[A/N: I'm back, thank you everyone for being patient! It's been a hectic but incredibly adventurous two weeks. I've been back and forth between York, Leeds and home, and I've even been on a University visit to Leicester today! I'm exhausted, but I'm back safe and sound!
Right, this chapter is pretty much pure angst for which I apologise. I hate putting our beloved soldier through emotional turmoil but it's necessary for my story, and it WILL get better I promise!]
CHAPTER 6
Aftermath
Becker had been in the gym for the last hour and a half, furiously pounding one of the many punch bags attached to the ceiling. His knuckles were bleeding but he took no notice, feeling no pain whatsoever.
He was a mess. Well and truly an emotional mess. He'd hoped punching something would help clear his head, as his time at the shooting range had been cut short by him running out of bullets. But it appeared punching his invisible weight out was having no affect either.
With one final blow he caught the punch bag as it swung back and rested his forehead on it, breathing heavily.
He should have been on a high, just two days ago reaching an important milestone in his first real relationship: six months. But instead he felt a violent whirling mix of anger, grief, and heartbreak.
Again.
Because there had been no other half to share that special day with.
Jessica.
Becker felt tears well up in his eyes at the mere thought of her name and he punched the bag again before sinking to the floor, running his bloodied hands through his hair. It'd been three months and seventeen days since she'd-
He gulped, sniffing as he rubbed a hand over his face.
There were still days where he couldn't entirely believe it, where he'd forget and think it was simply just one bad dream. Days where he'd walk into the hub expecting to be met with her brilliant smile. Days where he'd tuck that special bar of chocolate into his tac vest ready to surprise her at the end of their shift.
Only to be eventually reminded of the harsh reality, which was when it would hit him hardest: the fact that it wasn't a dream. The realisation that he'd never see that brilliant smile ever again, never wake up and have her beautiful face being the first thing he saw, never have the opportunity or the honour of spending the rest of his life with her.
Hell, they didn't even reach the most intimate stage in their relationship! It'd all been terminated before it could even begin.
All because of the ARC. It was one vicious, inescapable cycle.
First had been Cutter, though admittedly Becker had never got to know him that well, the Professor having died just weeks after Becker joined. Then had been Danny, Abby and Connor disappearing and getting stranded, presumed dead. All three had once again returned, Abby and Connor to stay following a year in the Cretaceous, but Danny had vanished again on the same day, chasing his deranged brother Patrick (or Ethan, as he'd been known to everyone else). And Becker had still endured the pain of losing them. Then Sarah, killed on the fourth rescue mission by a Future Predator. She'd joined at the same time as Becker had, accidentally recruited following an anomaly at the museum where she worked.
And now his sweet and loving Jess, killed by an Allosaurus at Stansted Airport. She hadn't even been on duty that day. She'd swapped in order to pick up her second cousin, her senior by four years, who was arriving from Washington DC for Jess's twenty-first birthday two weeks afterwards.
Flashes of that horrific November day echoed through his head.
"Jessica, listen to me. Stay away from the south end, there's an anomaly."
"But I'm there now, that's where I'm meeting Hannah!"
"Get out of there, Jess! Turn around and leave or get inside the airport building as quick as you can. I'm on my way."
"Becker, is there an incursion?"
"Yes. It's an Allosaurus. Jessica, move now!"
A high-pitched, bloodcurdling scream.
Becker jumped from the truck, sprinting over to the tangled wreckage that used to be Jess's Mini Cooper. It was upside down. No signs of life.
Before he knew it he was crawling inside the car, desperately trying to rouse his girlfriend. No pulse. Tears stung his eyes as he yelled at her dangerously limp body, only held in place by the seatbelt.
He didn't know how long he was there.
Wails of sirens. Police, ambulances and fire crews.
Matt by his side, coaxing him out of the car, promising the emergency crews would get Jess out as soon as they could.
Becker refused, then he was being dragged out.
Abby hugged him as they both cried. Becker couldn't quite take it all in.
Dead. Pronounced dead at the scene. Her and four others.
Jess. Dead.
Becker was on his knees, crying uncontrollably. How could this have happened?
Jess. His girlfriend. After all that time it'd taken him to finally admit he loved her, and now it was all thrown away.
All the colours gone, just blackness remained.
No. This was all just one horrid nightmare.
Becker cradled Hannah Bails in his arms.
"I am so sorry." Becker soothed, as tears streamed down his own face.
Jess's own family could never know the truth of what had really happened to her. It would break them even more than her death already had.
