Hello. Well after the cringe of the last chapter, this is far more... lovey. Hope that's OK. Thank-you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter – it had one of the most responses I've had to chapter. It seems Becker needs to act. Maybe this chapter will help him... or not =-) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. It seems my Birthday wish was ignored.

"Does he like me?" Jess asked Abby sincerely a couple of evenings later. The blond looked around at her as she passed over the next plate to be dried and breathed in.

"Who? Becker or Scott? Whichever it is the answer's yes. And you kind of have to accept that," she replied, as she met Jess' troubled, yet distant gaze.

The past few days Jess had been restless and even after she met up with Scott again, it was difficult for her to settle into the rhythm she'd had before. Abby, who had heard what had happened in the drill room, couldn't work out whether she was annoyed at Becker for not confirming his affection of the co-ordinator or pleased that he had tried to keep out of her way; either way, it was going to cause Jess confusion. At least Abby knew she was angry at Stephens; she'd heard he'd been cornered and given a few 'helpful' words from some of the veterans.

"Becker," sighed Jess. "But he denied it..." Abby opened her mouth to interrupted, but Jess beat her to it. "Then again, he was in front of his men and he's very private..." Abby tried again and failed. "He didn't need to deny it though. Surely if he did like me he would have just not answered." Abby waited until she was sure Jess had finished and then cleared her throat. Fail. "But then they all thought it was clear and that he'd been flirting with me for months. I thought he'd been flirting with me occasionally."

"Everyone knows he's been flirting with you for months," argued Abby forcefully, giving up on waiting for a gap in Jess' musings. "He is practically infatuated with you. That's why he's so affected by the idea of you and Scott."

Jess breathed in and pondered this notion for a full minute. Abby got on with the washing up as she tried not to look as she was waiting to impatiently for Jess's response. Screw that, she was angry at Becker. And Scott. And Jess. And the waiter who'd served the meal at the pub. And anyone else involved in making the dates so perfect for Scott and Jess.

"I guess you're right," sighed Jess. She went back to drying up. "Erm... Abby..." Abby paused in what she was doing, trying to gather patience.

"What?" she groaned.

"Why's this white plate now blue?" Abby whipped around and stared at the previously pristine white plate. It was now a deep rich sapphire colour. Everything else on the draining board also had a blue tinge to it. She grabbed the washing-up liquid bottle and ripped the lid off. Inside was not the usual green solution.

"CONNOR!"

Jess popped down to the security area as soon as she got in the next morning. The ARC was still only sparsely populated, but Jess knew Becker would be there, bright and early. She had come down to thank him for saving her life, something she had remembered she hadn't done yet. It was a lame excuse, but she knew they had to clear the air.

She tapped on his office door where he was filling out a few forms that Jess recognised as budgeting papers. He didn't look up and he waved a hand for the person to enter. Jess paused then slipped into the office and shut the door behind her. The last thing she wanted was to be seen here and provide fuel to the soldiers' gossip again.

She felt like she was entering the headmaster's office and accordingly tried to make herself as quiet as possible, which was an achievement in heels. She remained standing, not wanting to give the appearance of a long conversation.

Becker jotted down another coupe of numbers and looked up. He was visibly startled to see Jess standing in front of him, but quickly displayed his natural persona. After all, she was probably only here to discuss ARC business, though he was certain he had paid extra attention to detail so she wouldn't need to come down like she always did.

"Hello. Erm... I had forgotten to say thank you for saving me last Friday," she stuttered awkwardly. Becker listened for about five seconds after she had finished her sentence and then struggled to find a response.

"That's my job. Besides, a trip through that dinosaur would have ruined your heels, which I'm guessing you were wearing." Jess smiled at the attempt at humour, which worked wonders at clearing the air. Becker relaxed as he saw Jess do the same.

"The whole point of my position is that I'm the one not in trouble. I'm just the one shouting in other people's ears. Annoyingly."

"You're not annoying," interrupted Becker hurriedly. A little too hurriedly for Jess' composure. Her breath quickened and her heart beat that bit faster, a sensation she had missed Becker giving her for a while. It was almost like old times... or at least, last month.

She pulled open her bag on her lap and delved into it to find the object she'd managed to buy in the service station on her way in. Her hand clasped around the object and pulled it out, along with her comb which it had become entangled in. She placed it carefully on the desk.

Becker stared at the small nodding dog for a few seconds in silence, grateful that he was known for his straight expression. He checked up at Jess' hopeful face.

