Airman
"Second Lieutenant Redfield!" a voice called, getting Chris' attention.
"Yeah?" he replied, glancing over his shoulder. He was at the shooting range, practicing. The life of an air gunner was a tough one and he wanted to stay in shape. The shooting range wasn't the equivalent of the battle front, but it helped. The man speaking was a higher up in management. In charge of things like placement and removal from service. He had jet black hair, always stood straight, and went by the name Jeoff. Besides him was a woman. She was about six inches shorter than Chris, with brown hair that fell about an inch above her shoulders. All in all, if Chris had been back home, this was the kind of woman he'd ask out. But he wasn't home. He was on base.
"I need you to meet someone. She'll be your captain from now on," Jeoff spoke.
She held out a hand to shake. "My name is Jill Valentine." Chris shook her hand, not sure what to make of her.
"Chris Redfield."
"I'll leave you two to get acquainted," Jeoff stated before taking his leave. Both Chris and Jill nodded to him as he left.
"You're the gunner of the team, right?" Jill asked turning attention to Chris.
"Yeah," he replied. There was silence as he placed two more shots into the target's head.
"You're young, aren't you? To be a Captain?"
"I'm a woman in a man's world. I've had to kick ass to get here," she replied.
He smirked. "Not many woman would phrase it like that."
"I'm not many women," she spoke simply. There was silence again as his gun sounded. "You've been reprimanded before, haven't you?"
"For disobeying commanding officers, yes." He shot again.
"Then I hope I can earn your respect." She nodded to him and departed. Chris was completely caught off guard by her comment. His past captains had demanded respect from him instead of asking for it, or earning it. But now this woman that he had barely known for five minutes had only asked for respect. She was the youngest Captain that he had met. At least a year younger than himself. He smiled as he placed his next shot. He had more hopes in this Captain than he did in most of the others he had met.
"Anyone else met the new Captain?" Micheal, the First Lieutenant above Chris spoke. The team (excluding Jill) was sitting in the base 'diner'. Micheal was about thirty-five with black hair and a tanned face. He had been serving in the Air Force for about two years and planned on staying longer. The base was about seven buildings on the inside of a wall. The 'diner' was just a hyped up cafeteria.
"Yeah. She seemed fine," Chris replied.
"I haven't yet. Didn't even know the gender. What's she like? And what's her name?" Kyle asked, taking a sip of his drink. Kyle was older than Chris, turning twenty-seven soon. His hair was a fair blond but his eyes a dark brown. He was on his first year.
"Her name is Jill Valentine. She's short. Young," Chris began. "Brunette. Definitely someone who deserves respect."
"How young?"
"About twenty, if I could guess." Chris shrugged. He grabbed his own drink.
"Isn't that younger than you?" Hans asked, grabbing one of the fries off his plate and popping it into his mouth. Hans was a tall, sturdy, german man. He had curly brown hair and stood at six feet and ten inches high. He was often referred to as 'Dad' in the little family they had made from friends. Chris nodded.
"Not by much though. Remember, I only turned twenty-one two weeks ago."
"Still. That's young to lead."
"You're right," Micheal agreed. "When did you meet her, Chris?"
"At the shooting range yesterday. Y'know that guy, Jeoff? From placement? He introduced us." The gunner replied. "We talked for a few minutes and then she left."
"Well, what impression did you get from her?" the smallest man there, Flynn spoke. He was quite shy and small. He was twenty-three. He spoke timidly, as always.
"She's someone I'd respect. More than some other officers I've met," he joked, poking fun at Micheal.
"Ha ha," the first lieutenant said sarcastically.
"She barely said anything. Asked me if I was the gunner and spoke a little on when I got in trouble with some higher-ups," Chris continued.
"And that makes you think she'll be a good Captain?" Hans asked.
"Probably what she looks like," Micheal smirked suggestively.
Chris rolled his eyes, anger at the accusation. "It's not what she looks like, it's what she said."
Everyone was silent. The tension could've been cut with a knife. An angry Chris was not someone to mess with. He had issues with controlling his anger when defending something, whether it was his morals or a person.
