Uhrf. I hate exams. And I hate insomnia. And I hate studying. All those together equals a very discontent Desert.
Snow floated down from the slate-colored sky to coat the earth in a blanket of white as a plane touched down at a small airport in Vermont. One passenger in particular was weary from her journey, having come all the way from Europe and changing flights in New York before arriving here, at her final destination. She emerged into the terminal and searched the crowd with her eyes, looking for the beloved face she knew would be waiting for her. At first, she couldn't find him.
Then, from behind, strong arms encircled her waist and pulled her against someone's warm chest. "Welcome home," purred a deep voice; to her ears, it sounded like liquid silver.
Jill turned in Wesker's embrace, threw her arms around his neck, buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, and melted against him. "I missed you," she breathed. It had been over a year since they had last seen each other – the current date was November 17th, 1999. After escaping the doomed Raccoon city, Jill had gone off in search of Chris and Wesker had returned to researching his virus. They had kept in contact with a few infrequent phone calls over the intervening months, but this was the first chance they'd gotten to meet up in person.
Wesker carried Jill's checked bag easily in his free hand – over her protests – and kept the other around her waist as they exited the airport. Part of the way back to where Wesker had parked – the parking lot was rather poorly designed and it was a lengthy walk – Jill began shivering slightly. She hadn't expected the snow and was underdressed. So they paused for a moment, but instead of digging through her bag for her coat, Wesker simply took his off and held it out to her. At Jill's slight incredulity, he smirked. "You need it more than I do, dear heart," he remarked wryly. She noticed that he had nothing on under the long, black coat besides a long-sleeved shirt and blinked. Of course, she remembered that he was infected and his body worked differently from hers, but she hadn't realized he was this impervious to temperature.
She pulled on the coat and immediately sighed as the leftover body heat still trapped in the fabric soaked into her. He chuckled and, after hefting her bag back over his shoulder and wrapping his arm around her again, continued toward his car. Jill's eyebrows climbed up her forehead at the sleek Audi that flashed its headlights when he pressed the unlock button on his keys.
"Nice car," she commented.
Wesker set her bag down in the trunk and smirked. "One of the few things that make my job worth it is that they pay me well," he explained. "And you know I've always had a weakness for cars."
He opened the passenger door for her and she laughed as she sat down. "Oh yeah. First that cool old Mustang, and now this. Albert, you have expensive taste in vehicles."
"What can I say?" he replied with a chuckle. "Everyone has a vice." They exited the airport and fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the drive. Jill dozed off against the window for the majority of the trip back, and Wesker didn't have the heart to wake her. Even when they arrived at his apartment, he didn't rouse her; he just slung her carry-on and the checked bag – a rolling duffel – across his shoulder and scooped her up in his arms. The weight of both bags and the sleeping woman were nothing to him. It was slightly awkward when he had to unlock the door, but he held Jill closer to his chest to free one hand and managed to get in without any mishaps, kicking the door shut behind him. The tyrant went straight to the bedroom and deposited his burden on the bed, dropping both her bags on the floor nearby for her to go through when she woke, and then just paused to watch her for a moment.
To his eyes she was beautiful no matter what the situation, but with her expression peaceful like this in slumber, her features had a softness to them that was often absent. He leaned down to gently ease his coat off her shoulders, but when he went to move her, she stirred enough to latch both hands onto his arm. "Albert…" she murmured. He pressed his lips softly to her cheek.
"Ssh. Go back to sleep, dear heart," he soothed, while deftly pulling the coat out from under her. Jill hummed in sleepy assent and released him to turn onto her side. He draped a blanket over her and slipped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Poor thing, jet lag must be hitting her hard, he thought.
A few hours later, Jill emerged from the bedroom and went to look for her lover. She followed the smells of food and the sounds of clattering dishes into the kitchen, where he appeared to be cleaning up after himself. She tried sneaking up on him, but that failed quite quickly, considering how sharp his senses were. Wesker turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Did you have a good nap?"
Her cover blown, Jill grinned and wrapped her arms around his waist fondly. "I did. Your bed is very comfortable. I almost didn't want to move."
He chuckled. "You can imagine how hard it is for me to get up in the morning."
Jill glanced around the kitchen and what she could see of the rest of the apartment. "Hmm, yeah. Damn, Albert, you've got a nice place here. These people you work for must pay you very well for you to afford this, and that car." She looked up at him.
