Title: A Little Misunderstanding
Author: DrawnToDarkness
Rating: K+
Pairing: Jess/Becker
Spoilers: None.
Summary: Jealousy and misunderstandings...
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be unless I come into copious amounts of money. Still, I love them as if they were :)

For: Katdemon1895. Prompt is at the end as it's spoilery.

The sound of Jess's laughter rang out in the hub, causing his shoulders to tense as he made his way to Lester's office. He glanced over at the ADD, his hand tightening around the report in his hand as he saw her smile at one of the new additions to the military contingent. The soldier, a Lieutenant Jenner, had only been at the ARC for a week and he'd taken a shine to the pretty Field Co-ordinator.

What bugged Becker was that the feeling seemed to be mutual.

Every time he saw her recently, Lieutenant Jenner was there, making her laugh and smile and look up at him with those big blue eyes...

"Are you joining us, Captain?" Lester's unamused voice shook him from his thoughts and Becker found himself forcing back a blush at the knowing smirk on Matt's face as he joined them in the office.

The office with its glass wall, affording him a perfect view as Jenner continued to hover around Jess and the ADD.

The meeting was pretty much a blur; he answered when it was expected of him but didn't really pay much attention to what was being said.

Until Lester mentioned something about a tuxedo.

"Tuxedo?" Becker repeated dumbly, tearing his gaze away from Jess and Jenner to look at his boss. "Why do we need tuxedos?"

"Because it's a black tie event, Becker. Your uniform, while the right colour, will not suffice." When Becker only continued to stare at him in confusion, Lester sighed and shook his head. "Catch him up, will you, Anderson? I find repeating myself tiresome." When the team leader answered in the affirmative, Lester nodded. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go. Some of us have actual work to do."

Even when Matt took him outside and explained it again, it took two attempts before the information he was being given started to sink in: posh do at an even posher hotel, lots of rich people, potential funders for the ARC now Prospero's continued sponsorship looked doubtful.

The bad news was it was mandatory; Lester wanted each of the ARC's key players to attend and try and encourage the wealthy patrons to part with their cash.

"So what's the good news?" Becker asked impatiently, wanting to get away from the Ops room and the sight of Jenner leaning unnecessarily close to Jess, who didn't seem to mind in the slightest, as the young woman explained something to him in great detail.

"The good news is seeing Jess in a knock-out dress might be enough to knock you out of whatever mood you've been in all week," Matt said bluntly, arms folded over his chest when Becker finally tore his gaze away from the woman in question to glare at him. "Seriously, mate, if you're that bothered, why don't you do something about it?"

"Do something about what?" Becker stared at Matt in genuine confusion, causing his friend and teammate to sigh in obvious exasperation.

"Jess." Matt held his gaze evenly. "If seeing her with other blokes gets you this riled up, you know what you need to do about it."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Becker made sure his expression was blank. "Jess is free to do whatever she wants. It doesn't bother me."

"Right." Matt's smirk made it clear he didn't believe him. "Keep telling yourself that and maybe one day someone will believe it."

The team leader walked away before Becker could argue, leaving the Captain standing alone, listening to the sound of Jess's laughter and trying to tell himself it wasn't as mocking as it sounded.

As was becoming his reluctant routine, Becker avoided seeing Jess for the rest of the day. It wasn't easy; he'd grown so used to spending time with her, finding excuses to hang around the hub and see if he could make her smile.

The way Jenner now was.

He opened the door of his locker with far more force than necessary, glaring at it when it banged into the locker next to his and almost bounced back on his hand. Engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't realise he wasn't alone until he heard the voice of one of the two people he really, really didn't want to see or speak to.

"Becker?" Jess sounded uncertain, which was unlike her. Even when they'd first started working together, she'd been confident and bubbly and bright and enthusiastic.

He answered without looking at her. "Yeah?"

"Are you... Are you okay?"

'No' was the obvious answer but he wasn't going to tell her that. "Fine."

"Oh." Unsurprisingly, she didn't sound convinced. Becker heard the click of her heels on the tiled floor as she hesitantly made her way closer. "Are you sure? I mean, it's just that I haven't seen much of you recently, and you're not acting like yourself and..."

"I've been busy," Becker cut her off mid-flow, knowing he was being rude and hating himself for it but unable to stop. "You've been busy," he added a little more scathingly than he'd planned.

