Inspired by/written for a prompt by the lovely CKC8867

When her friends from university had suggested they get together for a girl's night out, Jess had leapt at the chance. They didn't get to see much of each other, what with their careers taking them off all over the world and, in Jess's case, requiring them to work long, unsociable hours.

She'd asked Emily and Abby if they'd like to join her but both women had declined; Abby in favour of spending more time with Connor in the run up to their wedding and Emily in favour of spending more time with Matt, who'd only recently confided in the team that the end of the world as they knew it might have only been postponed rather than prevented.

Jess didn't mind, not really, though she did feel a little bit envious and wished for more than a moment that she could decline the invite in favour of spending her evening with a certain all-in-black Captain...)

Thoughts of Becker aside, she found herself getting dressed up in her favourite little black dress (with silver sparkles – it wasn't entirely black) and sky-scraper heels, dancing around her flat to the music she'd programmed on her playlist. She took extra care over her hair and make-up since it wasn't often she got to indulge in such a thing.

At exactly 7.40pm, when her phone buzzed with the automated text message from the taxi company she preferred telling her her cab was outside, Jess left her flat with a skip in her step, determined to enjoy every second of her evening.

He was having a rare night out with his old Sandhurst peers and he was actually starting to enjoy himself.

He'd stopped checking his phone after an hour of being out, telling himself that checking it repeatedly wouldn't put off an anomaly alert if one was going to happen. Still, he wasn't allowing himself to drink too much, just in case, but was feeling nice and relaxed for the first time in a long time – certainly since the first time Matt had dropped his bombshell about the threat not being entirely extinguished.

No. He wasn't going to think about it. Wasn't letting himself think about it.

What could was dwelling on what might be when all it did was stop you from enjoying what was?

Becker smirked at himself as the thought crossed his mind, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. He heard the sage advice in Jess's voice – unsurprising since she'd been the one to dispense it in the first place. She hadn't been talking to him but rather to Emily and Abby, over lunch one day in the canteen. He'd just happened to overhear it and, well, since then he hadn't been able to get it out of his mind.

It was good advice. Sound advice. Advice he was trying to follow – in more ways than one.

Emily had certainly taken it onboard, and from what Becker was able to determine, had taken charge of her relationship with Matt, telling the team leader in no uncertain terms that she wasn't prepared to put their lives on hold because of a cryptic message from a future version of himself. If it'd been so important, so vital, that he find his way back, surely his other self would have stuck around to tell him how to do it?

The Victorian Lady had refused to listen to any of Matt's excuses and the two of them, it had to be said, had seemed quite content despite the threat looming over them ever since.

Abby, too, seemed to have taken the advice to heart. Surprising all of them – not least of all the man himself - she'd thrown herself quite enthusiastically into planning her wedding to Connor. When her rather stunned fiancé had asked her why over a wedding planning session the men had been dragged into by the female members of the team, she'd simply smiled at him and told him she didn't want to waste any more time, not when every second counted.

Seeing how happy his teammates were able to be despite everything that stood against them got Becker thinking that maybe he could have a little bit of that happiness himself.

Happiness he'd like to share with a certain Field Co-ordinator who'd sparked the whole thing in the first place.

He'd planned on asking her out on the way back to the ARC after the missing train anomaly. After they'd survived convergence and Jess had survived the incursion of predators in the ARC, he'd thought that maybe it was finally time to take the risk and act on the chemistry that had been simmering between them since their first meeting. He'd even planned it in his head, what he was going to say, where he was going to take her... and then Matt had called a team meeting, revealed his encounter with his other self and Becker had put those thoughts to the back of his mind.

Saving the future, focusing on work – they were his priorities. He couldn't afford any distractions, even one as lovely as Jess, but then she'd pointed out what now seemed blatantly obvious and he'd started second-guessing himself again, which had led to him making the all-important decision to take the plunge and tell her how he felt.

Soon.

When, he wasn't sure.

He'd meant to do it four times now but things kept getting in the way. First, there'd been an anomaly alert just as he'd made himself walk up to her at the ADD. Second had been Abby with some titbit about the upcoming wedding that she'd just had to discuss then and there with Jess, official co-wedding planner. Third had been another anomaly alert – well, Connor coming to ask Jess a question about the ADD which had coincided with an anomaly alert – and fourth had been Lester, taking advantage of having the two of them in the hub together to remind them that they both needed to finish their latest budget reports and send them onto him in time for his meeting with the Minister.

"I think I'm in love."

