"Last Night" 1/2, Rated NC-17
Author: taraljc
Title: Last Night
Pairing: Becker/Jess
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Set between 5.04 and 5.05 and after "Unofficial Secrets Act". If this is their last night on Earth, at least Becker and Jess are together.
Disclaimer: Primeval and all related elements, characters and indicia © Impossible Pictures. All Rights Reserved. All characters and situations-save those created by the authors for use solely on this website-are copyright Impossible Pictures.
Please do not archive or distribute without author's permission.
Author's Note: Set between 5.04 and 5.05, and after the events of "Unofficial Secrets Act". Huge thanks to my amazing (and patient) betas boosette, marymac, and seren_ccd.
Disclaimer: Primeval and all related elements, characters and indicia © Impossible Pictures. All Rights Reserved. All characters and situations-save those created by the authors for use solely on this website-are copyright Impossible Pictures.
Please do not archive or distribute without author's permission.
Author's Note: Set between 5.04 and 5.05, and after the events of "Unofficial Secrets Act". Huge thanks to my amazing (and patient) betas boosette, marymac, and seren_ccd.
Last Night
by LJC
Jess' first day back at the ARC after her medical leave was like being thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool with lead weights attached to her ankles. She should have expected it; the anomalies had been increasing in frequency ever since Connor had noticed the mad satellite anomalies at the prison where they had caught Ethan.
She'd only been at her desk for perhaps ten minutes, a giant Caffè Nero mocha in one hand and a muffin (banana nut this time) in the other, when the Anomaly Alert alarms went off.
Abby and Connor came over from the break room, and Jess was glad to see the two of them so close again. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Abby much the last two days, but Connor had his hand on Abby's waist and they seemed to have regained their easy way of being around one another. And while she was happy for them, she couldn't help being that little bit envious.
Connor and Abby were making life at her flat a little more complicated than Jess had initially pictured when she'd first offered them her spare room. She had been lonely, living on her own in the city, and it was especially nice to have people she could be completely honest with about every aspect of her life. A flatshare had seemed like such a great idea at first, and it had been for nearly a year.
Of course, that was before she had a boyfriend. A proper boyfriend, with whom she had thus far done little more than make out on her sofa, and chat with on the phone. It was a bit like living at home with her mum and dad all over again. But she wasn't a kid anymore, and she really was looking forward to a little... unchaperoned adult time.
When she'd come in that morning, it had taken every ounce of her willpower not to head straight to the Armoury to see Becker. But they'd agreed to keep their relationship off the radar at work. So instead she'd been at the ADD since she arrived, catching up on the systems logs from the previous two days and trying not to be angry with Shelby for rearranging items on her desk while she'd covered Jess' shifts.
One thing had changed since Lester had forced her via Skype to take a day's medical leave: Emily was now a fully vetted member of the team. Jess had issued her a black box as she'd come into the Hub behind Matt, still looking a bit like a woman out of her time in grey jodhpurs and riding boots, the hilt of her stiletto peeking out from the top of her right boot.
"It's good to see you looking so well," Emily had said as she'd taken the EMD pistol from Matt and checked its power cell like she'd used one before. Perhaps she had. She and Matt had spent most of the time together since Emily had returned to the 21st century, despite the fact that she still slept in the guest quarters in corridor five.
"I'd have been back yesterday, but Lester... insisted." Jess shrugged. In truth, she suspected Becker might have had a talk with him after he'd left her place the morning before. She would normally have taken exception to his alpha male macho posturing, deciding what was best for her, except for the fact that once the adrenaline and steroids had worn off she'd spent most of the day dead-to-the-world, finally rising only a few hours before Abby and Connor came home covered in the remains of a Jurassic predator. Apparently, the ARC showers were low on the list of systems requiring priority maintenance after the beetles had tunnelled through the walls.
They had disappeared into the bath, and Jess hadn't seen them again until that morning when she'd put the coffee on and Connor had stumbled out in nothing but a vest, boxers, and Abby's pink dressing gown, monosyllabic and finding mugs by touch. Jess had waved to him and he'd grunted a greeting as he carried two steaming mugs down to the bedrooms.
She'd toyed with calling Becker, to see if he wanted to grab a meal or even a film, but stopped herself because she wasn't sure she wanted to be "That Girl". The one who couldn't be apart from her boyfriend for two minutes, and insisted that they spend every waking moment together.
Still, it had been awfully nice waking up in his arms, even if they hadn't done anything more than talk and make out like horny teenagers the night before. She looked forward to possibly repeating the experience sometime soon, only while both of them were wearing considerably less clothing, and at his place where there was no danger of Connor or Abby walking in on them.
She remembered the feeling, before she opened her eyes, of his chest rising and falling beneath hers. Of warmth where they touched. The way his eyelashes lay against his cheek as he slept, his hair sticking up at odd angles. His clothes were rumpled from falling asleep on her sofa-falling asleep with her draped across his body, one hand tucked under his tee-shirt to curl against his stomach. She remembered how his heart beat thrummed through her, the way his belt buckle dug into her hip, the feel of him through his faded and creased jeans, half hard against the top of her thigh.
The way his lips parted as she deliberately brushed up against him, lashes fluttering against his cheek before he opened his eyes. In the sunlight streaming through the windows, his hazel eyes were shot through with flecks of amber and almost seemed to glow from within, until he shaded his eyes with one hand.
"Shit, what time is it?" he'd asked, despite the fact that of the two of them he was the only one wearing a watch, the face turned around the inside of his wrist per usual. She'd lifted his wrist so she could peer at it, and he'd curled his hand around her neck, and carded his fingers through her hair.
"Don't worry-it's only half seven. You have time to stop at home and change before shift change."
"Do you know what's the best part about my men wearing uniforms?"
"What?"
"It means that instead of having to go home to change," he'd pushed her fringe out of her eyes with a slow smile, "I can stay here with you just that bit longer."
Definitely her favourite memory of the last few days.
"Jess?" Matt prompted as he clipped his black box to his belt, bringing her out of her reverie. "The anomaly?"
"Yeah. Of course. Sorry." She felt her cheeks burning as she pulled up the data. "It's the golf course at Stockley Park. I've loaded the co-ordinates into your satnavs, and Becker and the security team are already down in the loading bay. No sign of a creature incursion yet, but I've had the buildings closest to the area cleared, with a half-mile perimeter just in case."
"OK. We'll radio in when we get there. And Jess?"
"Yeah?"
"It's good to have you back." Matt laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze before turning to follow Emily out of the Hub.