"Well, yes, but no more than usual." Jess, sweet and naive Jess, sounded all the more confused. "We're always busy but..."

'But you usually always make time for me,' was how Becker imagined she might have finished the sentence if the sudden slamming of his locker door hadn't made her take a step back, her eyes wide in surprise.

"Have I... Have I done something wrong?" The tone of voice she used almost broke his resolve but Becker couldn't get the image of her laughing with Jenner out of his head, laughing at him for being an idiot and thinking she'd actually wait for him. "Have I done something to upset you?"

Squaring his shoulders, he forced himself to look at her but couldn't quite manage the reassuring smile he'd told himself he was going for. "What you do doesn't concern me, Jessica," he told her instead, his voice quiet but not as soft as he'd intended. "Have a good night."

Striding out of the locker room, Becker wouldn't let himself look back.

A sleepless night followed his conversation with Jess. Guilt gnawed at him, forcing him to relive the flash of hurt in her eyes and the downcast expression on her face.

He had a little voice at the back of his mind, one that alternately resembled each of his teammates, as it took turns in berating him for being stupid – 'why would Jess be laughing at you, you idiot? Jess likes you. She's not mean like that.' – and telling him that he deserved everything he got – 'You are an idiot. Did you really think she'd just wait for you to make a move forever? Heck, Connor got his act together quicker than you have!'

When he arrived at the ARC, grumpy from lack of sleep, he knew he had to find Jess and apologise. Unfortunately, given the mood he was in thanks to not having had much rest, he knew that the slightest little thing might set him off again and decided not to run the risk of bumping into her and Jenner.

He told himself he'd catch up with her before she left for the night – before she went home to get herself ready for the evening do Lester was forcing them to attend. It was better, he thought, to clear the air with her before the team were forced to spend the evening together surrounded by strangers.

That was his master plan but, like most plans, it went a little awry.

The first problem was the anomaly alert mid-afternoon, which meant he hadn't been able to avoid Jess until home time. Standing beside her in the hub, collecting his black box while she reeled off coordinates and other relevant information, had been awkward to say the least. And uncomfortable.

She hadn't looked at him. Hadn't snuck a glance at him or smiled or told him to stay safe like she normally did.

In fact, she didn't even sound like she normally did – subdued was not a word he was used to associating with Jess Parker and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was his fault. And if he hadn't known it, Abby and Emily's glares and silent treatment would have clued him in to that particular fact.

The second problem was that by the time they made it back to the ARC, it was past time for them to leave again. Lester had already left, leaving a message for them not to be late, and Jess, Becker was frustrated to find, had already gone home, too.

Heading to the locker room – 'the scene of the crime', the little voice at the back of his mind taunted him – Becker started thinking about ways he could make it up to Jess at the evening reception until a sudden thought stopped him in his tracks.

What if she was taking a date? What if she was taking Jenner?

Any positivity he'd been feeling evaporated, and he stomped into room and stalked over to his locker, scowling at the thought.

The sound of the showers didn't register at first, nor did the muffled voices having a conversation on the other side of the room. It was only when he heard Jess's name and recognised the voice that said it that Becker started paying attention.

"So I asked Jess out." Jenner's voice, barely audible above the sound of running water, had Becker taking a step closer.

"How did it go?" Recognising the voice as being Hardy, another one of his men, Becker arched an eyebrow.

His soldiers, he knew, though they'd deny it vehemently, were just as fond of sharing gossip about their colleagues as the women from accounts and HR.

"About as well as you said it would."

"She turned you down?"

"Yep." At the obvious disappointment in Jenner's answer, a smile broke out across his Captain's face.

"I'm sorry, mate." Hardy did sound sorry, but also a little bit smug. "I did try to tell you."

"I know, and I should've listened. She was really sweet about it, very apologetic." Jenner didn't sound like he was holding a grudge, much to Becker's relief. "It was like she thought she was doing something wrong, really."

"That's our Jess," Hardy said almost cheerfully, his possessive term of 'our' making Becker narrow his eyes. "She's always nice, and you know she's gonna be feeling guilty about it."

"I know." Jenner's sigh was almost lost in the shower's downpour. "I told her it was fine but..."

"But she's Jess, and she hates thinking that she's hurt someone's feelings."