Flynn was the first to speak. "... So what does she look like?"
Jill slipped into her room. It was one shared with the only other women on base. There were three single beds, her own pushed back into the corner. All of her belongings sat on or besides the bed. A small organized dresser was at the end of the bed, each outfit she had folded perfectly inside. Her Airman's Medal sat framed on top of the dresser, forcing her eyes to look at it. She was not the youngest to receive it, but she was the most recent. It was an odd thing to contemplate herself as a heroine. She had only joined the Airforce under the wish of her father. He was Dick Valentine, renowned thief. He had asked her to make something of herself that would surpass him by miles and miles. She'd never forget his face when she was given leave to visit him and inform him of her medal. Besides the framed medal was a picture of her father, mother and herself. She had only been a baby at the time, not even ten minutes old. She was being held by her mother, and her father was besides them. Her mother had died an hour later. Jill sighed, taking a seat on the bed. Looks wise, she was the opposite of the other two women on base. She was small, and didn't appear to be very muscular. She knew how most people believed her to use her looks to make it where she was. It was extremely rare to have such a young captain, especially a woman.
She had only met two people from her new team so far. The first had been the First Lieutenant, Micheal. He had seemed okay enough, but a little biased about a woman leader. He seemed to be expecting that how she looked would affect her performance on the job. The second man she had met was Christopher Redfield. He was the Second Lieutenant for her team. She had been immediately interested by his tone of voice when he first spoke. He hadn't shown any more interest in her than needed, nor did he seem to think that because she was a woman, she wouldn't do her job well.
Jill smiled, sighed, and ran a hand over her face. Tired, she lay down on her bed and went to sleep.
"Our orders are to supply a base outside of the our green area. We're going to make two flights. The second will be the most dangerous, seeing as we'll be carrying fuel," Jill informed. "Understood?" Each man gave a firm nod. "Chris, and Flynn, I'm going to need you two to stay focussed. We don't know if any hostiles will fire."
"Got it," Chris replied, and Flynn nodded again.
It had been about a month since Jill had been put as Captain. Chris had been correct in some of his assumptions about her. She was someone who got respect by giving it out. The team seemed to like her enough. They all felt a little awkward about having a female captain, but they were slowly getting used to it. They were setting up for their first mission out. "We ready?" Jill asked. Micheal gave her a thumbs up. "Let's go then." The whir of the helicopter was deafening. Kyle guided it expertly over the terrain, avoiding all the main hotspots for enemy activity. "Anything happening over the radio?"
"No. Last radio in was an okay to start out on the mission. Nothing more since," Hans spoke in his deep voice.
"Flynn, Chris, do either of you see anything?" Jill asked, looking to both of them.
"Not from here," Chris answered, his eyes scanning the landscape below.
"Same here," Flynn replied quietly.
Silence fell over the group. Jill had perfected the art of falling into her own thoughts and still being able to take in everything that was happening around her. So that's what she did. Her mind was pulled to thoughts of her old team. She had been the only female in that group as well. All of them had been good friends with her. They had supported her as a captain, even though they were all older than her. But as war had shown her, nothing went as planned. Four of the men on her team now lay in graves back in America. Two others had been hurt too seriously to be put back in service. One even had both legs amputated. The last was the only one who had returned to service, though he was stationed on a different base. She didn't want to grow close to these men as she had the others. She had learned that it was hard to have friends while in the Airforce. It was better to think of them only as team mates. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Approaching base C. Radioing in to ask permission to land," Kyle spoke. A moment later, they landed gently on the base.
"Wait here." Jill hopped down from the helicopter and approached who she knew to be in charge. A smirk appeared on her face. "Team Seriph, reporting in." She held out a hand and it was immediately shaken by the man before her.
"Jill! How've you been?" He was a tall man with jet black hair and striking hazel eyes. There was a very apparent scar that stretched from just under the corner of his mouth to the top of his ear. He gave her a smile.