Jess smiled brightly, and then her breath caught in her throat as Becker came over to pick up a black box from the docking station on her desk. He leaned down 'til his lips were next to her ear.
"Very good," he said, running a finger lightly over her forearm. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks, and glanced around to make sure no-one was watching them. But it was hardly unusual for Becker to be hanging around the ADD. As far as everyone else in the ARC was concerned, it was business as usual.
"Be careful, OK?" Jess said brightly.
"Always," Becker promised as he clipped the black box to his belt.
Jess turned back to the ADD and pulled up satellite imagery of the area, trying to concentrate on her job, rather than the memory of Becker's fingers in her hair.
According to Connor's anomaly dating device, the anomaly in the golf course led not to a prehistoric period, but to the 12th century. Luckily the only creature incursion was a herd of cattle who were happily grazing on the green.
Jess was about to hand off the ADD to second shift when her mobile chirped, indicating she had a new message.
Question. Secure channel? -b
Intrigued, she transferred her earpiece to a separate channel, and texted him the frequency.
"Aren't we very James Bond all of a sudden?" she said quietly, her gaze darting around the Hub to make sure no-one was listening. But aside from Lester's assistant and two lab techs, all of whom were engrossed in their own work, she was alone. "How's your unexpected afternoon as a drover coming along?"
"Abby and Matt have got the majority of them through. The cows followed the bulls; it's just the stragglers left. I'm back at the vehicles-let Connor play sheepdog for a while."
"Oh, I don't know. Sheepdogs are clever, driven, highly trained, and always follow commands. Sound like anyone we know?"
"Very funny, Jess."
"I'm just saying-you could do worse."
"How do you feel about dinner at mine tonight after work?"
Jess grinned. "Let me guess-spagbol a la Becker?"
His laughter over the comms made her toes curl inside her kicky red pumps as if he were right beside her. "I'm through cooking for you. We're going to order in."
"You just don't like doing the washing up."
"Let's just say I can think of better ways to spend our time."
Colour flooded her cheeks, and Jess glanced around again to make certain no-one was watching her. "I quite like the sound of that," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I thought you would. You're just lucky I-"
Whatever else he's was going to say was cut off as the alarms went off, and the lights in the Hub flashed red.
"Becker-switch back to the main line." She keyed in a few commands, drawing up terrain maps of the area. "Head's up-we've got another anomaly alert. Sending co-ordinates now. ETA to anomaly site is 22 minutes from your present location, assuming the traffic behaves. I bet you wish you had sirens."
"Any sign of a creature incursion?" Matt asked, and Jess frowned at her screens.
"Nothing yet, but I'm monitoring communications. It's in a block of council flats in South Acton."
"Alright-we're heading out now. The rest of the security team will join us after they've got the remaining cattle through and the anomaly has closed. Jess, at the first whiff of an incursion, dispatch back-up to the estate."
"Already on it-I've got two teams of five prepping now; Sgt Tully's team, and Major Sanderson's."
"So much for dinner," Becker muttered, and Jess had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from making a sound.
"Oh, did you have plans?" Abby asked over the comms, her voice dripping with sincerity and Jess groaned as if she could already see her flatmate's face.
"If I did, they'd be no business of yours," Becker said loftily.
"It's just funny you should mention, cos Jess only just texted me that she was going to be out tonight, that's all."
"The comms," Matt interrupted, "are not for personal chatter, people. Isn't that right, Jess?"
"Right," Jess stammered, trying to ignore her flaming cheeks. "I mean-yes. Matt's absolutely right."
She could hear Abby laughing in the background, and ignored her desire to go find a cupboard and hide.
While the ARC vehicles were en route, she concentrated on monitoring the council flats, tapping into the network of CCTV cameras on the estate. She could see police escorting the residents away, angry and frightened people being herded behind the hastily set up tape. Meanwhile, the ADD's sensors were triangulating the radio signals until a section of the building's schematics lit up red on her screen.
"Jess, we're onsite. Any idea what we've got?" Matt asked over the comms.
"The anomaly is down in the subbasement of the Northwest tower, near the laundry machines. It's been evacuated-we put about there's a gas leak and I've had them set up a half mile perimeter."
"Connor, you and Emily lock the anomaly. Becker, Abby-you're with me. Jess, any sign of a creature incursion?"
"Not yet. I'm scanning all the floors, but they don't have full coverage of the lower levels. Police have confirmed all thirteen storeys have been evacuated. But Matt-I've scanned the last hour of the car park cameras and it looks like there were some kids who went into a rear door to the basement about twenty minutes ago. It looked like three boys, but camera resolution isn't the best. It's an old estate, and the images are pretty grainy."
"OK, we'll keep a look out for them. You did good, Jess," Matt added, but she still frowned at her screens.
"Find the kids, and I'll feel like I've done my job," Jess said firmly as she pulled up as many local traffic cameras as she could. From her Big Brother view, she saw the ARC vehicles pulled up to the council block. Becker sent one of his uniformed soldiers to speak with the police while they unloaded the locking device and EMDs from the boot.
The hardest part of her job wasn't co-ordinating field teams. Or interfacing with local law enforcement. It wasn't even sitting safe and sound at her desk in the Hub while her friends were out there risking their lives every time they went to an anomaly site.
Jess had known what she was signing up for when she took the job at the ARC. Or she thought she had. She'd read through mountains of non-disclosure agreements, signed the Official Secrets Act. She'd taken it upon herself to read every mission report, every personnel file. To get to know the people she would be working with, and to understand the people who had come before her-the people lost to their fight to protect the world from the dangers of the anomalies.
She'd read about Tom Ryan, Stephen Hart, and Nick Cutter. About Jenny Lewis, Danny Quinn, and Connor and Abby. She'd read about all the men and women who had died, on every mission, and vowed that so long as she was acting as field co-ordinator, she would do everything in her power to keep the people of the ARC safe. That meant being their eyes and ears when they were out in the field. Knowing every twist and turn of an anomaly site.
What she had never planned for was seeing people-innocent people who had no idea what was happening-fall victim to the predators from the past and future. Men, women, children who were just going about, living their lives completely oblivious to the danger. People who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She did everything she could to help, but the hardest part was having to watch. Because that was her job-to watch.
"There's definitely something," Becker replied, and she switched the feed to his black box. She flinched at the video image of a blood smear that ran along the floor. She switched back to the CCTV and watched Becker, Matt, and Abby as they followed the trail, EMDs pointed towards the ceiling.
Switching camera angles, she caught sight of an ankle in a high-heeled shoe peeking out from behind a half-open door.
