Title: Control
Author: DrawnToDarkness
Rating: M
Pairing: Jess/Becker
Content Warnings: Sexual content, adult situations, mild violence, attempted assault.
Summary: A seemingly innocent anomaly has consequences for two members of the ARC team.
Author's Note: Inspired by the classic SG-1 episode 'The Broca Divide' though decidedly more M-rated. If you watched Stargate, you may recognise a name or two in this story.

Please note the warnings above - they are there for a reason.

The night shift at the ARC was, for the most part, quiet. For some reason, fewer anomalies tended to form in the midnight hours and, while it was strange, Sergeant Keith Harrison was not about to complain. When an anomaly opened three hours into his shift, he stifled a sigh and left the ARC with the rest of the team after making the necessary calls to Captain Becker. Though not on duty himself, the Head of the Security and commanding officer of the military contingent had standing orders to be informed of any anomalies, no matter what time they appeared.

Why, Harrison wasn't sure. He knew for a fact that Jess Parker had set up the ADD to automatically alert Becker, Matt Anderson, James Lester and herself of any anomalies that occurred while they were off duty but the Captain insisted on being personally briefed, too.

Harrison privately thought the other man needed to get a social life of some variety. It surely wasn't healthy for someone to be so focused on their job, no matter how important it was, that they let the little pleasures in life pass them by.

While he was as single as he knew his Captain to be, Harrison didn't let that stop him from having a good time. He had friends and colleagues who were married with the requisite brood of children and, while the idea of having someone to go home to after a long shift did hold some appeal, he was mostly happy to play the dating game. That was why he preferred working the day shift, no matter that there were more anomalies to deal with.

Having a social life was easier when you weren't going to work when everyone else was getting ready to go out and let their hair down.

Still, the night shift had some perks, which was why he never complained when he received his monthly rota. The relative peace and quiet being one; the decrease in paperwork as a result was another.

Driving to the site, he heard the stand-in Field Co-ordinator, Lieutenant Ford, announce that the anomaly was still quiet with no sign of any incursion. Harrison heard someone on his team breathe a sigh of relief and bit back one of his own. If an incursion happened, they'd deal with it – they were more than able to, in no small part thanks to the vigorous training regime set by their Captain and the team leader – but he agreed with whichever teammate it had been that any anomaly without an incursion was something to be relieved about.

When they made it to the site without any further updates, Harrison felt the knot of tension in his stomach uncoil. He gave his men their orders, knowing it was unnecessary even as he did, and picked up the locking device himself before heading towards the anomaly.

Really, they were quite attractive to look at. The golden lights could actually be quite pretty – if you didn't know what dangers hid behind them. If it weren't for the questions it would undeniable garner, he thought a photograph of an anomaly, blown up and framed appropriately, might make for a nice piece of art…

Lost in his musings, he didn't notice the strange vapour at first, oozing out of the anomaly. It wasn't until he knelt down next to the device to lock it that he started coughing and realised the mist covering the ground wasn't a natural occurrence.

Not in this time, anyway.

He covered his mouth with one hand, locked the anomaly with the other. When he stood, he felt a little light-headed but managed to shake it off before anyone noticed.

"Ford, can I get an affirmative that you didn't see anything come through the anomaly?"

"Affirmative, Sarge." Lieutenant Ford didn't hesitate. "I've rewound the footage, watched it through from the moment it opened. There is no incursion."

"Roger that." Harrison turned to one of his men, motioning for them to stand guard. "We'll stay till it closes, then we'll head back unless there's another one."

"Yes, Sir."

When he looked again, the vapour had vanished. Relaxing, he moved to lean against the ARC truck, ready to settle in and wait.

It was just mist, he told himself. Nothing to worry about, and certainly not worth alarming anyone.

Working at the ARC had made her into a morning person. Before she'd got the job as Field Co-ordinator, Jess Parker had liked to lie in on a morning, staring at the ceiling of her bedroom, making shapes out of the shadows caused by the light seeping in from around the curtains. It reminded her of being a little girl, lying on her back on the grass and making shapes out of the clouds above.

That had changed since she'd been appointed at the ARC. She loved her job – loved it. And it wasn't just because there was a certain person she looked forward to seeing every day, either. The job itself was both challenging (sometimes not so pleasantly) and interesting. Her days were never boring. Her colleagues, both those that made up the main team and those who didn't, were genuinely lovely people, and made working together a pleasant experience.

So it was with a bright smile and a bounce in her step that Jess arrived for work on Friday morning, well before her shift was due to begin. She exchanged pleasantries with the normally stoic soldier on the security checkpoint, counting herself victorious when he returned her smile and wished her a good day, and continued on through the maze of corridors towards the hub.

She loved getting there before shift change, loved having the opportunity to see those leaving for the day and those just getting there. She was a friendly person, a caring person, and liked to make sure that those she worked with were okay or see if there was something she could do to make their jobs just a little bit easier.

