A/N: Takes place about a year after Jess and Becker start dating.

You are the strength that keeps me walking.

You are the hope that keeps me trusting...

Jess Parker sat in front of her dresser, pulling bobby pins out of her hair. She stood, walking over to the bathroom as she brushed her hair, and was met with the sight of Becker standing before the sink, brushing his teeth. He was shirtless, a pair of black sweatpants sitting low on his hips. She leaned against the door jamb, and he smiled at her in the mirror, his mouth lined with toothpaste foam. She grinned at this uncharacteristically silly sight, and he made a face at her before leaning over to rinse the toothpaste out of his mouth.

The corded muscles of his broad shoulders moved under tan skin as he straightened. Even after two months of living together, and over a year of seeing each other, she was still struck sometimes by the fact that he was with her. Action Man Becker, as Connor jokingly called him, and tiny little Jess. She didn't think she'd ever quite get used to it. Even after what she'd found out that day.

She smiled as she remembered the first time she'd seen him in this state, namely, without a shirt on. It was just after he'd been bitten by a venomous creature and nearly died, and she realized how important he truly was to her. Before that, he'd just been a crush, a cute guy at work that she flirted with occasionally. Well, maybe more than occasionally.

She remembered seeing the small tattoo on his arm, and wondering about the story behind it. Since that day, she'd learned that it was the result of a night of drunken hazing at his first posting on a base in Indonesia. Jess once asked why he didn't get it removed, and he replied that it was a reminder of those friends, many of whom died not long after. And, he had added with a smile, it was a good reminder not to be an idiot.

Still leaning against the bathroom doorway, Jess thought back over the day. She hadn't meant to snoop. Really. It was her week to do laundry, and she was putting the clean clothes away. Becker was a little particular about his sock drawer, and she was straightening it up when she noticed one of the socks had something inside it. Emptying it into her hand, she found a small black velvet ring box. Jess had almost fainted from shock right then, at the sight of that box.

Becker had always been a little gun-shy when it came to commitment, Jess knew. Not because he was afraid of it, but because he seemed to think he wouldn't be around long enough to hold up his end of the... vows. But it seemed that, since they'd stopped Philip Burton, Becker wasn't so convinced he was going to die any day. Vows. I'm getting married! She'd thought excitedly, jumping up and down in the (fortunately) empty flat, the rest of the laundry forgotten. After a few minutes of unabashed glee, she finally calmed down enough to think clearly again. Opening the box slowly, she saw a simple gold band with a single diamond. Not so fast. Don't get ahead of yourself. He hasn't actually asked you yet. She looked around, suddenly cautious, and carefully put the box back inside its hiding place, and was just shutting the drawer when she heard the front door open and Becker call out to her.

A hand on her crossed arms brought Jess back to the present. She realized that she had been staring off into space for several minutes. Becker was in front of her, looking down at her with concern in his eyes.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," she replied brightly. She looked in his eyes, and felt that, somehow, he knew exactly what she'd been thinking. He had this infuriating ability to read everything she was thinking on her face. But she wasn't going to let him trick her into confessing that easily.

"Jessica," he said softly, the word almost a question, one eyebrow raised. "Why do I feel like there's something you're not telling me?"

"Because there usually is," she replied, planting a kiss on his cheek before turning back to the bedroom.

Cause you're all I want.

You're all I need.

You're everything, everything...