He turned himself in. If I wasn't the one to take him into custody, I never would have believed it.

Jill had saved my life and fallen, taking Wesker with her out that window. Both were presumed dead. I mourned for Jill even though I refused to believe she was dead. Their bodies were never found and it couldn't be that easy to kill Wesker. If he was alive then so was she. It wasn't the first time I wished for the evil son of a bitch not to be dead but this time it was only for the purpose of believing my best friend made it too.

Everyone told me their bodies must have been swept out to sea so I insisted on a search. I wouldn't believe that either of them were dead until I could verify it myself. And even then, I'm not sure I would truly believe it or at least I don't think I could accept it.

I spent most of my time with the search and rescue teams, some had tried to stop me with the 'let the professionals handle it' line. Reminders that I was trained for search and rescue missions in STARS shut them up though to be honest, we rarely got S&R calls back then and we never dealt with water related cases. The reality was that I didn't know what I was doing but that wasn't going to stop me from trying to find my partner. I was a quick learner and my determination was one of my strongest qualities, it alone got me through so much even when I thought I couldn't go on.

Eventually I was forced to go home after an outburst when they called off the search and officially declared Jill dead. So home I went. I drank… and drank. I felt like I was losing touch with myself and in the midst of my drunken pity party, Claire even came to check on me. Apparently I was getting pretty bad and she was worried enough to take some time off of work to stay with me. Among my weeping and rants about Jill, Wesker came up too. She didn't mention it and I pretended not to remember. I was ashamed to care. I wanted him to be dead but… I couldn't help but to be sad about it too. He used to mean so much to me… but that was a long time ago before I found out that it was all a lie. I was ashamed to still hold these feelings, I always denied them, but they came up in times such as these when I couldn't think straight enough to keep him out of my thoughts.

It took time but Claire helped me sober up again though I wouldn't say I got over any of it or moved on in any way. I still believed them both to be alive and I would stick to that until proven wrong. That always made Claire sad but she didn't try to correct me, just accepted my soberness and my return to work as a sign that I was well enough for her to return to her own life. She still called often though and I was grateful for that.

It wasn't until around two months after that dreadful mission that I got a call from the hospital, as her emergency contact, stating that Jill had been brought in. I rushed there right away and though she was unconscious, she appeared to be fine. The doctors said she didn't have any sort of damage to her whatsoever although as I looked over her, I noticed a few new scars although they didn't look as new as they should have. I was sure those scars weren't there before but they appeared like they had years to heal. Another big question I had for the doctors was her blonde hair but they seemed confused so I told them that she was a brunette and wouldn't have dyed her hair. They didn't know what to tell me and I knew they would have no way to run the tests I wanted done, it would have to wait until we were back at the BSAA or I could ask her myself.

I made sure to call this in and update everyone about Jill's whereabouts. I said it wasn't necessary to have anyone else come because I would be her guard until she was able to leave. Everyone else seemed as suspicious about this as I felt but I was more happy about her being alive and here to think too much into it.

I had just sat back down in the chair I placed next to her bed, letting out a big breath of what felt like fresh air. This was the best I'd felt in a long time. I was so happy that I hadn't lost her. I knew that this had to mean Wesker was also still out there but I chose to think about that later. Though I couldn't help but wonder if it was Wesker himself that did something to heal her and bring her here. I couldn't really see him doing such a thing but I didn't know what else to think. Whatever happened and whoever did it, I was grateful. I took her hand in mine and ran my free hand over her now pale blonde hair. It wasn't just her hair that had paled in color, her skin and what I could see of her eyes when the doctors checked them showed they were much lighter now too. The change troubled me but I had to remind myself that, whatever happened, at least she was alive.

"Just what happened to you Jill?" I whispered more to myself as I thought it all over again.

"I believe it's a side effect." an all too familiar voice stated calmly and I felt my nerves light on fire. I jumped up from my seat and drew my gun, aiming it at the man who stood in the doorway. Wesker wore that damn cocky smirk that I so hated.

"Wesker." I growled but he didn't move as I placed myself between him and Jill. He had his hands clasped behind his back and looked way too calm while I was internally panicking. What was he doing here? Did he come to kill Jill? How was I supposed to fight him in a building full of civilians? What was he planning? Of all the questions I wanted to demand answers to… why was the biggest one whether or not he was the one to keep Jill alive?

"I expected you to be happier to see us." he said as if he were playing some game and had the upper hand on me. I'm sure that's how he viewed everything, like a game that he was winning.

"What did you do to her?" I finally got out.

"We were both in pretty rough shape after that fall, of course I healed fairly quickly but Jill on the other hand," he motioned to her. "was barely clinging to life so I took her with me." he stopped there like that meant anything.

"What did you do to her?" I demanded again, stronger this time but all it did was make the other man grin wider.

