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serene_quillTitle: Science Didn’t Make Them Do It
Pairing: Jack/Nathan
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~2200
Disclaimer: Don’t own, just borrowing to play with.
Warnings: Spoilers for season 3, unbetaed
Summary: Valentine gift fic for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
andieshep who wanted: It has to be from season three. Zoe finds out her dear old Dad is hiding his relationship with Nathan from her, and has a mild freak out because 1) He never even told her he was bi, and 2) How the heck did they go from rivals to a relationship? At some point she goes to her Aunt Lexi about it and Lexi sets her straight while her Dad is busy working/and worrying his only daughter is pissed. By the end of the story Zoe has accepted the relationship and wants to be supportive.
Zoë was upset with herself for forgetting her notebook at home, and even worse, she couldn’t get a hold of her aunt to run it out to her. The biggest annoyance was that she had to skip having lunch with Lucas in order to run home to retrieve her notebook.
She frowned when the door didn’t open right away, trying the door sensor. No response. Deciding SARAH must be running a diagnostic, Zoë tugged open the manual panel and entered her override password, letting herself in. She made it four steps inside before she was met by the sight of her dad, sitting on the counter with his legs wrapped around Nathan Stark, the kiss so intense neither one had noticed her.
Zoë backed out, sliding the door closed, her face flushing. “Oh my god,” she muttered, sitting down on the stairs. “Dad and Dr. Stark?” she said, baffled. She stared at the door, finally standing up and somehow driving back to school on autopilot.
“Hey, Zoë!” Zoë turned, looking up into the concerned face of her boyfriend. “Didn’t you hear me calling you?”
“No, sorry,” she said, looking around, not quite sure how she’d made it back to the cafeteria. “I just saw…” she bit her lip, looking up at Lucas. “Ah, look, you’re like a Kinsey 2, right?”
“Yeah, so?” Lucas asked, frowning at her.
“Would you ever, and I mean like, ever, date Mike Jenkins?” Zoë asked, naming a guy Lucas despised.
“Not unless I got hit in the head really hard,” Lucas snorted. “Horrible, massive brain damage. And I’d have to have amnesia about you.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Zoë replied, turning her car keys over in her hand. “And Dad’s never… I mean, he doesn’t even register a number on the Kinsey scale, right?”
“Uh, I wouldn’t know…” Lucas started, following Zoë as she started walking back to her car. “Zoë, where are you going?”
“Getting to the bottom of this,” she snapped, brushing off his arm. “Look, I’ll call you later,” she told him, giving him a quick kiss. “I think I have to go save my dad from a chemical or pheromone or something.”
She drove back to the smart house, this time typing in codes to override SARAH into active instead of privacy mode, waking up the AI, so the house greeted her loudly with, “Hello Zoë, you’re home early.”
“Dad!” Zoë yelled, and Jack came down the stairs, tugging his shirt on as he did.
“What’s wrong, Zoë?” he asked, looking concerned. “What are you doing home? Are you hurt?”
“We need to get you up to GD, something’s wrong with you,” Zoë told him. “Did you get some chemical spilled on you this morning?”
“I was in my office all morning,” Jack said, giving Zoë an odd look.
“Dr. Stark, what did you do to my dad?” Zoë yelled, and Jack paled.
“Zoë, what…”
“I saw, Dad,” Zoë interrupted him, rolling her eyes. “If it wasn’t you, maybe Stark was exposed to something, why else would the two of you be,” she paused as Nathan joined Jack on the stairs, buttoning his shirt in bewilderment. “Ugh, I can’t even say it,” she threw up her hands, glaring at Stark. “What did you screw up this time? Is it a chemical? Or a pheromone thing, like the spores last summer, what? How come my dad is all over you?”
“Whoa, okay, slow down, Zo,” Jack said, guiding her over to the kitchen table. “I promise, it’s not a chemical, there’s nothing wrong with us.”
“Dad, I saw you,” she said, flailing her hands a little. “Kissing. Eww. God, grownups should not be doing PDA even if it’s because of spores.”
“No spores, Zoë,” Jack reassured her, looking over at Nathan, who nodded, joining Jack at the table, covering Jack’s hand with his much larger one. “Look, Nathan and I are… we’ve been seeing each other for a while. Um, ever since the biosphere, actually.”
“No, you would have told me,” Zoë insisted, looking at them, eyes widening. “Oh, maybe your memories have been messed with. Dad, you never even said you were bi, and I would know. You would have told me.”
