By hometime, Jess was ready to sleep for a week.
There had been two anomalies, both on opposite sides of the country. She'd sent the first team out then had to call some of them back to deal with the other one. Becker had been grumpy about it but gone back with Abby and some of his men. They still weren't back, and Matt had already wound Becker up about being slow. That had just made him grumpier and some of the language that was coming over the comms wasn't pleasant.
Sometimes she lingered around, waiting for them to return even though her relief had arrived. She had no intention of doing so that evening with Becker in that sort of mood, or with the other problems that had arisen in her life recently. She gave Joel, who was on the evening shift, a quick handover then gathered her things together.
"In a hurry?" Joel asked. "Hot date?"
"I wish. Oh no..."
She hadn't been quick enough. Tim Hogan, one of the lab technicians, was hovering just outside the entrance to the hub. When he saw her he smiled and waved, obviously having been waiting for her.
Since Abby and Connor had moved out, Jess was having trouble making ends meet and had been forced to find a new lodger. She'd put an advert on the notice board at work because it would make things difficult if she had to find someone outside the ARC, but there hadn't been many people interested. Except Tim Hogan, who was coming over at the weekend to have a look at the room. If he didn't take it she wasn't sure what she was going to do. Not that she was particularly looking forward to having him as a flatmate, he made Connor look tidy and was a little bit... she didn't want to use the word creepy but that was the closest she could think of.
She glanced back at Joel, but he was already talking to someone else over the comms and there was no way she could pretend he needed her help and that she had to go back to him. No, she had to walk through the doorway and go right past Hogan.
"Hi Jess!" He immediately stood far too close, and Jess moved as far back as she could without seeming impolite.
"Tim."
"I'm looking forward to Saturday."
Jess wasn't.
"It's just a quick look at the flat, Tim. It may not suit you. The decor is quite girly. Connor complained about it all the time."
"I'm not Connor."
Which was a pity, because Jess had loved having Abby and Connor as flatmates. They'd been messy and noisy and fun, apart from those awful few weeks when she'd worried they were splitting up because of Connor's work with Burton, but that had all worked out and then they were messy, noisy and even more fun. Best flatmates ever. She missed them terribly.
"I do have a few other people interested," she told him. It wasn't strictly true, but the thought of sharing her home with that man was just horrible. He seemed to have far too much product in his hair. Whilst that worked for Becker, on Hogan it just made him look oily. And there was a stain on his t-shirt where he'd probably dropped his lunch. And he was edging closer to her again.
"I'm sure you do," he almost purred. To her horror he took her hand and squeezed it meaningfully.
Jess squeaked in panic and pulled her hand away before he could do anything worse with it.
"I'll see you Saturday," she stammered, and hurried away. For an awful moment she thought he was following her, but when she risked a glance back there was nobody there. She couldn't help herself, she slipped quickly into the Ladies and washed her hands. There was something about Hogan that just made her feel as if there was some nasty bug crawling all over her. She couldn't have him as a flatmate, she would never want to go home. There had to be another solution. Perhaps somebody who was away a lot and didn't ask awkward questions about her work?
Jess was still thinking about Hogan when she walked out of the main door to the car park. She'd been inside all day working on the anomaly incidents, and hadn't really noticed what the local weather was like. She'd known it was cold that morning, and knew that both anomaly teams had been grumbling about the weather where they were, but London was always warmer than anywhere else even in winter. So it was a shock to come out and feel the smack of icy air as she opened the door. There was a frost settling on the cars, and there had even been a light dusting of snow at some point. Tugging her coat more tightly around herself, she hurried across the car park, scrabbling in her bag for her keys to save time and not really looking where she was going. So she didn't notice the little patch of ice and slipped, barely stopping herself from falling over by grabbing at her car. Her bag fell off her shoulder and the contents spilled out onto the ground.
Wonderful, she thought. As if the day could get any worse. Shivering slightly, she gathered together all her spilled belongings as quickly as she could and shovelled them back into her bag, then took a step back as she went to open the car door. And swore as she heard a sickening crunch beneath her feet.
Somehow her driving glasses, the delicate pretty rimless designer ones that she'd spent some other month's salary on had slid out of their case during the mishap, and because they were so unnoticeable (which was why she liked them) she'd not gathered them up with everything else.
They were ruined. The lenses were shattered and the thin arms twisted beyond repair. She could take them back to the opticians, but she knew what their verdict would be.
Angrily she yanked the car door open, got in and slammed the door behind her, muttering to herself. She was definitely going to have a very large glass of wine as soon as she got home. Two, probably.
