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

Summery: Both Becker and Jess have been set up on blind dates by their meddling older sisters.

Genre: Romance/Humor

Rating: K+

A/N: I've finished uni for the year, which means I have more time to write things other than essays. Yay :) in fact, I have so much free time at the moment that I'm starting a new story. It's going to be a sequel to my story Secrets and I'll start posting tomorrow afternoon. But until then, enjoy another Jecker one-shot :)

Blind Date

The looker room was one of the darkest spaces in the ARC, and today, that suited Jess just fine. She had been dreading this evening all day and had hoped it would never come. But unfortunately the day had to come to an end.

'Jess!' Becker said loudly, no doubt he had been trying to get her attention for some time now.

'Oh. Hey Becker,' Jess replied, her voice lacking its usual cheer.

'Are you okay Jess? You've seemed kind of off all day.'

'Yeah, I'm fine.'

Becker raised an eyebrow at her.

'Really, It's nothing,' she told him.

'Jess, I know you well enough to know when something's bothering you. Now out with it.'

Jess sighed. 'Fine. But really, it's nothing important. My sister's making me go on this stupid blind date tonight, and I'm not exactly looking forward to it.'

'Then why go?' Becker kept his voice calm, trying to hide the fact that Jess going on a date bothered him.

'Because it was the only way to get her to leave me alone. But she won't tell me anything about him, other than his name. And not even his whole name! Just his first! Seriously, how is that enough to go on? How am I supposed to know what this James guy looks like?'

'I'm sorry you're being made to go on a date you have no interest being on. If it makes you feel better, my sister's doing the same thing to me.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. Though unlike you, I haven't shown enough interest to even find out her name.'

'Becker! That's horrible.'

Becker shrugged. 'I'm trying to make my feelings clear to my sister. Besides, I'm sure she'll issue me with a set of instructions tonight.'

Jess burst out laughing. 'I'm sorry, but you're treating this like it's some sort of mission.'

Becker shrugged again, smiling down at her. He was glad he had been able to cheer Jess up.

Catching sight of the time, Jess sighed. 'I better get going or I won't have time to get ready.'

'Okay. I'll…see you Monday, I guess.'

'Bye Becker,' Jess said, walking to the door.

Jess sat at the restaurant's bar, where she had been told her date would meet her. It was also where she had been sitting for the last forty-five minutes. She would have left by now, but after realising she had been stood up by someone she had never even met, Jess had angrily thrown out the flower she'd been wearing to identify her to her date and ordered herself a drink.

It hadn't been all bad, she supposed. She'd had a lovely conversation with the couple that had been seated next to her, waiting for their table. They were celebrating their anniversary. After months of going back and forth, they had admitted their feelings for each other and had been dating ever since. It was an incredibly sweet story, yet Jess couldn't help but feel a bit jealous as she listened. Why couldn't things between her and Becker work out like that?

Jess sighed and glanced at her phone. It was nearing seven o'clock, and she decided it was probably time she headed home.

Before some jerk tries to hit on me.

'I thought I recognised you,' said a deep voice from behind her.

Damn it. Too late.

'Look. I'm not having the best of nights,' Jess said as she slowly turned around. 'And I'm really not in the mood to be…'

Her voice trailed off as she came face to face with Becker. Jess blushed as she realised she had been about to yell at him for trying to hit on her.

'Date not going well?' he asked, smirking at her slightly.

'You could say that.'

'Can't be any worse than mine.'

'I seriously doubt that,' she muttered.

'Your date showed up, that's already going better than mine.'

Jess looked away from him. That was the problem. Her date hadn't shown up. And instead of going home after realising she had been stood up—like anyone else would've—she'd hung around, no doubt making herself look pathetic.

Before Jess could explain the situation—or realise that Becker had implied the same thing happened to him—a third voice joined their conversation.

'Is this guy bothering you Jess?' said Nick, one half of the couple she had been speaking to earlier. 'This isn't the bloke that was meant to meet you almost an hour ago, is it? Because I'd be more than happy to get rid of the dickhead for you.'

