I can't believe this chapter is over 3000 words! I couldn't seem to stop writting Jess' part, it kept getting longer and longer :D :D :D I actually think this chapter is WAY better than chapter twenty though since after rereading the latter, I found too many mistakes for my liking! Fingers crossed I don't have as many in this one :D Got a bit of Connor and Abby at the end for all you Conby Lovers. Sorry Memily Lovers, they're currently passed out in their hotel room but I promise they'll be in the next chapter (heh heh) :D There's like ONE swear word in this chapter, just so you know :D :D :D Don't own anything except the plot and my OCs :D :D :D
Enjoy :D :D :D :D
Her lips curved up into a smile as his hand cupped the side of her face, his other hand snaking around to rest on the small of her back. Her smile turned into a grin as her hands slid down from around his neck, resting on his chest.
Beneath her shaking hands she could feel the fast rhythm of his heart as he leaned forward towards her.
Jess propped herself up on her elbows, her heart pounding fast inside her chest. The sudden jolt out of her sleep had felt like she had been physically pushed out of her dream. Her mind was reeling.
She had just been dreaming about Becker, that wasn't a rare occurance though. Sure she had dreamed about him a few too many times but those dreams had just had harmless flirting involved, nothing that truly got her heart jumping out of her throat. She was having a hard time returning to reality.
She frowned, her eyes darting around the empty ballroom then back up at him. "What are you doing here?"
Becker's smile widened as he step forward, closing the gap between them and gently placed his hands on her waist. "I'm dancing with you..."
Jess' heartbeat quickened as he leaned in closer, his face a mere centimeter or two from hers. "Your hands are suppose to go on my shoulders though." he whispered quietly in her ear. The feel of his warm breath against her skin sent a shiver down her spine.
Her cheeks felt like they were on fire just at the memory. It was so real, so clear in her mind that she honestly didn't think she was dreaming. It was still so fresh.
She wrapped her arms around her chest, tightening them in hopes that the added pressure to her chest would bring down the rate of her racing heart and stop it from breaking free. His fingers gently caressed her skin, following the trail back until his hands rested on her waist again.
She shook her head, trying to erase the dream. It only seemed to increase the flashes her memory produced however. Her breathing quickened. "It was just a dream." She whispered, her voice barely audible. But you wish it wasn't a small voice added. Just how right that small voice was made her chest tighten, making it harder for her to take deep breaths.
She ran her fingers through her hair and grimaced at the dampness of it. She was sure she'd be able to fill ten or so firetrucks with the amount of perspiration coming from her skin.
After a minute of listening to the sound of her own ragged breath and Becker's quiet snores beside her, her heart eased just enough that she felt comfortable. She slowly unwrapped her arms from around her chest and pressed her hands against her face. They were cool against her skin, the heat of her forehead and cheeks warming her hands almost instantly.
She let out a small gasp as Becker moved beside her, scared that he had woken up. She didn't think she'd be able to contain herself if he had. All of her emotions had been heightened somehow. She felt happy yet she also wanted to cry, just to give him an excuse to hold her.
A heart attack was definitely a possibility if her heart continued to increase it's rate like it was. And just that fact that Becker's body was almost flush against hers didn't help that.
Jess snuck a peek down at him and felt her heart drop at the tortured expression on his face. She hated seeing him like that, scared and vunerable. Behind her, his arm stretched out, searching for something that wasn't there. His hand gripped onto her pillow but seemed to relax almost instantly.
Get up Jess! Leave him! She frowned, hating the logical side of her mind. She felt like she had an angel and a devil sitting on each shoulder arguing about anything and everything.
She took a shakey breath and slipped her legs over the side of the bed, pausing to take a couple of deep breaths.
"Jess?" Becker's voice was quiet but she could hear a sense of urgancy in the way he'd said her name. She looked over her shoulder at him and saw his eyes sealed shut, strands of hair falling loosely across his face making him look far younger than what he was. He looked so defenseless just laying there, like an injured child in the middle of a warzone.
She slowly slid her hand out of his and went to brush back the loose strands but froze, her fingers inches from his face. His hand raised to brush a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear, giving his fingers a chance to caress her soft pink cheeks.
She watched him, his lips showing a small smile as her hand hovered over his cheek. "He's asleep, the worse that could happen is he'll wake up!" The angel on her shoulder whispered in her ear. She was tempted, but what would she say if he did wake up? "Oh sorry, you just had something in your hair" your lovely lovely hair. Jess rolled her eyes at the lame excuse.
"Where are you?" he breathed, his voice barely audible.
Jess sighed, her heart no longer baring the sight of pain on his face. "I'm here Becker. You're okay." she whispered as she gently brushed the loose strands back over his ear.
"I'm weak."
She frowned. "You could never be weak Becker... You're The Invinsible Captain."
His hand slowly rose to cover hers, pressing it against his cheek. She sighed, caressing his hot skin with her thumb. "Jess..." he hummed.
