I'm back! This has been hard cos I didn't want to tell Beth I was doing a 2nd alphabet, so I've had to think of the chapter names all on my own – but I hope you'll all enjoy it ;)

If anyone's reading this like 'what the hell is she on about?' the original Alphabet of Jecker is probably a good place to start...

A – Aftershock

"Hello?" Jess snatched up the phone before it even reached the second ring, her entire body quaking. She'd been sick twice this afternoon, and still her stomach churned as if she was about to throw up again.

It was all about give and take, though. There was nothing left to give, nothing left for her body to suck out. She just felt empty, void of life. How selfish that sounded when Becker might literally be dead. No, she couldn't think that.

"Hello, is that Jessica Parker?"

"How is he?" she demanded, gulping back the tears choking her.

The doctor didn't speak for a beat. That time, probably barely more than a second, felt like a century to Jess. A century of ceaseless horror and nerves.

"The operation went well. It's too early to know yet if the mass has been totally removed, and we obviously can't tell for a while how big the risk is of it coming back, but for now we're pleased with how it worked."

"Is he...is he awake? Has he said anything?" she couldn't describe the relief she felt as she digested that news. Yet the fear was all-engulfing still; after so long waiting, a new torrent of unanswered questions washed over her.

"He's still very woozy from the anaesthetic, but yes, he's been conscious for a few minutes now. He asked for you – said he loved you."

"That...that's good, right?"

"Of course. Now, after brain surgery, there's always a risk of after affects such as seizures, but we can sort that out when we come to it. He might need to undergo therapy – chemo or radiotherapy, you've probably heard of them before?"

"Yes."

"Well, at the moment, it all just depends. But we can discuss all of this further when you come across – he'll probably be fully awake by the morning, and by then we'll have assessed him. For now, I'd advise you get a good night's sleep, and you can see him tomorrow."

"Yes. Yes," Jess repeated, barely listening now. She suddenly felt so drained. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," the doctor hung up.

"Abby!" Jess yelled, "Abby, he's okay!"

"Oh my God, that's wonderful!" Abby rushed through and threw her arms around her friend, grinning, "What did they say?"

"Just stuff about treatment. But they said he was awake, and he'd asked for me – he said he loved me."

Abby smiled, "Come on; let's get you to bed now then, yeah? You haven't slept properly for days – he's going to need you strong for tomorrow, isn't he?"

"Yeah."

Abby pulled back the covers and sat her down, "You'll be okay? Don't lie awake worrying, okay? He's fine. He's going to be okay – we all are. We can celebrate tomorrow too; Connor and Matt will love that."

"Yeah," Jess allowed Abby to guide her upstairs and to the spare bedroom – she'd been staying with Abby and Connor for a few days now, "Thank you, Abby. For being there, when I needed you. For caring."

Abby smiled again, hugging her again, "You'd do the same for me."

"Night," Jess whispered.

"Night," Abby closed the door behind her as she left, leaving the room bathed in artificial light from the lamp. Jess sat silently on the bed, feeling tears run down her face. She needed to sleep, she knew. She needed to be ready for Becker, when he needed her. But how could she? How could she sleep now?

She felt a new wave of nausea force its way up her throat, and she dived for the bathroom, throwing herself down by the toilet and bending her head over it to spit up what she hadn't even known was in her.

XxXxX

Basically, my future aim for FanFic is to get 100 reviews on a story, so please review and tell me what you thought, or if you have any ideas! xxx