"Becker-your 2 o'clock," Jess said, trying her best to keep her voice level instead of trembling. She forced herself to look as Becker and Abby examined the body of a middle-aged woman. Her throat and chest were a mess of red which appeared black on the camera feed, and Jess suspected that was the only thing keeping her gorge from rising.
"Animal attack," Abby confirmed as she bent over the body. "Not large-but carnivorous. Teeth and claws for sure."
"Matt, we have a confirmed incursion," Jess switched feeds. "Has Connor dated the anomaly yet?"
"Working on it."
"In your own time, then," Becker muttered as he and Abby swept another corridor.
"According to the readouts, it's Late Cretaceous. So it could be anything from an Adasaurus to a Balaur raptor to a Euronychodon. Without knowing the where as well as the when the anomaly leads to, or finding some tracks or scat-"
"What's the best case scenario?" Becker asked, interrupting Connor's nervous rattling off of every fact he had to hand.
"Becker, someone's already died, and we've a carnivore from 65 million years ago running around a housing estate. I'm not sure there is a best case scenario."
"Are we dealing with one of them, or an entire pack? How large are they?"
"OK. Best case scenario-one creature," Connor informed them.
"No-best case scenario, the creature's already gone back through," Abby pointed out as she and Becker swapped positions, EMDs at the ready.
Jess caught a flicker of movement in the top quadrant of security camera feeds she'd pulled up from the estate and zoomed in as much as she could, squinting at the screen.
"Becker-I've picked up a creature on CCTV. Second storey hallway-it must have climbed the stairs. How did it get the fire doors open?"
"Places like this, doors are always propped open," Becker pointed out. "Especially in summer."
"Jess, any idea what it is?" Abby asked.
"It looked... kind of like a cat crossed with a lizard? Sorry Abby-these cameras are really old."
"But there was just one of them?"
"So far, yeah. I'm sending the best shot I could get to your phones. Connor-any idea what it is?"
"Wow. You're right-these cameras really do suck. Could be an Aristosuchus. Um... carnivore, two metres tip to tail, maybe for or five stone when they're full grown? The fossil records are all we've got to go on. We've never seen one of these before."
"Do they have any weaknesses?" Matt asked, and Becker shrugged.
"Does it matter? It's a dinosaur-we shoot it. End of problem."
"Sometimes I envy you, Becker," Abby said as she patted his shoulder. "Your worldview is so simple."
"It's a dinosaur, and it's killed at least one person."
"I'm sorry, Abby. But I'm with Becker on this one. If we can't herd it back through the anomaly-"
"I know, I know."
"I promise-next time."
"So long as they're cute, cuddly herbivores."
"Guys? Kids in the basement? Scary dinosaurs?"
"We're on it, Jess," Matt sighed.
Six hours, two Aristosuchus, three teenagers with cans of spray paint, and one long phone call with the housing association later, and the core team was back at the ARC.
"Where's Connor?" Jess asked as Becker laid his black box very precisely on Jess' glass desk. He'd changed out of his tactical gear, and was wearing faded low-slung jeans, his brown leather bike jacket on over a dark blue tee-shirt which was stretched taut over his chest.
"He and Abby disappeared into Matt's lab as soon as they got back."
"Matt's lab? Huh. That's weird." Jess tapped a few keys, frowning.
"Why?"
Jess gestured to the screen, but Becker didn't know what he was looking at.
"Phillip rang for Connor, like, half a dozen times. He even called me once, to ask where Connor was, because he wasn't answering his mobile."
"Why so strange? Lester and Phillip share him, right?"
"Yeah, except Connor never dodges calls from his mentor. And we've had to prise him out of his lab to eat and sleep and shower for weeks now. But I just checked the security codes and he hasn't been in there once today."
Becker shrugged, shoving his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans. "All I know is, Temple was very happy to be back out in the field today. I suppose Burton and Lester will just have to hash it out when Lester gets back tomorrow."
Jess' mouth quirked in a smile. "Who gets custody rights to Connor, you mean?"
"Divorce, such a messy business," Becker said with a sigh, and Jess reached over to punch him lightly on the shoulder. "Enough about Temple. I am wondering what Miss Jessica Parker might be fancying for dinner tonight."
"Becker," Jess whispered, glancing around self-consciously.
"Eyes in the back of my head," Becker said with a wink. "So, what'll it be? We've done Chinese and a curry. That leaves... well, everything that's not Chinese or a curry."
"Ethiopian?"
Becker made a face. "There's something deeply unsettling about bread you don't have to chew."
"How do we feel about sushi?"
"How do you think I feel about sushi?"
"Jamaican?"
"Only if you're not going to order the spiciest thing on the menu in an effort to destroy my ability to ever taste food again."
"OK-I give up. How about we stop by the pub on the way to your place and get a pint, and shepherd's pie."
"This might be true love."
"I don't know how you can be so fit surviving on nothing but the equivalent of school dinners."
"You think I'm fit?"
She gave him a look.
"And haven't you heard? Jamie Oliver's made school dinners posh now."
"Next time I get to pick, you're going to at the very least try tempura and some shrimp rolls."
Sneaking a glance around the Hub to make sure they were unobserved, Becker gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Deal."
"Becker, Jess?" Matt's voice came over the comms, "can you come up to my lab?"
"On our way," Becker replied, raising his eyebrows. But Jess was just as puzzled as he was.
"You go ahead, I'll catch you up. I just need to finish downloading the anomaly data from today."
When Becker got to Matt's lab, he was surprised to find Abby, Connor, and Emily with Matt, their expressions grim. Matt's plants were all in bloom, the heady scent of orchids and other flowers making Becker's head swim. He'd always thought it was odd that Matt's hobby was horticulture. Nothing in his file suggested someone who would climb Mt Everest for fun would have something so sedate as gardening as a pastime.
"Where's Jess?" Emily asked.
"She's on her way. What's going on?"
Becker watched the four of them all look to Matt with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. When Jess had first voiced the idea that something was going on, Becker had assured her that Anderson would never keep secrets from the team. But it was clear that something was going on. And from the looks on their faces, it was something big.
"Alright-out with it."
"We should wait for Jess-" Abby said, her eyes darting to Matt, who nodded tersely.
"Phillip's working with Helen Cutter," Connor blurted out. "Danny was right. He's been lying to us this whole time."
"Helen Cutter? Seriously? The woman's been dead for two years and she's still wreaking havoc?"
Becker watched a muscle in Matt's jaw twitch. Finally he leaned against the table, arms crossed, and looked Becker in the eye. "Phillip's work at New Dawn is going to bring about the end of the world as you know it."
