Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or its characters.

Chapter Summary: Jess tells Becker about the baby.

Chapter Length: 1926

Open Mic Nights

Chapter 28 – Rightful Place

That night Becker had trouble sleeping. He spent most of the night lying in bed awake, wondering what Jess wanted to talk about. He had told her everything at the pub, how his fears had caused him to withdraw from her. He had even explained the incident in his office to her, and she had said she believed him. He couldn't see what there was left for them to talk about. Jess had said she still loved him, so what was holding her back?

As he lay in bed, he remembered something Conner had said to him that night he and Matt had dragged him to the pub, a couple weeks after he had first broken up with Jess. Connor had mentioned being worried about the Field Coordinator, that she had been throwing up a lot, and that he hoped Abby and Emily convinced her to go see a doctor.

What if that was what she wanted to talk to him about? What if she had gone to see the doctor and had found out something was wrong with her? What if she's terribly sick and knows she doesn't have long, and she's trying to spare him the pain of losing someone again?

It didn't matter, he wanted to be with her for whatever amount of time they were given.

If she is sick, I'll be with her every step of the way. I'll be by her side through every doctor's appointment and I'll make sure she knows what she means to me every day for as long as we get. If I do end up losing her, well, I won't worry about that until it happens, if it happens.

Eventually Becker feel into a deep sleep, but it was far from peaceful. He slept restlessly, plagued with nightmares. The worries that had kept him up half the night had followed him into the realm of dreams. He dreamt that he and Jess got back together, only for her to die moments later. That nightmare was promptly followed by another one, in which he and Jess got to spend years together. But he had to spend those years watching her valiantly fight off the disease that was trying to kill her, only for her to end up on her death bed anyway. Each dream was followed by another, that was more terrifying than the dream that preceded it. More often than not the pain of losing Jess was too great for Becker to bare and he soon followed his love.

When Becker woke up the next morning he was just as tired as when he went to bed, the little sleep he got had been anything but restful. He was tempted to stay in bed and try to get more sleep, it's not like he was working that day, but then he remembered that Jess was coming over and suddenly he was wide awake.

He got out of bed and set about getting ready for the day ahead. He got dressed, had a cup of coffee and then straightened up his living room. With that done, and nothing else to do, Becker began wandering, aimlessly, around his apartment

He was filled with nervous energy. So much so, that when there was a knock on his door, the normally calm and collected Captain practically jumped out of his skin.

Opening the door, he found Jess standing on the other side, looking just as nervous as he felt.

"Come in."

Jess smiled up at him timidly as she entered the apartment. They made their way into the living room and sat on the couch, where they stayed in silence until it becomes too much for him, and Becker broke it.

"Jess, I think I know what it is you want to talk about."

Jess looked at him in surprise. "You do?"

"Last night I remembered something Connor said to me a few weeks ago, about how you were getting sick all the time. Jess, I want you to know that whatever you're going through, I want to be there to support you. I'll be by your side for however long it takes for you to get well again. Which you will, you will get better Jess." He took her hands as he spoke.

"That's very sweet of you Becker, but you've got the wrong idea. I'm perfectly heathy, I saw a doctor and she figured out what was causing it."

"So…what was wrong? Did you have some sort of stomach bug?"

"Um, yeah…something like that."

"Then what did you want to talk about?"

Jess took a deep breath. "Becker, I'm…pregnant."

Becker pulled away from her, removing his hands from hers and leaned back into the couch. He cursed himself for how stupid he had been. He'd made a fool of himself last night, professing his love for her when she had already moved on with someone else. She probably went home last night and had a good laugh with her baby's father about her ex that told her he was still in love with her, thinking he would have a chance at winning her back.

God I'm so stupid.

Then he remembered some of the things Jess had said to him last night. She had told him she still loved him as well, and she had seemed particularly bothered by what had happened with Brittney. If she were with someone else why would him being with another woman bother her? And why would she tell him she still loved him?

If she tells me that some guy knocked her up and then walked out on her, I will track the bastard down and throw him through an anomaly.