He shrugged negligently. "Researchers in this line of work are always paid handsomely. It's as much to keep our mouths closed about the illicit nature of the experiments as it is to reward our efforts. If they pay us enough, it would outweigh whatever rewards we would get for turning our employers in to the authorities," he explained, a slight bitterness to his tone. "Actually, right now I'm getting a little more than I did with Umbrella. They're working especially hard to keep me where I am." He almost laughed.
Jill frowned slightly at his expression. "What… exactly are you doing? Who are you even working for?"
He sighed and grimaced. "These people are a lot like Umbrella," he explained, at length. "Like I told you before, I had no choice but to go right back into a bioweapons program, because anywhere else I wouldn't have the resources necessary to look into my virus."
She shook her head and stepped away. "You said you didn't want anything to do with these sort of people –"
"I don't, dear heart, but neither do I particularly want to die," he retorted. "You saw that I have to inject that serum – if I hadn't had access to the Organization's labs I wouldn't have been able to synthesize that serum, and I'd have been dead halfway through last August." He gazed sternly at Jill, who winced slightly at the undertone in his voice. "And it's not like I'm in the part of the program that actually makes the bioweapons. My position is strictly research into the viral agents. I'm going to make some excuse to leave as soon as I can, actually – I've learned about all I can about the virus, so I don't need them anymore." That wasn't entirely true, since the components to make the serum were hard to find anywhere strictly legal, but he'd figured out a way to make do.
Jill chewed her lip pensively for a moment. She appeared to be deep in thought, and he wasn't inclined to break her concentration. The tension was dissipated soon, however, when Jill's stomach squirled impatiently in hunger, eliciting laughter from both of them. "Okay, okay. Is there anything to eat here? The last thing I had was junk from the airport in Paris."
So Wesker heated up some of the leftovers for her from the meal he'd just finished, and they both retired to the living area and pretended to watch the news. Jill sat curled against Wesker's side with her plate in her lap, smiling when his arms wound around her, and sighed contentedly. As much as she didn't like the thought, she did understand why he had to work where he did – and hadn't he just said he'd find a way to leave? That got her to thinking.
"So, dear heart, tell me what you've been up to since we last saw each other," he remarked once she'd finished her food and set the plate aside. "We haven't talked much, and I miss hearing your voice." She couldn't help but smile.
"I could say the same, but you're more the strong, silent type." He chuckled – she was right. "So I guess I'll just have to monopolize the conversation for a while." he rested his chin on her shoulder as Jill paused for a moment to decide where to start.
"After we got out of Raccoon, I didn't know quite what to do at first, so I decided to join up with whatever Chris was doing. But when I got to the place he said he'd be until things blew over, he wasn't there. I'd heard of an underground anti-Umbrella organization so I looked into it, and can you guess who I found?"
"Who?"
"Barry, for one. He was the first one in that group I talked to. He told me that Chris was off somewhere chasing after his sister, who'd gotten caught breaking into an Umbrella lab. She was probably looking for him."
He snorted wryly. "I saw that one coming."
"So did I, to be honest," she replied with a little smirk. "Apparently she was sent to a base on Rockfort Island, and then to an Antarctic base." Wesker's brow furrowed in concern – he recognized that base, oh yes – but since Jill was facing away from him she didn't notice. "I was about to go up after him, but we got word back that he and Claire were fine and headed back to France. Anyway, I joined the AUM and that's what I've been doing since January." She paused. "Were you aware that Claire got caught up in the Raccoon outbreak too?"
"The Organization had deployed an operative of theirs into the outbreak – for about the same reason Umbrella sent the U.S.S. and U.B.C.S.. Since my specialty is the t-virus and its relatives I managed to get the full report after I got back," he replied absently. "From what I heard, she did most of her running around while you were ill and we were stuck in the chapel." That was probably a good thing, since a normal Tyrant had apparently been released, along with the mutated G-creature. That would have been nightmarish to deal with, on top of that damned Nemesis.
Jill turned slightly in his arms so she could look into his face. "You said earlier that you planned to leave the Organization soon – what do you plan to do after that?" Thanks to the AUM she recognized the Organization's name, but she didn't really know much about it – they really only knew that it was one of Umbrella's top rivals. It was a secretive institution – even more so than Umbrella, in some ways.
