A/N: Huzzah! Made it to the end! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this. Out of all the stories I've written, this is my favourite, and I'm so pleased you all seemed to enjoy it. I've got a busy weekend ahead, but hopefully next week I can start editing the next one in my collection (which is COMPLETELY different from this one, and not meant to be taken seriously at all). :) Happy Friday, everyone!

Dawn was just starting to creep in the window when Jess woke from her sleep. She stretched her arms above her head as her fuzzy brain tried to make sense of where she was. She glanced around the room, and rose into a sitting position when she realized she was alone. Jess absentmindedly reached for the tags around her neck as she reviewed the events of the previous day.

Abby had been the only one in a fit state to drive back from New Dawn, so Connor sat shotgun. It would have been a better fit in the backseat if Becker or Matt had traded with either (or both) of them, but neither man wanted to be apart from the woman he loved. So they, along with Jess and Emily, crammed themselves into the back of Jess' Mini. Strangely though, no one complained…

Once they returned to the ARC, they immediately went to the medical bay in search of Lester, who had tried to discharge himself just before they'd returned. Once she was seated on Becker's lap in the back of her Mini, Jess had called the ARC to make sure that the staff there knew that Lester was in the Medical Bay. One of the field medics, who heard the call come in, raced to find his boss nearly unconscious from the blood loss. He'd manage to operate, unassisted, to repair the small tear that the Future Predator had left on his internal organs. Now that he was awake, Lester making it known that he wasn't pleased that he hadn't had everyone at his beck and call during the operation, but the doctor had been brilliant nonetheless. Unfortunately, when said doctor had tried to strap Lester to his hospital bed once finished, Lester had very loudly informed him that he could find another job if he did. He had then grabbed for a cane and started to climb out of his hospital bed when Becker and Jess found him and forced him into a wheelchair.

After the team gave him a very brief synopsis of what had happened, they had turned to start helping with the clean-up but he'd stopped them. As they'd all suspected for some time, Lester had a big soft spot for them. He gave them a stern overview of the paperwork they'd have to fill out (which they were all well aware of), but then shocked them when he told them to get out of his sight for the next two days once they had visited with the medics. No one had asked twice, and the six of them had hi-tailed it out of the room before he could change his mind. Matt ended up having a few cracked ribs, and a fractured elbow, but nothing else overly major. Becker's many cuts were cleaned, but the large bruises he'd obtained on his travels caused the doctor to order him to take it easy for the next week so they could fully heal. Because of the future predators incident, Jess had been graced with a sprained wrist, and had needed stitches on a cut on her shoulder, but Abby, Emily and Connor were in perfect health.

After everything they'd been through, none of them were ready to be alone just yet. After a bit of deliberation, they found themselves driving over to Becker's house. The rest of them only had flats, and with his spare rooms, they could be together and apart at the same time. They'd gone straight there, resulting in all of them showering there and most of them wearing spare clothes of Becker's, simply so they weren't still in their grimy ARC clothes. Emily was the only one of them who was still in her own clothes, having kept a packed bag in the boot of Matt's car, although Abby had managed to find a spare pair of jeans in her own locker. The group ended up ordering in Chinese and watching movies for the afternoon, saying very little and just enjoying being together again.

It had only been when Matt had fallen asleep on Emily's shoulder that the sleeping arrangements were silently decided. Since Matt wasn't moving too quickly on his own when he was awake, Becker helped Emily guide him into one of the spare rooms, before giving her hand a squeeze and bidding them goodnight. When he turned back to the living room, he saw Connor and Abby holding hands as they went out the other way to their room. He gave them a smile, and then focused his attention back onto the small figure dressed in his t-shirt and boxers, still curled up on his couch.

Jess had barely moved or said anything since arriving back at the ARC. To say that he was a little worried about her would be an understatement, for he'd never known Jess to stay this quiet for this long. Becker slowly moved back to where she lay, and gathered her into his arms as he sat back down. Gently settling her in his lap, he stroked her hair as she leaned her head into the crook of his neck. He wanted to know what was troubling her, but didn't want to force her. So for a long while, they just sat there in silence, the DVD menu music being the only sound heard.

