"Abby, what the hell is this?"

While his face didn't change, Becker was shocked by the venom he heard in Jess' voice. In all the time he'd known her, she'd never sounded anything less than chipper, even when she was in the worst of spirits.

"Not my idea, believe me," Abby said, throwing up her hands in surrender. "I found them wandering in the woods."

"When are they from?" Even Emily sounded angry, the surprised look on her face replaced with a cool, impassible one.

"They claim that they just came through the New Dawn anomaly."

Emily and Jess shared a look before turning to look back at the group in front of them. "So this is where they ended up," Jess said hotly. She eyed the two men with fire in her eyes, and then spoke into her walkie again. "Connor, we're going to head back. I want that gallimimus tracked for the next two days so we can look for territorial patterns. Let Adamson know that we'll take a retrieval team with us when we come back for it."

"You got it, boss. See you when you get back."

"See you then," she stated before lowering the walkie and striding past the group, back in the direction they'd just come from. "Abby, they can go in your car. Emily and I have a detour to make on the way back."

"No problem." Abby stayed with the guys as Emily hurried forward to Jess' side, the pair starting to talk quietly as soon as she did.

"Ok, I'm sensing a little hostility here," Matt muttered once they were out of earshot, earning him 'duh' looks from both Becker and Abby.

"Can't really blame them, can you?" Abby asked, starting to follow her comrades. Becker and Matt hurried to catch up, hoping to get a bit more information.

"How did Jess end up as the new team leader?" Becker wondered aloud, finally voicing the question that had been on his mind since he realized she was there in the field.

"First of all, she's not just a team leader," Abby began. "She's the head of the entire ARC." When Becker and Matt fixed her with confused looks, she went on. "When we got back from New Dawn – "

"Wait, Jess wasn't at New Dawn."

Abby glanced at Matt after his comment. "After you drove into the anomaly, and we realized Becker was with you, we called her right away. She came to the site, and went stone silent on us. She ended up sitting on the ground, looking at the anomaly site as if you'd pop right back, for over an hour. She never even said a word." Becker felt the guilt claw at his heart at the mental image of his beloved Jess lost like that. "When we made it back to the ARC, she jumped right into command mode, ordering clean-ups and sending out teams to the other anomaly sites. Nobody questioned it, because it was Jess. And when Lester…" Abby trailed off, still emotional about it all these years later. "When he died, everyone just looked to her to lead. She knew everything about the ARC and the teams, so it was only logical. The Minister actually asked her specifically to take on the role, but after a while, she started splitting her time."

"Splitting her time between what?" Becker asked.

"When we'd first gotten back, she asked me to start training her so she could go out into the field. I knew why, so I never asked her about it. So we started on weapons and weight training, and hand-to-hand combat. She picked it all up surprisingly quickly, and after a bit more training with your soldiers, she was in the field a few months later. Within 6 months, the soldiers asked her to be a team leader. And here we are now."

"So she's both in the field and in the office?"

Abby nodded at Matt as they reached her SUV. "When Connor made the decision to stay out of the field, we all knew that his guilt was eating away at him. So Jess asked him to be FCO. Again, nobody argued with it, mainly because the only person who handled the ADD better than Connor was Jess."

The three of them climbed into the vehicle and drove off, sitting in silence for a few minutes before Becker spoke again. "It was never supposed to be like this."

Abby glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "I know, but it is what it is"

The rest of the drive was spent in silence, everyone taking in the events of the day thus far. When they arrived at the ARC carpark, they got out of the car, and all headed inside, wordlessly.

As the lift opened to let them into Ops, they were met by a disbelieving former scientist. Connor's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "They weren't kidding…"

"Who?" Abby asked as the trio moved into the room.

"Jess and Emily," he answered, his eyes flickering back and forth between Matt and Becker. "They told me that you were here, but I didn't believe them." Connor stared at the men for a few seconds, long enough to make the pair feel even more uncomfortable. Then, just as he seemed to snap out of it, a voice could be heard from the end of the hall away from them.

