So here we are ... at last. The final chapter! I'm sad :( all of you guys have been absolutely fantastic :D and i'm really going to miss you ... unless you want to check out my other stories of course ;)

I know I haven't updated in ages, because I hate saying goodbye :'(

This one is dedicated to everyone reading this, but especially to Aramantha and ellie199620 for your lovely reviews :D

[insert disclaimer here]

Please enjoy :D

Becker began to doze a few hours later. He tried to stay awake but he hadn't slept now for two night straight. Even so, he begrudged himself the rest. He shouldn't leave Jess unprotected.

'You go to sleep mate, I'll make sure she's ok' Connor's voice came from behind the laptop. He was right. Connor was here, he'd protect Jess until Becker woke up. He reminded himself that just because he had realised (finally) that Jess Parker was the one thing that he valued above his guns, didn't mean that he was the only one who cared about her. So Becker let his head fall back, and closed his eyes.

Connor shook his head at the sleeping soldier. He was amazed that he hadn't given out before this, not many men could last for that long without sleep. But then again, if it had been Abby, and that was him; then he doubted he could have slept much either. He tapped a few keys, bringing up the CCTV screens on either side of Darren's street. Unfortunately, there was no way to tell if he was in his house. But if he left any time soon, or came back, they'd know. He glanced at Jess's pale face

'Wish you were here Jess.' He said 'Action Man is going to keep me watching until we spot him' he sighed 'which might never happen' he patted her hand sympathetically 'I'm sorry Jess, but we can't guarantee justice.' He then lost himself in the technology of the virtual world, in which there were no feelings; just a job to do.

He understood Becker's anger, and his need to protect Jess. To be perfectly honest he was annoyed at how long it had taken him … not that he could really talk. He loved Abby; loved her so much that it had hurt him to see her so worried about their friend. That had probably hurt him even more than seeing Jess like this, but it had taken him three years to admit it.

Connor watched over her as he had promised he would. The thought of slacking in this duty hadn't occurred to him. If Becker didn't get him, then Abby would. He amused himself for a while, trying to decide which of the two he was most afraid of … Becker was the most likely to cause him physical harm, but Abby was just as dangerous in her own way, she didn't need a gun to scare him.

Becker had woken repeatedly throughout the night, to check that Jess was still breathing and that Connor was still watching. But now it was morning and Becker could be awake without drawing concern. There had been no news of Darren yet. Becker didn't want to admit it, but he was a practical man and he knew that it was very likely that Darren had run for it the night he had put Jess into this state. Becker clasped her hand gently; tracing the small scars that had formed from (he assumed) crawling through the broken glass in a bid to escape. The thought of Darren getting away with this was torturous to him; but realistically, he would be long gone by know. Working with them long enough to know each one of their characters and how they would be more concerned with Jess' life than the culprit. Knowing that he had probably hoped he had killed her because if anyone could track him down, it was the motionless woman before him. Becker had though of that, the logic, Jess could track anyone; she always had ways that were known only to her to help them find what they were looking for. Between her and Connor, they would find him. But then again, Becker thought as he squeezed her hand slightly. It was very likely that Jess wouldn't want to find him. Even asking her to look for the man who had hurt her so badly would be difficult for her. She would be conflicted between her desire to help and her hope to move on. Becker wasn't about to put her in that position. So it was up to Connor. He glanced at the young lab tech, he was snoring lightly. He supposed it was unrealistic to expect Connor to watch that screen around the clock. But it had been patched through to the ARC so one of the staff there could monitor it. He knew that Lester would have someone on the job. Despite appearances, Lester cared about his team, and about Jess in particular. She was just so sweet and innocent that despite her training and extensive experience, she was easy to view as a civillian and it was hard not to overlook her inner strength.

Jess stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake up. Becker smiled gently as she unconsciously squeezed his hand. Becker squeezed back and sat up straighter, hoping that this time, she would wake.

'Jess?' he questioned softly, not wanting to force her out of sleep, he full on grinned as her eyelids fluttered

'Becker?' she murmured hoarsely, opening her shining blue eyes that were clouded with sedative and inner pain 'is that you?'

'Hey sleepy head, how do you feel?'

