A/N: We're down to the wire! Only one more chapter after this to wrap things up! :)

The anomaly had re-opened no more than fifty feet back from where Jess and Emily had just been.

Jess stood, almost immovable, as her mind tried to understand what she was seeing. She heard Abby call Connor's name in confusion, but couldn't tell if he had said anything in response. Emily's hand was suddenly vice-gripping her arm, as hope sprung anew in her chest. The wind continued to fly around the pair, whipping their hair into their eyes. Emily stumbled back a few steps, but Jess held firm, staring into the bright light in front of her.

And instant later, it was gone, leaving behind a giant cloud of dust in its wake.

Jess' heart was pounding against her ribs, so hard that she was sure Emily could feel it standing behind her. Her eyes were fixed on the dust that was trying to settle back over the crumbled building as she took a few cautious steps forward. Not believing the thought that just came into her head, but hoping that it was true, she sent a quick prayer heavenward as her eyes focused on what was in front of her.

Emily now stood about fifteen feet behind her, completely mimicking everything Jess was doing, right down to the prayer. Behind them, Connor and Abby cautiously moved forward.

They could all see shadows through the dust. As it settled, they could see them become pillars and fallen rock and twisted metal. But somewhere in the mess, a shadow moved. It was only a slight change in position, but it was enough for them all to notice it. They stood stock still as the shadow moved again, becoming just a little bit bigger than it just had been.

Emily's breath caught in her throat. 'It can't be…' she thought, trying to not get her hopes up as the shadow continued to grow through the diminishing dust.

Jess was frozen solid in fear. If the shadow was what she thought it could be, she was afraid of what her reaction would be. If it wasn't, she was even more scared because she knew what her reaction would be…

The shadow moved again, and they all heard a noise coming from it – a groan. Everybody stopped moving at the sound, stopped thinking, stopped breathing. And then the dust cleared…

…to show them Becker half-carrying Matt across the debris.

Emily let out a strangled shout, and broke into a run towards them. Abby and Connor started to cry, and hugged each other so that they wouldn't faint from the shock.

And Jess just stayed exactly where she was.

Emily scrambled over the structural remains, reaching them quicker than expected. She grabbed onto Matt's free arm, and helped Becker lower him into a seated position on a large chunk of concrete. Sobbing, she hugged him tighter than she probably should have as she whispered things that only he could hear. He lazily brought the arm previously held by Becker around her back, and held her loosely as she cried. Becker stayed close to them for a minute, making sure that Emily had enough of a grip on Matt to keep him from falling and hitting his head.

Then he looked up.

His face was pale and drawn, and there was a streak of blood running down the side of his cheek. His shirt was ripped at various points, there were gashes on his arms and he was covered in dirt and grime. His entire body ached with the strain of what he had just been through, but he forgot about it all at the shocked look on Jess' face. Slowly, carefully, he worked his way over the rest of the rubble.

Jess wanted to move; her mind was screaming at her to do just that. But her body wasn't cooperating. She was so scared that this was a horrible trick of her mind, and that if she moved even a fraction of an inch, he'd vanish from her sight again. Everything happening around her – Emily still crying as she hugged Matt, Connor and Abby's voices behind her, the hot sun beating down on her head – was gone, and it was just him and her.

Becker made it to solid ground thirty feet from her, and started to run. When she still didn't move, he began to worry that she wasn't real. But he ran anyway. She was there, right in front of him again, looking exactly as he had left her at the ARC before heading back to New Dawn with the rest of them.

He was running towards her now, but she still couldn't force herself to move. There were tears in her eyes, wanting to fly loose down her face, but she held them in. Her insides were shaking furiously, but outwardly she was a statue. He was moving faster, coming closer, his eyes focused solely on her…

Suddenly, he was there and he was pulling her into his arms as he kissed her. His hands each found their way to her lower back and neck, and he tilted her face so that he could kiss her properly.

And Jess' body finally moved. Her arms threw themselves around his neck, her fingers grabbing at his shoulders and fisting the hair at the nape of his neck. She felt his arms lift her off of the ground, and held him tightly as she responded to the kiss with everything she had. She pressed her body into his, relishing in the feeling of him actually being here with her, and felt the wetness from the tears that finally hit her cheeks.

Becker lowered her feet back to the ground as he traced the edges of her lips with his tongue. She gasped at the sensation, and he immediately began exploring the inside of her mouth. She moaned into him as he brought his hands up to cup her face and tangle in her hair. He thought he'd never be able to do this, and was determined to do it right now that he could.

They stayed that way, kissing hard and passionately, for a good five minutes. Normally, Abby and Connor would have started razzing them about getting a room, but they were both far too relieved to even comment. They just stood back from the pair, holding each other close, Abby's head tucked under Connor's chin. Matt and Emily were too busy to notice the very public display of affection from Jess and Becker, because they were still whispering to each other, in disbelief that they were here, together.

Jess and Becker eventually began to slow their kiss, the need and intensity finally being sated. The kiss turned languid and loving as both of them fully came to realize that this was actually happening. When they finally pulled apart, they stayed with their arms tight around each other, eyes opening to take in the sight in front of them. She had red eyes and tear-stained cheeks, along with a pair of deliciously swollen lips.

