So here you go :P Another chapter for you all

I have to say that I'm not sure about this one. This is how I wanted the plotline but I'm not sure that I wrote it right :/

Disclaimer applies.

I think the next chapter will be the last, I should be able to wrap it up from there. And if not then it will definitely be second to last, depending on how i decide to end it.

This chapter goes to an anonymous reviewer who I don't know the name of but wanted to give some recognition because all of their reviews make me happy ^.^

I also want to apologize profusely for ... well I can't say or it'll spoil it, but you'll find out ;)

Ready ... set ... READ!

Enjoy ^.^

Jess cried out as Darren flung her like a rag doll across the room. he landed on her back and before she could move, Darren was above her and stamping down on her stomach; Jess couldn't help it, she screamed, the pain was too intense to keep it bottled up, she had to let some of it out. Her scream was cut off suddenly as Darren grabbed her by the throat and drew her up the wall; her back scraping on the rough paint and Jess gasped, unable to breathe, black spots dancing in her vision. Darren slammed her head back into the wall and dropped her, the black dots and the pain both worsened; Jess tried to crawl away, nails scrabbling on the laminate floor, but Darren seized her ankle and dragged her back; he then took hold of her hair and pulled hard, snapping her neck back and making her dizzy

'Darren … please' she begged as he flipped her over and landed another kick to her fragile stomach. She felt as if she was going to be sick, tears were streaming from her eyes, and blood began to flow from her body as blow after blow rained down on her, parting her skin and tearing it with small cuts. She whimpered as another kick sent her flying, her back hit the sofa and Jess gave up, curling into a ball as small as possible and sobbing with terror as Darren continued venting his anger. Grabbing her hair again with one hand he pulled her up by it, until she was face to face with him, feet dangling helplessly off the floor. The pain in her skull was excruciating, she was amazed that he didn't pull all of her hair out. He shook her up and down and Jess sobbed in pain, trying to meet his cold, eyes, knowing that begging was the quickest way to get another punch. Instead of trying to speak, Jess looked at him, trying to tell him with her eyes how much she wanted it to stop, how much he was hurting her, how much she just wanted to die right then.

Darren raised his other fist and Jess flew back into the wall, her head smacking against the brickwork; she could taste blood in her mouth, she could feel it dripping down her neck, she could see trails of it, where she had been thrown, and the black dots were even more frequent.

Jess wanted nothing more in that moment than to fade into blackness and never wake up. She hoped that Darren would kill her, and then he would stop; or at least she wouldn't hurt any more. She hoped that someone would realise what was happening to her, she wanted Darren to be put away where he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else.

She wanted Becker. Who always made her feel safe and happy, who had come over before Darren had been about to hit her, and she had pushed him away, told him to go home and stop worrying. He hadn't looked happy about it, and contrary to her words, she wanted him to stay. But he had gone … unintentionally by his worrying about her, making Darren's mood worsen. But she didn't blame him. She wished he was here now, she wished he had stayed and protected her. She wanted him to hold her, she wanted to tell him how she felt about him, and that she was sorry.

Darren approached her once more; aimed another kick to her belly and then he grabbed her chin hard and looked into her eyes, he seemed to find something in them that he liked.

'Good' he said. Then he jerked her chin back, her skull crunched against the wall, and Jess slumped down, eyes closed.

Darren left after that. There was no point in him staying if she wasn't awake. Darren smirked, the thing he had seen in those tear filled blue orbs was defeat. Jess had been the strongest girl he had ever had, and he had broken her at last.

Whether she woke up tomorrow or not was inconsequential. He would call in sick for her, using clippings of her voice that he had managed to record which would give him at least a days head start. He would pack up and move on; to another city, to another girl, although he doubted there would be one stronger. Jess Parker had lasted for over a week under his treatment, they usually only survived for a few days at most.

She will never be the same again Darren thought happily as he drove home. If she lived of course; not many of them did after he had broken their spirit, and even if they did survive him … well, none were still alive today.

That was why Darren left them after they had been broken. It was no fun unless they had a will to live, and Darren knew that Jess's job was her life. And that she would be useless at it now, especially if she ever ended up in the field, she would have no sense of self preservation and be devoured by the first carnivorous asaurus she came to. Darren sighed as he turned his keys in the ignition and went to go and pack.

Oh yes he thought, smirking little Jess Parker won't survive the month.