"And you know this how, exactly?"
"Because I've seen it. In fact, I was born into it. And I came back here to try and prevent it."
"Excuse me?"
"Becker, Matt's from the future," Abby explained, and it dawned on him that none of this was news to Abby or Connor. Even Emily was just watching him, waiting to see how he would react.
Becker advanced on Matt, ignoring how Emily's hand twitched toward her stiletto. "I knew that bit about Everest was a load of bollocks. How much of your dossier was fabricated? Are you really ex-Army? Are you even qualified to handle a weapon?"
"Becker, we've worked together in the field for nearly two years, and you're going to count a piece of paper over my actions?"
Jess chose that moment to enter the lab. All eyes turned to her, and her blue eyes went wide as she took in the scene. "What's going on?"
"Come on in, Jess. Matt was just telling us how everything we know about him is a lie." Becker could feel a vein in his forehead starting to throb, and scrubbed his hands over his face.
"What?" Jess' voice had dropped to a fierce whisper.
"Matthew is from the future." Becker crossed his arms and glared at Matt, while Jess just kept looking back and forth between them, confused.
"What? How? Like, where the scary mutant bat things come from? That future?"
"Look, I promise I'll explain everything. But right now, I need you to trust me when I tell you that the machine Phillip's built at New Dawn is going to rip this world apart."
"How?" Jess asked, going from looking confused to frightened.
"That's the thing-we didn't know until Connor built the prototype. Something about the man-made anomaly Phillip's going to create is going to upset the balance. Tip the scales." Matt closed his eyes, and blew out a breath, his shoulders sagging. "Look, my dad was the scientist. He's the one who figured out that it has something to do with the magnetic poles of the Earth. I'm a soldier."
Matt's eyes went to Becker's, as if looking for some kind of solidarity.
"And my mission is-and has always been-to stop the man-made interference that mucks up Mother Nature's mad plan. If we don't, billions are going to die. Nearly all life on Earth, wiped out."
It was the longest speech Becker had ever heard Matt make.
"The final trials are tomorrow-after that, there's nothing stopping Phillip from bringing the machine online." Connor said, turning his laptop towards the group. " I've got the schematics for Phillip's machine. With those, and the Security codes, we can disable it. We just need to keep Phillip away from New Dawn."
"Connor, that'll be your job," Matt said, as if this was just any other mission, and he was still acting as team leader. That more than anything else set Becker's teeth on edge. "I'll disable the machine. The rest of you-it has to appear business as usual here at the ARC. Otherwise, Phillip might get suspicious."
"Fine." Becker got right up into Matt's face, and glared at him. "But we're telling Lester first."
"I don't know that's such a good-" Matt began.
"Did I make that sound like a suggestion? Because it wasn't. Lester has been here since the beginning. He needs to know exactly what's going on, and he needs to know now. If Burton is using the ARC to end the world, then we'll need Lester on our side. To talk the Minister down after we've shot our pet millionaire in the head, if nothing else."
Matt frowned. "Fine."
Becker turned to leave, and then paused in the open door.
"Oh, one last thing," Becker said as he turned back to Matt, and then nailed him in the jaw with a right cross.
"I think you loosened a tooth." Matt probed the inside of his cheek with his tongue.
"If you ever lie to me again in a way that puts the team at risk, it won't be just your teeth you'll be losing. Understood?"
"Understood."
Becker stomped out of the lab, his back ramrod straight.
Jess was torn. Part of her wanted to rush after Becker to make sure he was OK. But she had so many questions. She'd known something was off with Matt, but she'd always assumed it was just personal stuff. Family, maybe old girlfriends. Normal, everyday stuff.
Coming from a post-apocalyptic future like that scrummy guy from The Terminator had never been on her radar. Why would it? Things like that just didn't happen in real life. They just didn't.
The thing of it was-prehistoric Mammoths didn't rampage across the M25 in real life, either. So her entire worldview tended to shift by degrees every day she was at the ARC.
"That went better than I expected, actually," Abby said as she gave Matt's shoulder a friendly pat.
"Yeah-I was actually expecting him to shoot you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Connor," Matt said as he continued to massage his jaw.
"How long?" Jess asked, and they all turned to her as if they'd forgot she was there. "Seriously, though, how long has everyone else on the team known?"
"Jess, it's not like that," Abby began, like Jess was the sweet kid sister. But this time Jess wasn't going to buy it.
She held up her hand, and squared her shoulders, and looked Matt straight in the eye. "Look, I'll talk to him. I just... I just need to know. This is important. We're a team. I need to know why we were kept in the dark for so long, that's all."
Matt had the decency to look uncomfortable under her gaze.
"I told Emily first-when we were at Jenny Lewis' wedding. Abby figured it out later, and then, after the beetles, we had to tell Connor."
"Had to?" Jess repeated, her voice rising slightly on the first word. "So not wanted to? Not intended to?"
"Jess, I wasn't planning to tell anybody," Matt snapped, and she forced herself not to take an involuntary step back. Matt had never been the most open member of the team, but he'd never actually raised his voice at her before.
"I'm sorry," Matt said quickly, and he seemed to really mean it. "I was taught-I was raised to believe this was something I had to do alone. It was my responsibility, and I wasn't supposed to let myself get... distracted by personal ties. No friendships. No relationships. Just the mission."
As he spoke, Emily moved that bit closer to his side.
"But I can't do it alone. I need you-all of you." Matt turned to include all of them in his statement, before turning back to Jess. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I didn't actually know it was Phillip until recently. I swear."
Jess chewed on her bottom lip, her eyebrows drawing together in a frown. "Alright. I understand."
"So we're good?" Matt asked, looking suddenly vulnerable-unsure. Jess realised that he really genuinely felt remorse for keeping her and Becker in the dark. Whatever his intentions when he joined the ARC, he was on their team. Or they were on his. Either way, they were still a team.
"I'm good." She wanted to make it clear that she wouldn't-and couldn't-speak for Becker. Matt nodded, and on impulse, Jess gave him a hug. It must have been a huge weight to carry alone for so long, and she really did understand.
But being the last to know-that hurt. And she had a feeling it hurt Becker much more, since he'd been with the ARC since practically the beginning.
"I'll talk to Becker, see if I can smooth things over," Jess said as she released Matt, and gave his hand a squeeze.
"Thanks, Jess."
"Don't thank me yet-I'll do what I can, but the rest'll be up to you. He trusted you, Matt. We all did. It won't be easy."
"I'd rather this world survive and Becker be angry, than the alternative."
