A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed! A special shout out to I-Can-Spell-Confusion-With-A-K, marinawings, and Esmerelda Diana Parker, who have all reviewed every chapter so far- thank you! Your feedback means so much to me.

Also, to my lovely, and grammatically gifted, sister, who has been acting as my beta since chapter three: thank you! Without you, I doubt these last few chapters would ever have gotten finished.

Chapter Four- For the Best

Becker watched as Jess parked her small car next to his truck at the bottom of the entrance ramp and hopped cheerfully out to greet Matt while Connor and Abby climbed out of the backseat. Matt briefed them on the situation as Becker slowly walked back to the vehicles while trying to decide how to handle the situation.

"Right," Connor announced, opening the trunk of Jess' car with a flourish, "one locking device, as promised. Where do you want it set up?"

"Over there," Matt answered, indicating a spot halfway between the anomaly and their cars. "Will that do?"

"Yup," Connor answered as he started pulling equipment out. "Help me set it up?"

Matt nodded and joined Connor and Abby at the back of Jess' car, noting with some surprise the amount of equipment crammed into the tiny space.

"You keep an anomaly locking device in your car?" he asked Jess curiously.

"It's Connor's," Abby explained with a small smile, grabbing a smaller case. "He never goes anywhere without one. Honestly, I'm just glad he hasn't taken to showering with one," she teased.

"Yes, well, useful now, isn't it?" Connor shot back with a wink.

Becker rolled his eyes at their flirtatious banter and waited for the group to disappear around his truck before turning his attention to Jess who was peering curiously into the bed of his truck at the arsenal concealed within.

"Do you think you have enough guns in here, Becker?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

"Jess," he greeted her stiffly, stepping towards her, "what are you doing here?"

He saw her smile falter slightly at the coolness of his tone, but he did not back down.

"Abby and Connor rode to work with me this morning. We were on our way to get dinner when they got the call about the anomaly, so I had to bring them here," she explained. "Also, I need to-"

"Fine," he said, cutting her off. "Then you should get back to the ARC and take over coordinating things from there."

"Well, sure, but first I need to-"

"No 'buts,' Jess," Becker snapped impatiently, immediately regretting his harsh tone when she flinched, but he refused to allow himself to be distracted. Seeing Jess this close to an anomaly was causing him to panic, bringing back a rush of memories of all the people he had failed to protect in the past. It was a scenario that had played out in his nightmares dozens of times over but that he had never expected to encounter in reality. "You should leave. Now."

"Becker, is everything okay?" She asked in a low voice, stepping towards him, her eyes full of concern.

He took a step back, distancing himself from her, and glanced at his watch, avoiding her question. "Where the hell is back up?" he demanded under his breath.

"What's in the crates?" He heard Connor call curiously. Turning, he saw Connor wandering away from his equipment to inspect one of the crates in question.

"Do not touch those, Connor!" Becker yelled threateningly, causing Connor to freeze in his tracks.

"Explosives," Matt explained. "And Becker's right: no touching."

"Yup, definitely not touching," Connor said, holding up his hands and backing away from the crates, hastily retreating back to Abby who handed him his laptop and patted the crate next to her, inviting him to sit.

"How long until backup gets here?" Matt called to Becker as he helped set up the locking device.

Becker gritted his teeth in frustration and was preparing to unleash some of his anger on Matt when Jess piped up.

"That's what I was trying to tell you!" she interjected nervously before Becker had a chance to start yelling again, holding up her mobile. "I spoke with the relief field coordinator on the way here. She tried to call you, but there isn't any service down here. There was a car accident not far from the ARC and the security team is stuck in traffic. It might be a while before they can get here. Wait, here-"

She opened the small case she was holding and produced two ear pieces and two black boxes, handing one of each to Becker. He grabbed the equipment gratefully, hooking the earpiece over his ear and snapping the black box onto his belt.

"All right, Jess," he said, softening his tone. "You delivered your message- you can go now."

"Look, so long as she's here, she may as well stay and help," Matt argued as he walked back to grab the last piece of equipment from Jess' car.

"Absolutely not," Becker said flatly, glaring dangerously at Matt. "She doesn't need to be here."

"Oh, no, I don't think I-" Jess stammered, glancing nervously toward the anomaly and then back at Becker. "I mean, I really shouldn't stay; I'm not supposed to be-"

"Not down here, Jess," Matt said patiently, plucking the second earpiece from her hand. "We need you and it'll take too long for you to get back to the ARC. You can monitor the CCTVs from the guard's station on the other side of the construction site and coordinate with the security team when they get here."

"Oh, sure, I could do that!" Jess said eagerly, clearly relieved that Matt was not suggesting she help with the actual anomaly. "I should have everything I need on my laptop."

"Excellent," Matt said, nodding to Becker before returning to Connor and Abby on the other side of the garage.

Jess retreated back to her car to retrieve her laptop, but Becker stepped toward her, tossing his EMD into the cab of his truck, and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him. Hidden from view in between their two vehicles, his face inches from hers, he lowered his voice so the others could not hear him.

"I don't care what Matt thinks, Jess, you should get out of here before something goes wrong." He hated the needy tone that colored his voice, but professionalism was the furthest thing from his mind at that moment.

"Becker, don't be silly, I'll be perfectly fine in the guard's station." Her smile did not quite reach her eyes as she reassured him and he knew she did not understand the reason for his anger at her presence.

He shook his head emphatically. He released her arm but did not step away from her, instead moving even closer to emphasize his height as he towered over her. Taking a deep breath, he took a moment to choose his next words carefully, already hating himself for what he was going to say.

"Jess, you aren't trained to be in the field. You shouldn't be anywhere near here. Get in your car and go back to the ARC now," he ordered. "I can't do my job properly if I'm worrying about a techie out where they don't belong. Your being here puts everyone else in danger. Leave."

It was cruel and mostly untrue. She tried to keep her face devoid of emotion, but her eyes betrayed to him how hurt she was at his words. The only thing he could think of was getting her as far away from the anomaly as possible. He sincerely regretted hurting her, the expression on her face cutting him even more deeply than his words had cut her, but knew it was for the best. The sooner she learned to stay away from him, the safer she would be.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, eyes downcast, refusing to meet his gaze. Her shoulders slumped in defeat and Becker knew he had won the argument. "All right, tell Matt I'll-"

Exactly what he was supposed to tell Matt, Becker never found out as the rest of Jess' sentence was drowned out by a deafening animal roar that echoed ominously out of the anomaly into the deserted garage.

.