A/N: I know there's a couple of people that are waiting for a new chapter on 'help' but I've just written a couple of little fanfictions because I'm really stuck on that one! Enjoy x
"...And as soon as Connor gets back, can you send him straight to his lab?" April's nasal voice nags in Jess' earpiece. Jess rolls her eyes, unseen to the highly strung lab assistant on the other end of the comms line.
"I have no doubt he'll be there as soon as he can, April."
She hated seeing Connor's new job getting in between him and Abby, and April most definitely wasn't helping. She would not stand by and see them split up because of her. Every second that Connor wasn't out with the team, April seemed to hold him captive in that lab, Jess thought. She wasn't the only one either.
The elevator opens, and Connor strolls in, laughing with Becker. Abby walks in a few paces behind with Matt. Jess frowns, noticing the distance Abby was putting between them. Just as Jess is about to pass on April's message to Connor, he slaps Becker on the shoulder and heads off in the direction of his lab. Jess sighs and shoots a dubious look at Abby as the team gather around the ADD to hand in their black boxes.
A few hours later, Jess sees April leave Connor's lab over the CCTV, presumably to get the two of them some coffee. She takes the opportunity to wave over one of the tech assistants to watch the ADD, before getting up and marching determinedly towards the elevators.
Arriving at the door of Connor's lab, she pounds rather more aggressively than she intends to on the door. Connor looks up, and frowns when he sees Jess. He tidies his papers into a stack and puts them into a folder hastily and adjusts the sheet that's covering a new contraption on his desk, and walks over to the door. Jess rolls her eyes as he takes a hasty glance around his lab, checking anything of importance is hidden, before tapping in the codes and opening the door.
"Jess? What's up?"
"Can't you see?" She snarls, testily.
"Well I didn't hear the alarm, or..." He trails off as he acknowledges the look on her face. "It's not an anomaly then?" Jess shakes her head. "You'd better come in."
Jess follows Connor into his lab, becoming more irritated when he glances anxiously around his lab again.
"Connor! Would you relax? I'm not here to spy on prospero. If I wanted to, I'm more than capable of hacking your computer wirelessly and seeing all of your work." She half yells, adding "I haven't done that, for the record."
"Right- well. What is it you wanted Jess?" He asks, curiously, whilst perching himself on the edge of his work top.
"I wanted to talk to you about you and Abby. I know this new work is really important to you and all, but can't you see that it's getting-" Jess is cut off as the subject of the conversation herself knocks on the window of Connor's door, and he passes Jess, heading towards the keypads. Jess quickly tries to decide whether it's worth talking to them together whilst they're both here, or dismissing it and talking to Connor another time. She decides on the former. Abby doesn't meet Connor's gaze as he greets her and they walk towards his desk with his hand on the small of her back. Abby shoots an uneasy glance at Jess.
"Hey Jess, what are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to ask Connor something" she begins.
"Only I was hoping to talk to Connor alone- can it wait?" Abby asks, trying to get Jess out of the room as politely as possible.
"Actually, whilst I have you both here I might as well talk to you both at once." Jess is determined to get them talking.
She'd had a whole speech prepared for Connor, but not for them both, and just as she begins to figure out how to tackle the problem from both sides, her plan is interrupted yet again as April bursts through the lab door that Connor had left ajar when Abby came in. She slams two mugs of coffee down on the nearest surface, sending coffee sloshing over the rims and looks around wildly, her furious glare landing on Connor, who is stood staring at her, his face full of surprise and confusion.
"I heard voices." She waves towards towards the corridor breathlessly, clutching at her side despite only having run down one corridor. "Connor- what are all these people doing in here?" She eyes him suspiciously.
"These people have names, and you know them." Jess snaps, but April just ignores her.
"April, calm down, we're only talking. Everything's away. You've only been gone for five minutes."
"Luckily- if I hadn't been back so quickly-"
"Oh, shut up April, we're not interested in your precious research. I came here to talk to Connor, that's all" Abyy cuts her off. April rounds on Abby.
"Don't tell me to shut up in my own lab. You don't even have clearance to be in here. Leave. Both of you." She commands, shifting her eyes to Jess. Neither of them budge.
"Don't make me force you." She says sternly. Jess snorts. Connor squirms awkwardly.
"I'd like to see you try" Abby sneers. Anyone who knew her could see she really resented this woman. April pulls herself up to her full height and takes a menacing pace closer to Abby. Jess looks incredulously at Connor, who is doing nothing to diffuse the situation other than standing there fighting an internal battle between sticking up for his girlfriend and not losing his new job.
"Abby I want you to leave this lab and never come back inside it again. You can speak to Connor outside of work, assuming he still wants to talk to you after how you've treated me just now"
"How I've treated you? Are you mentally deranged?" Abby cries.
"You told me to shut up! Just because you run around pretending to be perfect doesn't mean I don't see you for what you are, you're selfish, you play mind games with Connor, and if you want to keep your job, I suggest you show a little bit more respect for me an-" Abby turns red and her hands clench into fists but before she has time to even take a step towards April, Jess has beat her to it. She crosses the lab and her fist collides with April's angular face. She shrieks in pain and shock and falls to the floor as Jess shakes out her hand. She takes the blonde woman under the shoulders and half guides, half drags her out of Connor's lab, unceremoniously dropping her to sit in the corridor, where she is still groaning and clutching at her face.
"Jeez, I don't know how you put up with her all day Connor, I really don't. Well, you two are free to talk without her interrupting you now. I'll send a medic in ten minutes." Jess calls back as she walks down the corridor, leaving Abby and Connor in a stunned silence, her hand throbbing in pain.
A small mischievous grin appears on Jess' face as she walks down one of the corridors towards the hub. Becker turns onto the corridor, his eyes down on some paperwork. He almost passes Jess without looking up but her bright red heels catch his eye at last minute and his eyes leave the forms in his hands.
"Hey...Jess?" He says, his eyes shifting to the bright red knuckles on the hand she was shaking out. He reaches out for her hand and studies it. "Did you hit someone?" He laughs, quirking an eyebrow.
"It's not funny, it really hurt" she sulks.
"May I ask who was on the receiving end?" He asks, more serious now. "Is there someone I need to go after with an EMD?" His eyes shift suspiciously up to Jess' face.
"No, it was only April. I couldn't help it, she's horrible! It's probably hurt me more than her to be honest but it was definitely worth it."
"April... Who? Wait- Prospero April?" Jess nods, a sly smile creeping along her face. "Nice going Jess! Someone was going to have to do it eventually, I just didn't expect it to be you!" He laughs. Jess looks down at her knuckles, which have turned an even darker shade of red. "I really need to show you how to throw a punch though"
"I just threw a perfectly good punch!" She protests.
"You might want to tell that to your thumb" he sighs, taking her hand again and inspecting her now purple thumb. "You kept it in your fist, didn't you?"
"I don't know, I can't remember! Probably. Does it matter?"
"Of course it matters. That's how you break a thumb, Jess." He shakes his head. "I'm pretty sure that's broken. Come one, I'll take you to medical." He says, placing a well-meaning hand on her lower back to steer her towards the elevator. "Oh, and as soon as your hand is better you're coming into the gym for some punch bag training. No arguments."
Spending extra time outside of work with Becker? Jess definitely wasn't arguing.