Part 2
Title: Last Night
Pairing: Becker/Jess
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Set between 5.04 and 5.05 and after "Unofficial Secrets Act". If this is their last night on Earth, at least Becker and Jess are together.
Disclaimer: Primeval and all related elements, characters and indicia © Impossible Pictures. All Rights Reserved. All characters and situations-save those created by the authors for use solely on this website-are copyright Impossible Pictures.
Please do not archive or distribute without author's permission.
Author's Note: Set between 5.04 and 5.05, and after the events of "Unofficial Secrets Act". Huge thanks to my amazing (and patient) betas boosette, marymac, and seren_ccd.
Disclaimer: Primeval and all related elements, characters and indicia © Impossible Pictures. All Rights Reserved. All characters and situations-save those created by the authors for use solely on this website-are copyright Impossible Pictures.
Please do not archive or distribute without author's permission.
Author's Note: Set between 5.04 and 5.05, and after the events of "Unofficial Secrets Act". Huge thanks to my amazing (and patient) betas boosette, marymac, and seren_ccd.
Last Night
by LJC
Jess' first day back at the ARC after her medical leave was like being thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool with lead weights attached to her ankles. She should have expected it; the anomalies had been increasing in frequency ever since Connor had noticed the mad satellite anomalies at the prison where they had caught Ethan.
She'd only been at her desk for perhaps ten minutes, a giant Caffè Nero mocha in one hand and a muffin (banana nut this time) in the other, when the Anomaly Alert alarms went off.
Abby and Connor came over from the break room, and Jess was glad to see the two of them so close again. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Abby much the last two days, but Connor had his hand on Abby's waist and they seemed to have regained their easy way of being around one another. And while she was happy for them, she couldn't help being that little bit envious.
Connor and Abby were making life at her flat a little more complicated than Jess had initially pictured when she'd first offered them her spare room. She had been lonely, living on her own in the city, and it was especially nice to have people she could be completely honest with about every aspect of her life. A flatshare had seemed like such a great idea at first, and it had been for nearly a year.
Of course, that was before she had a boyfriend. A proper boyfriend, with whom she had thus far done little more than make out on her sofa, and chat with on the phone. It was a bit like living at home with her mum and dad all over again. But she wasn't a kid anymore, and she really was looking forward to a little... unchaperoned adult time.
When she'd come in that morning, it had taken every ounce of her willpower not to head straight to the Armoury to see Becker. But they'd agreed to keep their relationship off the radar at work. So instead she'd been at the ADD since she arrived, catching up on the systems logs from the previous two days and trying not to be angry with Shelby for rearranging items on her desk while she'd covered Jess' shifts.
One thing had changed since Lester had forced her via Skype to take a day's medical leave: Emily was now a fully vetted member of the team. Jess had issued her a black box as she'd come into the Hub behind Matt, still looking a bit like a woman out of her time in grey jodhpurs and riding boots, the hilt of her stiletto peeking out from the top of her right boot.
"It's good to see you looking so well," Emily had said as she'd taken the EMD pistol from Matt and checked its power cell like she'd used one before. Perhaps she had. She and Matt had spent most of the time together since Emily had returned to the 21st century, despite the fact that she still slept in the guest quarters in corridor five.
"I'd have been back yesterday, but Lester... insisted." Jess shrugged. In truth, she suspected Becker might have had a talk with him after he'd left her place the morning before. She would normally have taken exception to his alpha male macho posturing, deciding what was best for her, except for the fact that once the adrenaline and steroids had worn off she'd spent most of the day dead-to-the-world, finally rising only a few hours before Abby and Connor came home covered in the remains of a Jurassic predator. Apparently, the ARC showers were low on the list of systems requiring priority maintenance after the beetles had tunnelled through the walls.
They had disappeared into the bath, and Jess hadn't seen them again until that morning when she'd put the coffee on and Connor had stumbled out in nothing but a vest, boxers, and Abby's pink dressing gown, monosyllabic and finding mugs by touch. Jess had waved to him and he'd grunted a greeting as he carried two steaming mugs down to the bedrooms.
She'd toyed with calling Becker, to see if he wanted to grab a meal or even a film, but stopped herself because she wasn't sure she wanted to be "That Girl". The one who couldn't be apart from her boyfriend for two minutes, and insisted that they spend every waking moment together.
Still, it had been awfully nice waking up in his arms, even if they hadn't done anything more than talk and make out like horny teenagers the night before. She looked forward to possibly repeating the experience sometime soon, only while both of them were wearing considerably less clothing, and at his place where there was no danger of Connor or Abby walking in on them.
She remembered the feeling, before she opened her eyes, of his chest rising and falling beneath hers. Of warmth where they touched. The way his eyelashes lay against his cheek as he slept, his hair sticking up at odd angles. His clothes were rumpled from falling asleep on her sofa-falling asleep with her draped across his body, one hand tucked under his tee-shirt to curl against his stomach. She remembered how his heart beat thrummed through her, the way his belt buckle dug into her hip, the feel of him through his faded and creased jeans, half hard against the top of her thigh.
The way his lips parted as she deliberately brushed up against him, lashes fluttering against his cheek before he opened his eyes. In the sunlight streaming through the windows, his hazel eyes were shot through with flecks of amber and almost seemed to glow from within, until he shaded his eyes with one hand.
"Shit, what time is it?" he'd asked, despite the fact that of the two of them he was the only one wearing a watch, the face turned around the inside of his wrist per usual. She'd lifted his wrist so she could peer at it, and he'd curled his hand around her neck, and carded his fingers through her hair.
"Don't worry-it's only half seven. You have time to stop at home and change before shift change."
"Do you know what's the best part about my men wearing uniforms?"
"What?"
"It means that instead of having to go home to change," he'd pushed her fringe out of her eyes with a slow smile, "I can stay here with you just that bit longer."
Definitely her favourite memory of the last few days.
"Jess?" Matt prompted as he clipped his black box to his belt, bringing her out of her reverie. "The anomaly?"
"Yeah. Of course. Sorry." She felt her cheeks burning as she pulled up the data. "It's the golf course at Stockley Park. I've loaded the co-ordinates into your satnavs, and Becker and the security team are already down in the loading bay. No sign of a creature incursion yet, but I've had the buildings closest to the area cleared, with a half-mile perimeter just in case."
"OK. We'll radio in when we get there. And Jess?"
"Yeah?"
"It's good to have you back." Matt laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze before turning to follow Emily out of the Hub.