'No, everything's fine. Thank you though. If he had decided to show his face, I'd have gladly taken you up on your offer. This is Becker, a friend from work. Becker this is Nick.'

The two men shook hands.

'Sorry 'bout that mate. I thought you might've been making unwanted advances, and after the night she's had, Jess shouldn't have to deal with any other jerks.'

'Don't worry about it. I'd've done the same.'

Nick nodded. 'Well, I should be getting back, I'll leave you to it.'

'Don't let Ben forget to text me the name of that book, I'm dying to read it.'

'Wouldn't dream of it.'

Nick left them and Becker turned his attention back to the woman in front of him. 'Jess, what's going on?' he asked.

She sighed. 'The guy my sister set me up with never showed, and when I realised I'd been stood up, I thought a drink was in order.'

'For what it's worth, that guy's an idiot. How could anyone not want to be with you?'

Jess felt her face heat up at his words.

The hostess joined them then, saving her from responding. 'Sir, your table's ready. I apologise again for the delay. Will you still be requiring it? Or would prefer to remain at the bar?'

Becker glanced at Jess. 'Um, could you give me a minute?' he asked the hostess, who nodded and returned to her station.

'You better go; they won't hold the table for long on a night this busy.'

'But…'

'I'm fine Becker. Besides, I don't wanna keep you from your date.'

'That's not possible.'

Jess frowned. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean she's not here. I spent fifteen minutes at the bar looking for a woman wearing a red ribbon, but there's no one here matching that description. I was about to leave when I saw you.'

There was no way he was going to tell her that he then spent half an hour trying to decide if he should go over to her.

'Oh. I guess that means both our sisters have horrible taste in dates.'

Becker laughed. 'I guess so.' Silence hung between them for a moment before Becker continued. 'Jess, would you like to have dinner with me?'

'You don't have to do that Becker, I'm sure you have other things you'd rather be doing.'

'I can't think of a better way to spend my evening than with someone I care about.'

Jess smiled. After being stood up, hearing someone say that they cared about her was a much needed boost to her self-esteem.

'In that case, I'd love too.'

Hopping off her bar stool, Jess followed Becker to the hostess, who promptly lead them to their table. As their waiter told them the specials, Jess began to worry that joining Becker had been a bad idea. They had never really spent any time together when it was just the two of them. Normally if they went out the rest of the team was with them; and the time when they were the only two people employed by the ARC didn't count, considering they spent most of it in their respective departments, and only discussed things pertaining to the reopening of the research centre. What could they possibly have to talk about?

But she soon realised that she had been worrying for no reason. Conversation flowed easily between them, and they had no shortage of topics. Becker would tell her stories about the old team and his time as Sandhurst. While Jess told him about going to university at such a young age, and some of things her and her friends would get up to. He found her story of the time her friends had dressed Jess up and tried to get her into a nightclub particularly funny. Soon they were discussing their childhoods over dessert, and laughing at the antics Becker and his brothers had got up to. Jess was amazed that his mother was able to handle having four incredibly mischievous boys.

Before she knew it, Becker was walking her to her car and they were saying goodnight.

'So you're never allowed to set me up again,' Jess said, shooting her sister a glare from across the table, though there was no real heat behind it. After all, she had ended up having a wonderful night with Becker.

'What? Why?' Katie replied, looking up from the drawing her daughter was showing her.

'Because I was stood up! You clearly have horrible taste in men.'

'Oi!' yelled Max—Jess's brother-in-law—from where he sat playing a game with the couple's youngest children.

Jess rolled her eyes. 'Present company excluded.'

'He stood you up? That doesn't sound like little Jamie Becker, he was always such a good kid. Why would he do something like that?' Katie wondered.

'Wait. Did you say Becker?' Jess asked.

'Yeah, Anna's little brother. But he always seemed like such a gentleman, I honestly can't believe he would do something so rude.'