"Fine, and you? I mean, it's been months. How's your face, Jack? It looks like it's healed," she replied, tilting her head to examine the scar. The last time she had seen him, there had been no scar, but a bloody wound. He had been the only other person from her last team who had returned to service, Jack Quinzle.
"Much better. It twinges a bit every once in a while. Other than that, it's healed," he replied. "What about your arm?"
Jill's right hand went to her opposite arm. "I had to go to physical therapy for a little while, but all that's left now is a scar. How many times have you been called the Joker?" Jill laughed.
"Good. And they only call me Joke. You know, half of Joker?" He smiled, tracing the scar. "I'll get my team and we'll start unloading this."
"Got it." She turned and called to the five men on the helicopter, "Let's go, guys!" Four of the men onboard hopped off, Kyle remaining in the pilot's seat. Chris followed the others into the cargo area of the helicopter. He hadn't heard what Jill had been talking about, but he also wasn't as curious as the others either. In his eyes, her conversations were her own. He tried not to be the guy that pried into the business of others. Despite what some of the others on base might've thought, he didn't think she was someone who could sleep her way to the top. It wasn't that she wasn't attractive, just she didn't seem like the type to do that. So far, though, she hadn't come to eat with the team. Each time they invited her, she just politely declined and left.
After the second flight, the team returned to the base. The second ride was uneventful. No enemy movement and no trouble with the helicopter either. They landed and were able to go on their way very shortly afterward. What had become sort of a tradition with the team was to go eat at the diner.
After putting away their gear, all the guys headed towards the small building that was the diner, excluding Chris. Jill headed away, as always. "Hey! Jill, wait up!" Chris called, jogging to catch up to her. She turned slowly to face him.
"Yeah, Chris?" She tried to act normal but felt it slip. Seeing Jack again had reminded her of her old team. Too many memories. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." She met his eyes evenly, doing her best not to betray anything. He saw her hesitance, but didn't mention it.
"You should join us for some food," he spoke, jerking his thumb in the direction of the team.
She shook her head. "No thanks." They maintained eye contact for few seconds before he spoke again.
"Well, you've gotta get to know us sometime."
She shook her head again. "I don't think that's such a good idea." She broke eye contact and turned away. "I'll see you later, Chris."
"Why don't you care about your team? What's wrong with us?" he called. She bit her lip. "Is it one of us?"
Jill turned. "... No."
Chris' voice grew angry. "Then why?"
She scowled. "My reasons are my own."
Jill angrily shot off again. The bullet hit square into the target's heart. She fired off two more directly after that. How dare Chris say she didn't care about her team! He knew nothing about her and had no right to pass judgement. He didn't know she couldn't stand getting to know anyone else, not when there was too much risk.
The clip on her gun now empty, she slammed it down, removed her head gear and marched away. She rarely grew this angry, but for some reason, the situation had changed. It wasn't the fact that he was pushing her to be friendly with the team, but the fact he actually seemed to care. That, she wasn't used to. She was used to the fake emotions that people usually showed her. But Chris was so refreshingly real. A quality she admired.
She made her way to her room, finding it empty of her room mates. She quickly changed and crawled into bed, knowing that she was thoroughly exhausted, both physically and mentally. At that moment, she didn't want to think of her dead friends, of her fight with Chris, or of how he actually wanted to be her friend.
She just wanted to be in the darkness of sleep.
Jill felt much better when she woke up the following morning. Her head had cleared from the previous day's excitement; seeing Jack again, arguing with Chris. Arguing with Chris... She sighed. She needed to apologize. She regretted the altercation and wanted to make things right. She planned on apologizing as soon as she could and telling him some of the truth. She didn't want one fight to mess up the entire team's dynamic.
She changed into some fresh clothes, readying herself for the mission they had that day. It was just some patrol work on the main roads. They would walk around the local village and check on everything. Things rarely escalated in places so close to a military base. The people there were nice. She knew a small bit of the language, but not much. Most of the people there knew some English because of the troops.
For the rest of the morning, she had no chance to speak to Chris, though she was on the receiving end of a glare or two. When they headed out, each with their respective weapons, Jill declined speaking to Chris. She remained silent as the rest of the team talked and joked. She'd rather talk privately to him than alert the others to their fight.
