Jess was sitting at her ADD, running the most recent diagnostics of her systems that Connor had given her. She was pleasantly minding her own business, humming under her breath when Lester threw his door open.

"Miss Parker, if you would please come into my office for a moment." He ordered, sounding rather flustered. It wasn't unusual for Lester to use that tone when asking Jess to go to his office; it usually meant that he had done something to his computer he hadn't meant to and couldn't fix it. She hopped from the raised platform her chair was on and smoothed down her skirt.

Becker, who was sitting at one of the computer terminals nearby, leaned toward Jess as she passed and murmured. "Have fun with that, Jess. He seems like he's in a lovely mood."

Jess froze for a second. It was one of only a handful of times that he had actively attempted a conversation with her in the past few weeks. Ever since it was discovered he was seeing a woman, Laura, from the science department.

Jess had been supportive but distant when she found out. Well, she had been after a night of crying into ice-cream and watching horror movies; but the next day she had come into the ARC and had started to actively curb her feelings for the Captain. She continued to smile and say the same parting words of 'stay safe' when Becker and the team went to an anomaly sight. She was the utmost professional and colleague, just not really as friendly to him anymore. It was better that way.

She had always thought, hoped, that when Becker was ready to date and had gotten through his aversion to getting close to people just in case he lost them, he may ask her; but that hadn't happened, and she refused to be the stereotypical heartbroken girl. Because she wasn't, she was a strong and intelligent young woman who wouldn't have her worth lessened by an unrequited crush.

It didn't help that she kept getting pained looks from Emily and Abby; or that Connor and Matt had taken to scowling whenever Becker spoke to them. Even Lester was shorter in temper when speaking with the Captain, if that were even possible. She appreciated their support but she really didn't need it. Jess had realised a while ago that Becker didn't reciprocate her level of feelings and this was the push she needed to start getting over him; oh, she knew he cared about her but it was never anything more than that of, a sort of, friend and teammate. Maybe at times there were hints of more, but not enough for Becker to take the chance. So Jess smiled politely and replied.

"Oh, please, he's a teddy bear. He's just been on the phone with the Minister all morning, you know how he gets. Too much politicking makes him grumpy." Jess stage whispered as she made her way to the stairs leading to Lester's office.

"Yeah a teddy bear with claws, when he's like this." Becker said peering up at the see through wall where Lester could be seen pacing and talking to himself. He sounded uncharacteristically uncertain almost nervous and it bothered Jess.

She knew that he felt out of his depth when it came how to treat her, now he was in a relationship, but she decided to ignore it and try and be as unaffected as possible; letting him figure out how he wanted to proceed in their interactions. And it was working; her feelings whilst still present weren't nearly as strong now the possibility of a relationship was off the table. It was strangely liberating not being the one fumbling for their words for once. And she definitely didn't miss the tell tale blush he was known to give her.

"Then I guess it's a very good thing that I have an entire complex of people to protect me. Isn't it your job to deal with things with claws? Just have your EMD on standby and await my signal." Jess joked halfway up the stairs, hoping to lessen the awkward tension.

"Go to your meeting, Jessica." Becker said turning back to his computer, but not before she saw the smile he was trying to hide. Glad that she had managed to hold a conversation that, finally, hadn't ended on an uncomfortable note, Jess climbed the rest of the stairs. She knocked politely and opened the door when she heard a muffled 'come in' from the other side.

"What have you done to my network this time, Lester?" Jess asked, a little amusement entering her voice. But anything amusing she may have found about the situation left her, when Lester turned to Jess with an almost pained expression lingering beneath his scowl.

"Please, take a seat, Jess." Lester asked as he made his way around his desk and took his own. Leaning forward, he made steeples of his fingers and bought them to his chin. "as you know I had a phone meeting with the Minister this morning." Jess nodded.

"Even if I hadn't of been the one to put it into your calendar, which," Jess said pointing a finger in the air "You do have an actual PA to do that for you, and she's going to start feeling neglected if you continue coming to me for admin support." Jess lowered her hand back to her lap and continued "your mood would have given away that you'd had to deal with the Minister." Lester narrowed his eyes at her.

"My mood?" He asked slowly, obviously not happy about the observation.

"Yes, your mood. You get...blustery." Jess informed him and had to bite back a smile at the, not at all pleased, glare she was receiving. He shook his head and released a very put upon sigh.

