And here we go with the reunion :)

The first person he saw was Jess. Then he noticed Patrick behind her, holding her against him like a shield, and felt a sickening sense of déjà vu as the other man fumbled for a second with something in his pocket moments before brandishing a knife and lifting it to her throat.

Not again.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't your very own knight in shining armour," Patrick smirked, his lips far too close to Jess's ear for Becker's liking. "Isn't that sweet? He came for you, Jessica. You should be honoured."

"Let her go." Dismounting from his horse, Becker was only partly aware of the knights around him doing the same. He heard the Earl begin negotiations with the man holding the young girl Becker assumed was the princess but couldn't tear his gaze away from Jess and Patrick to see how it was going. "Now."

"Or what?" Patrick smirked. "You can't shoot me, can you?"

Not without exposing himself and Jess to a world of trouble, no. Becker ground his teeth and reached for the only weapon he had at his disposal – the sword Sarah had insisted be procured from somewhere. "Let. Her. Go."

"Becker..." He saw Jess's eyes widen as he adjusted his grip on the sword, thankful for the fencing lessons his parents had agreed to let him take when he was younger.

"Oh, this is brilliant." Patrick cackled, circling Becker with Jess clasped against him defensively. "You think you stand a chance, Becker? You think you can be her hero and save her before I carve her a new smile? Be my guest. She'll be dead before you get within an inch of me."

Unwilling to take the risk, Becker only circled Patrick and Jess in response, his eyes narrowed as he focused intently, waiting for the right moment.

"Release her, sir." The command came from somewhere behind him, the voice young and feminine. Without looking, Becker guessed the princess had been released and was standing safely surrounded half a dozen knights who would die to defend her. "Release her, and I will grant you leniency."

Patrick barked a humourless laugh. "Leniency meaning you'll have them blind-fold me before they cut my head off? Gee, thanks, Your Highness, but I think I'll pass."

"I am commanding you, sir, release the lady now." Sounding older than Becker knew her to be, Mary held her head up high, her grey eyes flashing as Becker glanced over his shoulder to gauge where she and the knights were standing.

"I'd do as she says," Becker added quietly, returning his attention to Patrick as he saw the knights move out to circle the kidnapper and his hostage. "This won't end well for you if you don't."

"It won't end well for me if I do," Patrick retorted. He adjusted his grip on Jess, the blade of the knife grazing her throat as a muffled sound escaped her. "Let us leave and I promise you'll never see me again, Princess. You never need fear me again."

"I do not fear you now," the Princess replied confidently. "And I cannot permit you to go anywhere with my friend."

Patrick shifted Jess again, panic beginning to dance in his eyes as he glanced around and noticed he was surrounded. He tightened the arm he had around her and Becker saw Jess's hands move to try and pry it away, her face pale as she struggled to breathe in the vice-like grip her captor had her in. As Patrick looked around again, Becker saw his chance and took it, hoping it wouldn't be one he would later regret.

"Shit! You bastard! You cut me!"

Having watched Becker move out of the corner of her eye, Jess was prepared when the Captain darted forward, the sword in his hand glinting as he used it against Patrick. She took full advantage of Patrick's distraction as the blade cut easily through the material of his shirt and sliced the skin beneath it, blood instantly welling up to soak through the material as he loosened his hold on her.

Slipping out from his grasp, Jess darted towards Becker and found herself tucked against his side in an instant, the arm not holding the sword out warningly in Patrick's direction wrapping her waist and drawing her close.

"Lower your weapon." The demand came from one of the knights around them, who began to move closer as Patrick clutched at his wounded arm.

Becker backed away, giving Jess no option but to move with him, and waited until the knights had moved in to circle Patrick before letting his sword arm drop so he could turn to face her. For several moments, he stared at her intently, his eyes darker than she could remember seeing. As Jess struggled to find the right words, wanting to ask him what he was doing there and how he'd found her, he seemingly found what he was looking for in her eyes and lifted his hand from her waist to cup her face as he closed the gap between them and kissed her.

He kissed her.

It took a few seconds for her to catch up but as soon as she did, Jess kissed him back wholeheartedly, forgetting entirely about their audience. She lifted her arms, one hand clutching at the material of his shirt while the other moved to rest at the back of his neck. She heard a metallic thud and realised a little belatedly that the sound was caused by Becker dropping his sword as his other arm encircled her waist, pressing her closer to him.

They parted only when someone cleared their throat – and Mary giggled – but still didn't let each other go. Becker let his forehead rest against hers as he caught his breath, his hands dropping to rest on her hips as Jess let her own lay against his chest.

"You came for me," was all Jess could say, her voice catching as Becker pulled back just enough to look at her.

"I'll always come for you." His eyes locked with hers, serious and soft.

"But it's against the rules - your rules!" The more she thought about it, the more her heart began to race. She knew they'd been getting closer in recent weeks but for him to willingly go through an anomaly after her, when he'd all but forbidden everyone else on the field teams to do such a thing…

"Some rules are worth breaking," Becker answered quietly. "Some people are worth breaking them for." Before she could respond, his gaze dropped to her throat. His eyes widened and then narrowed as he gently crooked a finger under her chin, using it to tilt her head back. "You're bleeding, and you're hurt."

It took her a second to figure out why, remembering the sting Patrick's blade left in its wake as he'd held against her skin as well as the back-hander she'd taken when she'd stepped between him and Mary as though both incidents had happened to someone else. "It's just a little cut," she protested even as he inspected it closely. "Really, it's nothing."

"Here." The voice caught them both by surprise as it was so close. Putting a little more distance between them, they both turned to stare at Mary – Princess Mary, Jess corrected herself, feeling a little light-headed as she allowed herself to believe she was in the presence of royalty. "You may use this to stem the bleeding. I will have the court physician attend to you once we have returned to the palace."

"Oh, we're not…" Jess began to protest even as Becker took the cloth handkerchief Mary held out for him, though where she'd procured it from, Jess wasn't sure. "We won't be going back to the… the palace. Thank you, though, Your Highness."

"I insist." The Princess squared her shoulders. "I will make it an order if I must, Jessica."

Trying to catch Becker's gaze, Jess sighed when the man seemed more intent on seeing to her injury than helping her refuse royalty. "We should really go straight home…"

"We can't." Finally looking up, his hand tightening around the blood stained handkerchief, Becker met Jess's curious gaze. "We have no home to go back to, Jessica."

Her mouth opened to ask what he meant, closing again as realisation that the anomaly must have closed, trapping them there, dawned on her. "Oh."

"Then you must ride back with us. I will see to it that you and your betrothed are amply compensated for any loss you have suffered at this tyrant's hands."

Too stunned by Mary's words to argue, Jess watched as the Princess was led away by one of the armoured men around them. She allowed Becker to take her arm and lead her over to the horses, glancing at him only to see a slight redness in his cheeks.

"Just go with it," he urged her quietly. "I'll explain later."

Jess gave him a small nod to show she understood, and let him help her up onto the horse. Her breath caught when he swung into the saddle behind her, his chest pressed against her back as he reached around her to take hold of the reins.

With nothing else to do but sit back and enjoy the ride, Jess forced herself to do just that.

:) Thank you, as always, for the reviews and support xx