'Ok' she said drowsily 'I can't really feel much of anything yet'

'Give it time' he said gently as he spoke from experience 'you'll feel like hell in a few hours'

Jess sighed, 'I'm glad you're here Becker' she said simply. A rush of emotion coursed through him at that moment, looking at her there, her face open, allowing all of her feelings to play across her features. He just had to tell her

'I love you Jess' he blurted, then he looked down, feeling like a fool

Jess' eyes widened in shock, but it wasn't the bad shock of a horror movie, this was the shock of the beauty of the first firework at a show, the happy surprise of a double rainbow, the squeal worthy delight of a 65% discount on those shoes she'd had her eye on for weeks.

'I love you too' she replied, a delicate pink blush creeping up her neck. It was hardly a romantic speech, but it was very Becker, and she liked his simplicity. As Becker met her eyes once more, she saw the sincerity and intensity of his gaze, she saw the sleepless nights while she had been unconscious and she saw him watching over her; her very own guardian angel.

Becker leaned in closer, and their lips touched.

XXX

Darren pulled over, overcome with that feeling of forgetting something; he systematically searched all of his bags and cursed, shit. He ran a hand over his face and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, conflicted. Even now he kept checking the rear view mirror. Running away was the worst part of everything. He may have killed Jess or he may not. That was inconsequential, what worried him was that this was the biggest job he'd ever done. He was used to ordinary women with ordinary jobs and ordinary friends who would take ordinary channels in an attempt to find him. Jess on the other hand, was in the possession of the entire ARC resources, which was able to track pretty much anyone. But if she had died, then no one else in the ARC was as capable as Miss Parker at manipulating it to find what she was looking for. But Connor was still handy with a computer, and even if he lacked the initiative to track him down, Becker didn't. Darren growled in the back of his throat, he hated how close that team were. He knew that together, even without Jess, they would find him. Connor would surely be monitoring his street by now. But he could sneak in the back, and it would probably be worse for him if they found his catalogue. He cursed himself again, why hadn't he checked for it before he left? He had brought everything else, why not that? Probably because he'd been adding to it before he left. He sighed, and pulled the car into a U turn. He needed that catalogue; it was worth the risk to get it back.

XXX

'Becker! Quick!' Connor Temple leapt up from the plastic chair. Becker was by his side instantly

'Darren?' he said softly, glancing towards Jess, who was sleeping again. She was healing on the outside. But Becker still noticed times where her hands would shake and her eyes would fill with fear if a new doctor came in to check her vitals or whatever doctors did.

Connor nodded. Face grim

'He's headed back to his house.' He said, Becker's hand flexed towards the gun at his waist. 'Are you sure you want to do this?' Connor asked, looking Becker straight in the eyes. 'Because once it's done, it can't be undone.' He had to know that Becker would stay in control, and not end up killing the guy. Connor knew how badly he wanted to. He would bet that he wanted it even more than Connor did

'Killing him won't take all of Jess's hurt away' he warned. Becker nodded,

'Are you coming?' Connor inclined his head and shut his laptop, they knew the way from here 'We have to stop by the ARC on the way, to pick up an EMD' Connor looked sideways up at him cautiously

'But you have a gun' he pointed out. Becker glanced down to meet the young scientist's eyes and grinned darkly

'This is in case our lives are in danger … the EMD is just for fun.' Connor gulped as he trailed behind Becker, reminding himself to NEVER anger Action Man. Becker's smile softened slightly.

'It would hurt Jess if I killed him' he said, Connor's heart lightened, and a mutual understanding passed between them. If Becker caused Jess any pain (even indirectly) he would never forgive himself.

'In that case' Connor said, his eyes glittering dangerously 'can we grab two?'

Becker laughed and flung an arm around Connors shoulder as they headed down the sterile corridor, ready to lie in wait.

So there it is. I thought it'd be best to leave it there. This way you can imagine what Becker does to Darren without killing him ... and I wanted to make it clear that Becker DOESN'T kill him ... he just isn't a murderer.

I hope it was as good as you hoped for and I hope you liked it :D please let me know, any comments welcome ^.^

Thank you everyone for all of your support with this story. I'm sad to see it go. :(

Feel free to check out my other stuff ;)

I love you all

Love Tibbins xx