"I'm almost two months pregnant actually." Jess' voice dragged him away from his thoughts. "Becker, think about who I was with two months ago."

He frowned at her, wondering why she thought to bring that up. After a moment it dawned on him what she was implying and a whole different set of emotions descended upon him.

Running a hand through his hair, Becker got up and started pacing the room.

How did this happen? They always made sure to use protection, they were both too responsible not to. Somewhere in the back of his mind there was a voice reminding him that no form of birth control is 100 percent effective. He had heard of people who had fallen pregnant despite using birth control, he had just always thought that—with how small the odds were—it wouldn't happen to him.

What was he going to do? Was he even ready to be a father? Of course he wasn't. What twenty-six-year-old was ready to be a parent? He didn't know anything about kids. He was barely an adult and now he was supposed to take care of a child. There was no way in hell he was ready to take on something so life changing.

Well, you're going to have to find a way to be ready to do this. You're not leaving Jess to deal with it by herself. You're going to be there for her and that baby for as long as she wants you to be.

"That's what I was afraid of." Jess muttered as she got up and left the flat.

Becker frowned, wondering what she meant, then he realised how his silence must have looked to her. Seconds later he was out the door, running after her.

"Jess, wait!" He caught up to her at the lift, and when she turned around he saw that there were tears in her eyes and staining her cheeks.

"Becker it's okay, I get it. We're young and you don't want a baby. Don't worry about it, you won't see me or the baby again."

Becker's heart broke at her words. How could she think that he'd never want to see her again?

"Don't you ever think that's what I want."

"It's not?"

"No, and I'm sorry I made you think that it was. I was just in shock; I couldn't stop thinking about how life would change now. I didn't even stop to think about how you must be feeling, and I am so so sorry for that. I can't even begin to imagine how hard this must be for you."

"I've been pretty emotional since I found out."

"Please Jess, come back inside and let's keep talking about this." He used the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the tears that had escaped her eyes.

Jess nodded and let Becker lead her back into his flat. They sat back down on the couch, Becker pulling Jess close to him.

"This is going to be pretty life changing isn't it?" Jess asked, her voice quiet.

"It is Jess," he said, squeezing her shoulders. "But we'll get through it. Abby told me that if I deserved to have you back in my life I had to show you I'm a changed man, and I'm going to do that by being by your side every step of the way."

Jess smiled up at him. "Thank you."

"I do have one question though, why did you take so long to tell me? It must have been terrifying going through this on your own."

"I've actually only known myself for a week. Most women are already a month pregnant by the time they find out, but it took me longer to realise there was something different with my body, I was too…distracted to recognise the signs. If it wasn't for Abby and Emily insisting I go see a doctor, I still might not know."

Becker winced at her words, knowing he was the reason she hadn't realised something was wrong.

They fell into silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Now that the initial shock had worn off, Becker was able to picture what his new life might look like. He could see him and Jess moving into a small house somewhere, just big enough for the two of them and the baby. They would spend the next few months getting everything ready for the baby's arrival. They'd have to set up a nursery and buy everything the little one would need, something he wass sure Jess would enjoy doing.

He could imagine holding Jess' hand as she gave birth to their child, the team out in the hospital's waiting room, hanging out for news on how both mother and child were doing. He could picture bringing them both home and beginning their new lives as a family, and the more he thought about it, the happier Becker got. What had seemed terrifying mere moments ago was starting to look like the best thing that could have happened to him.

"So, you're not mad?" Jess asked timidly.

"Jess, yesterday I thought the best thing that could happen to me was getting back together with you. I was wrong. The best thing that could happen to me is getting to start a family with you. How could I get mad at you for giving me the best thing that will ever happen to me?"

Jess was looking at him with tears in her eyes, but this time, they were tears of joy.

"I love you Jess, and there is no one I would rather be doing this with."

Then, Becker did something he had been wanting to do for weeks now, he leant down and kissed her. The kiss started off soft, but slowly grew more passionate as they gave in to the emotions swirling around inside of them.