Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.

A/N: A collaboration with Mijo54. A/N2: story takes place after Detour.

10.3-10 Unacceptable Risk

…tactics and strategy…

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Outside, it was starting to snow. Inside, Jess was chopping vegetables. Marjorie stood by the stove. The older woman stirred the onions and celery. Jess looked up from the chopping board to find Marjorie starting at her.

"What?" asked Jess. She handed her sister some sliced carrots.

"Whatever you and Hilary argued about is none of my business," said Marjorie. She turned and began adding the carrots to the pot in front of her.

Jess blinked. How had Marjorie known that she and Hil had argued? Somehow, Jess couldn't picture her fiancé confiding in Marjorie. The young woman glanced back towards the front room. Nothing looked amiss.

"You shouldn't let the sun go down on your argument," continued Marjorie. "Kiss and make up."

Jess inhaled sharply at her sister's platitude. For a moment, she didn't speak, concentrating on controlling her emotions.

"The sun has already gone down on that argument," stated Jess in a quiet tone.

The younger woman picked up another carrot and started scraping the peeler down its orange side. Her sister turned to look at her. The older woman thought for a moment, then smiled.

"Then you'll have to kiss him twice," replied Marjorie. "Pass the salt."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

It was getting dark when Becker and Sam finally returned from the shops. The two men were both carrying bags. Marjorie hurried from the kitchen, followed by Jess.

"About time you got back," greeted Marjorie. "What took so long?"

"Crowds were terrible," grumbled Sam. He hugged his wife and handed her the bag he carried. "Remind me never to go shopping on a holiday."

"Checking out did take a while," agreed Becker, "but it wasn't just the crowds, the tube stations were packed."

Jess stepped forward, intending to hug Becker, but her brother-in-law stepped between them with his arms spread wide.

"How's my favorite sister-in-law," greeted Sam with a smile. He wrapped Jess in a great big bear hug.

"You say that to all your sister-in-laws," protested Jess with a smile. She looked over Sam's shoulder at Becker. The soldier shifted the bag he was carrying from one side to the other.

"I'll just take this upstairs," said Becker. "It's mostly bathroom stuff."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The home cooked meal was nearly ready by the time Becker returned back downstairs.

"Set the table Hilary," ordered Marjorie. "Dinner needs to be eaten while it is hot."

Marjorie and Sam did most of the talking during dinner. And most of the talking was about their sons, Charles and Peter. Jess and Becker remained uncharacteristically quiet. When Sam scraped the last bite of food off his plate, Jess abruptly stood up from the table. She reached for Marjorie's plate and stacked it on top of her own.

"Why don't you and Sam go turn the telly on," suggested Jess. "Hil and I can get the dishes. We'll have dessert in the living room."

The early snow had caused the two couples to decide to stay in tonight and watch the New Year's Eve fireworks on the telly. Becker was also standing and reaching for dishes. While Sam and Marjorie moved towards the front room, the soldier followed Jess to the rear of the home. As he shut the kitchen door behind him, Jess turned from the sink to face him.

"Hil," hissed Jess. "How does Marjorie know we had an argument?"

"You gave her a key," reminded Becker.

For a moment Jess looked confused at his response, but then the expression on her face cleared as she understood what Becker meant.

"Did they wake you up Hil?" asked Jess.

Becker flushed at the memory and nodded. At Marjorie and Sam's arrival, the soldier had hurried upstairs wrapped in nothing but a towel, a small towel at that. When he came back down, dressed in black denims and a long sleeved t-shirt, the gray blanket he'd been snuggled in was neatly folded atop the ottoman. Before Becker could say anything though, a voice called from the living room.

"I can't get the telly to work," called Sam. "Is the cable out?"

Jess looked at Becker. The soldier looked at the door to the living room.

"Right, they've probably fiddled with the remote," sighed Becker. He set the dishes he was carrying down on the counter beside the sink. "I'll just do the television stuff."

"Hurry back," replied Jess. "We need to talk."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Washing up was a perfect opportunity to talk to Hil, thought Jess. She had very carefully planned out what she wanted to say. When the Captain returned to the kitchen, Jess started.

"Hil, last night, that wasn't what I meant," whispered Jess "I'm not trying to change who you are."

"No," replied Becker as he added some dishwashing liquid to the sink, "you were trying to tell me how to do my job."

"But that's my job," protested Jess, "I'm your field coordinator."

"You weren't on site at the anomaly," reminded Becker. "Your information was wrong."

Jess remembered telling the team that all she saw was waves and then hearing one of Becker's men saying he couldn't launch the rowboat because it was too shallow. Jess opened her mouth to respond, but Marjorie's voice called from the living room.

"Jess," called her older sister, "hurry come here. You've got to see this!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

With repeated interruptions, washing up took quite a while. Jess and Becker hardly got a chance to speak together. They finally gave up trying to talk privately and joined Marjorie and Sam in the living room watching the telly. New Year's Eve festivities were being broadcast live from London in spite of the snow. As it neared midnight, Marjorie stood up.

"Jess, where do you keep the glasses?" asked her older sister. "I think it's time for bubbly."

Jess was surprised at her sister's offer to take over the hostess duties, but grateful to not have to get up. After very little sleep last night and a long day today, Jess was getting tired. But Jess was even more grateful when she heard Marjorie's next words.

"Sam," continued Marjorie, "come help me in the kitchen."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

As Sam and Marjorie disappeared into the kitchen, Jess turned to Becker. The soldier had answered her questions in bits and pieces over the course of the long night. Jess felt she understood most of what Becker had done. There was just one more thing the field coordinator needed to know.

"Hil," asked Jess, "what were you thinking? Why did you go into that anomaly yesterday? Why did you risk your life for Connor?"

Becker took a deep breath, he shook his head.

"It's not like that," explained Becker. "It wasn't just about Connor."

Jess looked at her fiancé and waited patiently for him to find the words he needed.

"I was thinking about little Sarah, and the new baby," answered Becker, "growing up without a father. Compared to that, getting my feet wet didn't seem to matter."

Jess stared at Becker. For a moment, Jess saw the ten year old boy Becker had once been. She saw the boy who tried so bravely to comfort his mother and sister after his father had died. The boy, who like the man seated before her, tried so very hard not to show any hurt.

"Oh Hil," whispered Jess.

The tiny woman was across the sofa and in his arms in an instant. Her hands on either side of Becker's head brought his eager lips toward hers. The soldier's arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her closer, entangling their legs. Neither one heard the cork pop in the kitchen, nor the BBC announcer wish the world a happy New Year. Marjorie pushed the kitchen door open an inch and then let it shut upon itself. She turned to her husband with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Sam, we should have our champagne in here," chuckled Marjorie. "They're making up. You would think Jess was an octopus the way she has her arms wrapped around Hilary."

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