A/N: Thank you for all the reviews :D. They really do make me write faster. (hint hint)

Chapter 8: Kiss with a Fist

Becker flicked a switch and the old bulbs swinging on the ceiling above them slowly came to life. "Welcome to Haven."

Jess turned around slowly, taking in the sight of the dingy hall. She'd never been anywhere like it. Everything was grey except three large bright blue mats strategically placed around the room. The walls were covered in dirt and crime, the floors weren't much better. She frowned at the red-brown stain to her left; it looked like blood. She subconscious moved closer to Becker. "What is this place?"

He looked down at her, slightly disappointed with her reaction. "It's a boxing hall," Becker explained, ducking under the rope that boxed in one of the thick mats. "A mate of mine runs it. I come here when I need to work through stuff."

She looked at him incredulously. "You brought me here to show me your place?"

Becker frowned, "It's not my place. It's my mates- I told you."

"No, your place," Jess enunciated the words as if they meant something important. "The place you go to feel safe, somewhere no one can hurt you."

He blinked at the explanation; he'd never thought of it like that. "I guess it is my place. But I didn't bring you here to show you it. I brought you here to use it."

"I don't box," She said simply, folding her arms.

"I know," He replied, "I'm going to teach you."

Her eyes grew wide, blue icebergs in a sea of pale skin. "What?"

"I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself," Becker explained slowly.

"Why?" She walked towards him, stopping uncertainly at the rope barrier.

"You said you don't want to be a distraction. If you can defend yourself against tossers like Merryweather, I won't be as worried about you."

"That is…"

Becker paused, waiting for her to say it was a stupid idea. It wasn't his ideal solution to the problem. That would be breaking the legs of anyone that dared hurt her or anyone he cared about but he could imagine her lecture if he tried to do that.

"… A good idea," Jess finished with a small smile. She ducked under the rope, joining him on the mat. "If I wasn't so weak I could've stopped him."

"That wasn't weakness, Jess, that was being unprepared."

She leant against the rope, letting it take her weight. She looked up at him dejectedly. "That's the same thing in my job."

Becker moved with lightening precision and speed, taking a step forward and wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her back against his chest.

Jess screamed in fright. She was trapped. "What are you doing?"

He could feel her hummingbird heartbeat beating rapidly. "Lesson one," he said softly. "Always be prepared." Becker let her go and took a few steps back to give her some room.

She didn't move. Her shoulder began to shake violently. Becker mentally cursed – he'd made her cry. "Hey," He reached out and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's alright."

She shook her head, not turning to look at him. "No it's not alright. I'm stupid."

"Jess, you are anything but stupid."

"I'm a fool then. A stupid silly fool," She sobbed. "I could have known what to do – you offered to teach me and I said no because I didn't think I would need it."

"Come here," He tugged lightly on her shoulder, turning her to face him. "You are not stupid. You are not a fool. You are Jess. You are brilliant."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better," She pouted slightly.

"Well yes…" Her face fell at his words. "But that doesn't mean they're not true."

Her eyes went wide. Jess had never heard him speak so openly like that before. Even when he was talking about Abby and Connor and Danny his accolades had been more reserved.

Becker bent slightly so he could look her in the eyes. "Okay?" He didn't like the silence she kept creating. He much preferred the happy noise.

She nodded, "Okay," And wiped away the vestiges of her tears.

"Ready for lesson two?" He stepped back, letting his hand fall away.

She nodded again, this time more certainly. "Just don't scare me like that again."

"Jess, I'd never hurt you. You have to believe me," Becker said sincerely.

"I know that," She replied, almost rolling her eyes at the thought. "You can just be really scary sometimes. Like a big bear."

A small chuckle escaped from his lips at her description, "If you say so."

"I say so," She narrowed her eyes playfully. "So what's lesson two?"

"Hit me."

"But I don't want to hurt you."

He held back a chuckle; he doubted that would happen. He wouldn't be teaching her if she could. "You won't hurt me Jess."

"But…"

"Aim for my arm and hit me as hard as you can. Open fisted," He added as an afterthought. "You don't want to break a finger."

She looked at him dubiously. "Are you sure?"