Wesker shrugged slightly. "That's been the main sticking point keeping me from leaving. I'm not sure where else to go – anywhere my skills will be the least bit useful I run a high risk of being spotted by people I don't want knowing that I still live. The other options are just as unsavory as the Organization and I'd rather wash my hands of that sort of thing."
"Then join the AUM. You know way more about how Umbrella works than any of the rest of us – you'd be an invaluable help, Albert, truly. Chris, Barry and I know you and we'd vouch for you if anyone else has a problem with a former researcher joining." Jill looked him in the eye with an expression that was nearly pleading. "I'm not the only one who thinks so, either. I talked to the others about it and Chris and Barry both are all for it. Please, Albert?"
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "There's more than just that reason why you want me to join, isn't there?"
"That's the main reason, but… Albert, I miss seeing you. If you join the AUM then we won't have to go through months of being apart," she admitted, mirroring his smile.
He chuckled, then leaned down to press a kiss onto her brow. "I see no reason why not."
Jill's smile broadened, and she eased into his embrace. "I didn't think you would." She glanced over at the clock under the television and sighed. "Is it really that late already? Ugh. My flight got in so late, thanks to this snowstorm! It looks like we'll have to postpone our plans." She looked back up at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Albert."
"That's fine. I don't mind an evening in. As long as I've got you here I'm happy," he said soothingly,
She shrugged slightly. "I know, but I kind of wanted to do something…" She paused as a mischievous little smirk began to spread over his face. "I know what you're thinking."
"What am I thinking, then?" he purred, leaning forward to capture her lips.
"The same thing I am," she muttered between kisses. "It's been too long."
Still with Jill in his arms, he stood and began heading toward the bedroom. "You read my mind."
When Jill woke up the next day, she was alone in bed. A quick tour through the apartment later and she found a note on the kitchen counter explaining that Wesker was at work and would return later that afternoon. She sighed and shook her head. "Workaholic. Can't even take a break for his own birthday."
After calling Chris to let him know she'd arrived safely – he was as concerned about her as he was his own sister at times – and that Wesker had agreed to join their anti-Umbrella movement, she decided to kill time by taking a tour of the apartment complex.
The ground outside was layered with knee-deep powder, in which Jill witnessed young children frolicking gleefully. She even joined a snowball fight with one group of middle school-aged children, whose classes had been cancelled that day due to the copious amounts of ice on the roads.
"That was fun!" one of the kids laughed. "Hey, what's your name? I'm Taylor. That's Ben and Trish over there."
She grinned at the garrulous youngster. "My name is Jill. I'm visiting for a while."
"I thought so, I haven't seen you around. Who're you visiting? Uh, if you don't mind my asking."
"Not at all. I'm visiting Albert Wesker – in 152-C. Do you kids know him?" She was curious to see what sort of reputation her lover had garnered in the complex.
"Oh! Mr. Wesker? He's my neighbor!" Ben exclaimed with a sunny grin. "Me and my mom live in 152-D."
Jill sat down on the curb with them. "You do? Do you see Albert much?"
"He's gone a lot, but sometimes I see him coming or going." Ben scratched his head. "My mom says she doesn't trust him, but I like him. We spotted this stray dog around the complex and me and him have been putting food out for him. We switch days, y'know. Mr. Wesker says he'll try to catch him and take him somewhere where he'll be adopted. I kinda wanted to keep him but he says I need to ask my mom… but I know what she's gonna say."
"No pets, blah blah blah," Jill interjected with a grin. "I know that feeling. My dad said the same thing whenever I wanted to get a dog when I was a kid."
"Oh look, there he is!" Trish cried, pointing to a sand-colored blotch against the white snow. "Buddy! Come here, Buddy!" The girl huffed impatiently. "Buddy doesn't like any of us," she remarked. "He only likes Ben and Mr. Wesker."
"Maybe 'cuz we're the ones who feed him," Ben retorted loftily.
"That's probably the case," chuckled a new voice from behind. Trish yelped in surprise, while she and Taylor nearly fell over. Jill laughed and looked over her shoulder at a grinning Wesker.
"Don't sneak up on people like that!" Ben scolded, though he was grinning as well.
"It isn't my fault the snow muffles my footsteps." The tyrant crouched down next to Jill. "Have you three been pestering Jill?"
"No!" The trio chimed as one. "We were having the epic snowball fight of the century and we're just taking a break," Taylor added defensively.
