Rifiuto: Non Miriena

Thanks to Ghostrider for reviewing 26.

"You can't do this! Put. Me. Down!"

Everyone looked up to see the sheriff striding into the research lab, the head of GD security thrown over his shoulder like a sack of rice. She wore a pair of worn jeans and a tank top, her long raven hair in waves, the furthest thing from professional, GD work attire that she could get, short of wearing a bikini or bra and thong to work.

"Actually, seeing as I'm the sheriff, I can."

"But I-"

"I know you're the head of security, but right now, you're acting like Sam when she doesn't get her way-"

"Who's Sam?" She asked, looking back at him.

"Our daughter." He replied, making his way down the steps into the lab. Once inside, he set her on her feet, shoved her into a chair, and handcuffed her to the nearest computer.

"What the fuck was that for?" She demanded, staring at hime wide-eyed.

"To keep you from running off." He said, turning to Zane. "What have you found out?"

"The flower that caused... this..." He gestured to Jo, who was struggling to slide her hand out of the handcuffs. "was a beta test put out downtown to see how people would react and- if any- would approach it. Everyone ignored it; Jo was the only one to approach."

"It's surrounded by a nearly transparent purple haze-" Henry added, handing Jack the folder.

"Not that again." Jack whined.

"Now just relax. It's the same purple haze, only it's a much weaker, lighter haze that doesn't affect the entire town. Just the person that gets near it. The haze, once transparent, and combined with the petals of the flower, can be used as a... an antedote, in case the town suffers something like the last mass purple haze again." Henry said, turning to Jo, who glared at her husband and stuck her tongue out at him.

"And it looks like Jo's going to be our first test subject." Grace said, joining them. She had the antedote in a small capped glass that she handed to Jack, who looked from it to her. "You give it to her. She trusts you. She loves you." Grace crossed her arms, nodding to Jo, who tried her hardest to get out of the chair without dragging the computer with her. She failed, as she once more landed on her butt on the chair.

"She loves all of you also-"

"Not me." Zane said, sticking his hands in his pockets and shrugging.

"But not like she loves you, Jack. You're her husband, after all. You share a life and a marriage and a daughter with her. She's never loved anyone like she's loved you before or since." Grace told him; he saw Zane turn from them. Even nine years later- four away and five here- he was still sore. Jack guessed that he always would be. He sighed and went to his wife, kneeling down in front of her.

"Jo, love?" She was slouched down, arms crossed over her chest, a pout on her pretty face. "Would you take this for me?" She glared at him. "Please?"

"Why?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Because I love you and want you back to normal-"

"I am normal."

"No, you're not. You're not the Jo I know. Not the Jo I love." He reached out, cradling her cheek to look into her eyes. She stared at him, never breaking her gaze. "Please, Jo." After a moment, he uncapped it and brought it to her lips, gently tipping her head back. The others watched silent as she finished the antedote, and when he pulled away, she choked, coughing in an attempt to catch her breath. Her face screwed up into a look of disgust, and she shoved him away, knocking the bottle from his hands. It shattered once it hit the ground. "Jo!"

She stuck her tongue out, in a vain attempt to exhale the antedote. When it didn't work, she swallowed, trying to keep herself from regurgetating the antedote up. From the looks that crossed her face, it must have tasted horrible. After several minutes, Grace said,

"Let's give her some space. It'll take a few minutes to kick in."

Slowly, everyone returned to their jobs, except for Jack, who stayed by her side. Twenty minutes later, she looked around, finally spotting the handcuffs that kept her attached to the computer. A look of confusion crossed her face, and she turned to Jack, struggling to say something that didn't sound stupid.

"Wh... why the hell am I handcuffed to a computer in the research lab?" She looked down at her outfit. "And... what the hell am I wearing?"

Jack looked up. "Jo?"

"Yeah. Who else would I be?" She asked slowly, looking at her husband with worry in her eyes. He relaxed, taking her face in his hands and kissing her.

"Oh thank god. It worked. The antedote worked." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, before kissing her again.

"What worked? Jack, you're worrying me." She said between kisses.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said, pressing his forehead to hers. She looked at him.

"Try me." He glanced at Grace and the others, who'd stopped what they were doing when Jo seemed to return to normal. After a moment, he nodded.

"Okay."

"Um... Jack, could you uncuff me first?" She asked as he stood.

"So I ran around town acting like a teenager, had wild sex with you at home and then told Zane about it over the phone before drinking the antedote Grace gave me. All because of some... flower?" She looked up at him as they walked out to the car. Fargo had decided that Jo needed some time off due to the mild mayhem she'd caused while on the plant. He'd sent Jack home as well, mainly because the sheriff had tried to kill the researchers after finding out that the botany lab had taken been the ones to set out the plant. He bit his lip and nodded.

"Yeah. Basically."

"What... kind of mayhem did I cause?" She asked, stopping and turning to him. He thought a minute.

"Just... you know what? I'll tell you when we get home."

"I was that bad?" Her eyebrows rose in surprise. He shook his head.

"No... no... not... really. Kind of. Not in bed though."

She stopped from getting into the passenger seat and turne to him. "In bed? Jack... did we..." He nodded.

"Yeah. You were... obviously letting out some teenage agression issues. I thought it'd die down after the first time, but by the fourth... it only got worse. Or, better, depending on how you look at it."

She buried her face in her hands. "I am so sorry." She said, raising her head. He chuckled softly and took her hands.

"It's okay. Not that I didn't like the teenage Jo, but... I'm so happy to have my Jo back." He whispered, brushing a wayward strand off her face. She let him kiss her, before climbing into the car. As they headed home, Jo glanced back at GD.

"Just another typical day in Eureka."