A/N: OK, this is a little conversation Becker had with Jenkins, after Galant tried to shoot him.
Thanks to Lovingthis for the beta-read. You inspired me to write this little one, so this story is dedicated to you.
You are awesome!
Hope you enjoy
:o)
Becker entered the armoury and approached his inferior. He paused a few paces away from Jenkins, who was cleaning the weaponry at the boxed of EMD's, and observed the man who was two years his junior.
"Good evening, Jenkins." He greeted him, completing the journey and placing himself aside, leaning his back against the table and looking at the smaller figure.
The Private glimpsed at the man next to him and greeted back. "Captain." He nodded shortly, his tone low and insecure.
As Becker tried to catch his eye he quickly lowered his head, looking back down to the weapon in his hand and continued the check.
"What are you doing here? You were off duty long ago. You have no orders to be here." Becker asked him, wondering why the soldier had suddenly decided to volunteer work.
The Private answered shortly, tensing his body. "The guns need reviewing. It's important for their functionality." His eyes fixed at the gun in his hands.
The Captain peered at the weapon, then the hands holding it, and finally his sight lingered at the marks on the soldier's wrist, left by the binds. The sore welts ought to have been bandaged, yet it seemed the young man had neglected to be checked out.
"Jenkins, you hate armoury cleaning. You only do this whenever I order it as a punishment for doing something wrong. So, what is the real reason you are here?" He fished for information.
"Like you said," Jenkins declared, still in a subdued voice, "it's because I did something wrong."
"I've noted nothing for the past two weeks at least." Becker looked blankly, probing at the younger man for his unusual behaviour.
Jenkins stopped with the cleaning, losing his self control and the EMD in his hands started to shake as the words slipped out. "It was my fault. You nearly died today, because I didn't do my job right." His voice started to wobble, dangerously close to breaking.
Becker stepped closer, his shoulder one inch from Jenkins body away. "I'm gonna tell you now what a wise man once told me: This wasn't your fault, you know that."
"I should have stopped him before he even could get near you. It was my duty to watch him, to be his shadow and I failed completely." The Private stuck on his opinion, his cheeks red, stuffed with anger, guilty and self-hatred.
"He knocked you out." The Head of Security backed him up, he never thought, even for a second, about blaming Jenkins for what had happened.
But the soldier stuck in his sorrow. "Yeah. Because I'm weak. He could do anything he wanted, because I'm a wimp."
"You're no wimp." Becker disagreed. "Galant has excellent fighting skills and an award in close combat techniques. Even I couldn't stand him. If Matt, Abby and the others hadn't come to my rescue, he would have lambasted me. This guy is insane. He wanted to kill me. He would have found a way even if I had 6 men watching him. I'm glad he only chained you, Jenkins, he could have killed you."
"But it was my fault that he tried to kill you." His eyes filled with tears as he admitted his darkest regret to his Captain, staring right to the ground.
"What? Did you told him to do it?" Becker asked in a friendly tone, hoping the younger man would see he was being silly.
The tears started to run across his cheeks as he entrusted himself to his boss. "Yes." He took a deep breath as the tears started to leak. "Yes I did. I told him the day he attacked Jess that he should never get between you and your girl. Then after he bound me, he thanked me for giving him this advice and that he was going to do that now. And I was so scared that he hurt you or Jess. And I'm so sorry." The last words were barely understandable because he started to sob. "I'm so sorry." He cried out.
Becker clasped one hand on his neck and pulled Jenkins towards him for a big hug, his voice against the other man's ear, he tried to calm him down: "Aiden, you did more than most men here would, look at your wrists. You fought back. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't read his mind. Nobody could. If it's anyone's fault it's mine, it was my decision to keep him here although he attacked Jess. I should have gone to Lester immediately."
The Captain thought back at the days. Jenkins briefed him every day about Galant's coming and goings. After the second day Galant followed all his orders to the letter: he kept himself out of Jess sight, did the armoury cleaning perfectly, everything watched over by Jenkins. They all thought that he had regret his behaviour and that was why he kept him for another week until he could discuss everything with Lester.
Becker grabbed both Jenkins' cheeks, speaking right into his face of the man whose eyes were still fixed the ground.
"If anything it was my fault. I'm the Captain. I should have had him arrested right that day, but I didn't. You did a great job these nine days: you watched every step of him, you briefed me every day. I wouldn't gave you the order to oversee him, if I had doubt your abilities for one second." He put his hand on Jenkins head and gently tousled his hair in a friendly manner.
Jenkins snuffled, wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve and nodded.
"Me and the team are going to the restaurant, kind of celebrating that we - I am still alive. You wanna join?" The Captain offered him.
"Nope. You said it. It's your team, and I'm not part of it." The soldier denied.
"You are part of my team, Jenkins." Becker affirmed.
"I know- but the soldier part. And me and the guys going to a pub anyway. We'll be getting royally drunk." He gave a slight smile.
Becker chuckled, patting his shoulder. "All right, then. See you tomorrow." He headed for the door, stopped and turned around: "Oh, and Jenkins?"
"Yup?"
"If you ever tell someone that I hugged you, I'll shoot you." The Captain warned his soldier.
"Roger that!" Jenkins chuckled and turned his head back to the EMD's.
A/N: Only two after words: please review
:o)