She was on her feet, pacing now. “You had your memory messed with, like that thing Kim had, when her husband was messing her up, and, um, maybe something new implanted, I just can’t figure out why someone would do that. Maybe it’s a revenge thing.”
“Zoë, sweetheart, I promise, no one’s messed with my brain,” Jack said, rising and halting her after a moment. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I wasn’t ready to share this with anyone yet. And until Nathan, I really had no idea I was attracted to men, Zoë. You know how stupid I am when it comes to personal stuff,” he reminded her, and Zoë blinked, looking back and forth between Jack and Nathan.
“Since the biosphere?” she asked, backing up slowly. “Okay, I can work with that. Excuse me.”
“Zoë!” Jack called after his daughter, but she was darting back up to her car, searching for her shiny new GD intern badge she'd just gotten last week when she'd convinced Dr. Halstead in the psychotherapy department to allow her to observe her work. She swiped it at the gate, hurrying quickly through the building, bypassing Fargo who tried to follow her into Allison’s office.
“There’s something wrong with my dad and Dr. Stark,” she burst out, elbowing Fargo hard in the stomach when he tried to take her arm.
Allison was fighting a grin at the way Fargo doubled over in pain, and Thorne removed her glasses, eyebrows arched. “I tried to stop her, Ms. Thorne, Dr. Blake,” Fargo wheezed, and Thorne smiled.
“Yes, I can see that, Fargo,” she observed dryly. “But I think she’s got a concern, and Allison and I have time. Go get an ice pack.”
“Okay,” Fargo agreed easily, still slightly bent over, wobbling his way out of the office.
“Something’s wrong with your dad and Nathan?” Allison prompted Zoë, forehead wrinkled in concern.
“Yeah, I think they were exposed to something chemical or maybe a spore down in that biosphere, or maybe their memories have been messed with,” Zoë told her. “Look, I’m not sure exactly what happened, but there’s something wrong. They’re acting really weird!”
“Okay,” Thorne replied, nodding.
“Really?” Zoë asked in amazement, and Thorne smiled.
“You strike me as a bright young woman, and both gentlemen have a tendency to attract trouble more than most,” Thorne informed her dryly. “You say something’s wrong, I’ll call them up here for brain scans and blood work.”
“Agreed,” Allison replied, hugging Zoë quickly around the shoulders comfortingly as she dialed her cell phone. “Carter, it’s Allison. I need you up at GD.”
*-*
An hour and half later, Jack was giving Zoë a knowing look, rolling his eyes as Allison handed him the form to sign for his release from the infirmary. “Sorry, Carter, but if your own daughter thinks something’s wrong,” Allison told him, shrugging at Zoë.
“Better safe than sorry,” Jack replied, sighing. “Zoë, can we go get something to eat, maybe talk about this?”
“No,” she replied, folding her arms. “Either something’s wrong, or you’ve been lying to me for the past two months. And I don’t want to be around to find out which.”
She stormed out, ignoring the way Fargo flinched as she passed. “Zoë!” a voice called after her, and it was just startling enough that she stopped. “Zoë, in my office please,” Nathan said, and Zoë shifted uncertainly, torn between wanting to hear his excuses and wanting to find help. Finally, she turned, following Nathan to his office.
“I’m sorry you found out about your father and I that way,” Nathan told her, settling down on his couch, gesturing to her to do the same. “We’ve been talking about telling you and Lexi for a couple of weeks now, and now I really wish we had. Your dad was afraid you wouldn’t accept it, and given how good your relationship has gotten, I understand his fears.” Nathan laced his fingers, looking at Zoë carefully. “I know I can’t really ask for you to accept us, but please give it a chance, give us some time to prove to you this isn’t something bad.”
“I’ll get back to you on that,” Zoë replied, her throat tightening. The scientist seemed sincere, and that shook her more than she cared to admit. “Excuse me, Dr. Stark,” she managed before fleeing again, headed into Café Diem even though it was her day off.
“Vince, I need a chocolate mint shake,” she told him, snorting softly when she saw the chef blanch. “A large one.”
“Did you blow up your boyfriend?” Vince asked, tugging out his blender. “Is your dad okay?”
“Yeah, he’s great,” Zoë replied darkly, pushing her hair off her face. “You know what, I really don’t wanna talk about it, Vince. Can you just bring my shake to me?” she asked, heading over to an out of the way corner booth. Vince brought her the shake, giving her a sympathetic smile and left her to contemplate the ice cream as it melted.
