carcass, and move on.

This was why she was, damn it, getting a Vinspresso today. No more being a coward. She'd avoided Café Diem for the past three days, but enough was enough. She couldn't run away forever.

She took a deep breath, and pushed open the door. Quickly, her gaze skimmed the restaurant, and, of course, there he was, seated in the back, out of line of sight of the door. His dark head was bent over his laptop, his face engrossed in whatever he was looking at on his screen. She looked away hurriedly, and slid into a seat at the counter.

"Jo!" Vincent's voice rang out and she flinched. "We haven't seen you for a few days; have you been feeling okay?"

"Oh, yeah, um, fine," she smiled and nodded. "Just…busy, you know. Very busy. Could I just get a quick Vinspresso, Vince? To go?"

"One Vinspresso, coming up," Vincent said cheerfully, and turned back to the espresso machine, just as the bell on the door jingled and another customer entered the café .

Jo's back was straight, her head up, and she was waiting. And wishing she had eyes in the back of her head. Was he standing up? Was he walking over? Was he looking at her? Had he even heard Vincent or was he still oblivious, totally focused on his work?

"Jo, hi," Zoe's friendly voice startled Jo into actually jumping. If she'd had her coffee already, she would have spilled it. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Wow, you were a thousand miles away. Where have you been? I haven't seen you in days. I keep asking S.A.R.A.H. and you're always at work already or not back yet. What's going on there that's keeping you so busy?"

"Ah, Zoe, hey."

Inwardly, Jo was cringing. Maybe cowardice had been the better strategy. Being in the same place as Zane and Zoe at the same time ranked above basic training, above going to the dentist, even above being in GD in the middle of a zombie rage riot, on her personal hierarchy of situations to avoid. Ever since Zane had confronted her in her office, she'd been assiduously avoiding both of them. Could a Vinspresso possibly be worth it?

"I—ah, can't really talk about it." She smiled artificially at Zoe. Score! Being able to fall back on "it's classified" as an excuse for not talking could come in handy. "Nothing to worry about, though," she hastily added. In Eureka, things you couldn't talk about sometimes meant the town was on the verge of destruction and she didn't want to scare Zoe, she just didn't want to talk to her.

"Well, any chance you can come home early tonight?" Zoe asked, sitting down on the stool next to Jo and swinging it around. "I have to head back to Harvard soon and I really want a chance to hang out with you before I go." Her words trailed off as she spotted Zane. Putting one hand on Jo's arm, Zoe said, "I really do want to hang out with you, and I hope you can make it home early tonight, but I also really want to talk to Zane. Do you mind if I—, " she gestured with her head to indicate Zane.

"No, no, not at all," said Jo, hastily, "I have to get to work anyway. You go right ahead. I'll see you later." She studiously did not look behind her, but instead, leaning forward, said to Vincent, "Can you rush that Vinspresso?" as Zoe hopped off the stool and headed across the restaurant toward Zane.

"Hey, stranger," said Zoe, sliding into the seat across from Zane, and giving him her best flirtatious smile.

He looked up, his turn to be startled. "Oh, Zoe, hey," he said, taking her in and then realizing, belatedly, who was sitting at the counter.

"So…did your phone break?" asked Zoe lightly, head tilted charmingly.

"Phone?"

"You know, that device we use to communicate with one another? I've texted you a few times, haven't heard back. What's going on?" Zoe was nothing if not direct.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that." Zane looked uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat and glanced away.

Jo was standing up, almost ready to leave, just saying a few last words to Vincent. Zane opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it, his eyes on Jo. He looked back at Zoe and tried to smile, but the smile looked as forced as it felt.

Zoe's eyes narrowed. "I realize my father doesn't want us to…hang out," she said, picking her phrasing carefully, "but has Jo said something to you? That I'm too young or some equally asinine prohibition? Because what I do is none of her-"

"Josephina!" The name boomed through Café Diem, as Taggart strode through the door. Arms wide, he scooped Jo off the floor, and whirled her around in a circle. "Beautiful as ever," he chortled, his long coat flaring behind him. Letting her feet touch the floor, he bent to kiss her.

