Nearly a week after Connor had restarted his research, his new device was ready for testing. When it was, he called Jess into his lab and locked the door. They didn't want anyone to know what they were doing until they were sure it would work. Emily and Becker had told Matt and Abby what Connor was hoping to do, but since then all information had stopped. The only person Connor spoke to about this was Jess, and it was beginning to grate on the others' nerves.
In the meantime, the fighting hadn't stopped. Anomalies were still popping up everywhere, and the ARC was maxed out. They'd brought in reinforcements from other facilities in neighbouring countries, but as fast as they closed one anomaly, another one opened. Everyone knew that something had to be done, and soon, or else they'd run out of people to fight.
Over the course of the week, Jess' adamant stance about keeping Becker and Matt on a tight leash had weakened. There were too many people falling for the cause, and staying alive was more important than her pride. Two days after Connor's announcement about what he could do, Jess reinstated the former team leader and head of security so that they were official ARC personnel once more, complete with full access to everything they needed. The pair were happy and relieved to be back in full swing, but made sure to stay under the radar and let Jess take the lead whenever she saw fit.
Despite the unannounced truce, Becker still felt protective of Jess, trying to subtly make sure that she was taking breaks for food and rest. He somehow managed to do it without it seeming like he was trying to help her, but they both knew what he was really doing. Regardless of that though, she let him. On occasion they'd find themselves in the ARC's gym at the same time, and would end up sparring. He was surprised at how agile and swift she'd become. They'd both managed to get the drop on each other at different times during their fights, but today's was one that had stopped him cold.
They'd been sparring for nearly a half hour when she ducked under a punch and managed to kick his left leg out from under him. He'd fallen into a crouch but managed to block the roundhouse kick she'd followed it with. He'd knocked her leg away a bit harder than he usually would have, and she spun around away from him. He quickly jumped back into a standing position, and when she threw her fist back, he was ready. Becker grabbed her wrist and spun her around so that she was facing him, taking hold of her other wrist as he did. Before she had the chance to react, he slipped his right foot underneath her legs, and brought her down flat on her back on the mat. He dropped down on top of her, still holding her wrists, maneuvering his body so that she couldn't get her legs free.
She struggled for a few seconds before her mind grasped the position they were in. She stilled her movements at the same time as him, and found herself staring up into a pair of eyes that she really hadn't seen closely for over 6 years. The look on his face forced her to count to ten in her head, because if she didn't, it would be all too easy to raise her face just a few inches to his. Her mind screamed at her to not let him affect her this way, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't as easy being the stone wall when your reason for becoming so was looking at you so intently.
Becker knew he needed to move, but couldn't force his limbs to cooperate. He saw a momentary flash of fear in her eyes as she'd stopped struggling, and wondered what had put it there. Surely she knew that he wouldn't actually hurt her, so it had to be some other reason.
As if sent by the gods above to save them from themselves, the anomaly alarm went off at that exact moment. Becker jumped up immediately, and extended his hand to help her up as well. She looked between him and his outstretched fingers for a few seconds before making her decision and taking his hand. Together, they'd hurried towards the ADD.
"It's the biggest one yet!" Evans shouted as they ran towards him. Becker grabbed for the black boxes, passing one to Jess and Abby who had just joined them. "It's opening up between the two others in Uxbridge. They're too close together for the creatures to stick to their own turf. One team isn't going to be enough for this."
"Get Emily and Matt's teams to meet us there," Jess ordered. Turning to Becker, she looked him straight in the eye. "Armoury," was all she said. He nodded, understanding exactly what she meant, and led Abby away. Jess then turned to the door and headed for Connor's lab. She entered, and simply looked at him. He read the message in her eyes, and handed her two devices, both already in leg holsters. He didn't need to tell her anything, because she already knew how they worked. He gently touched her arm, and she looked up at him. They both nodded at the same time, and she was off. He stayed put for a few seconds after she disappeared, and then ran out of the room to go help Evans at the ADD.
Jess arrived in the armoury and immediately grabbed for her EMDs. She attached the two smaller ones to her belt after fastening Connor's devices to either of her thighs. She looked up in time to see Becker gazing at her new accessories thoughtfully. He glanced up and caught her eyes. "Connor?" he asked.
She nodded, not wanting to elaborate. "Time to see if his mad plan works," she stated before turning back to grab some extra ammo.
He nodded back, attaching his own EMD to his hip. After a moment of silence between them, he felt the need to speak. "I don't blame you for hating me," he started. "But I need you to know that I never meant to leave."
At his opening, she had stopped, surprised by his admission. She'd always known it to be true, but to hear it was startling. "I don't hate you," she finally replied. "I just hate the situation that we found ourselves in." She kept her gaze away from him, afraid of what she'd do if she found him looking at her. "I've never hated you," she admitted, so softly that he almost missed it.
And just like that, she had forgiven him. He hadn't expected her to react in that way – hell, he hadn't expected any reaction from her. He turned away from the ammunition cupboard and looked her straight in the face. When she finally looked up at him, he spoke again. "When we get back, I want to talk through all this with you."
'When'. He hadn't said 'if they get back', because there was a very good chance they wouldn't. He'd said 'when'. She took a deep breath as her expression softened, and he once again caught a glimpse of the old Jess in her eyes as she nodded. "Ok," she answered.
"Ok," he replied, gazing at her meaningfully for another few seconds before pushing off the wall and heading for the door. She took a deep breath and followed him, wondering if they actually would get the chance to work this all out.
