Prompt from xSarahx on Tumblr: Jess and Becker – technical / computer problems :)
Jess was protective of the ADD would be an understatement of epic proportions. Though it was originally Connor's invention, the Field Co-ordinator had well and truly made the computer her own and considered it to be very much her baby... And that was when Becker stopped himself from continuing with that line of thought, as the idea of Jess sharing a baby, even one that was a computer, with Connor did unpleasant things to his insides.
So when it started glitching, Jess took it personally. The false anomaly readings were frustrating for all of them but as the day progressed and the ADD altered between freezing, shutting itself down or setting off the intruder alerts and anomaly alerts for no apparent reason, Jess's mood shifted from concerned to annoyed.
Someone, she was certain, had messed with her baby and after she figured out how to fix it, she was determined to find out who.
Her insistence that she be the one to sort out the problem and not one of the technicians on hand meant she was in for a long night at the ARC. Being the kind and supportive friend and colleague that he was ("whipped" Matt and Connor snickered not so subtly under her breaths, "smitten" Abby and Emily corrected with knowing smiles and smirks), Becker decided to keep her company.
It was his job, after all. The ADD malfunctioning was a security issue and as Head of Security... Yeah, no one was buying the excuses he reeled off, least of all the man himself.
He just... He didn't like the thought of leaving Jess alone in the hub at night. Sure, the nightshift would be around but they'd all be at their posts, leaving her alone in Operations. His imagination went into overdrive, supplying him with scenarios the Field Co-ordinator would face if left on her own.
Oh, he knew she could take care of herself. She'd proven that, both with the beetles and the predators, but it was thinking about those incidents that made him worry about her all the more.
He'd always comforted himself with the thought that, no matter what happened to the team when dealing with the anomaly alerts, Jess would be safe because she was in the ARC, at the hub, kept well away from the danger.
Only she wasn't.
First the beetles had come through an anomaly at the ARC – a man-made anomaly – and she'd almost died in his arms, her heart rate seeming slower every time he checked it. He'd never forget that, never get over the feel of her slipping away while he held her against his chest and willed her to hold on.
And then the predators. He'd thought the giant anomaly over what remained of the New Dawn site was the most terrifying aspect of convergence until his phone buzzed and he read the text message she'd sent him. Calm and to the point, it had scared him far more than any encounter with any creature ever had.
So Becker was determined to stay with her at the ARC, no matter how long it took, watching over her as she worked diligently to fix the ADD.
It wasn't working.
Nothing she did was working.
Muttering and cursing under her breath, Jess's fingers flew over the keyboard as she pulled up this window, checked the data on that screen, rewrote a little bit of code here, deleted a bit of code there...
... Nothing worked.
The ADD kept freezing and shutting down and when it rebooted, she discovered the changes she'd spent the last hour making hadn't saved.
If she'd been alone, she would have screamed. As it was, she was tempted to do so anyway, even if it would make Becker think she was crazy.
Well, crazier than usual. She vaguely remembered introducing herself to the handsome Captain as being crazy within a minute of meeting him.
The thought of that made her smile, even through her frustration at being unable to solve the mystery of the ADD's issues and her smile was obviously noticed by the man sitting not more than a few feet away.
"Any success?" She sensed more than saw him approach, felt the heat of him at her back as he leaned unnecessarily close to her to see the screens of the ADD – not that he'd understand any of what was showing on it but she appreciated the support.
"Not really." She sighed and let her fingers still on the keyboard. "Nothing I do makes a bit of difference."
"Oh." Becker frowned and shifted back - still well within her personal space but not so close that she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. "Then what was the smile for?"
She blushed; she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks despite her best efforts at controlling it. "Oh, I was just thinking."
"Thinking about what?" Sounding intrigued, Becker reached for his chair and rolled it closer to the ADD, sitting down beside her as he waited for an answer. "Jess?"
She bit her lip and kept her gaze fixed on the screen. She could've easily lied to him, made something up that would divert his attention but... But she was tired of lying, tired of pretending. Heck, it was gone midnight. She was just tired in general. "I was thinking about the first time we met. It was just us here then, too."
Becker was silent for a moment before clearing his throat. "So it was. You, me and the creatures, if I remember right. My men followed a few days later, then Lester and the scientists."
She remembered it well – and quite fondly. Though they'd been nowhere near as close as they were now, being the only humans on site had meant that they'd sought each other out at odd times during the day, almost as if needing reassurance that they weren't alone in the vast space that was the new ARC building. They'd made small talk whilst fixing themselves drinks in the break room and then had gone their separate ways, meeting again a few hours later without having planned it.