Meanwhile, Captain Hilary Becker pummelled his pillow into another, unrecognisable shape. It was late, just gone 4 am but Becker couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about Jess, and that message in her eyes. He had gone over before, to check on her, knowing that his conscience wouldn't allow him to do anything else; she had answered the door and told him that she was fine and laughed at him to go home and stop worrying. She had said that she was busy and Darren had popped his face up in the background, near the sofa and grinned at him. Becker hadn't wanted to back off … he had a bad feeling about leaving her alone, but what could he have done? He reasoned with himself barged in there and interrupted their evening? Just because of a 'message' that he might have seen in her eyes? It sounded stupid, even to him, and he figured that Darren knew what was bothering her and he would give him until tomorrow to sort it out. If it wasn't … then Becker would sort it out for her; no matter what it was, he would force Jess to tell him. And he would do whatever it took to make her smile again.

Becker sighed and gave up trying to sleep. He got up, and went to stand on his balcony; he was high enough that he didn't have to worry about being shirtless outside and the night was pleasantly warm. Becker gazed up at the stars that he could barely see and thought of Jess. He worried that he should have stayed at hers, and confronted her about needing help; he knew that she was so much stronger than he often gave her credit for, that for every time she cowered behind a pillar from a creature or told him to stay warm for no apparent reason, there was another time where she would disarm a bomb, or direct them so they stayed out of danger, or shoot a three inch futuristic bug with precision accuracy despite that she was suffering an allergic reaction and thinking she was shooting a tiger. Or, of course, she would bounce back when something horrific happened, being forced to watch a young girl die and managing to reassure Becker that it hadn't been his fault, that he had done the best he could, and that he had also saved two other children.

But no matter how strong she was, from her usual choice of bold colours to her unfailing kindness, to her natural beauty or to her steadfast optimism that everything would work out fine, there was no way that Becker was going to let her handle whatever it was on her own. He knew also that it didn't matter what it was. Whether there had been a family tragedy, or her favourite shop had run out of shoes (although he doubted that shoes could cause someone such pain, you could never be sure with Jess) or even if she was pregnant (his blood boiled and his fists clenched at that thought) he would help her through it, and sort everything out for her. He didn't want to think of another scenario, one that may also be glaringly obvious; because if someone had deliberately hurt sweet, bright, happy Jessica Parker, then there was no place in this time or any other, that they could hide from his anger and his knowledge about the most excruciating torture methods possible. Becker knew twenty six different ways to cause severe pain using only his thumbs.

The thing was, around Jess, everything got twisted. Everything that he would usually do without question would be ignored if Jess gave him any indication to the contrary; despite all of his training, despite the fact that he had lost people before because of that precise reason. He liked to think that he learned from his mistakes and never repeated them, and for the most part, that was true; only, the thought of making Jess's night awkward had made him turn around, despite that his reasoning told him to ignore her discomfort and do what was better for her in the long run; if it had been anyone else …

He wished that Abby and Conner still lived with Jess. They were still house sitting (Connor had thrown a couple of geeks conventions that Abby had felt the need to share with him and unburden the embarrassment about her nerd of a fiancé) but they had been looking for their own place and had found a two bedroom flat that was near the ARC and perfect for them, so they were going to move out of Jess's as soon as the owners of the house were back.

Becker didn't like the idea of waiting until morning, he reasoned that technically it was morning, but Jess would still be asleep. He planned to confront her at the ARC as soon as she came in, so she couldn't run from him again. He'd give it two or three more hours, and then he'd head out. He went back to bed, staring at the ceiling, and somehow managed to drift into an uneasy sleep.

So what do you think? *Bites lip* as i say I'm really not sure if I'm happy with how it came out ... I wanted Beckers feelings about Jess in there and I wanted Darren giving Jess an uber beating ('cause I'm cruel and sadistic) and I wanted a touch of humour to increase squeeeing and I just wanted it all to kind of come together... I'm not sure I pulled it off... :/

Please let me know, any suggestions are welcome, if you don't like it then I can repost alterations but I KNOW how much you wanted Becker to bust down the door and be all heroic but that really didn't feel right to me. I wanted a chance to get in Darrens head a little bit and I couldn't have done that if Becker had followed his reasoning.

I also wanted to emphasise that Becker doesn't listen to himself when Jess is around, that he places her above him sort of thing, and that even causing her unhappiness for a minute is unbearable to him and that he doesn't want to feel as if he acts too harshly because of his feelings for Jess so no one will suspect ...

I really don't know if I got it all accross but I tried ...

So let me know please

Love you all

Love Tibbins xx