Part 2. Let the fluff drowning commence.

When they reached the entrance to the park, Zane suddenly stepped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. "I have to blindfold you."

She raised her eyebrows and she swore he giggled. "Such a dirty mind, JoJo!" He pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket and began wrapping it over her eyes. She felt his breathe on her ear and shivered. "We're done with all of that, remember?" His voice was low and soft. "Your rules, not mine."

Before she could punch him or kiss him senseless (she wasn't sure which she wanted to do more, at the moment), he was gently guiding her forward, warm hands on her shoulders.

He led her up a grassy hill, telling her when it was getting steeper or when they were about to change direction, until the ground leveled out and he slowed her to a stop. She heard a soft buzzing sound, lasting only a second, and then Zane slid the blindfold off.

She let out a small gasp and her hands moved over her mouth in surprise.

There were flowers everywhere. Every kind she could imagine, from elegant roses to wild daisies, all strewn about the ground and somehow decorating the surrounding trees. In the middle of it all was a large blanket, checkered red and white, and what looked like a picnic basket.

She looked at Zane, who was grinning from ear to ear. "You did all of this?" she asked in a small voice.

"Just for you, JoJo."

"But…why?" she blurted out.

Zane's eyebrows furrowed as he frowned at her. "What d'you mean, why? This is a date, right? You know…I try to impress you and show you a good time, you fall hopelessly in love with me…" he trailed off when he didn't get a laugh out of her. "Surely I tried to impress you, you know, before…"

She walked forward and bent to pick up a yellow tulip lying at the edge of the flower carpet. She fidgeted with it for a moment before turning toward him. She looked up at him and unbidden, a single tear fell down her cheek. "You never tried this hard before." God, I can't believe I'm crying. Damn it Jo, pull it together. She reached her hand up to wipe away the tear, but Zane reached forward and beat her to it. His thumb was rough and warm. "Well, then I was really dumb," he said. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the blanket. "Now, come on. Let's get to the part where you have fun and fall hopelessly in love with me." She laughed, relieved that he hadn't lingered on her emotions, and let him lead her. Too late, she thought.

When they reached the edge of the blanket, she let go of his hand so she could remove her boots. She pulled off her socks next, crawled onto the soft blanket and lay on her back, eyes closed, wriggling her toes in the sun. She heard Zane chuckle and a moment later he was lying beside her. She peeked down at his feet and they were bare. She smiled. "This is really nice," she said. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," he replied, "but the day is far from done." At that moment her stomach growled and Zane laughed. "And that's my cue."

Jo sat up on her elbows and watched him as he unzipped his backpack and pulled out containers of food. She grabbed the picnic basket and found it full of plates and silverware, and a wine glass for each of them. She quirked an eyebrow at the wine glasses, knowing Zane's dislike for drinking alcohol, but then remembered something else.

"Zane, what was that buzzing sound I heard, right before you pulled off my blindfold?"

"Oh," he smiled at her, "I needed a way to keep this," he gestured at the flowers around him, "from getting disturbed. I borrowed a mini force-field from Fargo."

"Fargo," she said flatly, "and he just let you." It was an accusation, rather than a question.

"Well, I told him what it was for…. And I may have told him that if he didn't let me borrow it, I'd tell Holly about his secret collection"

Ha, she thought. I'm glad some things haven't changed. "What secret collection?"

His grin was almost evil. "I have no idea. But it scared him enough to give up the field generator. Almost makes me want to break into his house and find out."

"Don't you dare, Zane Donovan. I can still arrest you."

"Might be worth it," he laughed, but put his hands up in a conciliatory gesture. "But not today. I'm not done with our date."

She handed him the plates and he began dishing out the food. It was all still hot (or cold, in some cases) thanks to Vincent's thermal-retention containers. She smiled as he handed her plate back to her. He'd gotten some of her favorites; a mediterranean salad, whole grain penne in olive oil with vegetables and parmesan, and Vincent's special recipe hazelnut cookies that tasted just like her grandmother's. He then pulled out two bottles and poured a glass of wine for her and a glass of sparkling grape juice for himself. She smiled inwardly at his drink of choice. So…him.

They ate quietly, the only sounds coming from the birds and the occasional crunching from Zane's peanut butter and bacon sandwich. When they finished, she helped him clean up and put everything back into the basket to take back to Vincent later. She was about to lay back down and soak in the sun again when Zane stood over her and held out his hands to pull her up. She let him help her to her feet and then they were folding up the checkered blanket, leaving a square of pure green grass beneath them. Zane took a small device out of his pocket, clicked a button, and music began to play.

She looked at him, eyes wide, and noticed he looked almost…shy.