Upon reaching the town, Jill seized her chance, sending the group off in pairs and taking Chris as her partner. He didn't seem happy that she had ordered it that way, but didn't object. It was silent at first as they walked the streets, greeting some who passed. She tried to get the nerve up to speak, but found her tongue glued to the bottom of her mouth. She wanted to apologize to the man, explain her reasonings, not walk in an awkward silence. She dug deep and mustered the courage as they turned down an alley, but he started at the same time.
"Chris, I-" she said.
"Look, Jill-" He spoke in a darker tone and it was obvious his was not in the same direction as hers.
They looked over at each other, then dropping their eyes to the ground. "You first," she whispered softly.
"Look, Jill. I don't know why you chose me to go around here with you, but it's obvious we don't get along. We should just avoid each other and leave it at that. It'll cause less problems for the team." His tone was less angry and more sad.
She frowned, sighed, and stopped walking. He ended up a few steps ahead of her before he stopped too. "Chris..." She sighed again and looked up. He had turned to face her and waited for her to continue. "We don't need to avoid each other. I wanted to apo-" She was cut off as his eyes went wide and a gunshot sounded, him knocking her off her feet to a spot behind cover. Regaining their composure, both sat up and readied their weapons. Gunshots continued to ring out as the man Chris had seen shot at them. Jill radioed to the team. "Shots fired. Hostile's location: alley off of Sardasht. Repeat, alley off of Sardasht."
"We're on our way!" Hans replied. Jill felt a small bit of relief.
Meanwhile, Chris had begun to return fire. Three more men had joined the first, all firing at the pair behind the half wall. Jill joined before noticing the blood seeping through Chris's shirt on his arm. "Shit! Chris, you're hurt!"
He glanced down. "I'm fine."
"No, your not, but we don't have time to fix it right now." She took her knife and cut off a strip of her sleeve. "Hold this arm still, but keep returning fire!"
"I'm fi-"
"That's a fucking order, Christopher!" He shut his mouth and she tied the fabric tight around the area of the wound. "There! That'll have to work for now!" She spoke into the radio again. "Report location!"
"Returning fire on hostiles on Sardasht!" came back an answer, though she couldn't tell who it was.
The gunfire only lasted for half a minute more. Once it stopped and the four hostiles were confirmed dead, she sighed in relief and leaned back against the wall.
"Chris?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry. That's what I was going to say before. I don't like getting close to my team because I lost a majority of my last one."
Chris was silent for a moment. He reached over, gave her hand a light squeeze and let go. "I understand. But there is one thing you have to do if you want me to forgive you."
"What? I'll do nearly anything."
"Have lunch with the team when we get back on base."
For the hundredth time that day, she sighed. "Fine."
"It's the apocalypse," Micheal stated as Jill took a seat at the table.
"Why?" Flynn asked, timid.
"Captain is joining us for a meal," Micheal answered, not hiding the hostility tinting his voice.
"Lay off her," Chris replied. He was unsure of why the small, completely true comment his friend had made had triggered anger, but it did. "She's got more shit to handle than you."
Jill gulped and remained silent. She didn't need to apologize to them. It wasn't mandatory for her to spend time around them, other than during missions or training.
She became painfully aware of the silence that permeated the air around her team. So she spoke. "Chris, how's your arm feeling?" She already knew how it was. He had four stitches on the entry wound and five on the exit. She had been informed of how bad his injury was, how long it'd take to heal, what he could and couldn't do, what medication he was on, when he had to take it, and how he'd have to be left out of their assignments for the next two weeks. She also knew that the bullet had passed dangerously close to his bone and, had it hit there, could've gone so far as to needing to amputate his arm. She'd get just as much information as he did because she was his captain.
"It's numb right now. So okay, I guess." He gave her a smile. All his past anger towards her had been forgotten when he had pushed her out of the way of the bullet that had caused the injury on his arm.
