Boss's Daughter
Extreme Apologies to everyone who has been waiting for an update. Disaster struck in the Potts Household, and we were sent back to the dark ages before internet was widely available!
I hope you enjoy it...
"I love you Becker."
Jess had just confessed her love and he knew, no matter what, he was not allowed, by himself, his conscience, his boss.
He was NOT allowed to return it.
He would just end up breaking her heart.
She noted Becker's warm smile as he opened the door wide.
"Hey, long time no see..." Becker grinned. "Come in..."
Jess noted the woman who stood on the doorstep. She had long dark hair, and was tanned, more than Becker. She was dressed in Army fatigues, and had a holdall by her feet.
She hugged Becker warmly.
"Mmmmmm, So good to be back home."
Jess saw the woman wrap her arms around him; she looked away as she heard the young woman moan with pleasure.
Had they just kissed?
Becker watched as Jess clambered into a taxi and disappeared. Resigned and defeated he trudged back to his flat.
"Bertie you REALLY do choose your timings well!" Becker admonished.
"Why? What have I done now?" she turned to look at Becker as he came in.
"Remember that FCO I was talking to you about?" Becker gazed across to his sister.
"Yeah..."
"That was her running out!"
"Were you in the middle of something then?" Bertie's face fell; she was horrified that she'd spoiled her younger brother's date.
"Not quite what you're thinking, but we WERE in the middle of quite an intense discussion." Becker sighed; he wished that Jess hadn't run out. He would have loved to introduce Bertie to her.
"Sorry Hilary." She winced. "I'll try and ..."
"Don't call me that!" Becker shouted. "You know how much I hate being called that!"
"Don't be like that! I have always thought that it's sweet how you were named after great-grandma."
"It's alright for you being the eldest you were named after great-granddad. At least Alberta isn't so bad. I got stuck being named after great-grandma!" Becker grumbled.
"Can I call you Captain then?" Bertie smiled, she had missed having family to talk to.
"Course you can... How was Afghanistan then?"
"Oh... the less we talk about that the better...! Those Afghans are just SOOOOO Narrow Minded when it comes to women doing various jobs!" Bertie griped.
"Look, why don't you grab a shower first, and then you can have something to eat, while you tell me about it. There's some liver left over, fancy any?"
"No thanks, you know how I feel about liver!" Bertie grimaced, surely he hadn't just fed his date Liver!
"What is it about liver that everyone hates?" Becker shook his head in amazement.
Jess paid the taxi driver and ran up to her flat. She entered the flat, tears still streaming down her face.
Abby and Connor had just finished eating themselves and Matt had taken Emily back home. They were just about to retire themselves, when they heard the front door and then Jess' clattering shoes.
Abby looked at Connor quizzically, something was wrong. Jess never behaved like this. Abby knocked on Jess's bedroom door.
"Jess, it's me Abby, can I come in?" She heard Jess sniff from behind the door.
"No," came the sobbed reply.
"Are you okay Jess?" Abby waited for a reply, and then the door opened slightly. "Can I come in?" Abby asked again.
"Yes," Jess squeaked.
Abby lightly pushed the door open. She saw Jess's tear stained face.
"Oh... Jess what's wrong?" Abby detected the torn photograph on the floor. It was one that was taken at the ARC just before Connor and Abby had come back from the Cretaceous. One of Jess and a certain soldier. One that she kept tucked into her vanity mirror.
"Let me guess... Becker?" she asked tentatively. Jess nodded.
"Come here..." Abby heaved a sigh and pulled Jess in for a hug. Jess sobbed against her shoulder. "What's he done now?"
Jess explained to Abby how he had taken her to his flat, fed her and told her about his girlfriend. How she had turned up on his doorstep. How he'd welcomed her with open arms. Abby shook her head in disbelief. How could Becker be so callous?
Surely he knew how Jess felt about him? She sighed again. The man was hopeless. She had seen the way he had carried Jess through the ARC when she was suffering Anaphylactic shock, the way he had tried to search for adrenaline before it was safe to go out. How he had administered the injection himself and waited for her to come round before he had disappeared.
