Your instinct is to jerk your left knee up. It worked well enough to repel him earlier, didn't it? But you don't want to repel him. You don't want him to break the kiss, move away and go back to being a stuck up son of a Bitch with a stick up his butt. You've missed the feel of his lips; slightly chapped from the training in the cold but warm, soft and gentle. These are the lips that you've missed, no matter how freaky the thought sounds.
The touch of his lips has your mind reeling back to your first kiss, second kiss, third kiss with him. All of them ultimately the same but this one, this one speaks a thousand words. It's pure emotion; pain, grief, sorrow, apology and love and you find you don't want him to stop.
So when you feel him pull away at your lack of response, your brain fires back into action and you tangle your hands in his hair, your eyes sliding shut. There's the line and you've just crossed it. There is no going back, no excuse for your reaction. You don't put much effort into thinking one up, but when Becker's tongue traces your bottom lip your resolve crumbles and your brain just cuts out. Thank God there's no heart monitor machine... you think weakly, parting your lips to allow his access. The sudden overload of emotions nearly causes you to pull back. Just how much did he really miss you? Apparently a lot.
His tongue explores your mouth again like the first time the two of you kissed, but it's more experienced than that. You both know what you're doing and just how to make the other react. Becker proves he still remembers how to turn your knees weak as he brings one hand to tangle lightly in your hair, the other still cupping your cheek. His thumb rubs circles onto your skin as his mouth moves softly against yours. You're pretty sure that there's something you know which drives him insane, but you can't remember what.
Becker breaks the kiss a few seconds later, the need for oxygen overwhelming the need for him. His hands remain where they are and your hands in his hair prevent him from pulling back to far. You're both breathing slightly heavily and your lips are probably slightly swollen. "I... I... You..." Becker takes a deep breath, closing his eyes tightly before trying again. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that again." you don't reply, just hum and pull him close. "What? No kneeing for me?"
"It would be hypocritical." you shrug, drawing him in for another, slightly quicker, kiss.
X
The ARC feels different as you step through the doors. You're getting looks from other workers, aimed at the bandage on your arm and Becker hovering over your shoulder, hand on the small of your back. The second is the huge, A3 sized posters, with 'WANTED-CARL GREENWATERS' inscribed on them. It's been seven days since his attack on the ARC and six since the official start of your relationship with Becker. You received a message yesterday from Lucy that she was resigning. Morgan had also been sacked.
You're met at the exit of the lift by Jess and Jenny, both of whom are looking rather pleased with themselves. "You are not going to believe this!" Jess grins but you're weary. She, along with the others, only found out about your relationship with Becker three days ago. Jess was initially pleased about it, then decided to point out every flaw with it, then went back to being pleased again. Jenny took a little convincing but now she seems happy enough. She seems very happy with the news Jess is retaining.
"Well?" you prompt, stepping from the list and spying official looking letters in Jess' hands. "What is it?"
"We're getting a pay rise!" she squeals, thrusting a letter into your hands.
Your jaw hits the floor when you see the inscribed number on the check. Your pay's been tripled. You stare at it before checking the markings and the signature. It's definitely real. The date's the fourthof May,so it's not April Fool's, Christmas, Easter, Hanukkah or any other religious event that may have spurred it on. "What brought on this?" you eventually stammer out.
"Something about the Cretaceous, last week and the events of the year in general." Jenny shrugged. "I didn't really pay attention. I was too busy staring at the amount!"
"Lester has to be ill." Becker eventually comes to the same conclusion as you.
"That's what we're thinking." you turn to find Matt and Vikki approaching. The former is the one who spoke up. "He's also tripled Abby's, Connor's and Danny's pay-check. He's cashing them in for them in their absence."
"He's finally lost it." you say weakly. "He's lost his mind."
"I have not lost anything." All six of you start at the approach of your boss. "However, you will be loosing your pay check if you don't get back to work." there's no further argument and the six of you quickly split.
"So." you begin to Jenny, once you're a safe enough distance from the Ops room. "What's Lucy going to do now then?"
Jenny shrugged. "I think she's got a job on the other side of the country. I imagine she's just transferred but she never said. She did, however, leave a basket for you." you frown but at this point you've reached your office and the sight explains everything. Sitting on your desk is a wicker basket like the ones a child would get at Easter. Except this one isn't filled with chocolate eggs, it's filled with sweets, films and a teddy. You sit down heavily at your desk and empty the contents. "I got one too. I think she did this before she got her final pay check." You don't really hear Jenny as you sift through the basket.
There's several different types of chocolate bars and packets of sweets, a hair brush, a bottle of expensive looking perfume, nail varnish, hair slides, a book, a pen with your name on, a teddy and a photo of you and the team. There's also a thank you note. "Wow." you mutter, slowly packing the things away again. "How many people did she do this for?"