The car was old and small and freezing. The engine sputtered out the first time, and the second, then eventually shuddered into life. The heaters were extremely slow to respond.
With her driving glasses broken, she was going to have to resort to the very old ones she kept in the glove compartment for emergencies. They were her first glasses, cheap and unfashionable with thick frames and slightly bent arms because they were old and she'd shoved them out of sight too carelessly too many times . Horrible. She didn't want anyone in the ARC to see her with them, so waited until she'd driven up the ramp out of the car park, and was out of the range of the CCTV before she put them on. It wasn't as if her eyesight was that bad, she just needed them for distance. She pulled out into the traffic and wondered about the flat again.
Perhaps one of the girls would suddenly decide to move in? She'd had brief hopes for Emily, but the Victorian lady was busy sewing floral curtains for Matt and generally turning his Spartan home into a rather old-fashioned showroom from Laura Ashley. Ellen in accounts had made vague mutterings about it, she'd be okay though they had little in common. Anything but Hogan.
The traffic was really slow and she'd barely gone half a mile in the space of nearly an hour. At first she turned off the engine when it was obvious they wouldn't be moving, but then the car didn't want to start, and the heating was of course off, so after that she just left the engine on. It might even have been quicker to walk.
Her car radio wasn't the best, so she called Joel to check the situation.
"You're stuck right in the middle of it," he confirmed. "Sorry Jess, they're saying it's a thirty minute tailback. There was an accident. Didn't you check before you left?"
"Obviously not!" she snapped back at him, then cringed at her own rudeness. It was a stupid question and she didn't need it. Though Joel didn't deserve it and was probably getting all the grumbles from the team that she'd been getting earlier.
"Tetchy!" she heard him mutter.
"Sorry," she said in a small voice, but inwardly she was cursing herself for not checking the traffic reports before she left. She'd just been too busy and too eager to get away and get home. It was so damned stupid of her, she should have known better.
"No worries. I'll see if I can reroute you, give me a minute."
"Thanks." Jess sat there, waiting, listening to Joel humming to himself as he checked her position and likely alternative routes.
"Good news, Jess! They've moved the cars off the road, you'll be moving in a few minutes."
There was no sign of movement yet, but she thanked him and rang off, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. Not long now, she told herself.
The trouble was, the heater was starting to make an odd noise, and there was a smell coming from the vents. The car in front moved forward a few feet, giving her space to pull over to the side of the road. She recognised the warning signs, but before she could stop properly the engine sputtered a few times, there was a small bang from the direction of the bonnet, and suddenly steam was coming out and the car wasn't working at all.
At least she wasn't blocking the road.
The traffic was slowly starting to move, and people were staring at her car as they passed, probably assuming that she was the cause of the jam. It was very cold outside, and people were late. Nobody, it seemed, wanted to help. She could call the ARC again, but then everyone had been out already and she really didn't want to be a nuisance. Nor did she want to hear the cracks from whichever of Becker's men turned up about her little old car which was apparently very amusing if you were a big tough soldier. Apparently.
Anyway, she didn't need them. She had roadside assistance and called the number. Except it was cheap roadside assistance and they hadn't got a huge fleet and wouldn't be with her for at least an hour because they were getting a lot of calls, which probably meant it would be nearer to two. And telling them she was a lone female didn't really seem to help. She was signing up for one of the big companies first thing, she decided.
And it was bloody freezing!
She'd still got her coat on, although it was more of a fashion coat than something that was going to keep the chill out for long. There was a travel rug in the boot because she'd had a long and tiresome lecture from Becker about breakdowns and torches and first aid kits and... okay, so he was right and she was glad of it now but there was no need to ever tell him that. But of course it was in the boot, and that meant getting out of the car. So she shivered for a while, and contemplated whether she really wanted to go out into the cold and get it, angry at herself yet again for not having the foresight to leave it on the back seat. It just didn't feel like something she was ever going to use, when she only used the car for commuting.
Looking around, she couldn't even see anywhere useful nearby, like a cosy cafe or pub to sit in and wait. She'd broken down on a long stretch of road with what looked like industrial warehouses on one side and wasteland on the other. A shortcut home, usually. Not so that night. Now that the traffic was rapidly clearing, it wouldn't even be particularly busy along the road soon. She was starting to feel a little isolated, and the attitude of the breakdown company hadn't helped at all. She'd be putting in a complaint in the morning, she thought angrily.