"A Thank you present. After all, you gave me flowers." Becker winced slightly. "What's wrong? Don't you like it? I didn't have a lot of time I'll admit, but I thought you drive around a lot..." She trailed away, lost for a second as she realised she'd just given the Captain of the security forces a novelty dog. Becker, though, shook his head.

"No. It's wonderful, Jess. It's just my flatmate informed that you were perfect for him because, and I quote, 'she doesn't even go in for flowers'. I'm sorry."

Jess' heart fell. She'd admitted to Scott that she disliked flowers to reassure of his choice on the first night, but she'd never mentioned that Becker had given her any – let's face it, she was trying not to even think of the Captain that evening. And now, her over-active mouth had landed her in another awkward position. Becker shuffled in his chair and reached over to the dog, which by now she was sure he wouldn't like, and moved its head to one side.

"I should have just got you chocolate," said Becker, quietly.

"So should have I," answered Jess. Becker looked up at her and berated himself for bringing up the subject of the flowers; it had obviously embarrassed Jess and he'd felt he'd done enough of that the past few days.

"No. I do spend a significant proportion of time driving and it'll brighten my car up." There was a pause. "You don't mind if I don't put it in the ARC's SUV, though, right?"

"It's an embarrassment," asserted Jess.

"No," denied Becker, who was trying to work out a reason for the dog not to be in front of his men as they headed off on a mission. In the end, though, he plumped for honesty, realising they'd both know it was only an excuse. "Yes," he admitted. There was another pause as Jess stared at him. "Slightly."

Jess suddenly started giggling. Becker frowned, unsure if this was something he'd caused. This made Jess giggled more, but she managed an explanation.

"We're... having a diplo... diplomatic discussion... over a... over a nodding dog!" Becker's relaxed his face and picked up the novelty dog as he pondered the situation. It did have its funny side. He felt a small smile creep onto his face, although he knew part of this was just due to the sound of Jess' laugh.

Jess regained enough composure to stand, adamant that she should leave on a high, with both in a good mood. Becker watched her tuck an escaped piece of hair behind her ear, before she nodded her goodbye and exited the room. He placed the dog by his keyboard and stared at it.

He was still staring at it when his Sergeant came in with the night reports fifteen minutes later.

There was an anomaly that morning, though no creatures came through. It led to a late lunch for all operations personal, which included Jess, who had the staff area to herself, although Lester did pop in to check how she felt that call-out had gone.

She was able to settle down and read a magazine for half an hour, an activity she had not been able to concentrate on for the last couple of months, because it always allowed her mind to wander. It was only part way through that this thought occurred and it made her realise that actually peace and honesty with Becker meant more to her than she'd ever wanted to acknowledge.

Part way through the afternoon, Becker appeared at her side, reports in hand. He hung around for a couple of minutes, exchanging idle chatter and jokes before he scuttled off back. This was normal.

An hour later, she came down to the drill hall again. There was a hush as she entered and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Stephens disappear through a door. She however was only there to find a page of Becker's reports which had somehow been left on his desk. This was normal.

Abby watched closely and with interest at this rebooted friendship. She knew that Jess had gone in early that morning in order to talk to Becker – she'd rejected the lift that morning. Obviously this had gone someway in clearing the air between the two, which Abby was incredibly relieved about; after all, she'd been stuck listening to all of Jess' problems and it felt good to know that one of them was surely sorted and yet...

Abby hoped they didn't forget why there had been a problem. They couldn't continue flirting like they had been. Jess was with Scott and this time both of them knew it. They surely couldn't be naive and expect that to be a reasonable outcome. They surely couldn't. Except, from what Abby had seen, they were both, in their own way, naive enough.

Becker left his work in a better mood than he'd felt for in days. He was refreshed from the lifting of the pressure of the tension between him and Jess. He'd been berating himself for the last few days about the manner with which he lost control on Monday and his attitude the previous Friday, although he didn't understand how else he was supposed to act. Like he didn't care? He did care. Too much. That was the problem.

He pulled up at his house thirty minutes later, having fought through the rush-hour traffic. He noted Scott's car hadn't appeared yet, but this wasn't usual – they always arrived about the same time. Becker leaned over in his seat and pulled out the dog which he had hidden in his bag. He rolled it over a few times and checked the back shelf of his car.

Surely it wouldn't do any harm. But he'd become one of those annoying people with a novelty dog in the back window. But if he slipped it by the back pillar it would be fairly hidden.