His fingers curled around hers and Jess' heartbeat quickened again. "I'm still here." she couldn't help the shakiness of her voice.
His hand suddenly went limp in hers and she saw the smile on his face slowly disappear. Her eyes widened with worry, slipping her hand out of his loose grasp and turning his wrist around to find his pulse. How the hell can he always find it so fast? She thought angrily.
She sighed in relief when the fast beat pumped under her fingers. She gently placed his hand back down and brushed another couple of loose strands back behind his ear. His breathing quicken under her touch, a small frown creasing his forehead. "It's impossible..."
"What's impossible?"
He was quiet for a moment before he replied. "Same..."
Jess frowned. "What's the same?"
"Exact same dream."
Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening as she saw his expression change.
That's impossible! There's no way we could've been having there same dream! That would mean-
Jess stumbled off the bed, her feet quickly finding the floor and rushing into the bathroom. She shook her head repeatively. "It was just a dream Jess..." she hummed, filling the basin in front of her with water as cold as she could get it. "Just a dream..." her eyes were wide in her reflection, her cheeks burning a fiery red.
Becker's hand rose to her chin, lifting her eyes back to his. "You really are cute when you blush." her stomach did flips as his finger brushed over the corner of her mouth. Jess shook her head, refusing to believe the idea. But it had felt real while she was dreaming and it was so vivid. She splashed the cold water on her face, tempted to fully dunk her face just to see if it would cool off her skin. The sudden sparks of cold water made her suck in a sharp breath.
Becker pressed a feather light kiss to the crook of her neck and Jess sucked in a sharp breath as his lips continued to trail up the side of her neck, his final kiss lingering on the side of her chin.
Her knees were weak, unable to hold her up any longer. With a shakey hand she lowered the toilet seat and sat down on it, resting her head in her hands as she desperately tried to gain the slightest bit of control back.
"But it was just a dream." she hummed against her palms.
"Jess!" Becker's voice rang through the hotel room, panicked and filled with worry. Jess frowned, unable to tell if he was actually awake this time or still just dreaming. "Jess?" her eyes widened at his usual tone of voice. Even though it was still laced with worry, she knew he was awake this time.
"I'm in here." she replied quietly. Her eyes narrowed when she heard the sigh of relief that came from his direction. "Pull yourself together Jess!" The little devil on her shoulder hissed in her ear. "It was just a dream!" It felt like so much more though.
Jess rose to her feet, wetting her face once more before drying it off and making her way back into the main room. She paused at the minibar, noticing Becker sitting on the bed with his head in his knees. His breathing was quick and ragged, something she'd never seen before. Something had really shaken him up.
She reached into the minibar and pulled out a bottle of water and stood beside him, holding it out. "Bad dream?"
He muttered a thanks and took the bottle from her hand, holding it against his forehead. He sighed. "Not exactly."
"You okay?" She asked as she made her way around to the other side of the bed and sat down cross-legged beside him. "You want to talk about it."
Becker turned his head slowly to look and her and the hidden emotions burning behind his eyes made her worry. He turned to look out towards the porch and sighed. "I'm alright."
"Okay." She had a hard time believing him, but if he didn't want to talk about it she wasn't going to push it. She glanced at the bedside clock and grinned. 8:25AM. Perfect. "Want to give Connor a wake up call?"
Becker looked at Jess and laughed, a small smile forming on his lips. He nodded. "Definitely."
Becker reached around for the phone but Jess quickly leaned over him and stopped him. Both froze at the sudden contact. Their eyes clung to each others with a tight grasp, unable to break the hold on one another.
It was just a dream Jess! Snap out of it! Jess blinked, sitting back in her original position. She frowned down at her hands on her lap before glancing at the clock again. Snap out of it! She looked back at Becker and found him watching her, his hand still hovering over the phone. Deep breaths Jess. Sidetrack yourself!
Jess looked around the room and grinned suddenly, jumping up to her feet and walking over the bed to the desk on the other side and picked up the room key, her eyes glowing as she turned to face Becker again.
He shook his head with a grin. "Should I wake up Emily and Matt?"
"I think those two would rather hear about it while nursing the hangovers they're both going to have. Who knew it would end up being the members from the present time that could hold down their drinks."
Becker's eyebrows raised, finding a flaw in the plan already. "So we sneak in to their room... but wouldn't that piss off Abby?"
Jess shook her head. "She's an early riser."
"Have you got any plan, what-so-ever?" He asked doubtfully.
She shrugged. "I was sort of planning on a spontaneous wake up call. I'm making it up as I got along."
Becker laughed, rising up to his feet. "After you." he gestured towards the door and she grinned as she walked ahead of him. He couldn't help but let his eyes fall astray as they scanned down her back to her legs. He knew he was staring but he couldn't help it. Esspecially since she was swaying her hips while she walked down the hall to Connor and Abby's door.
