Everyone had noticed the shift in atmosphere between Becker and Jess – suddenly he was making excuses to go down to the hub, or she was disappearing off to the armoury. And when the team did see them together, they were both grinning from ear to ear. They were in the blissful happiness that only love could bring, and it made a welcoming change to the growing hostility within the ARC.

Connor and Abby, though they had tried to patch up their differences, now seemed resigned to speak only in one-word answers to each other. Matt was transfixed on bringing Philip down, and making sure no one could carry on in his place, while Emily stood on the side-lines, feeling very much out of the loop in this strange and modern world. It was as though Jess and Becker's happiness had come at a price to the rest of the team, and suddenly the ARC seemed to be on very unstable ground.

However, for the most part, they managed to put aside what quarrels they had, and continue to do their jobs. Jess stayed at her computer, having been ordered by Becker to never leave her seat considering the beetle-incident. Though he was over-protective, stern and sometimes insensitive, Jess could only see these things as inevitable qualities borne of his military career. They really were completely in love.

Anomalies continued to appear, though they had become less frequent for some reason, and Connor and Matt had, of course, many theories for these changes. If Jess was honest, she didn't really mind not having that flashing red light constantly going off – not just because it meant having Becker all to herself, but also because it meant less worry. Every time the team went off to 'do their duty', she was left co-ordinating their movements, sending them straight out onto the front-line. It was silly, because it was the main part of her job description, but she almost felt as though she were playing God, and it gave her an uneasy feeling.

Today, however, was even quieter than usual. Becker was at the other end of the hub reading through one of Jess's reports – for some reason he had taken to spell-checking everything she did, as though she was incapable of doing that herself! It was nice of him to take an interest in her side of the job, though, and she was happy to have him near her more often.

'Perfect,' he called once he had reached the end, a proud smile playing on his lips. She really was excellent at what she did, he thought.

Jess turned, trying to keep the grin from her face, and held out her hand for the report. 'I knew it would be,' she replied, and he gave it to her with a quick peck on the cheek. He had grown rather romantic since confessing his feelings for her – a side Jess knew she would never, ever get used to seeing.

'So... are you free for lunch?' she asked, as she filed the report away and continued typing on the computer. Her back was turned to Becker, and when she didn't get a response, she glanced up at him to see that he wasn't even looking in her direction any longer.

'Becker?'

She stood, reaching up on tip-toes so she could past his shoulder to whatever he was looking at, and was stunned when she saw the flickering ball of light dancing before them. An anomaly. This was impossible!

'Get Connor on the coms – I need his locking device NOW!' Becker hissed, backing slowly towards the desk where he grabbed his EMD. He couldn't bear the thought of Jess in the firing line again if a creature came through. He wasn't going to let anything like that happen again!

'Connor...? Connor, where the hell are you?' Jess asked into the microphone urgently, getting more and more exasperated as she heard crackling down the line.

'He's gone and dropped it down the toilet again, the bloody fool,' Becker said angrily, reaching for Jess so he could pull her behind him.

'I want you to stay close to me, OK? Under no circumstances do you leave my side.' The order was clear and Jess nodded as she hid behind him.

They stood very still, Jess's mind whirring as she tried to figure out what to do next. Matt and Abby were both out checking a strange creature sighting in the middle-of-nowhere, so Becker and Jess were completely alone apart from the missing Connor. Usually, this would have been the perfect opportunity for some time together, but somehow, Jess had never featured an anomaly in her romantic equation.

'Maybe I should try Connor again. Or I could phone Lester?' Jess suggested, and Becker nodded reluctantly. He didn't like her moving even an inch from him, but considering nothing had come through yet, he was praying that whatever lay beyond it wasn't deadly or hungry in the least.

'Connor, please come in. There is an anomaly in the hub – repeat, there is an anomaly in the hub.' Jess waited, again hearing crackling, and then a loud sneeze.

'Sorry, Jess, this thing- playing up... Hello?'

'Connor, for God's sake, stop shouting!' Jess yelled. 'Get your arse into gear and get to the hub with the locking device. Understood?'

There was silence, and Jess and Becker knew he hadn't understood a word.

'Why?'

Becker sighed, and then gave a low growl as he marched over to the microphone. 'I swear, Connor, if you don't get down here with that locking device, I will make sure that your life is made a living hell for the rest of your time at the ARC. Understood?'

Jess smiled wryly, loving it when Becker was moody and soldier-y. He really was excellent at his job, she thought.

'Roger that,' Connor finally replied, and Becker turned back to Jess.

'OK, Connor's on his way so I need you to get out of here. Find one of my men and stay with him until it's safe.'

Jess was just about argue, saying that she was in absolutely no danger and didn't need to be treated like a child, when suddenly the anomaly swayed and bounced into life, and a figure stumbled through. Becker instinctively raised his EMD, ready to shoot, when the figure stood to his full height, dressed all in black, and stared at him.

The moment stretched on, all three of them completely silent as they stared at one another. Jess, finally, moved forward, utterly gob-smacked, and stopped before this familiar stranger, her mouth hanging open.

'B-Becker?' she whispered, staring at the man she loved, having been aged more than a couple of years. He looked down at her, his eyes filled with sadness and suspicion, and then grabbed her hand and pulled her back through the anomaly in a flash, closing as they disappeared from sight...

OK, so I know this is a really confusing chapter, but I promise all is made clear in the next instalment. I'm really busy right now but I will try and get it up ASAP. All reviews are welcome, and I do love to hear back from you about what you think! If something doesn't make sense, feel free to ask and I will try and answer without revealing too much! Thanks again for all the kind words :)