It was now official; Emily preferred this facility in contrast to the previous facility. The newly finished chambers in the facility were larger than the previous. The rooms were well lit with plenty of walking space. The bed was against the far wall of the chambers, and though it was dressed in dreary sheets, it was fairly comfortable. Besides the bed was a small desk and cabinet, no doubt of work the residence might have. There was a shelving unit built into the wall with a sliding door. And the best quality of the room was the large window on the back wall. The glass, like the building, was one way, giving light and privacy.
"Oh, you'll definitely be staying with me."
Emily turned quickly. Jess was standing beside the door with her hands in front of her.
Emily smiled. "It isn't so bad. At least there's a window in here."
Jess looked to the wall. "But that's all. I mean, look at these sheets."
Emily laughed. "I don't Lester was thinking about comfort or appearances Jess."
"Well, I can't let you sleep with those sheets. I'm bringing you a set from the flat tomorrow." Jess said.
"Jessica." Emily said.
Jess shook her head. "No arguments Emily. It's practically horrendous those sheets. Besides, we can call it a housewarming gift."
"Perhaps I should hold a housewarming party?" Emily suggested.
Jess laughed. "I don't think we could fit the team in here."
Emily laughed. "No, probably not. But I'm sure Lester wouldn't mind letting us use the break room."
"Very sneaky Emily." Jess said.
"Thank you." Emily replied.
"There you are." Came a gruff voice.
Jess turned. Behind stood Lester in the doorway with his arms behind his back.
"Lester." Jess said.
"In the future, could you ladies please withhold your gossiping moments until you're off the clock?" Lester asked.
"Yes sir." Jess said.
Lester nodded. "Jess I believe the ADD needs your attention. Emily, could you please come with me?"
Without waiting for an answer Lester turned and left the room. Emily exchanged a confused look with Jess and followed her out of the room. They walked several meters behind Lester, following him to the control room. Lester bypassed the ADD and walked up the ramp toward his office. Emily glanced back at Jess as she followed him up to the office. Lester took his seat behind his desk as Emily entered the office.
"I trust it won't take you long to get settled into your new quarters Emily?" Lester asked.
"No. I do not believe so." Emily answered.
"Good. That's just what I wanted to here." Lester said. "You see, while we're waiting for Matt to return, the team is an agent short. Now I can't offer you a field position in your condition Emily, but I am sure you could be of great help to Jess and her work."
Emily frowned. "You…you want me to work with Jess?"
"Yes that's exactly it." Lester said. "Of course you'll need training, what with all the technology differences between the timelines. And you will compensated for your work just like the others."
"Wouldn't I be a liability toward the team?" Emily asked.
Lester snorted. "Of course not. Compared to some people on the team, you're probably the least likely to get eaten."
Emily arched a brow but said nothing. Lester was probably being sarcastic as always.
"So, what do you say?" Lester asked.
"I accept." Emily said.
"Excellent. You can start with these. Jess will help you get started. Once you've finished with them, come back and I'm sure I'll have more." Lester said. He grabbed a pile of folder from his desk and held them out for Emily.
Emily took the file and headed for the door. She paused as she placed her hand on her the door. "Mr. Lester. Thank you."
Lester grunted in response.
Emily smiled and left the office. Although she was carrying a large pile of files, she was content with it. She walked down the ramp, catching Jess glance. Jess was trying to hide her smile, but failed completely. Emily laughed as she reached the floor and walked over to Jess. Jess rose from her seat and hugged Emily.
"That was a very horrible thing to do." Emily said.
Jess released Emily. "Oh come on that's not the worst thing I've done."
"What did you do?" Connor asked, joining them at the ADD.
"Jess knew Lester wanted to speak to me about working here and never mentioned it." Emily explained.
"Lester wants you to work here? What did you say?" Connor asked.
"Yes of course." Jess answered.
Connor laughed and held up his hand. "Alright. High-five."
Emily hesitantly held up her hand. Connor lightly slapped his hand against hers. Emily laughed lightly as Connor jogged off. Jess was laughing in her seat.
"That was my first 'high-five'." Emily confessed.
"It won't be the last, believe me." Jess said. She took the files and opened the top on. Emily took the second seat beside Jess and watched Jess go through the paperwork.
