Hello. Thanks to all those reviewing and commenting. Fantastic to receive them all.

So, this I think is the last but one chapter and I really want to get this up so hope you don't mind but it's a short AN. It's this or you wait another day. ;-) In fact, without further ado, here's the chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. But I know own a penguin pencil. Happy days.

Becker was the first to make a move. He texted two hours later and Jess came rushing into the living room, where Connor and Abby were curled up in a kiss, which they hastily broke. Jess paused, flustered.

"Oh sorry. I didn't realise..." Connor rolled his head back prepared himself for ramble. Abby was less patient.

"What do you want, Jess?" Jess blinked once at the question, assessing if she should leave them and return later, but she decided that she'd already interrupted them, so she might as well continue.

"Becker texted. I guess he had the easier job as Scott's probably used up his ideas. Do you think I should take that into account? I should do really, but then again, if he's out of ideas after two months, imagine what he'd be like after two years. That..."

"JESS!" cried Abby.

"Oh yes. Becker is picking me up tomorrow evening. It's so soon. He says he's just doing it, because he doesn't want me to make the mistake of continuing with Scott." Jess paused. "Guess that means he doesn't love me after all." Connor groaned; he could see the whole affair lasting for a lot longer. Abby could also see it lasting much longer, but she was determined that it shouldn't last longer right now.

"Jess. He loves you. Accept it. He's just... shy about it. I mean, if you were the Captain of a security force made of ex-soldiers, so would you, but he's even shier about it. That's all. Now, start reading too much into everything he does and you'll be happy." Abby turned back to Connor, paused and added as an aside: "Oh, and enjoy your date tomorrow. Now go away."

The blond turned back to Connor, who didn't really resist in picking up where they left off much. Jess pondered the words for a few seconds, then realised the right here, right now probably wasn't the correct place to do so. She slipped back into her room and texted a positive message back to Becker.

She then sat on her bed and wondered why life couldn't be a text that you could edit and check before sending. Then she realised that that was what Becker effectively did before he said anything, only everyone called it 'thinking words through before you say them'.

She then thought about the implications if Abby was right and that what Becker did was edit his words so much that the truthful emotions never got out.

Becker arrived outside at seven on the dot, dressed in a smart-casual dark T-shirt matched with black suit trousers. When Jess peeked out her window to check if it was his car she heard banging, her breath caught slightly in her throat. She hastily pulled back away from the curtains and checked that she wasn't over-dressed.

She'd chosen a lime green cotton dress. Or rather, Abby had chosen the dress when Abby presented her with five options. She'd avoided Becker all day, not sure on the etiquette of meeting someone before a date, which meant her routine changed, which meant she was in a tizz by the end of the day from the stress of avoiding him like the plague.

Lester was not amused.

Becker greeted her with few words and went straight off to his car, leaving Jess to give a small wave to Abby, whose heart was falling as she realised Becker was not about to produce the ideal date, and to follow in her high-heels.

Once she got into the car, Becker just stare at the steering wheel for a few seconds, before taking a deep breath in.

"Ok." There was an awkward silence and Jess fidgeted nervously, suddenly feeling a pang of fear that she was about to ruin a perfectly good friendship. Becker then persevered. "Scott isn't good enough for you. That's why I'm doing this." Jess got the strangest feeling Becker was talking to himself as much as her. "So, this won't change anything between us. Not unless you want... you think... we feel..."

Becker gave up on the statement and started the car. Jess slouched slightly in her seat, trying not to compare this with the natural, easy banter Scott and her had formed. Should this deduct points? Jess shook away the thought. Unlike Scott, Becker was a friend before this and no-one knew what was on the table. That was enough to make anyone uncomfortable.

The silence stretched out across the twenty minute journey. When Becker suddenly spoke again, Jess almost jumped.

"I can only park about a five-ten minute walk from the restaurant." He glanced down at Jess' heels and grimaced as he imagined that this pair must be uncomfortable to walk in. He should have foreseen it. It was very Jess.

"I can manage. I've worn these for a day at work before."

"You just sit down at work," claimed Becker.

"I don't. Let's face it, I have to walk down to the drill room almost every day in order to get you to finish incomplete paperwork."

"You could just e-mail it to me. I do check my mail." Jess blushed as she felt a little angry and hurt Becker didn't appreciate her trips down to him. She fixed her eyes on the road ahead.

"Fine," she answered, trying to conceal all the emotion from her voice. "I won't."

"No, do," Becker responded quickly. Jess turned and frowned at the speed with which he spoke. That didn't have time to be self-edited. Becker realised it. "I mean, it's nice to see you down there. Makes a change and there's a danger I'd only hear you on missions otherwise."

"And that's bad, is it?"

