Title: In-Laws
Author: DrawnToDarkness
Rating: K+
Pairing: Jess/Becker
Summary: Post 'Shining Armour and Silver Linings'. Jess and Becker, married in Medieval England, meet their respective parents and break the news...
Author's Note: As it was one of the most commonly requested post-story scenes... Here you go!

There wasn't a lot that scared Jess Parker – no, Jess Becker.

She'd lived through the end of the world and kept a calm, steady head as the people she cared about most went up against dinosaurs and an assortment of other creatures on a day-to-day basis. She'd been kidnapped by a psychopath and taken to the fifteenth century, where she'd lived – quite happily for the most part, it had to be said – for over six months.

This morning, however, she was nervous.

Terrified, in fact.

Her stomach churned, her mouth felt dry, her palms damp.

Her husband shook his head when he saw her, pale faced and almost trembling, and wrapped his arms around her as she stood in front of the full length mirror, glaring at the pale blue dress that she'd eventually chosen to wear out of the mountainous pile that had been haphazardly thrown on their bed.

"You look beautiful," Becker told her, nuzzling the side of her neck as she let her own hands rest over his. "Stop worrying; they're going to love you."

"Of course they are. I'm just the woman who ran off with their son and got eloped with behind their backs. They're going to adore me." Jess scowled, though whether it was at him or at the cover story his family were to be told, Becker wasn't sure. "Have you ever taken anyone home to meet them before?"

He shook his head, shrugging a shoulder when she continued to stare at him. "I've had girlfriends, Jess. Just none I thought were important enough to meet them."

Holding his gaze in the mirror, Jess looked at him curiously. "Would you be taking me to meet them if we weren't married?"

"Of course." There was no doubt in his mind that he would, eventually, have introduced the woman in his arms to his family. "Please stop worrying. You've got no reason for it."

She rolled her eyes but turned in the circle of his arms to rest her head on his chest. "Your mother will hate me for depriving her of her chance to see her only son get married," she predicted glumly, her voice slightly muffled. "And if your sisters are as over-protective as you said they are, they'll probably hate me, too."

Becker ran his hand over her back soothingly. "I think Katie already likes you on account of her finally being able to relax because she knows I'm not going to be alone for the rest of my life," he assured her wryly, rolling his eyes at the memory of his older sister's reaction when he'd called to say not only was he home and safe but would be bringing someone to meet the rest of the family. "And as soon as Mel meets you, she'll be crazy about you, too."

"You haven't mentioned anything about your mother," Jess noted, lifting her head to look at him. "You think she'll hate me, don't you?"

Becker shook his head again and lowered his head to kiss her sweetly. "Once she meets you, she'll be thrilled." Though she'd been less than thrilled when he'd told her he'd not only be bringing a girlfriend home to meet her but his wife. Jess, however, didn't need to know that. Not when she was already so anxious about the upcoming introductions. "And my Dad's like Katie," he continued, pre-empting her next question. "He'll just be pleased I'm not on my own anymore."

"Well, that's something," Jess agreed with a sigh. She gazed up at him and lifted her arms to loop them around his neck. "At least neither of us are on our own anymore."

Unable to resist, he kissed her again, slowly and thoroughly. His hand moved to the zipper at the back of her dress almost of its own accord but Jess broke away with a breathless laugh, cheeks flushed and slightly swollen lips curved up in a smile.

"We are not going to be late," she told him sternly, her eyes bright despite her tone. "Go and let me finish getting ready."

"Can't I stay and keep you company?"

"Watch and distract me, you mean." Rolling her eyes at the pout on his face, Jess turned her attention to rummaging through her jewellery box. "Seriously, Becker, we're not going to be late. Not today."

Sighing heavily -mostly for dramatic effect - Becker left her to finish getting ready.

His father, as Becker predicted, welcomed her with open arms – literally. Having expected the retired Army Major to be as emotionally stand-offish as his son had been when she first met him, the warm and enthusiastic greeting she received from his father took Jess by surprise.

"Welcome to the family," the Major greeted her after stepping back from the unexpected embrace to study her with a warm smile. "I have to say, it's good to finally meet you!"

"Finally meet me…?" Jess gave Becker a stunned, speculative look, arching an eyebrow when his cheeks flushed as he stepped forward to hug his father.

"Of course." Robert Becker gave her a grin that was so like his son's, Jess couldn't help but smile back. "Hilary's told me all about you. You are his Field Co-ordinator, aren't you?"

