Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or its characters.

Chapter Summary: As they continue making plans for the wedding the time comes around for the group to take the dance lessons Jess had booked them in for. But how well could the lesson possibly go when the tension between Jess and Becker has reached an all-time high.

Chapter Length: 3254

Author's Note: Firstly, I cannot believe this story has reached over 1000 views, thank you all for the support. I hope everyone had a safe and merry Christmas. This chapter's a long one, the longest I've written (so far), but I think you'll like it. Enjoy X

Open Mic Nights

Chapter 10 – Dance Lessons

Jess had been looking forward to the ballroom dance lessons the group was taking since the day she had convinced Abby that they were necessary. Something Connor had helped her do, though he did it unknowingly. If it hadn't been for him demonstrating his dancing capabilities when she had brought the topic up, Jess didn't think she would have ever got Abby to agree.

As soon as Abby had said yes, Jess was on her feet and running excitedly through the corridors towards the ADD—where she had left her laptop. After a quick search, Jess had found a dance company that ran lessons especially for wedding parties and had the six of them booked in for two weeks later—much to her teammates dismay.

"If this is for Abby and Connor's fist dance, why do the rest of us have to go?" Matt had asked when she returned and informed the team of the booking.

"Because you get a discount on the lessons if you bring a group." Jess replied. "Come on, it'll be fun." She added when she saw some of their less than enthusiastic faces.

"Jess is right. It will be fun to do this together, and I shall look forward to getting a chance to dance with you before the wedding." Emily said, putting her hand on Matt's forearm. "Don't you agree Becker?"

"Yeah, except for the part about dancing with Matt."

The team laughed; earlier traces of annoyance forgotten. Jess was happy that Becker didn't seem too annoyed at being included in the dance lesson, as she knew they would be paired together. She couldn't wait; getting to spend two hours that close to Becker was going to be amazing.

###

But that had been two weeks ago. Back before Becker had decided they were getting too close and started ignoring her. Now, Jess just wanted the day to be over. She didn't want to spend any more time with him than necessary, and she certainly didn't want to spend the next two hours in his arms. Not when it would be clear that he would rather be just about anywhere else. This was going to be torturous. Being that close to the man she was practically in love with and knowing he wants nothing to do with her.

Could this day get any worse?

Sighing, Jess made her way downstairs and through the parking garage to her car. The quicker she got to the dance studio, the quicker the lesson would be done. The sooner the lesson was over the sooner she'd be back home and able to change into her pyjamas, and curl up on the couch with the biggest tube of chocolate ice cream she could find.

Getting in her car, Jess put the key in the ignition and started the car. Or rather, she tried too. All she got in response to turning the key was a clanking sound as the engine attempted to turn over. Jess tried starting the car a few more times, hoping to hear the little VW roar to life, but all she got was more loud clanks. Frustrated, Jess got out of the car—slamming the door behind her—and went back inside.

Pulling out her phone, Jess looked through her contacts for the number she needed and then hit dial.

"Hello."

"Hey Em, my car won't start and I was wondering if you and Matt could give me a lift? I know it's out of your way, but I didn't know who else to ask. Abby and Connor were doing errands this morning and are probably already at the studio, and I can't ask Becker."

"Do not fret Jess, we would be more than happy to 'give you a lift'?" Emily's voice went up on the last part of her sentence, unsure if she was using the phrase correctly. "Matt is on the telephone at the moment but he should be finished soon and we shall be at your place shortly."

"Thanks Em, see you soon." Jess said, hanging up the phone.

###

Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door. But when Jess opened it, it wasn't Matt or Emily that she found waiting for her, it was Becker.

"Becker! What are you doing here?"

"Matt said you needed a lift."

"I do, I was just expecting Matt and Emily."

"I told Matt I'd pick you up. It made more sense seeing as I'd be driving past here to get to the studio. I'm surprised that didn't occur to you."

"Must've slipped my mind." Jess muttered as the pair made their way to Becker's truck. They drove in silence. Becker never had been much of a conversationalist, and Jess didn't know what to say to the man that had been avoiding her for the past two weeks

The company Jess had booked the lesson through owned a small building about 20 minutes from her apartment, which housed their studios. The team were lead to one of the studios at the back of the building. This room wasn't as large as the other ones they had passed, but it was big enough for what they needed it for.

The room was long but narrow, with hardwood floors. The front and back walls had full length mirrors attached to them and a bar ran along three of the four walls. Bright afternoon sunlight streamed in through two medium sized windows in the far left wall, bathing that part of the room in a warm glow. The remainder of the room was lit by fluorescent lights hanging from the roof.

"Jess, I am sorry it was not Matt and I that came to pick you up." Emily said, coming over to her when Becker had stepped away. "It was Becker who Matt was on the phone with and when Matt told him we had to leave to pick you up he said he would do it. We tried telling him that that was not necessary, that we were quite happy to pick you up, but he insisted. Sometimes there is no arguing with that man."