“Wow, that looks like a serious shake,” Lexi greeted her, sliding into the booth a few minutes later, and Zoe suspected Vince had called her. “What’s a girl gotta do around here to earn one of those?”
“Be lied to by her dad for two months,” Zoë replied darkly, and Lexi winced.
“Ooh, ouch, let me guess, he was trying to protect you,” she guessed, signaling to Vince. “I have a feeling I need one of those sinful looking shakes for this conversation.”
“Coming right up,” Vince replied, and Zoë leaned back, sighing.
“It wasn’t about protecting me, he was afraid I’d hate him if I found out,” Zoë explained, taking a sip of her shake.
“What, he’s not your real dad? He killed a guy?” Lexi guessed, looking concerned.
“He’s dating Stark,” Zoë burst out, and Vince, setting down Lexi’s shake, grinned, pumping his fist victoriously. “You had money on it?” she demanded, recognizing the look of Vince winning a bet.
“Um, maybe wait till later to pay out my bet,” Lexi advised Vince, taking a sip of her shake, shrugging when Zoë gave her a disbelieving look. “Sweetie, I’m sorry, but the first time I walked into a room with the two of them, I was hoping they were shagging like bunnies because leaving that much sexual tension unresolved is just gonna get messy.”
“Okay, mental images I didn’t need,” Zoë spluttered, rubbing her eyes. “So you knew my dad was bi?”
“Oh honey, gender doesn’t matter much in this town if you hadn’t noticed,” Lexi told her, sounding sympathetic. “People are attracted to who they’re attracted to. To be honest, the only part I can’t believe is that your dad got the stick out of his ass long enough for Stark to replace it with…”
“Whoa, stop, just stop!” Zoë insisted, covering her ears. “And he thought I’d object?”
“Most teenagers get upset when Dad starts dating a new woman, thinking she’s a replacement for Mom,” Lexi remarked, shrugging. “Add to it the discovery that you’re not as straight as you once thought, which you then have to admit to your teenage daughter as well, and your dad had to be terrified. Imagine trying to go to him and tell him you’re going to start dating Pilar instead of Lucas.” She took a drink of her shake while Zoë thought about the freak out that might have caused. “So, how did you take it, Zo?”
“I think I need to go,” Zoë said softly, and Lexi gave her a soft smile.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be glad to see you,” Lexi reassured her.
“I have a stop to make first,” Zoë told her aunt, shrugging. “Vince, can I get a to-go cup?” she called out, and he gave her a thumbs up. She reached in her pocket, pulling out her cell phone. “Hey, stay away from Mike Jenkins,” she told her boyfriend, hanging up the phone before he could stammer out a response, taking the to-go shake from Vince with a smile.
*-*
Zoë flashed her badge at the security entrance at GD, then headed back up to Nathan’s office, grinning when Fargo flinched as she passed, not bothering to try and stop her. Nathan was on the phone, but quickly ended the call as she sat down, turning to face her, waiting. “Why do you want to be with my dad?” she asked, keeping her voice calm.
“I enjoy fighting with him,” Nathan admitted, shrugging. “Most people back down from me. I want an equal.”
“And that’s Dad?” she asked, looking skeptical. “You make fun of him for being dumb.”
“But he isn’t,” Nathan replied easily. “He’s got brilliant insights. You and I both know he outthinks most of this town, though only one of us is going to admit that to him. And he tells me when I’m crossing lines I shouldn’t. He makes me a better person when all I know how to be is a good scientist.”
“And you’re serious about it? No fling or messing around?” Zoë asked, her nose wrinkling at the thought.
“No, I’m very serious about this,” Nathan promised.
Zoë nodded, sighing. “I’m sorry I made you get checked out by medical.”
“I’m sorry you walked in on your dad and I making out,” Nathan replied wryly. “But you should probably be forewarned that I tend to do that a lot with him.”
“You should probably be forewarned that I’ll be grossed out and it has nothing to do with you being a guy,” Zoë parroted back, shrugging. “Old people just shouldn’t kiss. Ick.”
Nathan chuckled, nodding. “Fair enough, I feel the same way about teenagers. See you at dinner, Zoë.”
Zoë didn’t manage to track her father down for another hour, but had the sense to pick up a Vinspresso before she headed into his turf, the station. “Dad?” she asked softly, and Jo made a discreet exit, giving Zoë an understanding smile. “I’m ready to talk now.”