Jess smiled brightly, and then her breath caught in her throat as Becker came over to pick up a black box from the docking station on her desk. He leaned down 'til his lips were next to her ear.
"Very good," he said, running a finger lightly over her forearm. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks, and glanced around to make sure no-one was watching them. But it was hardly unusual for Becker to be hanging around the ADD. As far as everyone else in the ARC was concerned, it was business as usual.
"Be careful, OK?" Jess said brightly.
"Always," Becker promised as he clipped the black box to his belt.
Jess turned back to the ADD and pulled up satellite imagery of the area, trying to concentrate on her job, rather than the memory of Becker's fingers in her hair.
According to Connor's anomaly dating device, the anomaly in the golf course led not to a prehistoric period, but to the 12th century. Luckily the only creature incursion was a herd of cattle who were happily grazing on the green.
Jess was about to hand off the ADD to second shift when her mobile chirped, indicating she had a new message.
Question. Secure channel? -b
Intrigued, she transferred her earpiece to a separate channel, and texted him the frequency.
"Aren't we very James Bond all of a sudden?" she said quietly, her gaze darting around the Hub to make sure no-one was listening. But aside from Lester's assistant and two lab techs, all of whom were engrossed in their own work, she was alone. "How's your unexpected afternoon as a drover coming along?"
"Abby and Matt have got the majority of them through. The cows followed the bulls; it's just the stragglers left. I'm back at the vehicles-let Connor play sheepdog for a while."
"Oh, I don't know. Sheepdogs are clever, driven, highly trained, and always follow commands. Sound like anyone we know?"
"Very funny, Jess."
"I'm just saying-you could do worse."
"How do you feel about dinner at mine tonight after work?"
Jess grinned. "Let me guess-spagbol a la Becker?"
His laughter over the comms made her toes curl inside her kicky red pumps as if he were right beside her. "I'm through cooking for you. We're going to order in."
"You just don't like doing the washing up."
"Let's just say I can think of better ways to spend our time."
Colour flooded her cheeks, and Jess glanced around again to make certain no-one was watching her. "I quite like the sound of that," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I thought you would. You're just lucky I-"
Whatever else he's was going to say was cut off as the alarms went off, and the lights in the Hub flashed red.
"Becker-switch back to the main line." She keyed in a few commands, drawing up terrain maps of the area. "Head's up-we've got another anomaly alert. Sending co-ordinates now. ETA to anomaly site is 22 minutes from your present location, assuming the traffic behaves. I bet you wish you had sirens."
"Any sign of a creature incursion?" Matt asked, and Jess frowned at her screens.
"Nothing yet, but I'm monitoring communications. It's in a block of council flats in South Acton."
"Alright-we're heading out now. The rest of the security team will join us after they've got the remaining cattle through and the anomaly has closed. Jess, at the first whiff of an incursion, dispatch back-up to the estate."
"Already on it-I've got two teams of five prepping now; Sgt Tully's team, and Major Sanderson's."
"So much for dinner," Becker muttered, and Jess had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from making a sound.
"Oh, did you have plans?" Abby asked over the comms, her voice dripping with sincerity and Jess groaned as if she could already see her flatmate's face.
"If I did, they'd be no business of yours," Becker said loftily.
"It's just funny you should mention, cos Jess only just texted me that she was going to be out tonight, that's all."
"The comms," Matt interrupted, "are not for personal chatter, people. Isn't that right, Jess?"
"Right," Jess stammered, trying to ignore her flaming cheeks. "I mean-yes. Matt's absolutely right."
She could hear Abby laughing in the background, and ignored her desire to go find a cupboard and hide.
While the ARC vehicles were en route, she concentrated on monitoring the council flats, tapping into the network of CCTV cameras on the estate. She could see police escorting the residents away, angry and frightened people being herded behind the hastily set up tape. Meanwhile, the ADD's sensors were triangulating the radio signals until a section of the building's schematics lit up red on her screen.
"Jess, we're onsite. Any idea what we've got?" Matt asked over the comms.
"The anomaly is down in the subbasement of the Northwest tower, near the laundry machines. It's been evacuated-we put about there's a gas leak and I've had them set up a half mile perimeter."
"Connor, you and Emily lock the anomaly. Becker, Abby-you're with me. Jess, any sign of a creature incursion?"
"Not yet. I'm scanning all the floors, but they don't have full coverage of the lower levels. Police have confirmed all thirteen storeys have been evacuated. But Matt-I've scanned the last hour of the car park cameras and it looks like there were some kids who went into a rear door to the basement about twenty minutes ago. It looked like three boys, but camera resolution isn't the best. It's an old estate, and the images are pretty grainy."
"OK, we'll keep a look out for them. You did good, Jess," Matt added, but she still frowned at her screens.
"Find the kids, and I'll feel like I've done my job," Jess said firmly as she pulled up as many local traffic cameras as she could. From her Big Brother view, she saw the ARC vehicles pulled up to the council block. Becker sent one of his uniformed soldiers to speak with the police while they unloaded the locking device and EMDs from the boot.
The hardest part of her job wasn't co-ordinating field teams. Or interfacing with local law enforcement. It wasn't even sitting safe and sound at her desk in the Hub while her friends were out there risking their lives every time they went to an anomaly site.
Jess had known what she was signing up for when she took the job at the ARC. Or she thought she had. She'd read through mountains of non-disclosure agreements, signed the Official Secrets Act. She'd taken it upon herself to read every mission report, every personnel file. To get to know the people she would be working with, and to understand the people who had come before her-the people lost to their fight to protect the world from the dangers of the anomalies.
She'd read about Tom Ryan, Stephen Hart, and Nick Cutter. About Jenny Lewis, Danny Quinn, and Connor and Abby. She'd read about all the men and women who had died, on every mission, and vowed that so long as she was acting as field co-ordinator, she would do everything in her power to keep the people of the ARC safe. That meant being their eyes and ears when they were out in the field. Knowing every twist and turn of an anomaly site.
What she had never planned for was seeing people-innocent people who had no idea what was happening-fall victim to the predators from the past and future. Men, women, children who were just going about, living their lives completely oblivious to the danger. People who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She did everything she could to help, but the hardest part was having to watch. Because that was her job-to watch.
"There's definitely something," Becker replied, and she switched the feed to his black box. She flinched at the video image of a blood smear that ran along the floor. She switched back to the CCTV and watched Becker, Matt, and Abby as they followed the trail, EMDs pointed towards the ceiling.
Switching camera angles, she caught sight of an ankle in a high-heeled shoe peeking out from behind a half-open door.
