Captain Hilary Becker scooped up his latest high-tech gun and slung the strap over his shoulder, savouring the feel of the cool metal weapon in his hands. As Matt Anderson had once aptly pointed out, he loved his guns. They were his babies.

Glancing out of the window, he noted a weak glow filling the sky as the sun rose steadily; it was dawn, which still gave him plenty of time to practice with his new toy before work began. Perfect.

He turned to head for the target shot room, but something caught his eye. No, someone. A small, dainty brunette huddled up on the wall outside, gazing up at the clouds. She could've been mistaken for a child, she appeared so small from Becker's viewpoint. But no; he'd recognise that figure anywhere. Jess.

Abandoning his gun, he hurried downstairs, nodding briefly to James Lester as they met in one of the many winding ARC corridors. Lester was another early riser, keen to fit plenty into his day, although he preferred sarcasm to violence, weapon-wise...

Jessica Parker turned her head a fraction as he sank down beside her, but hastily glanced away as she registered who it was. Not so quickly that she could disguise her tears from Becker, though. He eyed her bewilderedly for a moment, unsure of how to react. Sure, he knew everything about guns, and armies, and wars. But sometimes he lacked a little in people skills. No, he'd correct that. A lot.

"Are you okay?" he muttered, inwardly cursing himself. What kind of a question was that? Of course she wasn't – she was crying!

Jess, however, managed a faint smile, meeting his gaze now. At least he was trying; at least he cared. "Kind of."

He found himself reaching out for her hand, suddenly desperate to comfort her. She was really quite pretty, he realised now, her deep brown eyes warm and loyal, and her cheeks delicately freckled. "Do you...do you want to talk about it?"

She bit her lip, her fingers trembling in his tight grasp. If she was honest, she'd liked Becker ever since she'd first set eyes on him; tall and strong, with the added attraction of a tight black uniform, he was handsome. But he'd seemed brusque and irritable, and she'd avoided him wherever possible.

He seemed to sense her hesitation, for he loosened his grip, and averted his eyes to stare out across the street. He'd picked up enough about people to understand she didn't want to tell anyone. At least not him. "You don't have to. I just thought..."

"No, no," she sounded slightly stronger now, as if wanting to prove herself to him. It went to show; you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Or a soldier by his uniform. "I want to. It's just...my mum's ill; I know that sounds stupid, but she's all I've got, and...and I love her. The thought of...I'm scared, sir."

"She'll be okay, Jess," he consoled gently, fumbling around in his pockets and finally producing a crumpled tissue, which he pressed into her hand. Always prepared.

She shook her head slowly, whimpering as she mopped at the new droplets trickling down her face, "But that's just it. She won't be okay. She's dying; the doctors have given her...a couple of weeks...to live. A couple of weeks, sir. Then...then her life is over."

"Oh, Jess. I'm sorry," he couldn't meet her gaze. What did you say to that? How could you help? "You shouldn't be here. I'll talk to Lester; he'll let you..."

"I don't want time off. I have to keep busy." she sniffed, struggling to contain her sorrow. Feeling sorry for herself wouldn't help anyone, would it? But...

Her head lolled sideways against Becker's shoulder, a strand of hair escaping from its clip and falling over her face. He let her sob, simply squeezing her hand to show his support. Somehow, it felt right, being with her. As if they needed eachother.

Eventually, her sobbing subsided, and she sat up again, running her fingers under her eyes nervously, "Oh my...I'm sorry, I didn't...what must you think of me? How much of a mess am I, sir? I need to..."

"Jess," he silenced her with a single word, his tone both stern and loving. He surprised even himself with that; yes, he could act angry and frustrated very easily, but caring and concerned? What was going on with him? "Jess, you look fine. You look...you look gorgeous. And it's Becker."

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes gradually widening as he flushed. He wasn't joking. He meant it. And that really mattered to her. "Thank you. Becker."

He returned her apprehensive smile; this was new to both of them. But he raised his hands to her face and stroked her hair back behind her ears tenderly, memorising every tiny detail of her expression. The way her lashes fluttered as she blinked, the dimples around her mouth at her smile. This was way, way better than any gun. This was heaven on earth.

She leant in, her hands creeping up his waist. He was muscly, she registered, yet slender. And his eyes... They were centimetres from eachother now, their lips so close to touching. One more moment...

