His chest was tight, every breath more difficult than the last. He waited, eyes glued to Jess' unmoving form. She was so pale, so still. Her hand felt cold and clammy in his own overly warm grip. He needed to see her move, see her eyes open, or he would go mad.
After an interminable amount of time, he heard Abby's voice.
"Her pulse is getting stronger."
He moved a bit closer, intently watching for any sign of regained consciousness. Suddenly, she drew a gasping breath, coughing a bit and regaining her senses. Relief lit every feature of his face as her eyes opened, bloodshot and exhausted, but open nonetheless.
"Hey," he said softly, leaning in closer and tightening his hold on her hand. He didn't want to overwhelm her but he felt a desperate need to make sure she knew he was there for her. She smiled softly at him, a smile that was just meant for him and he could finally breathe again. As he drew that breath, he remembered the other people in the room and quickly made up an excuse to get away from their prying eyes.
"I'm, um… I'm gonna, uh, go do some security stuff," he said, the words sounding lame, even to his own ears. He was loathe to let go of her hand, but he forced himself to abandon the contact and walk away, reminding himself that she was okay now. She was safe. He had work to do and she needed her rest.
AND he was a big chicken who was terrified of the delicate woman and the things she made him feel. The last thing he needed was to finally confess those feelings in front of the rest of the team and be mercilessly teased for all eternity. Maybe he would stop by and see her later. Yes, that would be good.
Already feeling calmer at the thought of seeing her again soon, he went about his business setting up everything needed to make sure the threat had been completely neutralized.
...
God, she was tired. It had been years since she'd been bitten and she'd managed to forget how wretched she felt for hours afterwards. Every muscle in her body ached and she was so exhausted that she was certain she could sleep for days. On top of her physical exhaustion, she was still mentally reeling from the day. When Becker said there was no adrenaline, she had started to panic. She didn't really have the energy to show it, but he had to have seen it in her eyes and he'd had kept her going, whether or not she'd wanted to.
As soon as she had regained consciousness, she'd looked for Becker. Before her eyes were even open, she knew he was close. She could just sense his presence. Then she felt then hand holding hers and knew it was him. It was calloused and gentle and warm. Her eyes opened and he was right there, looking so relieved and exhausted. He had stayed and watched over her and she smiled at him, comforted by the thought that he would always be there to keep her safe. They shared a moment, each drawing strength and comfort from the others presence.
But the moment quickly ended when Becker became uncomfortable, remembering that it wasn't just the two of them in the room. He made up some lame excuse about security stuff and hurried off. As much as she wanted him to stay, she knew he actually did have work to do and she desperately needed to rest and let the adrenaline run its course. She would try and track him down later so she could properly thank him.
Abby and Emily helped her up and together the three made their way back to the medical bay.