Becker stared at Jess in discomfort, helplessly searching for words to deny her conjecture. But how could he? She was right. He did care for her beyond the point of work.

"Thanks for worrying about me," Jess finally whispered, with a soft flush covering her cheeks, when the soldier kept quiet.

"Miss Parker, sorry to bother you, but Lotte is asking for you," the pair was interrupted by Dr. Sullivan before Becker was able to respond. "I think she's wondering what's going to happen to her."

"That's fine," Jess looked at the medic and then back to the soldier with a smirk. "We were about to go to her anyway."

"We?" The head of security asked, obviously puzzled.

"Sure, I need someone to translate." Jess flashed him a disarming smile, well aware that he wouldn't refuse her request.

Lotte greeted Jess with a happy smile, but an intimidated look flashed over her face when Becker entered the room after the field-coordinator. The child placed the dictionary she had been looking through aside and took a small piece of paper.

"What happen with me?" She read off the words she had looked up before. Expectantly, Lotte searched Jess' eyes, who looked from the girl to Becker.

The young field-coordinator, took a chair and pulled it closer to the bed before she sat down. The soldier sat down behind her on the edge of the hospital bed. He placed a hand on Jess' shoulder, signifying for the woman to be silent.

The soldier then began to tell Lotte what the team had decided for now. Fascinated she listened to Becker's words. She didn't understand any of it, but his tone was soft and reassuring.

Lotte seemed to have the same impression. She hung on his every word and when Jess heard her name, the young girl sighed, obviously relieved.

When the pair exited Lotte's room, Becker turned to Jess. "How about we have a coffee in that small café around the corner? We can catch up on our lunch break."

"Sure."

"There is something I wanna tell you," the captain answered the unvoiced question he saw in her eyes.

With a tray in his hands, Becker walked to the small table Jess had chosen. He sat down opposite from her and handed her the Latte macchiato.

After few moments in silence, he began to speak.

"When I was fourteen-years-old, my dad served in the Kosovo War. My younger sister was ten years old. Dad went missing in action for a time period of three and a half weeks. He had been kidnapped."

Jess listened to his words attentively. It was the first time that Becker had mentioned his family and the young woman wondered why he had decided that it was time to do so now.

"Of course we were all in distress. Luckily he was found and he was well enough to be flown out directly. But that is not the point, the point is that during that time, and the weeks after, my dad arrived home, my sister had nightmares. Pretty bad ones actually, she woke up every night screaming her lungs out. It was so bad that she often cried because she didn't want to go to sleep.

"It was a really exhausting time for my mum. It got better when my dad returned, but it was such a tense situation.

"Jess, my sister hadn't seen my dad in the war zone, and she still had nightmares. Lotte has seen both her parents die. That is something no child should witness and none of us has any idea how this experience has affected her.

"Yes, I am worried about you. I'm worried that you're taking on a responsibility that might be too much, not just for you but for whoever else will look after her. I don't want to scare you or make you doubt your decision. I actually admire you for it, but I want you to be aware of the possible side effects."

Jess looked at him with wide eyes, on one hand she was amazed by his openness, on the other hand his words scared her.

The young woman averted her eyes from the man in front of her and studied the milk froth. Suddenly her hands were captured by his.

"Jess, promise me that you'll give me a call when you need help or someone to talk to, no matter what time of the day it is, okay?"

The young woman nodded, but it wasn't enough for the soldier.

"Jessica, look at me and promise!"

With a diffident smile, the field-coordinator looked up. "Yes, I promise."

The following days found Jess often in the medical bay. She tried to spend as much time with Lotte as she could to get to know her and to work on the language barrier. Jess tried to push them to the back of her mind, but Becker's words had started her thinking. He was right after all; if there were any problems with Lotte, she was on her own now, even if he had offered to be there for her any time of the day.

The day of Lotte's discharge arrived and Becker kept an eye on the young field-coordinator. He had seen her sitting at the ADD absent-mindedly more than once during work hours and at lunch she hadn't taken part in the conversation.

When it was home-time, the soldier had made up his mind. He didn't want anyone to be alone in such a situation, especially not Jess. Pushing all his usual concerns away, he went to the hospital wing, knowing that it was time for her to pick up Lotte.

He found the young woman sitting on a chair in front of Dr. Sullivan's office, playing with her fingers.

"Hey," Jess greeted him, her voice cracking. "What are you doing here?"

Becker sat down beside her, "I'm off for today and I thought I'd give you two a lift home. I bet you have tons of groceries in your fridge; I could cook us dinner while you show Lotte around and I can help a little with the language."