"You, me and Lester. She gave Jess a huge box of make-up and nail varnish. Becker and Matt got money for the armoury." she bites her lip before continuing. "I, uh, did a bit of background reading on her."
"Jenny!" you squeak. Background reading on anyone who's not a threat to the ARC is strictly forbidden and classed as hacking.
"Don't worry. I wasn't there long enough to be tracked and besides. I had Jess cover my tracks."
"Cause that makes everything so much better." you huff, leaning back in your chair and folding your arms across your chest.
"Listen to me." Jenny grinned, leaning back in her own chair. "The point is that she's loaded. And I mean 'Britain's Richest' loaded. 'Bertarelli' type rich." the name twigs something in the back of your mind.
"Bertarelli, Bertarelli, Bertarelli. I think I did some work for them a few years back."
"More than likely. You must have heard of them. The fifth richest in Britain, worth £6,870m."
"Ernesto and Kristy!" you exclaim with a snap of your fingers. "Yeah, I remember them. So what? Lucy was like their daughter or something?"
"Yep. Only child. Married a few years back but the parents kept her existence out of the news.
"Who's parents kept who out of the news?" you spin your chair to the door to find Becker leaning against the frame. It's obvious he's only heard the last part of the sentence due to his furrowed brow.
"Helen's. Her parents, if they even knew, never published that she was back." Jenny said smoothly with a shrug.
"Right. Jess has reports of an anomaly." you frown, looking up and around the room.
"There's no alarm." you point out.
"Yes. I had noticed." Becker smiled. "ADD was damaged. We're doing this old school. Now come on. Up and at 'em!"
"How old do you think we are?" Jenny huffed, pushing past him. You take his outstretched hand, notice a complete lack of urgency.
"You don't seem too stressed."
"Beta Team's already out there. Apparently everything's under control. It's in a run-down, isolated area. It's locked." despite this, when you get to the Ops. Room things seem far from fine. "Jess?" Becker calls, dropping your hand and running towards her. "What's going on?"
"The anomaly's unlocked itself and no one can get it to re-lock." she pauses before continuing. "The Beta Team think that it's artificial." you don't have time to piece together the information and register that this means Helen. Becker's grabbed your wrist and Jenny's arm, pulling you towards the exit and filling Matt in on the way.
"Helen?" he asks as you reach the garage. You and Jenny dive into the nearest vehicle, slamming the door shut as the engines start.
"I don't know. If it is, that meant that Connor, Abby and Danny failed and I don't want to think about that." Becker shudders at the idea. The discussion flits back and forth between Helen and the three sent back to stop her and a possible recovery mission if they've failed. The conversation is still running as you pull up at the anomaly. Nothing would seem off it wasn't for the thirty or so EMDs pointed at the rip in time. They're all aimed at different heights, prepared for anything from a G-Rex to a rat. You don't move from the vehicle and the look Becker gives you via the rear-view mirror tells you to not even try.
"I don't know why he lets me come if he wont actually let me out of the car." you grumble and Jenny laughs, having just received a glare of her own.
"He's attempting to protect your from this job. Just be grateful you're not yet wrapped in bubble-wrap."
"Yeah, but whilst you and I are constricted to the car, Vikki is aloud out and about." you nod in the direction of Matt's sister who's giving order to newly arrived soldiers. "It's annoying and unfair. No matter who she is to Matt." Jenny smiles sympathetically and the two of you turn your attention to the anomaly. "I hope to God that nothing carnivorous comes through." you say after a while.
"Something small, solitary and herbivorous would be great." Jenny agreed. "And maybe something with a good temper to add to the menagerie. The mammoth has a horrid temper."
"Yeah, and neither Sid, Nancy or Rex are exactly cuddly." the two of you fall into easy chatter about the ideal animal to come through. You end up with something akin to a dog. Unfortunately, what comes through the anomaly ten minutes later isn't completely herbivorous, small or even fluffy. It is, however, safe. Docile in the case of one of the pair. "Connor!" you scream, throwing open the door before anyone else has time to register that they're even there. "Abby!" your cries spur the soldiers into action and they drop their weapons, all wearing identical expressions of shock. Abby and Connor have just enough time to register their surroundings before you slam into them, almost pushing them back through the anomaly. You would've done too if it weren't for Jenny slamming into them from behind. "You're back! You're really, really back!" you laugh.
"And you didn't bring back a pet!" Jenny grins, gripping her two friends tightly.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Becker calls. "Incoming!" you dive to the side as a huge foot slams down where you'd been standing. The owner looks ever so slightly pissed.
Yeah, sorry about the lag. Any guesses as to the animal? It wont be what you think!