Merry (almost) Christmas everyone! Thanks very much for your patience with this story. I'm fairly certain you won't see another update of this story until after Christmas now, because not only am I very busy but I also have my Becker/Jess LJ Secret Santa story to write.

So, let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Christmas – have a good one!

This chapter's a bit of a beast... enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

Becker sat on one of the sofas in his and Jess' suite, flipping through the channels on the TV and hoping that something would jump out and catch his attention. Jess was in the bathroom freshening up and as he felt fresh enough already he had nothing else to do but wait for her.

He hated that he felt so nervous. Jess had proven herself tenfold over the past day – his sisters clearly liked her if nothing else, his parents had bought it completely, and his nieces and nephews all thought she was great. She had survived a grilling by the harpies – even coming out on top, if she was to be believed – and also a lunch and afternoon tea with his parents. Mindy had already pulled him aside to ask him if he was thinking of 'popping the question'. Jake was completely smitten with her. Dinner with his siblings and their families had been fine too, the kids' presence once again mitigating any tension somewhat.

And yet Becker was nervous, and it was for one reason – Ronnie.

Jess had done amazingly well to convince everyone else of their relationship, but Becker knew his oldest sister, and she wasn't entirely convinced. She was still scrutinising them at dinner, making Becker feel more uncomfortable by the minute. Jess had taken dinner in her stride, chatting away with the kids and his other sisters. Everyone had been in high spirits, mostly because his parents had gone out to a fancy restaurant with friends who lived locally. Becker had tried to hide his discomfort and he thought that this time he actually had succeeded – Jess hadn't turned on him when they'd got back to their suite, anyway. She'd waved away his concerns about Ronnie, and had said that he shouldn't let her get to him.

Easy for her to say.

Nothing was catching Becker's attention on the TV, so he switched it off and dropped his head back against the cushions with a sigh.

"You really need to relax," Jess said from behind him.

Becker turned round to face her. She'd freshened her make-up and put on a jewel-bright blue cardigan over her orange dress, and she was giving him a slightly exasperated look.

"We could pretend to be ill," Becker said after a moment.

Jess rolled her eyes. "Man up, Becker," she said, starting for the suite's door. "It's only after-dinner drinks."

"Ronnie is going to –"

"We can handle Ronnie," Jess said, waiting for him by the door. Becker shook his head but stood up and walked over to her. "Really, we have our back story, and the others are definitely convinced – if she asks questions, we'll answer them. Just don't worry."

She gave him a smile, and he couldn't help but return it. She reached out and took his hand before opening the door, and though Becker knew it was just for show he actually drew some comfort from the feeling of her hand in his.

God he sounded pathetic, even in his head.

His sisters and their husbands were gathered in the smaller Blue Saloon, and this time the kids were nowhere to be seen, being all tucked up in bed (or, in the case of the slightly older Olivia and Ross, playing on their PSP or listening to obnoxious music whilst scowling at the wall respectively). Becker felt another small wave of panic over the thought of sitting through a grilling without the kids there as a buffer, but he fought through it and even managed a smile as Jess tugged him over to one of the sofas.

Then there were drinks to be got, and the kids to be discussed, followed by some choice words from Carrie about what their mother had thought of the seating plan... so for a whole half an hour Becker was able to sit back and just let the conversation wash over him without having to really input much.

Jess was eagerly contributing, sitting forward and chatting away with his family like she'd know them for years. Becker smiled fondly, knowing that it wasn't acting on her part – she was just like that. Jess was so friendly, so determined to like everyone she met, and people just opened up to her. Becker had seen it in action so often in the last year and half – Matt treated her like a little sister, Connor and Abby had gone to stay with her and still hadn't left, she was very clearly Lester's favourite, and Becker's men would most likely follow her orders as readily as they did his.

It had happened with him too, and so fast he hadn't even noticed it happening. He'd spent months wallowing in self-pity and guilt, unwilling to talk about anything with anyone, but just a look from those big blue eyes and he'd found himself telling her all kinds of things about the old team. He found himself going out of his way to speak to her, even if it was just to say hello. He just felt... comfortable with Jess, in a way he hadn't felt, well, with anyone before.

Becker snapped out of his thoughts as Jess sat back during a lull in the conversation. He was sat on the end of the sofa, half against the armrest and half against the back, and his arm was draped along the back of the sofa, so when Jess sat back his arm was suddenly around her and she was sitting against him. He felt her tense very slightly for a split second before she relaxed, and he followed her lead, dropping his arm to rest more firmly against her shoulder. She settled back against him and her hand dropped down to rest on his leg, just above his knee. He could feel the warmth of her hand through his jeans, and the heat of her body against his shirt.