"I am." Choosing to be amused by Becker's embarrassment rather than tongue-tied at the praise, Jess shook her head and let the older Becker take her arm to lead her further into the large house they'd driven to on the outskirts of London. "And now you have me worried, Major. I didn't know he'd mentioned me…"

"Only good things, my dear. And it's Robert, please." Becker's father squeezed her arm companionably. "He said you're the best Field Co-ordinator he's had the honour of serving with. Isn't that right, Hilary?"

Trailing behind them, Becker rolled his eyes but Jess saw the flush continue to rise in his cheeks and smiled. "Jess knows I think she's brilliant, Dad," he said eventually, holding Jess's gaze as he spoke. "You don't need to embarrass me."

"Is that not what a father does, son?" Robert's grin was mischievous, and he winked at Jess when she laughed. "I've got plenty of stories and pictures and even some home videos to show this lovely lady. We haven't met any girl of yours before so I've been saving it all up."

Before Jess could say she looked forward to hearing all of the stories, the elder of the three women was sitting in the living room waiting for them rose gracefully from her chair and spoke up. "But this isn't just any girl, are you, dear? She's his wife."

The emphasis on the word – and the way Becker's mother didn't so much as look at her as scrutinise her from head to toe – made Jess want to flinch. She squared her shoulders and had to focus to keep the smile on her face, even when Becker moved to take his father's place and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Mum, Melissa, Katie," Becker addressed them as his sister's rose to stand with their mother. "This is Jess."

"Nice to meet you, Jess," Melissa – Mel – gave her a polite smile that was more curious than cold.

Katie, the eldest of the Becker's, didn't hold back. Ignoring the look she got from her mother, she moved towards the couple. "It's lovely to meet you at last," she beamed at Jess, holding out a hand. When Jess reached out to accept it, she found herself drawn into a hug as enthusiastic as the one she'd shared with Major Becker. "Seriously, I thought for a while Hil was making you up!"

"I told you I'd introduce you. Eventually." Becker defended himself as his oldest sister let Jess go only to turn her attentions to him. "And I am."

"Yes, after you've married the girl!" Katie rolled her eyes as she stepped away. "Though now I've seen her, I completely understand you had to act fast before she realises she's far too good for you." Moving to stand a short distance away, Katie put her hands on her hips and tried to look stern. "Now, what's this mum tells me about you being MIA?"

"Missing in action for a month and then you come back with a wife in tow." Mrs Becker looked between the couple with a questioning expression. "Would that be just a coincidence or..?"

"Why don't we go through to the dining room, darling?" Robert interrupted as Jess and Becker exchanged an almost panicked glance, neither having given much thought to the fact his family would have been informed he was MIA but both grateful, in that moment, that it'd only been five weeks for those at home as opposed to the six months they'd spent together through the anomaly. "I'm sure Jess and Hilary will tell us all about it over lunch."

Lunch was an awkward affair, from Jess's perspective. While she would have ordinarily loved getting a glimpse of Becker interacting with his sisters – it amused her to no end that he was very much the baby of the family and therefore teased mercilessly by Katie and Melissa – she was unable to simply enjoy the interplay between them, all too aware of Mrs Becker's almost disapproving gaze.

Evelyn Becker was not a happy woman. Oh, she loved her son – of that, Jess was certain – and she was pleased he'd made it back to them but she was obviously not so pleased with his decision to get married before having introduced his would-be wife to the family. He was her only son, her youngest child, and Jess tried to tell herself that Evelyn was justified in feeling the way she did but knowing that didn't help ease Jess's discomfort.

Robert, the sweetheart, did his best to change that. While Becker was distracted by trying to hold his own against his sisters, Robert kept Jess engaged in conversation, asking her about herself and trying to draw his wife into the discussion, too.

"Just how old are you, Jessica?" Evelyn's question came out of the blue, her voice sharp. "You don't look old enough to be so accomplished."

"I'm twenty-one," Jess answered without missing a beat. "I went to university early."

Before his mother could say anything else, Becker rejoined the conversation and put his hand over Jess's where it rested on the table. "I told you she was brilliant. Jess is practically a genius."

"So you're a career girl, then?" Almost ignoring her son, Evelyn fixed her gaze on Jess.

"I wouldn't say that, exactly. I love my job but there's not much of a career ladder at work to climb as such so..." Jess shrugged. "I wouldn't say that."

Robert smiled at her and nudged his wife. "I think what Evie is trying to ask is if you have any plans for a family. Now that you're married and all."

"Oh. Well. We..." Jess felt her cheeks flood with heat. "Um."

"We've discussed it. Briefly," Becker injected smoothly. "And it'll happen eventually."

"Eventually," Evelyn repeated at the same time as Jess turned to Becker, a soft smile curling her lips as she asked "it will?"

