Jill hears the murmurs of conversation before she opens her eyes. She's warm to the point of discomfort beneath the weight of the blankets above her and her body begins to ache with heightened soreness. Still, she listens intently to her visitors as they speak.

"I'll stay with her, you go on and have your breakfast."

"I'm fine here, brother."

"She'll wake when she's ready and not a second before, it will do you no good to wait here on bated breath."

"I expect you'll stay until I return?"

"Of course."

There's a soft rustling around the room that fades away and soon it is so quite Jill wonders if she's alone. Her body burrows slightly into the bed before she opens her eyes, the brightness of the room is a stark contrast to her previous state.

"Well, I suppose Claire will be put out I ushered her away." Mr. Redfield chuckles.

"Hmm?" Jill moans recovering her senses enough to lay her gaze on him. He looks well rested, put together even, and his smile is purely adoring.

"Did you sleep well, Miss?"

Jill nods, bringing a smile to her tired lips. "I did, thank you."

"I hope you are quite comfortable because Doctor Gaunce has given orders of strict bedrest for you."

"Are you in the business of running a hospital now, Mr. Redfield? You've patients and research for a cure all under your roof."

Mr. Redfield laughs in response, "You know that joke has been made a few times already."

"Oh, I'm sorry to have presented such stale humor." She smirks pushing a few strands of hair from her eyes.

"Not at all, I'd prefer your good humor over pained musings, I can assure you."

Jill worries her lip for a moment, allowing the waking world to settle on her shoulders further. The heat beneath the blankets is heavy and her muscles pulse against the warmth. She's sore to the point of uselessness and the pull of the bandages around her arm act as sorts of restrains.

Thinking on what had previously transpired, Jill realizes just how many questions she has. None of them, however, matter nearly so much as the first question she begs.

"You're not upset with me, are you?"

Mr. Redfield furrows his brow at her and allows a nervous chuckle to fall from his lips.

"Why would I ever be upset with you?"

Jill, perhaps realizing the precarious nature of the conversation, mutters the next bit.

"For… For encouraging Claire's involvement in the battle."

He looks at her gently then shakes his head. "You asked for Rebecca to go, not my sister. And Claire is fully capable of making her own decisions."

"Perhaps, but I'm the only reason either of them thought to leave the estate."

"… Still, I don't think I can be angry with you at this juncture. You're the only reason London isn't swarmed with undead."

"Not the only reason." Jill chuckles briefly.

"You can take credit for a large majority." Mr. Redfield assures her.

"And Mia? Is she alright?"

"She has not yet woken… We are… Hesitant to be hopeful." He hardly mutters the last bit.

Jill feels a release of delicate desperation in her own breath as the news settles. The guilt ebbing into her heart as she runs through the events that led to such a terrible fate.

"Take heart, all is not certain. She could very well-"

"Prove you all wrong? Forgive me sir, I'm afraid we're running dangerously low on miracles."

In the hesitant silence that befalls the pair, Jill tugs at the blanket around her body bringing it up closer to her chin in a feeble attempt to preserve her modesty.

Mr. Redfield, seeming to notice the action, clears his throat nervously. "Are you hungry?"

"I… What?" Jill asks, taken aback back by the out of place question.

"I-… I should have sent for a meal by now, my apologies." He's quick with a flustered bow before his exit. Jill tries to pretend the pink tinges upon the back of his neck are merely from the fabric of his clothes rubbing uncomfortably but cannot convince herself of such a thought.

An older maid with a quiet smile comes in a few moments later, helping her to sit up for a meal. Rebecca and Claire join her sometime later, the former determined to progress her work and the latter determined to do the exact opposite.

Recovery is a double edged sword for Jill, it means her body heals while the city still struggles to reclaim normalcy. Mia remains teetering on the precipice of life and death as Jill prepares to depart from London nearly two weeks later.

She'll not be travelling alone, however, with her she will bring a caravan filled with the T-virus vaccine. Even with such a victory, Jill cannot bring herself to feel anything more than hesitant relief. There is so much she still leaves unfinished in this city, and so many whom she cares for deeply will remain as well.

