Jo stood with her back almost pressed against the wall of Henry's garage. Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes. She was so happy that Grace and Henry were getting their happily ever after. She really was but once again it was a slap in her face. This timeline sucked sometimes. She closed her eyes so she could pretend for a minute that things would work out for her too. That there really was hope for her, another timeline success story waiting to be told. Lost in thought she didn't hear someone walk up to her.
"Hey Jo." A hand came to rest on her arm. Turning quickly Jo saw that Fargo had come up next to her. A small smile tugged at her mouth,
"Hey Fargo, enjoying the party?"
He nodded and smiled at her. "This is a great thing you did for Henry and Grace, but I am more concerned about how you are doing? I know weddings must be a tough subject for you."
Jo felt a tear slide down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. Jo loved weddings; they were a beautiful statement of two peoples love. She had been planning her wedding in her head since she was a little girl. It was one of the truly girly things about her and something that no one knew about her.
"I'll survive. I always do." Another tear escaped her eyes, damn her tears, she hated letting anyone see her cry. Jo glanced at Zane, who was standing with Carter, and then her gaze slide back to Fargo. Who was she kidding she may not survive this and if she was going to she need the support if her friends. She might as well be honest with them.
"He's leaving Fargo. I worked my ass off to get him a pardon so he could achieve his dreams and he turns around packs his bags and walks away. Some things never change."
Fargo reached over and hugged her tightly. "I know he told me." He let her go and stepped back. "Ask him to stay."
Jo winced at Fargo. "I don't have the right to ask him that. If he stays because of me, he will resent me in the end. I just want him to be happy."
Fargo sighed. "So he can be happy but you can't. Look you are one of the most selfless people I know but man up Jo and tell him how you feel. If you want him to stay tell him, tell him you want more then just dessert and tell him you love him."
A small laugh escaped Jo's lips. Man up, Fargo had just told her to man up, that's ironic. "Wait dessert? What does that mean?"
Fargo smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "He'll know what you mean." Meeting her eyes and mustering as much seriousness as possible he said, "Jo you are my friend and as crazy as it seems, Zane is too. Both of you deserve to be happy, even if I still don't think he deserves you. So the two of you need to start talking or I will find a way to trap you two together again" Fargo took Jo's hand and squeezed it before letting go and then he turned and headed back in Holly's direction.
Jo closed her eyes again to think about what Fargo had said. When did he get so insightful? Did she love this Zane? This Zane, that Zane, her Zane… all the same Zane.
She did love this Zane, she never stopped, probably never would even if he left. If he left it would break her, maybe for good this time. So what was there left to lose if she asked for him to stay. Time to man up Lupo.
Zane had been staring at her again. He really needed to stop that but he was always drawn back to her. Jo was standing with her eyes closed on the other side of the room. He had taken a step to go talk to her when he saw Fargo touch her arm. Next he saw a tear fall from her eye. Now he really needed to get to her and stop Fargo from saying whatever it was that was making her cry because Lupo didn't cry.
A hand on Zane's shoulder stopped him from getting to his destination. Turning he saw Carter standing there and Zane felt Carter's hand tighten as he tried to step away.
"Thanks for coming tonight. It means a lot to everyone that you're made it. You know since we heard you were leaving Eureka." A sad half smile was on Carter's face but he continued. "Must be a great feeling getting your freedom back. Being able to go wherever you want, whenever you want, really liberating."
"Yeah, but it's not like anyone is asking me to stay." Zane retorted, a small amount resentment in his voice.
"Oh I know that's not true. Fargo asked"
Zane scoffed "Only because he wants dating advice and he should get that from someone else because the advice I gave him was terrible"
"And because after the whole launching yourselves into space thing, he considers you a friend. If you want to keep a tally on who wants you to stay you can add me, Allison, Henry, Grace, Holly and Vincent to the list. Eureka wouldn't be the same without you. We want you to stay and be apart of our community" Carter laughed and Zane smirked.
"Who says I want a community."
"Because we all are. But if you are holding out for Miss Josephina Lupo to ask you to stay don't hold your breath, you may pass out. If she thinks you really want to leave she probably ask you to stay no matter how much it is killing her to watch you leave."
"How do I know that she isn't just using me as a fill in for her Zane?" This was his biggest fear. He wanted more with Jo but he wanted her to want him for him. Zane knew he was the same guy just different memories but he didn't want to be a fill in.
Carter rolled his eyes, "Right because Jo risked her career on you by stopping Mansfield from taking you back to prison, or by working her butt off to get you a pardon because she thinks you're a substitute. She cares about this you too." Carter paused and flicked his eyes to where Fargo and Jo were talking. Both he and Zane saw Fargo hug her and then saw her smile.
"Look this last year has been really, really hard on her and maybe she keeps pushing you away to protect herself but trust me she's worth the effort it will take to get there. And if you try to leave town before you talk to her I will let some experiment loose and that will get the two of you stuck together again. It worked last time."
Zane laughed, he really wanted to hear that story but it would have to wait. Right now he had a more pressing question. "Carter? What happened in the other timeline that made you trust me?"
Carter grinned at the memory of Zane's first few days in Eureka. "Mrs. Spadaro. Someone made a donation of $3.1 million to her foundation after her accounts were hacked and her money was stolen."
Zane was dumbfounded. No one knew why he stole the money from the boarder patrol. How on earth had Carter found out? "How did you know?"
Laughing, Carter said "you know I actually am a pretty good cop. Oh and Zane. The ballet. Take her to the ballet and for your own sake don't make her feel stupid. Practical application is just as important as theoretical sometimes."
"Thanks for the tip" Zane turned and headed in Jo's direction. He wanted to stay and he wanted Jo the whole meal not just dessert. Now he just had to prove to her he was worth risking her heart again.