"Flynn, it's your turn to get the food," Hans pointed out so the awkward tension broke.
"Okay," he answered, standing. He memorized what everyone wanted and marched off to get it.
"So, why are you joining us?" Kyle asked out of pure curiosity.
She shrugged. "So Chris would forgive me."
"For what?"
She shook her head and looked down. Chris also avoided eye contact with anyone. While Jill had told Chris of her issues with interacting with her team, she'd rather not tell everyone. She was barely okay with telling Chris. But Chris was different. She wasn't sure how, but he was. "Nothing that matters right now," she answered.
The tension in the air continued. Thankfully, by the time Flynn returned with food, the conversation had picked up again. Jill sat more on the sidelines as she ate, an outcast due to her prior absences. She was thankful when Chris sat next to her, moving from his original place on the other side of the table. "Thanks..." she mumbled. "I feel kinda weird."
"Then come here with us more often. You won't feel weird then. You can make friends with us," he replied, nudging her shoulder with his own.
She frowned. "I can't, Chris..." She trained her eyes on her meal.
He mirrored her frown. "It really messed you up, huh?"
She nodded, her expression a grimace. "It's impossible to describe. All my friends..." She shook her head. "Not again."
He squeezed her hand quickly, making sure to hide the act beneath the table. "I'm sorry, Jill. But I promise you that this won't end the same way."
"How can you keep a promise like that?" she whispered, setting her fork down.
He shrugged. "I just know."
She glanced up at him and took a deep breath. "Fine... I'll come to lunch next. But after that, no promises."
He smiled. "Awesome."
Jill did join them the next time. And the time after that. Over the next three months, she got to know her team and form a bond with each. They were all good men and she was proud to be their captain. She talked most with Chris, as he became her partner, serving as her second on patrols and whenever else she needed him. This, of course, brought up couple jokes made at them, but they ignored it.
She and Chris were close. She had grown so over the months, getting to know him better than she had known anyone. He knew he wrote letters to his sister every week, that he had lost both parents at a young age, and that he was a truly good man. She was glad to have him as a partner.
That day, they were about to depart on yet another mission.
"Flynn, you stay here. The doctor hasn't okayed you for another mission yet," Jill ordered. He looked up at her, downtrodden. He had been shot in the shoulder two missions prior and had to remain on base while his team continued to function. "Hey, you'll be okay in a few weeks. Don't sweat it."
He nodded. "I know, I just feel left out."
She smiled at him. "We'll save some fight for you." She turned back to the team. "We need to keep a sharp lookout. This will be one of our more dangerous trips. When we land, keep your partner close and watch his back." They nodded. "Load up." Like clockwork, they went onto the helicopter as Flynn exited the area.
The ride was smooth and uneventful. Up to a point.
All at once, something was roaring and all she could see was red. And then only blackness. Pure, simple, black.
She didn't know how long it was until she regained some senses. The most she regained though was the smallest inkling of feeling. The most she could tell was someone was moving her; dragging her, more like. But soon, she lost all feeling again and slipped back into her state of unconciousness.
The next time she woke, she opened her eyes just barely. Pain coursed through her body, centered in her left arm. She let out a small sound of pain. Someone said her name and she tried to look up at them. "Ch... Chris?" she croaked out.
He murmured something to her in a soft, calming tone. She couldn't hear him. Not well enough to understand, at least. He repeated what he said, putting a hand to the side of her face. She sight began to dim again and he faded into blackness.
Time passed again (at least, she was sure some had). Finally, her eyes opened up enough to see that it was late in the day. She mumbled the first name that came to mind. "Chris?"
"Shh, Jill... I'm here..." He had her head propped up on his lap.
"Whe...re are we?" Her voice was hoarse. She could barely form words.
"I don't know. I think we're a few miles from the base. I'm not sure how far we'll have to go." He held his canteen to her lips, helping her tilt her head up enough so she could drink some of the water. She tried to sit up and cringed as she did. He put a hand on her back, helping her. She grimaced, pain flowing from her body, the most horrible coming from her arm. "Easy... Easy. You got hurt. You're arm is broken. I put it in a splint, but we've got to get back." She looked down to see the make shift splint of fabric, medical tape, and a short sturdy branch. Her clothes were ripped and burns showed on her exposed skin. Ash and dirt covered each inch of fabric she wore.