"An epic snowball fight? I'm hurt that you didn't invite me," Wesker teased.
Trish scoffed. "You'd be easy to hit, Mr. Wesker. You stand out like a sore thumb in all that black. And how can you see with those sunglasses on all the time? It's cloudy!"
He stood up and shrugged out of his coat, smirking slightly. "We'll see about that." After folding the coat and setting it aside, he went to pull of his sunglasses. At first Jill was concerned, but when he folded the shades and placed them on top of his coat, she relaxed. It seemed that he didn't rely entirely on the shades to hide his eyes, for their color when he removed the glasses was a quite unassuming shade of brown. The brown didn't suit him at all, in her opinion, but it would suffice.
Thus began another round of flying snowballs. Wesker was a popular target simply because, as Trish had pointed out, he was conspicuous in his solid black clothing. Jill was gratified to notice that on top of hiding his superhuman abilities, he toned it down even further. Even as a human he would have been fast enough to dodge most of the children's throws, and to land a few choice blows of his own. Here, though, he let a few if their throws land on him, and he avoided aiming for anyone's head or face. That was a pattern she'd seen in him a lot before.
Ben scooped up a handful of the snow – the flakes coming down now were the fat, wet kind that made it perfect for packing – balled it up and heaved it with all his might at the tyrant. Wesker happened to be kneeling to gather more ammunition, so when he stood, the snowball smacked hard into the back of his head. Wesker halted. Jill saw the grin on his face and laughed. "Oh no, Ben! You shouldn't have done that!"
Slowly, Wesker turned around, still with the double-handful of snow. "Now it's war," he stated ominously. Taylor and Trish oooed while Jill snickered behind her hand. Ben looked traumatized. He took off running, but he wasn't fast enough to outrun Wesker, who grabbed him by the collar before he could escape. He took his handful of loose snow and stuffed it down the back of Ben's shirt before releasing the boy. Ben yelped and danced comically, trying to shake the snow out of his clothing, while the others dissolved into laughter.
In the distance, a female voice could be heard calling for Taylor and Trish. The two retreated from the battlefield, still laughing. "Bye guys! You should come hang with us more, Jill, that was great!" Taylor called over his shoulder.
Ben shuddered violently – the snow was finally beginning to melt, but that meant his shirt was dripping wet and the cold wind stirring the air wasn't helping. "Ugh, great, now I'm soaked!" he complained. Wesker just chuckled as he went to collect his coat and shades. "I need to go change. I'll see you later, Mr. Wesker. It's my turn to feed Buddy today." He turned to Jill. "Say, how long will you be here, Jill?"
"I'm not sure – a few more days at least." Jill shrugged.
"Heh, well, like Taylor said, you should come hang out with us sometime before you leave. You're a lot of fun." He grinned. "I gotta go. See ya!" He trotted off with a wave.
Jill waved back, a smile on her lips. "He's a sweet kid," she remarked to Wesker.
"And far more mature than most children his age. Barely fourteen but he's more level headed than a lot of nineteen-year-olds I know," he answered approvingly. "Shall we?" Wesker gestured toward the apartment.
Jill chuckled as they walked. "Playing in the snow with a pack of kids, feeding stray dogs… you're going soft on me, Albert," she teased.
He snorted. "The dog was Ben's idea. He told me he's been lusting after a pet for some time, but his mother is allergic and hates animals with a passion. When that stray was seen around, I caught him feeding it scraps from his dinner that he'd saved, but rather than turn him in to Janice, I offered to help him. I buy the dog food, and on alternating days I'll put some out for him. Ben was the one who named the dog Buddy."
Jill shrugged out of her jacket once they were inside. "I'm kind of surprised you've befriended those kids. I never really took you for the type."
"I prefer the company of children over that of adults, most of the time – they're far more pleasant on the whole. I've been around too many avaricious and unprincipled adults in my lifetime," he replied with a touch of bitterness. "A child's innocence and optimism is refreshing." Jill could certainly understand that.
"And the reason I spend so much time with those three in particular is to… take up the slack from their parents." He snorted scornfully. "Taylor and Patricia are siblings. Their stepfather is apathetic toward them at best, neglectful at worst – and their mother, as the only breadwinner, has two jobs and spends more time working than at home." Jill made a little noise of disapproval. "Ben's parents are divorced and currently in the middle of a horrendous custody battle. His father recently fell prey to alcoholism. Janice would be a decent parent, but I think she's just too young to be a mother. She was too young to marry if you ask me, but the impression I got was that Greg swept her off her feet and she was too starry-eyed to keep away from him, and when Ben's accidental conception came to light they rushed into marriage."