He gave her an exasperated look, "Jessica."

"Fine," She closed her eyes and swung her hand out, hitting his arm with a hard slap. "Ow. Ow. Ow," She leapt back, clutching her hand. "Are you made of steel or something?"

"Didn't I tell you I was Superman?" He joked before looking at her hand, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Jess answered, still massaging her hand.

"Good. Try again," Becker told her. "This time keep your arm more relaxed and throw your weight behind it."

She struck him again, following his instructions to the letter, and made him take a small step back. "I did it!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

"You did it. I told you that you were brilliant. Again."

Jess repeated the motion several times before he allowed her to switch arms. "I can see why Matt calls you a drill sergeant," She groaned, hitting him again.

"You'll thank me in the long run. Probably not tomorrow though," Becker answered lightly, easily taking the hit.

"I think you're going to have to remind me to thank you. My arms are killing me," She breathed, throwing a wild hit that caused her to loose balance and fall.

Becker caught her before she hit the ground and set her gently on her feet. "Maybe we should add balance training to the list."

"I can balance," Jess retorted indignantly. "I'm just tired."

Becker remembered how Matt had called them to work that morning. "Sorry. I forgot. We'll call it a night then. There's no point training too hard. You'll just hurt yourself."

"But we've only been here for an hour."

"We'll continue another time," Becker told her, pleased by her disappointed tone. She'd liked it, despite her complaints.

"Okay," She nodded, smiling slightly. "Probably not worth planning it now though is it? I mean with the anomalies popping up any time."

"No, probably not. We'll work it out though. We always do. Come on, I'll drop you home." He gestured for her to go first, chivalrous til the end.

She flashed him a small smile of gratitude. "But my car's at your place."

Becker shrugged. "I'll pick you up tomorrow. We have to get you the camping gear before Friday anyway."

She groaned, "I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me."

"I thought you were looking forward to it," Becker cast her a sideways look as they walked out of the boxing hall.

"I was. But that was before…" She trailed off, not wanting to elaborate. They both knew what she meant. "Now all I want to do this weekend is curl up with a book and eat ridiculous amounts of chocolate."

"You could still do that while camping," He pointed out. "The two aren't mutually exclusive." He turned around, fishing some keys out of his pocket and locked the door behind them.

"Have you ever tried to read with Connor nearby? He's like a one man talk show sometimes."

"So I'll bring duck tape."

"Becker!" Jess glowered at him. "What would Abby say?"

"Thank you?" He smirked and opened his car.

"That's not funny. Violence is never the answer."

Becker held back his opinion. She didn't need someone to argue with; she needed someone to keep her safe. "Ready to go home?"

"Not really," Jess answered but slid into the car. "I think I wigged Abby and Connor out when I left."

Becker started the car, "I'm sure they'll understand." He caught her guilty expression and realised something. "You haven't told them. You didn't tell anyone."

She shook her head, biting her lip. "No."

"You should. It might help you," Becker suggested softly, not wanting to offend her. "At least tell Abby, she'll understand better than me or Matt."

"I'll think about it," Jess told him.

"No pressure though. Completely your choice."

They fell into silence but it wasn't awkward, just companionable. They were halfway down Jess' street when she realised they hadn't organised the next day. "What time are you picking me up?"

"Um, half six?"

She looked at him, "How about we make that half seven?"

"Half the day's wasted then," He complained, only half serious.

"Yeah, well I need my beauty sleep," Jess retorted, smiling lightly as they pulled up outside her flat. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"At half past seven," Becker nodded. "Bye Jess."

"Bye," She closed the door and slowly walked up the stairs to her flat. Becker waited until she'd opened the door before leaving. The flat was quiet as she walked into the dark living room. She reasoned that Abby and Connor were asleep. She sighed heavily and took off her jacket.

A light flickered on. "Where the hell have you been? You've been gone for hours. I've been worried about you."

A/N: So I actually did research for this chapter but it's probably not that accurate. I was more concerned with hitting myself in the face than memorising what the teacher said. So apologies for any mistakes. I'm a dancer, not a fighter. That said, pretty please review. You'll make my day.