Jo hastily turned her face, so that Taggart's kiss landed on her cheek instead of her lips. "Tag," she choked out, "What are you doing here?"

Her panicked gaze met Zane's.

"Why I'm here to see you, sweetheart. You stopped writing. I had to check in."

"I stopped writing? I…right, yes, okay." Jo thought furiously. What the hell did that mean? She'd never written Taggart a letter in her life. Okay, it was time to return to cowardice as her survival strategy. It might not be her style, but it had been working quite well.

"Hey, Tag, I'm sorry but I'm really late to work. Let's catch up later, okay?" Jo grabbed her coffee cup from the counter and held it between them like a shield.

"All right," Taggart looked surprised, and a little disappointed. "I'll come by the house tonight. What time will you get home?"

"Ah, the house, yes." Taggart was going to come to her house? What was up with that? "Well, actually, my house kind of got blown up. Larry, a rocket…it's a long story. I don't have time to tell it right now. I'll tell you tonight. Why don't we, ah, why don't we meet here. Seven o'clock?" Jo was retreating rapidly, working her way around Taggart, and moving backwards out the door. She waved the coffee cup, as she pushed the door open with her other hand and backed out.

"Tonight, seven o'clock," Taggart confirmed, looking confused, but nodding.

Across the room, Zane stood up abruptly. "I've got to go, Zoe." He grabbed his computer.

"But—," Zoe started.

"We're friends, right?" Zane wasn't smiling.

"Of course," Zoe responded automatically, confused.

"Good," he nodded. "We'll talk soon. Just—I've got to go."

"Okay, bye," Zoe started to say but before the words even left her mouth, Zane was already out the door. "Huh," she frowned. Across the room, Taggart was frowning, too, as he watched Jo reach her car and pull out her keys. Zoe moved to stand next to him, and together the two looked on as Zane caught up with Jo. He was standing in front of her, his back to the window of Café Diem, but it looked as if they were talking.

Outside, Jo was scrambling to unlock her car door. For some reason—could it be nerves? Panic? A first-ever anxiety attack?—she kept fumbling the keys. When Zane appeared next to her, as if out of nowhere, she didn't even take a breath.

"What the hell is my relationship with Taggart?" she whispered furiously, knowing that Zane was blocking the view from Café Diem and no one could see what she was saying.

"Um, I don't know. You were kind of a couple when I first got to Eureka but he's been gone for a while. And you didn't really keep me posted on the ups and downs of your love life."

"We were…what? What?"

Zane grinned at her, his full-blown, cocky, know-it-all grin. "You and Taggart were a couple. Need me to say it slowly? On my first day here, I swiped Carter's credit card info and bought you all this great sexy underwear. It killed me when I realized the Aussie was gonna get to see you in it."

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God." Jo felt as if she could say nothing but those words, over and over and over again, from now until the end of time. How could this be happening?

She looked at Zane. "You have to find out what our relationship is now. Mine and Taggart's, I mean."

He stopped smiling. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Ask Vincent, of course," Jo snapped out. "I can't ask him, and who else would know?"

"I'm supposed to just casually ask Vincent whether you're sleeping with Taggart?"

"Hush," ordered Jo, smiling fiercely at a passerby who'd glanced over curiously at Zane's raised voice. "Yes," she whispered. "You have to. Who else can? Everyone else that I could ask should already know, so they can't ask, but if you don't know, then you shouldn't know, so you can ask."

"That was insanely convoluted logic, Lupo, but I think I got it." Zane sighed. "You're going to owe me for this," he warned.

Jo punched him, hard, in the shoulder.

"Ow," he said, reeling back and clutching his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"I'm going to repay you by not kicking your ass," said Jo. "Find out for me. And fast. I need to know by seven o'clock tonight."