He got out and went around into the back seats. Kneeling upon one, he shoved the dog into a position where he hoped it was inconspicuous. He shuffled out, closed the door and went around to the back to judge the effect. He studied it for a few seconds when a car pulled up directly behind him. Turning, he hopped back onto the pavement and saw it was Scott.

Things had been awkward that weekend, but when Jess had agreed to see him again, a sign that Becker had not 'destroyed every last glimmer of sunshine in the world' as he had feared, there was a sense of relief that the past had been put out there. Gradually, they started to make conversation while in the same room and both felt as if they were over the brow of this hill; they were, at the end of the day, friends.

Scott got out, frowning, wondering why Becker seemed to be analysing his back windscreen. He spotted the dog within a few seconds.

"Erm... I didn't know you were a canine gimmick lover." Becker sighed, realising it was not hidden enough. He delved straight back into the car and grabbed the offending object off the shelf, thrusting himself backwards and heaving himself out back out. He fumbled for his keys and in his haste, he let go of the little dog.

It rolled across the pavement and Scott picked it up, smirking. He walked deliberately around Becker, who sighed and locked his car, before racing off after his flatmate. Scott had reached their house and had let himself inside, inspecting the dog with a bemused expression on his face. Becker darted out a hand, but Scott held the object away from him.

"Calm down! I won't break it. I'm just wondering why you seem so attached to it. I mean, enough to put it in your car on show." Scott grinned at Becker as the Captain stared at him, an irritated expression clouding his face. "From anyone special?" Becker breathed in, trying desperately not to react to this statement, but he didn't count on the fact his lack of response held the key. "It is?!" Scott's gaped.

He moved into the kitchen, but checked to see if Becker had followed him. He desperately wanted to know if Becker had finally found a girl. In the back of his mind he had the idea that this might distract Becker from interfering too much in his own affairs. It had already allowed some well-natured jokes back into the flat. He popped his bag down and turned the dog over a couple more times.

"Soooo... I'm thinking a girl. At work." Becker just stared at him, impatient for the embarrassment to end. "I'll take that as a yes. Someone with a fun personality. Was it that Abby Jess has mentioned a few times?" Becker baulked.

"What?! No! She has a live-in boyfriend and a lizard. Remember that creature that snuck into my bag once. That's more trouble than it's worth." Scott smiled at the attitude of Becker – he genuinely didn't seem to realise that relationships didn't work in terms of convenience. He had a closer look at the dog and narrowed his eyes as he spotted something.

"What's this? A hair. In fact, a few of them." He lifted the offending strands like he was a detective. Becker himself froze, visions of Jess untangling the gift from her comb flashing before his eyes. His heart beat a little faster, as he tried to reason that this wasn't enough to tie the dog to Jess.

Scott raised the hair into the light and made a great show of checking it over. Becker shifted uneasily and his flatmate took this as evidence of the Captain's humiliation over the crack in his facade.

"It's a reddy brown I believe. Quite like..." Scott trailed off as the jigsaw pieces fell into place. Becker held his breath as waited to see if Scott would dismiss this. He waited for what seemed like an age as Scott slowly turned to face him, a grimmer expression on his face. It was then Becker made what he would look back on as his mistake. He broke the silence for the first time since entering the house.

"Scott, can I have it back It's just a..."

"It's from Jess, isn't it?" interrupted Scott. He didn't pause. "Don't lie. It's her hair and her misguided style. Let's face it, someone's given you a joke of a present and yet you were still considering keeping it in your car." Scott scoffed. "You love her, don't you?"

"I don't love her!" responded Becker, quickly. A little too quickly and he knew it as soon as the words left his mouth.

"You've had to say that before. You've had to say that before because everyone knows you flirt with her and they see you change every time you enter the room. Everyone knows. Everyone except me." Scott stared into the distance as his words hit home to him. Becker persevered.

"It was just a Thank-you present. For saving her. Both of you, in fact. You know what Jess is like." The explanation was feeble, even in his ears. Any 'gift' like this one normally and it would have been hidden away; certainly, the last thing Becker would be doing is putting it in his back window of his car.

Scott knew ignored and threw the dog at the Captain, who ducked out of the kitchen and headed up the stairs. There was no talking to his flatmate at this moment and besides, what could he say? What should he say?

Jess had just unlocked her front door when she received a text. Abby pushed passed her as she read it.

Becker loves you. S

Please review. Last week was my Birthday... and yes, I'm trying to emotionally blackmail you. =-)