"I injected her with more of the T-virus so it would restore her body." at his revelation I felt the fire in my veins suddenly turn to ice. My eyes fell from Wesker to look down at my best friend, now very afraid for her. I don't think I'd be able to pull the trigger if she- "She won't turn into a zombie." Wesker interrupted my thoughts and I knew he was rolling his eyes at how my face had paled. "She was given the antidote many years ago, it's adapted perfectly with her DNA. I tested everything first and was very careful to give her just enough to take advantage of the regenerative properties of the virus." he continued to explain as his head turned toward the woman on the bed. "The loss in pigmentation is an unexpected side effect but I'm sure you'll agree that it's an acceptable one." I looked at her again and saw the changes in a new light. The blonde hair, paler skin, lighter eyes, new scars probably from where bones had broken and possible surgeries before the virus was ready for her… they were all the cost of saving her life. And yes, it was acceptable.

"How can I trust you?"

"You shouldn't." he stated seriously. "But the evidence will show no form of experimentation aside from the T-virus and all cuts will be around broken bones or ruptured organs though they've all healed. It was almost challenging to keep her alive long enough to administer the virus." he smiled almost fondly as if the thought of cutting into my best friend was a happy memory for him. I grit my teeth and had to refrain from pulling the trigger.

"Why?"

"You'll have to be a bit more specific, there are many things that question could apply to." though he said that, his sadistic smirk was back and we returned to his game. The last thing I wanted to do was play along but I needed to know.

"Why did you save her and bring her to this hospital?" I asked, knowing he was fully aware this was the closed hospital to where we both lived near our BSAA headquarters. Essentially he didn't just bring her to the hospital, he brought her directly home.

"Would you have rather let her die?" the damn bastard was so smug but… but I was still grateful. I couldn't understand why he did it and I knew he would never tell me but I was so grateful that he did. I knew how bad the damage had been from what the doctors had pointed out on her x-rays and what I knew was old versus new. I knew no doctor on this planet could have saved her… but this twisted man with his knowledge in the virus he helped to create had done it. I hated him so much for everything he's done but right now… I…

"Thank you." I whispered and pretended I didn't feel the burning in my eyes and the way my chest hurt as my heart and lungs worked harder under the stress of my emotions. He seemed a little taken aback for a moment, the smirk on his face falling into a blank expression like he wasn't expecting that. I wasn't either but… Jill was alive and I had this man I hated to thank for that and I just couldn't help that being the only thing I felt right now after going through the loss I felt for… for both of them. They were alive.

"I'm turning myself in." the world grew hazy for a moment and I didn't believe it even as the words came from Wesker's own lips. The words took a moment to process but even then I still didn't believe. More questions swirled in my mind and I was beginning to harden towards the man again as I considered whatever possibility of what he could be planning. Quite frankly though I was coming up empty. I couldn't imagine what he stood to gain by saving Jill and turning himself in.

"What are you playing at?" I demanded of him as his arms slowly moved out to his sides to reveal his hands.

"Nothing you need to worry about for now." was the blond's answer, his hands continuing to move slowly and I watched every inch of it carefully. He pulled his jacket aside with one hand and pulled his magnum from its holster with the other. I was tempted to shoot right then but I was dealing with whiplash from the very thought of my nemesis turning himself over to us. He slowly bent to lower the gun to the ground before straightening and kicking it over to me. My eyes flicked to the gun to locate it before I used my foot to push it behind me and farther away from him. We stared each other down as I waited for him to make a move like he was just doing this for the dramatic purpose of taking me off my guard. It would never work, I was too focused on him and would never fall for something like that, especially not from him. But he never did. He stayed right where he was, keeping his hands within my sight as he waited almost patiently for me to realize that he was being serious.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked again though my voice faltered slightly in confusion.

"I have some conditions that will be met in exchange for life saving information, evidence of various companies tampering with bioweapons, and all of my black market contacts." he stated smugly with the return of that damn smirk. He knew all of that was more than we could afford to lose. I knew every bit of it was true, he had more connections than I could imagine and he had influence no matter where he went. He had charisma and the power to back up whatever claims he made. I had no doubt he had all the information he claimed… so why was he offering to give it all up? It's not like he could expect us to just let him go in exchange, that would never happen. It didn't even make sense for him to make such a deal, he had no problem remaining hidden from us and anyone else that was searching for him. I tried to think about what he could want that he couldn't get himself but I couldn't think of anything. "I'll even point out which contacts will cooperate with you and which ones will need to be dealt with." he added to pull me from my contemplation.

"Why?" I simply asked though my tone may have carried more curiosity than I intended.

"My conditions will be discussed later with your superiors."

"You realize you're still going to be a prisoner." my tone was cautious but still curious.

"Obviously."

"So why?"

"I grow tired of your repeated questions Chris." we stared at each other for a long moment before I finally exhaled an agitated puff of air.

