Title: Walls Come Tumbling Down
Author: DrawnToDarkness
Rating: K+
Pairing: Jess/Becker
Spoilers: None
Summary: A life-or-death situation causes some walls to crumble...
Disclaimer: Still not mine, strangely enough. :(
For CKC8867, whose prompt is at the end.
Authors Note: I'll be posting all of the one-shots inspired by the prompts I was given way back in April over the next few days so if you're one of the people who sent something through, keep an eye out - it's coming soon, I promise!

She'd saved his life.

She wasn't even supposed to be there, but she'd saved his life by disobeying a direct order and how she was trapped with him, just waiting to die.

The raptor that had been amount to make a meal of him was dead, a casualty of Jess's well aimed shot that had sent the creature tumbling over the railing of the staircase and crashing to the ground below. Becker knew Jess felt guilty that her actions had unwittingly caused the death of the dinosaur but he knew that if she had to make the choice again, she'd do it the same to save his life.

Not that it would really matter in a few hours - and that was if they were lucky to get that long.

They'd been halfway down the stairs of the derelict house themselves when there'd been an ominous creak, followed by a near deafening sound Becker had at first believed was thunder but recognised belatedly as being the roof of the house collapsing on top of them. He could recall vaguely that one of the beams holding it in place had been knocked during his short-lived fight with the raptor but he'd thought it would be okay, at least until they made it outside.

He'd obviously thought wrong.

He'd like to be able to say he acted quickly, shielded Jess as best as he could from the falling debris but that wasn't true. He was blaming the mild concussion he'd earned during the scuffle with the dinosaur for his slow reflexes and knew it was only thanks to Jess – again – and her quick act of pulling him down the remainder of the stairs with her and into the nearest room that he hadn't been flattened immediately by the wooden beams, roof tiles and cement chunks that had rained down on top of them and caused the staircase to collapse.

So she'd saved his life twice in one night when he hadn't even wanted her there in the first place.

It was Abby and Connor's fault, Becker thought as lay awkwardly on his side on the ground, his body curled around Jess's as they were forced into the only space big enough for them to fit in the remains of the fallen down house. If it weren't for them, Jess wouldn't have been there and he...

... He would have died a raptor snack.

Not ideal, he reflected, but at least Jess would be okay. She wouldn't be lying in front of him, trying not to cough as the dust settled down around them for fear of dislodging one of the beams that were – for the time being – keeping them both from being crushed to death. Knowing that suffocation was the other option if help didn't reach them in time, Becker once again decided to lay blame firmly on the shoulders of his teammates and, even if he didn't live long enough to berate them in person, he swore he'd sure as hell come back and haunt them.

The couple had been unable to give Jess a lift home as planned, volunteering Becker to do so in their stead as Jess's car was in the garage getting its suspension fixed. It was a blatantly obvious attempt at matchmaking, as the newlyweds had decided that subtly wasn't working and neither of them were prepared to wait and let their former flatmate and old friend find their way together in their own time.

And they would have done, Becker thought remorsefully. Had been, slowly. He was certain that eventually they would have overcome the last remaining barriers and insecurities both were holding onto that had so far kept them from taking the last step or two from being strictly friends to being... more.

"Jess?" He hadn't heard her cough in a while, hadn't felt her shift against him in a futile attempt at getting more comfortable. "Jessica?"

"I'm okay." She didn't sound okay, not in the slightest. She sounded scared, though he could tell she was putting on a brave front for his benefit, a suspicion confirmed as she continued to reassure him quietly. "Back up will be here soon. Kirsty had the coordinates; she'll send a team."

Kirsty, the night shift coordinator, would no doubt do as Jess believed, but whether or not it would be done in time, Becker wasn't sure.

He wished he could see Jess's face but there was no light in their cramped quarters. At least they were facing each other, so he could still feel her breathing even though he couldn't always hear it, reassuring him that she was still alive no matter how thin the air around them seemed to be getting.

Becker moved cautiously, carefully. His arm protested a little, the sudden pain in his shoulder leading him to realise he'd sustained some sort of injury in the aftermath of his fight with the raptor and the old house giving up the ghost around them. He gritted his teeth together and kept his movements slow and careful, lifting his hand to where he believed Jess's face was.

He both heard and felt her gasp as his fingertips grazed her cheek, the ordinarily smooth skin marred by something he prayed was only tears but had a horrible feeling it was probably blood. After a moment's hesitation, she leaned into his touch, her breath shaky.

"I'm sorry you're stuck here, too." His voice was hoarse, caused by more than the dust particles in the air but Becker would never admit to it. "You shouldn't be. You're supposed to be safe. I'm supposed to keep you safe."

"It's not your fault, Becker." Her voice was soft, and he could feel her lips moving under his fingers as he continued to silently map the contours of her face and imagine he could see her. "You can't... You can't blame yourself for this. None of it's your fault."

"You shouldn't be here." He argued without real heat, feeling guilty that there was a part of him that was pleased she was.

For a moment, Jess was silent. And then he felt her move, shifting just as cautiously as he had, one of her legs slipping in between his as she moved closer. "If I hadn't been here, you'd already be dead," she told him in a whisper. "That makes it impossible for me to wish I was anywhere else."

When he felt her breath against his cheek, the last of his internal walls came tumbling down. He closed the gap between them, blindly seeking her mouth with his. Jess moved her hand to his chest, clutching at his Tac Vest as she returned the kiss just as desperately.

He tasted the salt of tears on her lips and wished he could see her eyes, wished he could promise that everything would be okay and that they would somehow get out of the dire situation they were in.

Knowing that he couldn't make those promises, not without taking the risk of breaking them, Becker continued to kiss her instead, trying to convey everything he felt for her but struggled to put into words. His hand dropped from her face to rest at her back, holding her against him as if she might suddenly be snatched away.

One of them kept apologising between kisses that grew more heated, more desperate; he was only a little surprised to realise it was him. Apologising for being there, for not being able to save her like she saved him. Apologising for not having kissed her sooner and not being brave enough to tell her... to tell her...

Becker broke the kiss reluctantly, leaning his forehead against hers as his breath left him in unsteady pants. "Jess. Jessica I..."

"Becker? Jess?" Their names being called out stopped him mid-sentence. "If you can hear me, answer me."

It was Jess who replied to Matt's plan, her voice weak. "We're here, Matt!"

Finding her hand with his, Becker tangled their fingers together before joining her in calling out to their teammate, their joint efforts rewarded a few moments later by the sound of more voices and the feeling of the weight bearing down on them slowly being removed.

As a ray of light cut through the darkness shrouding them, brown eyes locked with blue, making a wordless promise that one day soon, their interrupted conversation would continue.

For CKC8867, who requested "Jess/Becker pre-ship, caught in a life threatening situation and in an odd role reversal Jess is the one to save Becker's life. Still thinking the end is near, inhibitions and emotional walls come tumbling down."