Pairing: Jack/Nathan
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~2200
Disclaimer: Don’t own, just borrowing to play with.
Warnings: Spoilers for season 3, unbetaed
Summary: Valentine gift fic for
andieshep who wanted: It has to be from season three. Zoe finds out her dear old Dad is hiding his relationship with Nathan from her, and has a mild freak out because 1) He never even told her he was bi, and 2) How the heck did they go from rivals to a relationship? At some point she goes to her Aunt Lexi about it and Lexi sets her straight while her Dad is busy working/and worrying his only daughter is pissed. By the end of the story Zoe has accepted the relationship and wants to be supportive.Zoë was upset with herself for forgetting her notebook at home, and even worse, she couldn’t get a hold of her aunt to run it out to her. The biggest annoyance was that she had to skip having lunch with Lucas in order to run home to retrieve her notebook.
She frowned when the door didn’t open right away, trying the door sensor. No response. Deciding SARAH must be running a diagnostic, Zoë tugged open the manual panel and entered her override password, letting herself in. She made it four steps inside before she was met by the sight of her dad, sitting on the counter with his legs wrapped around Nathan Stark, the kiss so intense neither one had noticed her.
Zoë backed out, sliding the door closed, her face flushing. “Oh my god,” she muttered, sitting down on the stairs. “Dad and Dr. Stark?” she said, baffled. She stared at the door, finally standing up and somehow driving back to school on autopilot.
“Hey, Zoë!” Zoë turned, looking up into the concerned face of her boyfriend. “Didn’t you hear me calling you?”
“No, sorry,” she said, looking around, not quite sure how she’d made it back to the cafeteria. “I just saw…” she bit her lip, looking up at Lucas. “Ah, look, you’re like a Kinsey 2, right?”
“Yeah, so?” Lucas asked, frowning at her.
“Would you ever, and I mean like, ever, date Mike Jenkins?” Zoë asked, naming a guy Lucas despised.
“Not unless I got hit in the head really hard,” Lucas snorted. “Horrible, massive brain damage. And I’d have to have amnesia about you.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Zoë replied, turning her car keys over in her hand. “And Dad’s never… I mean, he doesn’t even register a number on the Kinsey scale, right?”
“Uh, I wouldn’t know…” Lucas started, following Zoë as she started walking back to her car. “Zoë, where are you going?”
“Getting to the bottom of this,” she snapped, brushing off his arm. “Look, I’ll call you later,” she told him, giving him a quick kiss. “I think I have to go save my dad from a chemical or pheromone or something.”
She drove back to the smart house, this time typing in codes to override SARAH into active instead of privacy mode, waking up the AI, so the house greeted her loudly with, “Hello Zoë, you’re home early.”
“Dad!” Zoë yelled, and Jack came down the stairs, tugging his shirt on as he did.
“What’s wrong, Zoë?” he asked, looking concerned. “What are you doing home? Are you hurt?”
“We need to get you up to GD, something’s wrong with you,” Zoë told him. “Did you get some chemical spilled on you this morning?”
“I was in my office all morning,” Jack said, giving Zoë an odd look.
“Dr. Stark, what did you do to my dad?” Zoë yelled, and Jack paled.
“Zoë, what…”
“I saw, Dad,” Zoë interrupted him, rolling her eyes. “If it wasn’t you, maybe Stark was exposed to something, why else would the two of you be,” she paused as Nathan joined Jack on the stairs, buttoning his shirt in bewilderment. “Ugh, I can’t even say it,” she threw up her hands, glaring at Stark. “What did you screw up this time? Is it a chemical? Or a pheromone thing, like the spores last summer, what? How come my dad is all over you?”
“Whoa, okay, slow down, Zo,” Jack said, guiding her over to the kitchen table. “I promise, it’s not a chemical, there’s nothing wrong with us.”
“Dad, I saw you,” she said, flailing her hands a little. “Kissing. Eww. God, grownups should not be doing PDA even if it’s because of spores.”
“No spores, Zoë,” Jack reassured her, looking over at Nathan, who nodded, joining Jack at the table, covering Jack’s hand with his much larger one. “Look, Nathan and I are… we’ve been seeing each other for a while. Um, ever since the biosphere, actually.”
“No, you would have told me,” Zoë insisted, looking at them, eyes widening. “Oh, maybe your memories have been messed with. Dad, you never even said you were bi, and I would know. You would have told me.”
