A/N So here is Chapter Two with our favourite Explosions Nerd still struggling. How will Jess react to Becker's little - er - issue? And how will they ever get out of the storage room?

I really should have called this chapter "Becker: Man of Steel" and as such I dedicate it to lovingthis (I hope she remembers why!) :D

Wow - I have been really overwhelmed with your reviews again - thank you to everyone, you are all awesome! I hope I don't disappoint anyone too much but this is just a short two-shot (sorry). I'm really not great at writing anything short - but I hope it works ok! :D

For a moment Jess had no idea what on earth he should be sorry about. Without thinking, she moved her feet, her legs beginning to tingle with lack of circulation, and this inadvertently rubbed her hip across his groin. Becker groaned again and Jess's eyes flew wide with recognition. She blushed furiously, crimson red, as she realised just what Becker was apologising for.

His breath was ragged and noisy, just above her head, as he tried to calm down, still trying to think of anything other than the vision of beauty pressed against his body. He was still failing.

"Oh!" cried Jess, trying not to sound too horrified. She began to ramble again in an attempt to put him at ease, to lessen his embarrassment.

"Oh, well, its ok Becker. I mean, it could happen to anyone. We're in quite a situation here. I guess its bound to happen, trapped against a woman for such a long time. It would probably have happened if I were Emily or Abby or any of the female techs. It doesn't mean anything. I mean, it doesn't mean you find me attractive or anything -" she laughed nervously, wishing the earthquake had resulted in a hole in the floor that she could conveniently crawl into and hide.

There was silence as Jess's ramblings dried up as she bit her lip again, mentally chanting "shut up, shut up, shut up!".

Becker lifted his head from the wall and gazed down at the top of her head. His breathing increased as emotion momentarily overcame his reason.

"I don't find you attractive, Jessica -" he paused, wondering how the hell to continue.

Jess's heart plummeted at his blunt confirmation of what she already knew. He didn't want her, he never had. She knew that, but to hear it put into words so abruptly, crushed her more effectively than any storage racking. She tried to cover up her disappointment by giving a short laugh and rambling again.

"Well I know that, Becker, like I said, its fine, its really not a problem, I'm not worried about it and neither should you be -" she risked a look up at him and frowned at the odd expression on his face.

Suddenly his face broke out in a grin as he realised what she thought he'd said. He dipped his head two inches towards hers, pressing his cheek to hers and whispering in her ear.

"I'm in love with you."

Before she could reply, they were interrupted.

"That's very nice, Becker. Now tell us something we don't know - like where the hell you are!" Matt's amused voice crackled into their earpieces.

Becker's head jerked upwards. "Matt?" he snapped. "What on earth happened?"

"We experienced a small earthquake and a subsequent larger aftershock. Comms went down but Connor's just got them back online now. Are you and Jess ok? Where are you?"

Becker almost laughed with relief. Help was on the way - but, oh crap, they had all just heard his whispered confession. Shaking it off, deciding to deal with that later, Becker switched into soldier mode.

"Matt, we're trapped on the lower basement level. Storage Room 5." There was brief pause as he turned his head away from Jess, even though he knew she would hear through her earpiece. "You need to hurry, mate," he said quietly.

"Understood," came the crackly reply and then some garbled orders to the security team to accompany Matt to Storage Room 5.

Jess stared up at Becker, as he had known she would, worry now etched into her face.

"What's wrong, Becker?" she asked, concerned.

Becker smiled down at her. "Absolutely nothing," he told her reassuringly but she frowned, unsure if she believed him.

She didn't mention his their previous conversation and it turned out that Matt's voice had been the best cold shower he'd ever had. They stood in silence now, waiting for rescue. And it seemed like a long time coming.

Finally, Becker heard the door lock beep as Matt swiped his wrist band outside in the corridor. The door swung open and Matt and a small security detail shoved some smaller racks out of the way to get to Becker and Jess.

Matt grinned when he saw Becker, but Jess was well and truly hidden by the soldier's body.

"How you holding up, mate?" he greeted his 2IC. "Where's Jess?"

"Here!" squeaked Jess, waving her hand in Matt's direction from somewhere under Becker's arm. Matt smirked wickedly at the Captain to be met with Becker's fiercest glare.

"Matt, you need to get these storage racks off me. They're getting heavy," Becker's voice was laced with effort even as he tried to prevent Jess from realising just how desperate their situation had become. Meeting Matt's eyes, he dropped his own towards his arms and Matt instantly understood.

Matt noted the sheen of sweat across Becker's brow and on the visible skin of his arms. He saw how Becker's biceps trembled with exertion and realised the man had reached the outer limits of his muscle strength. If he and the security team didn't get the weight from Becker's back soon, his arms would buckle and he and Jess would need some serious medical attention.

