Rifiuto: Non Miriena

Thanks to badkidoh for reviewing 7, 9 and 11 and Hendrick248848, unrealwarfang, Mrs. Fantasy and Ghostrider for reviewing 11.

"Hey." Jo jumped and looked up.

"What do you want, Zane?" She asked, heading down the hall to the research lab.

"I thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing." He said, putting his hands in his pockets. Jo narrowed her eyes.

"I'm fine." She turned down the hall, and continued on, making good leeway until Zane caught up with her.

"So, when's the wedding?" He asked, catching up to her.

"I thought I told you earlier to leave me alone."

"Now why would I do that, Jo? I'm in love with you." She stopped, turning on him.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Donovan? I'm not in love with you! I never will be!" That seemed to floor him for a moment, and she continued on, making her rounds to check that everything was going good and that nothing was off.

Except Zane and Allison.

As she rounded the corner, she slammed into someone. "Oh, I'm so-" She stopped when Allison looked up at her, ice in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Dr. Blake. I didn't see you." Then she moved past her, only to have Allison grab her arm.

"You're not going anywhere."

Jo turned back to her, shock in her eyes. "What do you think you're doing?"

It took a couple minutes for her to register everything, and when she did, Allison had shoved her against the wall of a small aclove.

"You listen to me, you little bitch. You keep away from Jack and my daughter. Now you can do that one of two ways- you can stay away using your own free will. But if you don't willingly leave them alone, I'm going to make sure-"

"Make sure, what?" Jo asked, pushing her back. Allison stumbled back, hitting the other wall. The doctor didn't have an answer, and she shook her head to clear the stars from her eyes. Gaining a new confidence now that her foe was back against the wall, Jo progressed towards her. "Looks like you and I have a... problem." She said, stepping up to Allison. When the doctor moved to reach for her neck, Jo shoved her back towards the wall.

"You don't belong with Carter! He loves me. He and I are supposed to be together. We are supposed to raise Jenna together. Not you!" Allison snapped, pushing Jo away from her. But the deputy didn't back down. Instead, she stepped closer, giving her a good shove against the wall, enjoying the satisfying crack as her skull hit.

"I could keep batting you around like a helpless little mouse, but I am tired of playing with my food." Jo told her. She reached up and took ahold of Allison's throat, digging her nails into the soft flesh. "You have been going after me and my family for the last six weeks- ever since you got back- and I am sick of it. I am sick of you interfering in my family's lives, and you are going to leave us alone. You understand? If you come anywhere near my family, I am going to personally deal with you myself. Got it?" She asked, squeezing.

Allison let out a strangled cough, and Jo let her go. Zane rushed to help her to her feet as they watched Jo round the corner.

"Are you okay?" Zane asked, wrapping his arm around her waist as she nodded.

"Yeah. I'm... okay. God, she's strong."

Zane nodded. "She was a former Army Ranger. Served in Afghanistan. And she's strong, despite her size. Grew up with three brothers, so she learned to defend herself."

"How do you know?" Allison asked, looking at him shocked.

"You forget. No matter how much she wants to forget we ever happened... we did happen."

Allison shook her head. "So what do we do now?"

"Come up with a better plan."

Jack turned the news down when the door opened. Jo slipped inside and made a beeline for the sofa. She climbed into his lap and kissed him, reaching out to undo the buttons on his shirt. He let her take the lead, enjoying the taste of her.

"What did they do now?" He asked, when she ran her hands up his chest. She pulled away, ducking her head.

"Allison attacked me this time."

"What did she do, kiss you senseless?" He asked with a smile. The smile faded when he realized she wasn't laughing. "What happened? Jojo, what happened?" He asked, suddenly concerned. Panic filled his senses, and he moved her off his lap and stood, grabbing his jacket and making for the door.

"Jack! Jack!" She climbed to her feet and rushed to him, stepping in between him and the door. She put her hands on his chest, looking up into his eyes.

"She... she just... she attacked me..."

"Attacked you how?" He asked.

"She... threw me up against a wall and told me to stay away from you and Jenna, otherwise she'd do something to me." He pulled away, shaking his head.

"She threatened you?"

"Yes. But I handled it." She added, reaching up to cradle his face in her hands. "I told her to stay away from us, or she'd have to answer to me." She stopped, thinking. "Was that wrong of me?"

He shook his head, seeing the same protectiveness he'd exhibited earlier.

"No." He replied, taking her face in his hands and staring into her eyes. "It wasn't wrong at all."