Hello! Well, this is a long chapter, but it grew and grew and I really wanted to leave on the cliff-hanger I did. Hope you don't mind. So, there's a lot of romance and action. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. Or many more ideas for the disclaimer.
Abby was still up when Jess got home, watching some late night TV in her pyjamas. Upon noticing the appearance of the co-ordinator creeping towards the stairs with her heels dangling from one hand, Abby chucked a cushion at the woman, which harmlessly bounced off one arm. Jess squeaked and put her heels down in order to throw it back. Abby ducked and the cushion overshot, narrowly missing Becker's flowers. The blond looked back to her friend.
"So... going back to Becker?" asked Abby hopefully. Jess slumped at the mention of the Captain's name. After the kiss, her mind was in a whirl and she had temporarily forgotten that she was, essentially, playing this man for the first few dates. She moved round and slouched on the sofa.
Abby moved closer, her heart sinking as she realised that Jess' problems had just been made more complicated. She slung an arm loosely around her friend, who looked at her with teary eyes.
"He was wonderful. Funny, intelligent, attentive, relaxed... he's everything I'd look for in a man," Jess sobbed." Abby patted her on the back, unable to offer consolation for what was an enviable position to be in. "He knew to avoid my work, laughed at everything I said, no matter how unfunny and her thought my favourite number was red..." Jess broke down as Abby tried to make sense of what she'd just heard, but she had a feeling she had to have been there.
"Jess," she said softly. "Don't worry; all the men I've ever dated pull out all the stops on t he first date. It can... only get... worse from here?" Jess looked at Abby, who pulled up, her mind struggling to understand how this was suddenly comforting.
However, her mind quickly put this confusion to one side as it saw that the tears had indeed been stemmed and an expression akin to hope unveiled itself on Jess' face.
"You really think so?" Abby leapt upon this breakthrough.
"Yes, of course. He took you to one of the more expensive, classiest restaurants he could afford, didn't get overly drunk and... crossed his legs. Perfect date." Jess sniffed, wiped her eyes and grabbed her handbag, standing up."
"Of course. You're right. Thanks Abby. You've been a great help. I'll see you in the morning." And so, a more cheerful Jess went to the stairs again. Just as she put her foot on the bottom step, Abby called after her.
"By the way, have you drunk any alcohol tonight?"
Jess blushed. "A bit. Why?"
"Never mind. Just... good one of us had." Jess frowned and shook her head, before making her way upstairs.
Abby's claim turned out to be unfounded. A week later, Scott took Jess out to the cinema to watch a film he'd chosen. It was perfect, a great blend of action, comedy and peril, which made Jess squeeze into his arms with nerves as she laughed.
Then, he took her to a comedy show he'd managed to get tickets for.
Then, they went swimming. Then, a West End show. As each date went by and Jess returned home with a smile on her face, Abby's heart fell. It was clear this was no longer a fling, but a full relationship. This had become serious.
And Becker still didn't know. A couple of dates could be passed off as simply none of his business or something that wasn't important enough to mention, but it was way past that stage and when he found out, which Abby was sure he would, he'd be annoyed at the two people he thought he could trust concealing something from him.
Abby couldn't help feel a certain allegiance to the Captain; after all, she'd known him longer than she had Jess and he'd saved her life, and her brothers'. She'd eventually decided that a limit had to placed on Jess, who had, accidently, placed herself at the centre of a love triangle and didn't quite realise yet. Abby decided that as soon as the construction work was complete, she'd confront the field co-ordinator, reasoning Becker had extra work to worry about with construction workers and holes in the wall.
Therefore, one Friday as the final workers put up the WET PAINT signs, Abby waited until her lunch break and then approached the ADD, checking no-one else around. Jess turned slightly to see who it was. She caught Abby's face and closed a couple of windows before swinging round to face her.
"What's wrong?" she questioned.
"You have to tell Becker." Jess baulked at the suggestion, but quickly recovered to fiddle with the end of the desk. She waited a second to see if there was going to be anything else added to this order. Abby just stared at her.
"It's none of his business," she whispered.
"Yes it is," stated Abby. "As soon as you decided to keep it a secret from him, he became part of the relationship, even if he's not on the dates." Abby sighed. "Jess, it's been nine dates – almost one a week. You can't not mention them; normally everyone in the ARC would know within a day of the first dat. You chat and gossip. It's what you do." Jess pulled her chair back round forcefully.
"So I can't have any privacy." She noticed Abby roll her eyes. "Look, it's not just me. Scott doesn't want to tell him either..."
"Don't you think that's strange," interrupted Abby. "I mean, you tell me all about your dates and I'm no closer to you than Becker is to Scott, surely. You need to approach the subject with him anyway, so do it sooner rather than later."