"I'm gonna cuff you." I announced carefully as I took a step toward him, keeping aware of every little movement made. "You move, I shoot you." he only nodded in understanding, his smirk remained like this was part of the game.

"I might let you." he said, almost playful and though it deeply disturbed me, I ignored it. I cautiously made my way over to the other man before using one hand to carefully pat him down for more weapons, not that he would need any to kill me. I spared a glance over his shoulder to the hallway outside. No one seemed to have noticed the situation which was good, a scene would only cause panic and I'm not sure how Wesker would react to that. I couldn't just have him standing around where he could still run so what else could I do with him? I walked backward to keep my gun trained on him as I kicked my chair to the farthest wall. After that I slowly bent to retrieve Wesker's magnum, making sure the safety was on before tucking it into the back of my pants since I didn't have a holster it would fit in. It was eerie how he didn't make a move, he just stood there and watched me. Why wasn't he trying to kill me or make his escape?

"Sit down." I said as I motioned to the chair that was now near the wall. He wordlessly walked across the room and sat down. I didn't like how easy this was, there was no way he would take orders from anyone so why was he actually listening to me? I circled around behind him before finally holstering my gun to pull the handcuffs from my belt and it chilled me the way Wesker so willingly gave me his wrists to lock up so he was stuck to the chair. They wouldn't be of any use actually keeping him detained and we both knew it but it was better than doing nothing. It did make me feel a tiny bit better even if it was just giving me some peace of mind that I was at least trying.

I backed away from him, once again drawing my weapon to aim at his head. With one hand I pulled my phone from my pocket and called HQ to explain what was happening. They were sending people to transport him and someone would stay with Jill just in case. I continued to watch Wesker and he only stared back at me too calmly. Even with the BSAA on the way to fully detain him, he still didn't try anything. It was really unnerving to me. Just what was his plan here? It was eating me alive that I couldn't even begin to grasp the first straw of any sort of plan he could have. I was supposed to be some sort of expert when it came to all things Wesker so why didn't I even know where to begin with this? I hated not understanding things, always have. The man before me always said my stubbornness was one of my least favorable qualities back when he was my captain. I shook those thoughts away and exhaled heavily. I was getting more and more frustrated the longer I thought about it.

"It's futile to think so much on the why when you won't get the answer." Wesker stated, still so damn sure of himself. I mean the man was always sure of himself and practically screamed confidence with his every move but this was the longest I'd ever seen him so… joyful. He was enjoying the situation far too much and at my expense, what's new there? I scoffed and didn't give him the satisfaction of an answer. The smirk was off of his face and he frowned at me. "Come now Chris, you're taking the fun out of this."

"Good." I retorted harshly only to kick myself when Wesker's smirk returned. He chuckled as I groaned, realizing I had given him what I just said that I wasn't going to. He didn't need the extra entertainment from me. I was saved from having to suffer more of the blond's teasing when I heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall and I knew the other BSAA agents were here. The next few moments had a room full of guns pointed at the ever smirking Wesker and I felt relieved to not be alone anymore.

Wesker never said a word as I walked over to uncuff him from the chair though I reattached them to his wrists so he could stand. I was conflicted about whether I should go back with them or stay with Jill but another agent assured me they had this covered. This seemed to upset Wesker as he scoffed and sat back down, crossing one leg over the other as he stared at me with an irritated look now. I knew him and he was upset because to him he wasn't turning himself over to the BSAA but rather to me personally. It was then I realized he wasn't going to listen to anything anyone said and might even stir up trouble if he didn't get his way. I know that sounds like a childish reaction but the way he did it wasn't childish at all. It's not like he was throwing a fit or anything, he was a bit of a control freak so everything needed to go according to his plan. So if part of his plan was to have me there and I wasn't, there would be trouble.

Needless to say, I ended up going with them to take Wesker in but I told the agent staying with Jill to call me the moment she woke up, going as far as to ask the same thing of the nurses on the way out. Just to make sure everything went smoothly, I was the only one that interacted with Wesker, not that he would allow anyone else to touch him. The first agent that tried to guide him by the chain of the handcuffs backed up in fear when Wesker's eyes glowed red from behind his sunglasses. Why did he have to be so difficult? I supposed if I was turning myself in and handing over all of my evil plans, I'd want it all done my way too.

The drive in the back of the armored truck was tense as I continued to watch Wesker. He was now more heavily chained to the seat but he still seemed just as calm. I really didn't like any of this, none of it sat well with me. Once he was in a reinforced cell at headquarters, I was told they would keep me informed of what happened so I left to go back to Jill. She still wasn't awake so I dismissed the agent with her and stayed with her for the rest of the night. I didn't sleep at all with so much on my mind.

Jill woke in the morning and the first thing she did was smile at me as I took her hand.

