1114 Words

Chapter Two

Becker worried as he walked into Ops. This would be awkward. He hoped she didn't ask about last night. He didn't remember much and what he did remember…

Frankly the night had been bad. Jess had been rough. She wasn't at all loving or sweet in her…movements. He hadn't been enjoying himself. Maybe that's why he remembered so little.

He walked to the ADD. "Hi."

Jess turned. Her face was bright and cheerful. "Good morning," she said happily.

Becker sighed. Apparently she hadn't had the same bad experience. "How…are you?"

"Brilliant. You?"

He looked away.

"Becker, what's wrong?"

He shook his head.

She stood up and walked over to him. "You can tell me. We're friends."

He scoffed. "Really? After last night, that's all we are?"

Jess looked baffled. "Last night?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talking about."

He scoffed again. "This is how you want to play it, huh?'

"Becker, what in the world…"

He moved close, grabbed her a bit roughly and pulled her to him. He whispered harshly, "We spent the night together and this how you treat me? You even left without waking me up!"

Jess stared at him in confusion and a bit of fear. "Becker…We did not."

He gripped her harder as he became upset. "Jess, what the hell? Why are you acting like this?"

"Ow. You're hurting me," she said.

He looked down at her arm, turning red inside his hand. He let go suddenly and pulled back.

Jess rubbed her arm and looked at him with worry. "Becker, I didn't see you last night. Not after you helped me with the adrenaline. Remember?"

He looked at her. She looked so worried, so sincere. "I know what happened at my flat, Jess. I was there and so were you. We…you know."

Jess was so frightened a tear escaped. She shook her head. "Honestly, Becker, we didn't. I wasn't anywhere near your place."

Becker grabbed his hair. "You were!" Then he looked again into her eyes. She wasn't lying. "Weren't you?"

Jess shook her head and gently stepped toward him. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on." She then held her hand out.

He looked skeptically at it. Then he latched on like her hand was a lifeline to sanity. He then pulled her into a hug.

Jess felt him shaking.

"What's going on?" he asked. "I swear you, or someone looking exactly like you, was at my place."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I promise you that it wasn't me."

He closed his eyes, and clung to her. "Jess, I think I'm going insane."

She slowly pulled out of his embrace just enough to see into his face. "I'm sure you're fine. I'll help you. I will."

Becker nodded.

Jess looked at him with sympathy. "Will you do something for me?"

He looked at her uncertainly. "What?"

She smiled gently. "It's nothing bad, I promise."

Jess dragged him to medical, and several times he tried to run, but she caught him with that smile.

"You promised, Jess. Traitor."

She smiled, then dropped it as she said, "I'm worried, Becker."

He looked at her. He'd do anything for this woman. "Fine. I'm not happy though."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. The doctor came and took Becker into a private room. Jess had briefed him on what was going on.

"So, Captain. Tell me about this unsettling experience."

"It was awful. Can I go?"

The doctor laughed. "More information, please. Tell me, what scared you the most?"

Becker didn't know where to start: the trusted friend who turned into a sex monster? The holes in his memory? The fact that he swore it had all been real? He shook his head. It was all terrible. Then he realized there was one thing that rose above the rest.

"It would been better if I could move."

"You couldn't?" asked the medic.

Becker shook his head. "She sat on me. I couldn't move at all. I couldn't breathe."

"I see," said the medic. "How do feel now? Do you feel over-tired, or listless?"

Becker nodded.

"And your memory is foggy?"

He nodded again.

"I see. Captain, I think you had an episode of night paralysis."

"What?"

The medic smiled. "It was a dream, Captain, a strange, frightening dream," he said. "In night paralysis, you can't move and your brain can't make sense of it. So, it conjures up a story to explain it."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. It's not a new or rare occurrence. In fact it goes back centuries. Men would see an ugly old woman on top of them, violating them and sucking out their life force."

"It wasn't an old woman. It was a young, gorgeous one," said Becker.

The doctor smiled. "Yes. That's not unusual either. The mind sometimes plucks people and things from your experiences."

"Like Jess, we work together…"

"Exactly, Captain. In fact, when aliens and UFOs became very popular, people began to see aliens. The hag experience became alien abductions."

"So it's not strange that it was Jess, in the…dream?"

The medic smiled. "Not at all. You're close, aren't you?"

Becker nodded.

"Your mind simply chose a familiar person to put in the role of hag, that's all."

"So I'm not crazy?"

The medic smiled. "No."

Becker left with relief. It didn't explain everything. He didn't really think it was all due to stress, but hey, it was better than Jess being some kind of monster, or at the least a bad 'date.' Now he had to face her and explain. Perfect.

He walked into the waiting room and Jess broke into a smile. He did too.

"Well?" she asked.

"Night paralysis apparently."

Jess frowned. "I don't know what that is."

"Really? I thought you and Connor would be all informed on alien abductions."

"Oh, sure, but what does that have to do with you thinking that you and I," she stopped. Then a light went on in her head.

"Oh! I see," she said, sighing with relief. "Night paralysis, of course! I remember now. That's where you can't move, isn't it? But your brain thinks some hag is…you know, having fun at your expense."

Becker laughed.

"And yeah, some people think they're in spaceships being experimented on. Oh, I'm so relieved!"

"You are? Jess, don't take this the wrong way, but you're strange."

Jess giggled and hugged him. "I'm not the one having sexy dreams about a co-worker."

"Hey, I wouldn't mind a sexy dream. This was a nightmare."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm glad though, it wasn't someone else. You know, Abby or Emily."

"Or Lester," said Becker, shuddering.

Jess laughed hysterically.

End of Chapter Two