That, Becker knew, was the truth. And it immediately made him feel even worse for the way he'd been treating the young woman who he'd come to think of as one of his closest friends as well as a good colleague.

He was just about to turn back to his locker, collect his things and go, when Jenner started talking again.

"So what's the story with Jess? Does she have a rule about not dating people from work?"

"Not that I know of." Even without seeing him, Becker guessed Hardy had shrugged as he spoke. "I think it's just the wrong people asking her."

"People?" Jenner's surprise mimicked Becker's own.

"Oh, yeah. You're not alone, mate." The amused tone was back as Hardy continued. "I know at least four soldiers and two of the science geeks have asked her out. She's always perfectly sweet about it, but she always turns them down."

Restraint kept him from interrupting the conversation to ask him who those people were – the soldiers in particular, so he could make sure he gave them extra press-ups during his next training exercise. Restraint, and curiosity.

"Oh. Do you the another woman might have more luck...?"

Hardy's laughter bounced off the tiles of the shower cubicle he was in. "No. No, I think she's only got eyes for one bloke around here and he likes to pretend he's clueless."

"Really?" Again, Jenner's question mirrored the one Becker wanted to ask. "Who?"

"The Captain."

Hardy's answer caused his heart to race. Becker ran a hand through his hair, feeling awkward even though no one knew he was there.

"Captain Becker?" Jenner, again, sounded surprised, and Becker couldn't help but feel a little insulted. "Really?"

"Why so surprised?"

Jenner hesitated before answering. "I've just never seen them together, I guess."

Another pang of guilt struck him, knowing it was true. He'd avoided Jess after Jenner's first day, having seen a connection between them – or having thought he saw a connection between them.

"He's been acting kind of odd," Hardy admitted as Becker tuned back into the conversation. "That's not usual, I promise."

"Huh. I got the impression he didn't like her or something."

"Oh, he likes her." Becker was glad Hardy answered immediately, the sound of the other man's voice disguising the small sound of protest that had unwittingly escaped him. "Probably as much as she likes him. He's just..."

"Stupid?"

It was hard to be insulted when the little voice at the back of his mind agreed whole-heartedly.

"No. More like... scared?"

"Scared?" Now Jenner snorted incredulously, while Becker froze. "Captain Becker?"

"Not physically, obviously. Jess can be scary at times but the Captain's got nothing to fear from her there." Having seen her take out a beetle while hallucinating and in the middle of suffering from a severe case of anaphylactic shock, Becker wasn't so sure but kept that thought to himself. "It's more like... He's been doing this longer than we have. He's seen things, lost people. I think he's probably scared of losing someone else so he holds himself at a distance..."

"And Jess suffers as a result?" Jenner did not sound impressed and, for once, Becker couldn't blame him. "So he's stupid, like I said, and selfish with it. With jobs like this, you should live or the moment. Enjoy life while you've still got one to enjoy."

"Preaching to the choir, mate. Hopefully one day the Captain will see it that way, too."

Having heard enough, Becker turned on his heel, grabbed his jacket from his locker and closed it – quietly – behind him before leaving the ARC and heading home.

Due to leaving work late, he arrived at the fundraising event late, too. He caught Lester's disapproving look from across the room but didn't acknowledge it or make any sign of apology; his gaze was already searching the room for the one person he felt he really needed to apologise to.

She wasn't standing with Matt and Emily, where they were near the bar seemingly engrossed in conversation with some of the potential funders they were there to sweet-talk into agreeing to fund a programme they wouldn't be given full disclosure on.

She wasn't with Lester and his wife, who were standing with the Minister and a woman Becker assumed was his wife, trading fake smiles and compliments that were probably just as insincere.

Finding Connor and Abby on the dance floor wasn't difficult thanks to the disgruntled glances Lester kept throwing in their direction and Jess definitely wasn't with them, either.

It was only on his third visual sweep of the room that he spotted her, his breath catching in his throat when he saw her for the first time.

She looked stunning.

Her hair was partly clipped back, partly flowing in loose curls around her face and shoulders. Her bare shoulders, the smooth expanse of skin devoid of material thanks to the strapless black bodice of the long flowing dress she was wearing. The smile on her face was polite but decidedly cooler than those he was used to seeing and her blue eyes kept darting away from the man she was dancing with, looking, Becker thought, for an escape route.

