Bend It Like Becker

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Chapter 26 - PYJAMA PARTY

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Becker lay in the middle of Jess's bed, overcome by her sweet scent wafting through the room, certain he'd never be able to fall asleep, despite having been awake now for almost two days straight. And it wasn't only the Eau d'Jess that was keeping him from nodding off - it was the faint taste of chocolate in the air from her scented candle; the feel of her warm flannel sheets against his skin; the dim green light of her shoe-shaped nightlight; the incessant ticking of her large pink Kit-Kat clock - in other words, it was the fact that every sense was being made painfully aware that this was where Jess fell asleep night after night that was making it impossible for Becker to relax and think of anything else.

Jess's living room would've been much preferred, but he'd simply been overruled.

"Becker, you're not sleeping on the couch," Abby had insisted earlier.

"Yeah, you already sprained your ankle," Connor, aka Mr. Obvious, had pointed out. "You don't need MORE pain."

"Really, I'll be fine here on the couch." Becker had tried to sound as positive as possible as he'd gestured to where Jess had elevated his ankle with numerous pillows.

But Jess hadn't bought it. "We all know that if you stay out here, you'll end up sleeping on the floor, and Lester would never forgive me if I allowed that. Now, you're sleeping in my bedroom - no arguments."

And thus here he was, trapped inside her sensually stimulating room, unable to sleep. Becker almost wished that his ankle hurt more so he'd have something besides Jess to concentrate on. Unfortunately, Jess had plied him with painkillers before helping him up to bed, including a nip of potent whiskey Lester had sent over "for medicinal purposes", so he could barely sense the pain at all. Of course, deep down he knew this was actually a good thing - the last thing they needed was for him to be injured and in pain on Saturday - but a little distraction would've been nice.

So Becker decided to provide his own distraction - he would systematically go through a mental list of all the girls he'd dated through the years and remind himself how each relationship had ended, each time because of something he'd done wrong, in an effort to convince himself that pursuing anything more with Jess would be disastrous. It didn't take long for him to realise, however, that his scheme wasn't working as planned. He was only up to Olivia, whom he'd briefly dated during year eleven, when it occurred to him that, rather than helping generate constructive arguments as to why he should maintain his platonic friendship with Jess, he was conversely making excuses as to why he wouldn't possibly repeat his previous mistakes this time around. So instead of distracting him from thoughts of Jess, this litany of past disasters was actually having the opposite effect. Becker wondered if perhaps the combination of painkillers and whiskey was causing him not to think rationally, but regardless, his scheme was not getting him to sleep any faster.

He gave a frustrated sigh, abandoning his plan. If he wasn't going to get any sleep anyway, perhaps he should simply get up. Not that he could physically roam about, what with his ankle injured as it was, but surely Jess had a book somewhere that he could read to pass the time.

He reached over and fumbled for the lamp on the bedside table. Once on, the light seemed incredibly bright, and Becker blinked several times to try to adjust his eyes. He was just getting his bearings and starting to look around for something to read when suddenly there was a soft knock at the door.

"Becker?" Jess's worried voice came through the door. "Are you okay? Are you in pain? Do you need anything?"

Becker sighed - he should've known she'd be watching him like a hawk.

"I'm fine, Jess." As she tentatively opened the door and poked her head around, he added, "I'm just having trouble falling asleep."

"Can I get you something then? A warm milk perhaps? Chamomile tea? More of Lester's whiskey?"

Becker smiled despite himself - Jess really was amazing, and that wasn't just the drugs making him feel that way.

"Perhaps something to read?" he asked. "I don't suppose you subscribe to Shooting Sports magazine or the like."

Jess laughed. "Sorry. No books on military strategy either, unless you count Maggie's Statecraft." She paused, and suddenly her eyes twinkled merrily. "But I do have something that might help put you to sleep. I'll be right back."

She hurried out, and Becker could hear her quietly scampering down the stairs to the living room. In a moment she ran back up, throwing open the door to reveal her laptop in hand. Becker frowned, as he didn't think that, under the circumstances, looking at porn on the internet was really going to help him fall asleep any faster, but apparently Jess had other things in mind.

"This is guaranteed to put you out like a light," she said as she sat down on the edge of the bed, her fingers flying across the keyboard. After a moment she set the laptop on the nightstand, tilting the screen so he could see it properly from where he lay. She turned off the light and walked to the door.

"Sweet dreams. And just let me know if you need anything," she called back before pulling the door to.

Becker turned from her retreating figure and watched the laptop screen as the studio logos and anti-piracy advert played before the opening credits to Bend It Like Beckham began. He laughed and lay back, ready to finally watch the movie in its entirety, for surely he could never fall asleep in her room tonight.

Surprisingly, it took almost five whole minutes before he was dead to the world.

...

It was nearly eleven a.m., Jess had been hard at work monitoring the hub for almost three hours, and she was still clad in her pyjamas - this telecommuting thing was brilliant! She justified her apparel by convincing herself that she didn't want to risk waking Becker by going into her room to get some real clothes, but deep down she knew that was only part of it. The last two nights had been so stressful, she deserved a relaxing morning for a change, and sitting here in her pyjamas as she sipped her coffee felt decadent and well-deserved.