"I know what will make you feel better, Chocolate! There's some in one of the kitchen cupboards." Abby coaxed Jess to come out and then left her to eat it on the sofa with a Sci-fi DVD playing.
The following morning Becker went in search of Jess, instead he saw Connor sitting at the controls of Jess' beloved ADD.
"Where's Jess?" He asked nonchalantly. Connor glared at him.
"She's not coming in! She's not well!" Connor growled. Becker was taken aback by Connor's reaction to him. He raised a questioning eyebrow.
"If you're not going to make a move on her, tell her! Just don't invite your girlfriend round and snog her on the doorstep!" Connor shouted at him. Becker stepped back as he heard the anger in Connor's voice.
"You know full well what I mean! Going back to yesterday, you said you liked her, but because she's Lester's daughter didn't want to take it forward. If that's still the case... Tell HER!" Connor's hands fisted at his sides. He didn't want to see Jess hurt, she was like a sister to him, and he would do anything to protect her.
The door to Lester's office opened, and Abby stuck her head out. "Connor, got a minute?" She glanced at Becker briefly, showing no emotion at being happy at seeing him she disappeared back into Lester's office.
Connor scowled at Becker before disappearing into Lester's office.
Lester was back at his desk, looking better than he had previously. Was it only yesterday that Lester had become a future predator?
After chatting to Connor and Abby for a moment the door opened and Abby and Connor exited Lester's Office. Lester donned his expensive Italian suit jacket and exited after a few moments.
"I'll be back in an hour." He stated and after briefly glancing at Becker, left the office.
Lester got into his Jaguar and drove off; he stopped at a florist to buy some flowers and continued on his journey. After a short while he arrived outside Jess's flat. He knocked on the door and waited for a response from the young lady. Jess opened the door slightly, checked who was, and then opened the door fully. She didn't meet Lester's gaze but looked at the floor instead. Lester noticed Jess's puffy eyes, and the fact she would not look at him, her pose, as she stood with the door wide open, indicating that he should enter her flat.
Lester held up the mixed bouquet of white and yellow, long, stemmed roses in his hand.
"I hope you'll accept these as a token of thanks for helping me in my hour of need and also as an apology. Someone once told me that they should be white for forgiveness, and yellow for friendship." They recalled a memory of long ago when Jess had done some research into the meanings of various flowers. "I spoke to Caroline at length last night. She told me that she'd told you the truth about our relationship, and that you didn't take it too well?" with a brief smile Jess accepted the roses and without a word, took them to the kitchen.
This was not the reaction he was expecting from Jess, so he followed her.
"Jess, the real reason I came here was so that we could talk. I hope you'll give me an opportunity to explain myself."
"Please do explain yourself to me; I REALLY would like to understand why you did what you did?" Jess sounded bitter.
"Where would you like me to start?"
"Who was my birth mother?" Jess stated. She quickly put the flowers in water and then switched the kettle on.
Lester closed his eyes for a moment, deep in thought he fished for Jess's mother's name. "Juliet Brown, she was a fellow colleague at the time. I had just started my job at the home office in Whitehall and she was just a colleague. Caroline was pregnant with Andrew and I'd gone on a team building exercise with the rest of the office. There was a meal afterwards with drinks and I got carried away. I had noticed your mother, and had wanted to get to know her better. One thing led to another and I ended up going back to her room for the night." He paused.
"So you took advantage of her!" Jess admonished angrily.
"No... We took advantage of each other!" Lester clarified calmly. He continued. "A few months later she came to see me, she told me that she was pregnant and that she intended to keep the child. In this case you..." He sighed, "She told me that she didn't expect anything from me, and knowing that I was already married promised to stay out of my life. However, after giving birth to you she found out that she had aggressive breast cancer and that she needed me to look after you. Caroline didn't take this too well... Karen stepped in and agreed to adopt you..."
"So I was Conveniently Adopted by your sister Karen...!" Jess stated.
"Not at all... You have ALWAYS been loved. When Karen found out what was happening she spoke to Jonathon, and they decided between themselves, that they wanted you. Karen wanted you! She really DID want you! Karen and Jonathan had been trying to conceive for years, and you almost fell into their laps!"
"How about you? Did you ever want me?" Frustration began to show through in Jess's voice.
