Let the Games Begin

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Chapter 38 - LAZY SUNDAY, CURIOUS MONDAY

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Jess was glad that Becker had given in and kipped the afternoon away. Frankly she was quite concerned about him - he simply didn't seem like himself today - but hopefully after a proper rest he'd be back to normal.

She was also worried about his wounds - she couldn't believe he'd allowed them to become so infected. She'd actually gone to medical midmorning, after she was certain he'd left, to get a full report from Mel, since she didn't trust Becker to tell her anything. The medic explained how she'd drained his wounds but indicated that they needed to be watched to make sure the pus didn't return. Jess promised she'd be diligent and would drag him back herself if need be.

The afternoon passed lazily, with numerous events to watch whilst Becker still slept. Clearly he'd needed the kip, for he didn't appear in Ops till nearly 6 that evening.

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead," she greeted with a grin. "Feeling better?"

He frowned as if seriously contemplating the question before nodding. "I think so."

Jess laughed. "That doesn't sound very convincing."

Becker shrugged. "I'll be okay. Sorry I was out for so long."

"Not a problem. I'm just glad you got some rest. You clearly needed it."

He nodded before gesturing towards the monitors. "So what did I miss?"

Jess beamed. "Well, I was right - we ended up winning two sailing medals, including a gold for Ben Ainslie in the Men's Finn, not to mention two medals in tennis. And our gymnasts actually did it again - we won both the silver AND the bronze in the Men's Pommel Horse! Can you believe it?"

Becker shook his head, but apparently it wasn't the veracity of her statements that he doubted. "I meant, what'd I miss work-wise?"

"Oh, right," Jess said with a laugh - they'd spent such a lazy Sunday, she'd almost forgotten about work. "Well, Connor's started working on his new amphibious locking device; Matt and Abby both finished their incident reports and got them turned in; and Emily's been researching recipes all afternoon."

Becker's brow wrinkled in confusion. "What do recipes have to do with work?"

"The perch, of course." Jess then remembered that Becker hadn't been around for their dinner discussions. "Oh, right, you don't know. See, we've decided to make a fancy meal of the perch, a mid-Olympics celebration so to speak. So we're going grocery shopping tomorrow evening after work and plan to cook on Tuesday. I hope that works for you?"

Becker shrugged. "As long as I'm not the one doing the cooking, it doesn't really affect me, yeah?"

Jess cringed, not having known how to broach the topic. However, since he'd already mentioned it, she decided to charge forward heedlessly. "Well... actually... I need to talk to you about that." Becker raised his eyebrows expectantly as Jess tried to figure out how to proceed. "See, as I mentioned, we thought we'd do a fancy, PROPER sit-down dinner and...well...it simply wouldn't be the same in front of the telly with plates on our laps, and we won't all fit around the small table in the nook, so I thought perhaps you wouldn't mind if we...?" She smiled anxiously at the handsome soldier, hoping he'd get the hint without her having to say it aloud.

Luckily Becker caught on and sighed, finishing for her, "...Ate at the dining room table."

Jess nodded. "I know you've kind of turned that into your own little nest, and I don't want you to feel like we're invading your privacy or anything. And we can always turn it back into our-YOUR bedroom again afterwards. But I just thought it'd be special if we-"

"Jess," Becker stopped her. "Really. It's fine."

She breathed a sigh of relief. It was the only thing that had really been bothering her about their scheme, and she was grateful that he wasn't upset. "Oh good. And you'll have plenty of help moving the boxes tomorrow - Abby already volunteered Connor to assist, since they are, after all, THEIR boxes. And of course I'll help, too."

Becker frowned. "Won't you be cooking?"

Jess laughed. "My cooking skills are what can be described as localised to a single finger." When Becker looked confused, she mimed punching first the buttons on a microwave and then on her mobile and was pleased when he smiled.

"But you prepared our picnic last week," he pointed out.

Jess laughed. "Slapping together a few sandwiches is hardly cooking." She gave a sheepish shrug, concluding, "I thought you knew."

He shook his head. "I've learnt it's never good to make assumptions about women."

Laughing, she said, "Nor about men neither. Did you know Matt is quite proficient in the kitchen? Something of a master with vegetables, or so I've been told, so I think we're in for a right treat."

Becker nodded. "Sounds like you've planned for everything." He then frowned as a thought occurred to him. "But where will we put the boxes?"

"I figured we'd stack them against the wall in the nook. They should be relatively out of the way...and we can easily move them back after," she leant over and whispered in his ear, "so you needn't worry about missing out on too much snogging." She gave him a quick peck, which somehow went much longer than planned.

"Good to see you're finally up," Matt commented, and Jess quickly broke off the kiss, her cheeks flaming until she realised the team leader was simply referring to Becker's conscious state. "Feeling more rested?" he went on.

Becker nodded. "Thanks," he said simply. Matt merely nodded back, and Becker quickly added, "And I should have my incident report done tonight."

Matt shrugged. "No hurry." Clearly this wasn't the real reason why he'd stopped by the hub since he then turned to Jess, asking expectantly, "Well?"

Luckily she knew exactly what he meant, though she was certain he wasn't going to like her answer. "No, I'm afraid."

"Bad?"

Jess nodded, reluctantly admitting, "37 to 14." Croatia had simply devoured Team GB in Women's Handball, and Matt cringed at the final score. "But not to worry," she went on cheerily, "more cycling's about to start, and then there's Men's Hockey at 7 and Women's Water Polo at 8:20. I was thinking pizza with hockey?"

