OK, so last chapter was probably the most romantic, and this one has almost made me cry. Not sure which I prefer, but I have certainly fallen in love with Becker! Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Rain battered heavily on the outside of the car as Becker drove slowly through the city centre to the ARC. He was going at 30 mp/h, unusually slow for him, and they both knew why – he didn't want her to go.

Ever since they had spent the night together, they had found themselves inseparable. He had made her pancakes with butter and strawberries (her favourite, apparently), and generally hovered round her like a lost puppy for the entire morning. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could, mainly because he wasn't sure if he would ever see her again. She had already promised that he would, considering she could now control what happened in their future, but he wasn't convinced.

'You don't know why you left yet. What if you can't come back. What if you fell through an anomaly? Or worse.' This idea had plagued them both for hours now, and neither wanted to admit how very real this possibility could be. She hadn't answered, because she didn't know what to say.

Now they sat in silence. Jess was nervous about going back and meeting the young Becker, knowing she had spent the night with someone else – granted, it was still him, but she wasn't sure that would make any difference to him. Becker felt sick about the prospect of losing her all over again, and knew he could still do nothing to stop her, even if he did know she was going in advance this time.

Both felt their time together, like this, had been far too brief, but they weren't made for each other, and they knew it would be wrong to stay together, considering both would be missing out on memories they could have created had they stayed with the person they were meant to stay with.

As they reached the car park, Jess unhooked her seatbelt, the click signifying that their short, wonderful relationship was almost over. It was as loud as the boom of thunder overhead, and it made them both jump.

xxx

Jess was blindfolded as she was led inside, having been told by Becker that it would be wrong of her to see the whole ARC changed, and also how he was going to get an anomaly open back to her time. When he finally untied the piece of fabric from her eyes, she felt both relieved and remorseful when she saw the glittering globe before her, just as it had been only the day before. Had it really been just yesterday? she thought to herself.

'I suppose this is it, then,' she said quietly, trying to hold back the tears which were coming fast now.

Becker, on the other hand, seemed much calmer than either of them had anticipated, but he had resigned himself to the fact that she was going, and accepted there was nothing he could do to change her mind. Once she had decided something, it was useless trying to stop her.

'Goodbye, my beautiful, wonderful Jess,' he replied, kissing her cheek softly before placing something in her hand. 'Don't look at it until you're back through.'

She nodded, pushing the piece of flimsy card into her pocket, and gave him a tender smile.

'I love you, Hilary.'

He blew her a kiss, looking her straight in the eye. 'Bella and I love you, too.'

And with that, there was nothing left to say or do but step through, and into her old life once more.

xxx

She was on the bottom floor of the ARC, and the anomaly had disappeared from sight. Silence descended, and she took a moment to just breathe. She was back. She still had Becker. But Becker didn't have her. The thought tortured her, knowing he wasn't going to receive the loving embrace she knew he needed, and she almost wanted to risk everything, sacrifice everything to see him again. Mostly, however, she wanted to see Bella.

Her daughter. Her baby girl. How was she ever going to get used to that, especially considering the present Becker knew nothing about her? How would she ever keep it from him?

Just as she thought this, she heard the pounding of footsteps and saw him round the corner. He was so... young! His face crumpled slightly at the sight of her standing there, and raced down the corridor before pulling her into him.

'Thank God,' he whispered into her hair, finally exhaling for the first time in minutes. 'What the hell happened?'

Jess clutched at his t-shirt, desperate to feel his warm body next to hers. She just wanted to feel close to him again.

'How long was I away?' she asked into the soft fabric of his top.

'About fifteen minutes,' he replied, and she looked up to see he was deadly serious.

'Oh-'

'Something wrong?'

She attempted to shake her head. 'No, nothing. I was just worried it might have been longer. I didn't want you waiting days for me to come back.'

He kissed her forehead. 'I would have found a way to open that anomaly if it had lasted days! I was bouncing off the walls after a couple of seconds,' he joked, but she knew just how true that actually was. He had proved that himself...

'So, are you ready to tell me what happened?' he asked, trying not to sound impatient, but at the same time utterly perplexed at his older self.

Jess backed away, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. She knew it was unfair to Becker to keep all this from him, but it was bad enough her knowing about their future... God knows what would happen if they both knew!

'Nothing. It really doesn't matter,' she lied, looking anywhere but at him. 'Let's go see the others. I went to say hello.'

Becker nodded, aware that something had changed, and knowing he shouldn't push her. He could tell she was acting differently, but the last thing he wanted was to make things worse. He would wait until she was ready, instead of approaching things with the military approach.

Xxx

After being de-briefed by Lester, seeing everyone again, and finally going home, Jess found herself mentally and physically exhausted. This was worse even than her allergic reaction, and she thought that was bad!

In the kitchen, she could hear Becker attempting to make tea, and she smiled. You'll get better at it, Becker. After all, in the future you can even make me pancakes! At this thought, her mouth trembled and she wiped away a teardrop forming on her eyelashes. She pulled off her coat, and suddenly remembered the piece of card Becker had gave her before she left.

She pulled together what little strength she still possessed, and retrieved it from her pocket. It was a picture, a photo. Of her. Of Becker. And The Bump. They were sitting among cardboard boxes looking flushed, weary but ecstatic. Bella, her beautiful child, already forming insider her. They looked so happy...

Jess turned the photo over, and in Becker's scrawl it read:

This was taken the day we moved in. Just afterwards you asked for ANOTHER watermelon! You'll realise what I mean in time. I'm giving this to you to show you how good our life is, and how much I need you to come back. You left me on the 3rd of October 2012, and I found you again on the 19th of January 2013. You may need this information soon, and I want to do everything I can to help.

Love Always

Your Faithful Husband and Child

x

Now you know why I was almost in tears – Becker, you are such a softy! Please review, and let me know if there's anything you would like to see next. I want to do a couple of sweet moments between them before I hit you with the BIG finale! I will be away between Sunday and Tuesday, so don't panic that I haven't updated in that time :)