A/N;

And yessss the same day as Chapter 6. It was verging on 4000 words when I decided to split it into two chapters x_o; and this chapter is so looong XD

My friend made a statement to me a little while ago. 'Face it Mieu, Deep down in you there is mush, past the smut, violence, smut, gore, blood, smut, smut, zombies, gun, smut, smut---' At this point I chimed in with 'Alright I get it, SMUT'.

But I think my points stands – I think I accidentally managed to did past the smut, violence, gore, blood, zombies and guns T_T I found the mush. *Feels dirty…?*

Anyway. Re? Religious Education o.o? Reply Email o.o? Oh, Resident Evil. Nope. Not mine.

Nothing left to Lose

Come on and we'll sing like we we're free.
Push the pedal down, watch the world around fly by us.

The desk would take some time to get there, most likely within a few days. Joseph, not wanting to risk the desk being snatched by one of the guys in the RPD section, had decided to camp in the STARS office. For some strange reason the Office Works people apparently had a reputation of delivering furniture at 4am, when only the night owls were still awake.

It had been voted that the desk would be Richard's, who had been the one to get the worst place to put his makeshift desk – Right behind the office door. The others were all guilty of at least once accidentally messing up his paper by opening the door too fast, of giving him a bruised knee through the same action. Plus they all quietly felt in debt for his kindness to them in the past.

It was just before the end of work, while Jill and Rebecca helped Joseph make a comfy looking bed out of cushions they'd stolen from the couches and chairs spread out through the building, as well as using some of the bed sheets taken from the laundry-type area.

If they hadn't run out of couches to rob, they probably would have made the bed look more like a castle. It was an apparently fun task to do.

Rebecca continued to move with a spring in her step, seeming to want to get things done quickly, but managing to do it with a happy beat.

"Hey, what's with you?" Jill asked, standing over by her desk to organize some things before she left, "You seem peppier than usual today."

Rebecca paused what she was doing, putting her hands behind her back. She quickly had a look about the room – Enrico and Barry had left. "I'm going out with Billy tonight." She chirped with a big smile.

/So childlike, it's cute…/ Jill thought with a small smile, "Hope you two have fun."

Rebecca paused for a moment, "What about you, Jill? What are you meant to be doing tonight?"

"I'm just probably gonna fall asleep on the couch watching some DVDs I rented a few nights ago." She shrugged, "There's really nothing else for me to do."

"I'm going to make either the very correct or very bad assumption that some of those DVDs happen to be pornos." Forest butted in. Jill locked eyes with him for a moment, before nodding as an answer.

"You can read my mind, Forest." She replied. "My Video store has a pretty good section is it; I'll give you the address some time." While Forest silently cheered, Chris quietly made a mental note of what Jill was planning to do. He was the one that knew the least about how her relationship was going, and had just assumed that she had acted up on those earlier occasions because they were having a fight. Was he away from the apartment for another day?

Chris felt a prang of guilt. Jill was going to be home on her own, which seemed like another in a row, and he was going to Amy's place. It may have just been simply the guilt of having someone while his friend didn't, but a certain saying rang in his mind.

"Hey Richard, can I ask you a favour?" Chris quizzed, as Jill walked out of the room, leaving for home once again.

Chris sat down, more of fell down onto the couch behind him. It was… Comfy, in a way. The room to him was… Interesting, in a way. The house he had walked into was… Cosy, in a way. He felt unsettled, in many ways.

The door closed as Amy walked in, having let Chris go on ahead. She was dressed up, just like she had been at the bar. Chris wondered to himself if she dressed like that all of the time, or just when men would be around.

He mentally slapped himself. It wasn't good for him to think like that, especially of the girl he had quickly hooked up with. She seemed nice enough. She seemed good looking enough. She seemed… Nothing like Jill. He wondered in the back of his mind how those two had managed to be friend.

At least this would be healthy for him; at least he would be loved. He just had to stop questioning that fact. She sat down beside him, moving a strand or behind her ear as she looked at him. She had hazels eyes and brunette hair just down to her shoulders. Blonde streaks in through it, some of them made into small braids. It must have been a popular style at the moment – A lot of effort put into it. He had to admit, he did like the length. But he felt like he needed to find something else to admire of her.