"Becker-your 2 o'clock," Jess said, trying her best to keep her voice level instead of trembling. She forced herself to look as Becker and Abby examined the body of a middle-aged woman. Her throat and chest were a mess of red which appeared black on the camera feed, and Jess suspected that was the only thing keeping her gorge from rising.
"Animal attack," Abby confirmed as she bent over the body. "Not large-but carnivorous. Teeth and claws for sure."
"Matt, we have a confirmed incursion," Jess switched feeds. "Has Connor dated the anomaly yet?"
"Working on it."
"In your own time, then," Becker muttered as he and Abby swept another corridor.
"According to the readouts, it's Late Cretaceous. So it could be anything from an Adasaurus to a Balaur raptor to a Euronychodon. Without knowing the where as well as the when the anomaly leads to, or finding some tracks or scat-"
"What's the best case scenario?" Becker asked, interrupting Connor's nervous rattling off of every fact he had to hand.
"Becker, someone's already died, and we've a carnivore from 65 million years ago running around a housing estate. I'm not sure there is a best case scenario."
"Are we dealing with one of them, or an entire pack? How large are they?"
"OK. Best case scenario-one creature," Connor informed them.
"No-best case scenario, the creature's already gone back through," Abby pointed out as she and Becker swapped positions, EMDs at the ready.
Jess caught a flicker of movement in the top quadrant of security camera feeds she'd pulled up from the estate and zoomed in as much as she could, squinting at the screen.
"Becker-I've picked up a creature on CCTV. Second storey hallway-it must have climbed the stairs. How did it get the fire doors open?"
"Places like this, doors are always propped open," Becker pointed out. "Especially in summer."
"Jess, any idea what it is?" Abby asked.
"It looked... kind of like a cat crossed with a lizard? Sorry Abby-these cameras are really old."
"But there was just one of them?"
"So far, yeah. I'm sending the best shot I could get to your phones. Connor-any idea what it is?"
"Wow. You're right-these cameras really do suck. Could be an Aristosuchus. Um... carnivore, two metres tip to tail, maybe for or five stone when they're full grown? The fossil records are all we've got to go on. We've never seen one of these before."
"Do they have any weaknesses?" Matt asked, and Becker shrugged.
"Does it matter? It's a dinosaur-we shoot it. End of problem."
"Sometimes I envy you, Becker," Abby said as she patted his shoulder. "Your worldview is so simple."
"It's a dinosaur, and it's killed at least one person."
"I'm sorry, Abby. But I'm with Becker on this one. If we can't herd it back through the anomaly-"
"I know, I know."
"I promise-next time."
"So long as they're cute, cuddly herbivores."
"Guys? Kids in the basement? Scary dinosaurs?"
"We're on it, Jess," Matt sighed.
Six hours, two Aristosuchus, three teenagers with cans of spray paint, and one long phone call with the housing association later, and the core team was back at the ARC.
"Where's Connor?" Jess asked as Becker laid his black box very precisely on Jess' glass desk. He'd changed out of his tactical gear, and was wearing faded low-slung jeans, his brown leather bike jacket on over a dark blue tee-shirt which was stretched taut over his chest.
"He and Abby disappeared into Matt's lab as soon as they got back."
"Matt's lab? Huh. That's weird." Jess tapped a few keys, frowning.
"Why?"
Jess gestured to the screen, but Becker didn't know what he was looking at.
"Phillip rang for Connor, like, half a dozen times. He even called me once, to ask where Connor was, because he wasn't answering his mobile."
"Why so strange? Lester and Phillip share him, right?"
"Yeah, except Connor never dodges calls from his mentor. And we've had to prise him out of his lab to eat and sleep and shower for weeks now. But I just checked the security codes and he hasn't been in there once today."
Becker shrugged, shoving his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans. "All I know is, Temple was very happy to be back out in the field today. I suppose Burton and Lester will just have to hash it out when Lester gets back tomorrow."
Jess' mouth quirked in a smile. "Who gets custody rights to Connor, you mean?"
"Divorce, such a messy business," Becker said with a sigh, and Jess reached over to punch him lightly on the shoulder. "Enough about Temple. I am wondering what Miss Jessica Parker might be fancying for dinner tonight."
"Becker," Jess whispered, glancing around self-consciously.
"Eyes in the back of my head," Becker said with a wink. "So, what'll it be? We've done Chinese and a curry. That leaves... well, everything that's not Chinese or a curry."
"Ethiopian?"
Becker made a face. "There's something deeply unsettling about bread you don't have to chew."
"How do we feel about sushi?"
"How do you think I feel about sushi?"
"Jamaican?"
"Only if you're not going to order the spiciest thing on the menu in an effort to destroy my ability to ever taste food again."
"OK-I give up. How about we stop by the pub on the way to your place and get a pint, and shepherd's pie."
"This might be true love."
"I don't know how you can be so fit surviving on nothing but the equivalent of school dinners."
"You think I'm fit?"
She gave him a look.
"And haven't you heard? Jamie Oliver's made school dinners posh now."
"Next time I get to pick, you're going to at the very least try tempura and some shrimp rolls."
Sneaking a glance around the Hub to make sure they were unobserved, Becker gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Deal."
"Becker, Jess?" Matt's voice came over the comms, "can you come up to my lab?"
"On our way," Becker replied, raising his eyebrows. But Jess was just as puzzled as he was.
"You go ahead, I'll catch you up. I just need to finish downloading the anomaly data from today."
When Becker got to Matt's lab, he was surprised to find Abby, Connor, and Emily with Matt, their expressions grim. Matt's plants were all in bloom, the heady scent of orchids and other flowers making Becker's head swim. He'd always thought it was odd that Matt's hobby was horticulture. Nothing in his file suggested someone who would climb Mt Everest for fun would have something so sedate as gardening as a pastime.
"Where's Jess?" Emily asked.
"She's on her way. What's going on?"
Becker watched the four of them all look to Matt with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. When Jess had first voiced the idea that something was going on, Becker had assured her that Anderson would never keep secrets from the team. But it was clear that something was going on. And from the looks on their faces, it was something big.
"Alright-out with it."
"We should wait for Jess-" Abby said, her eyes darting to Matt, who nodded tersely.
"Phillip's working with Helen Cutter," Connor blurted out. "Danny was right. He's been lying to us this whole time."
"Helen Cutter? Seriously? The woman's been dead for two years and she's still wreaking havoc?"
Becker watched a muscle in Matt's jaw twitch. Finally he leaned against the table, arms crossed, and looked Becker in the eye. "Phillip's work at New Dawn is going to bring about the end of the world as you know it."
