Chapter 11

Emily and Jess left late that evening. They were talking to Becker and Matt the whole day, entertaining them with old stories and eventually ending up watching one of the movies Connor brought Becker. It was a horror movie, so Jess and Emily ended up holding onto Becker and Matt for support, as both men laughed at the ridiculousness of the scenes. It was almost like Lester viewed a normal afternoon with two couples, but he knew, both men were hurt and he knew, that this night would end up being another hard night for them, as the medic would wake Matt regularly, to check how he was doing, if he was coherent or maybe confused, to make sure there wasn't further damage to his brain, that would need immediate attention. At least they had a few relaxed moments with the girls, before they'd have a sleepless night. He was sure Matt wouldn't be the only one to be kept awake. Becker would wake up as well and stay up with Matt, until he fell asleep again. Lester knew this kind of camaraderie existed between everyone on this team. He sighed, as he turned around, to leave the building. The last few days were hard on him, too. The constant worry wore him out a little, so he did something he usually didn't do on workdays. He got into his car and drove home. Not to his city-apartment, but home, to his little house, just outside of London, surrounded by farmland.

The lights were still lit, as he pulled up in their driveway. The gentle face of his wife looked out of the window as she heard the sound of the car. Another face could be seen then. Tears were streaming down a girls face, as her mother picked her up and went to the door.

"James, what are you doing here?", she asked, as the little girl, no older than six, held her arms out, for Lester to hug her. He picked her up and held her close. He had missed the feel of his little girl cuddled against him. He didn't have a favorite child, but he always felt like he had neglected his youngest daughter somehow. For the most time of her childhood he had been away, on a mission to protect the world from dinosaurs and other creatures. Little Jessica Sophie Lester reminded him in so many ways of Jess Parker. She loved bright dresses and preferred to wear her brown hair open, only tamed in a headband. Maybe that was the reason he wanted to protect Jess so badly.

"I'm taking a day off tomorrow, to be with you guys. What's wrong with Jessy?" His wife, Anne, looked pleasantly surprised, but she knew, this wasn't his only reason to come. Something was bothering him.

"Laura….Laura said we….couldn't be friends anymore.", the little girl sniffeld. Lester smiled.

"Then she's a stupid girl, Jessy.", he answered, as he carried her inside. His second daughter, eleven year old Kaitlyn, sat at the table in the living room and did her homework.

"Told you it's not dad.", she said without looking up.

"Sorry to disappoint, Kate. But it is me." The girl looked up and squealed in delight, as she saw her father. But she didn't run towards him, because he still held her little sister close. "Where is Jackson?" He looked around. Jackson couldn't be already sleeping. He was 14 years old and certainly still up at this hour.

"He's still out with friends.", Anne explained.

"At this time? Shouldn't he be home by now?"

"Yes, but they have gone to see a movie with Ronja. She called half an hour ago, that she would take the boys to grab a snack before she dropped them off. He'll be here soon." Lester smiled. This was the perfect little family he remembered. His patient wife, Anne, waiting for him to spent some minutes with her at the weekends. He had no doubt she was faithful to him. Then there was his little Jessy, his baby he always missed. And of course there was his clever little Kate. She didn't have many friends and therefore always enjoyed the weekends with him. Jackson, fourteen year old, clever athletic, popular, like his mother, was already independent. He came home when his parents told him to and called whenever he couldn't make it in time for whatever reason. He never skipped school, never drank or smoked or did something illegal. Lester knew this wasn't his doing, but Annes. And he knew that this family needed another member. He had seen how the team at the ARC reacted around each other and that finally made him realize he had to give in to the one wish the kids always had: A pet. They were trying to get any pet, bird, hamster, or mice, whatever, though he knew they really wanted a dog or a cat. He never allowed it, until now. As he sat down his youngest daughter he excused himself and went back to the car, from where he retrieved a bag, which he brought inside. Then he went back outside, to get the last thing he had in his car. On his way home he stopped at an old friend's place, to finally fulfill his children's wish.

His wife's eyes lit up, as she saw the little golden retriever puppy in her husband's arms, as he reentered the house.

"Really, James?" She asked. She always supported her children's wish. Lester nodded.

"Girls, there is someone, who would like to meet you.", he announced. Jessy immediately forgot her tears, Kate forgot her homework, as they saw the puppy. Lester handed him to Kate. The puppy licked her face.