"Connor? Abby?" Emily called, moving into the edge of the room. Seeing everyone there, she stopped, but composed herself before she faltered. "Debrief time." They nodded, and she glanced, though it was almost not noticed, at Matt before turning back to leave.

"You better come too," Abby stated. "We'll need statements."

"Nice to know that some things haven't changed," Becker stated dryly, earning a grin from Connor. The four of them walked through Ops and down the hall to the debrief room, only getting a few shocked looks at the sudden appearance of the ARC's former team leader and head of security.

Jess barely acknowledged them as they entered the room, sparing them only the quickest of glances. She had discarded her leather jacket on a nearby chair and stood at the head of the table with her hands in her pockets, Emily seated at her right, so the rest of them quickly found places so they could begin. Connor pulled out his laptop and mobile, poised and ready to go. Becker kept his gaze on Jess the whole time, his eyes travelling over the scars and muscles on her arms, as well as the one long line down her cheek.

"Well I'm not exactly thrilled about leaving the gallimimus behind, but I know we'll get another shot," Jess began. "Connor, how's the tracking device?"

He glanced at the computer screen for a second, then back at her. "Online and still transmitting. This gallimimus is pretty quick, but it should find its way back to a nest of some sort tonight. I'll record its movements tonight and tomorrow night, and then have some more definite locations for you."

"Good work."

"Also, I've fixed the glitches with the comms. You'll be able to leave the walkies here next time you go out."

"Good. These things are so ancient. Emily?"

"I've spoken with Captain Adamson, and the retrieval team is ready to go at a moment's notice. I've informed them that it will be at least two days before they're required, but their gear is already packed. He's still trying to stay on your good side after that spinosaurus incident last month," Emily reported, with a hint of humour in her voice.

"Damn right, he better." Jess' voice had no such lightness to it. She sighed deeply, and then brought her gaze to look at the two newest figures at the table. "And now to the big development of the day." The tone of her voice made both Becker and Matt feel like they were little kids who'd gotten caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "It's quite obvious who you are and when you're from, but the question is why are you here?"

"How are we supposed to know?" Matt shot back before Becker could even open his mouth. "We drove through a double anomaly. I didn't think we'd end up anywhere, so being here is a bit of a shock to us too."

"We know that it was never their intention to end up in another time," Connor offered, trying to prevent a war from starting in the debrief room. "And we had no way of knowing what time period they'd travel to."

"Connor, when you were researching the idea of creating a double anomaly, did you ever come across anything that would indicate being able to travel to a different time?" Jess asked. "We just assumed that it would destroy everything that came into contact with it, which clearly isn't the case here."

"Nothing, but I'll look into it over the next few days. We knew that there was potential to pinpoint a specific time for the general man-made anomalies, but never what would happen with a double."

"See to it. I want to know why they're here of all places."

"They are sitting right here, you know," Becker stated, arms crossed as his anger built bit by bit.

"Yes, they are, but they are just as clueless as the rest of us," she shot back. "So until we figure out why they're here, they will stay here in the ARC. There may be some tests we need to run through."

"Wait, you expect us to just sit here and wait while you decide if you want to make us guinea pigs?" Matt asked, incredulously.

"You've just come through an anomaly from the past! One wrong move and time goes sideways," Jess stated, the anger becoming evident in her voice. "Besides, it's just like when you introduce a new element into a foreign environment. We have no idea how you'll affect our time."

"You make us sound like a disease!" Matt shouted.

"While I don't agree with the analogy, Jess does have a point," Abby admitted. "When Connor and I were stuck in the Cretaceous, we were afraid to even sneeze for what damage we could do."

"We're not mucking around with time, here, but we're not going to sit here and be poked at!"

"It's not your call to make!" Jess countered.

"Enough!" Becker's voice rang out clearly in the room as he stood. "This isn't solving anything!" He trained his eyes on Jess, willing her to see reason. "I know you're trying to protect your time. I don't want anything to go sideways either," he told her, using her own words against her. "But you know us. You know that we're about as likely to sit out a fight as Connor is to miss a Star Wars marathon on TV."

"Oi, hey!"

"No offense." Connor tried to keep an indignant look on his face, but shrugged at the truth in the statement.