"How sad. For all of them."
"It is," Wesker agreed.
Jill heaved a sad sigh for the childrens' plights, before pulling herself from melancholy and wrapping her arms around Wesker's waist. "By the way, happy birthday," she murmured. "You're thirty-nine now, hmm?"
He leaned down to kiss her as his arms found their way around her. "Mmh, I'm getting old."
"But still as handsome as ever." Jill ran her hands through his hair, smiling. "You look young for your age, you know that? You don't look a day over thirty-five."
And not likely to change, he thought. He was still cringing at the realization that the virus' regenerative tendencies meant that it his appearance would stay the same. The accumulated damage at the molecular level and at the macroscopic level that contributed to aging would be repaired, keeping him at his physiological prime for the rest of his life… however long that would be. But Jill didn't need to know that, at least for the moment. "Thank you, dear heart."
Jill paused for a moment with a contemplative expression, then skimmed her thumb under his left eye. "So, these are colored contacts, right?"
"Yes. I can't plausibly keep the sunglasses on all the time I'm out in society, and contacts were the easiest solution." He sighed. "Not even a year and a half and I'm already tired of this."
She reached up to cup both hands around his face. "I'm sorry, Albert. It must be hard."
He lifted and dropped one shoulder. "For the most part it isn't that bad. There are moments, though…"
"If you want or need to talk about something, Albert, I'm right here. I may not be able to fully understand, but I can be a sympathetic ear. I'm here for you, love, just like I always have been," she said, looking earnestly into his eyes. "You have this annoying tendency to keep all your troubles to yourself and then blow it off when I finally do notice, Albert. You don't need to do that. No one's asking you to be invincible."
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "I know, I know. But it's easier said than done to undo a lifelong habit."
"It's part of who you are, and I'm not asking you to change. I'm just trying to make a compromise here. I know the only way for me to get you to talk about the things that bother you is to ask about it, but I don't want you to feel like I'm being too nosy or anything." She stroked his cheek with one of the hands she still held against his face. "You're too stoic for your own good and I can be a busybody sometimes. We've had this problem before. One day we'll figure it out."
He opened his mouth to answer, but a knock on the door interrupted. Jill stepped back to let him open the door. Ben waved cheerily. "Hey again!"
Wesker closed the door back behind the preteen. "Have you seen Buddy out there?"
"Uh huh. He's at the corner like always," Ben responded, grinning. He turned to Jill to explain. "We put the food out at the corner of the building, and Buddy's gotten used to eating there, so whenever it's feeding time he shows up right there, like clockwork."
Jill laughed and followed the pair as they went to feed Buddy. The mutt – Jill wagered he was a mix of lab and Chow Chow – inhaled the kibble put in front of him and then went to investigate the stranger, which soon turned into Jill and Wesker watching Ben and Buddy wrestle together in the snow. By then the sun had set behind the clouds, which had never stopped dropping snow on them, so it didn't take long for Ben to decide he needed to thaw out. While they had watched, Jill had soon resigned herself to clinging to Wesker's side to soak in his body heat. The tyrant opened up his coat and wrapped it around Jill to help keep her warm. The trio soon parted ways, with Ben going back to his home, while Jill and Wesker climbed into the car.
"By the way, Albert, I'm paying," Jill asserted as they turned onto the street. "This is my birthday present to you so don't think about pulling your usual gentleman crap. Got it?"
He chuckled. "If you say so," he replied, with the tone Jill knew meant that he had no intention of doing what she said. She shook her head in mock exasperation.
They drove through the small, wintery town and Jill smiled at the old-timey look of the downtown. "Wow. This is a neat place," she remarked.
"It really is. They've managed not to completely ruin this area by renovating it. There's a park a few streets over, right on the shore of the lake – if you feel up to it, we can have a stroll through it after dinner," Wesker answered in kind. "The wind has died down with the snow, so it shouldn't feel quite as cold as it did earlier."
"And either way you're a walking furnace," she added wryly, eliciting a chuckle from him. "Just out of curiosity, what temperature do you run these days? I know it's higher than normal…"
"My skin temperature stays at around one-oh-five unless the ambient air is significantly warmer or cooler, but my core is closer to one-ten." He shrugged. "Just another side-effect of a fast metabolism."