Jess sighed and clicked her mouse aimlessly a few times. Abby had a point; Becker had been mentioned, several times, because he was the common friend, but there had never been any talk of informing him of the... relationship Jess admitted they had formed.
Her phone beeped and she grabbed it hurriedly, desperately grateful for a distraction. She opened the screen and her heart fell. It was a message from Scott, not a distant, but pressing text.
"Scott wants to meet up tonight. Take me out for a meal." She twisted the phone around a few times in indecision. Abby leaned in slightly and spoke into Jess' ear.
"Go and then you can talk to him about Becker."
"I can't. It'll bring the mood down." Abby sighed, but realised that the only way anything was going to happen was if she put the squeeze on the pair. The guilt of the action played heavy upon her heart, but she also knew it was for the best.
"Jess, I'm sorry, but if he doesn't know by next Wednesday, I'm going to tell him." Jess whirled around so quickly it almost pushed Abby off the plinth. Her face was a picture of hurt, betrayal and anger at the threat, but Abby determinedly stood her ground, keeping Jess' gaze; she was, after all, the one with the moral high-ground she told herself.
Jess stared at her for thirty seconds, searching for any signs that there was something she could say to persuade Abby that that wouldn't help, but for every argument she formed, she immediately spotted the flaw and found her mind going round in circles. Eventually, she broke the gaze, softening her expression to one of sadness and confusion.
"Fine. I'll ask him. But Abby?"
"What?" said Abby, gently.
"If Scott comes up with a good reason, a decent, sound reason, why he doesn't want Becker to be told, will you keep quiet?" Abby opened her mouth, but Jess waved her quiet. "No, I can't think why either, but then there can always be something unexpected with these things. So, please, listen to the reason first."
Abby nodded, allowing the pair one concession, if just because she didn't want to feel as if she was invading the relationship too much. She'd always had problems with Connor and Caroline, but looking back, she wondered if she hadn't been the cause of a few of them, even aside from Caroline's deception; she hoped she didn't get overly involved here.
Scoot picked Jess up at seven, drove her out of London and kept going. Jess watched out the window as she watched the city disappear. They turned off the motorway after about half an hour and they found themselves on a minor road which wound through some countryside.
"Where are we going?" asked Jess, smiling at her driver.
"Well, I thought as its Friday and you and I don't have to be at work bright and lively tomorrow, I'd take you to a country pub. It'll be quieter than the city and they do a mean steak and ale pie." He looked across at her and winked.
Jess laughed, but could already feel the butterflies multiply. All the day she'd been thinking of Abby's threat and the thought of an awkward trip was made worse by the length it would be. She shook the idea from her mind; it wouldn't be awkward. It was a natural enquiry. After all, she did work with Becker and she liked to gossip; surely, he'd worked that out.
They pulled up about forty five minutes after they'd left in car park at a place called 'The Horse and Hound'. It was a rural pub and was busy without being crowded. Scott led her through to the bar and enquired after the table he'd booked earlier in the day. The barmen pointed them towards a table in the corner, near the open patio doors and Jess sat down as Scott brought drinks.
"So, what do you think?" he asked as he placed a glass of wine in front of her. Jess glanced around.
"It's brilliant. Thanks. How do you know about these places?" Scott took a sip of his lemonade, specially bought so he could drive, then placed it down carefully.
"How do most people find out about these places? Internet, of course." Jess giggled. "No, one of my friends took a gap year working here. Came here a few times to support him. I'll tell you, one time..."
There was a familiar squeak originating from Jess' handbag. Scott blinked slowly and silently closed his mouth, before leaning back. Jess blushed, but reached down for the offending object anyway, aware that it could be the ARC.
It was. She glanced up at Scott who raised his eyebrows, placing his hands behind his head. Jess quickly calculated the distance she was from the ARC, the time it would take and whether there'd be any point her actually trying to get in. She concluded no.
"It's work. Give me a second and I'll phone in to say I can't come." Scott looked surprised.
"Really? You'll give up work for me? I feel honoured." Jess smiled at his antics as she dialled Abby. "I mean it. Whenever Becker got a call, that was it; he was gone. I'd think he'd walk out of his own wedding of texted. Mind you..." Jess put her hand over the receiver and leaned across to him.
"Do you want me to cancel on them?" Scott leaned in, suddenly serious.
"Yes."
"Then shut. Up." Scott's reply was to put out his tongue, but he remained silent. "Abby!... Yes, I know... Look, I'm out of town... we went to a country pub... No, it's not seedy... Abby!... Look, there's little chance I'll back in time to help in any meaningful way, so... Yes. Please... On what condition?" Jess sighed and paused to weigh up the options. She relented. "Alright... Thanks... Bye." She hung up.