She was on her feet, pacing now. “You had your memory messed with, like that thing Kim had, when her husband was messing her up, and, um, maybe something new implanted, I just can’t figure out why someone would do that. Maybe it’s a revenge thing.”
“Zoë, sweetheart, I promise, no one’s messed with my brain,” Jack said, rising and halting her after a moment. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I wasn’t ready to share this with anyone yet. And until Nathan, I really had no idea I was attracted to men, Zoë. You know how stupid I am when it comes to personal stuff,” he reminded her, and Zoë blinked, looking back and forth between Jack and Nathan.
“Since the biosphere?” she asked, backing up slowly. “Okay, I can work with that. Excuse me.”
“Zoë!” Jack called after his daughter, but she was darting back up to her car, searching for her shiny new GD intern badge she'd just gotten last week when she'd convinced Dr. Halstead in the psychotherapy department to allow her to observe her work. She swiped it at the gate, hurrying quickly through the building, bypassing Fargo who tried to follow her into Allison’s office.
“There’s something wrong with my dad and Dr. Stark,” she burst out, elbowing Fargo hard in the stomach when he tried to take her arm.
Allison was fighting a grin at the way Fargo doubled over in pain, and Thorne removed her glasses, eyebrows arched. “I tried to stop her, Ms. Thorne, Dr. Blake,” Fargo wheezed, and Thorne smiled.
“Yes, I can see that, Fargo,” she observed dryly. “But I think she’s got a concern, and Allison and I have time. Go get an ice pack.”
“Okay,” Fargo agreed easily, still slightly bent over, wobbling his way out of the office.
“Something’s wrong with your dad and Nathan?” Allison prompted Zoë, forehead wrinkled in concern.
“Yeah, I think they were exposed to something chemical or maybe a spore down in that biosphere, or maybe their memories have been messed with,” Zoë told her. “Look, I’m not sure exactly what happened, but there’s something wrong. They’re acting really weird!”
“Okay,” Thorne replied, nodding.
“Really?” Zoë asked in amazement, and Thorne smiled.
“You strike me as a bright young woman, and both gentlemen have a tendency to attract trouble more than most,” Thorne informed her dryly. “You say something’s wrong, I’ll call them up here for brain scans and blood work.”
“Agreed,” Allison replied, hugging Zoë quickly around the shoulders comfortingly as she dialed her cell phone. “Carter, it’s Allison. I need you up at GD.”
*-*
An hour and half later, Jack was giving Zoë a knowing look, rolling his eyes as Allison handed him the form to sign for his release from the infirmary. “Sorry, Carter, but if your own daughter thinks something’s wrong,” Allison told him, shrugging at Zoë.
“Better safe than sorry,” Jack replied, sighing. “Zoë, can we go get something to eat, maybe talk about this?”
“No,” she replied, folding her arms. “Either something’s wrong, or you’ve been lying to me for the past two months. And I don’t want to be around to find out which.”
She stormed out, ignoring the way Fargo flinched as she passed. “Zoë!” a voice called after her, and it was just startling enough that she stopped. “Zoë, in my office please,” Nathan said, and Zoë shifted uncertainly, torn between wanting to hear his excuses and wanting to find help. Finally, she turned, following Nathan to his office.
“I’m sorry you found out about your father and I that way,” Nathan told her, settling down on his couch, gesturing to her to do the same. “We’ve been talking about telling you and Lexi for a couple of weeks now, and now I really wish we had. Your dad was afraid you wouldn’t accept it, and given how good your relationship has gotten, I understand his fears.” Nathan laced his fingers, looking at Zoë carefully. “I know I can’t really ask for you to accept us, but please give it a chance, give us some time to prove to you this isn’t something bad.”
“I’ll get back to you on that,” Zoë replied, her throat tightening. The scientist seemed sincere, and that shook her more than she cared to admit. “Excuse me, Dr. Stark,” she managed before fleeing again, headed into Café Diem even though it was her day off.
“Vince, I need a chocolate mint shake,” she told him, snorting softly when she saw the chef blanch. “A large one.”
“Did you blow up your boyfriend?” Vince asked, tugging out his blender. “Is your dad okay?”
“Yeah, he’s great,” Zoë replied darkly, pushing her hair off her face. “You know what, I really don’t wanna talk about it, Vince. Can you just bring my shake to me?” she asked, heading over to an out of the way corner booth. Vince brought her the shake, giving her a sympathetic smile and left her to contemplate the ice cream as it melted.