Matt nodded. "I'll go let the others know."

As the team leader wandered off, Jess turned back to Becker, who was smirking.

"You weren't kidding. Did you lot get ANY work done today?"

Jess gave a sheepish look before asking, "How exactly would you define 'work'?" When Becker laughed, she added, "Feel better about sleeping all day?"

He nodded. "Much."

She smiled. "Good. Then pull up a chair and join me. The Men's Omnium - whatever that is - is just about to start at the Velodrome."

But Becker shook his head. "I've got to get my incident report written."

Matt had just indicated he wasn't in any hurry to get it, but Jess knew Becker wouldn't be able to relax until it was finished. "Okay, but make sure you're back at 7 for pizza."

Becker smiled, saying, "I'll do my best," as he gave her an absent peck.

She teasingly pouted, declaring, "THAT certainly wasn't your best."

He laughed and thankfully pulled her closer for a much more satisfying kiss.

...

Although Becker wouldn't admit it, he was actually pleased that, at the end of the double shift, he wasn't the one who had to drive home. Despite having kipped most of the day, he was still feeling tired and sore, so it was nice to just sit back and let Jess meander her way home through the late night city streets.

He still felt extremely guilty about having slept on the job, though he knew the others weren't judging him. In fact, he was certain even Lester wouldn't have cared, since their guv'nor was only concerned with keeping the anomalies and any incursions under control whilst the Games were on. They'd managed to do an excellent job of doing just that yesterday, which of course was what had brought on Becker's exhaustion today. However, the whole idea of kipping on taxpayer time still felt wrong.

Jess, on the other hand, felt exactly right as he wrapped his arms about her in their makeshift bed when they got home. He was glad this was their last double shift - at least until next weekend - for he was looking forward to being back on a regular schedule again, to having time for a proper snog at bedtime instead of rushing to sleep simply so they could get up early again the next day.

Though they'd be losing this cosy nest tomorrow, a fact which Jess was still clearly feeling insecure about.

"You're not upset with me, are you?" she whispered quietly into the darkness.

"About what?"

"About sacrificing all this just so we can have our dinner party?"

"It's your flat, Jess. I'm the one who commandeered your dining room without asking."

"I know. I just... I don't want you to think I was trying to come up with an excuse not to sleep with you, because I so wasn't."

The thought hadn't even occurred to him, as it was clear that she enjoyed being near him as much as he enjoyed her. However, it was obviously weighing heavily on her mind, so he realised he must put her at ease. Pulling her closer, he kissed her hair, whispering in her ear, "In case you're not aware, Jess, you rather wear your heart on your sleeve, which means I think it'll be obvious, to me and everyone else, when you've grown tired of me," he teased.

"I'm not quite as transparent as all that, am I?"

Becker laughed. "The phrase 'plate glass' comes to mind."

"Sorry."

He embraced her even tighter, insisting, "What are you apologising for? I can't stand the sorts of games girls sometimes play - I'd much rather know exactly where I stand."

Jess rolled over in his arms and gave him a quick peck which landed on his chin in the darkness. "So then you don't need for me to tell you how much I fancy you?" she teased, giving him another peck which hit closer to the mark. "Or say how much I enjoy being in your arms?" Another, even closer peck. "Or show you how much I enjoy your touch?" Her next kiss landed squarely on his lips, making him realise she'd been intentionally missing simply to tease. He hungrily kissed back, despite being tired.

He was apparently rather easy to read as well, however, for after a minute she pulled back, saying, "We'd best get our sleep, yeah? I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning."

Yet morning came sooner than expected. When his alarm went off six hours later, he was disheartened to awaken feeling even MORE achy than the day before. He couldn't even fathom the reason until Matt knocked on the dining room door.

"Sorry, Matt - not today," Becker called out.

"Figured as much," Matt replied. "You're always more sore on the second day, yeah?"

He had a point, and it put Becker's mind at ease.

But not Jess's. As Matt headed out for his run, Jess rolled over in Becker's arms, giving him a worried look. "You're sore again?"

Becker shrugged. "Matt's right, though. I'll be fine."

"You sure? I mean, I'm certain Lester would understand if you wanted to-"

"I'll be fine, Jess," he insisted, not wanting to be coddled. Even though he still felt wonky, he was through with being babied.

Jess, however, pouted. "So you don't want me to kiss you and make it better?"

Becker laughed. "I didn't say that," he said, pulling her closer and giving her a long kiss. "In fact," he said as they came up for air, "kissing you ALWAYS makes me feel better."

Jess grinned, and he felt compelled to kiss her again...and again.

Unfortunately, Temple suddenly appeared, peering under the table. "You guys are getting up, aren't you? The Curiosity rover is landing on Mars in just...," he paused as he glanced around the boxes, obviously checking the monitor, "...fifteen minutes." When neither Jess nor Becker made a move to get out of bed, Connor whined, "C'mon! This is history in the making! I don't want to watch it alone."

Becker frowned - why wasn't he harassing Abby instead?

But Jess threw back the covers, sending a sudden chill through Becker.

"You're right. How often do we get to watch space exploration as it happens?"

Becker groaned, and Jess turned back, whispering, "C'mon. Aren't you curious? It'll be fun...and we can cuddle on the sofa while we watch."

The soldier sighed and reluctantly followed Jess out to the front room, upset that his own explorations had been so rudely interrupted.

...

to be continued