"I looked up to her so much, she was my little sister. How could this have happened? What did she ever do to deserve this?" Hannah sobbed.
Becker had no idea.
Black suits.
Black dresses.
Coloured flowers.
Coloured headbands.
Tears.
Hymns.
Readings.
Videos.
Music.
Tears.
Grave.
Goodbye.
That last one was from her funeral, which had taken place five days after the accident, nine days before what should have been her twenty-first birthday. The entire ARC staff had attended, along with Jess's family and a few of her old school and university friends invited by Hannah.
The days since had been incredibly dark for everyone who had ever known Jess, but it had particularly taken its toll on the Core Team. Abby and Connor had been Jess's room mates for nearly three years, having been invited to share her flat following their return from the Cretaceous. Matt, after Becker, had been one of Jess's first friends at the ARC. All three of them saw Jess as a younger sibling, fiercely protective of her almost as much as Becker.
Even Emily, who being from the late 1800s struggled with many modern day concepts, cared deeply for Jess. Her death was devastating to the entire team.
Everyone knew Lester had a soft spot for Jess, and not just because he had said so in a memoriam. It was clear from the very start he cared for her like a surrogate daughter. Jess had always been able to deal magnificently with his constant sarcasm, never once letting him get the better of her. He admired her for her advanced skills and for her infectious cheerful disposition in such a dark and dangerous job, something that everyone who knew Jess would instantly agree with.
The sound of the klaxons and the lights flashing red brought him back to the present and he was quickly on his feet, sprinting to the hub.
"Connor. Thompson." he acknowledged. "What's up?"
"Sorry to interrupt you. There isn't an alert, but we thought you ought to see this, as in really right now urgently." Connor said, a nervous tone to his voice. Then his eyes wandered down to Becker's hands. "Then you'd better head up to the medical bay."
He sighed, ignoring the last comment. "What it is Connor?"
But Thompson answered, somewhat reluctantly. The night-shift relief had stepped up to the role of Field-Coordinator four months ago. "You know that Regent's Park anomaly we've been monitoring for nearly two days? Well, take a look at this."
With shaking hands he pressed a few keys on the ADD keyboards, bringing up the CCTV footage. Becker's eyes widened, his heart thumping in his chest.
"Jess?" He choked, mind whirling. Then he pulled himself together enough to put a finger to his comm. "Renner, do you copy?"
"Yes, Sir. I assume you've been informed of the situation. What do you want me to do?"
"Bring her in." Becker replied.
. . .
Jess's mind was whirring as she threw herself to the ground as ordered. What had gone wrong? The men in front with EMDs trained on her were all wearing identical glares, almost looks of…was that loathing? She decided to go on the defensive.
"Lieutenant Renner, you know me. I'm Jessica Parker, Field-Coordinator. Please let me stand!"
But Renner put a finger to his ear, his attention elsewhere. "Yes, Sir. I assume you've been informed of the situation. What do you want me to do?"
Jess instantly knew it was Becker on the other end. Her stomach clenched.
"Copy that, Sir." He clarified before turning back to Jess. "I have my orders to escort you back to the ARC." Renner said briskly, with no hint of kindness or even respect in his voice.
Jess was roughly pulled to her feet, another soldier holding her bags as she was taken to and forced into one of the black ARC trucks.
"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" Jess pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes. She bit her lip in an attempt to force them back.
"Silence, Jess. I think you owe us the answer to that question." The Lieutenant ordered from behind the wheel.
Jess obeyed, allowing her brain to work out just what was happening. Something had gone very wrong, and not just her timing it seemed…
Once they reached the ARC she was escorted to the same holding cell Ethan had been held in two years ago. It was dark, miserable and uncomfortable. She wanted to protest but knew better, she was in the wrong there was no doubt.
But what she wanted more than anything was Becker. That was what she couldn't get her head around. Becker had spoken to Renner over the comms, she knew it, and yet Becker was allowing her to be locked up like an animal? Where was he? Where was everyone else? What the hell was going on?
She glanced at her purple watch; she'd been there just under an hour now.
No one had come for her. Not Becker, not her friends, not even Lester or one of the soldiers.
Left totally alone with nothing or no one but herself for company, Jess curled up on the hard bed and cried herself into a fitful sleep.
. . .
To be continued
*braces herself for the angry mob*
I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!
This chapter has gone through several rewrites on my train journeys as it was way too angsty to the point where I was cringing. Please let me know if it's still too angsty for you, or indeed for the story rating - I don't want to disappoint!
