Prompt: Kick
Rating: K+/T

Of all the times for their baby to kick for the first time, it had to happen when she was watching its father go up against a trio of tree raptors.

Jess sat on the edge of her seat at the ADD, watching intently as the team split up in an attempt at dealing with their latest incursion. She was almost grateful the anomaly had opened in an office building so she was able to help guide them using the CCTV but felt guilty almost as soon as the thought had crossed her mind as she thought about the young security guard who wouldn't be going home that night as a result.

As it was, she forced herself to square her shoulders and put the young man out of her mind as she focused on helping bring her team – and her husband – back to the ARC safely.

So focused on the screens in front of her, it took her a few seconds longer than it should to realise what the strange sensation she could feel actually was.

"Oh." She moved a hand from one of the keyboards in front of her to rest on her stomach, eyes round with surprise as her gaze sought out Becker on the screen.

"Everything okay?" It was Lester who asked, from his place hovering behind her. His overprotective streak was asserting itself more and more, almost in direct correlation with how big the bump at her middle grew.

Her boss had taken to standing in the Ops room – unnecessarily, in Jess's opinion – whenever there was an anomaly alert involving the core team to add Jess his silent support in case something went wrong. On one hand, it was incredibly touching but on the other, the added pressure of knowing her boss was watching over her shoulder sometimes didn't help much.

On screen, Jess saw Becker tense but otherwise remain focused on his surroundings.

"Fine. Everything's fine." She gave Lester a look over her shoulder when he opened his mouth to speak, shaking her head against whatever he was about to say. Becker couldn't afford any distractions, she knew, and she'd be damned if she let their baby kicking for the first time be the distraction that kept their child from knowing their father. "Matt, I've lost sight of the third raptor. The first two are still in the piazza; it looks like they're trying to figure out how to get out."

"Right." The team leader sighed over the comms. "Abby, Connor, meet me and Emily in the Piazza. Becker –"

"I'm tracking the third one now," Becker reported without needing to be told. He'd been the last person to see it and as much as Jess wanted him to stay with the others, she knew it made sense for him to keep looking for the errant raptor.

"We'll join you as soon as we've taken care of the two in the piazza. Jess, keep an eye out for the third one. Let Becker know if you see it."

She rolled her eyes but bit her tongue against the idea that she'd do anything else. "No sign of it yet," she reported instead, moving her hand from her bump back to the keyboard so she could resume her search of the building.

The two in the piazza were dealt with quickly, and Jess was able to spot the third before the team joined Becker – just before it jumped out at her husband, giving her enough time to warn him so he could turn and shoot it. Her heart was pounding in her chest as the raptor fell a few feet away from him, hitting the ground as their teammates raced into view on the screens in front of her.

She exhaled shakily, leaning back in her chair as Matt declared the situation under control. She felt Lester come up behind her before she felt his hand on her shoulder and turned her head to look at him, attempting a smile at the concerned expression on his face but the attempt fell flat.

He motioned for her to cut her comm. link between herself and the team and she did so reluctantly, keeping an eye on the screens as the people she cared about most started heaving the unconscious dinosaurs back towards the anomaly they'd come through.

"Are you alright?" Lester asked her quietly. "Do you need to go to the medical bay...?"

"No." She shook her head but didn't try to force a smile. "I'm fine, Lester. Really. Thank you for your concern but –"

"You don't look fine," Lester interrupted bluntly. "You look like you're going into shock."

"I'm not," she insisted, though she wasn't entirely sure if it was true. She felt a little shocky, she supposed, and although she knew feeling her baby kick for the first time was supposed to be a thrilling experience, Jess couldn't help but think the timing had all been wrong. To have her baby kick while watching its father risk his life to keep other people safe was a stark reminder of the conversation she and Becker had both been avoiding. "It's just... the baby kicked," she confessed, glancing guilty at her husband's image on screen as she spoke. He should've been the first person she told, she thought sadly, and it should've been a happy, exciting time for them both to share.

Lester looked as confused as she felt. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"It is. Or it would be, if Becker had been here." She caught the understanding on his face and tried to smile again. "Just don't tell him. He'll be disappointed he missed it."

Her boss-come-father-figure gave her a solemn nod. "I won't say a word."

It was easier to let him think that was all that was bothering her so Jess turned her attention back to the team and reconnected her comm. link. She listened to Connor complaining about the dinosaurs they were half-carrying, half-dragging needing to go on a diet but didn't smile as she would have done before.

Instead, she let her hand drift away from the keyboard to rest over her bump, wondering when she'd feel her baby kick again.

When Becker returned almost forty minutes later, he knew something was wrong. She greeted them with a smile as usual and although the team didn't notice, he could see it didn't reach her eyes. He knew her better than anyone and could tell when she was trying to hide something so he purposely lingered at the ADD, waiting until their teammates had drifted away to their own offices before leaning in to speak to her.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly, almost afraid of the answer. "Is it the baby...?"

Jess started to shake her head but changed her mind part-way through. Instead of answering him, she took his hand and pressed it firmly against her stomach.

A grin broke out across his face when he felt the subtle movement against his palm. "Is that...?"

"The baby's kicking," she confirmed quietly, a smile on her lips but it was accompanied by a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. "It kicked when you were out in the field, looking for the third raptor."

He understood immediately, feeling a cold shiver dance along his spine. Although they couldn't say the incursion had been one of the worst they'd dealt with, both he and Jess knew it could easily have gone tragically wrong.

"We need to have that conversation, Hil. I'm not saying we need to make a decision right here and now but we need to talk about it."

Feeling their child kick beneath his hand, Becker could only nod in response.

Continued in 'Difficult'.