Short Chapter, 932 Words

Chapter Seven

That evening she went on the date. It was fine, but she was hollow. She was present, in body, but her heart and spirit weren't.

"You don't seem to be enjoying yourself."

"Oh. I'm sorry," she said, politely. "This was a mistake."

Curtis winced.

"No, please, don't misunderstand. (Sigh.) I never should have agreed to a date with you. The truth is that I just broke up with my boyfriend."

"Oh. I see. I'm sorry."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Don't apologize. I'm trying to move on, but maybe it's too fast."

"When did you break up with him?"

"About three months ago."

Curtis laughed. "Sorry. I thought you were going to say days or weeks, but months? Jess, you're still in love with him."

"I know. Love wasn't the problem."

"What was?"

She smiled. She wanted to say, 'dinosaurs, future predators, the whole time anomaly thing.' Instead she said, "He's a type of policeman. Technically, its security but he's put in harm's way so much, that it's almost like a war zone."

Curtis nodded. "That's tough. I guess you'd still be with him if he did something else?"

Jess looked at him. "He offered to quit, and change jobs completely."

"And you said no?"

She nodded. "I guess it sounds petty. He did offer to change. I suppose I didn't believe him."

"You didn't think he would really do it?"

"No. I knew he would. He'd do anything to make me happy. "

"So why did you say no?"

She sighed. "He can't change who he is. He's always going to be a hero. He can't stand by and do nothing when innocents are in danger. If he truly tried doing something else, he'd be miserable. I don't want that. I don't want him to change who he is."

Curtis sighed. "You have a real problem, Jess."

Jess chuckled and they both laughed.

"Want some advice?"

"Sure."

"Jess, don't try to rush getting over him. There's a reason you're in love with him. You can't turn that off."

She smiled. "Why do I keep hitting it off with good guys?"

He laughed. "Sorry. I can't help who I am either."

She giggled. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now, since you've been rather a lousy date, what do you say you buy me dinner?'

Jess giggled more. "That sounds fair."

Curtis smiled.

Becker walked into Ops, his steps heavy, like they always were nowadays. He loved seeing her smile, her outfits and shoes, but hated the fact that she was no longer his. He sighed. He scolded himself for feeling this way.

She was right. The odds were that he'd leave her, in death, that is. He'd fight tooth and nail to stay alive, to be with her, but no one could fight death. Eventually, the ARC would probably kill him. She was right to leave now, before they got more involved. Before there were children to worry about.

He sighed. He'd kept himself apart from love for this very reason.

He walked into Ops, bracing for the awkwardness. Today, however, Jess Parker was humming.

'Perfect,' he thought. 'She's happy, the day after she's been out with another man. Just great.'

"Hey, Jess. How are you?" he asked, trying to sound like he didn't really care.

"Hi! Oh, I'm in a good mood."

"Yeah. I see that. So the date was good, huh?"

She giggled. "No, it was awful!" she cried with a laugh. "He was great. I, however, had the charm of a dead fish."

He laughed. "I can't see how that could be true."

She chuckled, stood up from the ADD, and walked up to him. She smiled. "It's your fault, Captain," she said. She then placed a kiss on his cheek. "Apparently I can't live with or without you."

He laughed. "I'm…sorry?"

She chuckled, and hugged him. They both sighed. "Oh…I've needed this, your arms around me."

"Me too, Jess. So, what's this mean for our…relationship?"

She giggled. "You don't have to say that word like it's dirty." She pulled out of the hug just enough to see his face. "I honestly don't know. I do know that I've been miserable these few months."

"Me too."

"I need you, Becker."

He smiled, and kissed her head. "I need you too, Jess."

"I don't know what in the heck we're going to do about it. I hate worrying all the time."

"I know. Me too."

She looked up at him again. "You really do worry about me, don't you?"

He nodded. "All the time. It's not just because I love you, either."

She nodded. "It's your job to keep us all safe." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Becker. Maybe I've been overreacting."

"No. You haven't. You have a right to a happy, worry-free life. I just don't think it exits, Jess."

"No. I guess not."

"I hate worrying you Jess. I really do."

"I know."

They sighed, holding each other tightly.

"I still love you," she said.

He smiled. "Good."

She giggled. Then, she leaned up and slowly, gently kissed him. When they released, she laid her head against his chest. "I missed you."

"Me too. Jess, we still have a problem. These fears of yours aren't going to go away."

"I know."

"You can't pretend that you're OK with the job, Jess because you're not."

She didn't say anything.

"If we do try to make this work, these things are going to keep coming up."

"I know," said Jess. "Becker, I think…"

She didn't get to finish because the ADD alarms went off.

End of Chapter Seven