Ethan has hardly spoken to her since the battle, and Jill does not think ill of him for taking up silence. In spite of everything that has come to pass, she feels responsible for Mia; she runs through those moments in the basement of the Birkin home everyday with a new imagination for how the battle might've gone.

She is reluctant to enter Mia's chambers to say her goodbyes, but propriety wins out over sense. Jill can hardly stand the sight of Ethan bent over the body of his wife, yet she endures as she walks further into the room.

"I am sorry to disturb you, Mr. Winters, but I came to say goodbye." Jill feels a nervous shiver run up her spine as he turns to look at her. "And thank you for your hospitality. Truly, everything you did for me is… it cannot be understated."

He stands but does not meet her gaze. "I wish you could stay, to be here for Mia when she's better."

"As do I, but my father misses me greatly." She responds timidly.

Ethan nods, finally lifting his gaze to hers and stepping forward. "You have done great things here, Jill. I am honored to have hosted you… There's always room for you in the Winter household. You are family to us."

"I… I must apologize to you. I did not give much thought at all to how our deceit would have affected you, for that I cannot express the shame I feel."

He shakes his head, "I appreciate your words, however, they are unnecessary."

"I should have acted more appropriately." Jill argues weakly.

"I… I was harsh with you, in my attempt to be a good host and prove myself as a caretaker… I failed to see that it was you taking care of us."

"No, I should have respected your wishes. You only ever intended to ensure my safety, mine and Mia's."

"Yes, but your path was always a dangerous one. You and Mia… The two of you deserved more trust than I was willing to give." Ethan puts a hand on Jill's shoulder. "For my own lapses in judgement I hope you can forgive me."

Jill finds herself nodding vaguely before Ethan returns to his wife's side. Without an inkling of what to say next, she exits the room and strolls down to the main entrance of the house. There, Claire and Rebecca await, the two of them talking in soft tones but laughing a pitch above their conversation.

"Come to see me off, I take it?" Jill asks with a sad smile.

"Plotting, actually." Rebecca responds.

"Oh? What for?"

"How to keep you with us for at least another month, Rebecca has the lovely thought to hold you captive until her wedding and I must agree with her." Claire says resolutely.

"You two hope to hold me hostage? Will you demand ransom?" Jill chuckles.

"Of course not! If we have you under our ordinance we would be remiss to allow you leave under any circumstance." Claire takes Jill's hands and practically begs, "Please say you've reconsidered, you know Chris won't mind your continued residence at all!"

"I'm sorry, Claire, but you know that my time in London is over."

"Please promise me it is only for now that you must be gone. I will not stand for anything less than yearly visits, and even that time with you is a crime for how little it will be."

Jill chuckles before embracing her friend, "This is not a proper goodbye, we will meet again. But for now, my mother and father miss me greatly, and I them."

"She'll be back before we know it. You would be foolish to be absent from the Redfield ball, it's the highlight of the season after all." Rebecca takes her turn to kiss Jill's cheek and allow the lady to respond in kind.

"I wouldn't dare insult your good name, you will see me again. I will go now if only to assure you of my eminent return." Jill chuckles with the pair.

"I'm not certain the entirety of your traveling companions have arrived just yet. Perhaps you would like one last tea before you go?" Claire insists weakly.

"I think I should instead make certain that all of my belongings are indeed travelling with me." Jill claims with a chuckle.

"I believe Jill has caught onto your plans, Claire." Rebecca teases.

"Oh, and what are those?" Claire indulges to jest.

"To poison her of course."

"Truly?"

"Only enough so that her illness requires her continued presence in London." Claire gives a swift shove to Rebecca as the three laugh with light spot of humor.

"I will return shortly." Jill turns back up the stairs of the Redfield estate and hurries down the corridor. A part of her feels positively foolish for such a girlish endeavor, the other holds a firm belief that she must act upon her own judgement no matter how silly.

She knocks quickly upon the door and her chest aches and the sound of his voice calling out.

"Come in."

Jill steps into the office of Mr. Redfield and watches as he nearly crashes into the desk to give her a proper greeting.

"Miss Valentine! What a surprise, I thought you'd have left by now."