She turned her head towards him. He was just as disheveled as she, clothes ripped, burns on his skin. He didn't look as worse as she, though. "What happened?"
"We were shot down..."
"Where are the others?" she asked quietly.
"Jill-"
"Where are they?!"
He put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her close. "We're the only ones that made it..."
Tears instantly formed in the corners of her eyes. Her men were gone. Again. She sagged against his chest, cradling her hurt arm as her other clutched at his shoulder. Her body was wracked with sobs and through them, he could only hear her stutter out, "You told me it'd be different. You told me it'd be okay."
It broke his heart.
It was a long while before she could calm herself. When she did, she took a deep breath and pushed herself up to stand, holding her injured arm close. Her stance was wobbly, but she remained standing. "We have to go," she mumbled. He nodded and pushed himself off the ground. He winced but held out his hand for her. She took it and gave it a squeeze, still affected by the news of her friend's deaths.
Jill didn't make it far. It was only twenty feet before she nearly collapsed. Before she could, he caught her and slipped an arm around her waist to hold her up. She put an arm around his shoulders. "Chris?" she said, capturing his attention.
"Yeah?"
"You should leave me here."
"What, Jill, no-"
"It'd be better... You can go get a patrol and come back for me."
He stopped and turned her towards him, still supporting most of her weight. She weighed nearly nothing to him. "Jill. I am not leaving you. We are going to get back to base and get you to the hospital."
She looked straight into his eyes and spoke. "I don't want you to die because of me too."
He pulled her into a hug, being gentle on her battered body. "None of this was your fault, Jill."
She squeezed her eyes shut. "Yes, it was. I was their captain. I was supposed to keep them safe..."
"And you did. You kept them as safe as you could for as long as you could. You didn't know we'd be shot down. You didn't know any of this would happen. It. Is. Not. Your. Fault." He pressed his lips to the center of her forehead. "Let's get back to base, V."
Their progress was slow through the harsh landscape. Night fell and she requested they sit for a few minutes so she could regain some strength. She was asleep before she could sit down all the way. He kept her close for a few minutes before standing and picking her up. She still slept soundly, or perhaps she had passed out from pain.
He walked along the road, realizing he was in the green area again. The base wasn't too far away.
Hope came in the form of headlights. He recognized the shape and thanked God when he was affirmed at what the vehicle was. It was a patrol vehicle, one from the base.
He walked numbly towards it, praying they'd see him, praying they'd stop.
His prayers were answered.
The vehicle pulled over and two men got out. They addressed Chris, thinking he was a hostile. They quickly recognized his wrecked uniform and the injured woman in his arms.
The two men motioned for their team to get out and suddenly Jill was taken from him and placed on a stretcher, just in time for Chris to collapse from sheer exhaustion.
Jill had been in the hospital area of the base for what seemed like forever. She had woken there after falling asleep when she had only wanted to rest. Chris had yet to visit, though he was most likely in another room with just as many bandages as she.
The cast on her arm was annoying. It itched and she couldn't stand not being able to have full use of her limb. She had bandages and burn ointment on half of the rest of her body.
The room was quiet and empty.
A man had come in earlier and offered her a spot on Delta. She was hesitant to respond and had been told that she could answer later, after she had healed a bit more. She wanted to ask Chris his opinion. If she had a chance to stay on a team with him, she'd reject the Delta offer. If there was no hope in staying near him, she'd accept it. It was a team that was hard to get onto. So few were chosen to be on it.
"Knock knock," a voice said, tapping lightly on the open door. "How're you feeling?" It was Flynn. The third survivor from Team Seriph who hadn't been present at the crash.
She shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Nothing really hurts. Just a dull ache."
He gave her a sad smile. "I just came from Chris's room. Their going to let him out tomorrow morning. He said he promises to come see you first."