"That's okay Emily. He's right, it did make more sense for him to pick me up." Jess said trying to relieve some of the guilt her friend was feeling.

"Still I am sorry you had to endure a car ride with him, I know things are… tense between the two of you."

They were interrupted by the instructor coming in. Jess's eyes locked on him as he made his way over to the group. He was easily one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen. He had short dirty blonde hair, chocolate eyes, and a well-toned physic.

"Hey guys I'm David. I'm the instructor that's been assigned to your lesson." As he spoke Jess saw Abby shoot her a look, as if to say can you believe how hot this guy is?

Jess tried not to blush. Sure he's attractive, but he's no Becker.

"So I'm going to start by teaching you the basic steps of a waltz and once you've got that down we'll move on to add some more advanced steps, so you can really impress your guests." Jess heard David say as she tuned back in to the conversation taking place. "So let's pair up and get started."

The two couples moved eagerly towards each other. Connor pulled Abby up against him, making her laugh, while Matt and Emily gazed happily at each other. Jess sighed, wishing she was there with someone who actually wanted to be around her, and reluctantly moved towards Becker.

Jess gave him a shy smile as they put their arms around each other and tried to copy what David was demonstrating at the front of the room.

To say their dancing was awkward would be an understatement. They kept more distance between them than the other two couples and did everything in their power to avoid the others gaze. Watching the ridged pair made David cringe.

"Come on mate." David said, coming over to them. "You've got an excuse to hold a beautiful woman close, don't let it go to waste." He gave Jess a gentle shove, causing her to move so close to Becker that she was almost pressed up against his chest. She blushed and tried to move back but David wouldn't let her.

"Also, you've got to loosen up, move your hips more. You're as stiff as a solider."

"I am a solider." Becker said dryly.

"And I have the upmost respect for your profession, but soldier training isn't going to help you here. Try and think less about how you've been trained to carry yourself and more about how having…" David's voice trailed off as he looked to Jess.

"Jess." She supplied when she realised he was silently asking for her name.

"Jess, right. Try and think less about how you've been trained to carry yourself and more about how having Jess that close makes you feel. Give in to your emotions. You on the other hand…" He continued turning to Jess. "…Are doing pretty well. Just don't let him keep you at arm's length."

David moved on to helping Connor and Abby, leaving Jess and Becker to think about what he had just said. He may not have known it but he had given them advice on how to fix a lot more than just their dancing. David was right, Becker did keep her at arm's length and the only way that was going to stop was if she didn't let him get away with it. The question was would she be able to find the courage to do that?

Their dancing improved slightly after that. Jess made sure there was less distance between them, and Becker focused on loosening up. But despite this they still felt uncomfortable around each other.

###

30 minutes later David called for them to stop what they were practicing and gather around him.

"All right guys. You're all picking this up well, some better than others, but you're by far one of the best wedding parties I've worked with. So with that said, let's move on to some of the more advanced steps. Jess would you mind helping me demonstrate?"

Jess moved to stand by David, who took her by the hands. He guided one of her hands to his shoulder and held the other one a loft with his own hand, at shoulder level. Placing his free hand on her lower back David began moving them across the dance floor, explaining what he was doing as they went.

Jess had never felt so graceful in all her life. With David she glided across the dance floor, as if they were dancing on ice. There wasn't any stumbling or looking down to see where to put their feet. She just followed David's lead, and he knew exactly what he was doing.

David demonstrated how to turn as you danced across the room and how to do a proper under the arm spin, then they were back to moving across the floor.

Jess was enjoying being whisked around the room so much that she didn't notice that Becker's jaw had clenched the moment David took her by the hands. Or that the entire time they were dancing, Becker watched on with hands curled into fists. If she had she may not have let the smile on her face grow so big. She also wouldn't have let it fade away as she returned to her place besides him.

"Okay, let's spend the next the next few minutes working on what Jess and I just demonstrated. Then, depending on how that goes, I may show you a few more moves. So, pair up and get to it."

Jess turned to Becker, and for a moment they just stood there, neither of them making eye contact. Then, slowly, Becker took Jess's hands, and—like David had earlier—guided them into position. A jolt of electricity surged through Jess's body when Becker's hand came to rest on her lower back, and her breath caught in her throat. Jess slowly released her breath, hoping that Becker hadn't notice the reaction she had to him touching her.

Damn it! Why do I have to have such a strong reaction to someone who has no interest in me?

They began moving through the steps; not as quickly as Jess had when dancing with David, but at least they weren't continuously looking at their feet.

"Jess I…" Becker started.

"You what?" She asked. Becker flinched at the tone of her voice, the question had come out harsher than she had intended, but after how he had been treating her the past few weeks he sort of deserved it.

