A/N: I really must say how pleased I am that everyone seems to like this silly, not-so-little story of mine. I'm very thankful that you've all given it a chance, despite the fact that there's no way it would have ever happened on our lovely show. :p

I know I said that the last chapter would be the final one before the show, but since this is technically partly pre-show prep, it doesn't really count. The music shall begin in the next installment. ;)

********** No Good Deed **********

The day of the show arrived, and everyone involved was a wreck. Tension in the ARC was palpable as nerves ran the day. Lester had given anyone involved with the show shortened shifts, but nobody wanted to go home and wait for time to pass. If they stopped working at all, they either had a nap in the break room or hung out with their friends in the canteen.

Abby and Connor were fighting practically on the hour, and about even sillier things than usual. Matt was doing everything he could to keep Emily calm, including bringing her tea every time he saw her. And every single person in the ARC was doing anything possible to keep out of Lester's way. No one outside of the company knew what he had to do with the show, but his temper was absolutely dangerous.

The calmest of the group was Jess, which shocked them all. She was worried about the performance, but was happier than she'd ever been. She and Becker had spent a fair bit of time together outside of work over the last couple days, under the pretense of staying late at work so that she'd have nothing to worry about on the day of the show. And while she hadn't been dishonest (she actually HAD stayed late to work, and DID have everything done ahead of time), she had bent the truth a bit about exactly how late she had stayed at work, and what she'd done afterward.

Jess had been terrified when she came to work the day before. She'd worried that Becker would withdraw from her after their amazing night decorating the canteen. That kiss had been at the forefront of her mind all night, and she had very much wanted another. To her great relief, he acted completely normal with her out in the open, even lingering near her chair a bit longer than usual and subtly touching her arm, shoulder, waist, etc, whenever he could. Then, when he'd caught her alone in the break room later that morning, he'd kissed her with just as much passion as he had the previous night, leaving her completely breathless and wanting more. She knew right then that they'd be fine.

He was currently walking towards her from the doorway. She had her back to him, but could tell his footsteps just from their sound. A chocolate bar slid onto the desk next to her, and she smiled demurely at him in thanks. "You ok?" Becker asked quietly.

"I'm great," she replied truthfully.

"Nervous?"

"A bit, but I can handle it."

"That I can believe." He smiled at her, and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "See you later," he said as he headed towards the arms closet. She smiled secretively to herself, and went back to work. She couldn't wait for the show. Becker had tried to pry some information out of her at his place the night before, but knowing that she wanted him to be surprised the way Emily did, he didn't press too hard when she refused to answer.

Jess breezed through the day's work, which made Abby even angrier. Jess was a major driving factor in this show: why was she so bloody calm? She actually voiced her question after a particularly violent anomaly incursion.

"I don't know why I'm not nervous, I'm just…not," was Jess' calm reply. Abby, meanwhile, had just taken out her nerves and anger on a 'poor' allosaurus that had been unfortunate enough to come through the latest anomaly. Becker had come back shaking his head and talking about never pissing Abby off again.

"Bollocks!" Abby shouted, causing everyone in Ops to turn in their direction.

"Abby…" Jess started.

"No! You don't get to brush me off! Something else is going on! There is no way that the Jess I know would be this relaxed today!"

"Abby, please…" Jess whispered, trying to keep herself together.

"What the hell is it, Jess? Pop a couple valium? Buy another 6 pairs of shoes? Or was it – "

"Miss Maitland!" Lester's voice boomed through the room, causing everyone to whirl the other way, including the arguing girls. "That is quite enough! My office, now!"

Abby grumbled the entire way up to his office. Lester glared at her until she entered, then turned to look at Jess. He then flicked his eyes in the direction of the break room. She nodded, shot him a grateful smile, and removed her earpiece. She motioned for another tech to take over, and hurried away from the hub.

Becker looked up from his gun as Jess entered the arms closet with a bang of the door. Seeing the distress on her face, he was at her side in less than two seconds. "What is it?"

She said nothing, but just buried her face in his chest and let him wrap his arms around her. He stroked her back and whispered softly to her. She focused on him to ease her mind: his warmth, his touch, his scent. She breathed slowly and steadily as he brushed the hair away from her face. He didn't push her to say anything; just let her relax in his arms as he kissed the top of her head.

After a few minutes of quiet, she felt calm enough to pull away. He looked deeply into her eyes, and read for himself that she was really ok now. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Abby's just frustrated that she's more nervous than me." That simple explanation helped him put 2 and 2 together and come up with what had happened. He nodded silently, and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. She pecked him softly on the lips. "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did." She smiled as she stroked his cheek before leaving quietly. He stared at the door for a moment after she'd gone, not fully understanding what had just happened. But as long as Jess was ok, that's all that mattered.