"So, I'm so glad you could come, Chris." She smiled, catching him off guard from his thought. She had nice teeth, too.

"It was a pleasure," He smiled, "I'm happy catch up."

She giggled at this, looking away to blush. Or to make it seem like she was blushing. She seemed like one of those school girls. In a stranger way compared to Rebecca. He made another note not to make that comparison, it would just be awkward.

"So, you never did get much of a chance to tell me what you do." She said, looking back to him, interested. Chris reminded himself that he had at least made a reference to it, but it mustn't have been enough.

"Basically, I work for a certain section of the Police, one of the special teams." He began, "You know, the whole rescuing business. Saving hostages, finding lost people, and taking down the baddies when things get too tough for the other police."

"… Wow, are you serious?" She asked, wide eyed.

He gave a nod, seeming proud of his quick job description. "Yeah. The only problem is I still gotta do paper work, spend hours at work and I'm on twenty-four hour call."

"That sounds intense." She gasped. He chuckled and nodded.

"It really is, but it's really worth it in the end."

"… Hey, I got a question. How'd ya meet Jill? I mean, Jill's never struck me as a social chick, you know?" She asked, putting her elbow on her knee and resting her chin on the back of her hand.

"I work with her," He said, positive he had mentioned it last time. "We're in the same group. I've worked with her for a couple of years – We're usually partners on missions."

She giggled again. Chris didn't know whether he liked it, or whether it hurt his ears. "You shouldn't call her a partner, it sounds, too intimate or something!"

He looked away to blush. It was genuine, but unnoticed by Amy, "Well there's not much else I can call her. Workmate doesn't seem to quite cover it."

"Hmm… Whatever." She said, looking to the side. "She's quite, strange anyway." She bit her tongue, before saying anything more as he looked at her questioningly.

"How's she strange, can I ask?" He quizzed. She looked at him, obviously having not thought it out. "She's just so… Bleak. You know? So… So unfeeling… She's, quite plain, not really, pretty… Not, what people would want. I don't wanna be mean but, I really don't know how she got that boyfriend of hers. I mean… She's just so, and he's always so…"

Chris wanted to raise his hand, to tell her to stop, but he let her go on for a couple of minutes. Just because he wasn't a girl didn't mean he didn't feel like punching someone who made fun of one of his 'girlfriends'. But she must have had her reasons… Even if she wasn't giving very good reasons. In his mind he could contradict each part.

'She's just so Bleak'. Every time Chris had seen Jill talk to new people, she was straight to the point. It was like she did it to keep people out, and to make sure that she was taken seriously. But with him and the rest of STARS… She could be absolutely vibrant.

'So… So unfeeling…'. When they first started working together, she would tease him, but that was what drew him to her. She had a mind. She knew what she said. And she knew that he could take a joke. She knew people. She knew him. When he was low, she was there for him. She knew when something was wrong. She would put everything aside just to make him pep up. She could relate, some how, and she could tell how you felt.

'She's, quite plain, not really, pretty'. Jill was beautiful. She didn't have to glamour herself up. She didn't need to fake. She let people take her for how she was and she took them for how they were. He probably would never admit it, but to him she was gorgeous. Her style, her looks, her personality, her dominating way.

But she was his friend. He didn't see her the way he convinced himself he was looking at Amy. He didn't like Jill, love her… That's what he told himself. Jill was already loved by someone else.

How long could he keep telling himself he was just trying to defend Jill in his mind because she was his friend?

"But I guess I can't complain, I mean, look at you." She said, grabbing his attention. He looked her in the eyes once again.

"… Excuse me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uhm!" She said, gasping a bit, and putting her hands together. She looked away with her eyes. "Uhm, well I mean, ahh! Well, just when I was talkin' about Jill's outfits… Well, you could dress a little better, too."

Chris looked down at himself. He was dressed pretty casually. Green loose T-shirt, Tan pants, light jacket… What was wrong with that?

"… Go on." He said, cautiously.

"… And you could shave…" She said, going a bit quieter. He ran his hand over his chin… It wasn't that bad.

"I mean, you could just put in a little more effort. And speak more, too. And it took you this long to catch up with me!" She said, seeming to get into a rhythm for it now. Chris put up his hands, motioning for her to stop.