He was concentrating so hard on how much he enjoyed sitting like this with Jess that he didn't realise how dangerous a lull in conversation could be.

"So I hear you let Jess drive your car," David said suddenly, smirking at Becker.

Becker glanced at Ronnie – she'd been remarkably quiet all evening, but he didn't think for a moment that she was letting him and Jess off the hook... and he so wouldn't be surprised if she'd prepped her husband into grilling them instead, to come at them in an unexpected side attack. He took in Ronnie's slight smile at her husband's question, and figured the moment of truth had arrived.

Becker squared his shoulders. "Sometimes," he said. He threw Jess a glare, and she smiled sweetly up at him in an entirely unrepentant way. He rolled his eyes. "And only because I lost a bet," he added.

David grinned. "I'm surprised you agreed to it as a condition of the bet – how did she talk you into it?"

Becker didn't hesitate. "She intimidates me," he said. He was only half-joking.

Everyone laughed except for Jess who gave him a slightly surprised look – he guessed she was taken aback by his quick answer. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she gave him a small smile, her cheeks going slightly pink, her hand slipping slightly on his leg. Becker grinned.

"How old are you, Jess?" Ian said suddenly. He gave Jess a sheepish look when she looked round at him, and shrugged. "If you don't mind me asking..."

Jess smiled. "No, it's fine," she said. "I turned twenty a couple of months ago."

"What did Hil get you?" Ronnie asked, sounding casual but looking predatory.

Becker decided the truth would be the safest answer here. "Chocolates," he said at the exact same moment as Jess. They caught each other's eye and grinned.

Ronnie didn't look very impressed. "How original," she said dryly.

Becker rolled his eyes at her, but Jess came to his defence. "I'm actually slightly addicted to chocolate, so it was a good choice," she said. She didn't add that chocolate had a bit of a special meaning to the two of them, so it was a deeper gift than it appeared. Not that she necessarily thought that... maybe it was just him. Maybe chocolate was just chocolate.

Maybe he should stop pathetic again.

He dragged himself back into the moment and saw that Ian was staring at Jess in surprise. "You're really twenty?"

Jess nodded. "Yes."

Becker glanced round at his family, wondering if they were going to be weird about him dating someone so young... not that he really thought of Jess as young. In the grand scheme of things, six years younger than him was really not that much.

Though he had to admit he was glad she wasn't a teenager anymore – that had made him feel like a bit of a perv.

He saw that only Ian looked truly surprised by Jess' age, but his next question made it clear why that was.

"Shouldn't you be at university?" He asked.

Jess stumbled for an answer for the first time. "I..."

"Ian!" Mindy scolded her husband. "Not everyone wants to go to university." She gave Jess an apologetic look. "Sorry Jess."

Ian didn't look in the least bit repentant. "Yeah, but if she works with Hil... I don't know exactly what he does but I bet you need a degree if you're a civilian there," he said, looking to Jess again.

"That's true," Ronnie said thoughtfully. "Jess?"

Becker didn't feel nervous about this line of questioning – in fact he was quite looking forward to his family's reaction. Jess was blushing – Becker knew from experience that she hated having this conversation, because it was very difficult not to sound like she was boasting.

"I did go to uni," she said after a moment.

Ian frowned. "You mean you're a student at the moment?" He asked.

Jess shook her head. "No – I went to university early," she said cagily. It's what she always said, and Becker always found it amusing – people always asked how early, but she never just came out and told them straight away. She hated to say it.

"How old were you?" Ian asked, predictably.

Jess paused for a moment before answering, and Becker felt her hand tighten slightly on his leg. "Fourteen," she said reluctantly.

"Fourteen?" Mindy exclaimed. "Where did you go?"

Jess hesitated again, and Becker tightened his arm around her. "I did Computer Sciences at Cambridge," she said after a moment.

Ian was gaping at her, as were many of the others. "You went to Cambridge when you were fourteen?" He exclaimed.

Jess was blushing very prettily now. "Um, yeah," she said.

Becker grinned at the looks of shock on his family's faces. "She's got a Masters too," he announced. Jess immediately scowled at him, but he just kept grinning unapologetically. He'd used to tease her a lot about being such a smarty pants, but he'd realised after a few months that she actually was quite sensitive about having gone to uni early – not because she was ashamed or sorry she went or anything, but because she worried that people would think she was either really smug or just weird.

The chance to shock his family was too good an opportunity to miss out on, though.

