Rifiuto: Non Miriena

Thanks to Ghostrider for reviewing 31.

The bell jangled over the door to Cafe Diem. Allison and Zane looked up to see Jo and Jack enter. They slipped into a table in the corner, as four kids joined them. By the time their coffee arrived, a fifth child- a teenager of about seventeen- who slid in a chair next to Jo. She gave the older woman a quick kiss on the cheek, and then settled down beside her.

Zane turned back to Allison, who was listening to their six-year-old daughter tell a story, as her thirteen-year-old brother rolled his eyes. Zane sipped his coffee; he couldn't stop himself from watching the couple across the way. Even from this distance, he could tell Jo was still her same beautiful self. Everyone looked up as Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" broke out in the cafe. Quickly, the second oldest daughter lowered the volume on her tablet, and sunk low in her seat. Jack rolled his eyes. Vin brought breakfast for them, and he stopped and chatted with Jack and Jo for several minutes. When he returned to work, Jo looked up, to see two people slip into the cafe. Her eyes widened, and she got up.

"Mommy? What is it?"

"Jojo? Is something-" Everyone turned to watch. Slowly, Jo made her way towards the older man, her mouth open in shock. It took several minutes for her to find her voice, but when she did, all she could choke out was,

"Nick?"

The first man gave her a weary smile, "Hey Joey." Tears pricked at her eyes and she choked out a gasp of surprise. A moment of stunned silence filled the cafe before she rushed towards the man and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. When he set her back on her feet, he held her at arms' length and stared at her. "Joey... our little Joey, all grown up..." He wrapped her in a hug, kissing her forehead. When she pulled away, she turned to the other man, who was watching her with a sniper's eye. She bit her lip, afraid to speak.

"Davie?" He chuckled softly, nodding.

"I can't believe it's really you." She went to him, throwing her arms around his neck. It had been years since she'd seen her brothers- all three had been deployed, two in the Army, one in the Navy- and she was finally experiencing the family reunion she'd so dreamed about. Eventually, she pulled away from her brother and quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"So what have you been up to, Joey?" Nick asked, reaching up to tug on her ponytail. She shrugged.

"Oh the usual. Saving Eureka from near-fatal disaster... getting married, having babies... being a wife and a mother-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down." David said. "Married? Babies? Say it isn't so, Joey." He teased. She nodded.

"Yeah." Then, she turned and grabbed Jack's hand, pulling him towards her brothers. "Jack, these are my brothers- Nick and Davie. And this is my husband, Jack Carter."

"Nice to meet you both." Jack said.

"So you're the man that's corrupted our little sister with marriage and children." Nick said, giving the sheriff a grin. "I never thought I'd see the day." Jo rolled her eyes as Jack wrapped his arms around her.

"Kids?" Jo called softly. "Come meet your uncles."

Everyone in the cafe watched as their head of security was reunited with the two brothers she so dearly loved. Once they all settled down at the table, Jo asked,

"Where's Alex?" She watched her brothers share worried glances. It was David that spoke next.

"Joey, we have something to tell you. Is there somewhere private we can go?"

She took a seat on the sofa as Naill shut the door, and then joined his mother on the sofa.

"What did you want to tell me?" Jo asked, looking from one brother to the other. "Is this about Alex? Is he late? Did he miss his flight?" Neither said anything. Worry and fear began to fill her features, as she again looked back and forth between her brothers. "He is... okay, isn't he?" She asked, blinking back tears. "He.. Alex... he's just... playing a game, right? Like he used to, when we were kids, right?" She looked first to her older brother. "Nick?" When he didn't reply, she turned to her middle brother. "Davie?"

Gently, he took her hand, twisting her wedding ring. He took a deep breath. "Joey..." After a moment, he raised his eyes to hers. "Alex was killed." Her eyes widened.

"H..." She bit her lip to keep from crying.

"He was... in the market square with his wife, after training some of the Afgan troops with his regiment, and a suicide bomber... walked into the square... and blew himself up." Jo pulled away from her brother, shaking her head.

"No. Not Alex..." Jack, who had been listening from the kitchen, went to the sofa and reached down, squeezing his wife's shoulder. At the sudden contact, she jumped to her feet. "I... I have to go to GD. I... I'm late for work." She grabbed her jacket, pulling it on as she went to the door. "Come on kids, you're going to be late..."

"Jojo." She ignored Jack, tightening her ponytail and grabbing the car keys.

"Fargo needs me to go through evaluations for new members of my team... I told him I'd get right on it..."

"Jojo."

"I can't slump off on a job, that's not what I do-"

"Jo!" She fumbled for the door, unable to see for the tears in her eyes. After a moment, she slid to the floor, taking a deep breath. Jack rushed over and knelt beside her. "Jojo, you don't have to go to work. You just lost your brother-" She opened her eyes, staring at her husband for several minutes before standing and grabbing the door.

"I need to get those evaluations done for Fargo." And without a backwards glance, she rushed from the house.