Zane was a free man. He ought to feel liberated, and he certainly felt relieved, but he didn't actually want to leave. Fargo, of all people, had been right. Jo had been the only thing keeping him there. He'd thought it was the chance to go to Titan, but once he had proved to everyone else that he could go, he realized the truth. He only wanted to go if she was with him.

But she didn't seem to care. He had thought, after joking around that he might leave and never see her again, that she would ask him to stay. But even after the spark that always exploded between the two of them had been quenched (for now), she had simply re-dressed in a hurry and waved a quick goodbye, saying something about Tiny and Henry and Grace. He'd been left, perplexed. She hadn't even seemed the tiniest bit upset.

I must be an idiot.

Obviously, he had misread Jo. Apparently, all she'd really wanted was the sex. But he just couldn't leave it at that. He wanted more.

Damn her for making me feel this way.

He almost felt bad for Fargo. Zane could tell he was falling for Holly, hard. He would be better off just keeping things simple. Or she'll just break your heart, he thought ruefully.

Zane had been keeping himself busy, doing anything and everything he could think of to prepare, so if he did decide to leave, he'd have nothing left to do but sign his NDA and be gone*.

He was in the middle of itemizing his lab equipment when Carter came in, looking cranky and disheveled.

"Hey Zane, you busy?"

"Hey Sheriff, what's up? Something wrong?"

"No, everything's fine now… Well," he muttered, "not completely fine, but nothing you have to worry about."

Zane looked at him, confused, and Carter shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts.

"Jo was in the agricultural lab with Grace and Dr. Leonardo, and there was an incident with some methane, or…or something orange, and then the plants started attacking, and…"

"Whoa, whoa…" Zane interjected. "Is she okay?"

Carter nodded. "Yes, the plants absorbed the gas, they just got a little…clingy. She's in her office now, being interviewed by freaking Dr. Phil, but she shouldn't be long."

Zane raised his eyebrows. "Uh…Huh."

Dr. Phil?

"Oh, and could you maybe talk to her about toning down her Martha Stewart a little? Grace is getting overwhelmed."

Martha Stewart? What the hell? "Uh, sure."

Zane had no idea what that had been all about, but if Jo had been attacked in any way, he couldn't just leave. Maybe she didn't care, but he did, despite his anger. He'd just make sure she was okay and then tell her he was leaving for real. And then I'll be gone by morning. He felt sick.

He walked determinedly, passing a tiny bald man who was busy scribbling madly in a notebook. Zane slowed down, looking at him quizzically, before noticing a small sound coming from inside Jo's office. He steeled himself for the final goodbye, poked his head through the door, and lost all of his resolve the moment he saw her.

She was holding a wedding dress to herself, humming softly, looking for all the world like a little girl playing dress-up.

Jo.

With a wedding dress.

Looking happy.

Jo, looking happy, with a freaking wedding dress.

His mind raced with what it could mean and his heart leapt with hope. Maybe Jo wasn't so heartless, after all. He fought to keep his face under control as he made his presence known. Act casual.

"New uniform?" he asked, unable to keep the teasing out of his voice.

His eyes narrowed as he watched her scramble to put the dress away and fight for excuses.

"No! I was um… I was ah, I was helping Grace plan her wedding."

Right, he thought skeptically, she's lying through her teeth. Zane looked around the room. "Hmmm... She doesn't seem to be here."

"Ah, but you're still here."

"I heard you had a close call at the agi lab. So do you need anything? Like a rake, or some weed killer?"

She smiled at him and he couldn't fight back the smile that appeared on his own face, his confidence rising.

"No, I'm…I'm good."

"Good." His eyes roamed over her, stopping at her lips, and the spark was there again. He couldn't resist her. "Well, I guess this is goodbye then."

"Yeah. I…"

He grinned, watching her get flustered. "Again."

She nodded her head, grinning in return, "Yeah, I guess so."

He leaned in closer, his smile widening as they continued their charade. He knew it wasn't really goodbye. And she knew too.

And then his lips were on hers and the spark ignited.

Despite their heated start, they took their time, enjoying the moment. But all too soon, the moment was over and Jo was hurriedly getting dressed again, cleaning her office of the mess they'd just made. His heart sank a little. Why was she always in a hurry?

"Leaving so soon?"

"Well, apparently, you're in no rush to go anywhere."

That was true. "Well, turns out I like saying goodbye to you." He grinned at her, hoping to distract her. "Want to say it again?"

"Zane, what are you waiting for? A farewell party?"

I'm waiting for you, JoJo.

"Actually, I prefer private parties."

"Uh huh."