"Come on, hold up for a second. Jesus, I can only correct a few things at a time… Stop nit picking…" He said as calmly as possible. She managed to sit comfortably after a few moments again.

"Sorry," She apologized, "But those sort of things always annoy me. When men can't spend time with you, when they're messy, when they're immature, and vulgar… It'd just be awesome if you could, you know, change yourself a little…" She went on.

/… Might be bad with the last two… Everyone in the stations knows STARS for being immature and vulgar… Hang on a second, change yourself a little…?/

As soon as she finished this little tangent, Chris tried to change the subject.

"… So, what do you wanna do now?"

"Hm, maybe we could watch a movie, or something else?" Amy asked, her voice perking with the last word, hinting at something.

/A movie, hm…? Poor Jill…/ Chris thought to himself, looking at the ground. Amy moved back a bit, caught off guard by his reaction.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asked, sounding offended. He shook his head, looking up and smiling at her sheepishly, "No, no, I was just thinking about something that happened today. Not the brightest of things."

"You mean it was stupid?"

"… No, 'Not the cheeriest' might have fit better. Just, don't worry about it. You said a movie?" He inquired.

Amy looked a little let down, but tried to keep up a perky personality, "Yep, I have a whooole set of DVDs in the cabinet, let me go get some you might like." She purred.

Chris felt a shiver run down his spine. As pretty as she was, something about that purr made him feel uncomfortable. Just as Amy had knelt down to hunt through the said cabinet below the TV, Chris' pocket vibrated. A short melody quickly played, and he grabbed his phone before Amy could even turn her head.

"Chris Redfield's Phone, who's speaking?" He greeted dully. He seemed to sit up straighter when he received a reply, "Oh, hey."

Amy turned to look at Chris, holding a few DVD cases in her hands. Who exactly was he talking to? He was being a bit rude leaving his phone on like that. She made a mental note to state that once he was off the phone. Or she could do it now.

"Who's that?" She asked quickly. Chris raised his hand to try and shush her, and she pouted in reply. "Who?" She asked again.

Chris sighed, putting his hand over his free ear. As rude as it might have been, this could have very well been important – Didn't she understand that his job was a 24 hour on call one?

"Are you sure? That sounds serious… Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can. No, I understand, I'd rather go than risk you guys getting hurt." He continued to the person on the other line, "Alright, tell Wesker I'll be there in a few minutes. I'd call Forest as well just incase. Alright, stay safe."

With that he flipped the phone shut and stood up. He looked at Amy apologetically.

"So, who was it? Don't you know it's rude to have your phone turned on while on a date?" She quizzed him. He sighed lightly.

"It was Richard, one of the guys I work with. I know it's rude, but I'm on call twenty-four seven. I'm sorry Amy, but something's happened, and I need to go down to the station to see what's going on." He tried to explain to her. She was obviously hurt. Or annoyed.

"But, our date…" She whined quietly.

"I'm so sorry Amy.. I'll make it up to you." He said, but refrained from adding 'I promise'. He swiftly left, leaving the house and heading down the street. He looked at his phone.

/Thanks Richard, I owe you for bailing me out. I must be in debt by now./

Maybe she was just getting used to the loneliness. The light offered by the TV seemed comforting enough for her. That seemed to be a depressing fact. She'd probably go buy herself a dog tomorrow. Then she would be able to cuddle something that would actually love her back.

Jill was again in her apartment, alone once more.

She snuggled under the doona she had tucked into the corner of the couch. It was the one from her bed, so it more than covered the rest of the couch, and kept her cozy and warm. She'd pulled off all of the pillows and other fluffy things from the bed to put under her head. She was going to be lying there for awhile – She wanted make sure she had no reason to get up. Phone, remote control and other DVD cases were under the covers, next to her stomach.

She had the awkward feeling that one day watching all of these zombie movies were really going to save her life. However, she always brushed these thoughts off – The post-apocalyptic era wouldn't be in her life time.

She brought her knees up to her chest, and pressed the 'play' button on the remote. The lights were off, and she was more than happy to sit through the opening credits.

It was maybe ten, fifteen minutes into the movie, where most of the credits had faded in and out; one or two characters had been introduced, with still more to come. She put her arms around herself, unaware she was doing so.