No, she'd ask Lester to put in a complaint on her behalf. He'd grumble, but he'd do it. And maybe get him to route it through the highest channels he could... maybe the minister. That would teach them. The thought of dealing out retribution made her feel a little better. Actually, she would tell Becker about it in the morning and watch him work himself up into a safety-related frenzy about it all and start shouting at people. That was a satisfying thought as well. Watching Becker was always good, but the thought of watching him going all self-righteous on her behalf was a very cheering thought, and calmed her down a little. He'd probably give her another one of his safety talks about her crappy car, which was all very well for him with the flash expensive thing he liked to drive to work in and the huge trucks he sped around in all day, but it would be worth it.
Given the area and time of night, she decided that it was probably safest to stay locked in the car until help arrived. She sat on the passenger side, furthest from the traffic, and prayed her battery didn't give out. Without the headlights on, she would have no choice but to get out in case something hit the car.
Jess stared out at the night, waiting for help that wasn't going to come for some time. The minutes ticked past, and still nothing. She rang the breakdown company again, and was put in a queue.
It was infuriating.
"What part of emergency service don't you understand?" she growled at the phone, glaring at it. The faint tinny strains of some Abba song wafted back to her almost mockingly and she switched it off with an irritated huff.
God, it was cold. It was also very dark as there weren't that many streetlights on that stretch of road. Jess shook herself mentally, not liking the sudden feeling of vulnerability. She wasn't going to ring work and get someone to come out. Not least because it might be Hogan and she really didn't want to be sitting in his car with him at night, or to be beholden to him in any way. But then someone drove past very slowly, peering in at her. She didn't like that at all, and shrank down in her seat, hoping they wouldn't see that she was by herself.
The car went on but that was enough. Jess swallowed her pride and rang the ARC, praying that Hogan would have left by now.
"Jess! Ringing me again, people are going to talk!"
Joel was all talk, happy with his long-term partner. Hogan could say the exact same thing and make her skin crawl. From Joel it just provoked a small smile.
"I've broken down. Emergency services are being useless. Could someone come and help?"
"You haven't moved more than a metre since you last called," he noticed. She knew he was checking her location from her phone, she would have done the same thing. "You should've called sooner."
"I know. Joel, put me on a private line."
"Hah! I knew you wouldn't be able to resist me forever!"
"Funny. Listen, please don't let that creep Hogan know about this, I don't want him being the one coming out here."
"No worries. Hang on..."
He kept her on the phone, and she could hear him talking to someone though she couldn't make much of it out. The ETA of fifteen minutes was a lot more reassuring than one or two hours... especially when the slow driver went past again. She shuddered, but did the sensible thing and described the vehicle to Joel. She could hear him typing it all in, presumably checking the police records, though it would be no reassurance either way - whoever was in that car had noticed a woman by herself and although the chances were that he was just entertaining himself by frightening her because a genuine attacker would have struck swiftly it wasn't pleasant and she hoped the ARC vehicle got to her quickly.
"How long?" she whispered to Joel.
"They're on their way. Just gone through the gates. Don't worry."
Easy for Joel to say, safely at the ARC. Another car went past. Nobody stopped, but then who would? Broken down cars were well-known scams, any good Samaritan could find themselves robbed or worse.
She rubbed her hands together, seeing her breath faintly mist in front of her. If they didn't hurry up she was going to end up a human popsicle. The blanket in the boot was very tempting, but there was no way that she was going to unlock her car doors whilst that creep was still circling round.
Joel was chatting to her about exactly what he thought of the idea of Hogan taking her spare room, especially if she didn't feel comfortable about it, but she wasn't entirely listening.
"How long now?" She asked. It wasn't going to obtain a faster rescue, but it was reassuring to hear Joel's voice in her ear and to know someone was coming.
"Twelve minutes. Don't worry, Jess, they'll be there soon. Any sign of that asshole again? You really attract them, don't you?"
"Apparently. No, there's nothing, thank goodness."
But even as she said it, she could see headlights coming up behind her again, slowing down.
"No, I think he's back. Oh God! Joel, he's pulling in behind me, he's going to stop!" She could feel her heart racing. All she could see in the rear view mirror were the dazzling headlights, but it was definitely too small a vehicle to be one of the huge ARC trucks. Worse, she could just make out a figure getting out of the car. In her ear she could hear Joel shouting at the pickup team to move faster.
"Don't panic, keep the doors locked, he can't get in easily. Saunders says they'll be there soon. Are you sure it's the same bloke?" He was being ridiculously calm. Far too calm, she knew the tone well, ; it was the one they used when they thought things were bad. It wasn't very reassuring.
"I can't see, he's left his headlights on."
"That's good, you're lit up, people can see you."