"What? Seriously?" Dave said.

Jess sighed. "After I finished my three year BA, I stayed on and did an MPhil for a year," she admitted.

Ian was still gaping. "So by the age most kids are starting uni, you had two degrees," he said. "From Cambridge."

"Yes."

Becker grinned again. "I told you she's intimidating," he said.

Everyone laughed at that, and even Jess managed a small smile. The moment of humour snapped them all out of gaping at Jess, and a rowdy discussion of university life followed. Becker felt Jess relax against him once more and he allowed himself to relax too, since he and Jess weren't the focus for the moment. More drinks were handed round along with a box of chocolates, Mindy went to check on the kids, and Becker found himself realising that he was actually enjoying himself. He hadn't been with his entire family like this in almost two years – even at Christmas last year he'd only seen two of his sisters. Having Jess with him not only took the edge off his sisters' teasing him, it also just made him more comfortable in general... like she always did.

He watched Jess as she agonised over what chocolate to pick, and had to smile at the way she bit her lip as she scrutinised the card telling you what the different chocolates were. It wasn't often that he was able to just sit back appreciate how adorable Jess was, especially since he spent most of his time trying to convince himself that he didn't find her adorable, so he enjoyed just watching her. She made her decision and reached for a chocolate, holding the description card in her other hand. Becker's eyes flicked over the card for a moment before glancing up at the chocolate heading towards Jess' mouth. His eyes widened and he lunged forward, cupping his hand over the chocolate just as she brought it to her lips.

So, through the laws of momentum, Jess' lips ended up against his hand instead.

Jess froze for a moment before pulling her head back quickly and looking at him with wide eyes. Becker dragged his eyes away from the sight of her pink lipstick smeared on the back of his hand and looked at her. He noticed that there was silence in the room as everyone watched them, probably wondering what on earth was going on.

Becker raised his eyebrows at Jess. "That one's orange," he said by way of an explanation.

Jess frowned and looked down at the card in her hand, and then at the box in her lap. Becker released the hand holding the chocolate and looked too – the one she was holding was definitely the orange whip, and looked almost identical to the strawberry whip... just a slightly darker colour.

Jess huffed. "Well that's just misleading," she complained.

Becker grinned and plucked the strawberry whip out of the box, and held it out on his palm for Jess. Jess smiled at him and took it, and then held out the chocolate orange for him in the same way. He took it, and the two of them popped the chocolates in their mouths at the same time. Becker grinned as he chewed, and Jess grinned back.

He looked up and saw that his family were still watching them, now looking confused. He shrugged, still grinning. "Jess doesn't like chocolate orange," he said.

They laughed, and Carrie grinned as well. "Aw, you two are sweet," she said. Then she pulled a face. "It's kind of sickening."

They all laughed again, but Becker didn't. That moment right then had been the one time all day that he hadn't been trying to act, and that had been the sickeningly sweet moment? Well something wasn't right there, not right at all.

He looked down at Jess and saw that she too was looking at him, kind of like she was trying to gauge his reaction. He didn't know what she saw, but she suddenly leant up and kissed him on his cheek.

Before Becker had time to react, Mindy breezed back into the room. "What did I miss?"

"Just Hil and Jess being revolting," Tabby said, winking at Jess as she said it.

Mindy laughed. "Right," she said. "Jess, I have that thing you asked for earlier."

Becker glanced at Jess and saw that she looked as confused as he felt. Mindy grinned and cocked her head, beckoning for Jess to join her where she stood behind the other sofa. Becker saw the smugness and excitement in his sister's face and was immediately on his guard, but Jess was already scooting forward and putting the chocolates down on the coffee table, preparing to stand up. He thought about grabbing her arm and pulling her back, but she was too quick – a moment later she was on her feet and heading towards Mindy.

Most of the others had started talking again, but Becker kept his eyes fixed on Mindy and Jess. He couldn't think of anything Jess would have asked for, and was even more confused when Mindy handed Jess a folded piece of paper. Jess looked puzzled as well but her face cleared as she unfolded it. Then she gasped. And then she burst out laughing.

Becker frowned as Mindy started laughing too. She caught Tabby's eye and winked, and Tabby suddenly seemed to get the joke because she started laughing as well. In fact, Becker watched as one by one all of his sisters started laughing, even Ronnie. He looked back at Jess, and saw that she was still shaking with laughter, but she was now looking back at him.

"You didn't tell me you were half naked at the time," she said, turning the paper round so he could see what was on it.