Jess had checked on Becker several times during the night, but once the movie had knocked him out, he'd stayed fast asleep. She was frankly surprised that he was still asleep - he didn't strike her as the sort to have a lie-in - but she knew he needed the rest. Jess was certain his ankle sprain had been caused by the exhaustion brought on by staying up all night at the anomaly, so hopefully this rest would do him some much-needed good. And the longer he slept, the more he'd stay off his ankle, which he desperately needed to do in order to heal. She was so glad his injury wasn't more serious, though she worried that he wouldn't take care of himself properly and thus would do most damage. She was determined, therefore, to see that that didn't happen.

As was Lester. Like clockwork, her guv'nor rang again at precisely eleven for yet another status update.

"Nothing new to report - he's still sleeping."

"Still? But it's already eleven!"

"Yes, but you said it yourself, rest is the best thing for him right now."

"But what about the ice?"

"What about it?"

"He's supposed to keep his ankle iced every three to four hours, but when was the last time to you put it on? Surely much longer than that! You need to go wake him and put fresh ice on his foot straightaway - doctor's orders!"

"Yes, Dr. Lester," Jess teased, impressed at how much he cared. "But that won't be necessary because I hear him stirring right now. I'd best go check on him."

"And give him fresh ice!"

"Yes, and give him fresh ice. I'll call you back when I know more." And she rung off before he could give her any more orders.

Now Jess was not above telling white lies to get Lester off the phone, but this time she hadn't had to. She'd actually heard the door to her bedroom open and Becker hobbling down the hall to the loo. As she rung off, she heard the toilet flush and rushed up the stairs.

"How are you feeling?" she asked the instant he opened the bathroom door, causing him to jump. "Sorry. Didn't meant to startle you. So how's your ankle?"

Becker shrugged. "It's fine," he answered automatically, but as he hobbled into the corridor, he absently put some weight down on it and cringed, thus demonstrating how he was actually feeling.

"Careful!" she scolded, hurrying over and wrapping his arm about her shoulders to help him walk.

"Thanks, Jess," he said through a yawn. "So, what time is it? Can I, uh, take more pain meds yet?" She could tell he was trying to act nonchalant so she wouldn't notice how much pain he was really in.

"Yes, it's definitely time for more meds and more ice and maybe even some breakfast, though perhaps elevensies would be a more appropriate term," she teased.

"Elevensies?" Becker glanced down at her pyjamas, a look of confusion on his face. "It's eleven and you're still not dressed?"

"What do you mean? I'm dressed," Jess insisted with a smile, one that grew when she saw the Look momentarily cross his face. "Besides, this is what telecommuting is all about." Becker raised a mocking eyebrow and Jess quickly justified, "I'm still doing almost as much work here as I do at the real hub everyday, so why not stay in my pyjamas?"

Becker nodded. "Nice work if you can get it."

Jess smiled. "Exactly. Now as for you, we need to get you back on your back with your ankle elevated and iced." She paused, momentarily propping him against the jamb to her bedroom to ask, "So do you want to stay upstairs in my room or-"

"Downstairs," Becker quickly answered before she'd even finished. "Definitely downstairs."

"Downstairs it is, then. Now, do you want to get dressed before I help you downstairs, or do you want to stay as you are?"

"If you're staying in your pyjamas, I might as well stay in mine."

Jess nodded, for the first time taking in his bare chest emerging from his low-slung gym bottoms. She gulped and pulled her eyes away, her face starting to turn red.

Becker must've noticed her reaction for he added, "Though perhaps I should put a shirt on."

"Let me get one for you," she quickly offered, darting into her room and pulling out a black tee from the bag she'd packed for him last night. She took it to him and he pulled it on as he precariously balanced on his good leg.

Jess then rewrapped his arm about her shoulders and slowly helped him descend the stairs. She could tell he was in quite a bit of pain and realised she needed to ply him with meds as soon as she got him settled on the couch.

After giving him the meds, rewrapping his ankle, applying fresh ice (per Dr. Lester), and preparing breakfast (which consisted of some toast with marmalade, as there wasn't much else in the flat), Jess announced, "Now, in order for you to feel productive whilst I'm slaving away at the hub, I've got a surprise for you."

"Please don't tell me you're making me watch Bend It Like Beckham again," Becker teased. "As Connor said last night, aren't I in enough pain? Besides, I already slept all morning; I don't need to kip all afternoon as well."

Jess laughed. "No, I've got a real coaching job for you."

Becker raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but Jess didn't explain further until she'd gotten it all set up.

"Here's the footage from last night's practice, just as I promised," she said as she turned on the telly and handed him the remote. "I already watched it last night, and I thought you could watch it now, and then we could rewatch it together later and discuss. Sound like a plan?"

Becker nodded and instantly began to watch the footage recorded with O'Rourke's camera. Once he was absorbed in his task, Jess snuck upstairs with her mobile so she wouldn't be overheard. She shut the door to her room and sat down on her unmade bed, which still retained a hint of Becker's musky scent. She breathed it in, momentarily losing herself in a daydream, before returning to reality and ringing Lester.

"He's in a lot of pain - way more than he wants to let on," she told her guv'nor. "But his ankle is now wrapped and iced and elevated, and he's resting quietly again."

"Just keep him resting," Lester ordered. "He's not to get up for the remainder of the day - tie him to the bed if necessary."

Jess couldn't help but secretly hope that it might come to that!

...

to be continued