He smiled timidly at her, "I, uh, hadn't known you were a dancer until today. If you don't mind my complete lack of skills, I'd still like to dance with you."

She beamed at him. She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to express her joy at this simple offer. So she simply wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned her head into the crook of his neck.

He laughed, and put his arms around her back, his relief evident. "I'll take that as a yes." He held her close and they swayed together. Sting's Fields of Gold played among the flowers and trees and Jo swore she was in heaven.

"I don't think this day could go any better," she said softly against his chest. The song ended, then, and Zane kissed her forehead before giving her a little twirl, making her laugh.

"Well," he said, "I hope there's room for one more surprise."

"There's more?" she asked incredulously. "Who are you and what have you done with Zane?"

He chuckled. "You just sit here looking beautiful, and I'll be right back. Give me about five minutes."

"Are you going to find the real Zane?" she yelled as he jogged away into the trees.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily!" he shouted back.

She grinned and sat down, plucking a rose from nearby. She stared at it, her thoughts buzzing. This has been the most bizarre and wonderful day I've ever had. The scared and cynical part of her mind started to wonder about his motivations, when the little voice inside her head said just let it be. And she listened to it. She sat happily in silence for a few more minutes before she heard a familiar sound overhead. Turning to look back over her shoulder, she watched as Zane landed the sky cruiser where he had first removed her blindfold. He sauntered up to her, holding out a helmet to her while lifting the visor on his own so she could see his face.

"I'm going to grab our things, you put this on."

She took the helmet and put it on, wondering where on earth they were going now, and climbed on behind him when he was ready.

He twisted around and smirked at her, "You're going to want to hold on tight."

"There's the Zane I know," she retorted, grinning at him. He laughed, and then they were up in the air.

The air was cool and the sun was bright, so Jo closed her eyes and simply relished in the warmth of Zane's back as she leaned against him; she felt like she was floating. Sooner than she expected, they were descending. She looked down to see where he'd taken her and her face fell...S.A.R.A.H. He brought me home. She felt a little disappointed. She hadn't wanted the day to end just yet.

They landed and dismounted and were removing their helmets when something felt… wrong. She looked at Zane and his smile was mischievous, like he had played a particularly good joke on her. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Just what are you grinning about?"

Instead of answering her, he gently grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door. He opened the outer door and led the way down the concrete stairs to the main entry.

"Ash, door please," he said, and the door opened, revealing the last thing in the world Jo had expected.

She stared in wonder as she stepped inside and took in the details of the house. It was decorated very similarly to how her previous houses had been, in cool blues and greens with warm, heavy fabrics and plenty of natural light coming through the ceiling. Even the layout seemed to be the same. And there were photos everywhere, framed on the walls and displayed on tabletops and over the fireplace. She walked slowly toward the mantel, hardly breathing, as she looked more closely at the pictures there. Images of her family, of her and her brothers, were smiling back at her. This is impossible. She took a deep breath and her strength left her. She fell weakly onto the couch and buried her face into her hands, unable to hold back the tears.

The couch moved as Zane sat down beside her. He began rubbing her back in slow circles. "I'm sorry it's not your old house. I hope you like it, though."

She leaned into him, her face pressed against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. He held her quietly, running his hands through her hair and kissing the top of her head, as she tried to calm herself and dry her tears. Eventually she pulled herself away from him and stared at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but she had no words. There are no words.

Again, Zane saved her. He pulled her up and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Jo, meet Ash: Automated Safe House. The name's a little ironic… sorry about that, but this house is as catastrophe-proof as we could make it."

"We?" she asked, shakily.

"Fargo and I designed it. I needed his help altering S.A.R.A.H.s programming and getting the specs from your previous house so we could make it as comfortable as possible for you." He grinned at her then, and added, "And I didn't even have to bribe him."

She laughed then and a stray tear spilled down her cheek. Zane brushed it away, as before, and tilted her chin up to look at him. "Tell me what you're thinking, JoJo."

"I…" she started. And then she gave up trying to talk and just kissed him, struggling to pour every emotion and thought she had into his mouth. He responded, pulling her tightly against him as she clutched at his shirt, trying to get even closer. "Zane," she breathed, before kissing him again. With another breath, she exhaled, "bedroom, now."

He shook his head. "Can't."

She moaned. "Why the hell not?"

He moved his mouth to her neck, speaking in between kisses and nibbles. "You said we were done."

She growled at him and pushed him back into the wall, pinning him there, her face just inches from his. "Zane Donovan, if you don't take me to the bedroom now, I will drag you there myself and have my way with you."

He smirked at her. "You promise?"

But before she could argue, he was stealing her away in his arms and carrying her toward the bedroom.