Bit of ARC action for you...

She spent hours searching through records and archives, and just as she was about the give up, Sarah found the information she'd been looking for.

Excited at the discovery, she printed out the pages and hurried towards Lester's office. She kept shuffling through the papers, a smile on her face, as her once and future boss summoned the members of the core team to his office so they could all hear what she had to say together.

Danny arched an eyebrow in question as he moved to sit in the chair beside her. Sarah could only smile at him in response, and reached out to take the hand he offered her, giving it a quick squeeze. Her smile widened when he lifted their joined hands to his lips, pressing a kiss against her knuckles as Lester pretended to look elsewhere and the rest of the team filed in.

"What have you found?" Matt asked without ceremony, leaning against the far wall of Lester's office.

"Becker's alive," Sarah answered, spreading the print outs in front of her on Lester's desk. "Or he was, in 1502. He was knighted by King Henry VII on the 28th May 1502. Detailed records of that time are few and far between but I found a mention of him in one of the archives I used while working at the museum."

"Action Man's a knight now?" Connor grinned at the discovery. "Cool!"

"Yes, yes." Lester rolled his eyes, a touch of derision that was mostly for show in his voice. "Good for Sir Becker. Now, is there any mention in those archives of Jess? Did he find her?"

Sarah grinned and shuffled through the pages until she found the one she was looking for, brandishing it with a flourish before holding it out for Lester. "If you're referring to Lady Jessica Becker, then yes. He found her, and so did I."

"Lady Becker?" Abby's eyes widened even as a gleeful smile played on her lips. "As in they...?"

"I found their names in the marriage records of that time. They were married on the 15th April 1502, before he was knighted." Sarah intercepted the knowing smirk exchanged between Abby and Emily and smiled again. "It means he found her and wherever they are, at least we know they're together."

As the females in the room shared a happy look, and even Lester appeared pleased, the grin slid from Danny's face and leaned forward in his seat. "What about Patrick? Did you find anything...?"

Sarah hesitated; she hadn't planned on sharing that discovery with the group as a whole. Biting her lip, aware of the expectant gazes of the others in the room weighing on her heavily, she focused solely on Danny. "I found a record of someone who might have been Patrick," she answered softly. "I can't say for certain, Danny, there's no mention of a name, just a description..."

"Tell me." His voice was quiet but firm. "Please, Sarah."

Turning fully in her chair to face him, Sarah kept her eyes fixed on Danny as she spoke. "A man was executed a few days before Becker and Jess got married. He was charged with treason, after trying to kidnap the daughter of the King and Queen, along with another woman, but the name was either never recorded or has been lost over the years. It might not be him, Danny. It could be a coincidence."

"It's him." Grief lined Danny's face and all of a sudden he seemed so much older. Still, he tried to smile for her sake. "At least now I know and can stop looking."

"I'm sorry, Danny." Forgetting about the others, Sarah moved to crouch beside his seat, taking one of his hands in both of hers. "I am so, so sorry."

Lifting his free hand to her cheek, Danny attempted a second smile, one that was a little more convincing. "At least I've still got you."

"You'll always have me." That was a promise she fully intended to keep.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Lester cleared his throat and broke the moment. "My condolences for your loss, Quinn." Sounding surprisingly sincere, Lester waited until the former team leader had composed himself before continuing. "If you could continue your research, Doctor Page, and see if you can find out what happened to Jess and Becker, the rest of you can continue with your duties as normal." He gave the current team a stern glare when it looked like they were about to protest. "There is nothing more we can do. It's up to them now."

From his place beside Abby, Connor nudged his fiancé with his elbow and gave her a reassuring grin. "They'll be okay, Abs. At least we know they're alive and away from dinosaurs. And Becker won't let anything happen to Jess."

"Nor will Jess let anything happen to Becker," Emily added confidently. "They will return home as soon as they are able. Everyone else did."

Abby and Matt exchanged a look. For their partner's sakes, they forced a smile in an agreement but neither were quite as convinced.

Though there were some aspects of her new life that Jess thoroughly relished, there were many aspects of her old life she desperately missed and was certain Becker did, too. She could sum up the things she loved in one word, actually, and that word was 'Becker'.

Getting to wake up with him beside her every morning, and go to sleep with him every night, being free to spend time with him and get to know him and be able to show how she felt without worrying about what anyone would think or say... That was a brilliant element of her new life, a truly brilliant experience she wouldn't trade for anything.

She missed her old life, though. She missed her family and friends. She missed the ARC. She even missed the dinosaurs (the nice ones at least) and the adrenaline-inducing anomaly alerts that kept her on her toes. She missed being able to do something that made her feel useful, missed being able to watch over and guide her teams and help them make it home safely.

And she knew Becker felt the same way. He worried about his friends and teammates, about his men. He worried about his family, too, particularly his mother, who he'd told her had never approved of his decision to join the Army and would be distraught when Lester broke the news to her that her son was MIA.

