Bend It Like Becker
a Primeval fanfic by phoebenpiper
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Chapter 1 - MATCH MAKER
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As the team finished filing into his office, Lester gestured for the door to be closed, which Becker took as a bad sign.
"I'm afraid I've got some bad news."
Becker frowned, wondering what it could be. He'd heard rumours that an ARC-wide dress code might be instituted, and he hoped that wasn't the case. Not that he wasn't for uniformity - after all, he'd been the one to stand firm against Matt about keeping the soldiers in all black - but he was certain a dress code for the rest of the staff would be disastrous. No doubt Jess's short skirts would be the first casualty of such a policy, and Becker really didn't want to see them go.
Especially not today's bright yellow dress, which he was having a hard time peeling his eyes away from.
Connor, however, had different things on his mind. "Don't tell us it's the end of the world again," he joked. "'Cuz, you know, we've been there; done that."
Lester rolled his eyes before continuing, "Unfortunately it's far more serious than that."
"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it," Matt stated matter-of-factly, though Becker sensed he sounded more certain than he felt.
"The Minister, in his infinite wisdom, has decided that the ARC team as a whole needs to work on its camaraderie."
"Are you kidding?" Jess said, clearly indignant at the implication. "Has the Minister never seen our team in the field? We work seamlessly together. Why, I'd challenge any other unit to demonstrate as much teamwork as we do on a daily basis."
Lester nodded gravely. "And I'm afraid that's precisely what the Minister's done."
Everyone stared blankly at Lester, confused by his statement.
"Pardon?" Emily asked, clearly hoping, as they all were, for some clarification.
Lester returned to pacing behind his desk, his hands clasped behind his back. "The Minister, it seems, has challenged the RSID to play us in a football match."
The room was momentarily filled with a stunned silence before Abby's laugh broke through.
"That's what's got you all worried, Lester? Some grudge match?"
Lester stopped and turned towards them with an accusing stare. "Do any of you actually PLAY football?"
Becker glanced around the room to find that all his coworkers were, like him, shaking their heads.
"I thought not," Lester stated. "And thus the problem."
Matt, however, still seemed a bit confused. "But I don't understand what the big deal is. It's just a friendly game of footy, right?"
"Wrong!" Lester said, slamming his palms down on his desk and causing Jess to emit a gasp of surprise. "This is much bigger than that."
Becker nodded. "It's our very reputation on the line."
"Precisely," Lester said, giving Becker a grateful nod. "Which is why I'm appointing you coach."
Becker pushed himself off of the bulkhead he'd been leaning against to stand straight. "Me? Why me?"
"Just look as us," Lester said, gesturing to the motley crew assembled in the office. "Can you think of someone better?"
Becker's eyes instantly alighted on Abby, but she was shooting him such daggers that he stopped with her name still on his lips.
Jess, however, was too busy noting something else. "'Us'?" she repeated, staring meaningfully at Lester. "Does that mean...?"
Lester gave a frustrated sigh. "Yes, the Minister has insisted that I play as well." He shook his head, grumbling under his breath, "Bloody sadist! Obviously he's still mad about the stegosaurus."
Becker shook his head - it looked like he had some hard work ahead of him.
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"Becker!"
The soldier paused in the hallway long enough for Jess to catch up with him.
"I...uh...just wanted to offer you my services," she blurted out eagerly. "You know, as your assistant."
Becker raised a confused eyebrow. "Assistant?"
"For the football coaching thing. Now, it's true that I've never actually coached anything before, but I'm an excellent field coordinator, and I imagine those same skills will transfer to the football field...or pitch...or whatever it's called."
But Becker looked doubtful. "Do you even know anything about football?"
"No, but neither do you. And you know what they say - the blind leading the blind are better than...one...or something..." She trailed off, realising that sounded wrong, even to her own ears.
Becker's eyebrow went up again. "Jess, if you're offering to help just so you don't have to play, I'm afraid it's not going to work."
Jess's mouth dropped open in surprise. That had never even occurred to her.
What HAD occurred to her was that being Becker's assistant would require spending lots of time with him outside of work! But obviously she couldn't tell him that. So she blurted out her other motivation for volunteering, the thing that had been on her mind all morning long.
"WE HAVE TO WIN!"
Her emphatic statement was louder than either of them had expected, and the words reverberated down the empty hallway. Embarrassed, Jess could feel her face growing warm as Becker gave her an amused look.
"A bit competitive, I see," he teased.
"So?" Jess said defensively. She knew her competitive spirit was a virtue, not a vice, and she wasn't about to let him torture her about it. "I wasn't Head Girl for nothing, you know. I scratched and pinched and pulled hair to get to that position because being the best was important. IS important. And this football match is important, too - like you said, it's our very reputation on the line. And I want you to know that I'm willing to do whatever it takes for us to win."
She couldn't tell from Becker's expression if he was impressed or merely terrified.
"You know," he began with a smirk, "I don't think pulling hair is allowed during the match."
Jess rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. I'm willing to work hard to get the job done. It's going to be tough, but we can do it if we're willing to put our minds to it. So I was thinking - perhaps I could come over to your flat tonight and we could start doing some research. You know, figure out the rules and maybe find some drills we can run at practice to help work on our skills and such. Oh, and we'll need to find a place to practice - I can make some phone calls this afternoon and then...we...can..."
Jess trailed off self-consciously as she noticed Becker staring at her. She suddenly realised how forward she was being, blithely inviting herself over to his home before he'd even agreed to let her assist. Feeling flustered, she stammered, "I just...never mind...it was a stupid..."
She turned to leave, but he reached out and grabbed her hand before she could get far.
"Jess, you're right. Clearly I need someone like to you help sort everything out. Hell, it hadn't even occurred to me that we'd need a place to practice-"
"And we'll need balls, too," Jess jumped in, mentally considering where they might be able to get some equipment.
"Looks like you've already taken care of that."
Jess blushed. "So does that mean...?"
Becker nodded. "Yeah, you can come over. We'll order in some Chinese. And hopefully, between the two of us, we can figure out a way to not make total fools of ourselves in front of the RSID."
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To Be Continued