A/N: Hi guys, well here is the last chapter. So sorry it has taken a while to post. Been busy in real life and it's been hard to do any writing. So anyway, I hope you like it and please send me your reviews. Enjoy.
CHAPTER FIVE
As soon as Becker turned the corner he could hear her laughter and he smiled. His pace increased without him realising it, he needed to see her. Get lost in her smile. Now that he had admitted to himself that he loved her, he needed to be with her. As he reached the doorway of the HUB, he stopped and watched her. She was talking to Abby and Emily and she seemed to be glowing. Her hair shone and her eyes sparkled.
"Don't look now, but Becker is over there watching us. Actually, he's watching you Jess; he can't take his eyes off you."
Jess blushed gently; she already knew that he was here. She had sensed him when he had entered and she had turned her head slightly to catch a glimpse of him. Once again, he was dressed in his standard black uniform, but she so loved him in it. It showed off his muscles to perfection. Of course, no other man would be able to compete with him. Turning her full attention back to the other women, she continued the conversation they were having.
"So, I intend to make him apologise to Anton and then make him sweat."
"I think that that is a great plan." Emily replied.
Just then Abby shushed them as she watched Becker walk across the room.
"Um Jess, could I have a word please."
"Well, at least you seemed to have found your manners this morning. What can I do for you Becker?"
"Can we talk privately?"
"Fine." Jess responded before turning back to Emily and Abby and telling them that she would catch up with them later. When she was facing Becker again, she crossed her arms and stared at him, raising her eyebrows.
"Well, I haven't got all day Becker. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Firstly, I wanted to apologise for the way I behaved last night. I was drunk and, well I know that that isn't an excuse but it's true. I'm sorry Jess. I embarrassed you and I shouldn't have punched Anton."
"No, you shouldn't have. You owe him an apology more than you do me. And this conversation will not continue until you have done that."
Before Becker could answer, the alarm sounded. Turning quickly back to the ADD, Jess sat down and starting typing swiftly across the keyboards. Tapping her earpiece, she started to relay the relevant information to the team as they all started to head towards the Ops room to grab their black boxes. As the team left Jess watched and silently wished Becker a safe return. She listened as the team talked to each other. They tended to forget that she could hear most of what they were saying. It made her feel like she was out in the field with them. She was so engrossed in their conversations that she didn't notice that Anton had walked up behind her.
"Hi Jess."
Spinning around in shock, Jess smiled when she saw him.
"Hi Anton, how are you feeling this morning?"
Anton gingerly raised his hand to his bruised cheek and smiled.
"Not to bad actually, it only hurts when I touch it. Or eat, or smile."
"I am soooo sorry."
"Jess, we went over this last night. It's not your fault. I saw Becker talking to you before. Is everything alright?"
"He was apologising to me but I told him that he would have to apologise to you before I discussed last night any further."
Anton nodded and then just stood and watched Jess. She started to squirm under his gaze.
"What?"
"Are you going to forgive him?"
Jess looked at him and nodded her head slowly. She watched his face but couldn't see any sadness there. Obviously what he had said the previous night was true. He had known that they were no romantic feelings involved. At least on her part.
"Thank you Anton. You've been amazing and so understanding. Can I ask one more favour from you though?"
"What?"
"I'm not quite ready to let him know that I have forgiven him. Will you help me make him sweat a little?"
Anton laughed softly, nodding his agreement. Jess leant forward and told him of her plan. He laughed again and told her that it was the least he deserved for punching him. Jess thanked him once more and he walked away, back towards his lab. Jess smiled and turned back to the screens. Just as she resumed listening to the team's conversation, she heard Becker's laughter and her heart skipped a beat. Hopefully, soon, she'd be able to let this man know exactly how she felt and she hoped that he would reciprocate those feelings.
Two hours later, the team returned, laughing as they entered the Ops room. Well all of them except Becker, who seemed to be covered in something slimy. Jess covered her mouth and laughed when she caught sight of him. Looking over at Matt, she raised her eyebrows, prompting him to give an explanation. As he was telling her about how the creatures they were tracking, had taken a liking to Becker and had started squirting out, well he didn't know exactly what it was, all over Becker. The rest of the team laughed even harder and Becker just threw them all a dirty look before marching out of the room, mumbling about having a shower. Jess watched him leave, wishing that she could be in the shower with him.
