Title: ARC gossip

Fandom: Primeval

Pairing: Becker/Jess

Rating: K

Disclaimer: Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to ITV1. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time. The idea of the story as well as the story itself – including all possible pre- or sequels published afterwards – are mine.

Summary: Written for just-kiss-her, for pink_flame_87's prompt "Contrary to what most people probably thought, Becker was more of a "hugger" than Jess."

Warnings: once again not beta-read, spoilers for episode 4.04

AN: Guess what? I couldn't resist. When I read the prompt, the story pretty much wrote itself. It just screamed protective Becker to me.

I noticed that, when in said episode Becker and Jess were hugging, one of the soldiers came in, and even though they let go of each other immediately, he certainly saw them. And this was what my muse made of it. So, here it is. Hope you enjoy it. :)

Becker was breathing fire. Of course, he wasn't supposed to overhear the conversation. His men certainly didn't know that he was in the backroom of the armoury changing. But he heard it. Every single word.

"You're kidding me," Ramirez said, chuckling.

"I'm telling you they were hugging," Johnston insisted. "When I came round the corner, they were hugging – with full body contact and really close. You know, like cuddling, really."

"I guess she just threw herself at him," Ramirez replied, laughing. "And he was too much of a gentleman to just push her away."

"Was she wearing one of those ridiculously short skirts?" Hopkins jumped in.

"No, she was wearing jeans," Johnston told them. "Really tight, of course."

"Well, seems like her efforts finally paid off," Hopkins commented.

There was a moment of silence, before Hopkins added, "Oh, come on, don't tell me you didn't notice. I mean, she couldn't possibly be any more obvious trying to get his attention. Seriously, even he couldn't miss it, as pathetically as she was trying to come on to him."

"Who would have thought they'd choose a psycho's apartment to make out," Ramirez added, making everyone else laugh heartily.

"Yeah, I wonder if it had been more embarrassing if we'd arrived a few minutes later," Johnston joked.

That was enough! Becker couldn't stand it any longer. His men needed to be taught manners. They shouldn't talk like that about Jess, calling her pathetic and obvious. What he and Jess did outside the ARC – not that they'd ever actually done anything – was none of their business. And they definitely shouldn't comment on the way Jess dressed.

He stepped into the armoury, crossing his arms in front of his chest, and stared at his three soldiers.

They immediately straightened. "Captain," Johnston burst out.

"Let me tell you something," Becker said calmly, even though he'd much rather made his point using one of the EMDs. "What I or Miss Parker do outside or inside this building is none of your business.

"And just for your information she didn't throw herself at me, I was hugging her. Besides, she saved my life, something I can't say any of you ever did. You should be careful what you say about people I care about.

"I should suspend the three of you for the indecency and for insulting a young lady and your captain. And believe me, I'll think about the possibility. Until then, you will clean all the weapons for three weeks."

"And Johnston," Becker stepped in front of him, lunged and punched him right in the nose, making the other man fall backwards. "Have you ever heard of discretion?"

Becker walked towards the door, but stopped before leaving and turned around. "And if I ever hear one of you talking about Jess or her clothing again, I'm going to shoot you." That being said he was gone.

When he walked up to Jess who was, as usual, sitting in front of the ADD, he immediately stiffened. She looked like she'd been crying. Even though her makeup did a good job covering the traces, Becker could still see it. Something, or someone, must have upset her.

"Hey," he greeted, frowning at her when she jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Captain Becker," she said very formally, trying to pull her short skirt down a little. "What can I do for you… sir?"

Sir? Becker swore silently. Had she overheard the conversation in the armoury? Or had one of the men said anything to her? Oh, if they'd dared… He grabbed her chair, turning her towards him. "Jess…"

"Isn't it rather inappropriate to call me that… at work?" she mumbled, trying to avoid his eyes, uncomfortably fumbling with the hem of her skirt still trying to make it look longer than it was.

He lifted her chin to make her look at him. "Jessica," he said more sternly, searching her eyes with his. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to… embarrass you in front of your men. I know, I shouldn't have… Then they wouldn't… I'm sorry."

Becker leaned against the ADD, taking her hands in his. "You heard Johnston and the others talk in the armoury."

She nodded, looking down again. "I just wanted to… see if you're alright. I'm sorry they saw us. I shouldn't have… fallen around your neck like that. But I was so relieved and…"

He reached out, gently stroking her cheek with his finger. "You obviously didn't stay long enough," he told her. When she raised her head to give him a quizzical look, he added, "I think I made clear that they're not going to work here for long if they ever talk like that about anyone again. They shouldn't have said the things they said about you. So I… had to teach them manners."

Jess eyed him up. "Are they still alive?"

"Sure," he replied with a shrug. "But Johnston might need some cosmetic surgery for his nose in the future."

Her eyes widened again.

"No one talks like that about you," he explained. "Not unpunished, anyway. I was just trying to make clear that if we hug, it's none of their business. And you didn't embarrass me. I'm not embarrassed because they saw us."

"You… You're… not?" she stuttered. She'd been sure that – since he'd immediately let go of her when Johnston came round the corner – he had been embarrassed by the situation.

"No, I'm not," he assured her. "And it wasn't like you fell around my neck. I hugged you because I felt like hugging you."

"Really?" she burst out, biting her lip and blushing a nice shade of red the next second. She'd felt embarrassed when Johnston had walked in on them. She couldn't believe he didn't seem to care all that much about it.

"Yeah," Becker replied with a chuckle. "You saved my life, something I'll never forget you did. And that absolutely made me feel like hugging you."

"I never thought of you as the hugging kind of guy," she mumbled, looking down again. She hardly ever hugged people. As a matter of fact, she hadn't felt like hugging anyone except her family before she'd started working here. But she was recently very keen on hugging a certain army captain.

Becker laughed at that. "You know, I enjoy hugging people I like."

Her head shot up and she stared at him.

Leaning a little closer, he told her in a low voice, "Yes, I like you. And I recently found out that I really like hugging you. And since then I frequently feel like hugging you."

"Oh," was all she managed to say in return.

"As a matter of fact," he added, "I'd love to hug you now, but I guess Lester wouldn't approve if I actually did."

"No, he… certainly wouldn't," Jess mumbled, trying hard not to sound too disappointed.

"But I hope I'll find another opportunity to hug you. And I won't care who walks in on us. So, don't listen to anything Johnston or anyone else says," Becker told her. "They're pathetic, blundering fools."

Jess's head was spinning trying to process what Becker had just said. He liked her. And he liked hugging her. He had wanted to hug her. He was looking forward to hugging her again.

Smiling, Becker headed for the main corridor, feeling Jess's gaze as he walked away. Then he stopped, and turned around. "And Jess," he walked the few steps back to her, leaning in dangerously close, he brushed up the hem of her skirt into the position it – in his opinion – was just perfect. Smirking, he whispered into her ear, "There's nothing wrong about the way you dress."

Placing a feather-light kiss on her cheek, he turned and left the ADD.

Jess's heart was pounding like mad, even more than it had been after their hug. He liked the way she dressed. He liked hugging her.

He really liked her.

Not to mention that he had just brushed up her skirt, touching her thigh in the movement. And he had kissed her cheek. He wanted to hug her, be close to her again once he had the opportunity to do so. She couldn't help asking herself if that was the move she'd been waiting for him to make since the day she'd met him.

Jess couldn't keep the flush from her face that no makeup could cover for the rest of the day.