The declaration came from Sanders, one of his former comrades. The sandy blond haired man was infamous for falling in love – he'd been married twice, engaged three times in the ten years Becker had known him – so it came as no real surprise.

Becker met the gaze of Carlton, another friend, over his head and rolled his eyes. "Who's the lucky third ex-wife to be?"

"Her." Sanders, his gaze fixed firmly in the direction of the dance floor, lifted the hand that wasn't holding his pint glass to point. "I don't know her name but she's the one, mate."

Shaking his head, Becker looked in the direction Sanders had pointed. Having taken a swig from his own pint, he almost embarrassed himself by spitting it out all over his friends when he saw the woman Sanders had declared himself in love with.

Jess.

He choked on his drink, drawing Sanders and Carlton's attention. As Sanders stared at him and Carlton clapped him on the back, Becker tried to tear his gaze away from Jess to no avail.

Though she was surrounded by fellow dancers, all he could see was her. Her eyes were half closed, a blissful smile on her face as she swayed in time with the beat, her dress sparkling under the light of the spotlights.

"You alright, Becks?"

Waving away Carlton's concern, Becker looked away from Jess to glance at Sanderson. "If you mean the brunette in the black dress, I'm afraid I've got bad news for you."

"Oh?" Sanders arched an eyebrow, pint glass already raised to his mouth again.

"She's already taken," Becker continued, holding his friend's gaze evenly. "By me."

It was Sander's turn to choke, both of his eyebrows shooting skywards as Carlton rolled his eyes and resumed his back-clapping, only this time on the other man. "You know her?"

"If we're talking about the same woman, then yeah." Becker's gaze strayed back to Jess and he missed the glance exchanged between his friends as a grin he had no control over began to play on his lips.

"I don't know if I believe you." Sanders narrowed his eyes when Becker turned his attention back to him in surprise. "Prove it."

"Prove it?" Becker echoed.

Sanders nodded and Carlton shook his head, leaving the two of them to it as he continued to nurse his drink in silence. "If you're claiming dibs on the future ex-Mrs Sanders, I think you should prove it. Or else I'll take my chances."

There was no way in hell Becker was going to let that happen. Sanders was a lady's man, through and through, and although he had every confidence Jess wouldn't be anything other than flattered by the attention, he wasn't about to take the risk.

With a scowl at his friend – former friend, he thought uncharitably – he finished the rest of his drink and set the glass down on the bar with a small thud. Squaring his shoulders, he wove his way through the crowd, gaze fixated on Jess as she laughed at something one of her friends – all female, Becker was gratified to see – called out to her above the music.

Because he was so focused on her, he saw the moment she noticed him striding towards her.

Her eyes widened slightly and the smile dropped for a second before being replaced by the smile he knew she reserved only for him. The one that lit up a room and chased away the shadows of even the toughest day at the ARC.

She continued to sway to the music, almost as if she was unaware of it, but wasn't dancing as much as she had been. Her gaze remained locked with his, even when one of her friends said something that made her blush.

Finally, he was standing in front of her.

Jess gazed up at him, still a few inches shorter despite the height of the shoes on her feet. She bit down on her lip, an eyebrow quirked as he stood there and said nothing, all of the words he'd planned to say fleeing from his mind at the sight of her so close.

"Becker...?"

Whatever else she'd been about to say was lost in the onslaught. He slanted his mouth over hers as his hands found her hips and drew her closer. After a small almost squeak of surprise, Jess was kissing him back just as deeply, one of her hands fisting in his shirt, the other sliding up his chest to rest at the back of his neck. She tasted like chocolate and tequila and something else that he couldn't name but couldn't get enough of.

A wolf-whistle and catcall later, Becker forced himself to pull away from her. They were both breathing heavily, both still standing in the middle of the dance floor.

Both smiling like fools but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"I have no objections if that's how you're going to say hello from now on but you might want to tone it down a little for Lester," Jess said after a moment, her smile cheeky as her eyes sparkled up at him. "And for the rest of the team, to be honest. And your men. If you go around kissing everyone till they can't think straight, no one's going to get any work done."

"I was only planning on kissing you," Becker responded. He noted her hands were still resting on his chest and his own were still clasping her hips. "If that's okay with you."

Jess laughed a little at that, shaking her head at the note of uncertainty in his voice. "Does it look like I have any objections?" Before he could answer, she stood up on her toes, lips a hairsbreadth from his. "Let me make it clear for you, just in case."

And clear it up she did.

End
The prompt was Becker getting to witness a tequila-and-dancing incident. This is what happened when I tried to write it :) Thank you so much for the prompt! :)