"It will." Matching her smile with one of her own, the couple shared a moment that was only interrupted when Katie let out a loud "aww..." Turning his attention back to his parents, Becker squeezed Jess's hand. "But first we've got to renew our vows."

"We do?" It was news to Jess, who stared at him in shock.

"You are?" Evelyn smiled for the first time since greeting them earlier. "Oh, Hilary. That would be wonderful. Will it be a quiet ceremony or a big wedding? We'll have to invite your Great Aunt Annabelle, you know. She's been like a grandmother to you. I was dreading having to break it to her that you got married without the family there. And then..."

Robert cleared his throat before Evelyn could continue making plans. He caught Becker's eye before casting a meaningful glance at the young woman sitting beside his son. "Maybe you should have discussed that with your wife before making an announcement, son."

Finding herself the centre of attention, Jess bit her lip and carefully pulled her hand free from Becker's. "If you'll excuse me for a moment."

"Jess." Ignoring him, Jess got to her feet and left the room, leaving the Becker family staring after her. "We'll be back in a minute," Becker murmured, getting to his feet and following his wife out of the room.

"Jess?" He found her standing outside, arms wrapped around her waist as if warding off a non-existent chill in the air. "Are you okay?"

Jess didn't answer immediately. She kept her back to him, shoulders tensed as she stared out over the garden that was his father's pride and joy.

"I didn't mean to upset you. I just thought... I thought you'd want, you know, make it official in front of everyone."

"It already is official, Becker. Or at least I thought it was." Arms stilled wrapped around her middle, Jess turned to face him, keeping a small amount of distance between them when he would have reached for her. "Did our vows mean nothing to you?"

"What? Of course they did – they do." Becker took a step closer to her. "Jess."

"I mean, I know it wasn't really something we had a choice in. We got married because it was the only way we would be allowed to stay together but I thought it meant something. I thought we were both on the same page, that we were married properly without regrets."

"We are! We..."

"Then why do you want to get remarried? Why say we have to make things official if they already are?" Her eyes shimmered but Jess blinked the tears away, staring at him evenly. "I gave you a chance to walk away from this, to walk away from me, and you didn't.

"And I'm still not." Unable to go without touching her for a moment more, Becker closed the gap between them and grasped her shoulders. He pulled her towards him almost roughly before kissing her, deeply and desperately. "I love you, Jessica. I want to be married to you, stay married to you. And I want to marry you again, in front of all of our family and friends, so that everyone knows how much I love you. If you don't want to..."

"I love you, too." Lifting her hands to his chest, Jess sighed as he let her forehead rest against hers. "If renewing our vows is what you want to do..."

"Only if you want it, too." He pulled back to look at her. "Seriously, Jess, if you don't want to get married, we don't have to."

"We already are," Jess pointed out. "And I'd be honoured to marry you again. It's just... Don't expect my parents to show up, okay? We're not the closest family in the world." Before he could question her, she smiled slightly. "Maybe this time I won't be so nervous and I'll actually be able to remember what happens."

"You were nervous last time?" He gave her an amused look.

"You couldn't tell?" Jess rolled her eyes. "Becker, I'm lucky I remembered my own name."

"I'm lucky there was something there telling me what to say," he admitted. "I lost the ability to speak for myself the moment I saw you in that dress."

"Have I thanked you recently for coming after me?" She bit her lip as she gazed up at him. "If you hadn't, if Patrick had been able to..."

"He didn't. I won't let anyone hurt you, Jess. I swear I won't." It was a promise she knew he'd keep.

"You never do," she murmured. "You always save me when I need you to."

"It's only fair. You saved me." He moved his finger over her lips before she could protest. "You saved me the moment you walked into my life. Before you, I was ready to give up. I wouldn't have cared if I went to deal with an anomaly and didn't come back. You changed that, Jess. You gave me a reason to keep fighting."

Someone cleared their throat before she could answer. They broke apart, sheepish, and turned as one to look at Evelyn. From the expression on her face, she'd heard more of their conversation than she should have.

"I don't want to know the details," she began by saying, "I don't need to. All I need to know now is how soon we're going to get this wedding arranged."

"The sooner, the better," Becker answered for them both. "But don't get too carried away, mum."

"Of course not." Evelyn dismissed the warning with the wave of a hand. "Now, Jessica, we need to get our heads together. My son tells me you're a genius when it comes to details and there'll be lots of those to sort out..." Linking arms with her stunned daughter-in-law, Evelyn gave her a genuine smile. "Oh, and welcome to the family. It truly is a delight to meet you."

Up next... The Parkers...