"What's she told you to do? Not kill me, right? 'Cos I don't know that much. About anything," said Scott, watching the phone being put away, but noticing it wasn't turned off. Jess sighed.
"No. She said she'd tell Lester, that's my boss, as long as I helped clean Connor's clothes next time she felt like facing them." Jess sat up properly. "It is a fair deal really."
"Connor? That's her boyfriend..."
"And a flatmate of mine as well. He gets into quite a pickle, quite a lot, so the washing machine can't always handle it. So, it gets hand washed." Jess took a sip of wine.
"And he doesn't do it, because..."
"He did once." Jess took another sip.
"And?" pressed Scott.
"I'm already having to buy a new kitchen 'cos of him. I don't want to have to buy a new sink. Again."
"Why isn't she here?" persisted Becker as the group raced along in one of the SUVs. "I mean, this is a distance out, most of them are. She could have easily finished and come in in time to direct us at the scene." Matt didn't turn to face the Captain.
"Come on, Becker. She's entitled to a little bit of free time now and then."
"Yes, but to wash the dog! I didn't even know she had a dog!"
"It's a friend's dog," grimaced Abby, who was having a thoroughly awful time creating lies on the spot. "She's dog sitting it again, like when she brought it into work." There was a silence as everyone reminisced about Lester's anger about that one. It was broken by a car horn going off on the motorway.
"How much further is it?" complained Connor, not enjoying having to sit in the back with a grumpy Becker. Everyone else sighed in exasperation. Becker turned to him.
"You remember last time you asked? Takeaway five minutes for that time."
Thirty minutes past and Jess and Scott relaxed back into the meal, more sure that they weren't going to be interrupted. Jess, however, was beginning to wish she had gone as she turned her food over and over, but the call had reminded her of Becker and Abby's threat. Scott continued eating and chatting though, so caught up he wasn't aware of the turmoil inside of Jess.
"...so I told him that shoes were actually the result of an artist who was inspired by the black socks his white cat had. He seemed to believe it." Scott grinned as he took another bite.
There was a deep, faint roaring, which suddenly filled the pub and people fell quiet at the noise. Jess looked up at Scott, who glanced around at the other diners and the few men propping up the bar. There didn't seem to be anything else untoward though and he looked back to Jess.
"Jess, I didn't know you were that hungry sti..." There was another roar, this time louder.
A man dressed in a white coat suddenly came crashing through the door from the kitchen. The coat was stained red in places and his face was pale. A couple of screams went up.
"THERE'S A MONSTER IN THE PARLOUR!" he shouted before running to the patio doors and out into the garden. On cue, a clattering came and another two men stumbled out of the kitchen, both shouting incomprehensively.
On this evidence, everyone was up and running towards the nearest door. More screams went up again and Jess just saw the kitchen doors opened again, but she was unable to see what was happening over people's heads. However, the texts she'd received earlier ran through her mind and she hopped onto her seat to see if her suspicions could be confirmed.
A hand grabbed her and she squeaked. Looking down, she saw Scott shouting at her, but his words were lost. She glanced back up and found that some people had cleared and she could see the creature. Her heart pumped dramatically as she eyed the dinosaur that snapped at legs.
The beast turned on her and she shoved Scott out of the way just in time for the creature's lunge to miss him and for its head to come into contact with the table. Seeing the doors were blocked, she dragged Scott over to the bar, using the dinosaur's dazed state to buy them time.
She hopped over the counter and Scott followed, unwilling to let her out of his sight. The creature twisted round to see them disappeared behind the bar. It scrambled over the slippery surface and Jess tugged Scott to one side again.
At the last second, she realised her mistake. She'd shoved them toward the solid end of the bar, where there was no door and pumps to stop them escaping again. The creatures sensed his quarry was cornered and moved in. Scott picked up a bottle and threw it at it, but it smashed harmlessly to one side and simply enraged the beast more.
The creature leaned back, ready to make its final pounce. As it leapt, Jess felt her heart leap too, into her throat and she cowered down slightly, preparing herself for the claws to meet her flesh. Scott held her close to him and she buried her face in his chest.
Ten seconds later, she peeked, wondering why she was still alive. Her eyes widened as she saw the dinosaur lying prone on the ground and Becker behind it, his EMD drooping from where he'd shot the creature.
"Jess? Scott? What are you doing here!?"
So, for my regular readers, there's a cheeky nod to 'Pets', one of my 'Anomalies' stories. Do check it out if you haven't read it (plug!)
As always, please review!