There was a knock at the door.

Jill groaned. It must have been one of the other tenants next door. She didn't have the movie that loud. There weren't even any screams just yet. They were getting so high strung these days.

She chose to ignore it – Maybe they would think that she had gone out and just left it on, even though it was late. She quickly glanced on the digital clock above the DVD player – 10:47pm. Yeah, she could get away with that.

A few minutes passed and she looked back to the TV, but just as she settled down, the knocking picked up again. She growled slightly, throwing the doona off and rolling off of the couch to the floor lazily. She picked herself up, and shivered as she noticed it was much colder without the covers.

There was another knock.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" She barked impatiently. She stormed over to the door, not even bothering to have a peep through the looking glass, "What's the pr---"

"I brought the popcorn."

She looked at the very handsome visitor, surprised, "Chris, what are you doing here?"

He strolled past her, not waiting for permission to come in. He knew she would have let him in eventually regardless of her shock. After all, he did indeed have the popcorn.

"What are you doing here?" She repeated, closing the door and watching him stroll over to her little set up.

He looked over his shoulder and offered her a smile. "You can't have a good movie night without popcorn." He answered, lifting his arms slightly, showing both the one cooked bag and the few uncooked packets. "Or alone."

"… I thought you were meant to be out tonight." She said quietly, walking over as he plopped down on the couch. She gave a sharp grunt, quickly yanking one of the pillows out from under him. The big lug would probably end up making it flat.

He looked at her and pouted, but got to her question. "You shouldn't assume, Jill. It makes an Ass out of u and me." He said, and then looked at the TV. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, letting his arms cross. "Besides… It's been too long since I sat and kept my friend company…"

She shook her head, hugging the pillow she had taken against her chest as she sat down beside him. "Didn't you sleep over and keep me company a few nights ago?" She quizzed.

He slipped one arm around her waist and tugged her a bit closer. "Well I mean intentionally, then. Besides, it's fucking cold, and did I hear correctly when Forest said that you had a few pornos to boot?"

"Not until three o'clock Chris, unlike you men and your random porn watching, I have a schedule to keep." She answered, poking her tongue out at him. She nudged his back, seeming to hint for him to get off of the covers. He followed the silent command and stood up. Jill quickly tugged out the doona and patted the uncovered cushion next to her. He sat back down, and before he could mention anything she had thrown the doona over their legs, wrapping the rest of her side of it around her back.

"Fucking cold indeed. I think I might need to go out and buy another one of these." She stated; putting up no protest as Chris placed his arm back around her. Jill felt next to her for the DVD remote, skipping the movie back to the start. Chris did his best to try and grab the bag of popcorn he had put down without letting go of Jill. He just managed to, having to grab it with the tips of his fingers.

"You know we're going to be completely fucked to go to work tomorrow, right?" He asked.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Jill stated, not bothered by that fact at all. Chris paused, looking at her for a moment.

Jill Valentine. The vibrant, caring, beautiful friend of his. Laid-back, but stern, and dominating when she needed, or simply wanted to be. Long brown hair, gray blue eyes, dressed in her pajamas. That was his Jill Valentine. What Amy didn't like about that, he didn't understand… He didn't care.

"Just like old times…" He chuckled.

"They've never been 'old times', Chris, we just haven't done them lately." She commented, "We'll have to do this again, soon. They were always good… And it seems like you've forgotten what flavour of popcorn I like best." He scoffed, ready to say something, but stopped as Jill leaned on his side, resting her head against his shoulder, "… Don't ever change, Chris."

'It'd just be awesome if you could, you know, change yourself a little…'

Amy's request rung in Chris' mind. /Sorry Amy, but, somehow, Jill argument not to change means more than yours ever really could./

Jill dipped her hand into the open bag of popcorn and contently put a few of the popped kernels in her mouth. Before she could put the last one to her lips, Chris managed to turn in just the right way to lick the last piece, getting it into his mouth with ease. She shot him a playful glare, warning him not to take her food again.

She looked back to the TV, smiling. If she saw him change, there would be hell to pay.

/I've always loved you for your supposed 'flaws', I've never wanted Prince Charming…/