"I told you I was crazy," Jess said after a short silence. "I'm surprised you didn't run a mile, to be honest."
"You said you were crazy in pleasant way," Becker reminded her, amusement in his voice. "You were right."
"Hey!" She turned in her chair to mock glare at him, ruining the effect with a smile when he only smirked at her in response. "Be honest. You thought I was insane, didn't you? And you wondered what the hell Lester had been thinking to hire someone like me."
Becker shook his head, laughing a little. "I was surprised, yes. Not unpleasantly so." He held her gaze, his eyes as warm as his smile. "And I've been glad Lester hired you every day since."
"Really?" She felt her cheeks flush again and turned back to the monitors of the ADD. "Even though I can't do something as bloody easy as fix the ADD?"
He stood again, moving closer. He laid his hand on her shoulder, the weight warm and comforting. "You'll fix it, I have every confidence. Maybe not tonight, though." She looked up at him, mouth open to protest, but Becker cut her off. "It's almost one in the morning, Jess. You're tired. We both are. And we're both on shift tomorrow."
She yawned instead of arguing with him, rolling her eyes at herself afterwards. She put the ADD in standby mode and collected her handbag from under her desk. Taking the hand he offered her, she allowed him to help her up from her seat, Jess noted the way his hand lingered around hers but didn't mention it for fear he'd pull away. "You didn't need to stay with me, you know."
"I know." He stifled a yawn of his own and headed towards the door, his hand still wrapped around hers. "Do you have a change of clothes in your locker?"
A little confused at the change of subject, Jess gave him a sidelong glance. "Yes. Why?"
"It's too late for either of us to drive anywhere. It wouldn't be safe. Besides, we're due back here in just over seven hours so..."
"... So we might as well stay," Jess finished the thought for him. "Good plan."
Her feet were starting to drag, her eyelids growing heavy. She was glad Becker was there as she wasn't sure she'd be able to find her way to the temporary quarters at the ARC – designed for those who ended up pulling unexpected all-nighters after Lester found three of the scientists snoring over cold cups of coffee in the break room one morning.
Arriving at the hallway of rooms, Jess and Becker said goodnight quietly, lingering a little as though reluctant to part company. Biting her lip but unable to keep a shy smile at bay, Jess turned away and tried to the door nearest to her, frowning when her wrist band failed to open it.
Across the hallway, Becker tried without success to open the room he'd chosen for himself.
Exchanging a look, they moved wordlessly to the next rooms; no success.
"Another casualty of the ADD?" Becker suggested as they moved onto the third and final set of rooms.
"Looks like it – oh." The door Jess tried opened; the door Becker tried didn't. She glanced at him over her shoulder, then into the small room with the slightly bigger than single bed. "Um..."
"You take it. I'll claim one of the couches in the break room." Becker gave her a quick smile. "Believe me, I can sleep anywhere. I've had the practise."
"Have you tried sleeping on those couches?" She gave him a sceptical look. "Connor tried once and complained for a week about his back."
"I'm not Connor. I can handle it." He turned to go back the way they'd come but as she watched his retreating back, Jess called out for him.
"Becker." She waited until he turned to face her and smiled despite the blush she knew was staining her cheeks. "Stay. We're both adults. We both need to get as good a night's sleep as we can and I know I won't sleep a wink if I'm feeling guilty about you being in the break room."
Becker hesitated but took a half step towards her. "Are you sure? Because I really don't mind –"
She reached out and grabbed his hand, tugging him into the room with her before shutting the door. "I'm sure."
At just past seven o'clock in the morning, well after his alarm at home would have ordinarily awoken him, Becker began to stir.
Still half asleep, he frowned as he noticed something wasn't quite right with his bed, the events of the previous day slowly coming back to him when he realised that the soft warmth pressed up against him was the very woman he'd been dreaming about before he'd woken up.
Grinning to himself, he let his eyes open and gazed at the sleeping form of Jess, her expression serene and a small smile on her lips.
When she opened her eyes to look at him, the smile still in place on her face, leaning in to kiss her felt like a perfectly natural thing to do. He was a little surprised with himself but any doubt he might've felt at the gesture disappeared entirely when Jess sighed against his lips before returning the kiss softly.
Meanwhile, standing at the ADD, Connor exchanged a high-five with his fiancée before disabling the camera that was only supposed to be activated during intruder alerts and pulled up a previously hidden window, resetting the programming of the ADD. He restarted it when prompted and let Abby tug him away, back to his lab before anyone could see them...
Really have no idea where the ending came from! It was late last night when I finished this! ;)