She smiled back. "Awesome... I can't wait to see him."
There was silence for a moment, broken by Flynn. "Captain?"
She frowned and dropped her eyes. "Please... Just Jill. I don't deserve that title."
"You deserve it. I think you're most deserving of it out of all of the Air Force."
She shook her head. "I'm responsible for my team and I've lost two. Two entire teams of men that were my friends."
"... You still have me. And Chris too. And I'm pretty sure he thinks of you as more than a Captain or a friend." Flynn stepped closer to the bed. "Do you remember being found?" She shook her head no. "Team Gray found Chris carrying you down the road toward the base. He collapsed when they took you from him."
She shook her head again. "I told him to leave me," she mumbled. "He should've."
The next morning, Jill was sitting up in bed reading, when Chris entered. She looked up at him and acknowledged his prescence with a nod.
"Hey," he mumbled.
"Hey," she replied in a soft voice.
"How're you feeling?" he asked, sticking his hands in his pockets.
She gave him a small smile. "Much better. You?"
He mirrored her little smile. "Same." A comfortably awkward silence stood between them for a few moments. Jill gestured for him to step forward. He did. Almost scared, he spoke again. "I was contacted by another part of the military..."
She nodded. "Me too." They didn't ask what branch, didn't ask anything. All they did was stare at each other. "Thank you..."
He tilted his head. "For what?"
"Saving me. Again. You're the best partner a girl could ask for." She offered him her good hand and he took it. "They're going to give you a medal you know."
He shrugged. "I don't want one."
"Chris..?"
"Yeah, Jill?"
"Are you going to take the other military job?"
He shrugged. "I'm not sure." He paused. "It's with the Rangers."
Her eyes fell, landing on his hand in hers. She rubbed the back of it with her thumb and mumbled, "Rangers lead the way."
He gulped. "Where's your offer?"
"Delta," she answered, returning her eyes to his.
"Are you going to take it?"
She shrugged. "I dunno... I wanted to get your opinion on it. Whether I should or not."
He took his other hand out of his pocket and rubbed up her uninjured arm. Her skin was soft and had a light tan.
"I think that'd it be good for you..." he mumbled. "I don't want to be away from you, but... Delta would be good for you. If you were on that, you could get a good job after you leave service."
She squeezed her eyes shut and focused on the touch of his hand on her skin. "I don't want to be away from you either, but I can't keep you from a place in the Rangers."
A tear fell from his eye to her cheek as he leaned down to kiss her. His hand tilted her face up, her lips turning to meet his. His touch was soft and gentle. Her good hand moved up to take hold of his shirt, pulling him down. It seemed like an eternity before their lips finally touched. Eyes closed, mouths opened to each other. Soft passion erupted between them, budding the wish to go farther, though they couldn't. They had to fill those few moments with as much affection as possible.
They didn't know if they'd ever see each other again.
"Redfield! Pay attention."
"Yes sir."
Chris trained his eyes on the whiteboard, trying to appear even vaguely interested in what was written there. In truth, his thoughts were far away, on that of the woman he had left in a hospital bed eight months earlier.
He had tried to get in contact with her multiple times, but to no avail. He wasn't even sure if she was still in the service.
"Redfield, if you aren't going to pay attention, you can leave."
He rolled his eyes and stood up. "Fine."
He slammed the door as he left. It wasn't the smartest thing to do, but he didn't really care.
He missed so many people. His sister, Claire, who was just starting college. His aunt and uncle, who worried about him constantly. Most of all he missed Jill. She had been his partner and his captain. He wanted her to be more.
Jill sat down for bed. She was exhausted. The day had been full of training and similar tedious things. She almost regretted joining. Maybe if she hadn't, she'd still be able to see Chris everyday.
She yawned.
She was tired of the military life. She earned to be home in Raccoon City. Maybe get back in contact with Chris.
She didn't know why the man frequented her thoughts. There relationship had started out rough. That fight over... What was it even over? She couldn't remember. But after that, they were close friends with so much potential for more. She'd be hard pressed to admit that she had dreamed more than once of that kiss going farther, his mouth going to other places on her body.
