The snow fell thick and fast, the wind hitting the faces of the man and woman struggling to make their way through the snow and toward the small cabin offering the smallest hope of shelter against the rising storm. Jake grabbed a handful of Sherry's coat and dragged her much smaller body through the powdery substance already deep enough to reach the middle of Jake's shins in some places. For a moment he felt her stumble and cursed the fragility of the woman, until the memory of the gaping wound in her back slowly stitching itself closed came to mind. This woman was far from fragile, he reminded himself.
"Almost there..." he called over his shoulder, unsure if she could even hear him. He had to hand it to her though, she kept up with his long strides right up until he kicked the cabin door open and flung them both inside. "All right." he mumbled to himself, quickly moving to the window to make sure they weren't being followed. The storm was bad enough that their tracks had already been covered. It would take a certain type of crazy to keep searching for them in these conditions. Turning his back to the window he spotted Sherry already kneeling by the disused fireplace.
"The wood here is dry enough to start a fire." she informed, "I don't have anything to light it."
Jake rummaged inside the pocket of his coat and pulled out a small, silver lighter. "Your lucky day." he smirked, flicking it open so the tiny flame illuminated Sherry's features just enough for him to catch the withering look she shot him. She took the lighter with a half-hearted "thanks" and turned back to the fireplace. Jake paused, watching her attempt to coax a fire in the freezing room. His eyes travelled over her narrow shoulders, the tiny area of exposed skin on her neck covered in goosebumps from the cold. Then they fell upon the gaping hole in her jacket, stained red with her blood. His fingers twitched as he felt the urge to reach out and run his hand over the flesh he could see between the torn layers of clothing. Had it not been for the tear in those clothes he would have thought he'd imagined that shard of metal speared in her back. Jake had seen some freaky shit in his time, but this softly spoken blonde haired girl was something else. It made him wonder exactly who she was, who had sent her after him.
The smell of burning wood reached him, startling him from his thoughts as Sherry quickly stood and flipped his lighter shut. "Do you think the light will attract anyone?" she asked him, turning to face him before having to jump back as her outstretched palm hit him square in the chest, making the lighter she'd been holding out for him fall to the floor with a clutter. They both stood frozen for a moment as Sherry stumbled back until she was dangerously close to standing directly in the fire she'd just started. Jake shook his head slightly, forcing himself not to roll his eyes at her clumsiness. She was shaken up, he could tell. She was greener then he'd thought. Without a word Jake ducked to pick up the fallen trinket and made his way toward the only piece of furniture in the room, a large wooden table covered in deep groves and scratches. He ran his fingers over its surface. "Well this is going to be a long night." he thought idly to himself, aware of Sherry's pacing behind him. The girl needed to relax, he decided.
"So er..." he began lamely, trying to think of things he might have in common with a newbie American agent. "What was that stuff Redfield mentioned to you, about some city?"
Sherry stopped her pacing, yet he noticed her fingers tighten around her crossed arms as she looked at him with disbelief. "You don't know?"
Jake shook his head, "Should I?"
"Raccoon City... it was the start of all this. There was a major outbreak, a lot of people died. But not before..." Sherry's usually bright blue eyes darkened as they took on the look of someone haunted. Her gaze fell upon the snow-covered window before she shrugged. "I was just a kid back then. The monsters that attacked us were like something from a nightmare. And my father..."
Jake felt something shift in the air between them as he words seemed to fail her. "So much for keeping it light-hearted." he scolded himself silently. Yet he couldn't help but want to know more as she moved closer to the fire, dropping her arms before reaching up to unzip her jacket. Jake's eyes widened a she slid it from her shoulders until he realised her display was not for him, but so she could inspect the damage to her coat. He realised she would never warm up with such a big hole in the back of it and began looking around the shelves for something that could be used to stitch it together. After opening a few tins and boxes he found a handful of paperclips. "These'll do..." he said to no one in particular. Drawing closer to Sherry he momentarily thought he saw her withdraw from his approach. He ignored it and took the coat from her grip.
"What're you doing?" she asked, confused as he spread it over the table.
"Just give me a minute, okay."