"Will we keep him, daddy?", Jessy asked.

"Yes. He's all yours now. And Jackson's of course." Anne kissed her husband happily. Both knew that the girls would need the dog sooner or later, to tell him all their secrets they didn't want to share with their parents or brother. They needed the dog to cuddle, whenever no one else was around, especially not their father. And Jackson would have fun walking him, playing and training with the little dog. Kate sat the dog down, who immediately stumbled across the room, towards Lester, only to pee in front of him.

"Oh god, just like Connor's damned pets!" That evening Brice, the dog, became part of Lester's family.

...*-*...

Matt was released that morning, but he was told to go home and rest, so Emily took him, to make sure he did so. Only Abby, Jess and Connor remained actively at the ARC, luckily there was no anomaly alert. Matt decided that this was the best day to talk to Lester about Emily's idea, so he called him. Lester seemed oddly relaxed, when he picked up the phone. Matt could clearly hear children running around in the background, and maybe a little dog.

"We've got a solution for your little problem with Becker."

"Good, I'm all ears.", Lester said, wincing after a second. "Kate, would you please try to control that thing?"

"We'd like to know if we could use one of the company flats while Becker is recovering. Do you think Philip will allow us to use one?"

"Considering Captain Becker got injured on duty, I think that's the least he can do.", Lester answered. Matt nodded towards Emily.

"Good. Emily and I, maybe Jess too, will move there with him. Emily will take care of him while Jess and I are at the ARC."

"That is a pleasantly cheap solution.", he answered, smiling. He allowed his family to see him smile as much as he could, considering they were only able to see him at the weekends. The girls didn't look anyway, as they were occupied with their new puppy. Lester was already fed up with him, but his son and daughters loved him that was all that mattered to him for that moment. And anyways: his wife would have to deal with Brice most of the time.

"So I take it you approve?"

"It's not really my choice, Matt, it's Becker's." But neither of them had any doubt he would approve. He would probably be against it first, but as soon as he saw the positive sides of it, he would give in to it. After all this solution was cheap for everyone and wouldn't humiliate him. Emily, the kind woman from the past, would enjoy taking care of him while learning about his time. He wouldn't feel completely useless.

...*-*...

Matt called Jess a few hours later. Emily was already packing some of their stuff. Both of them didn't own much, so it was fairly easy for them to fill only one bag together and be ready to move to the Prospero company-flat, as soon as Becker was ready to leave the medical bay of the ARC. He and Jess knew how deeply the young woman felt for the head of security, so they wanted her to know about their plan and they wanted to offer her the chance to join them. There would be plenty of time for her to help them with Becker after work. She picked up immediately.

"Hellooooooooo?", she asked, as she picked up. Matt smiled. Her happy voice good only mean one thing: Becker was doing fine.

"Hi, Jess. We've called to talk to you about something."

"And what? Oh, did you know Lester took the day off?" Matt looked at Emily confused. That must have been the reason he heard children in the background, when he talked to James.

"No, but I think he spends the day with his family."

"How lovely." Jess smiled and leaned back in her chair. "So, what did you want to talk about? I'm sure it's not Lester's family."

"It's Becker." Matt could hear Jess jump. The soft 'clicks' of her heals told him she got ready to run to the medical bay, in case he was delivering bad news. "He's fine, Jess. Relax."

"How did you…?"

"Your heels. ", he laughed and shook his head. Sometimes that girl could easily entertain the whole team, but they needed it from time to time. "It's about taking care of him after…" But Jess cut him off.

"I will do it. I'll hire someone to take care of him during the day. He can stay with me."

"Jess! No. I asked Lester to give us the company apartment. Emily will take care of him, when we're at work and you and I could take care of him afterwards, how does that sound?" Once again he heard her heels 'click'

"So you want me to move in with you? Oh this will be amazing." Jess was beyond thrilled. She could spend more time with Emily and Becker… and Matt of course. But Becker and Emily sounded like the best part of that deal. And she could live in the company apartment for a while. She'd enjoy causing a little trouble for Philip Burton. He was her boss, but on the other hand he wasn't really nice. "Emily and I are going to have so much fun, while you and Becker do some really manly stuff."

"If you say so. Perfect. See you tomorrow, Jess." Matt smiled at Emily, after he hung up.


I hoped you liked the little look into Lesters private life. Let me know what you think.