"We just want to help. You know we can."

"And how do you propose to help us?" Jess asked, crossing her arms as she addressed him. Becker was still shocked at the authoritative tone her voice had. "If you think I'm letting you out in the field, you're nuts."

"We have training."

"So do my men."

"We have EMD's."

"Ours are better."

"We know what we're doing."

"Are you insinuating that I don't?" Jess asked in a warning tone, leaning forward to place her palms on the table.

Becker didn't hesitate in his response, but knew that he had to tread carefully. "Not at all. But I would have thought that having an extra two, trained and knowledgeable fighters would have been a welcome idea."

"Well you thought wrong."

"What is your problem?"

"My problem?!"

"Yes, your problem. You barely said two words to us when you saw us, and now you're treating us like we're a pair of useless infants."

"If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck…"

"Point is that you're being a terrible leader by not even being open to suggestion."

"Oh, and you would know, because you were so willing to go along with someone else's ideas back in the day."

"At least I gave them a chance to be heard."

"Captain?"

"What?" Becker and Jess questioned sharply, looking at the door for the person asking. At the sound of his voice over hers, Jess whipped her head around to give Becker a glare, but not before he caught sight of the shock in her eyes. Maybe there was still some of the old Jess in there somewhere. He nodded apologetically to her, and she spun back to the door.

"Yes, Captain Adamson?"

Captain Robert Adamson had been with the ARC since the days of Nick Cutter, and had seen his fair share of strange sights. But nothing could have prepared him for seeing his former commanding officer silenced with a look from his current one – especially considering the relationship the pair had had back in the day. He shook himself from his thoughts, and focused on the task at hand: informing his CO of the latest development so she could assess the situation. "Evans didn't want to disturb you since you were in here, but he told me that the ADD has reported some creature sightings near the London Eye. Nothing's confirmed yet, but I thought it best to send a reconnaissance team to investigate, with your approval of course."

Jess nodded at him. "Better send them armed in case it also becomes a retrieval mission." Adamson saluted her, and left the room. It was only then that Jess turned back to Becker, fury still evident in her eyes. "Now, 'Captain' Becker," she began, sarcasm and venom in her voice. "You listen to me, and you listen well, because I'm only going to say this once. There was a time when you were in charge here. That time has come and gone. There is a new order here, and if you wish to remain here, you'd do well to learn it. If you can't, then get the hell out of my ARC, because I don't have time for this shit." She punctuated her sentences with hand gestures (none of them overly rude, mind you), before spinning on her heel and heading for the door. "Meeting adjourned."

Becker was swift as lightning as he raced out behind her. She was halfway down the hall by the time he got through the door, so he had to hurry to catch her. She had just turned towards Ops when he got about 20 feet from her. "I miss the old Jess." She stopped, but didn't turn. He knew he had her attention, so he continued. "I miss the Jess who used to scurry around here in those ridiculously high heels, with a smile on her face, a blush on her cheeks and a bar of chocolate in her hand. I miss the Jess who we all trusted to guide us safely through anomalies and incursions, who was always telling us to be careful and to stay warm. I miss the Jess who always looked on the positive side of things, no matter how bad it got, because she's the one who always kept me moving forward." He paused so his words could sink in. "What happened to that Jess?"

From where he stood, he couldn't see her close her eyes as memories danced in her mind, nor could he hear the soft sigh that she let out. She opened her eyes, steeled her expression, and finally turned halfway around to look at him. "That Jess is dead." His eyes widened briefly at her simple, matter-of-fact statement. "She died a long time ago." And with that, she turned her back on him and continued along her way.

Becker stood stock-still at her words. He couldn't believe how callous she was being. His Jess would have never said anything like that…but then again, she wasn't his Jess. She never had been.

Connor was suddenly next to him, shoving something into his hand. Becker glanced down and saw a set of keys. Looking at Connor, the former scientist glanced around before speaking. "Go get some air. Leave the door to the roof unlocked and I'll meet you up there in a few minutes." Confused, but willing to go along with one of the few who were actually speaking to him, Becker nodded and turned in the direction of the roof access.