Hello. Thanks for all the reviews I received for the last chapter. Again, a huge response (for me). This time I decided to be a bit harsher on the characters, especially Jess, so don't expect anyone to be a role model in this chapter. On the plus side, things start to heat up a little.

House-keeping wise, expect this story to be finished in the next week (yes, I've got a lot of typing to do). There are a couple/few more chapters left, but essentially if I don't finish it in the next week, you may not see the ending for a month, maybe more, as my life suddenly turns hectic. Hope this suits you guys.

In the meantime, Enjoy!

Oh and this is dedicated to Primevalyank. As a present ;-)

Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. I dunno about you lot. =-)

Abby got to the kitchen before she heard Jess' tear-filled sigh. Her instant reaction was 'oh no, not again', which she quickly brushed under the rug in her mind with a mini pang of guilt. She put her bag and the shopping they'd picked up down on the counter and went back to the door.

Jess looked up at her with damp eyes and passed the phone over to her friend. Abby scanned the short text and groaned before glancing to Connor, who was standing staring at Jess like she was an alien. Abby took a deep breath in and put an arm around Jess.

"Connor, go and cook us some dinner." Connor opened his mouth, but Abby just snapped back: "Oh, for goodness' sake, just microwave something." Connor nodded and scampered off to the kitchen, realising that this was not a problem he'd be any good at solving as it didn't involve computers or T-rexs.

Abby gently guided Jess into the closest room, which happened to be her and Connor's bedroom. She sat Jess down on the bed. Jess squeaked and leapt up. Abby picked up the jumper strewn across the duvet and found a little action figure. She threw it across the room towards Connor's closet of... he'd say keep-sakes, Abby would say junk.

The blond turned back to Jess, who wasn't, thankfully, crying, but looked so sad Abby could barely stand being in the same room. The other woman just held too much emotion on her sleeve. Abby strode over to the dressing table that was buried under clutter and, after causing a small avalanche, dug out a tissue box to offer the field co-ordinator.

"How could he think that?" Jess sniffed. Abby sat down by her.

"Because it's true," stated Abby. Jess looked up at her sharply. "It is. That's been the problem, the main problem, for the past two months. You're in a love triangle and Scott's just twigged." Jess sighed. "Be thankful he doesn't know you reciprocate in any way." Jess froze. "You think he does? How?" cried Abby, standing up again. This was a mess.

"I gave Becker a present this morning." Abby groaned, but Jess cut her off angrily. "It was just a thank-you gift. Just for saving our lives. Anyway, Scott must have realised that I was the one who'd given it to Becker and... it was such a bad gift. A nodding dog! Becker must have actually treated it with grace."

Abby stifled back a giggle at this comment. Jess had given Becker a nodding dog. That was certainly one of the most... interesting gifts Becker's ever had to deal with. She bit back her humour sharply; Jess would hardly appreciate being laughed at right now.

"Ok, let's rationalise. You don't that's what caused it. Or, at least, that's the knowledge you have to display if you want him to think it was just a meaningless present from your behalf."

"But that would be lying," replied Jess, quietly. Abby felt like she could scream; now Jess decided to acknowledge that she liked Becker more than she should.

"You already have," the blond almost shouted back. Jess jolted in surprise at the sudden anger targeted at her, but Abby was determined to set things out to her friend. "You weren't going to tell Scott the truth about why you didn't want Becker to know about the relationship. The fact that he beat you to the request doesn't change the fact you took him along for the ride."

"You make it sound like I played him!" argued Jess, recovering. "It was just a test..."

"You can't experiment on people like that. I've told Connor that enough times. It's simply not fair on anyone, but you." Jess tried to mount a counter-attack, but Abby waved her away. "No, don't argue. You haven't had to face any of real storms yet. I mean, Becker thought you were just following Scott; he doesn't have a clue that you would have concealed it all whatever. Neither of them properly understands where you stand, so maybe stop playing the part of the injured lover."

Jess recovered swiftly and was up on her feet in an instant. Abby mentally gulped; she normally avoided being involved in cat-fights, considering them to be a waste of effort, but in her head, she knew this was for Jess' own good. She braced herself for the attack.

"One. I didn't know Scott was covering up anything. Two. I am faced with a decision which is only due to three. Becker never did anything. Nothing. In fact, he steered clear of the topic, when all he needed to do was turn around and say something. Anything." Jess' eyes were clearer now.