Jill blinked in amazement. "Damn. So room temperature feels cool to you, huh?"
"Slightly. It's barely enough to notice."
Now that the subject had been broached, Jill's curiosity was piqued even further. "So how does your body deal with extreme temperatures, have you figured that out yet?"
He suppressed a smile at all the questions. "My body deals with cold in essentially the same way it did when I was human, but to a slightly more extreme degree. It taps into the stores of fat and burns them for heat – and when those run out, it goes for the glycogen in my muscle tissue. Blood flow slows pretty much to a halt in my extremities to conserve heat in my core. It slows me down considerably and afterwards I need to eat a lot to replenish what was burned. Tyrants are even less adapted to the cold than humans in some ways since we have such high metabolisms." He turned to glance at Jill and saw that she was watching him in fascination. "When subjected to extreme heat, I become something of a reptile." Her expression was slightly incredulous now. Wesker grinned. "The process by which my body produces its own heat shuts down so that I don't overheat. Again, it slows me down, but not as much and at least I don't come out of it ravenously hungry. It's easier for my body to cope with high temperatures than low."
Jill's curiosity had apparently been sated, for she was quiet for the remaining few minutes it took to arrive at their destination: a tiny restaurant sandwiched between two equally small storefronts, which were in turn packed in with several more stores that formed a continuous line down the whole block. Jill smiled at the quaint look of the whole scene as Wesker parallel parked deftly in an open space not far from the restaurant. She obligingly waited for him to come around and open her door for her, then hooked an arm around his waist. Even through the coat she could feel his body heat – it just gave her another excuse to wrap her arms around him to ward off the cold.
"I never would have noticed this place just driving by. When did you discover it?" Jill inquired. They hadn't had a reservation, but had been seated almost immediately after arriving, and at one of the tables set right up against the glass front. She leaned back in her seat and gazed out into the street.
"When I first got here, I did some exploring to get to know the town. Once, I was just wandering through the park and came across an older woman who started up a conversation – when she learned I had just moved in she took it on herself to be my guide, and this was one of the places she showed me." He nodded toward the rest of the room. "Since then I've become a regular here. These little hole-in-the-wall places always have good food, and this particular one is actually decently priced. This is one of my favorite haunts when I feel like getting away from the apartment."
"Well well well, Albert, you finally got your girl up here, I see," chuckled a new voice. Jill turned to look at the waiter who had spoken, and she had to smile in response to the big, friendly grin the stocky man wore. "Good thing I'm on duty tonight, then!"
Wesker returned the laugh. "Indeed. It might break poor Laura's heart to see me with someone else," he replied wryly. Jill surmised that Laura was a waitress who was infatuated with Wesker. She didn't blame the girl in the least.
The waiter turned to Jill and extended his hand. "It's nice to finally meet the woman Albert won't shut up about. I'm Garrett, your waiter for the evening and one of the few people around here with the courage to befriend your boyfriend over there."
Jill laughed and shook his hand, for she could easily understand where that comment came from. You had to be used to Wesker's mannerisms not to be slightly intimidated. "Jill Valentine, it's a pleasure. I'm glad to hear that there's at least one person who doesn't fall for Albert's 'Leave me alone or I'll bite you' act."
Garrett burst into a fit of chuckles, as much from Wesker's mock-indignant expression as from Jill's comment. He turned to Wesker and nodded firmly. "I like her, Albert. You'd better keep her!"
"I plan to," he replied, still with a wry twist to his lips.
Garrett nodded again and turned back to Jill. "Good! Well, I already know what he's gonna get, so I won't bother asking. What about you, Jill, anything to drink?"
"Just water, please." She'd been so distracted, first by watching the street and then by Garrett's appearance that she had barely looked at the menu.
"Water it is. Do you want another minute or three to look over the menu?" Garrett had his pad in hand and pen poised to write.
"Yes please," she responded absently, having just opened the menu and begun to scan through it.
"All righty, take your time. I'll prowl by every now and then, so just grab me when you're ready." He scratched something down on the pad and turned to leave, but Jill suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, wait, hold on!" Garrett swiveled to face her again. "It's Albert's –"
Wesker reached across the table to put his hand across Jill's mouth. "Stop right there," he warned.
