A/N OK I know I should be updating my other stories, but this one just wouldn't go away! So I wrote this instead and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please review - I love to hear what you think about the waffle that I write! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or anything or anyone associated with it. But I have to keep writing about Becker because he's a bit of a hottie! :P
The team were having a long awaited and well deserved night out. All except Becker, who had declined the invitation as usual. The club Jess had chosen was in a basement in the centre of London with epilepsy-inducing neon lights flashing, loud thumping dance music and masses of bodies all gyrating at various rates supposedly in time the ear-splitting noise.
Matt was already regretting having been persuaded to come by Emily, realising that he was now decidedly too old to enjoy this sort of thing. Emily, however, was sitting next to him in one of the booths to the side of the dance floor with eyes as round as saucers, gazing at the lights in wonderment and wishing very much she could add her own gyrating body to the masses in front of her. Occasionally she would turn to Matt and pat his knee comfortingly.
Abby and Connor were having a great time and getting very drunk. And drunk Connor was just so very funny. It was like watching a small child with a sugar rush - he couldn't sit still. One minute he was dancing (or rather, trying to dance), the next minute he was jumping up and down as the DJ mixed it up and then he was dragging Abby off with him as everyone starting pumping their hands in the air and chanting in response to the DJ calls.
Jess was dancing and enjoying every minute of it. It was so wonderful to be able to shrug off the day and just feel alive without having to worry about dinosaurs and whether the team were in danger, even if it was just for an evening. She rejoined Matt and Emily in the booth, hot and a little out of breath.
"You really should come and dance, you know!" she shouted above the music.
Emily looked like a horse trapped in the starting gate, desperate to go with Jess but prevented by Matt's disapproval. Matt didn't move, his frown just grew deeper. He so wanted to leave but knew that would make him the same killjoy Becker was. Emily turned her face towards him, made luminous by the neon lights, and he sighed.
"All right, all right, you win!" he murmured and managed a smile as her face changed from pleading to absolute delight.
"Yaay!" shrieked Jess and dragged Emily onto the dance floor with Matt trailing behind them.
It actually wasn't as bad as he'd thought, once he got into it. He found himself swept away by the girls' enthusiasm and almost enjoyed himself. Smiling to herself, mission accomplished, Jess excused herself to replenish their drinks.
As she stood at the bar, waiting in a sea of people for the barman to notice her, she caught the attention of one very drunk young man.
"Hey gorgeous. How about you and me go somewhere and get it on?" he slurred into her face.
She gave him withering look. "No thank you," she told him politely.
"Aw come on baby," he cajoled, draping his arm over her shoulders. "I know you want to."
She shrugged off his arm. "You are very much mistaken. I'm just trying to get a drink." Jess said stiffly.
"You're so gorgeous," continued the drunk. "And I know you want it."
Jess was now beginning to feel nervous at the guy's persistence.
"Leave me alone!" she shouted at him, attempting to move away from the bar but prevented from doing so by a wall of people.
The guy decided he needed to take stronger action. He pressed Jess up against the bar, using the weight of his body to trap her there, his weight knocking the breath out of her lungs. He grabbed her bottom with his hands, causing her to yelp, and gyrated his hips against hers suggestively. Jess struggled to no avail and the drunk laughed at her efforts.
"I am so going to enjoy you!" he muttered as he began pressing hard kisses against her neck and biting her.
"No! No!" screamed Jess, but the throng of people around her were either too drunk or involved in themselves to care.
Jess struggled some more and then realised it was useless. She went stiff and rigid, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of enjoying her distress.
Suddenly, the man's weight disappeared and Jess was able to breath again. Before she realised what had happened there was a shout and a thud and then Becker's face close to hers, his hand gently on her jaw.
"Jess? Jess? I'm here, you're ok," he murmured soothingly, his eyes seeking hers.
"Becker!" she screamed in delight. "Oh my God, you have know idea how pleased I am to see you!" Without thinking she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him ferociously. Becker returned her hug for a moment with an indulgent smile on his lips.
She pulled back for a second, hands on his shoulders.
"That guy? Where is? What?" her lip quivered.
Becker smirked. "He won't be back I assure you."
"Thank you!" she cried, flinging her arms around his neck again.
Becker stiffened slightly this time, realising she was just a little bit tipsy. He pulled away from her in an effort to create some distance, but all he did was find himself staring into her eyes.
Without thinking, Jess lifted herself up on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, hard. Becker was so surprised that he forgot to push her away. For one minute, one long, sweet, wonderfully short minute, Becker responded and moved his lips over hers, kissing her back fervently. And where Jess had been left cold and unmoved by the drunk's attentions, she found herself becoming delightfully giddy in Becker's embrace. Coming to his senses, Becker almost leapt away from her, leaving Jess breathless and wanting. He was breathing hard and stared down at her, shocked by his own actions. He had to get out of here, but he couldn't leave her here alone, not like this.
He cupped her elbow in his hand.
"Come on, lets get you home," he murmured and guided her through the throng of people back to the booth where the rest of the team were now sitting.
All of them raised eyebrows as they saw Becker with Jess.
"I'm taking Jess home," he announced and they all stared at him knowingly. He sighed. "She's drunk and some guy has just tried it on with her," he clarified.
Connor bounced up and down. "The guy that got punched! That was you? Cool!"
Becker sighed again and Jess stumbled on her shoes beside him.
"Home, that's an order!" he virtually dragged her by the elbow out of the club and to his waiting car.
Halfway home Jess fell asleep in the car. Becker gazed at her once he'd parked up outside her flat. She was illuminated by the streetlight and as he stared at her he remembered their passionate kiss. What the hell had he been thinking? Well, that was the point - he hadn't been thinking! But she had tasted so good and he had wanted her so much. He closed his eyes. Hopefully she'd had enough to drink that she wouldn't remember it in the morning.