Seeing their colleagues were too busy to come to her rescue – and being not-so-secretly glad of that fact – Becker strode across the dance floor towards Jess and her all-too-eager dance partner, entirely oblivious to the admiring glances being thrown his way.

"So if I was to donate some of my hard earned cash to your little project," Jess's dance partner was saying as Becker approached, "just how appreciative would you be?"

Before Jess could answer, Becker cleared his throat. "May I cut in?"

Even as the man she was dancing with protested, Becker took Jess's hand and tugged her unresisting form from her dance partner's arms. Accepting the glare he got from the other man with a smirk, Becker whisked Jess away from him, determined to put as much distance between them as possible.

It wasn't until they were well away from her former dance partner that Jess spoke, the hand he wasn't holding resting tentatively against his shoulder as his other arm slid around her waist. "Thank you. For the rescue." She stared at his chest rather than lifting her gaze to his face. "I didn't think you were going to make it."

"Lester would've fired me if I hadn't." It was a pitiful excuse; their boss might've made his life a misery for a good few months but he was in no danger of losing his job and they both knew it. "Look, Jess, I'm..." The word 'sorry' got caught in his throat when she looked up at him, her blue eyes locking with his and showing the hurt and confusion she still felt.

"What did I do?" Jess asked instead when he couldn't finish, biting her bottom lip as though she hadn't meant for the question to come out. "You've been okay with everyone else so I must've done something..."

"You didn't." His arm tightened around her middle as though he was afraid she was going to push him away. "It was me. I'm sorry. I... I misunderstood something."

Jess continued to look at him. "You misunderstood something? Involving me?" When he didn't expand on the subject, she bit her lip again. "Well, whatever it is, I'm sorry..."

"Jess, no." He shook his head slightly. "You have nothing to apologise for. I promise. You really don't."

"But what..." Her voice trailed off when he slid his hand further around her waist, drawing her even closer. "Becker..."

"Please don't apologise when you've got nothing to apologise for. It only makes me feel worse." He kept talking when it looked like she was going to protest. "I thought... I saw you and Lieutenant Jenner and I thought... Well, it doesn't matter what I thought. I was wrong, and I'm sorry."

Fortunately for him, Jess chose not to press the subject. Instead she gave him a small, speculative smile and relaxed against him for the first of what turned out to be many, many dances.

They were in Lester's bad books but Becker couldn't bring himself to care as he left the taxi with the meter still running, promising the driver he wouldn't be long. He ignored Jess's protests that she was more than capable of walking up to her flat herself and let his hand rest against the small of her back as they made their way up to her flat.

"Thank you, for walking me to my door. Even though it really wasn't necessary." Jess rolled her eyes but smiled at him anyway. "And thank you for saving me from any more dances with creepy potential funders."

"You are more than welcome for that." Especially as it had meant he'd got to spend most of the night holding her, no matter how hard Lester had glared or how much teasing he suspected he'd have to endure from their teammates. "I think I forgot to tell you earlier but you look amazing tonight, Jess."

The blush that rose in her cheeks made him grin. "Oh. Well. Thank you." They gazed at one another for a moment, Jess's blush growing darker until she broke eye contact. "You should probably... The driver's waiting..."

"And the meter's still running," Becker agreed, but still made no attempt at leaving. It took another minute before he took a step away from her, turning to go back down the stairs before stopping abruptly so he could turn back to face her. "Jess?"

Her expression was a combination of curious and hopeful. "Yes?"

"Will you let me take you to dinner? Tomorrow night?" He spoke quickly, the words running into one another, but from the smile that broke out across her face, Becker was reasonably sure Jess was aware of what he'd said and bit the inside of his mouth to keep from adding a 'please' to the end of his request.

It didn't make a difference to Jess, who nodded even as she answered. "Yes. Tomorrow is good. Barring anomalies and incursions and everything else."

"Of course." He grinned at her; he couldn't help it. "I should..."

"You should." She matched his grin with an almost shy smile of her own. "I'll see you tomorrow, Becker. Goodnight."

"Night, Jess." With a spring in his step, Becker made his way back downstairs, sure he'd have no problems sleeping that night and that any dreams he had were sure to be sweet.

End.

Written for Katdemon1895, who prompted 'Becker!jealousy / dance, Jess/Becker pre-ship.'