Jo was sitting at her desk, finishing her false report about the conversion test. Her hands were still shaking from the incident. Allison had suggested she take the day off to recover, but Jo had reassured Allison she was fit for work. And after a morning this that, the rest of the day was almost dead.
Jo's eyes drifted to the flash drive Carter had given her when she left the infirmary. He'd said they were found in Zane's backpack. At first, Jo wanted to throw it away. She was still dealing with the aftermath of the last time travel incident. Jo was sure she could handle more.
Still. Jo picked up the flash drive and inserted it into her computer. The drive held only one file. A video file. Jo double clicked the file and watched the screen.
Zane's face appeared on her screen. Jo suddenly felt uneasy watching him after what had happed this morning.
"Zane, if you're watching this message, then chances are the test run of our conversion unit was successful. I can image this is a little strange to have you future…well old future self, talk to you. But the things I'm telling you are things you need to hear."
Jo leaned forward to stop the video. She shook her head. Leave it to carter to deliver the wrong drive.
"If you haven't figured it out by now or Jack hasn't told you, I came here from the year 2015. Five years in a future where…things are different."
Zane's statement caused Jo paused. She looked up at the screen.
"Where Eureka is different. In my timeline, during the test, things went wrong. During the test, the conversion input was half of what it should have been. As a result, the positronic lightning took out GD's power, causing a complete evacuation of the building. But I stayed behind to try to fix it.
"Lupo came after, trying o save my dumb ass. But I wouldn't leave until I'd set the converter right. As Lupo and I were leaving, I was hit by the lightning. It took out my leg. Jo tried to come back for me, but she was hit too. She was left with a hole in her chest, and she died in my arms.
Jo leaned her mouth against her hand.
"After Jo died, I couldn't deal with the fact that she died because I was too stubborn to get out of GD. The guilt ate at me inside to the point where I committed myself to an institution to deal with it. But while I was there, I figured out the way to save her. That's why I came back five years. I came back to save her. Before the accident, I never wanted to admit what kind of an impact Jo's had on my life. And I know you think the same, so don't try to deny it. But I watched the life drain from Jo in seconds. Then she was gone. When Jo died, she took a part of me with her. She took a part of Eureka with her. I came back to keep Jo from dying in the accident. To keep me from existing, because it isn't worth living here without her.
"I have plenty of regrets, but none that have to do with going back to save her. A big one is all the arguing with her in the days that led to her death. Just the thought of her dying, thinking that I thought she was a hardass bitch you loved to make my life hell kills me. But even though Jo really is a hardass, there's something beneath it. Something that is connected to my grandmother's ring. Looking back, I wished I hadn't pushed her so hard for an answer. I know now that's the reason she was avoiding me all the time.
Zane's face blurred behind Jo's tearful eyes. She wiped them quickly.
"My advice to you, Zane. Don't push her too hard. She's just doing her job and you know she does it damn well. She never told me what we were to each other, but maybe she'll tell you with time. And…tell her how you feel. I lost her before I could tell her that I love her. Don't screw up and make the same mistake Donovan.
"Good luck to you and uh…hopefully you won't see me." Zane's face faded from her screen. The security footage appeared on Jo's computer. Jo quickly closed the video. After what she'd seen this morning, she couldn't bear to watch it again. Even if she was the one who died.
Jo took a deep breath. She dried her eyes and removed the flash drive from her computer. Jo turned her chair back to her desk. As Jo turned, she glanced up. Jo did a double take and froze.
Zane was leaning in the doorway of her office. Jo took another deep breath and looked at her desk.
"I take you got y message?" Zane asked.
Jo nodded. She set Zane's flash drive on her desk. "Carter must've mixed them up."
Zane walked to Jo's desk and took a seat. "Yeah that's not surprising. I got yours."
Jo said nothing.
Zane nodded. "Guess talking about what he said is out of the question then. I'm heading out early, so I wanted to drop this off." He dropped the other flash drive on the desk. Zane picked up his and rose from the chair. Then Zane lightly kissed Jo's head.
Jo froze. She heard him turned form her desk and walk out the door. Her eyes turned to the flash drive. The flash drive was just like the last one, only there was a ring around it. The engagement ring. Jo looked up quickly and gasped. Zane was still in the doorway.
"Technically that ring isn't mine." Zane explained.
Jo looked back at the ring and picked it up.
"I don't know how you got that ring, Jojo, but you can tell when you're ready." Zane said. Then he turned and left her office.
Jo held the in her fingers. She slipped it over her ring finger on her right hand. The cool, foreign, metal glided over her finger, fitting perfectly. Jo smiled sadly. She closed her had into a tight fist and sighed shakily. Suddenly nothing made sense to her anymore.