"Of course I wanted you, How could I not? From the very minute I held you in my arms for the first time; I was totally smitten by you. I had to give you up because...because ..." Lester struggled with his words. "Because keeping you would have meant a breakdown of my marriage. I wasn't prepared for that... I would have lost my own children. This way I could see you and see my own children." Lester sighed. It wasn't the best of explanations but he hoped that it would be enough.
"Oh, so you planned it this way so that you could have the best of both worlds?"
"No... That was not the way I wanted anything to happen! I did actually plan to put you up for adoption. The fact that Karen and Jonathan came along was just a coincidence." James explained. "I never planned for any of this... I'm Sorry."
"You knew for years! Why did you not say anything to me? Why did my own parents not say anything?" Jess stammered as she made Lester a cup of tea.
"After your adoption Karen and Jonathan moved to Australia. We kept in touch but it was mainly so that you could grow up away from me and Caroline. At the time Caroline, was struggling with Post-Natal Depression, seeing you made her worse. As time went on it everything was forgotten about, Caroline went back to work, Hannah, Andrew and you grew up and it became less important. Then telling you just didn't seem to matter anymore." Lester gazed into his cup of tea. Hoping that he could make things better. He really didn't want to lose Jess. Not only was she a huge part of his family she was also an essential part of his work force too. "You know, I watched you growing up, from a distance, and although I never voiced my opinion, I was always proud of your achievements...
Jess seemed to be placated and she moved to the sofa with her own cup of tea. Lester followed her.
"I hope that's not the reason you've been crying?" Lester questioned quietly.
Jess looked over to him and shook her head.
"Let me guess, a certain Head of Security at the ARC?" Lester cocked his head as he waited for an answer. Jess sniffed, and nodded in affirmation.
"Hmm, Caroline told me that she'd noticed certain closeness between the two of you," He harrumphed, "Even I'd noticed it." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Will you tell me what happened?"
Jess looked up at James, met his eyes, and for the first time in her life she was not looking at Uncle James, or James Lester her Boss. She was looking into the eyes of her father. Tears streamed down her face as she told James how she really felt about Becker, his convoluted reason for rejecting her. James got up and sat beside her, and putting a consoling arm around her urged her to continue. Jess told him that they had gone to his flat to talk. James made a mental note of various names; General Miller's was at the top, along with that of his daughter. Jess snivelled as she carried on talking. She told him how they had been interrupted by his girlfriend who had walked in making her feel out of place and not wanted. How she knew how Becker felt about her. The revelation sent a jolt to his heart, Becker together with his daughter! He gulped and shook the image from his mind, and took the moment in his stride.
"Jess I'm sure there's a logical explanation for all of this. You just need to clear it with Becker. He does like you. I've seen it with my own eyes." James placated. He understood that Jess needed the space and time away from the ARC to sort herself out. "Take a few days, and come back when you're ready." James got up to leave.
"What do I call you now?" Jess frowned as she looked up at him. "I don't even know what to call you anymore!" James paused, he had been ready for this but had not thought of the implications it would have on the rest of his family.
If he treated Jess like his daughter, where would that leave his sister and brother-in-law? How would his children feel? He had talked over with Caroline how she felt, but now there were so many other people to consider.
"Jess, no matter what happens; YOU will ALWAYS be my daughter! Nothing can ever change that.
Jess thought for a moment, pleased that he had finally admitted to her being his daughter. She was unsure of how she would fit into his family, she got on really well with Hannah and Andrew, how would they feel if they were told they had a sister? Caroline was beginning to accept Jess too! How did she deal with her own family? Jess loved Karen and Jonathan dearly; she could not see herself calling them anything but Mum and Dad.
Perhaps they should go back to before the bomb shell had been dropped. Before Lester had nearly lost his life, back to when Lester was just her boss and uncle.
"We should carry on as we were, I call you Uncle and I'm your niece, it's less complicated that way."
"Yeah maybe you're right, we'll assess our relationship in a few months time? OK?"
Happy with her decision Jess smiled as Lester left to go back to work.
Did any of you notice the name that I used... It's a mixture of two names... Can you tell me who they are?
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