"What's got you blushing? As if I need to ask." Matt whispered into her ear as he replaced his black box.
Jess smacked his arm as she stood up and walked over to Anton's lab. Knocking softly, she asked if he was ready to start their plan. Anton told her that he was ready, willing and able and five minutes later made their way to the cafeteria, their arms intertwined. Jess made sure that they detoured past the men's locker room. Their timing was perfect, just as they walked past the door, Becker emerged from the room. It took all of Jess's willpower not to stare. He was pulling on a shirt over his well defined abs and his hair was still wet from the shower. She could see him staring at them but she steadfastly stared straight ahead. She gripped onto Anton's arm a little tighter and he took the hint. He placed his free hand over hers and he smiled directly at her.
"So, will we give our date another try tonight?"
"If you're sure, we could go out for dinner."
"I'd like that."
Jess knew that Becker was right behind them, she could hear his footsteps as he continued to follow them. As they reached the cafeteria door, Jess turned abruptly and faced Becker.
"Is there something that you wanted Becker?"
"Umm, actually yeah there is. Anton, I just wanted to apologise for hitting you last night. It was uncalled for and I'm very sorry. I would also like to thank you for not taking it any further."
Anton looked down at Becker's outstretched hand for a moment before he too reached out and shook it. He actually liked and admired Becker and he knew that last night he had acted the way he had because he was jealous. Hell, he knew what a catch Jess was and he knew that Becker would treat her right. But he also wanted the man to sweat a little bit himself for what he had done.
Becker turned on his heels and walked quickly away from the cafeteria. His stomach was tied up in knots. Seeing Jess holding onto Anton's arm like that and hearing them organising another date had really unsettled him. He needed to stop that date. He needed to show Jess that she belonged with him but he just didn't know how to do that. Maybe he should ask Matt for some advice. He knew that asking Connor would just get him into more trouble. He made his way back to the Ops room and searched it for Matt. When he didn't see him, he turned around and went to his own office. He needed to think and the best way for him to do that was to do some shooting on the firing range. That always cleared his head.
As the gun's noise stopped echoing throughout the firing range, Becker had reached his decision. He would have a quiet word with Anton, let him know that he was watching and if he hurt Jess he would have to answer to him. He would then let him know that he intended to win Jess for himself. He smiled as he returned his weapon to the gun cupboard. Grabbing his black box, he headed up to the Ops room. After checking his watch, he knew that Anton would be just finishing his weekly meeting with the other researchers. It was the perfect time to have a chat with him. As he reached the Ops room, he saw Anton heading out of the other exit so he jogged over to him.
"Anton, you got a moment?"
Anton looked at him in surprise before he nodded his head and opened his lab door. Becker walked in ahead of him and when he reached the centre of the room, he spun around and waited for Anton to enter and to shut the door behind him.
"What can I do for you Becker?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to have a quiet word with you. I wanted to let you know that if you hurt Jess, you'll have to answer to me."
Anton squinted his eyes as he watched Becker. He could clearly see that the man before him was very earnest. He could also see that he had more to say so he kept his mouth shut and just nodded. Sure enough, Becker continued speaking.
"Also, don't think that you are the only one interested. I'm letting you know that I will be asking Jess out as well. So, let the best man win."
Anton had to hide his smile. Finally Becker was doing something. He knew what Jess's plan was but he could see that the man before him was deeply in love with her and he wasn't going to make him sweat it out any longer.
"Well Becker, if you are that keen on Jess, I'll let you in on a little secret. Tonight's date isn't really a date. We are just two friends going out for dinner. How about I let you take my place. As long as you don't hurt her or you'll have me to deal with."
Becker looked at Anton, unsure if the guy was for real. He'd seen the way the two of them had been dancing last night, even if he had been drunk, and it wasn't the way two friends danced.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you should meet Jess for dinner and tell her how you feel. She cares for you Becker and you'd be a fool to let her get away."
He continued talking for a while but Becker tuned him out. Anton had just told him that Jess cared for him. Talk about surprise revelations. It was only when Anton started waving his hand in front of his face that Becker realised that he'd spaced out. When he focused on what Anton was saying, he smiled. He would do as the other man suggested. He would turn up at the restaurant that night and tell Jess how he felt. He didn't want to leave it any longer. He thanked Anton and took down the restaurant information and the time of dinner. Smiling as he left the room, Becker started to plan what he would say tonight. For the rest of the afternoon, everyone gave him strange looks but he didn't notice their curiosity because he was too focused on the upcoming evening. When he left the ARC he headed home and showered. He took his time deciding what outfit to wear; he wanted to look his best for Jess. He knew that she would probably be mad at first but he was sure that he could bring her around.
