Finally managed to get this one written and uploaded! Please let me know what you think. Sam x

They arrived at Cardiff hospital 2 and ½ hours later. As soon as Becker had parked the car, Jess shot out of the door running towards the main entrance. Becker hurried to get to her as he pushed his way through the ignorant people who were going too slowly for his liking. He needed to get to Jess, to comfort her. On arrival at the front desk, he saw Jess trying to convey her brother's information to the receptionist. The problem was, she was sobbing her heart out and was unable to speak a word. Becker walked up to her and placed his arm around her shoulder. He had dealt with enough injured men to know how hysteric the families got at the vague mention that their loved one had been hurt. He looked at the receptionist, who looked like a deer caught in headlights whilst taking in the state that Jess was in.

"Liam Parker? He was flown in earlier today?" The receptionist began to frantically tap at the keyboard, trying to find the necessary information. Becker suspected that she was new, not used to dealing with distraught family members.

"Right, he's in surgery at the moment. His parents arrived a couple of hours ago. I can take you to them if you like."

"Thank you." The receptionist gave him directions to the family waiting room where Jess' parents were waiting for news. Becker steered Jess towards the waiting room, she seemed to be a shell of her normal self.

"Jess, look at me. He'll be fine; the doctors know what they're doing." Jess was looking at him with pleading eyes, a look he had seen many times on wives and girlfriends of the soldiers at the ARC. Becker knew that there was always a possibility that Liam wouldn't be okay, but that wasn't something Jess could take right now. If anything happened, they would deal with it then. The uncertainty of what was going on was what had driven her into this state; she didn't need anything else that would push her over the edge into something that Becker couldn't pull her back from.

They walked into the waiting room where two older looking people were sitting down in the uncomfortable chairs that the hospital provided. They were clearly Jess' parents. The woman had the same auburn hair as Jess, if slightly greying. The facial features could have easily been mistaken for Jess, apart from the eyes. Those distinctive blue eyes that Becker had always loved must have been inherited from her father. Mr Parker was a tall man, slightly taller than Becker. His hair was grey and his eyes were weary yet bloodshot. Mrs Parker was obviously feeling the same things that Jess was feeling at the moment; fear, sadness and worry. Jess' dad, on the other hand, had a emotionless mask upon his face. It was then that Becker remembered Jess telling him that her father was in Special Forces, a general. Even though his face gave no emotion away, his body language showed that he hadn't been completely militarised beyond recognition. General Parker had his arm around his wife's shoulders, much like Becker was with Jess. As soon as Jess saw her parents, she ran into their arms, her sobbing starting up again. Becker stood uncomfortably, not wanting to intrude on the intimate moment between parents and child. The family pulled out of the hug, the women drying their eyes. Mrs Parker placed her hands on either side of Jess' face and gazed at her.

"It's been so long since we last saw you Jess. Why did you leave it so long?" Jess' mother was still distraught and could not seem to rein her emotions in.

General Parker glanced at his wife. "Give the girl a break Christina. I'm sure she's been very busy with work." He glanced at Becker meaningfully, as if trying to convey a warning.

"Yeah...I've been busy. Work is hectic at the moment. I would have come down if I had any spare time."

Jess looked at her father with a grateful look. Becker sympathised with her. He knew firsthand how difficult it was to lie to your family about your job. There were times when he had wanted to talk to his parents about the creatures he had seen, the loss he felt when a soldier died. Unfortunately he couldn't. Each member of the ARC had to carry the burden of their job themselves, with no one to talk to but their colleagues.

General Parker cleared his throat, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

"Who's this then?" The emotionless mask was in place again whilst he looked Becker up and down.

Jess jumped at the sudden noise. Once she had registered what her father had said, she walked over to Becker's side and placed her hand on his left bicep.

"Mum, dad...this is Captain Hilary Becker. Becker, this is Christina Parker and General Stephen Parker. Or just dad to me."

"General and Mrs Parker, lovely to meet you." Becker extended his hand towards the pair. Mrs Parker pulled him in a hug, completely ignoring his outstretched hand.

"We've heard so much about you Becker. It's nice to finally meet you."

Becker blushed at her comment and looked over at Jess with a raised eyebrow, Jess was blushing too. Mrs Parker let go of him and he turned to Jess' dad, his posture changing into a respectful soldier immediately.

"General Parker, it's a pleasure to meet you sir." He saluted his superior.

"Yes, it is good to meet you too, at ease soldier."

Behind the two men, Jess and her mum were giggling at the display. The two men were acting completely different to how they normally acted around their partners. For a few moments, the unknown fate of their brother and son was pushed to the back of their minds. They were just happy to be seeing each other again. That happiness was short lived though, as a doctor walked into the waiting room with a grim look on his face.

Becker knew that this was a family matter, so he excused himself and decided to make himself useful. He headed towards the coffee machine, the voice of the doctor slowly fading as he walked further away.

Whilst Becker was fetching the four of them coffee, the doctor told the Parker family how the operation went.

"We managed to remove the bullet. It was tricky though, as the bullet was embedded in the stomach. He's comatose at the moment, he lost a lot of blood on the journey to the hospital and during the operation. I'm sorry; we won't know anything more until he wakes up. We'll be monitoring him throughout the night and will contact you if there are any changes in his condition."

Jess' dad walked forward and shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you doctor, we appreciate all that you have done for Liam so far."

The doctor nodded and walked out of the room, giving the family a small, comforting smile on his way out. Jess looked at her parents, waiting for them to speak. After about a minute, Jess decided to break the silence.

"Well...at least it's not as bad as we thought it was going to be." Jess was trying to stay optimistic, not wanting to believe how much danger her older brother was actually in. Her parents looked at her, understanding why she had said it. They pulled each other into another hug, unaware that Becker had walked back into the room.

General Parker was the first one to break the hug, looking at Becker and then his daughter. They relayed the information from the doctor to Becker, and each took a paper coffee cup from him.

"Why don't we all go back to the house? It's a lot more comfortable than this place, and you can both freshen up there," Mrs Parker suggested whilst putting her arm around Jess' waist.

"That sounds like a good idea. We all look like we could do with a few more hours sleep." Jess began to walk out of the room with her dad in front, leading the way, and Becker trailing behind her.

As soon as they got to the Parker house, Jess became extremely tired. Once the car was parked, Becker picked her up and carried her into the house from which he received a glare from the General and a look of adoration from Jess' mother. Her parents gave Becker directions to Jess' old room, and strict instructions that he was to sleep in the guest room (which he had planned on doing anyway). The entire household went to sleep early that night, dreading the morning. They were all in for an emotional time at the hospital, so they all needed as much strength as they could possibly gather.