Using his teeth he unbent the paper clip and withdrew a pen knife from his pocket to work the dull end into a sharp enough point to pierce the fabric. Sherry had moved from the fire, her gloved hands wrapped around herself once more as the much thinner fabric of her top did little against the cabin's bitter air. Jake sighed, placing the make-shift needle on the table for a moment he pulled out the loose thread buried in his side pocket before removing his own jacket. He draped it smoothly over Sherry's shoulders without a word and turned back to the job at hand, missing the quizzical yet appreciative look Sherry shot him.
"Thanks..." she mumbled, pulling the heavy jacket tighter around herself. It was warm and smelt like him, a strangely intoxicating scent which made her want to curl up and breathe in deeply. Jake grunted nonchalantly, tying the thread to the paperclip and carefully pulling it through the coat. By the time he was finished the hole was gone. It was far from perfect but it was better than nothing. With a self-indulgent smile he lifted the coat with a flourish and held it aloft for Sherry to inspect, his eyes glittering as if to say "ta dah!"
Sherry couldn't help but smile. "Nice work."
"Thank you, now if you don't mind, it's fucking cold in here." he told her with a nod at his own jacket. Sherry shrugged it off begrudgingly, it was warmer than her own would be and she missed the strange safety its oversized mass gave her almost immediately. Although she did feel bad when she inspected the raised bumps on Jake's exposed arms. Arms that bulged with defined muscle as he swung the jacket around his shoulders and pulled it back on tightly.
"Much better." he told her with a surprisingly warm smile.
"You didn't have to do that for me." Sherry told him, a little embarrassed. She was the one who had been sent to protect him, yet here he was playing nanny and helping her clean up her mess. Jake waved his hand at her remark and shrugged.
"You're no good to me frozen on the side of a mountain."
"Right." Sherry sighed, suddenly remembering the real reason he was here. "You might lose out on your fifty million."
"Your damn straight, babe." he told her unflinchingly, perching himself atop the table and leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. "But we're going to be stuck here for a while longer. Why don't you finish telling me about yourself."
Sherry almost laughed. It was almost like a line from a date. A bad date. "What do you want to know?" she asked coyly, deciding to go along with the ridiculousness of the situation. There wasn't anything better to do, after all.
"What's your star sign?" Jake asked, his face deadly serious. Sherry raised both her eyebrows, her mouth pursed as she watch him, unimpressed. Jake's face broke into a grin. "No? Okay, favourite colour? Flower? Food? How long you been an agent? How many kills you got under your belt?"
"God Jake..." Sherry suddenly breathed.
"What? Are you ashamed of what you do, Agent Birkin?" Jake pushed. For some reason he suddenly wanted to press all this girls buttons, to see what she really had hidden beneath those big blue eyes and girl-next-door charms.
"Of course not." she snapped, "What about you?"
"Me? I'm a Leo"
Sherry stared at him wide-eyed. "Do you think this is funny?"
Jake made a face as if seriously weighing up the situation, rolling his shoulders as he thought. "Kinda... yeah. I mean what else can you do when the shit hits the fan."
With an impatient shake of her head Sherry rolled her eyes and turned her back, making her way back to the fireplace. She could feel her heart begin to beat a little faster than usual, her blood beginning to grow hot in her veins. What was it about this man that got her so bothered. Was it because of who he was?
"Hey, come on. Don't go all quiet on me. I was just trying to lighten the mood." Jake drawled from behind her. Sherry let out an exasperated huff and glanced over her shoulder. Jake was smiling at her. No, he was smirking.
"Don't you realise what's happening out there?" she asked him curtly, "And I don't mean on this mountain. I mean out there, in the world. Have you any idea what could happen if this virus gets out of control?"
Jake shrugged, indifferent. "For me, it means I can put my prices up."
His smart remark was enough to have Sherry whip round to face him, her feet moving to close the distance between them as her hand came up, palm open, and made sharp contact with the scarred cheek on Jake Muller's face. The sound of skin on skin echoed around them as Jake swore loudly, pushing himself from the table he forced Sherry to stumble back as she realised what she'd done. She hadn't meant to hit him, well, perhaps she had just a little. But the way he just didn't seem to give a damn about anything, not the thousands of people who's lives were at risk. Millions in fact. Sherry forced the shock and horror from her face as Jake looked at her, danger written in every inch of his face as he took one purposeful step forward. It was a move to intimidate, Sherry realised. She stood her ground, lifting her chin in defiance, and held his cold gaze.