She feels a hitch in her throat that nearly keeps her from speaking, nevertheless, she steps forward.

"My traveling party has not been totally assembled yet. And it would be absolutely horrible of me not to say goodbye. You… you and Claire have treated me with such kindness, I want to thank you once again."

He chuckles, meeting her gaze but almost immediately averting it once more. "You speak so highly of us when it was truly an honor, madam. You are of course welcome with us anytime."

"I… I hope to see you again soon." Jill feels herself speaking but can scarcely acknowledge the words. They feel practically foreign coming off of her tongue.

His face pinkens as he gives a brief chuckle continuing to ignore her eyes on him. "As do I."

Jill feels embarrassment creeping into her spine as she stands in his office, her feet take her to the door, but her body does not move to exit. Rather, she turns back from the door and approaches once more.

"You… You never told me…"

He looks up then, practically past her as he furrows his brow, his tone is light with humor as he begs the question. "I never told you what?"

"You mentioned that you had gone to see my father before you left for London. Why?" Her throat tightens as the man before her becomes visibly shaken.

One hand reaches up to his rosy neck and rubs the skin as if to hide the blush, his voice wavers as he takes in a few tentative breaths.

"You will think me quite foolish."

"I think that is doubtful." She assures him, "I presume you had met him before this encounter."

"Of course I did, I'd have never allowed myself to be introduced to a lady who's father I had not yet met." He responds defensively. "Your father is a wise man, strong even if he called himself frail upon our introduction."

"You came to call then."

"Oh yes, he said it was a pity I could not be introduced to his wife and daughter, I don't quite remember all the details. But we spoke briefly about my estate, my experience in the fight, and the town in general."

"And what of your second meeting?" Jill asks taking yet another step forward.

Mr. Redfield worries his lip for a moment before allowing a breath of a laugh fall out of his lips. "I had… I had asked him for permission to court you."

Jill feels a swell in her chest so forceful she worries that Mr. Redfield will hear the thrum of her heart. Her face grows hot and her fingers begin to twist together, uncertain what to think but desperate to continue the conversation.

"And his response?" She begs the question.

"As I said, your father is an intelligent man; he informed me that the only one who would be making decisions after your hand would be you." Mr. Redfield looks at his desk as if to distract himself or perhaps to gather his thoughts. Whatever the case, he speaks again, "I know now that I was brash to even ask at that stage in our acquaintanceship. I cannot recall if I ever properly apologized for my impertinence at our first meeting, but I do regret my actions."

Jill nods, "I… I also have much to regret from that night, I was quite harsh upon our introduction."

"I am certain you would have been delightful had I not initially spurred you to lash out." Mr. Redfield laughs, tentatively lifting his eyes towards her and smiling just a hint more.

The heat in her blood still fills her up and the nervous pulsations of her heart make her feet feel unsteady. Even so, she continue to question, or perhaps torment, the man before her.

"And… What now?" Jill asks, closing the distance between them as she finally reaches the desk.

"I beg your pardon?"

"That was nearly a year ago, what are your feelings now?"

Mr. Redfield looks truly shocked by her question and he seemingly needs to shake his head a few times before he can speak.

"I was a fool then to propose such a thing, seeing how much you and I have grown… The infatuation I felt then was nearly nothing compared to the deep love and adoration I harbor for you now."

There is an overwhelming wash of emotion that overcomes her then, one she has never thought herself capable of. Or perhaps she had never allowed herself to feel such thing because the world she inhabited demanded total restrain and discipline. But the world she was born to is quickly vanishing however, now she feels light and silly, it's so strong she feels nearly numb with glee and she wonders why literature always deems love a refined emotion.

The love she feels is childish and demanding, overpowering all of her senses, trainings, and propriety. She wants to scream and throw herself onto the man who loves her because she wants so desperately to love him now and as long as the good lord will allow.