Becker paused as he steered into a small car park and parked. He undid his strap and turned to face Jess full on, looking deep into her eyes. Jess could almost feel his breath on her lips and it made her tingle.

"That would be terrible." Becker sharply opened his door and disappeared, leaving Jess to catch her breath and get out as elegantly as she could.

The walk to the restaurant only took five minutes. Becker had offered his arm to her and so they wandered arm in arm in a more comfortable silence. When they reached the restaurant, Jess eyed it carefully. It was bright, painted with a light blue and the table-cloths matched. It wasn't dingy, but neither was it posh.

One thing Jess noted though as they were seated on a table out in the middle of the room was the lack of romance to it all. It was friendly, yes, but there was no seduction, no passion. There was a group across the room, who were obviously there for someone's birthday, a few girly meals out and a set of four men who seemed to be celebrating one becoming a father. Becker had obviously chosen this place to compact the idea that this was a friendly meal. There were no candles.

And somehow... that felt more comfortable. She opened the menu and scanned down the list. It was good food, solid food, with a reasonable price-tag and a sense to it. She was quickly and easily able to select a lasagne, but then peered over the menu top.

"By the way, who's paying?" Becker peeked over the top of his, frowning at this question.

"Why? You thinking of having the lobster?" he answered sarcastically. Jess tilted her head to one side. "I don't know. We can probably pay for our own." He returned to his menu for a second, then lowered it a bit again. "Actually, this is supposed to be a date. I can pay. Just don't go for the most expensive wine."

"I can pay, thanks," said Jess, shaking her head. She raised her menu. "I don't need a date for food and the most expensive wine is a white one, so you're safe." Becker's frown deepened.

"If you were happy paying, and were going to ignore my offer to pay, then why ask?" Jess put down her menu, her mind made up on the food at least. "And isn't the point of a date for you girls to get free food?"

"No, it's not," snapped Jess. "What kind of girls have you been dating? The point of a date is... romance and conversation. Certainly, a first date should avoid extravagant gestures, as that makes it appear as if you're coming on too fast. Like you want something swiftly."

Becker lowered his menu and propped his elbows on the table ledge in thought. There was a short pause as his eyes seemed to study the ceiling for a minute. Jess waited.

"You're right," he said eventually. "I do date the wrong girls." Jess' curiosity suddenly peeked.

"Spill," she demanded, eagerly, then blushed and sat back as she remembered that she wasn't talking to Abby. "I mean, we may as well use this 'date' to get to know each other." Becker grimaced and Jess worried that she'd opened a can of worms she did not want to know about.

"Five first dates. Four got to a second date. Two lasted more than a month. One lasted four month, the other, five. That was a killer. In that time, I lost, and I did calculate it afterwards, a total of about seven and a half grand." Jess gasped. "I did a simple date the first time and it ended in a row about how I 'obviously wasn't serious about it or I would have invested more into it'. With hindsight, I should've seen she was one of those high-maintenance girls, but I was desperate for a date for a cousin's wedding."

Jess sat gaping as she heard Becker out. He was sensible, not easily swept off in fits of passion, but some woman had managed to play on his naivety and inexperience. Luckily, as she was figuring out how you respond to such revelation, the waiter came up, ready with a notepad.

Becker had got as far as ordering some red wine when his fork suddenly flew across the room and clattered against a table leg. He was up in an instant, alert. Jess stayed seated in shock as the waiter apologised, confused.

The anomaly appeared the other side of the Birthday table. The group froze, stunned for a second, as they gazed at the glowing orb which hung in the air. A small breeze could be felt from it and the shattered glass effect framing moved as if blown by it.

Becker instantly pulled out his phone and was calling the ARC within ten seconds of the appearance. He gave a brief, yet detailed, report to the night-desk security, who assured him they could have a team to the place within ten minutes – part of the reason that Becker knew about the restaurant was its proximity to his workplace.

Jess, meanwhile, grabbed her cardigan in response to the cool air and joined Becker. As soon as the call was made, Becker glanced down to her, then around. Everyone was now on their feet and most were edging towards the kitchen door, the main entrance being blocked by this unknown object. The waiter had gone already.

Becker got up on a chair and cleared his throat. Jess looked up at him, towering over the room, and couldn't help thinking that he did strike an amazing heroic pose. She felt suddenly very safe near him.

"Everyone," called out the Captain to the room. Most people turned towards him, though some were too absorbed in the harmless looking globe. "You need to get out of here. There's a fire exit through the kitchen and..."

"Who put you in charge?" cried out one of the Birthday people. "It's just a stunt, isn't it? Pretty impressive stuff for only a 32nd birthday." He raised his glass. "Kudos to the waiter."