When he entered the restaurant he was silently cursing because he had been held up by a traffic accident and he was now 20 minutes late. Walking over to the maître de, he told him who he was and smiled when he was taken to the table but his smile soon disappeared when he saw who was sitting there.
"Eve, what are you doing here?"
"Becker, where's Anton?"
Becker stared dumbly at Eve, one of the secretaries from the ARC. Clearly there had been a mix-up. Maybe Anton had done this on purpose. He pulled the chair out and slumped down in it.
"Becker, what's going on? I thought Anton was supposed to be here. At least, that's what Jess told me when she said I could take her place tonight."
Finally it started to make sense. Jess had done exactly as Anton had done.
"Why did Jess send you Eve?"
"Well I don't really see that that is any of your business Becker."
"She sent you because you have a thing for Anton, right?"
Eve blushed but didn't deny it. Becker dropped his head into his raised hand and started to laugh. Both Anton and Jess had taken it upon themselves to set the other up on a blind date but it had backfired drastically. When he looked up, Eve was staring at him with a look of concern on his face. He quickly explained how he came to be here tonight and he could see exactly when she caught on to what had happened and she too started to laugh.
"So, what are we going to do about it?"
"Well one good turn deserves another. How about you ring Jess and I'll ring Anton and tell them that the dinner didn't go as planned and that they should meet us at Darcy's Pub. We can just go there and wait for them to turn up."
Eve nodded and took out her phone. When the call connected, she told Jess exactly what Becker had just said. Jess was very supportive and told her she would meet her at the pub in thirty minutes. She hung up just as Becker did. They smiled as they walked out of the restaurant. Making their way down the road, they entered the pub ten minutes later. Looking for a booth, they sat down and were just drinking their first drink when Anton walked in. Becker raised his hand and motioned him over.
"Hey Anton, you know Eve don't you?"
Anton looked surprised but nodded.
"What happened to Jess?"
"Well it seemed that she had the same idea that you did, so I'm going to leave you two to get to know one another a little bit better."
Sliding out of the booth, Becker walked over to the bar and ordered himself another drink. He had just turned back to watch the couple at the booth when Jess entered. He watched as she made her way over to the other two. He couldn't hear what was being said but he knew what Eve would be saying to her. Taking a sip of beer, he walked back over to the booth. Smiling, he put the beer on the table and took Jess's hand.
"Can I have this dance?"
Jess's head had spun around at the touch of his hand and she looked shocked to see him there but he didn't give her a chance to say no. He gently pulled her out onto the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her snugly against her.
"Hi." He said softly, smiling down at her.
"Hi yourself." She replied. "What's going on?"
"Well it seems that Anton thought that you and I would have had more fun on the date than you and him but then you went and swapped places with Eve. So we did our own little bit of subterfuge to get the two of you here. Are you mad?"
"I should be but I'm just too happy right now. You know, I still haven't forgiven you for last night."
"What can I do to make you forgive me?"
"Why don't you think of something."
"Well, I guess I could apologise again. But this time I would give you the real reason I punched Anton."
"And that would be what exactly?"
"It's simple really. I was jealous. He was holding you the way that I wanted to hold you. The way I've wanted to hold you since the moment I met you."
Jess blushed and lowered her head but Becker put his forefinger under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking at him.
"You took my breath away and that scared me. I didn't want to fall for you and risk losing you. At that time in my life, I had already lost too many people and couldn't bear to lose you but I realise now that by keeping my distance I still almost lost you. When I saw you with Anton, it made me take a long hard look at myself and I now know what I have to do."
With that, he lowered his head and let his lips gently rest on Jess's. The soft touch of her lips sent a tingle all the way down to his toes and his arms tightened around her waist as her arms snaked around his neck. Deepening the kiss, he slipped his tongue into her mouth and it was met by hers. They kissed for what seemed forever, before he pulled back and smiled down at her.
"I love you Jessica Parker." He whispered.
"You're forgiven." She replied, smiling up at him.