"And I'm sorry." Mr. Redfield continues to speak, clearly unaware of the impact he has had upon her. "I know that you are leaving now but it felt wholly improper to admit such feelings for you while you were a guest in my home. I did not want you to feel pressured to accept romantic advances in such a situation and you were unwell in addition to that. These times are so uncertain and we have been pulled in very much opposite directions-"

As the man before her rambles on she slowly lifts her hand to his cheek, smiling as gentle a smile she can muster with the chaos of emotion brewing within her. His sentence begins to slow as he registers her touch until she raises her lips to his cheek, stopping the flow of words entirely. His skin is warm in her hand and she chuckles as his jaw falls slack in her palm.

She wonders if there are more dignified words to explain her current situation than the ones she wants to say. She wants to profess her returned adoration for him in poetry and songs that she never took the time to learn. There's a part of her that curses her ignorance of such lovely things as expression of the heart, and yet she knows that this man for all his teasing would still adore her. Even if the only thing that came from her mouth was utter gibberish.

Still, Jill speaks without reserve, "You are the one person in all the world I trust without question, to give you my heart would be easy if I still had possession of it. But I am afraid you have already taken it for your own."

He lets out an unintentional gasp as he turns to face her fully. "You… You're… Miss Valentine have we been avoiding an issue we were both decided upon and in agreement?"

"I am not certain when I decided I love you, or perhaps I did not do the deciding so much… But I have known for quite some time. I did spend a fair bit of that time avoiding the reality, I'm afraid."

He laughs breathlessly taking hold of her hand which still caresses his cheek. "We had much to be distracted by, I'll admit…"

"You were going to let me leave without your confession?" Jill asks weakly, as if ashamed by the question.

"I… I had not wanted to, but I feared that you would not be ready to accept my affections, or worse yet, you still felt that love is not a path you wish to embark on."

"God doesn't seem to care about my wants and wishes… At the least… My opinion on love has always been that in a world where the dead walk there's no place for a such a thing. We are approaching the dawn of a world where that is not an issue."

"Indeed." Their hands have come to house the other during their conversation. Between them is a restrained air of excitement and anticipation as they come to realize what new adventure they plan to pursue.

Jill happens a glance out the window and notices the caravan she intends to head awaiting her presence.

"You'll write to me… Won't you?"

"Everyday… twice a day if you'd prefer!" He responds with a boyish grin.

Jill laughs in response, knowing she must leave but not quite ready to lose the warmth of his hands.

"Do you accept my advances, Miss Valentine? Might we say that we're entering a courtship."

She nods bashfully as she speaks, "A courtship hundreds of miles apart is a difficult thing to manage."

"And yet I imagine that this will be the easiest thing you've done in your whole life. It might just be that easy things will become our new ordinary."

"My, you certainly are hopeful."

"I have all that I could ever want knowing that my love for you has been accepted. Hope seems so attainable with you in my life."

Jill once again feels the beating of her heart as she lifts his hand to her lips. "I must be off."

"I cannot convince you to stay?" He asks with only a hint of longing in his jest.

"You must come to visit me once all this mess in London is cleaned up. The country longs for her soldiers to find rest."

"I will come to you as soon as I can, my dear. But until that day I will write you."

"Twice everyday."

"Twice everyday." He promises as she hurries out of the room and back down towards the front hall.

"Did you get lost or did you simply find half of your things left behind?" Rebecca asks with a laugh.

"My apologies, I did find a few odd things here and there. I wanted to be thorough." Jill lies, still overwhelmed by the beat of her heart and the heat of her blood.

"If I find anything else I'll be sure to send it to you, along with my letters to you of course." Claire assures her unable to resist the temptation to hug her friend once more.

"I should be off, before the day gets to be too late." Jill gives one last goodbye to her dearest friends.

"I will be giving Chris a lecture later about how rude it is not to see your house guests off. I hope you're not offended, Jill."

"As if your poor brother couldn't offend her more! The scandal." Rebecca laughs.

"It's a strange time, I understand a… lapse in propriety." Jill wonders if her blush is painfully obvious as she steps into the carriage.

"Safe travels!" Claire calls out as the cluster of carriages and soldiers begin their exit from the city. Jill feels the rush of emotion finally begin to settle down, even as her chest retains its light energy.

As the city disappears behind her, Jill begins to write her first letter to her intended.