Something the "Secker" fans will enjoy :)

Chapter IX: The Relevance of Shakespeare

and Alice in Wonderland

Last time: After Becker accidentally left Sarah alone in the library, she was attacked by a giant Monesi, but it went back through the anomaly after she screamed. Becker blames himself, thinking she could've died by his mistake. They were able to seal the anomaly and decided to stay there so Lester wouldn't fire them.

Becker and Sarah had been chatting quietly for a while when Becker's cell rang. He looked at the ID and groaned.

"Lester." He knew it would be unwise to ignore it, so he answered it.

"Status?" He heard Lester's dry monotone.

"The anomaly is sealed. Sarah's a little scratched up, but she's okay."

"Good, now I want you to return to the ARC." Becker wondered if he wanted him back so he could fire him.

"Uhm, I don't think that's wise, sir, you see, there's still a danger here and the AS has been acting a little funny lately." It was a lie, but in truth, it had been managed to get left behind in the truck, so Becker considered it 'bending the truth' a little.

"Fine, just you come back then." Becker winked at Sarah. He was prepared for this.

"If the anomaly opens again, Sarah has no protection from the Monesi."

"The what?"

"The creature, the. . .never mind. And Sarah has to stay because she's the only one who knows how to work the AS other than Connor."

"How convenient." He heard Lester mutter before the sharp click in his ear. He turned and saw that Sarah was looking through the books and was struggling to pull a rather large one off the shelf.

"Look, this one's perfect for you." She heaved the book up so he could see it.

"'War and Peace' by Leo Tolstoy. Ha ha, very funny." He said dryly. "I may have joined the army but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"So why did you join the army then?" She asked him.

"My parents. My father was a career military man, so there was pressure on me becoming one too." He sighed. Sarah felt sorry for him, she at least had been able to pursue her dream, studying in Egyptology and Archeology. She tried to distract him from his depressing thoughts.

"So, what kind of books do you like, other than Tolstoy of course?" Becker left her and wandered through the shelves of books and returned with 'Shakespeare's: Henry VIII'.

"Shakespeare?" She said incredulously. "You like Shakespeare?" Becker sat on the floor and started reading.

"It is as you sayeth." Sarah giggled.

"Wow, the funny side of the stoic...'somethin' Alex Becker. Don't see that very often." Becker lost his smile and frowned.

"Don't get used to it." But then he smiled again. She laughed and plopped down next to him, a copy of 'Alice in Wonderland' in her hands.

"You ever read this?" She asked him.

"No."

"Well, it's about this girl who enters a strange land and is surrounded by many strange creatures and must find her way home."

"Sounds very familiar."

"Yes. Yes it is. There was even a mini-series on the telly called 'Alice' that I saw some time back. Alice wasn't a little girl in this rendition; she and Hatter fell in love. Clever show. Now that I think about it, Hatter did look strangely familiar...."

She closed her book and looked at him. She felt she had gained a deeper bond with him today than before, knowing some about his history and him saving her life.

"Do you want tell me your first name?" She hoped with all her heart that he had learned to trust her now. Becker frowned, and Sarah sighed, knowing what his reply would be.

"No."

"Will you ever tell me?"

"Yeah, maybe, I don't know, someday." Sarah just shook her head and opened her book back up. They were both silent as they read their separate books: Shakespeare's 'Henry VIII' and 'Alice in Wonderland'.

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist adding that allusion to "Alice" I love that show, especially Hatter :D