"Okay, so far it just looks like inventory." Jess explained.
"So what do I do?" Emily asked.
"You're just counting the items to make sure we're not missing anything." Jess explained.
Emily nodded. "What's first on the list?"
Jess looked over the list. "Looks like weapons; EMD's, live ammunition packs, thing like that."
"Okay. I'll be in the armory if you need me." Emily said. She gathered the papers from Jess' desk.
"Here, take a comm in case you need anything. And make sure you're not on your feet the entire time." Jess said.
Emily took the comm. "Alright."
When Emily entered the armory, she was expected order and space. What she found was nothing of the sort. Every weapon was still within its relocation crate stacked on top of one another. The shelving units were unfinished. Half leaned against the walls where they were to hang while others were scattered on the floor. The room was in so much chaos, Emily stayed within feet of the door. She shook her head.
"Jess." Emily said.
"Yes?"
"Would please send Captain Becker to the armory?" Emily asked.
"Sure thing." Jess said.
"Thank you." Emily said. She turned back and surveyed the armory again. "And Jess, you'd best tell Lester the inventory will take me longer than expected."
"Will do." Jess replied.
Emily sighed and shook her head. She doubted that Lester knew of the atrocious state of the armory. He would no doubt have had a few choice words about this condition. However, if he knew and he'd intentionally sent her to deal with this, she would have a few choice words for him…as well as a few other people.
The door opened behind Emily. Becker entered the armory. "Jess said you wanted to see me."
Emily turned. "Yes. Can you please explain to me, why the armory is in this chaotic state?"
Becker looked around briefly. "I suppose it has something to do with the transfer."
"I suspected as such. How many soldiers can you spare?" Emily asked.
"For what?" Becker asked.
"For the armory. If this room isn't organized, I cannot take inventory, no one will be able to locate the weapons, and it's going to make the next missions extremely difficult." Emily explained.
Becker folded his arms in front of his chest. "And just who put you in charge of this?"
"Lester asked me to take inventory of a few things, including the weapons." Emily answered. "However with the state of the armory, I am unable to do that task."
"Inventory isn't a high item on the priority list." Becker replied.
Suddenly the lights turned red. A loud alarm echoed throughout the facility.
Emily looked back at Becker. "Good luck getting the weapons out, Captain."
Jess walked into the armory several hours later. She opened the door to find a startlingly different armory. The shelving units were all fastened onto the walls. The weapons were taken from their relocation crates and organized along the shelving units. The crates had been removed from the room, giving it more space. The live ammunition was stored in a locked unit for protection. To the left of the door was Emily, sitting in a chair, filling out the paperwork.
"How's it coming along?" Jess asked.
"Wonderfully." Emily answered.
"Great." Jess said.
Emily looked up from her paperwork. "You might want to leave though."
Jess frowned "Why?"
"Discretion." Emily stated.
"Huh?"
"I counted one hundred and forty five EMD rifles." Called Becker.
Emily looked back down at her paperwork. "Hurry Jess."
"What are you talking about?" Jess asked.
"Emily?" Becker asked.
"Confirmed one hundred and forty-five. Thank you Captain." Emily replied. "Um…can you explain why the first inventory list numbers five rifles higher?"
"Four were damages and still under repair." Becker called.
"And the fifth?"
"Ethan."
Jess heard Becker's footsteps coming closer. She turned her head and immediately wished she hadn't. Becker came out from behind one of the inner room shelving units with his shirt in one of his hands. Jess turned toward Emily, trying to ignore the burning of her cheeks. Becker said nothing, not yet realizing Jess had joined them.
"I warned you." Emily whispered.
"Why in the world is his shirt off?" Jess asked.
"He nearly overworked himself doing all this work." Emily explained.
"No one helped him?" Jess asked.
"I tried, but he wouldn't let me. He said I shouldn't be lifting anything heavy in my condition. I also offered to rally some other troops but he wouldn't hear of it." Emily continued. "I think he feels guilty about the incident today with the anomaly."
Jess nodded. "That's understandable."
Emily looked up at Jess. "Have you talked to him lately?"
Jess shook her head. "Nothing outside of work."
"You should." Emily said.