She'd done her best to comfort him but the truth was she not only shared his guilt but blamed herself for it, too. If it hadn't been for her, Becker would never have gone through the anomaly. He wouldn't have gotten himself stranded in the past, hundreds of years before his parents were born. He would be safe at home, in the right time, able to do the job he loved and excelled at, with his family and his friends all within reach.

All except her, but sometimes Jess wondered if that was a trade he would be willing to make.

Oh, she knew he loved her – he'd told her, more than once, during the months they'd spent in the past, and he had no qualms about showing it, either. Not in the fifteenth century, away from the prying and all too knowing eyes of those just waiting for one of them to make a move.

But sometimes, when he tossed and turned restlessly in bed beside her, murmuring things and names, Jess wondered if he'd really thought his decision through. Yes, he'd saved her and yes, they were together but at what cost? What if they never made it home again? What if they did only to find everything was different? What if they made it back and there'd been an incident at the ARC and some if not all of their teammates and friends were dead? Becker would never forgive himself for not being around the protect them and Jess would never forgive herself for being the reason for his guilt.

She did her best to push those fears from her mind, knowing they weren't going to do her or Becker any good. She had a job to do, and while it was extremely different to the one she'd loved and lost, Jess was still a perfectionist at heart and prided herself on doing her best.

Even if her best was sewing up a tear in one of Mary's gowns before it was discovered by her mother. At the thought of the princess, Jess smiled fondly. The young girl, though royalty, was still a child at heart and loved nothing more than playing with her siblings, even some of their exploits got her in trouble with her parents on occasion.

Her role as Lady-in-Waiting to the young Princess was rewarding, but in a very different way to her role as Field Co-ordinator at the ARC. She enjoyed being around the girl who didn't let her position influence her character, enjoyed the moments where Mary was able to be just a little girl and the even rarer moments in which the Queen was able to let her guard down and just be a doting mother to her children. Jess felt privileged to be able to witness such moments, knowing it was a historian's dream to be able to be a fly on the wall in such a prominent household.

If and when she ever made it back to the present time, Jess promised herself she'd study her history and research the family she'd begun to fall in love with. Sometimes, she even toyed with the idea of writing a diary chronicling her experiences with them, maybe finding a way to publish it anonymously...

Shaking her head at her own musings, she told herself sternly that she was getting far too carried away. For one, there was no guarantee she'd ever make it back to her rightful time and, for another, she was no writer and even if she had been, the chances of anyone taking her musings seriously or even being slightly interested in them without knowing how she'd come to be in possession of such information...

"Lady Becker! Lady Becker, come quickly!" Red faced and panting, Margaret, who Jess now knew to be an unmarried Maid-of-Honour serving Queen Elizabeth, leaned heavily against the doorway of the room, a hand pressed against her heaving chest. "You must come!"

Setting the dress she was mending aside and getting to her feet, Jess bit back a curse as her shoes got tangled in the under-layer of her skirts. "What is it? Is it Princess Mary? Has something happened?"

"No, my Lady. It is your husband. The Queen bids that you come quickly!"

Margaret fled from the room, giving Jess no choice but to follow. Her heart rose in her throat, fear causing it to race unsteadily as she raced through the hallways of the palace after the older woman who could run surprisingly fast for a woman of her age. Margaret did have an advantage, Jess thought in frustration as she almost tripped over her skirts, in that she was used to being surrounded by so much material whereas Jess certainly was not.

Despite the twists and turns and multitude of hallways and narrow passageways she was led down, Jess realised where she was being led and felt a wave of dread so strong her legs suddenly felt weak beneath her.

The physicians rooms. They were heading to the physician's rooms, which meant Becker...

"Lady Becker." Sir Lawrence stood outside of the wooden door leading into the rooms in question, stopping the women in their tracks. As Margaret attempted to catch her breath, Jess stood staring at him, hating the grave expression on his face. "It is with regret that I must inform you..."

"What happened?" Her voice breaking, her eyes stinging, Jess looked from him to the closed door. "Is he...?"

"He lives," Sir Lawrence assured her, laying a heavy hand on her shoulder as he advanced. "We were ambushed as we rode through town. A disgruntled peasant thought to attack the King. Sir Hilary intervened."

"At what cost?" Jess demanded, entirely unsurprised that Becker would act to defend the king. All of the knights would but Becker took his role as protector seriously – he wouldn't have been there in the first place if he didn't. "Tell me, Lawrence. How is he?"

"I am unsure." Bowing his head, the older knight couldn't hold her gaze. "There was much blood, Lady Becker. You must prepare yourself..."

The door opened, its hinges creaking. The Queen appeared, pale-faced and shaken, and held out a hand for Jess, eyes full of sympathy that made the younger woman flinch.

"Come, Jessica," Queen Elizabeth commanded, taking Jess's arm when she could only stand and pray her legs would continue to support her waist. "Your husband needs you now."

... I'm a little bit mean, aren't I? ;)