"Becker gave you chocolate. He talked to you every day. You know as well as everyone else in the ARC that he created situations to come to the ADD and..." Abby trailed off as she realised Jess wasn't actually listening to her, but staring into the middle distance, mumbling.

"All he had to do was say something," she murmured. "And I'd have come running." Abby breathed out, relieved that it wasn't a full scale argument. She moved closer to her friend.

"You need to say something." Jess shook her head and sat back down on the bed, tucking a fallen piece of hair back behind her ear. She looked up at Abby.

"I can't," she said feebly. "I have to make a decision." Abby scoffed. "Scott is my ideal man, there's no denying that. I'm not throwing that away because, frankly, I could spend the rest of my life with him. Happily. And while I could be happy with Becker, he still hasn't shown any signs of anything more than friendship. Scott sent the text. Not him. I mean, how can I compare them? They're so different."

Abby was silent for a minute. She was not a counsellor and she knew it, but equally she was the only person who knew all the facts and accepted them; that meant she had some authority. She just wished she knew what to do.

She hung on the last sentence Jess had said, being the only source of inspiration at the minute – she couldn't exactly stop and check the internet for suggestions. How do you compare them? The difficulty lay in not only the differences, but also the fact they were reacting to different situations. All that was needed was a common scenario, throw both in and see which fitted Jess' needs and wants then.

"A challenge," Abby whispered. Jess looked at her, confused.

"What?"

Abby grabbed her friend and pulled her to her feet. Jess stumbled, still wearing her work heels, but, a true pro, she regained composure immediately and watched, a small frown creasing her forehead as Abby burst into action. The blond rushed into the hallway and pulled on her coat, tugging Jess along.

"A challenge. You need to see them both in the same setting. Then, it should be obvious." Jess tried to speak, but Abby threw her jacket on. "This can't wait or Becker and Scott will have killed each other by morning and you'll be too tired. We're going to their flat now."

"ABBY!" came a disembodied cry from the kitchen.

"And," she added, "we'll pick up a new microwave on the way."

They drew up to the flat the two men shared twenty minutes later, the traffic having died down a little and Abby breakneck speed and driving style which allowed Jess a potentially lethal distraction from her troubles.

Abby's mind was racing, mainly, she thought, because if it stopped she'd realise what a ridiculous idea this was and all of the problems in it. This wasn't the time to dwell on the fact she was somehow going to convince three people that it was her business to organise their relationships and that she had a good idea.

As soon as she pulled up, she unclasped her seatbelt and leapt out of the car, slamming the door behind her. She still had to wait though as Jess progressed in an especially slow way. Abby tried to tell herself that this was natural considering they actually knew nothing of what had gone on in the house, except for the fact it revolved around Jess, but she was impatient to get on.

She took the time to scan the house. A couple of windows were open, but she couldn't hear any shouting or smashing, which she took to be a good sign, although she was now a little apprehensive about disturbing the peace. It seemed so fitting that Becker's house should be the place of so much silent emotional turmoil.

Jess eventually caught up and Abby locked the car, grabbed her friend by the arm and marched her up the path. Jess resisted slightly, but was so full of nervous energy she couldn't concentrate enough to put up a fight against the determined blond. Abby knocked loudly on the door and Jess winced.

There was silence for a few seconds, then the thumping of someone coming down the stairs. Another pause followed and then the door swung open to reveal Becker, whose eyes widened in surprise.

"Jess! Abby! What are you doing here?" he exclaimed. Abby heard a thump from elsewhere in the house and knew Scott had overheard this. Not wanting to cause a scene in the street, Abby pushed past the shocked Captain, dragging Jess along with her.

She took a quick opportunity to look around the hallway she'd been in a couple of times before. It hadn't changed much and there was no sign of broken vases or other tell-tale scratches indicating violence. She went through to the living room and Jess followed awkwardly. Becker gazed after them for a second, but then shut the front door and he and Scott entered the room together.

"You texted Jess about half an hour ago," stated Abby. Scott blinked, a little stunned that his message had been read by anyone else, but Jess, who was desperately trying to blend in with the furniture. "Explain it."

"It doesn't need any explanation," answered Scott, firmly. "Becker loves Jess and what's more I think there's some feeling back."

"Scott!" cried Jess at the accusation. She knew the second part of the statement was true, Abby had forced her to face that, but it felt so... ugly out in the open.

"Do you deny that you gave it to him?"

"No..." she started. She snapped herself together. "It was a Thank-you gift. He'd saved my life. Our lives."