It was a picture. No, it was the picture. The one his treacherous sisters had taken of him two years ago, at their cousin's wedding. The one in which he was tied to the railings, completely drunk out of his mind and, yes, shirtless.

And it was in Jess' hand.

"Oh my god," he said, as all his brothers-in-law started laughing as well. He jumped to his feet. "Oh god – give me that!"

Jess turned the picture round to look at it again, and seemed to be thinking about it. Then she shook her head. "Nope," she said, folding it up again.

"Jess!" Becker growled, starting to walk towards her.

Jess just grinned and twirled the paper round in the air. "I think I might get it framed," she said, "it would look lovely on my desk..."

Becker knew she was joking... probably... but he also knew there was a high chance of Connor or Abby being shown that photo, and that he could not allow. "Jess..." he said warningly. "Either give me the photo, or I'm taking it by force."

Jess smirked. "I'd like to see you try," she said.

Becker didn't need any further encouragement. He darted towards her – Jess squealed and dove behind Mindy, so Becker missed her by inches. She peeked from behind his howling sister, and then legged it in the other direction, back round the sofas. Becker went round the sofas in the other direction, cutting her off on the other side.

"Hand it over, Jess," he said, giving her one last chance.

Jess hesitated, and then held out the picture to him. He stepped forward to take it but Jess suddenly darted to the side and round him – he immediately went after her. She was heading for the door but she must have sensed he was closing in on her and that she'd never get it open in time, because she changed direction again, doing a lap of the room. Becker was too quick for her though, and within a few moments he had her trapped in the corner with nowhere to go.

He smirked as he closed in on her and she turned to face him, her eyes wide.

"Hand it over," Becker repeated calmly.

Jess held up her hands as if in surrender – and they were both empty. "I don't have it," she said innocently. Too innocently.

Becker raised an eyebrow. "Oh really," he said dryly. "And where is it?"

Jess shrugged. "I must have dropped it," she said.

"Sure," said Becker. Then he took three quick steps forward, backing her up against the wall. Jess' eyes widened as he smirked down at her, and Becker placed his hands against the wall on either side of her. "Last chance," he said.

Jess didn't say anything, she just shook her head. Becker gave a big mock sigh and shook his head back at her. "Then you leave me no choice," he said.

He paused for a moment, just to play with her mind, before reaching down and starting to tickle her mercilessly at her sides. Jess screamed and bent over double, trying to push his hands away but laughing too much to do so.

"Where is it, Jess?" Becker demanded, not letting up for one second.

"I don't – don't know!" Jess managed to gasp out. "Please stop!"

She tried to turn away from him but he just stepped behind her and kept tickling, one arm wrapped around her waist from behind while the other kept up the relentless attack. He felt a rustle of paper between them and paused, stepping back a little to try and see. Jess recovered much quicker than he'd expected and quickly jumped away from him – he caught her up after two steps and grabbed her again, but he lost his balance slightly. Luckily there was a large armchair next to them so he allowed himself to fall onto it, pulling Jess down with him onto his lap.

He felt the rustle of paper again and, keeping on hand clamped around Jess' waist to keep her in place, he slipped his other hand under her cardigan and round her back. The picture was folded up and tucked into the back of her belt, and Becker quickly seized it and pulled it free, holding it triumphantly in the air.

"Aha!" He exclaimed, looking down at Jess. She was a lot closer than he'd realised – in his quest to find the picture he'd basically pulled her right up against him, so her body was pressed against his side and her face was inches from his. He was sprawled diagonally across the armchair and Jess was mostly on top of him, her legs tangled with his. Her hands were pressed up against his chest and he felt her fingers tense slightly as she returned his gaze.

She really was so beautiful.

Dimly, Becker became aware that the room was filled with laughter, and the sound was enough to snap him out of staring at Jess and look away. His family were all howling with laughter at their little display. Jess pushed back from him and stood up, making a big show of brushing down her dress and straightening her cardigan.

"Honestly," she said, giving him a mock-glare, "that was a complete overreaction to some harmless workplace humiliation."

His family all laughed harder, and Becker narrowed his eyes at Jess as he slowly but deliberately tore the picture in two. Jess smirked and turned away, heading back over to the rest of the family.

"Don't worry," Mindy said as she drew nearer, "I can email you the photo."

Becker rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, and he didn't follow Jess either. He stayed where he was, methodically ripping the picture into smaller and smaller pieces and trying not to panic. It was difficult, though. Because this was all pretend, him and Jess, they were just putting on a show... and for a moment there, it had felt far too real.

TBC

Next up – Becker and Jess realise their sleeping arrangements might end up blowing their cover...