"I count one hundred and seventy EMD pistols." Becker said. He looked up from the weapons toward Emily. "Jess."
Jess turned hearing her name. "Hmm? Oh." She turned her head back to Emily quickly, her blush returned. "Sorry."
Becker quickly pulled his shirt back over his body. "No, it's my fault. I should have realized you were bound to check in on Emily eventually. Emily?"
Emily turned back to her paperwork. "I counted one hundred and eighty pistols."
"That's ten missing. Damnit." Becker muttered.
"That won't be a problem, we can use the GPS trackers in the EMD's and locate them. Maybe they were in a misplaced crate during relocation?" Jess suggested.
"Do you know how soon you can do that?" Emily asked.
"Not too long. I can do it the second I'm back on the ADD." Jess explained.
"I'll oversee the locating process." Becker stated.
Emily nodded. "Okay. Once you've relocated them can you let me know?"
Becker nodded. "Of course."
"Great." Emily said. She rose from the desk. "I'll leave the inventory here until then. I still have other departments to look over."
"If you need any more help just let me know." Jess said. She moved with Emily toward the door.
"Jess." Becker called.
Jess turned. "Yes?"
"There's something I need to talk to you about. When you can spare a moment." Becker explained.
Emily's brows rose. "I think she can spare her moment now, Captain."
Jess turned. "But the-"
"Lester's reports can wait, Jess. Trust me." Emily said. She smiled and closed the door behind her. Emily bit her lip smiling. She shook her head and hoped Becker didn't decide to go back on his motion.
"What are you smiling about?" Abby asked, coming up behind her.
Emily glanced back at the armory door. "Hopefully, Jess and Becker."
"Seriously?" Abby asked.
"Becker asked to speak with Jess a few moments ago." Emily said.
Abby shrugged. "Well that could be any number of things with the relocation."
Emily shook her head. "I don't believe so. I think it has something to do with the accident."
Abby arched a brow. "Really?"
"As I said. I hope." Emily said.
"Well in that case," Abby crossed her fingers. "here's hoping."
Jess couldn't believe Emily had just shut the door on her and Becker in the armory after she'd just accidentally seen him shirtless again. Her last accident had been shocking enough; today she'd seen the new scars from the predators attack. She could've sworn her ankle nearly gave out the second she'd seen them. They'd healed well enough, just as she did, and they were on the mend of clearing. But as they were, three large red jagged lines ran from his right to his left chest.
"If you have to get back to the ADD, Jess, this can wait." Becker said.
"No." Jess replied quickly. "I mean, Connor's got it for moment, so I have plenty of time."
Becker nodded.
Jess sucked her lips into her mouth and lowered her gaze.
"How's your ankle?" Becker asked.
Jess nodded. "It's good. Doctor says I can start wearing heals in another week."
Becker smirked. "Good for you."
"And you?" Jess asked.
"I'm far from wearing heals." Becker answered.
"No that's…that's not what I meant." Jess stammered.
Becker chuckled. "Relax Jessica, I knew what you meant."
Jess sighed. "That wasn't funny."
"I thought it was." Becker said.
Jess smiled.
"Listen, I've been thinking a lot about the past few months." Becker began. "Specifically where I've been a proud and inconsiderate ass."
"Becker-"
Becker held up his hand, stopping Jess from talking. "No, you had your reason why you couldn't tell me you were breaking Emily out. I should have accepted that, but I didn't. And the consequences were nearly fatal."
"Becker what are you talking about?" Jess asked.
"If I hadn't intentionally ignored you, Phillip wouldn't have caught you at the ARC." Becker said. "We would have stopped Phillip sooner. Matt wouldn't-"
"Becker you can't blame yourself for this. Matt made his choice, so did I, so did you." Jess said.
"And my choice had severe consequences Jessica. Several men are dead, Connor can't stand straight, you're still limping-"
"And you can't breathe without pain." Jess finished. She stepped closer toward Becker. "But that's not what's really bothering you. Is it?"
Becker snorted lightly. "Is it that obvious?"
"Not to be rude, but you're not exactly subtle." Jess answered.