He forced himself to look up at the door just as she turned to look at him, slipping the card into the lock. "You find a glass or bowl and fill it with water, try get it as cold as you can. I'll wake up Abby." She whispered.
He nodded as the door unlocked and she eased it open, a grin permanetly plastered across her lips. Why are you looking at her lips? Concentrate Becker! He quickly begun search for something to fill up while Jess quietly shut the door behind her.
"God Jess, I can't see-" Becker's whisper was cut off when Jess covered his mouth with hands. He didn't want to admit it but the touch of her skin against his lips sent his heart racing in his chest. He wasn't sure what she'd felt but her hands vanished in the same seconds they had been placed there.
She held her finger to her lips then tapped her ear, pointing to the bed further into the room. She gently pushed him in the direction of the bathroom and tip-toed into the room. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief as she kneeled down beside Abby's side of the bed which was conveniently on the side not facing the wall.
"Abby." She whispered, gently shaking the older woman.
She frowned, rolling over to face Jess while mumbling incoherent words in her sleep.
"Abby wake up." Jess whispered more sternly, shaking her friend's shoulder with more force.
"Go away Connor?" She grumbled.
Becker appeared behind Jess with a glass off water and a grin on his face as he gave her a thumbs up. Jess rolled her eyes when she turned back to Abby. "Abby, it's Jess. If you don't wake up you're going to get drenched."
Abby's eyes seemed to fly open then, wide before she settled into her surroundings and frowned at the two standing in her room. "Jess? Becker? What are you-"
Jess quickly covered her mouth, looking over at Connor with worried eyes before removing her hands. "Payback's a dish best served cold." she whispered, nodding towards the sleeping lump on the other side of the bed.
Abby grinned, noticing the glass in Becker's hand. "You're going to need more than that!" she said casually.
"Abby! Shh!"
She shrugged as she swung her legs over the side and made her way into the bathroom. "He won't wake up Jess. If he can sleep through five fire alarms, Sid and Nancy crying and a pack of Raptors in the Cretaceous, casual talking is not going to wake him up."
"You sure he's not dead?" Becker actually sounded hopeful.
Jess rolled her eyes at him as Abby returned with three more glasses of water. "I honestly feel sorry for the cleaning lady. This bed is going to be ruined!"
"He can pay for it." Becker laughed, passing his glass to Jess.
The three of them watched as Connor managed to spin himself around on the bed, sleeping across it with his foot hanging out by the wall. "On the count of three..." Abby grinned. "One..."
"Two..." Jess laughed.
"Three!" Becker exclaimed, flicking on the light just as the two girls poured all four glasses of water onto Connor's face.
"MORNING!"
"I wasn't sleeping Lester!" he blurted as he jumped up to his feet on the bed. He moved so fast all three of them doubled over in laughter. He stood shirtless with only red boxers and white socks on his feet, his hands held out in front of him like he was holding a gun.
"Connor, why were you dreaming about Lester?" Jess laughed, bracing herself against Becker who stood with a wide grin on his face, watching the geek sit down on the side of the bed.
"I wasn't!" He frowned, wiping the droplets of water off of his face. "At least I don't think I was... How did you two get in here?"
Jess stood up and begun searching for the card but couldn't find it anywhere. "I..." Becker tapped on her shoulder and grinned, holding the card out towards her. "Thanks."
"Since when do you have our..." his voice trailed off as he remembered that the others each had a roomkey to the other rooms. "Whose idea was this?"
Becker and Abby both looked at Jess and she gave him a cheezy smile. "Payback's a bitch!"
They looked at her shocked. She frowned. "What? It is!"
Connor laughed. "Ohh this is 'cause I woke you all up early after the first night. I thought you guys forgave me for that?"
Jess shrugged. "Never underestimate the length of time women can hold a grudge. Come on Becker." Abby and Connor watched the two disappeared out of the door quickly.
Abby smirked at their retreating forms while Connor frowned. "They didn't even say goodbye."
Abby laughed, kissing the top of his head. "Connor..."
"Yeah babe."
"Would you please put on a shirt? You're making me feel cold." she replied as she took the glasses back into the bathroom.
"But I thought you liked me better like this?"
"I do!" She replied quickly. "You're just disturbing the baby!"
Connor's arms suddenly wrapped around her waist and she laughed as he trailed kisses from the tip of her shoulder across and up her neck to her ear. "Is this disturbing the baby?" he whispered as he slowly slid his hands down over her stomach.
She caught his hands just as his fingers curled around her shorts. "Yes Connor, that is! And I'm not in the mood!" she moved his hands away and made her way out of the bathroom, deliberately swaying her hips to tease him.
"Oh come on!" he exclaimed, following her out.
She laughed. "Close your mouth Connor. You're drooling!"
I remember Abby saying that last line... just gotta remember which episode :D gives me something to do for ten minutes :D :D :D
Reviews are like chocolate... the more there is, the more Becker can choose from :D :D :D mmmm Becker... I wonder if there's a chocolate called that :P