Jake's eyes narrowed as he surveyed her. He could see the slight tremble in her hands, but it was quickly controlled. He lifted his hand to his stinging cheek and felt his lips twitch into a small smile. "Didn't think you had it in you, super girl." he told her. Sherry blinked at him.
"You're... not mad?"
Jake snorted. "You think a little slap like that is going to get under my skin? It's good to see you've still got some fight in you. You're going to need it."
Sherry shifted her weight from foot to foot as she tried to figure out what he was saying. "So you didn't mean what you just said, about the money?"
Jake contemplated telling her that, yes, he had meant it. Outbreaks usually meant a huge hike in his asking price, and he always turned a good profit. But somehow he didn't think it would go down too well, and now he knew the girl had some spirit he didn't want to risk pushing her any further. She was his key to fifty million dollars, after all.
"Nah." he told her dismissively, "I'm not that much of an asshole."
He heard the barely concealed huff she tried to muffle and chose to ignore it. What did he care if she thought him a cold-hearted bastard? He'd been called worse by a lot of people. So why had he bothered to lie?
"Look, why don't we get some rest. You sleep first and I'll keep watch." he told her, suddenly tired of talking. He caught the sideways look she gave him, the one that spoke volumes. "What, you think I'm going to take off while you sleep?" he sighed.
Sherry leant her back against the cabin wall and eyed him wearily. "Not exactly."
Jake froze, feeling a coldness sweep through him at her words. Was she really implying what he thought she was implying. Slowly, purposefully, he stepped toward her until they were toe to toe. He placed one hand against the wall beside her head, the other remaining loose at his side. To her credit, Sherry didn't so much as flinch as his eyes bore into hers. "What exactly are you expecting me to do?" he hissed. Sherry tilted her head to one side as he eyes examined his face. She realised just how young he was now she could see him up close, even if his face was half-hidden by the shadows flickering over his features by the light of the fire.
"Nothing." she told him flatly. "But I have a job to do, and that means not letting you out of my sight. So you can stop playing the big tough killer routine and just settle down."
Jake glared. Counting the lingering seconds as he took in every speck of blue in her eyes. He could practically count each of her eyelashes he was so close. "Fine." he sniffed, pulling back. "We need to at least block the door first. Then I'm getting some sleep."
There wasn't much to use, but soon the door and the single window were covered enough that they'd have some warning before anyone tried to get in. True to his word Jake settled down with his back against the wall, close enough to the fire that he could feel its warmth licking at his face and neck. He closed his eyes, gun in hand, and tried to ignore the presence of the other person in the room. He fell into sleep remarkably quickly, but not before his eyes opened for just a second to check on her. To make sure she wasn't the one preparing to pull a gun on him in his sleep. He caught her sitting with her feet tucked beneath her, a hand rubbing at her shoulder. She must have hurt it, he thought to himself before closing his eyes. Remembering the various falls and collisions he'd been through himself in the last few hours he realised she too was bound to have a few knocks and bruises. He felt... oddly bad about. Like he should do or say something to make her feel better.
"Screw that." he told himself firmly. "Don't get yourself tied up with her. She's doing a job, you're earning yourself a nifty little pay-off. That's all it needs to be."
Jake fell into an uneasy sleep. A voice he knew too well called to him, asking him for help, pleading for him to make the pain go away. In his dream he couldn't figure out why the sallow, sunken face of his sick mother kept shifting. Her long red hair growing shorter, lighter. Green eyes became blue and he saw a much younger woman reaching out to him. She was telling him things, saying things about the world... danger... his blood... as they ran from a horde of unseen creatures.
The only phrase he would be able to recall came to him clearly before he woke up. But it was not the voice of the agent sent for his blood that spoke to him, it was his mother.
"Only you can save this world, Jake Muller..."
Author's Note: So, like most Jake/Sherry shippers, I adored the cabin scene and this is my attempt at putting my own spin on it. There will be more! This fic is slightly AU in the sense that they spend a good few hours stuck together before being attacked. I didn't want to dive right into anything cute and fluffy when there's so much tension that can be built between these two! I hope you enjoyed and would love to hear your thoughts on this scene in the game and my own version. Is there anything you wished had happened between them (kissing and lemons are obvious answers by the way!)?