“Wow, that looks like a serious shake,” Lexi greeted her, sliding into the booth a few minutes later, and Zoe suspected Vince had called her. “What’s a girl gotta do around here to earn one of those?”
“Be lied to by her dad for two months,” Zoë replied darkly, and Lexi winced.
“Ooh, ouch, let me guess, he was trying to protect you,” she guessed, signaling to Vince. “I have a feeling I need one of those sinful looking shakes for this conversation.”
“Coming right up,” Vince replied, and Zoë leaned back, sighing.
“It wasn’t about protecting me, he was afraid I’d hate him if I found out,” Zoë explained, taking a sip of her shake.
“What, he’s not your real dad? He killed a guy?” Lexi guessed, looking concerned.
“He’s dating Stark,” Zoë burst out, and Vince, setting down Lexi’s shake, grinned, pumping his fist victoriously. “You had money on it?” she demanded, recognizing the look of Vince winning a bet.
“Um, maybe wait till later to pay out my bet,” Lexi advised Vince, taking a sip of her shake, shrugging when Zoë gave her a disbelieving look. “Sweetie, I’m sorry, but the first time I walked into a room with the two of them, I was hoping they were shagging like bunnies because leaving that much sexual tension unresolved is just gonna get messy.”
“Okay, mental images I didn’t need,” Zoë spluttered, rubbing her eyes. “So you knew my dad was bi?”
“Oh honey, gender doesn’t matter much in this town if you hadn’t noticed,” Lexi told her, sounding sympathetic. “People are attracted to who they’re attracted to. To be honest, the only part I can’t believe is that your dad got the stick out of his ass long enough for Stark to replace it with…”
“Whoa, stop, just stop!” Zoë insisted, covering her ears. “And he thought I’d object?”
“Most teenagers get upset when Dad starts dating a new woman, thinking she’s a replacement for Mom,” Lexi remarked, shrugging. “Add to it the discovery that you’re not as straight as you once thought, which you then have to admit to your teenage daughter as well, and your dad had to be terrified. Imagine trying to go to him and tell him you’re going to start dating Pilar instead of Lucas.” She took a drink of her shake while Zoë thought about the freak out that might have caused. “So, how did you take it, Zo?”
“I think I need to go,” Zoë said softly, and Lexi gave her a soft smile.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be glad to see you,” Lexi reassured her.
“I have a stop to make first,” Zoë told her aunt, shrugging. “Vince, can I get a to-go cup?” she called out, and he gave her a thumbs up. She reached in her pocket, pulling out her cell phone. “Hey, stay away from Mike Jenkins,” she told her boyfriend, hanging up the phone before he could stammer out a response, taking the to-go shake from Vince with a smile.
*-*
Zoë flashed her badge at the security entrance at GD, then headed back up to Nathan’s office, grinning when Fargo flinched as she passed, not bothering to try and stop her. Nathan was on the phone, but quickly ended the call as she sat down, turning to face her, waiting. “Why do you want to be with my dad?” she asked, keeping her voice calm.
“I enjoy fighting with him,” Nathan admitted, shrugging. “Most people back down from me. I want an equal.”
“And that’s Dad?” she asked, looking skeptical. “You make fun of him for being dumb.”
“But he isn’t,” Nathan replied easily. “He’s got brilliant insights. You and I both know he outthinks most of this town, though only one of us is going to admit that to him. And he tells me when I’m crossing lines I shouldn’t. He makes me a better person when all I know how to be is a good scientist.”
“And you’re serious about it? No fling or messing around?” Zoë asked, her nose wrinkling at the thought.
“No, I’m very serious about this,” Nathan promised.
Zoë nodded, sighing. “I’m sorry I made you get checked out by medical.”
“I’m sorry you walked in on your dad and I making out,” Nathan replied wryly. “But you should probably be forewarned that I tend to do that a lot with him.”
“You should probably be forewarned that I’ll be grossed out and it has nothing to do with you being a guy,” Zoë parroted back, shrugging. “Old people just shouldn’t kiss. Ick.”
Nathan chuckled, nodding. “Fair enough, I feel the same way about teenagers. See you at dinner, Zoë.”
Zoë didn’t manage to track her father down for another hour, but had the sense to pick up a Vinspresso before she headed into his turf, the station. “Dad?” she asked softly, and Jo made a discreet exit, giving Zoë an understanding smile. “I’m ready to talk now.”