Becker sighed before continuing. "I wanted to apologise. I know I've acted horribly these past couple of weeks, I just…I knew how upset you got by what people were saying so I thought if we put some distance between us people would stop talking."

"I appreciate that you care about my feelings." Jess said, her voice hard. "But I don't care about what people think is going on between us. I care about how you treat me, and lately you haven't been treating me very well. You hurt me Becker."

"I know Jess, and I am so so sorry. Could you ever forgive me?"

Jess sighed. "Friends fight, but they don't stay mad. Your my friend Becker—one of my closest friends—of course I'll forgive you. But don't go doing that again."

Jess could see the tension leave Becker's shoulders, and she looked up to see him smiling down at her. She smiled back at him, glad that he had worked out whatever had been troubling him and was back to being her friend.

After that, all the tension between them was gone, it was almost as if the last two weeks hadn't happened. They were able to relax into each other, which showed in their dancing. They had improved so much that David commented that if he hadn't been watching them he'd think they were two different people.

From then on Jess found herself having the type of lesson she had originally imagined when making the booking. They worked through the steps, laughing when one of them did something wrong. Becker now held her closer than he had at the beginning of the lesson—which she enjoyed—and a shiver ran through her body every time his hand moved over her back.

Though one thing she hadn't anticipated was the intense gazes. With them no longer needing to look at their feet as they danced, their eyes would wonder to different things. At first they would look over the others shoulder—or in Jess's case just beside the others shoulder, as she wasn't actually tall enough to see over Becker's shoulder. But with the easy comfort restored between them, they soon found their eyes seeking each other out. They spent the remainder of the lesson dancing with their eyes locked on each other, unaware of the pointed looks they were receiving from their friends.

Becker couldn't believe he had been so stupid. Why had he spent the past two weeks ignoring Jess? All he had done was make both of them feel miserable.

Honestly what was I thinking?

Today had put everything into perspective for him. Having to work so closely with her had made him realise how much he missed her; because he did. He missed her bright wardrobe, and her brighter personality. He missed her cheerful rambling and the smile she saved just for him. Though he was surprised to learn that what he missed the most was being the one she called when she needed help.

When Matt had told him that he and Emily had to go pick Jess up, as her car wasn't starting, Becker had felt an uncomfortable pang in his gut. He was always the one she called when she needed help with something. Whether it was a ride home from work, or getting files down off of a high shelf, she always went to him, and the fact that she called Matt and Emily today when she had needed a lift bothered him more than he cared to admit.

He liked being the one she turned too. He liked making her laugh and receiving that smile. He liked being around her and holding her close, today had reminded him of that.

I can't get too attached. It's not like I can fill this role forever.

But you could, if you'd just tell her how you feel. A small voice whispered to him.

I can't do that. I don't deserve her, she can find someone better.

You don't really believe that, do you?

He did believe it, but every day that belief was growing weaker.

###

The lesson finally ended and as they were all gathering their things Becker was approached by Abby and Emily. He groaned internally, this could only mean one thing.

"I just wanted to say that you and Jess look very good together Captain." Emily said before grabbing her bag and joining Matt on the other side of the room, leaving Becker to wonder what exactly it was that she meant.

"So it looks like you and Jess worked everything out." Abby said when the silence became too much.

"What gives you that idea?" Becker asked, trying to be nonchalant.

"I'd say the way you were gazing into each other's eyes was a pretty good give away."

Becker stiffened. He hadn't known they were doing that.

"So does this mean you're going to tell her how you feel?"

Becker had known this was coming, but that didn't mean he was ready to have this conversation.

"Abby I…I can't."

"Wait, you're not denying that you have feelings for her?"

"What's the point? You wouldn't believe me anyway." Becker replied, resignation thick in his voice.

"Okay, well, that's progress I guess. Why can't you tell her?"

"Because we work together."

"So? Connor and I work together, Matt and Emily work together and both of those relationships are working just fine."

"I don't want to put her through the pain of losing me when my luck finally runs out."

"Do you really think not pursuing a relationship with her is going to lessen her pain IF something happens to you? If anything, I think it's going to make it worse, because instead of being able to comfort herself with memories of your life together, she going to be left wondering what could have been and regretting that she never told you how she felt."

"What if she doesn't feel the same way and I ruin everything? Because if the past two weeks have taught me anything it's that I can't stand not having her in my life."

"You could ruin everything. Or you could make it so much better, isn't it worth the risk? Besides Jess has had feelings for you for at least as long as Connor and I have been back."

"You know, you're the second person to say that to me in a relatively short time frame."

"Then it must be true." With that Abby picked up her bag and walked away, pleased with the conversation they had just had.

Becker, on the other hand, didn't think he could feel more confused. Was Abby right? Was the chance at having something more with Jess worth risking the relationship they already had?