"The waiter's left," answered Jess calmly. "He didn't have a clue what it was. It's not meant to be here." She glanced up to Becker, who reassured her silently. "You do need to leave. Now." She tried as hard as she could to make it sound definite and serious, but she could the other guests weren't convinced of her authority on the matter. Some were slowly leaving though, checking back on the once-in-a-lifetime view they'd been presented with.

Becker was so throw aback by the unexpectedness of the roar which filled the air. He almost fell back off the chair. He caught his balance at the last second, but by then, a large dinosaur had emerged.

He shook his head at the speed with which everyone suddenly decided to leave with now. Even he could see this was a herbivore and a pretty slow one, though its size in such a small space was devastating enough. He grabbed Jess' wrist and tugged her to one side as the dinosaur went lumbering forward, pursuing the fleeing people.

He hugged the small woman to his chest and watched carefully as the dinosaur failed to squeeze through the kitchen door, but succeed in creating a large, cracking dent in the wall.

Jess almost kicked his legs out in her haste to pull the Captain down. Becker frowned at her, but then the long tail swung against the wall they'd been pressed up against a few seconds before. He breathed out as the adrenaline starting to effect. He pushed her under a side table, then followed. Once underneath, he felt safe enough to analyse the situation.

"It can't go through the walls on three sides and large part of the other way is blocked by the anomaly. Ok, Jess listen." Jess stared at him dumbly, a little annoyed he thought she wasn't before. "I'm going to get over to the front of the restaurant, stop it getting through the gaps and out into the street. It'll probably be distracted enough while I'm moving for you to leave."

"Leave?" exclaimed Jess.

"Yes leave. This is no place for you to be."

"You need help to stop it getting through and I can cope enough. It's not dangerous... well, it's not trying to eat me." Becker sighed heavily. Now Jess wanted a debate.

"Look, you don't belong in the field..."

"But I'm in the field. Tough. Let me help."

"You're not suited to situation."

"How am I not?" Becker wracked his brains hurriedly. All that was needed was a loud noise. The creature was panicked and was liable to keep away from anything like that. It was currently shunting the wall in frustration, so it wasn't thinking that straight. But the thought of Jess in danger...

"You're not trained physically."

"It can barely move..."

"You're weak." As soon as Becker said the words, he knew he shouldn't have, but he wanted Jess out of there as fast as possible.

Jess' eyes turned into icicles. She gripped the table leg so hard that if was living it would've bled and her mind became hazy with anger. How dare he? How dare...?

She shifted out from under the table, set on reaching the restaurant door and proving to Becker that she could deal with this dinosaur perfectly. Becker grabbed for her leg, but failed, his grounded position preventing him from moving much. He looked up and watched helplessly as the dinosaur's tail swung around.

Heading straight for Jess.

"That building there," instructed Lyons, the leader of the night shift. "Ok, now there wasn't an incursion when Becker called..." A loud roar split the air. "...but that's changed." Lyons quickly amended his sentence. "Ok. Sounds large. EMDs on high. Jackson, be prepared to fire that larger one as soon as we get in there. People could be in trouble. Clear?" There was a murmur of 'Sirs' and a few nods. "Right, let's go."

The men ran down the street as fast as they could as a group. They approached the restaurant as head on as they could and could soon see the scale of the problem loaming before them. Jackson charged the EMD and pushed past the others to get through the main doors and positioned himself to aim.

One shot, a bull-eye. Or a stegosaurus' as it turned out. In such a confined space, there was little chance of a miss and the dinosaur bore the full brunt of the shot. It curled and squealed, at immense volume, and its tail flailed upwards, brushing the hair of Jess, who screamed and dived instinctively down towards the side.

There were a few muscle twitches as the dinosaur fell unconscious. Jackson stood up and saluted his Captain, who was crawling out from under a table awkwardly. It wasn't exactly the most dignified stance Jackson had ever seen Becker in, but he reserved judgement.

"You alright, sir? Ma'am?"

He addressed Jess, who was also standing, brushing and adjusting her dress. Her face was thunderous and Jackson, a man who had just brought down a dinosaur, took a step back. She shot a glance at Becker, who wore a rather angry, but relieved expression, though there was no apology in it. She turned to Becker.

"I'm fine. Trust me. The dinosaur was the least of the problems." She stalked past the soldier and the other men parted to let her pass. They watched her leave, already on her phone to Abby wanting a lift home. They turned back to Becker, who stood the alone across the ruined the restaurant, his face and clothes scuffed and dusty from the short hair carpet.

The Captain considered following his date, but decided against it. He gazed around the devastation and at the still shining anomaly. He then stared at the stegosaurus, the cause of his woes. He sighed, then began directing the clean-up operation, thankful Stevens wasn't here right now. Everyone else was clever enough not to ask.

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