"Then I suppose there's no sense in keeping it up." Becker said. He stepped closer toward Jess, leaving a very small amount of space between them. "I can't stop thinking about the accident, Jess. I keep seeing the look on your face when the predator pulled you beneath the car. I've had nightmares about losing you every night. It terrifies me that I nearly lost you without realizing how much you mean you me, Jessica."
Jess swallowed. "And just what do I mean to you?"
Becker looked at Jess for what seemed like an eternity. Then with one swift motion, Becker had placed his hand behind Jess' neck and pulled her into a kiss.
Emily was sitting the break room with Abby sitting beside her. The stack of inventory paperwork was set between them along with a bushel of grapes which Emily was quickly finishing. Jess entered the break room quietly. A large, blushing smile had spread across her lips. She spotted the two women at the table and corrected her composure. She walked from the door to the table.
"Emily, I have the listings of missing EMD's." Jess said.
Emily and Abby looked up from the table. Emily reached out and took the paper from Jess. "Excellent. Thank you Jess."
"That was offly quick." Abby stated.
Jess shrugged. "I just thought I'd get the list finished so the armory inventory would be completed."
Emily nodded. "So, are you going to tell us what Captain Becker wanted to talk to you about?"
"Nope." Jess answered.
Abby's brow rose high. "Really?"
Jess nodded. She sat down across from her friends.
"You're going to make us ask?" Abby asked.
"You can ask, but that doesn't mean I'm going to tell you anything." Jess replied.
Emily smiled. "That's perfectly fine, Jess. Anyways, we can tell by the smile you're trying to hide that it must have been a meaningful conversation."
"I hate you all." Jess muttered, unable to hide her smile.
"Aw there it is." Abby said.
"I'm going home." Jess said. She rose from the table and headed for the door.
Abby smiled. "Jess come back, we were only kidding."
Jess glanced over her shoulder. She gave Abby a skeptical look. "Why do I think you're lying?"
"Because you'd probably have good reason to think that." Emily stated.
Abby lightly nudged Emily's arm. "Thanks Em."
"You're welcome." Emily smiled.
Abby looked back to Jess. "Connor and I wanted to invite you to dinner tonight. And you Emily, if either of you feel up to it."
"Who's cooking?" Jess asked.
"I am, of course." Abby answered.
Jess smiled. "Then I'm in."
"Emily?"
"I probably shouldn't. I still Lester's inventory list-"
"That can wait till tomorrow. " Abby said.
"Yeah and Abby makes to best meals. And since you're eating for two, you could use a good meal." Jess explained.
"But I'd need a ride back to the ARC afterword." Emily said.
"That won't be a problem." Jess replied.
Emily closed her folder. "Then, I guess I'm in."
London, England
September seventeenth two thousand and eleven.
What night can compare to this? Nights filled with laughter have come shorthanded in the pasts few months. They are rare and well missed by all tonight. The dinner prepared by Abby was the best I've tasted since journeying through the gateways. And the quantity was so surplus, Abby gave me a large portion of the extras. I shan't complain however, there is very little to sustain my ever growing appetite within the ARC as it is. I shall very much relish the moments I need not worry about my appetite.
The company was quite enjoyable. Merely four of us gathered at the table. Connor talked of his new invention that could be of use to the team. I am unable to recall what he invention would be used for at this time, perhaps it shall return upon a later hour. Abby regaled us all of the latest news within the menagerie. I am not surprised to hear that Sid and Nancy managed to burrow their way out of the hold pens before the menagerie's completion. Luckily, they had been apprehended before they journeyed too far. There was not much talk from Jess or myself. I had nothing amusing to contribute to the conversation and Jess was far from willing to share any such news about her conversation with Captain Becker in the armory. However, after the gathering had ended, Jess was gracious enough to regale me with a few details of their conversation. I can confidently say that the captain did not lose his nerves. I also noted that as she spoke, Jess could not stop herself from smiling, no matter how she tried. I do hope she and the captain can move forward.
Moreover, I am beginning to believe that my child with never cease moving. For the past few hours I've felt in the constant company of movement in my abdomen. I am still unaccustomed to the feeling, but I will not say they are unwelcomed. They are quite reassuring to me. And after nights like tonight, I know they will not be alone in this time.
yay, becker and jess issue resovled :) moving on