Matt assessed the situation. The large filing cabinet had tipped with the force of the earthquake and it was that which was pinning the storage racks against the soldier's back. It took 6 men to heave the cabinet back upright, followed by 3 separate steel storage racks. As they moved to lift the final rack, Matt heard Becker's low voice, tense and uneasy.

"Hurry, Matt."

Matt and the team raised the rack as quickly and carefully as they could. Becker groaned loudly as the metal edge of the racking scraped up his back, aggravating the still bleeding wound across his shoulders. As the weight was lifted, Becker's knees buckled and Jess had to grab him either side of his ribs to stop him from keeling over.

"Matt!" she cried out urgently. Matt ran to her and helped her to steady Becker who was now groaning in pain. His arms refused to move from the position they had held for the past hour or so, his muscles burning with pain, and the wound on his back was bleeding freely. In short, the man was a mess.

Matt tapped his Comms and called for medics before helping Becker to sit on the storage room floor. Jess sat next to him, wiggling her feet in an attempt to initiate some kind of circulation into them and grimacing as pins and needles prickled down her calves to the tips of her toes.

The medics clattered in with a gurney and Becker looked up at Matt furiously.

"I don't need that!" he growled, trying to stand under his own power and failing spectacularly.

"Sure you do, mate," Matt told him gently, helping him up and coaxing him to sit on the trolley.

Exhaustion suddenly hit Becker with a vengeance and he curled up on the gurney, looking young and childlike.

Jess looked at Matt, more terrified by Becker's lack of protest at being wheeled away on a trolley than by her experience of the earthquake. She put her hand on the team leader's arm as they followed the medics down the corridor.

"What's wrong with him?" she whispered.

Matt gazed down at her and squeezed the hand on his arm. "He'll be ok. Its just a side effect of straining his arm muscles for so long." Jess frowned, not understanding, so Matt explained. "It's a condition weight lifters and some athletes get. The body converts oxygen to energy but the exertion of bracing those racks used up energy faster than his body could supply the oxygen. In that scenario, the body uses glucose to provide energy. The downside of that is the production of lactic acid."

"Lactic acid?" asked Jess prompting him to continue.

"Lactic acid acts to slow down the muscles ability to contract. Its like a safety mechanism to prevent permanent damage during long periods of strain. It produces an extremely painful burning sensation in the muscles and will eventually lead to loss of strength and mobility in the limbs." Matt smiled at her. "He just needs to sleep for a really long time," he assured her, smirking.

Jess didn't think it was funny. She stopped in her tracks and stared at Matt, her lips pursed.

"And how long do you suppose he was in that state before you lifted those racks and released him?" she asked, quietly.

Matt stopped too and became serious again. "A while," he told her gently. He took her arm again and patted it comfortingly. "But don't worry. He's a tough guy. He can handle it."

Jess looked like she needed rather more convincing but allowed him to lead her from the lower levels of the ARC up to the Medical Bay.

After checking on Becker, Matt made his way back to the Ops Room to assist with any repairs still required after the earth tremors. Jess, meanwhile, popped her head round the privacy curtain to see the Captain. He lay on a cot, curled up on his side, his arms still bent and stiff. His eyes were closed and he looked sound asleep, his features soft and unlined. But exhaustion showed in the dark, purple circles under his eyes and the tension in his limbs.

On her tiptoes Jess took a couple of steps closer to the bed, trying to be careful not to wake the soldier with her heels. She gazed at him for a moment before taking a deep breath and telling him what she had come to say.

"Hi Becker," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I know you're tired so I won't stay long. I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life - again."

She paused, uncertain of how to express herself, then just decided to plough on regardless. He probably couldn't hear her anyway.

"I heard what you said, before Matt - before Matt -" she stumbled over her words and tried again. "Anyway, I just wanted you to know that its ok, it doesn't matter if you don't want it to. I know Matt and Connor heard but you don't need to worry about them. I don't want you to be embarrassed or uncomfortable on my account so if you just want to forget you said anything, I won't mind. In fact, I've forgotten already!"

Jess stopped again, aware she was rambling, when all she wanted to do was alleviate some of the discomfort he must be feeling both physically and emotionally on her behalf.

"Anyway, thank you again for saving my life, again." She began to back away towards the curtain, mentally kicking herself for being so inept around the man even when he was unconscious.

"I'd better - I'd better get back to work," she told his sleeping form and disappeared through the curtain, out of the medical bay and back towards the Ops Room as fast as her legs would carry her.