"And you know this how, exactly?"
"Because I've seen it. In fact, I was born into it. And I came back here to try and prevent it."
"Excuse me?"
"Becker, Matt's from the future," Abby explained, and it dawned on him that none of this was news to Abby or Connor. Even Emily was just watching him, waiting to see how he would react.
Becker advanced on Matt, ignoring how Emily's hand twitched toward her stiletto. "I knew that bit about Everest was a load of bollocks. How much of your dossier was fabricated? Are you really ex-Army? Are you even qualified to handle a weapon?"
"Becker, we've worked together in the field for nearly two years, and you're going to count a piece of paper over my actions?"
Jess chose that moment to enter the lab. All eyes turned to her, and her blue eyes went wide as she took in the scene. "What's going on?"
"Come on in, Jess. Matt was just telling us how everything we know about him is a lie." Becker could feel a vein in his forehead starting to throb, and scrubbed his hands over his face.
"What?" Jess' voice had dropped to a fierce whisper.
"Matthew is from the future." Becker crossed his arms and glared at Matt, while Jess just kept looking back and forth between them, confused.
"What? How? Like, where the scary mutant bat things come from? That future?"
"Look, I promise I'll explain everything. But right now, I need you to trust me when I tell you that the machine Phillip's built at New Dawn is going to rip this world apart."
"How?" Jess asked, going from looking confused to frightened.
"That's the thing-we didn't know until Connor built the prototype. Something about the man-made anomaly Phillip's going to create is going to upset the balance. Tip the scales." Matt closed his eyes, and blew out a breath, his shoulders sagging. "Look, my dad was the scientist. He's the one who figured out that it has something to do with the magnetic poles of the Earth. I'm a soldier."
Matt's eyes went to Becker's, as if looking for some kind of solidarity.
"And my mission is-and has always been-to stop the man-made interference that mucks up Mother Nature's mad plan. If we don't, billions are going to die. Nearly all life on Earth, wiped out."
It was the longest speech Becker had ever heard Matt make.
"The final trials are tomorrow-after that, there's nothing stopping Phillip from bringing the machine online." Connor said, turning his laptop towards the group. " I've got the schematics for Phillip's machine. With those, and the Security codes, we can disable it. We just need to keep Phillip away from New Dawn."
"Connor, that'll be your job," Matt said, as if this was just any other mission, and he was still acting as team leader. That more than anything else set Becker's teeth on edge. "I'll disable the machine. The rest of you-it has to appear business as usual here at the ARC. Otherwise, Phillip might get suspicious."
"Fine." Becker got right up into Matt's face, and glared at him. "But we're telling Lester first."
"I don't know that's such a good-" Matt began.
"Did I make that sound like a suggestion? Because it wasn't. Lester has been here since the beginning. He needs to know exactly what's going on, and he needs to know now. If Burton is using the ARC to end the world, then we'll need Lester on our side. To talk the Minister down after we've shot our pet millionaire in the head, if nothing else."
Matt frowned. "Fine."
Becker turned to leave, and then paused in the open door.
"Oh, one last thing," Becker said as he turned back to Matt, and then nailed him in the jaw with a right cross.
"I think you loosened a tooth." Matt probed the inside of his cheek with his tongue.
"If you ever lie to me again in a way that puts the team at risk, it won't be just your teeth you'll be losing. Understood?"
"Understood."
Becker stomped out of the lab, his back ramrod straight.
Jess was torn. Part of her wanted to rush after Becker to make sure he was OK. But she had so many questions. She'd known something was off with Matt, but she'd always assumed it was just personal stuff. Family, maybe old girlfriends. Normal, everyday stuff.
Coming from a post-apocalyptic future like that scrummy guy from The Terminator had never been on her radar. Why would it? Things like that just didn't happen in real life. They just didn't.
The thing of it was-prehistoric Mammoths didn't rampage across the M25 in real life, either. So her entire worldview tended to shift by degrees every day she was at the ARC.
"That went better than I expected, actually," Abby said as she gave Matt's shoulder a friendly pat.
"Yeah-I was actually expecting him to shoot you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Connor," Matt said as he continued to massage his jaw.
"How long?" Jess asked, and they all turned to her as if they'd forgot she was there. "Seriously, though, how long has everyone else on the team known?"
"Jess, it's not like that," Abby began, like Jess was the sweet kid sister. But this time Jess wasn't going to buy it.
She held up her hand, and squared her shoulders, and looked Matt straight in the eye. "Look, I'll talk to him. I just... I just need to know. This is important. We're a team. I need to know why we were kept in the dark for so long, that's all."
Matt had the decency to look uncomfortable under her gaze.
"I told Emily first-when we were at Jenny Lewis' wedding. Abby figured it out later, and then, after the beetles, we had to tell Connor."
"Had to?" Jess repeated, her voice rising slightly on the first word. "So not wanted to? Not intended to?"
"Jess, I wasn't planning to tell anybody," Matt snapped, and she forced herself not to take an involuntary step back. Matt had never been the most open member of the team, but he'd never actually raised his voice at her before.
"I'm sorry," Matt said quickly, and he seemed to really mean it. "I was taught-I was raised to believe this was something I had to do alone. It was my responsibility, and I wasn't supposed to let myself get... distracted by personal ties. No friendships. No relationships. Just the mission."
As he spoke, Emily moved that bit closer to his side.
"But I can't do it alone. I need you-all of you." Matt turned to include all of them in his statement, before turning back to Jess. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I didn't actually know it was Phillip until recently. I swear."
Jess chewed on her bottom lip, her eyebrows drawing together in a frown. "Alright. I understand."
"So we're good?" Matt asked, looking suddenly vulnerable-unsure. Jess realised that he really genuinely felt remorse for keeping her and Becker in the dark. Whatever his intentions when he joined the ARC, he was on their team. Or they were on his. Either way, they were still a team.
"I'm good." She wanted to make it clear that she wouldn't-and couldn't-speak for Becker. Matt nodded, and on impulse, Jess gave him a hug. It must have been a huge weight to carry alone for so long, and she really did understand.
But being the last to know-that hurt. And she had a feeling it hurt Becker much more, since he'd been with the ARC since practically the beginning.
"I'll talk to Becker, see if I can smooth things over," Jess said as she released Matt, and gave his hand a squeeze.
"Thanks, Jess."
"Don't thank me yet-I'll do what I can, but the rest'll be up to you. He trusted you, Matt. We all did. It won't be easy."
"I'd rather this world survive and Becker be angry, than the alternative."
Part 2