A heavy silence hung in the air, while Jess waited for Becker's answer.

The soldier studied her carefully. It was obvious that Jess tried to keep her expressions neutral, but hints of hope and fear shimmered in her eyes.

Becker knew that he had no chance to back out now. There was no loophole; no work he could use as an excuse. And honestly he didn't want to deny his feelings for her any more. Only he had never been good with words.

"No," he answered eventually, "But you've established that already, didn't you?"

Jess' eyes widened, "I did?"

"Sure, in the hospital wing. You said that I worry about you beyond the point of work."

"True." The sadness which was audible in her voice surprised herself. Sure she had hoped for another reaction, she hadn't expected him to tell her that he loved her, but she had wished that Becker would let his guard down a little bit more.

While Becker searched for the right words, Jess suddenly straightened up. She pushed the disappointment away and slapped on a smile.

"I think it's time for you to go. I don't want to get rid of you, but I should go to bed." Jess said as happily as she could manage. "I promised Lotte to take her to the Thorpe Park tomorrow and I should get some sleep."

"No," the word came out harsher than Becker had expected and his tone caused Jess to stare at him in bewilderment.

It had been her reaction only seconds before Jess had put on a happy face that made Becker realize just how important it was to open up a little. By instinct, Jess had folded her arms in front of her body, hugging herself in comfort. And the moment when she had swallowed the lump in her throat didn't go unnoticed by the soldier either.

He hated it when Jess was hurt, and the idea that it was him who caused it did not sit well with him. And suddenly the words were there.

"Jess, yes I am worried about you, because I care for you. I enjoy your company, on and off shift. I didn't plan on coming here every day, it just happened, and I'm glad it did."

Becker took her hands in his, caressing the back with his thumbs. A soft pink coloured Jess' cheeks.

"I really like cooking for you, enjoy dinner with you and to hearing about your day. Jessica, I like spending time with you."

Jess was left speechless when Becker finished his little monologue. The soldier's words had surprised her and the intense look in his eyes had touched her deeply.

After a few more moments in silence, Becker spoke again.

"Tomorrow is my day off, and if it's okay, I would love to join your trip to the Thorpe Park."

"I guess Lotte would love that." The young woman replied with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I hope not only her."

Jess' beaming smile was answer enough.

Lotte had been thrilled when Jess told her that Becker would be joining them for their trip. Now the two stood at the roadside waiting for the soldier to pick them up.

While the little girl was chatting away excitedly, asking over and over again which attractions they would go on, Jess fought against the nervousness she had felt all morning.

But the amount of butterflies in her stomach increased when she saw the soldier's car turning around the corner. They hadn't talked much more the night prior, Becker had left shortly after his little speech and Jess hadn't been able to bring herself to ask if it meant they had a chance as a couple.

She watched as Becker pulled over and wondered what the day would bring.

Lotte jumped into the car the moment it came to a full stop. She fastened her seatbelt as quickly as possible and started to fire questions at Becker about the park, before Jess even had the chance to open the passenger door. When she met the captain's eyes she felt her cheeks burning up.

Without comment, Becker let the moment slide and started the engine again. He had made a promise to himself on the way to pick them up. He would let his behaviour and words speak the same language, too many times he had sent mixed signals towards Jess.

So when the car weaved with the traffic, he reached for Jess' hand and squeezed it reassuringly and the nervousness she had felt eased.

A little over an hour later, the three entered the park. With a naturalness that Becker and Jess hadn't expected, Lotte took their hands and started to swing them around, smiling from ear to ear as she did so.

Their first stop was at the Depth Charge, a four lane slide. Lotte's eyes grew wide as she stood beside the slide, before she tightened her grip on Becker's and Jess' hands and pulled them towards the entrance.

"Can we have a race?" the child looked pleadingly at the grown-ups as she walked up the stairs.

"Sure, how about you and me against Becker?" Jess offered with a wink towards Lotte.

Not giving Becker a chance to object, Lotte had let go of his hand and increased her speed, pulling Jess with her. The woman looked back at the soldier and apologetically shrugged her shoulders. Shaking his head in amusement, Becker followed them seconds later.

He had let them win on purpose, Jess was sure as she watched Becker head towards them. Bowing a little, he congratulated Lotte for winning the race. Jess waited until Lotte skipped about a little away from them, already on her way to the next attraction, before she turned to Becker.

"Why did you let us win?" Jess asked with a scowl.

For a moment Becker was confused at her expression. But when the corner of Jess' lips began to twitch he knew she was teasing him.

Flashing her his charming smile, the Captain answered. "Because of Lotte." He then closed the gap between them a little and lowered his voice. "If it would have been only you and me, I would have beat you."

Before Jess could recover from the sudden closeness, Becker grabbed her hand. "We should get going or Lotte will go on the next ride alone."

Lotte dragged them onto the Flying Fish three times in a row and Jess was pleasantly surprised when Becker took her hand whenever they walked around.

The Swarm had caught Becker's interest and when Jess and Lotte assured they wouldn't mind him going alone, he took the chance. The two waited for him, enjoying some ice cream in the meantime.

After lunch they took it slower with a ride on the nostalgic Chief Ranger's Carousel and went onto

the water rides as the day came to an end.

They called it a day after one last ride on the Flying Fish.

With a giggling Lotte between them, Jess and Becker exited the roller-coaster. The young girl stopped at the photo desk to check on the picture that had been taken during the ride.

"That's great. Can we please get one?" Lotte pleaded the moment she had laid eyes on the screen where the photo was shown.

Until now, the ARC members hadn't been willing to spend money on the pictures taken. One of them had always been caught with a strange expression on their features.

Before Jess had time to take a closer look at the photo herself, her mobile went off. After a quick glance at the display, she excused herself, leaving Becker to deal with Lotte's wish alone.

Becker stepped closer to the counter, agreeing with the girl beside him. The photo had captured a moment when Lotte had been screaming in delight, while Becker and Jess looked at each other, over the child's head, with broad smiles on their faces.

Becker loved the photo on first sight and without giving it a second thought he bought a copy each for Lotte and Jess and a key ring for himself, which he added to his car keys directly. With a serious look, he turned to the blonde curly headed girl beside him.

"Lotte, don't tell Jess about her copy okay, I want to surprise her."

"I promise!" Lotte answered, mimicking his earnest tone while offering the captain her hand to seal their secret with a shake.

Together they walked over to Jess who had just said her goodbyes to the person on the other line.

"That was Lester," the young woman announced when Lotte was skipping about ahead of them and out of earshot. "Jenny called him a few minutes ago. She and Michael will take Lotte in."