Dreams were nothing, she was sure, compared to what it'd be like if Chris was actually there with her. God, she'd give anything for that.
Instead, though, she lay down and went to sleep. Maybe he'd visit her in her dreams.
Another five or so months later, Jill found herself in Raccoon City again. She had been recommended to the RPD and placed on the Special Tactics and Rescue Squad as a bomb and B&E expert.
Her day had not gone well. She had slept through her alarm and arrived late to work. Her car's heat was broken, therefore she was freezing during her drive. To top it all off, she'd have to deal with getting a partner that day. Someone new was being added to STARS and she was responsible to train him and show him around the RPD.
It just wasn't her day.
She stepped down the hallway towards the cafeteria. She needed some tea. But of course, it took a good twenty minutes for the water to heat up in the crappy stove. But, she eventually was able to make it back to her desk with a hot mug of tea. She sat down and looked across at the empty desk that had it's front pressed to the front of her desk. That was her future partner's desk.
She sighed and stood again, moving over to Brad's desk with her tea in her hands. "Hey, Brad, do you know when the new guy is supposed to be here?"
He looked up at her (a light blush over his cheeks, as always) and shook his head. "No. But you can ask Wesker. He might know."
The brunette thanked him and headed for her captain's office (it was a relief not being a captain herself). "Wesker?"
"What is it, Miss Valentine?" he answered, not looking up from his work.
"Do you know when the new guy is supposed to be here?" she asked.
Wesker glanced up. "I just sent Barry to get him from the lobby. He'll be here any minute."
She thanked him and turned around, walking back through the door.
She nearly dropped her tea when she saw the man standing by the empty desk, talking to Barry. Trying to maintain her composure, she set her tea down on the desk closest to her (Joseph's), and took a deep breath. Her steps were quick, and by the time she reached him, she was practically running at him.
She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing as hard as she could. "Chris..."
He was taken aback by her, surprised at first until he realized who it was. "Jill!" His arms surrounded her, holding her close. "What are you doing here?"
It was a long moment before she pulled away and answered. "I work here. I'm the bomb and B&E expert..." She smiled up at him. "It's really good to see you."
"You too," he murmured. They still hadn't completely let go of each other.
Barry cleared his throat. "Well, it seems I won't need to introduce you two."
Jill blushed and smiled. "Chris and I served together in the Air Force. He was Second Lieutenant Redfield when I met him."
"And she was Captain Valentine."
"He saved my life more than once," she added. "The second time he did it, he got a medal."
"I'll leave you two be then. Don't forget to show him around," the older man said, chuckling.
Jill offered Chris her hand. "Let's go." He took her hand happily and she guided him around the RPD. She started at the office and ended at the break room, where they both sat down. "How've you been?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I've thought about you a lot..."
"I've thought about you too." She was suddenly aware of how close they were sitting. "How long have you been in Raccoon?"
"A couple of weeks," he mumbled, also aware of their proximity to each other. "I..."
They kissed. His hand ended up at the back of her head, keeping her close. Her arms anchored themselves around his neck, his free arm going around her waist.
"Chris, have you seen my shirt?" Jill called from the bedroom.
"No," he answered as he stepped into the room with her. She looked up at him.
"Babe, I need my shirt. We've got work," she huffed.
He shook his head. "We don't have work."
She grew a confused look. "What do you mean?"
He smirked. "I called us in for a mental health day."
She gave him a very happy, very seductive look. "Well, maybe I don't need my shirt." She purred as he stepped forward and kissed her neck. "Chris?"
"Hm?" he answered between kisses.
"Can you believe how we started out? Angry at each other and, I guess I've still got my baggage, but besides that. How'd we make it here?"
He paused in his assault on her skin. He caressed the side of her face, resting his forehead on hers. "We made it here because you were the bigger person and apologized to me."
"Maybe all I was thinking about was getting in your pants," she giggled.
"I might be okay with that." They kissed again, falling back on the bed. "I love you, Jill."
"I love you too, Chris."