"You gave him a dog. No, wait." Scott waved away Abby as she tried to interrupt. "This has little to do with you. Jess, there is a cupboard upstairs with a shelf full of gifts Becker has been presented with which he doesn't like. Nearly all are of a similar kind to that dog. None of them have been placed in the back window of his car, not for a second. He loves you..."

"She's a friend. I thought I'd put it there for a few days so she wouldn't be... offended," argued Becker. He was lying through his teeth, he knew, but he couldn't face the truth. He couldn't face the fact he'd let down his defence for Jess. It wasn't proper. It was a useless lie though; Scott scoffed.

"You'd never dare. You'd make up some excuse. Anything, but face the mocking over it." Scott moved towards Becker, but Abby moved quickly in between the pair. Jess' eyes filled with tears, but she made no sound as Scott continued. "Especially as they'd realise it was from Jess as everyone knows. You know, don't you?" Scott addressed Abby, who kept her face as neutral as she could. "You know that Becker fancies Jess because everyone whispers it in the staff room." He faced Becker again. "Well, guess what? You lost out because you couldn't stand the idea of being a tiny bit forward, of asking her."

"I don't love her," replied Becker, a coolly as he could.

"Liar..."muttered Scott. Becker ignored him.

"I care about her though. I'm meant to protect her."

"What? And I'm someone to protect her from. Of course I am. Otherwise you wouldn't have hurt her by revealing that mistake."

"You're not good enough for her," cried Becker. Scott made a lunge, but Abby knocked out his legs and went down heavily on the floor. Jess screamed in shock, causing everyone to reel back and calm a little. Abby knew this could go on; this was the time for her plan.

"Let's face it. You both like Jess." Becker opened his mouth, but Abby cut across him. "Like I said. Jess realised as soon as you sent the text that she'd have to choose between you two." Neither man contested this. "But she can't. Not right now. She needs a comparable situation in order to judge that and she hasn't had one. So... I propose a contest."

"A contest?" exclaimed Jess, alarmed. This seemed all too serious and it looked scarily like the moment of a decision was bearing down on her. Becker folded his arms, but didn't react in any other way. Scott frowned.

"Yes, a contest. You need to know which man actually suits you, so you need to know how they differ."

"What sort of contest?" asked Scott nervously. He might be a PE teacher, but he knew Becker was trained for combat and the prospect of a fight was not promising.

"You each take her on a date." Becker again opened her mouth. "I'm calling it a date, whatever you choose to call it. One evening each, sometime within the next week. Then, a week today, Jess chooses. Agreed?"

Jess admitted that her heart leapt at the idea of having an actual proper date with Becker, but it fell again as she acknowledged the daunting task of picking between the two men. She felt a little weak. She glanced around, looking for an escape route and her eyes came to rest upon a football, lying in the corner of the room.

It was battered, obviously through use. It suddenly hit home what she was doing. She was driving a wedge between two friends, all because she couldn't choose. She breathed in. Abby was placing a limit on the chaos. She'd rise to the challenge.

"Agreed. If they do. I mean, it's their choice, since they'd be the ones... I'm not free evening after tomorrow. I promised Connor I'd accompany him to the supermarket, 'cos last time I get the wrong cereal, but he doesn't like the freezer section 'cos it's cold and we're out of chips." She looked at Scott. "Connor's just a friend. I mean, he's Abby's boyfriend, so another flatmate and..."

Jess halted and cursed herself for her ramble. Little did she know that both men saw this as one of the things that was worth competing for.

"Agreed," they said simultaneously.

"Really!" exclaimed Abby, a little shocked that her plan was accepted, but happy that in a week, this surely had to be over and she would no longer have to listen to Jess' romantic problems.

There was an awkward silence and Abby smiled. She nodded towards the door and Jess gratefully accepted the invitation to leave. Abby gave a little wave to Becker, who shot her a miniature smile. He remained in the room, while Scott saw them out, before retiring to his room.

Abby strapped herself in and breathed out deeply. Jess sat by her processing what had just happened.

"Thank you," the field co-ordinator said eventually.

"You don't know if it'll work yet."

"It's a plan. A proper plan with a time structure. I haven't had one of those throughout any of this. I've just been winging it and I've not been brilliant at that." Abby reserved her opinion upon that matter, not wishing to hurt her friend by agreeing but not wanting to life. She plastered a fake grin over her face.

"Come on. Let's find out where we can get a microwave at 8.00 in the evening."

Please review.

Had an amazing response so far, so Thank you.