'Any chance he's related to Captain H. James Becker?'

'Yeah, that's him. Don't ask what the 'H' stands for though, I swear that's a secret that boy is taking to his grave.'

'You set me up with Captain H. James Becker?'

'Yes. You're a genius, how are you not following this?'

Jess groaned. 'This is why you give people more to go on than a first name! Not that you even gave me that, considering his first name isn't even James!'

'Well, excuse me for not knowing his first name! Plus, I thought you wouldn't go if you knew the date was with one of Anna's younger brothers. You weren't exactly found of the ones you met growing up.'

Pushing her chair back, Jess stood up. 'I've gotta go,' she told her sister as she gathered her things.

'Where are you going?' Katie asked her retreating form.

'To fix this,' Jess yelled over her shoulder.

Once in her car, Jess set off towards Becker's house, his words from yesterday running through her head. I haven't shown enough interest to even find out her name. What if Anna told him who was meant to be his date toady and he thought her sister had given in last night and told her who her date was and that she'd purposely stood him up. What if he thought she had gotten to the restaurant, seen him and then tried to avoid bumping into him.

Damn it! Why hadn't Katie just told me who the date was with.

She was halfway to Becker's apartment when a thought occurred to her. She was the one who was wearing the flower that was meant to identify her. What if Becker had got there and been disappointed to find out the date was with her. Knowing him, he wouldn't have had the heart to just stand her up, he was too much of a gentleman. However, waiting around for a while, so that when he did turn up Jess wouldn't think he was her date, sound exactly like something the emotionally stunted man would do.

Jess sighed. Who was she kidding? Becker would have known she was his date, and he clearly wasn't interested in being anything more than friends.

Turning her car around, Jess headed back towards her flat. At least there she could find comfort in a tub of Ben and Jerrys and binge-watch The Crown.

However, Jess's plans for the evening were interrupted when she reached her floor and saw an unexpected figure standing in front of her door.

'Becker? What are you doing here?' Jess asked as she approached her apartment.

'I wanted to talk to you. Could we go inside?'

Nodding, Jess opened the door and ushered them in.

'What did you want to talk about?' she asked, closing the door behind them.

Becker ran a hand through his hair. 'Um… well, you see… it um… it turns out that… that um… last night…'

'Becker, I know our sisters set us up with each other,' Jess interrupted, taking pity on him. 'And you'd rather we remain friends, that's why you were late and let me believe James had stood me up. It's fine. You don't have to explain yourself. I'm happy being your friend.'

It took all the will power Jess had not to let on how she really felt.

'But I'm not.'

'What?'

'I'm not happy being your friend Jess.'

Jess's heart felt like it had been ripped in two. Does he really find me that repulsive?

'I'm sorry, I just assumed you considered me a friend as well. Clearly I overstepped. We're co-works, and that's fine.'

'No, that's not what I meant,' Becker said, dragging a hand across his face in frustration. 'Crap! I'm screwing this up so much.'

'Well then what did you mean?' Jess asked, beginning to get annoyed. Did he really have to come all the way to her house just to tell her how little she meant to him.

'Jess, will you go out with me?' Becker asked, surprising her. 'On a proper date? One our sisters didn't orchestrate and that we are both aware we're on.'

'What?'

'Jess, I care about you a lot. More than I have about anyone in a long time. I hated the idea of you going out with someone else. The only thing I hated more was finding out they stood you up. And I was furious when I found out that that person was me, because I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you. I want to try and have a relationship with you, a proper one.'

Jess was shocked into silence. She couldn't think of a time she had ever heard Becker be so open about his feelings. Or speak so eloquently for that matter. He cared about her. He actually cared about her, just as much as she cared about him by the sounds of it.

'That is if you're willing,' Becker added when Jess had been silent for a while.

That brought Jess out of her shock and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. 'I care about you too, of course I'm willing.'

Smiling, Becker closed the space between them in a few strides and, cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her with everything he had.