And so did he.

Her eyes widened a bit at the unexpected display of emotion, and she reached up to wipe a tear from his face with her thumb. He leaned into her hand, and then twisted so he could kiss her palm. He then grasped the hand in his own, and held it to his heart. His eyes glanced downwards to see his dogtags still hanging round her neck. He smiled with pride at the sight, and left her hand balanced on his chest as he reached out to stroke the chain. "Told you I'd be back for those."

Jess stared at him in wonder, finally finding her voice.

"How?"

Becker gave her that gorgeous half-smile she adored, and she shivered and the low tone his voice took. "It was you," he replied. "A different you," he clarified when she furrowed her brow a bit. "We ended up in a time period where we never came back through the anomaly. You were so…different." She could hear the sadness in his voice, and knew that there was something he was holding back, but she didn't push. Becker closed his eyes as he leaned his forehead against hers and took hold of the hand on his chest again. He didn't want to tell her yet how they'd parted in that other time, because it had been too painful for him to watch. "You and Connor had modified the man-made anomaly device so that it would send you to a specific point in time." Her eyes widened as she realized what this meant. "We ended up off by a bit, but managed to get back on the second try."

Her eyes closed in relief and when she opened them, he was gazing at her as he never had before. There had been traces of that look in the past, but it had always been guarded. She stood up a bit on her tiptoes to meet his lips in a short, loving kiss, and then nestled her head against his heartbeat. His hand came up to stroke her hair as he held her tightly. Neither of them ever wanted to let go.

"Wait," Jess whispered, pulling back enough so that she could see his face again. "I need to say something, and I need to say it now." He looked at her curiously, patiently, as she gathered the little courage she needed for this. In that moment, it was easier than she ever imagined it would be. She stared him dead in the eye and said one simple statement, not even blinking as she did. "I love you."

The smile that lit his face was electric as he swooped in to capture her mouth in another warm kiss. Jess tightened her hold on him as he leaned her backwards a bit, bending over her as he moved his lips over hers. In between kisses though, he stopped for long enough to reply in a way she never thought he would.

"I love you too."

She let out a great sigh as he kissed her once more before moving to kiss her cheek, neck and ear as he pulled her into a tight hug again. Jess could feel his heart beating just as fast as her own, and it exhilarated her. She just let him hold her close, lifting her body from the ground once more as he did.

When he set her down again, she glanced over his shoulder to see Emily carefully helping Matt navigate the wreckage. Jess moved to help them, with Becker following suit. Once they got Matt onto safe ground, Jess reached around Emily to grab his hand. He let go of the brunette to pull his favourite redhead into a warm hug, as Emily did the same with Becker.

"I'm so sorry, Jess," he whispered into her hair. "I didn't know he was in there with me."

"It's ok," Jess replied, feeling the tears work their way into her eyes again. "It's not your fault." She pulled back, and placed both hands on his cheeks. "The important part is that you're back now. That's all that matters." He shot her a grateful smile, and they kissed each other on the cheek as they hugged once more.

Jess pulled away a few seconds later, only to be replaced by Abby as Connor wrapped Becker in a tight hug. For once, neither of them felt awkward – they'd been through far too much to care at this stage. When they released each other and Abby hugged Becker, he lifted her tiny frame off the ground as she giggled, Connor giving Matt a handshake and long one-armed hug as they did. Emily and Jess reached out and squeezed each other's hand before being pulled back to their boys' sides. Together, the six of them turned back to what was left of New Dawn.

"What now?" Matt asked weakly.

Connor genuinely smiled, for the first time since they'd arrived back at the site with the man-made anomaly. "We get you back to the ARC to get checked out, mate."

"Both of you," Jess added, one hand absently tracing the rips on Becker's shirt.

"Then comes the clean-up," Abby said, grudgingly.

"Clean-up?" Becker asked them.

"Convergence isn't going to clean itself up, is it?" Emily asked, jokingly.

Matt and Becker exchanged a look. "How long has it been since we left?" Matt inquired nervously.

Connor checked his watch. Despite the face being smashed, it still worked. "Maybe two hours?"

The team leader and the head of security paled as they shared a look again. "How long was it for you?" Abby asked.

"Almost 2 weeks," Becker replied quietly as he squeezed Jess' hand.

"And that was only in the one time," Matt added.

Everyone stayed silent for a moment, taking in the new information. Then, Jess let out a groan as she leaned on Becker's shoulder.

"We're going to be filling out paperwork and reports on this for weeks…" she informed them. After a minute of silence as that sank in, Abby started to giggle, causing Matt to chuckle painfully, and eventually everyone joined in.

"Lester isn't going to be happy about this," Becker said as he pulled Jess closer and kissed the side of her head.

"Know what I'm not happy about?" Connor asked.

"What's that?" Emily queried.

"Trying to fit all six of us into Jess' car since Becker's truck didn't make it back."

They all turned to look at Jess' Mini, parked near the entrance, before letting out a quick groan and a laugh as they walked towards it.