He looked at her, trying to make her understand, "Seriously. I like this. Quiet and simple. Just me and you."

And then the damn comm system interrupted. Code 4 Emergency Response Activated.

Jo looked at him apologetically. "Party's over."

She tossed his shirt to him as he watched her go, off to save the day again. She still hadn't asked him to stay, but they both knew he wasn't going anywhere. And he'd never forget how she'd looked with that dress. He was sure she'd been dreaming of her own wedding. He felt so stupid. She'd probably been dreaming of her wedding, their wedding, since Founder's Day. A dream she'd had to give up. But just like going into space, he could help her make this dream a reality. He grinned, shaking his head a little in shock, as he realized what he was thinking. Marriage. To Jo Lupo. Who'd have thought?

He got dressed and waited in her office until the Code 4 was lifted. He'd also realized that he had some things to say to Fargo, as his advice had been borne out of hurt and anger. And stupidity. So as soon as he'd heard the all-clear, he had found Fargo and told him he'd been wrong. And then he received a text from Jo.

Your presence is requested at Henry's garage.

Zane walked into the garage and hardly recognized the place. It was a wedding wonderland, everything covered in lights and white stuff that had a name he was sure only girls knew. Jo was not there, but Dr. Blake stepped forward to greet him.

"Zane, hi! Thanks for coming."

"What's going on?" he asked, as she led him toward the back of the garage and the small group of people standing there.

She smiled at him. "Grace and Henry are renewing their vows. Jo decided to surprise them."

Zane chuckled to himself. Martha Stewart. No wonder she'd been rushing around all day. He looked around the room again, in awe at what she'd managed to do between saving the town and saying "goodbye" to him. He saw Holly and Fargo smiling together and waved at them before Vincent came rushing up to him.

"Jo did an amazing job, didn't she? It's so romantic."

"Yeah," Zane responded, smiling, "She's certainly full of surprises."

Sheriff Carter then started shushing everyone as Dr. Blake turned out the lights. Zane stood happily in the dark as he heard the sounds of a car parking outside, then two doors shutting, and then Jo's voice getting louder as she walked toward the door. The lights came on, and his eyes lit up as he saw her practically glowing with happiness for her two friends. God, she's amazing. He watched the happy couple walk by, toward Carter and Dr. Blake, and then turned toward Jo as she moved to stand next to him.

"You know, you gotta hand it to them, how they made it all work out."

"Yeah, I guess that proves it's possible."

He smiled at her, nodding. We can prove it, too, he thought. That's what we're good at.

Suddenly the tiny man he'd seen leaving Jo's office showed up and she was ushering him away to officiate the wedding. Vincent leaned over, whispering, "Who's that?"

"Apparently, it's a dwarven Dr. Phil." He grinned and Vincent covered his mouth, stifling a laugh, as Jo returned.

"Enjoying yourselves?" she asked.

"Always," he said jovially, "Vincent and I were just pondering the identity of your tiny friend, there."

She snorted, "Warren Hughes. He's a relationship auditor. He wanted to know if Jack and Allison had been keeping their personal relationship, ah, out of their business relationship." She smirked at Zane and his expression turned mischievous.

He leaned over toward her, speaking in a low voice. "Umm…we're not being audited, too, are we?"

She pressed her lips together, trying to control her mirth, and simply shook her head.

"Good," he said, "so I'll see you in your office tomorrow, then? For some, ah, business? Or maybe another goodbye."

He laughed as she smacked his arm and then they settled down as the wedding began.

He had to admit, it was the best wedding he'd been to. It was small and simple, and he was standing next to Jo. And even if she wanted something big and extravagant one day, he was pretty sure she was the only woman he'd put up with it for, just to see that look on her face again. He smiled at her as he listened to the words, and then reached out and grabbed her hand.

With respect for the past, joy in the present, and commitment to the future. Together forever.

The End

Author's note: *NDA = non-disclosure agreement. I would have written it out, but Zane would have used the acronym, so I did too.

I wrote this under the assumption that somehow Jo just knew that Zane wasn't leaving. Otherwise I just can't explain her apparent nonchalance throughout the episode. She seemed more worried about the wedding than about Zane, so I went with it. I would write the episode from her point of view, but I think it would just be too hard (she was so freaking busy!), and frankly, I'm not sure I could do it. There's a challenge for someone else though ;)

And I'm sure I've written Zane, once again, to be far more committed and sappy than what the writer's have planned, but I just can't help it. Besides, we all need a little bit of sappy right now, I think. Hope you enjoyed. Maybe if I'm feeling really inspired, I'll add a reception scene… but I don't have any plans.