A toothy grin spread across the curly-haired waiter's face. "Ooh, I got it. Don't worry, Jill, I'll take care of it." He spun and was away before Wesker could react.
The tyrant gave her the evil eye, to which Jill only smiled. "Why did you have to tell him?"
Jill adopted her most innocent expression. "I told him nothing – you cut me off before the word passed my lips." Wesker sighed and shook his head. "Oh cheer up, Albert. I'll ask him to spare the chorus of waiters singing," she soothed.
After that the evening progressed pleasantly, with Garrett occasionally interjecting amusing quips whenever he happened to pass their table on his rounds. She found that Wesker had been right – the food was very good. And when the check came, it was cheaper than she'd expected.
Garrett placed the pleather-bound folder on the table and moved on quickly to the family a few tables over with a large brood of restless children. He had almost made the mistake of handing it right to Wesker, but a pointed look from Jill kept him from doing that – but since Wesker was also eyeing him sharply, he took the easy way out by just putting it on the table between them. Wesker started to reach for the check, but Jill quickly plucked it off the table.
"Didn't I say I would pay?" she reminded him sternly.
He absentmindedly toyed with the crumbs of cake left on his plate. Garrett had taken pity on him and just brought out the dessert sans toneless singing even without Jill prompting him to. "Haven't you already subjected me to enough in the name of my birthday?" he asked, cajolingly.
"Really, Albert, you are the only one I know who is bothered by not being required to pay for a meal." Jill rolled her eyes and snapped the folder shut around her debit card. Because she didn't trust Wesker not to try to sneak his own card in there while she wasn't looking, Jill held onto the folder until Garrett came back around to take it. The stocky waiter bid them good night with a grin and made Jill promise to take care of her antisocial boyfriend.
As soon as they stepped outside the restaurant, they were assaulted by a gust of icy wind that kicked up little clouds of snow and made the temperature feel far colder than it really was. "Whoo! Maybe we can postpone that park thing, Albert," Jill remarked as she latched her arms around him.
"Good idea," he chuckled.
As soon as they got to the car and started it, Jill turned the heat on its highest setting, and sat there trying not to shiver until the engine warmed up. They settled into a comfortable silence for a while.
"Who all is part of the anti-Umbrella organization, Jill? You told me that Chris and Barry are, but who else?" Wesker asked after a time. He was curious to know with whom he would be working.
"A handful of random people, mostly people like us who have a vendetta against Umbrella. I think there are a few former employees already in our ranks, so you won't be alone. There's also Claire, who joined up about the same time I did despite Chris' objections. She brought a guy named Leon in with her – apparently he helped her get through the Raccoon outbreak." Jill paused in thought. "I know of several other groups of people who work under the same name, but we don't have much to do with them. The movement is pretty badly organized at this point, but there's been considerable improvement over the past year, just that I've seen." She glanced over at him and saw a small smirk on his lips. "What's that look about?"
"Have Claire and Leon said much about their experience in the outbreak?" he asked.
Confused, Jill inclined her head. "Well, yeah. They told their story to the whole group, like I told mine. That was what convinced the others who don't know you that it's safe to let you on board, when I told them how you helped me and Carlos."
"Did Claire happen to mention someone by the name of Sherry Birkin when they were telling their story?"
Jill's eyes widened. "Yes… how do you know about that?"
"Like I told you yesterday, my dear, the Organization had an operative in there and I was given a full report." Wesker's expression became pensive. "Is the movement equipped to assist a fugitive?"
"Half or more of our members are fugitives themselves, so of course… wait. Albert, what are you saying?" Jill's brow furrowed in consternation.
"Before we leave for the AUM, we need to take a detour. See if you can arrange it with the others – but don't tell Claire." A hint of mischief reappeared on his face, and Jill's broke into a smile.
"You're horrible."
"Oh come on, you know her reaction is going to be priceless."
So yeah, I decided to just post these chapters as they come. Since I already went ahead and posted the first few chapters before the rest was done, I see no reason to keep you guys waiting for another few weeks for the next few chapters.
The only reason this chapter is up so promptly is that I was almost done with it when I posted the first three, but I was too impatient then to wait, knowing that my Muse might well decide to put this off for a few days. So here you go, but don't expect another update for a few days at the least. Probably Upside Down once Melpomene gets over the fact that a page or so got accidentally deleted.
Yeah. This chapter was mostly just fluffy filler, and next chapter there will be more action-y plotness.