Turning the corner to walk along the corridor leading to the locker room, a small noise of surprise escaped her as she walked into something – someone – rather than the empty space she'd been anticipating. Recovering her balance quickly, she looked up, a smile on her face when she saw Sergeant Harrison standing there.

"Morning, Keith," she greeted him warmly, "or, rather, good night, for you. Just finishing the nightshift?"

"What?" It took a few moments for the Sergeant to focus on her face. His eyes were distracted, distant, and Jess noticed a thin sheen of sweat causing the skin of his face to shine. "Oh. Yeah. Morning." His eyes locked with hers as he spoke. A glint appeared in their green depths, and his expression shifted subtly as his gaze wandered over her speculatively. "Jess."

Taking an involuntary step back, a frown marring her brow, Jess stared at him in concern. "Are you feeling alright, Keith? You don't look very well."

Harrison blinked, the glint and the expression disappearing in an instant. He ran a hand through his sandy blond hair and gave her the familiar boyish grin she knew without a doubt was responsible for winning him more than a few admirers amongst their colleagues. "I'm fine. Tired," he corrected, "but that's to be expected."

"Was it a busy night?" She asked, concern still clear in her voice. "I know there was an anomaly but Lieutenant Ford said there was no incursion?"

"No, it was a good one. As good as they get," he added with a shrug. "Just feels like it's been a long night, that's all."

"Then you'll be glad it's over," Jess commented companionably, stepping aside so he could pass by her. "Go and get some sleep. But if you're not feeling okay later, call in sick, okay? It's better to be safe than sorry, especially in this line of work."

Harrison grinned at her again, turning up the charm. "Sound words of advice, Miss Parker." He winked at her and started to move past her. "Though if I do call in sick, I'll be telling the Captain it was on your say so."

"You do that." Jess bit her bottom lip in an unsuccessful attempt to keep from smiling just at the thought of Captain Becker. "I'll fight your corner for you," she promised with a laugh, waving at him as she continued on towards the locker rooms, ready to face the rest of the day.

By mid afternoon, Jess had forgotten all about her early morning meeting with Sergeant Harrison. Two anomaly alerts, one with an incursion and one without, had seen to it that she'd been kept busy enough to completely miss lunch – something she didn't realise until her empty stomach decided to protest quite loudly.

She felt her cheeks flood with warmth as she pressed a hand to her stomach, glancing around to see if anyone was within earshot. The colour in her cheeks deepened when she noticed the corners of Captain Becker's mouth twitch and she hurriedly moved her gaze back to the ADD screens before he could look up.

After five minutes passed without comment, she managed to convince herself that her stomach hadn't really growled that loudly and that he hadn't heard it, which made her feel better for another five minutes, until movement out of the corner of her eye made her jump. Seconds later, while her heart was still pounding erratically in her chest, an arm snaked past her and a plate with half a sandwich on it was set down on the desk next to her keyboard.

Surprised, Jess blinked, half-expecting it to disappear as though it was a figment of her imagination. When it didn't disappear, she twisted in her chair, looking up at the person who'd put it there. "Thank you."

Becker gave her a quick, almost embarrassed grin as he turned away from her without saying a word, heading back to his work station where the other half of the sandwich waited for him. With a pretty pink flush on her cheeks, Jess turned back to her computer and her late lunch, a smile she couldn't fight on her face.

A short time later, Becker finished his report on the morning's anomalies and passed it to Jess to be processed along with the others before she in turn would pass it to Lester. As he no longer had a reason to linger in Ops, he gave her a quick smile before leaving for the armoury, missing the sigh that escaped her when she was left alone.

Ordinarily, the lack of company didn't bother her – not that she was ever truly alone for long. There was always a stray scientist or technician milling around, and Lester was just a short distance away in his office with the glass walls, but there were days when Jess wished her work station didn't mean she had to have her back to the rest of the room. Days when she wished she could leave it and go and visit with one of the other members of the team.

Telling herself she could catch up with Abby and Emily later when her shift was over, she started getting to work on collating the reports that had been left on her desk from both the night and day shift.

He couldn't sleep. He couldn't eat.

He couldn't stop thinking about her.

The way she'd felt brushed up against him, the sparkle in her eyes and the smile on her face.

The way she smelt.

His hands clenched into fists, sweat pouring off him as he tried in vain to reign in the impulses coursing through him.

He needed to see her.

Touch her.

Taste her.

Claim her.

The rational side of his brain fought against his body's demands, knowing somewhere that it wasn't right, that she wasn't his. That side of his brain lost as images filled his mind, vivid and tempting, causing his blood to heat and his heart to pound erratically.

The need he felt was almost painful, the desire a thirst that was impossible to quench.

The primal instincts took over quickly and he found himself driving back to the ARC in search of his would-be mate.

Chapter two coming soon.