He carried her from the car up to her flat. After rummaging in her bag for her keys, he let them inside, throwing her bag and her coat onto the kitchen counter. Jess didn't wake, so he took her straight to her bedroom and laid her down on the bed. He removed her shoes, caressing the heel as he did so, as if the shoe itself was her foot. He contemplated removing her tight fitting, incredibly short electric blue dress but decided very much against it. Instead he carefully covered her over with her duvet and fled the room, heart pounding and nerves tingling.
Becker wondered what to do next. He contemplated leaving but, since Abby and Connor had moved out about a month ago, he felt uncomfortable leaving her alone when she was drunk. Instead, he turned the television on and settled down on her sofa for the night with an orange, chenille cushion for a pillow.
Jess woke up and rubbed her eyes. She knew she'd been drinking, she remembered being at a club, and now she was home. She glanced at her alarm clock - 4.30am. Sitting up she realised she was still in her dress. Sighing, she stood up and wiggled out of it, finding herself a shorts and t-shirt pyjama set and fluffy pink robe. She made her way to the kitchen for a glass of water. On her way back to her room she registered that the TV was on. She didn't remember watching TV. As she went to switch it off she saw Becker asleep, sprawled out on the sofa. Jess smiled. He had stayed, that was so sweet! Ever so carefully, she removed the blanket from the back of the sofa and laid it across his body, holding her breath in case she woke him. But Becker didn't stir, so she indulged herself in one, long gaze at his sleeping face before padding back to her room and snuggling back under her duvet.
Becker had been awake for over an hour before Jess emerged from her room wrapped in a large, pink, fluffy bathrobe. As she walked into her kitchen she exclaimed "Becker!" in a surprised tone, even though she knew he had stayed.
"Morning," he said carefully, not sure of how much she remembered.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him curiously.
"You were drunk when I brought you home. It didn't feel right to leave you on your own," Becker said, a little embarrassed.
"So you stayed? How very gallant of you!" Jess smirked.
Becker glared at her darkly. "Ha ha. How are you feeling? Hangover?" he asked.
"Oh no, I don't get hangovers!" announced Jess happily. "Unless you call being hungry a hangover. I'm ravenous - and I will be for the rest of the day!"
She began rummaging through her fridge, producing a block of cheese with a loud "Aha!".
"Cheese on toast!" she declared as if it were the most prized delicacy on the planet. "With lashings of tomato ketchup! Want some?"
Becker shook his head. "Nope, I'll just stick to coffee thanks," he muttered. She beamed at him and popped four slices of bread in the toaster. Hungry? Becker thought. No kidding!
He decided to broach the subject of the previous night.
"So, do you remember much from last night?" he asked cautiously.
"Of course, I was tipsy not stoned!" laughed Jess. And she began to recount the evening with chronological accuracy.
"We went to a club. Well you didn't go because you're no fun, but the others came!"
Becker grimaced and rolled his eyes as Jess was distracted by the toast popping up.
"I had a fab time, dancing and a few drinks. I even got Emily and Matt up and dancing!"
Becker smirked at that - he would have to find out more to taunt Matt with later. Jess grated cheese onto her toast, then placed it under the grill to brown.
"Then I went to the bar to get more drinks and -" she paused. "Oh God, there was this dreadful guy." She paused again, frowning, thinking hard.
"But you took care of him, didn't you?" she looked at Becker gratefully. "And then I hugged you -" she paused again and blushed slightly. "Sorry about that," she murmured and Becker smiled.
Jess rescued her toast from under the grill before it burned, sat down on the breakfast bar stool and took a large bite of cheese on toast. Chewing it slowly, she looked like she was thinking hard. Suddenly she gasped a loud "Oh!" before looking at Becker in wonderment.
"You kissed me!" she exclaimed, unable to hide the surprise in her tone.
"I did not!" Becker protested, far too quickly and loudly.
"Yes you did!" she insisted. "I hugged you and you kissed me!"
Becker frowned deeply and his voice was low and grumpy.
"I think you'll find, you kissed me," he told her, staring at her as if daring her to disagree again.
She thought for a moment, a slice of cheese on toast hovering close to her mouth.
Then she blushed. "Oh, yes, yes I did." She paused as she chewed another bite of her breakfast. Then her eyes lit up with a revelation.
"But you kissed me back!" she declared in triumph.
"Definitely not," denied Becker, vehemently.
"You did, you kissed me back!" Jess grinned, enjoying his discomfort.
Becker coloured slightly and ducked his head. Damn, she had remembered. How the hell was he going to get out of this one? Jess hopped down from the stool and padded over to him, her bare feet making no sound on the kitchen floor. Becker was staring down at the countertop, his jaw set, his body tense. She touched his cheek and brought his eyes to hers.
"You kissed me back," she murmured, as if not quite believing it now.
"No, I -" Becker stumbled, then stopped. "Yes," he sighed. "Just for a moment I did." Then he realised the world hadn't ended with his admission. And he felt lifted by it.
Gazing into his eyes, Jess leaned forward, edging her face closer to his.
"You kissed me back," she whispered again as she moved her hand from his cheek into his hair at the nape of his neck, drawing his lips ever closer to hers.
Oh God, oh God, oh God.
Finally she pressed her mouth gently to his, opening her lips against his, leaving him no choice but to respond to her.
She pulled back but only fractionally, so he could see her smile.
"You kissed me," he mumbled amazed.
"Now you kiss me," she ordered gently, licking her lips in anticipation…
So what did you think? Review, review, review - please? :D xxx