Doubts set in

"Do you routinely think the worst of me?" Zane rolled his eyes, then added, sarcasm edging his tone, "Oh, wait, yes, you do. Get a grip, Lupo. I do just fine without drugs, thanks."

"What are they?" the sergeant demanded, pushing himself off the ground and rising to his feet.

Zane didn't stop him. He held out the bottle so the sergeant could take a closer look. "Painkillers. They won't hurt you, but they also cause short-term memory loss. Take one and you'll forget the last couple of hours ever happened."

"You want us to swallow some magic pills?"*

Zane shrugged. "Or we can march you back to your base with your hands on your heads and tell the whole story to your superior officers. I wish I thought that would go well, but I'm pretty sure it means we can all kiss the future good-bye. And not just because of the reprimands in your records when they find out a teenage girl took you out." No harm in reinforcing the humiliation factor, Zane thought. It was one more reason the soldiers might decide to keep their secret.

The sergeant shook his head, wincing. "This is crazy."

"Yeah," Zane agreed.

Behind them, Jo snorted and muttered, "Welcome to Eureka."

The two other soldiers were sitting up as the sergeant looked at Jo. "You're a captain? And an Army Ranger?"

"In the 21st century, I'm Director of Security for Global Dynamics. It's a multi-billion dollar research facility," she replied. "We've come a long way since your time."

Zane looked at her, trying to see her as a stranger, as the sergeant would. As usual, she was dressed all in black, her long dark hair pulled back in a tight ponytail high on her head, her expression stern, but her hands looking too small and delicate for the weapons she held.

"And those kids are yours?" The sergeant looked from Jo to Zane and back again. "You don't look old enough and you sure don't sound married."

"They will be ours," Zane answered as Jo said, "It's a long story."

Convincing the soldiers wasn't easy. They muttered among themselves for a while, arguing about Grant and the technology they'd seen in the bunker, casting wary eyes Jo's way. But eventually, Zane headed off deeper into the forest with the three men, leaving Jo behind at the bunker with the girls.

"You're in a lot of pain," he'd said sympathetically to the soldier with the broken nose and the one limping. "Why don't you go ahead and take the painkillers now?" They'd looked skeptical, but they'd done it, and now they were cheerfully wandering, even as darkness fell.

"All right," Zane finally said. "This is far enough that the bunker should be secure. I'll head back now."

The sergeant's mouth tightened. "This plan feels damn shaky to me. How can I be sure my men will stay safe if I'm drugged, too? And if I lose my memory—"

"Yeah, that part of the plan sucks," Zane interrupted him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter to Jo's father and the list of stocks. "Always did. But I never intended for you to forget. You get to keep your memories, because I need you to deliver this letter. Not yet, but in the future. And if you play your cards right, this list of companies will make you a rich man."

As he headed back to the bunker, Zane felt conflicted. He ought to feel guilty, he knew. He'd made an entirely selfish choice to risk the timeline. But his future self had done the same thing and it worked out really well. And he might need the help.

But did he really want it?

Jo didn't trust him. Just the thought of her accusations had him simmering, a slow burn of anger tensing his shoulders. She thought he could be a cold-blooded murderer. Or a rapist. That was so whacked. What the hell had he done to deserve that?

And how could they possibly have a relationship—much less a long, happy partnership—if she thought so little of him?

Maybe their future was already lost.

Back at the bunker, Jo was sitting, leaning against the wall, her head tilted back. The overhead lights were out, but the lantern-style flashlight they'd brought with them sat next to her, its bright light casting strange shadows around the mostly empty room. The girls were nowhere in sight.

Zane thought she might be asleep, but she let her head drop down and opened her eyes as he closed the door behind him.

"Everything okay?" she asked, her voice husky.

"Yeah. Here?"

She nodded. "The girls are all asleep in the other room. I saw that you'd set up a sleeping bag in there."

He waited but she didn't say anything more, no biting comments on the diapers or acidic remarks about his trip to the future. "You didn't have to wait up for me," Zane said, his tone cool. "It's late."

She sighed, but made no move to get up. "Yeah."

"You need your sleep. Tomorrow's likely to be a long day."

"Yeah." She rubbed her palms against the tops of her legs, but still didn't move.

A silence grew and spread, filling the room, unspoken words looming between them.

"I should get something to eat," Zane finally said. Some of the partially eaten MREs from earlier were stacked against the wall. He'd dig through Caiti's leftovers and find something to fill him up. It would be better than standing here wondering what Jo wanted from him.

"Or you could just yell at me," Jo suggested. "I hate it when you do this."

"Do what?" he asked.

She pushed herself to her feet. "I know you're angry. You always try to act like you're not upset when you are, but I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were." His shoulders had tightened even more and he could feel the tension in his neck and jaw as he tried not to glare at her.

"You've thought it plenty of times."

"Oh, you can read minds now?" He walked over to the MREs and started rummaging through them, fuming silently. He didn't think Jo was stupid. She usually surprised him with her insight. Sure, she didn't know nearly as much about science as the average Eurekan, but that was just knowledge.

He picked up one of the spicy penne pasta meals. Caiti, both Caitis, had shuddered with delicate disdain at the sauce, but it ought to be decent cold. Better than the shredded beef, anyway.

He should keep his mouth shut, eat his food, get some sleep. Arguing with her was pointless. But he couldn't help himself. "Is that like an extra special bonus skill you get when you wind up in an alternate universe one too many times?"

She laughed.

The surprise had him turning in her direction.

"Sorry." She waved a hand in the air as if erasing an imaginary data screen. She laughed again and scrubbed her hands across her face, as if trying to wipe away exhaustion. "Sorry, I just… " She bit her lip.

Zane dropped his gaze to his food, resisting the flush of heat the sight of her perfect teeth tugging into the lovely fullness inspired, and sat down on the floor. Eat, sleep, rinse, repeat, this whole thing would be over soon. "It's okay."

"No, it's not. I am sorry, Zane. I should have said that first. Right away. When you walked in the door." She spread her hands. Reluctantly, he let himself look up at her. She smiled at him, but even in the dim light, he could see that it didn't reach her eyes. In fact, now that he was paying attention, she looked as unhappy as he'd ever seen her.

"It's hard. I don't know whether I know you really well or not at all. You were—we were… and then we weren't. And you hated me."

"I never hated you." His objection was immediate, automatic.

"As good as."

Zane raised an eyebrow. If he'd hated her, he'd have done a hell of a lot worse than the stupid pranks he'd pulled to get her attention. He'd never admit that to her, and it was probably the first time he'd admitted it to himself, but life in Eureka was always more fun when Lupo paid attention to him. The place would have been boring as hell without her sarcastic comments and bossy side.

"All right, maybe not hated," she conceded.

"Definitely not." He took a bite of the pasta. Not good but not bad, either.

"But it's…"

"Complicated?" he offered.

"An understatement."

"So tell me," he said. "I want to know. We were something to each other, something that looks pretty damn amazing."

"Tell you what?"

He gestured at the floor as if inviting her to sit. "Everything."

*Indeed, it would be magic. But let's call it Eureka magic. Real roofies start taking effect after they're administered and do not wipe out memories from before you've swallowed them.

A/N: I was going to apologize for the slow update, but that would be silly given when I started writing this story. Still, I do intend to finish it someday soon! Thanks for reading and especially for reviewing!