Caught Up In the Moment

Rifiuto: Non Miriena

Summary: She knew that clearing the air would only result in her heart getting broken. But she took that chance anyway. The conversation between Jo and Zane that we didn't see at the end of Season 3, episode 7. Inspired by the sight of Jo and Zane being back to back when the camera pans towards Zoe and Fargo after Carter enters at the end of the episode.

"It's cool, Jo. It was a crisis. You were... caught up in the moment." She licked her lips.

"No, I... I... I wasn't." He furrowed a brow, leaning on the table towards her.

"What... do you mean that you weren't caught up in the moment?" She swallowed, it was now or never.

"I..." She glanced behind her, and stepped closer. "Look, Zane, this... this is... this is the longest relationship I've ever been in-"

He nodded, and then stopped, "Wait, are you saying-" He thought a moment. "We're just... having fun. It doesn't mean anything."

His bright blue eyes caught the hurt that flashed across her face, and she turned away, gathering her courage. Her dark eyes darted towards the bandages on his wrists, and after a moment, she reached out, running her fingers over the wrappings before moving down to caress his hands. He made no move to push her off, nor to move away from her; instead, he itched to take her hands in his and play with her fingers.

"Hey, Jo, you want-" Zane saw and heard her breath catch as the blonde teen realized that she'd walked in on a tense moment between the couple. He locked eyes brieftly with Zoe, before the teenager backtracked, turning and fleeing back to her friends once she was far enough away. As soon as Zane was sure Zoe was within the crowd, he turned back to Jo. The ravenhead said nothing; her dark eyes slowly moved up from his hands to his face, and Zane could see the tears beginning to mist her vision.

"Jo-" She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to calm the nervous beat of her heart. The young physcist instantly hated himself for making her tear up, making her cry. He hadn't meant to hurt her, but...

But it's better if you don't get attached. End the relationship now, and you can walk away clean. No harm, no foul.

"Jo, what are you saying?" He asked slowly, watching her face. A myraid of emotions crossed her features, the tears gathering in her eyes making her all the more beautiful than she'd been when they'd first met in the sheriff's office. She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, blinking frantically at the tears in her eyes. Once she was certain her tears had vanished with every blink, she met his blue gaze.

God, when he looked at her with those beautiful baby blues-

She mentally shook her head. No, this wasn't the time to lose her nerve. This wasn't the time to fall into his kiss, his arms, his bed...

You have to tell him the truth. Tell him that... that it wasn't an 'in the moment' type of thing. That it... that it felt real.

A moment passed, before she cleared her throat. She knew that clearing the air would only result in her heart getting broken.

"I... Zane, look... I've never... never been very good at this... whole... relationship thing, but... but I... honestly, I... I hope I'm doing it... at least... somewhat right."

Why, why did she have to get tongue tied whenever she was around him?

Zane was silent, waiting for her to continue. What are you, some damn schoolgirl with a crush on the teacher?

Her eyes flicked downwards to his hands, and she pulled away, dropping her hands by her sides. Zane caught the sudden movement, but didn't move to stop her. Suddenly, she got quiet, as though mulling over her words. He waited. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him.

"Zane, I... I want to make this... relationship work. I want us to... to work. I like you, a lot. More than a lot. In fact I... think, if we... if we can, we can make this... relationship work, and I mean really work... Serious type work... I mean, we... we work so well together, we have fun, why can't we take this to the next level? I mean, that's basically a sexual relationship, that- if you remember correctly- we already have. We've been sleeping together for the last year and a half, hell, we even know each others' post-sex rituals- and rocky road only leads straight back to the bedroom for us. I've never... felt sparks with anyone like I feel with you."

She turned back to his hands, reaching out to take his hands in hers. Her small fingers moved slowly over the bandages on his wrists, gently brushing over the tender skin beneath the bandages. He winced slightly, though whether it was from the burns or their conversation, she couldn't be sure. His words rushed back into her head as she stared at the white against his wrists. Come on, Josefina, don't go all serious on me now.

She should have known. The look in his eyes when she'd replied were clue enough, but she'd been too caught up in being in his arms, of tasting his lips on hers, of feeling her body against his, that she hadn't thought that she'd left her heart exposed. Open, bleeding, raw, it now lay on the table between them, struggling to beat as she waited for his reply. She longed to kiss him, to feel that familiar, safe comfort she'd been wrapped in back in his lab in Global.

"Zane? I... I guess, what I'm trying to say is that... I want to take this... to the next level. I... I think we should... if we're... taking this relationship seriously, then... I think we should... make it official." She reached out, running one finger hesitantly over his bandages. "I want to make it official. I mean, boyfriend girlfriend official."

She held her breath, waiting. A moment passed, before he stepped back, holding his hands up. He struggled to say something, but he couldn't find the words. Shaking his head, he instead turned away from her, hooking his thumbs into his pockets. She took a deep breath, forcing the tears away, before she nodded, turning away from him. Through the throng of people, she saw Carter enter, saw everyone rush to thank him, and after a moment, she crossed her arms, turning her gaze from the door, preferring instead to focus on the decorations. Neither noticed as Lexi Carter announced that Henry had won, neither heard Henry's acceptance speech, nor did they join in the applause. Instead, Jo pushed away from the table and rushed from the Cafe during the applause, hiding the tears in her eyes as she headed into the night.

It's too late.

But she took that chance anyway.