Let the Games Begin

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Chapter 7 - Paris Parleys

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After combing out her wet hair and brushing her teeth, Jess came into her bedroom to find Emily already lying in bed, reading a large tome. Jess leant down to read the cover of the book and frowned. "Victor Hugo?"

Emily glanced up at her friend. "Yes. He is a magnificent storyteller. Have you read him?"

Jess shook her head as she walked around the bed and crawled into her place in the middle. "But I do love the story. Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, we should go - it's still playing in the West End."

Now it was Emily's turn to frown. "'Playing'?" she echoed back. "Les Miserables is a play, then?"

"A musical," Jess corrected.

"A musical what?"

Jess wasn't sure how to answer. "Just...a musical. Don't you know musicals? They're like operas, only less..."

"Posh," Abby concluded, entering the room and stripping down to her skivvies.

Jess nodded. "You'll love it, Emily. The songs are beautiful. And it's so sad - I cried like a baby when Eponine died in Marius's-"

"Jess!" Abby scolded as she, too, climbed into bed. "Don't spoil the ending for her!"

"Oh, it is not spoilt," Emily insisted. "I have read it before."

"Then why are you reading it again?" Jess asked curiously.

Abby laughed. "Like you haven't read every Harry Potter a zillion times," she teased as she extinguished the light on her side

Before Jess could defend herself, Emily replied, "I thought it'd be the perfect book to read on holiday, to put me in a proper temper."

Jess frowned. "You wanted to be miserable on holiday?"

"No." Emily sighed. "We were to be in Paris, you see."

Now it made sense, of a sort, though Jess was surprised that she'd never heard their intended destination prior to now.

"Paris, huh?" Abby asked, obviously unfamiliar with their travel plans as well.

"Yes," Emily answered. "We were to be a week in Paris and then a fortnight travelling down the Loire River Valley."

"Sounds lovely," Jess said.

"Yes," Abby agreed, "I must ask your advice at some point. Connor and I have talked about France for our honeymoon."

"A honeymoon in Paris!" Jess said with a sigh. "It doesn't get more romantic than that! Oh Abby, I wish I were in your shoes. Don't you, Emily?"

Jess, however, felt Emily instantly tense up next to her. In lieu of replying, the former Victorian merely closed her book and, setting it on the nightstand, turned off the bedside light.

After a moment of lying in the darkness feeling guilty, Jess blurted out, "I'm sorry, Emily. I know how awful it must be to have your holiday ruined. I didn't mean to rub it in."

But Emily continued to lie on her side in the darkness, her back to Jess, saying nothing. Abby, too, had her back to Jess and was already breathing slowly, leaving Jess once again staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep.

It seemed like an age before the quiet voice spoke.

"I spent my honeymoon in Paris."

It was so soft, Jess might've thought she'd imagined it, were it not for Abby suddenly rolling over to face the middle. "I'm sorry," the blonde girl said soothingly. "That must be hard."

"So why did you want to go there on holiday?" Jess asked, confused.

After a moment of stillness, Emily, too, rolled over to face the middle. "To exorcise my demons, I suppose."

Jess felt Abby nod her head on the pillow. "You're taking it back."

"'Taking it back'?" Emily repeated, confused.

"It's something Connor always says. Whenever he has bad memories of a place, he'll say we need to 'take it back', to have some good times there instead to make it our own again."

Through the darkness, Jess could see Emily smile. "Yes. I like that. 'Taking it back.'"

Jess frowned. It was bad enough for Becker's trip to be cancelled, and he had only needed a little R clearly Emily had needed her holiday for a much more important reason. "Stupid Games!" she blurted out. "I'm sorry they forced you to cancel your trip."

Emily shrugged. "I will be all right. After all, Paris isn't going anywhere."

As the room descended into stillness once again, Jess realised she, too, wasn't going anywhere, as both Emily's and Abby's knees were now holding her firmly in place. Jess sighed - it looked like it was going to be yet another sleepless night.

...

When Becker awoke the next morning, Matt was already waiting up for him. Becker quickly threw on his running clothes and was halfway to the door when he remembered to grab his mobile. Hurrying back to grab it, he discovered he'd received a text last evening.

"Everything okay?" Matt asked, obviously having seen Becker's frown.

The soldier nodded. "From my parents," he explained.

"Rubbing it in?"

They weren't, but it certainly felt that way. His parents had taken it amazingly well when he'd called them to cancel - whilst disappointed, they both respected his commitment to his job and understood that, in a sense, his country needed him and therefore they'd simply have to do without him for the next few weeks. Having just seen them on the weekend almost made the separation worse, for he'd been reminded of precisely what he was now missing.

Of course, the photo of yesterday's picnic his mother had just sent wasn't exactly helping either.

"Let me just...," Becker said, gesturing towards his mobile, and Matt gave a patient nod. Becker quickly typed out a reply:

Wish I were there, too. Looks like ur enjoying urselves. No emergencies at work yet, & hoping there won't be any. Jess sends her love.

He quickly deleted the last and retyped, Jess says hi. before pressing send. He then tucked the mobile into his pocket and headed out.

As the two set up a pace, Matt asked, "So how'd they take it?"

It took a moment for Becker to realise what he meant. "They understand. My dad was military, so..." He finished in a shrug.

Matt nodded grimly, and Becker had to wonder what Matt's relationship with his father had been like.

The two ran in silence for a bit as Becker's mind mulled things over. He had desperately wanted to be on holiday, but now he was wondering if perhaps staying behind wasn't for the best. After all, his parents seemed more than a little pushy about Jess. Texts were one thing, but he could only imagine what his parents might've been asking had he been there in person. While he was pleased that they liked Jess, he hadn't been prepared from them to be quite so head-over-heels. Considering how new everything still was, he didn't appreciate the pressure, and it occurred to him that his holiday in the country might not have been quite as relaxing as he'd hoped, making him strangely grateful, all of a sudden, to be stuck here in London.

The same was probably not true for Matt however, though Becker wasn't even sure where the team leader would've been had their trips not been aborted.

"How about you?" Becker asked. At Matt's curious look, the soldier elaborated, "Where were you meant to be?"

"Paris."

Becker raised an eyebrow. He really couldn't envision Matt in the city of love - it just seemed so...French.

Matt shrugged. "Emily's idea," he explained. "Curious to see how it's changed over the years, I suppose."

Becker nodded - that made more sense. He could only imagine how different the Paris landscape must be from her time, and he spent the rest of the run trying to remember when exactly all the Paris landmarks had been built.

Once back at the flat, Matt headed up to the shower as Becker got dressed. He then turned on the kettle and Connor's coffee maker before settling down on the sofa. He glanced once again at the photo his mum had sent him and then started searching the web on his mobile.

"The Eiffel Tower?"

Becker jumped at the sound of Jess's voice, not even having heard her come down the stairs. She came around the back of the sofa and sat down next to him, glancing curiously at his mobile.

"Wanted to know when it was built," Becker explained briefly.

"Late 1800s, right?" Jess asked.

Becker nodded before asking, "What are you doing down here?"

"Wanted to make sure everything was on schedule," she said, gesturing towards the kitchen as she gave a big yawn.

Becker gave a wry smile. "You run a tight ship."

"Of course," she said, popping to her feet. "Got to make sure we leave on time - otherwise YOU won't let me stop for my coffee." She grinned, giving him a quick peck before running back upstairs.

Becker watched her go and then turned back to his mobile, realising, all things considered, he'd much prefer texts from his parents and kisses from Jess than the other way around.

...

to be continued