"Becker! Jess!" a high-pitched squeal shook them both, and they drew back instantly from eachother. Abby Maitland, dressed in her usual denim shorts and tight vest top, stood in the doorway of the menagerie, a look of utter horror etched across her face. Becker leapt up; Abby, with her gutsy, fun and laid-back approach to life, simply didn't do scared. Something was seriously wrong.

He lifted a leg as if to run towards her, but it flailed in mid-air as he stopped dead, paralysed with shock. In front of them, heading straight for the wall, and approaching at a thunderous rate, was a huge creature. Its claws pounded the earth, its red eyes flashing wildly. They had no chance.

Grabbing Jess at the last moment, he threw her to the side with all his might, praying harder than he ever had in all his life that she'd be okay. Right now, that was all that mattered.

Then the dinosaur charged, and he flew backwards over the bricks, excruciating pain coursing his veins for barely a second before the world fell black before his eyes, and he felt absolutely nothing at all.

XxXxX

She soared effortlessly, floating through the clouds as the sun's rays warmed her feathers. He flew beside her, their wings touching every so often. Each time they connected, she felt a tingle in her heart; joy, and excitement, and adoration, all mixed into one. She was literally euphoric.

But then the sky flashed dark, and icy raindrops poured down from above, soaking them thoroughly. She struggled to continue, shivering violently in the bitter cold. He lifted her gently, helping her to safety, and for a second, relief flooded through her, and the weather was irrelevant in the shelter of his hold.

He tumbled, though, spiralling down and down towards the earth helplessly, while she screamed in torment, unable to do anything but watch him fall...

"Jess? Jess, it's okay. You're safe now. You're in hospital, remember?" Abby's soft words woke her, and, in an instant, everything made sense again. She wished she'd stayed in the nightmare. It was better than the reality.

She was shaking, and sweat poured down her face as it mingled with the devastated tears, but still she hauled herself up in bed, doing her feeble best to ignore the pain, "How is he? Can I see him?"

"No. No, not at the moment," her friend's voice was laced with deep regret during the sentence, but she forced herself back into cheerful mode hastily. Jess didn't need any more worries. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel sick," she fell back against the pillows, unable to find the strength or the courage to stay sitting up. Her hair was matted with blood, sticking to her neck, and her dress was ripped down the side, but for once in her life, she actually didn't care. All she wanted was to see Becker, to know he was okay. And she couldn't, because he wasn't. "Where is he? Why can't I see him? What's wrong with him?"

"Jess, you need to calm down," Lester muttered disapprovingly, and she spun round to find him hovering in the farthest corner from the bed, straightening his bow tie while eyeing her uneasily, "He's in hospital, but he was badly injured; we told you that yesterday. I know you're worried, but you can't see him yet, and that's final."

"Why didn't you stop it? How did it even get out?" she pleaded frustratedly. Abby glanced down at her arm, held gingerly by her side, and Jess noticed for the first time a long deep gash, neatly stitched, but obviously painful. She wasn't the only one who'd suffered. Abby definitely hadn't given into the creature without a fight.

"Sorry," both girls mumbled in unison. Jess smiled weakly, "I'm just...I'm just worried about him."

"I know; so am I. And about you," Abby returned the smile compassionately as Lester tapped his foot in the corner, clearly impatient, "He'll be okay. He's tough."

"I never got to thank him. For caring about my mum."

Abby nodded sympathetically. Lester had revealed to the team Jess's family issues after the incident, and although Jess hadn't exactly been thrilled at first, at least she didn't have to tell them herself now. "We haven't been allowed to see him, but one of the doctors at the ARC told us he asked for you, when he first woke up."

Jess gulped, envisaging him lying alone in a lab surrounded by sturdy white-coated men. With such injuries, the team weren't allowed to normal hospitals; she'd only sustained minor injuries from the fall as he'd thrown her to safety, but he'd been viciously attacked by a monster. That kind of thing didn't tend to go down well in public. "I think..."

She trailed off as Abby and Lester both frowned distractedly, fiddling with their earpieces. Lester was already by the door, beckoning to Abby, who stood apologetically. "Sorry, Jess. We're needed at the ARC. I'll come back when I can."

"Okay," her voice was weak and needy, but Abby raced off after Lester without so much as a second glance. In their job, they didn't have time for the wasting; she understood that. It just hurt when you were on the receiving end of the rejection.

The room, aside from the distant beeping of machinery, had suddenly fallen silent. Hauntingly silent. Jess, her heart thumping hard against her tender ribs, curled up further down the bed, tucking the covers around her shoulders as sobs rose in her throat. "I think I love him."

XxXxX