"My 'mood' not being the point of this conversation; I would very much like to get back to what I was saying. And in regards to my PA: you're better at her job than she is." He said with a hint of disregard to the feelings of his PA, that Jess was pretty sure he didn't know the name of. "as I was saying, the Minister and I had a very important issue to discuss; and one that I have been attempting to quash, but he is annoyingly determined." Lester finished with what Jess would definitely characterize as a pout.

"What issue, Lester?" she asked when he was silent for a little too long.

"You, Jess. You're the issue up for discussion." Lester intoned, gravely. Jess started and felt her heart speed up.

Why would the Minister be discussing her with Lester? She hadn't done anything wrong, not that she was aware of anyway. And why did Lester look so troubled? Was the Minister making him fire her?

"Miss parker? Jess?" Lester clicked his fingers in the air and got Jess' attention back and out of her own spiral of scary thoughts along with how she was going to be scolding him later for clicking at her like she was a dog. "I was hoping to say why you were up for discussion before that genius brain of yours went wherever it just did." He said pushing a glass of water towards her. Lester sighed and leaned back in his chair, waiting for Jess to finish her swallow before continuing.

"Why am I an issue to the Minister? I wasn't even aware he knew my name." Jess asked as she placed the glass on the coaster atop the desk. Lester laughed without humour and Jess frowned. She didn't enjoy a bitter Lester.

"He knows more than your name, Jess. The Minister has requested your reassignment to a training facility; location not disclosed; time away ranging from six months to a year; where you would be expected to teach the latest Field coordinators in training how to deal with the issues presented by anomalies. He believes; as we all do, that you are the best in your profession. And having spoken to your supervising officers, read all the reports from the ARC and the teams assessments of your abilities he thinks that you are exactly who is needed. He wants all future FC's to be mini Jess Parkers, it would seem."Lester finished with a slight twist of his lips that Jess read as pride, sadness and a little horror at the prospect.

"And you've been trying to keep me at the ARC. How long have you been trying to 'quash' this Lester?" Jess asked softly. She was heartened to hear that she wasn't being fired but she couldn't say that she relished the prospect of being forced to leave the ARC for that long a time, even if it was a fantastic opportunity. She had always planned to train others, but that was much further down the line, when she was nearer retirement age than in her early twenties.

"Three months." Lester admitted, looking slightly sheepish at the admission. Jess smiled and received an eye roll in return, for the sentiment. It was no secret that he liked the young woman but she did get a warm feeling in her heart whenever it was confirmed, even begrudgingly.

"So, what's changed? Why am I being told now?" she asked, confused as to why she was being let into the fold when Lester clearly was still fighting tooth and nail to keep her.

"The Minister has requested a conversation with you. In about ten minutes. He has made it perfectly clear that if I continued to block access to you he would force the issue and have you reassigned anyway." The annoyance and disdain in his voice was clear. "I didn't want that to happen and asked to have a chance to forewarn you." Jess sighed. Getting a feeling of this being a full gone conclusion settling over her like Eeyore's 'little black rain cloud'.

"It doesn't really sound like I have a choice, does it? I mean, if you haven't managed to scare him off in three months and they haven't found anyone better; it looks like I'm going to 'location not disclosed'." Jess felt a slight burn of tears in her eyes and blinked it away.

She refused to cry and she refused to give in. Not until it was made official, she wasn't going to give up the hope that she would be made to leave her friends and the job she loved.

"Unless you can convince him that you are of more value here?" Lester shook his head slightly "Which I have tried to do, stating the fore most anomaly experts needed the fore most expert to guide them, but he was unmoved. This phone call is just a formality and your reassignment papers will be here by the afternoon." Lester admitted. There was no frustration anymore, just resignation and sadness. "I'm very sorry, Jess." Jess shook her head and pouted.

"No, Lester, you have nothing to be sorry about. You tried your hardest and were overruled by the man in charge. I truly appreciate your efforts to keep me." Jess smiled slightly in encouragement "Why don't we get this conversation over with." Lester nodded, gave her one last indecipherable look and began to dial the phone for the Minister.

Jess gave herself a moment to compose herself. She wasn't just going to accept the reassignment; she would fight her case, but she knew that if Lester wasn't able to talk someone around, she had no chance.

So Jess Parker silently reconciled herself with, the soon to be, fact that she was leaving.