When Jess got back to the ADD, Abby was still in with Lester. Jess immediately averted her eyes and focused on the screens in front of her. She got straight down to work, finishing the online files about the latest anomaly as best she could. Once Matt, Becker and Abby submitted their reports, she could finish it. Twenty minutes later, she chanced a glance back at the office behind her to find it empty.

"She went for a walk." Jess whirled around again to see Lester standing by her side. "Miss Maitland needed to find an outlet for her anger that wasn't a person. Or an allosaurus for that matter."

Jess couldn't help but giggle at that. "You know it's just because she's stressed about later today, right?"

"I do, but I will not allow her to abuse my staff in any way. The reason for it is irrelevant." She nodded, and he went on his way.

Three hours later, Jess still hadn't seen Abby. She'd texted both Becker and Connor to see if they'd heard from her, but there had been nothing from the blonde since her explosion. Jess knew that there was only one hour left before they had to start getting ready for the show, so she called over her back-up again, and headed for the door. She was determined to find her friend and figure this out.

She got as far as the carpark and stopped short. Abby was sitting in Becker's car, tears streaming down her face. Jess walked over, opened the passenger door and climbed in. They sat in silence together for a few minutes, but Jess would wait as long as it took.

"I'm sorry," Abby eventually said. "You didn't deserve that." Jess turned to look at her, but Abby still stared straight ahead.

"You're stressed," Jess stated simply. "It's understandable, given the circumstances."

"It's not just the show," Abby admitted. Jess looked at her curiously, and waited again. Abby finally returned her gaze. "I'm off my rocker lately."

"Abby, is everything ok?"

"It is. It really is, but it's just a lot to deal with at the moment." Jess nodded in understanding, thoughts flying through her head over what this could be about. Her mind finally hit on something concrete, but she wouldn't bring it up in case she was actually right. It didn't seem like the time, and she was sure Abby would tell her when she was ready. "I really am sorry that I took it out on you," Abby continued.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jess asked, echoing Becker's earlier question for her.

"I will, I'm just not ready to yet."

"Ok." Jess decided that she couldn't sit still anymore. She reached out and placed her hand on Abby's arm. "You know I'm here for you whenever you're ready, if you want to talk to me about it, right?"

"I do." Abby sent her a sad smile. "Thanks Jess."

Jess reached over with her other arm, and drew her dear friend into a hug. "Anytime." She smiled at her when she pulled away. "Now come on, we have a show to put on." Abby smiled a bit wider, and got out of the car to walk with Jess back into the ARC.

The girls walked straight into the lab adjacent to the canteen. Connor and Emily were already inside with a few others. Abby gave Jess' arm a squeeze and walked over to hug her fiancé. Connor shot Jess a kind smile over Abby's head, and she returned it fully. It was only then that the nervous chatter began in the room. People came and went to ask final questions while makeup and costumes were applied.

"Damn!" Jess shouted, a split second before her makeup sponge touched her cheek.

"What is it?" Connor asked.

"I left the most important accessory in my locker!" Jess dropped her sponge, rose to her feet and started for the door.

"No!" Emily yelled. Everyone turned to look at her, and she pointed to Jess' torso. "You can't go out like that! Everyone will know…"

Everyone was silent for a second, until Abby sprang into action. She yanked her t-shirt over Jess' head, and draped her scarf around her neck. She then grabbed a lab coat hanging by the door, and buttoned it up around Jess' ensemble. She fluffed her hair to cover her shoulders and neck a bit more, and then nodded in approval. Jess looked to Emily, who echoed Abby's action. Jess then felt safe to leave the room, closing the door quickly behind her.

She was so intent on what she had to get, that she didn't even look at where she was going or who she was passing. When she got to the locker room, she moved quickly towards her locker, but stopped short a few feet away from it.

Attached to the front of her locker was a pair of beautiful roses (one red, one different shades of red and pink), attached to a note with a blue ribbon. She smiled shyly as she moved closer. Jess carefully took down the roses and sniffed them, grinning as the scent hit her nose. Clutching the roses in her fingertips, she opened the note.

'Even though I have no idea what you're doing for tonight's show, I know you'll be amazing. – H'

Jess' smile widened even more. She knew he'd be there in the audience, but this was completely unexpected. She bit her lip and studied the lovely petals of the flowers in her hand. Reluctantly, she carefully set the roses on the shelf in her locker, and grabbed the bag at the bottom. Jess was all smiles as she and her best accessory headed back to the lab.