"Please don't ever scare me like that again." Her words were so soft that he almost missed them. He reached for her chin and tilted her face up to look into her eyes. The sadness they'd held earlier in the day was still there, and he wished for nothing more than to take away that pain.

After a moment of gazing into the hypnotic blue depths of her eyes, he finally spoke. "I told you I'd come back." It wasn't said with any kind of malice or attitude; just, straightforward and honest. "I will ALWAYS come back for you."

She nodded, and quietly reached for the tags he'd hung around her neck. When she started to remove them to give them back, he brought his free hand up and stilled her movements. "I want you to keep them," he told her. "So that way, you know that I'll always come back."

Those simple words were exactly what Jess needed to hear. Barring the beetle incident, and those really had been extenuating circumstances, she'd never really been the damsel-in-distress type (in fact, she detested women like that), but the thought of losing him after everything that had happened had just been too much for her. Jess leaned forward to meet his mouth in a loving kiss that was quickly deepened. Within seconds, she was lying on her back on the couch with him hovering over her as he delved into her warm mouth with his tongue. She moaned softly as he pressed close to her, bringing her hands to stroke the skin of his lower back under his t-shirt.

After a few minutes of their passionate embrace, they slowly pulled apart. He carefully laid down on the cushions so that she was sandwiched between his body and the back of the couch. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and just let him hold her, hearing his steady heartbeat thumping under her ear. A little while later, he shifted a bit, and gently helped her to her feet, silently guiding her in the direction of his room. He'd climbed into the large bed, and when she laid next to him, he pulled her as close as he could. With his arms holding her firm, she rested her head on his chest, finding his heartbeat once more. A wave of peace settled over the pair of them, and they were both asleep shortly thereafter.

Now, as she looked around the empty room, she noticed that the sliding door leading to the balcony was slightly ajar. She moved fairly stealthily to the door, and slipped outside.

Becker was leaning forward on the balcony, hands planted firmly on the railing in front of him as he looked out over the city in front of him. This had been the view that had sold the house for him. He loved it out there, especially when it was first thing in the morning and still quiet. Jess stood in the doorway, watching his bare back as his eyes travelled the landscape in front of him.

"Looking for something?" she asked softly. He turned to her and smiled, holding out his hand. She walked the short distance over to him, taking the offered hand and allowing him to draw her close so she stood in front of him with his chin resting on her shoulder.

"Just enjoying a view I haven't seen in a while," he admitted. To be honest, he really hadn't been sure he would ever see it again, but there's no way he'd tell her that.

"And is it just as nice as you remember?"

He pulled up a bit and gazed at her profile. "It's actually a lot prettier than I remembered." She laughed sweetly and blushed at his words as he kissed her cheek.

"So what happens now?" she asked him after a moment of silence.

He stared out at the city again. "We take it one day at a time. Things definitely aren't the same anymore. It'll take a while to get used to that, and to work through it."

"Does that go for us as well?" she asked, turning a bit so she could see his face.

Becker looked down at her before kissing her forehead. "I don't know about you, but I can see myself getting used to 'us' fairly quickly."

Jess smiled. "Me too."

"Good," he admitted. "Because I have great plans for us, Miss Parker."

"Oh really?" she said, a curious grin spreading across her face. "Care to share?"

A loud crash from inside and an exasperated voice caused them both to jump, interrupting their moment. Their eyes met again, and they both laughed quietly.

"Well first, I think we should get in there and save Connor from himself," Becker confessed. "Or maybe just save my house from Connor."

Jess giggled. "And then?"

"Well, we have the rest of our lives to figure that out, don't we?" he asked, earning a brilliant smile from her. She turned and stood on her tiptoes to find his lips with her own. The kiss was full of promise, and as they both lost themselves in each other for a few moments, the idea of a future together found its way happily into both their minds.

Later that morning, Becker went for his routine run through the neighbourhood, still not quite believing that he could actually do it again. As he ran through the slowly busying streets, a storefront caught his eye. He slowed his momentum, and gazed thoughtfully into the window at the familiar piece. Becker smiled to himself, and despite his desire to finish his run, he entered the store, to inquire about the ring in the window…