Becker lay curled up on the medical bay cot, completely unable to move. He was lying on his side, his legs and arms stiff and burning, with little or no motor function. He couldn't move his head or even open his eyes, such was the extent of his exhaustion. But he couldn't find relief in sleep either with the burning in his limbs and the throbbing of the wound, freshly stitched, in his back.

He heard Jess tiptoe towards his bed and heard her bumbled attempt to rescue him from his own stupidity. He wanted to smile, to tell her he was awake, but his lips refused to work. He felt bad knowing that she must think him unconscious and unable to hear her when in fact he was eavesdropping on her every word. He was amazed by what he heard. She was letting him know that he could forget about what he'd said and go back to normal, just Head of Security and Field Co-Ordinator, and she wouldn't make a fuss. She wouldn't make it hard on him or get upset or pouty because of it.

She was the most amazing, giving woman he had ever met. He knew he was in for some ribbing from Matt and Connor whatever he decided to do. They had heard his confession and whatever Jess made them promise for her sake they would still find some way to never let him forget it. But did he want to forget it? Hadn't he just, quite simply, told her the truth? And, if that were the case, why should he need to forget it? Because it would be better for her, safer for her, if he did, he told himself, only half convincingly. Sleep claimed him then and his limbs fell heavy and weak onto the bed.

Several hours later and repair work was progressing well in the Ops Room. Jess was sat in her big red chair at the ADD running an intensive diagnostic to ensure that the earthquake had not caused any lasting damage to their most important piece of equipment. Matt and Connor were stood together at Matt's desk, nearest Lester's office, discussing the next set of repair works, as Becker walked gingerly down the steps, drawing their attention. Both smirked and glanced at each other, then, both leaning their weight on the desk behind them, arms folded across their chests, they teased the Captain.

"So, Matt, which nickname did we decide on in the end?" asked Connor.

"Well, I still like Action Man, to be fair," said Matt then he paused for effect. "But Lover Boy is definitely growing on me!"

Both men chuckled earning themselves a death glare from Becker as he walked past them slowly towards the ADD and Jess. He approached Jess quietly and made her jump as he suddenly appeared at her side.

"Oh Becker!" she gasped startled. She steadied herself almost immediately and smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

Becker smiled back. "Sore," he admitted. "But glad to see that you're ok." He indicated the ADD with an incline of his head. "Any damage?"

"I don't think so. Just running another diagnostic to be sure," she told him confidently.

He stood beside her in silence for several minutes, well aware of Connor and Matt's eyes on them, wondering about his next move. He was making Jess nervous and she had to cover that up with conversation.

"Is there something you need, Becker?" she asked, wanting to have an occupation rather than just hyperventilating as he stood there all brooding and gorgeous next to her.

He looked at her then, his hazel eyes all warm and soft and soulful. He leaned into her, his voice low, keeping the conversation just between them.

"I heard what you said in the medical bay," he told her and watched her expression become mortified. "I just wanted you to know, that I meant what I said."

He raised his eyebrows slightly hoping she understood. Her eyes lowered as she processed this information and her jaw dropped open slightly. He couldn't resist and lifting her head slightly with his finger crooked under her chin, he leaned in further, closing the distance between them and placed a soft, fleeting kiss to her lips. He pulled away to gauge her reaction and she met his eyes again and smiled.

"I'm glad," she murmured, a slight flush tingeing her cheeks, and her eyes invited him to kiss her again.

Smiling too, Becker leaned forward and Jess met him halfway, her lips pressing and moving against his, matching his pressure, kissing him back.

Becker broke the kiss but didn't move too far away, the rest of the world forgotten. His breathing was elevated and his eyes were dark. "I'm on medical leave," he told her softly. "So I have to go. But I quite fancy a Chinese for dinner, if you're up for it?" His voice rose in pitch along with his eyebrow exaggerating that this was a request, not a demand. But Jess would not have minded either way.

"I'd love to," she told him, stroking his cheek. "I'll pop by around eight with plenty of prawn crackers!" She giggled at the silly references to the last and only time they had ever had dinner together, on a stake out over a year ago.

Becker kissed her lips briefly and chastely once more before standing painfully upright and walking back towards the exit. As he passed Matt and Connor, still stood beside Matt's desk, he smirked smugly at them with eyebrows raised and then shook his head as Connor gave him a two-thumbed thumbs up. Matt chuckled and air-clapped as Becker sauntered from the building, leaving Jess sat at the ADD grinning like a loon.

A/N Well, I hoped you all enjoyed it. Virtual cookies for everyone! (Except Jnevadub232 and andrewleepotts who get a vitual rum&cokes!) :D :D :D :D :D