Rifiuto: Non Miriena

"Come on, Jojo, wake up. Wake up for me. You can't do this, you can't leave us..."

The voice was the first thing she began to register... that nickname... his nickname...

"Come on, Jojo, please."

Her eyes slowly began to open against the harsh light of the infirmary lights, and after several minutes, a face swam into view. Her heart skipped a beat, and she gave him a tiny smile, which he returned. Her throat felt raw, scratchy, but she managed to choke out, "Evan."

He jumped back, as though hit by lightning. Blue eyes flashed first with confusion and then filled with tears, and he was soon led back to the bed beside hers.

"Jo. Jo, look at me." She turned her head, slowly, and hissed in pain. Every part of her body was in pain, it felt as though she'd been electrocuted-

Because she had been. By the device that idiot Parrish had created.

"A... Allison?" The doctor gave her a warm smile.

"Welcome back." She swallowed.

"Where is he?"

"Who? Zane? He's right there." She nodded towards the bed beside Jo's, and the woman slowly turned to meet Zane's eyes. He looked like Evan, sounded like him, but-

"No... Evan." Jo replied, turning back to Allison.

"Um... Jo?" Carter stepped over to her, stopping at the foot of the bed, hands on his hips. "Who's Evan?"

Only Grace knew who she was refering to when she said,

"My husband."

Carter started, eyes wide. He glanced at the others; Zane cringed, but kept quiet. "Um... did... did you just say..." But Grace cut him off, clearing her throat.

"Evan isn't here, Jo. He's in Vancouver. We haven't... gotten ahold of him yet. We weren't sure..." She nodded, understanding.

"Whoa, wait! How do you know who she's talking about?" Carter asked, turning on Grace.

"Carter! Grace is from this timeline! We are the ones who infringed on this timeline!" The other woman sighed, looking around at the others, thankful as Allison defended her. The time travelers waited, four of them in confusion, one in calm. Eventually, she licked her lips, saying,

"I know who she's talking about because... I've met him."

"What do you mean met him? Grace, met who?" Henry asked; Grace turned to her husband.

"Evan Cross. He's a... software inventor who owns a million dollar company, called Cross Photonics, in Vancouver. He and Jo were-"

"Childhood sweethearts." Jo cut in, voice soft. She swallowed against the cotton feeling in her throat. "We... met when we were children and... kept in touch. He... asked me to marry him when we were... fourteen... got married at sixteen... built Cross Photonics from the ground up, we're business partners, had Vanessa at... eighteen..."

"Whoa, back up! You have a kid?" Carter cried. Jo nodded.

"Yes. A daughter. Vanessa Margaret. She's... thirteen. Lives in Vancouver with her dad. When I... came down to Eureka, I had to leave my family behind. Most painful choice I've ever had to make." Tears glistened in her eyes and slid down her cheeks. "Where is he? Is he coming here? Allison? I want Evan. I want my husband. Please."

Fargo glanced at the others, before going to Jo and taking her hand. "I'll go make a call. Just sit tight." She gave him a warm smile, before he left to do as he'd promised. Once Fargo was gone, everyone turned back to Jo and Zane. Zane had been oddly quiet during Jo's story; he didn't say anything when Fargo offered to make a call on Jo's behalf.

"Did... does Zane know?" Carter asked.

"I know, Carter. Trust me, I... I know a great deal about... Jo's life before Eureka." Everyone took the answers silent, and eventually, the others left, leaving the pair to sleep. She turned onto her side, her body groaning in pain; although pain like this was nothing compared to the hell she'd gone through during childbirth. Her dark eyes met Zane's in the night, and she sighed.

"I... I'm sorry, Zane." He nodded, but didn't respond. Instead, he reached out; she glanced at his hand, before reaching out and taking it in hers. The image of their hands, linking them across beds, was the last thing she saw before she fell asleep...

"I missed you, Jojo."

Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up. It took several minutes for her to get her bearings, but then she remembered that she was in Cafe Diem, curled up on the sofa next to Zane. He was looking through something on his tablet, but looked up when she sat up. "You okay?" She nodded, sitting up and scooting to the edge of the sofa.

"Yeah, I.. I'm fine." And then she got up, grabbing her cup and making for the door. Sighing, Zane got up and followed. This was the fourth time in the last three weeks since getting out of the infirmary that she'd hightailed it out of sight after waking up in a cold sweat. They didn't talk about what they'd experienced while unconscious, to neither their friends, nor each other, though both knew that it was weighing heavily on their minds. Zane hadn't told Jo that he'd heard her call out for her husband as she'd awoken in the infirmary; he was instead, taking this as punishment for getting too close.

"Do you want to... talk about it?" He asked, grabbing her hand as they headed across the green. She shook her head, eyes tearing up at the sight of children playing as they neared her house.

"No. I... I just want to forge-" But she stopped, something having caught her eye.

"Jojo? What's wrong?" She didn't reply, instead, she pulled away from Zane, stepping forward to get a better look. He followed her gaze, in time to see a car parked in front of her rebuilt home; someone was climbing out of the car. A young girl, about... thirteen, and minutes later, her father...

She inhaled sharply. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be.

Ever since she'd witnessed that memory of the family get together, she'd felt compelled to seek them out. He was her husband, after all, and the child her daughter.

No matter the timeline.

"It's them." She whispered, glancing at Zane, tears in her eyes. "It's Evan and Vanessa."