But there was nobody passing. The road was now completely clear of the earlier blockage. Jess's instinct was to get out of the car and make a run for it, but she knew that would be the worst thing she could do. At least here help was coming, and her car would be a small barrier. She cringed down into her seat as the figure strode to her door and grabbed the handle, rattling it. Her heart felt as if it was going to burst out of her chest it was beating so hard.
"Jess! Unlock the door!"
Becker! Struggling with numb fingers, she got the door open and scrambled out, flinging her arms around his neck. She'd never been so pleased to see him, which was saying something considering how enjoyable seeing him always was.
"Oh thank God! I thought it was the nutter!"
Becker muttered something about teaching the creep a lesson when he got his hands on him, then tentatively hugged her back, and tensed. "Jess, you're frozen!"
"Mmm, the car broke down." He was pleasingly warm, and she nestled into him, rather glad of the excuse. "You're toasty!"
He made a noise that sounded as if it might be an attempt at an indignant stutter, but it didn't quite work. Instead he picked her up, something she enjoyed far too much for her to protest the fact that she was perfectly capable of walking under her own steam, and hurried back to his car.
She could vaguely hear Joel's voice rising faintly from the phone she was still holding. She quickly reassured him Becker was there, all was fine and shut him off before he could start teasing her.
Becker's car was the flashy fast black thing that he drove to work in. The headlights were like beacons, no wonder she hadn't been able to tell it was him. He set her down in the passenger seat, at least leaving her the dignity to shuffle in properly herself whilst he reached over into the tiny backseat and produced a shiny survival blanket. He probably had three more in the boot, she realised. Becker was nothing if not thorough.
"Were you a boy scout?" She asked him as he tucked the blanket around her.
"Boy's Brigade. They had a better uniform. Besides, this is basic advice from the highway code, Jess. How many times have I told you to pack a blanket and first aid kit?"
She pouted at him. "Don't be mean. I'm shivering."
And she was, she couldn't stop. The car seat was warming up nicely but it didn't seem to be helping, in fact for some reason it seemed to be making the shivering quite violent. With a sigh he squeezed onto the passenger seat with her and shut the door, pulling her onto his lap as he did so and pressing as much of his body heat against her as he could.
Lovely.
She wished she wasn't shaking so much so that she could enjoy it properly. Knowing Becker, he'd put her down as soon as she showed the slightest signs of thawing.
"I was on the way home, I heard Joel's call. I was only a few streets away."
"Mmm," Jess's teeth were chattering too much for her to say anything. He really did feel wonderfully warm. She buried her face in the warmth of his neck, feeling his pulse beating hot and strong through the skin and his delicious musky scent. This was definitely worth the fright and the cold and who knew if she'd ever get the excuse to cuddle up to him like this again? He took hold of her hands and warmed them between just one of his own much larger hands. "S'lovely."
Oops. She hadn't meant to say that. Luckily he just gave a little huff of amusement, and didn't let go.
More lights outside indicated that the ARC staff had arrived. She looked up briefly to see that they'd brought a pickup and were milling around her car. They could do whatever they wanted, there was no way she was moving. Her shivering was subsiding now. She hoped that wouldn't mean he let go any time soon.
One of his men came up and tapped on the window, and Jess couldn't help giving a little groan. She was sure Becker laughed at her when she did so, but she wasn't going to look. She heard the soft whirr as the window slid down, and an unwelcome blast of cold air. Still, it was an excuse to snuggle closer.
"You okay, Jess?"
"She was freezing," Becker explained quickly. "I'm getting her warmed up."
"Of course you are, Sir."
Jess knew that voice, it was Saunders, Becker's second in command, the one Joel had sent out for her. She could hear the edge of sarcasm as well because he was no better than Joel when it came to an opportunity to tease someone, and she hoped Becker wouldn't get embarrassed and decide she'd be just fine huddled under a pile of blankets instead.
"Haven't you got work to do?" Becker growled.
"Yeah. Anyway, Jess your car's a wreck, we're taking it back to the ARC but don't hold out too much hope. Sorry."
Jess lifted up her head to answer, and then saw him do a double-take.
"Nice glasses, Jess!"
And that was when she suddenly remembered that she had those horrible unflattering glasses on. The ones that nobody she knew was ever supposed to see her in. And if she had a list of people that she knew whom she would absolutely not want to wear them in front of, Becker would be at the very top, miles ahead of everyone else. She whipped them off, mortified.
"Oh God. I broke my glasses! These are old ones."
She was aware that Saunders was making a hasty retreat, and could imagine the look Becker would have given him.
"There's nothing wrong with them, Jess."
"They look stupid."
