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That had to have been the scariest thing she had ever done.
Ever.
In her entire life.
And that included climbing out of a second story window on a dare when she was ten.
She was trembling now that the adrenaline rush decided to make a break for the next crazy person it could find, which was about the time Becker had released her from that way-too-brief hug and ordered his men to case out the place.
Now that she thought about it, that hug might be worth the tremors that were getting worse as the seconds passed…
“Jess?”
The sound of her name, and who exactly it is that is calling her, makes Jess lift her head up from her contemplation of her hands. She smiles at Becker as he makes his way over to where she planted herself so that she would be out of the way, subtly tucking her hands in her pockets to hide how rattled she really is.
Becker stands in front of her as his men scarper about in the background, but all Jess really notices is the man in front of her. The way that he seems to be studying her, almost as if she had been the one that had been holding the weight that kept them both from becoming a statistic in one of Lester’s reports… Jess is even more grateful that she has a wall at her back as she thinks of all the ways that this could have gone pear-shaped:
What if she had cut the wrong wire?
What if she had taken too long trying to decide which wire to cut?
What if she had listened and stayed in the car…?
Becker would have died all alone…
“Are you alright?”
Jess can’t help the smile that forms at that question; big, tough, he-really-likes-guns Becker is making sure that she’s okay. It makes her blush a little as she responds with, “I think I should be the one asking you that question; all I had to do is cut a little wire, you were the one that had to hold that weight and it looked pretty heavy; what with your muscles all taunt and flexed when I walked in-”
“Jess!” Now she isn’t the only one blushing and the sight of the redness dusting his cheeks makes the knot of nervousness in her stomach that led to her babbling ease a bit as Becker coughs, shifts his stance, and straightens his shoulders before he can look at her again. “While I appreciate the fact that you did defuse a bomb a few seconds ago, a bomb that would have no doubt killed both of us, I also distinctly remember telling you to stay in the car.”
She’s about to snap back that if she had, he would’ve been nothing but a line on a piece of paper at the end of the day, but the look in his eyes stops her; he looks as worn out as she, but there’s a level of concern there that she never saw directed at her before.
The only thing that could come close to describing it was the look he supported the entire time Conner and Abby were in the Cretaceous period…
So, instead of snapping, Jess simply reaches forward and places a hand on his bicep, feeling the muscle beneath her fingers flex as Becker seems to almost mimic her gesture-What happened to his gun?-before simply clasping his hands behind his back; it almost dislodges her, but he shifts so her hand stays where it is.
“And I distinctly remember telling Matt to bring me back some chocolate.” Jess regains her smile as Becker suddenly seems to find the wall behind her more interesting to look at, “Seems we both have a problem listening…”
Was that a chuckle? She can’t be sure, but Becker doesn’t look any less tense, so she feels a sudden need to explain that has her blabber-meter go off again: “I couldn’t just sit in that car if there was a chance that I could help you, if there was a possibility that you might need help and no one was there; which is actually kind of funny, considering the fact that I’m not at all brave-”
Becker looks as surprised as she feels at the fact that he has a finger against her lips, but it does the job as well as if he had just pushed a ‘mute’ button on her, his thumb taking the place of his finger as his hand cups her cheek in a rare display of affection that has them both blushing again.
“Jess…” His tongue flickers out to wet his lips, eyes darting down to look at her own, and Jess can feel her mouth go dry as Becker starts to lean forward in what only can be in an attempt-
“Captain! All clear!”
If his eyes weren’t already shut, Jess was certain that Becker would have closed them in frustration; as it were, she could almost swear that the soft exhale he did make was a growl…
But that was just wishful thinking… wasn’t it?
Becker turns away to bark at his men to check the outside of the building as well, to make sure that Ethan didn’t slip out past them, before turning back to her and pinning her with his gaze again.
“I did mean what I said, though; you really are brilliant.” Seeming to react before he loses his nerve, Becker reaches forward again and pulls her toward him so that he can place a kiss against her temple, leaving her to lean against the wall for a completely different reason than before…
As he preludes his men out of the building, Becker stops to toss one more statement over his shoulder:
“Next time, no matter what happens, stay in the car.”
Next time?!?