"Stupid would be if you'd tried driving without them and had an accident. Don't ever feel embarrassed into doing something that isn't safe. Besides," he took them out of her hand and with a little difficulty due to the angle, perched them back on the end of her nose. "I think they look cute."
Evidently her hearing was going as well as her eyesight. Or he was making fun of her. Probably the latter. "Don't mock. I've had a horrible day."
"I thought you said it was lovely," he reminded her, then leaned in close again and she could feel his breath warm against her ear as he added in a whisper: "Or was that just me?"
Okay, he was in one of those moods. The ones where he seemed to be flirting with her and then pulled away just as things got interesting. He'd done it too many times and she was tired of the game. She was about to pull away from him but then thought better of it. Because two people could play games, and if it was games he wanted then games he should have.
"It was just you, Becker," she breathed back. And then, before he had a chance to do anything Becker-ish like check her car was securely on the pick-up, she leaned in and kissed him. He made a funny little surprised noise and froze for a moment, and then he was kissing her back, hot and eager.
When he finally broke away, he kept close, resting his forehead on hers.
"There are so many reasons why this is a bad idea," Becker breathed.
"And even more why it's a great idea," Jess argued. "We could both get eaten by dinosaurs tomorrow."
"True." He didn't say anything else for a while, too busy making sure kissing was as good an idea as Jess seemed to think. When he broke away a second time she became vaguely aware of his men cheering and whistling at them.
"We'll see how much they feel like doing that when they're all cleaning the menagerie out tomorrow," Becker growled, but he was smiling too, even as he shot them the finger. His men laughed, but got the message and went back to work on getting Jess's car onto the pickup truck.
Jess sighed as she watched her car being lifted up. Back to the bus and the tube, a combination that was bound to make her late for work on a regular basis.
Becker didn't seem to have realised that. "Don't worry, I'll come with you when you choose the next one, to make sure you don't pick a dud."
"I won't be picking anything," she told him. "I can't afford another car. I still haven't managed to rent the spare room out and that flat costs a fortune."
"I thought that you'd already let it to that sweaty little man who works up in the palaeontology lab? He's told everyone you have."
"Not yet. He's coming over at the weekend. I don't want to take him but there's nobody else."
"You really haven't told him he's got the room?" Becker checked.
"God no, I'd rather have anyone else. I keep hoping someone else will answer the ad. Is he really saying that?"
"He's saying a lot more than that."
"Oh God!" Jess buried her face in her hands. "And people believe him."
There was a pause, which was confirmation enough. When she looked up Becker was grimacing. "That's going to stop." Jess thought she wouldn't want to be in that lab technician's shoes, judging by the look on Becker's face. She wondered if it was him who had actually believed whatever the little creep had said. That might explain his grumpy attitude towards her recently. "The new girl on the security gate is looking for somewhere. She's passed all my tests, not likely to murder you in your bed."
"Hayley? She's nice."
Becker nodded, and Jess wondered for a moment if she really wanted a rival female in the flat then told herself not to be so stupid, it was her that Becker had finally, finally kissed. She wanted to hug herself with glee just at the thought of it, but hugged him instead which was so much better.
"I like Hayley," she told him. "The room's hers if she wants it." Then she thought about it. "Um... you say she passed your tests? So you have tests for my lodgers?"
Becker just looked at her in that particular way he had that usually managed to completely disarm her if she'd asked a silly question, but she was feeling far too happy now to give in and blush. Instead she snuggled closer and heard him huff in amusement.
"I should do," he told her.
His men had finished loading up her car and were about to go. To her disappointment Becker shuffled her back onto the seat and worse, got out of the car to go and talk to them. They all seemed fairly serious whilst they were talking to Becker, but as soon as his back was turned and he started to walk back to Jess she could see Saunders giving her a huge grin and thumbs up. She grinned back, especially when Becker got back in the car and told her, very seriously of course, that they would do what they could with the car, and perhaps it could be fixed but not to get her hopes up, and that he was going to drive her home. That sounded good. When he said he was going to make sure she ate a proper meal and he was going to cook it because she should just be resting up, that sounded even better. Though he was going to get a shock when he looked into her rather empty food cupboard, she thought ruefully. Oh well. There was always takeaway.
She snuggled down into the warm seat, tried not to wince at the speed at which he pulled out, waved to the men as they passed in a blur, then spent the rest of the journey determinedly focusing on Becker rather than his rather scary driving. She might well have to start getting used to that. There were worse things to get used to.
She thought of how things had been just half an hour earlier. Yes, she thought, her day had definitely taken a turn for the better.