"I'm so glad you're okay." she spoke, her voice low and raspy. She looked at me with relief like it had been my life that was in danger and it made me want to cry.

"Right back at you." I smiled back at her though it soon fell. "It's been two months Jill, the BSAA presumed you were dead but I never lost hope." I told her and she frowned as her brows knit together as she thought.

"How am I alive?" she closed her eyes and raised her free hand to her head. I took a deep breath and thought about how to answer.

"What do you remember?"

"Not much." she lowered her hand back to her side and stared up at the ceiling. "I remember tackling Wesker out of the window and falling and…" the way she trailed off as she fought back tears told me that she remembered hitting the ground. I couldn't imagine what that must have been like. "I remember being so afraid because I knew I was going to die." she slightly nodded before looking at me with a small smile. "But I was able to accept that because it meant that you would live. I knew Wesker probably would too but at least he couldn't have killed you right then." I heavily disagreed but didn't have the heart to scold her for her touching sacrifice because I would have done the same thing for her. "I…" she paused to gather her thoughts. "I remember bits of seeing Wesker and bright lights and the smell of blood and so… so much pain." she was staring at the ceiling again and I felt so much sadness that she remembered any of that.

"I'm sorry." I told her sincerely but she shook her head to tell me that it wasn't my fault. "How do you feel?" she sighed and looked down at herself.

"Good actually. A little groggy but I'm not in any pain and I can move fine." she rose her arms above her head to demonstrate. "Hey so I know this is going to sound crazy but…" she looked at me seriously. "did Wesker save me?" the overwhelming gratitude I felt towards Wesker came back stronger because even through everything she experienced, Jill herself knew that what he did had saved her rather than hurt her. I only nodded, not sure of exactly what to say because I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around it. "How?"

"Um… well…" I placed my other hand on top of the one I was already holding. "Don't freak out, you're totally fine, but he used the T-virus." her eyes widened and she examined herself again, noting the new scars that were already healed and it all seemed to make sense to her.

"That's… that's a lot of effort just to keep me alive." she stated and I again could only nod. "How did I end up here?"

"Wesker brought you." she looked at me skeptically. "Really. He even turned himself in."

"You can't be serious." Jill muttered in utter disbelief.

"I'm right there with you but he let me pat him down and cuff him and he never tried anything. Even walked right into the cell at HQ." I told her, still not believing it either.

"Wait, he's at HQ right now?" she turned serious again as she sat up.

"Yeah." I confirmed.

"Do we know what he's planning?" I sighed and gently pushed her shoulder to get her to lay back down.

"Not yet but he wants to make some sort of deal, we've had him since yesterday and the higher ups promised to keep me in the loop since he only seems interested in dealing with me." she gave me a strange look at that. "I don't know why but I seem to be a part of his plan so he's going to make sure it goes accordingly, you know how he is." I defended myself and she nodded with a soft sigh. I went ahead and explained the rest of what had happened.

"Chris are you sure about this?" she asked carefully and I understood what she meant. Was I sure about taking him in rather than killing him? To be honest, I wasn't. I knew he needed to be put down rather than incarcerated. He would only ever be a threat and after everything he's done I personally wanted him dead. But what he was offering was too good to let go, with his information we could stop so many people working on viral weapons and prevent so many outbreaks. If I had even a bit of hope that we could get rid of him and still get the information, I would choose that option. But Wesker knew how valuable his info was so I knew he would have it locked up so tight that not even the best could get to it. We needed him to get the information. Then there was the issue of feeling like I owed him for saving Jill.

"Yeah." was all I said though I knew she could tell I wasn't happy about it. I don't think anyone was- except Wesker. "There's another thing." I said slowly and she looked at me a bit warily. "Your hair is blonde." she seemed confused for a minute before slowly reaching behind her to pull her ponytail in front of her to see the pale color. She looked at me with widened eyes full of confusion and terror. I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing that this is what got to her.

"Wha… what the hell?" she almost shouted at me and I couldn't contain the laughter that bubbled out of me. "What did he do to me?" now she seemed angry. She had always loved her hair even if her life as a soldier meant that she didn't do much with it, she still loved it.

"Wesker said it's just a side effect of the virus, you lost pigmentation in, well, everywhere." I explained and her shock deepened as she demanded a mirror. I got up and looked for one, quickly giving up and just gave her my phone. She unlocked it, having already known the password, and opened the camera which she then held in front of her face. She turned her head this way and that as she looked herself over before looking down at her body again.

"I just thought I was pale from losing blood." she mumbled as she handed my phone back which I pocketed and sat back down.

"You still look great." I told her with a smile and she looked at me skeptically though she smiled back with a shake of her head. "You could always dye it." I offered and she shrugged.

"Maybe." she sighed and settled back into a more comfortable position, turning onto her side to face me. "I'm sorry I was gone so long, I can't imagine what you went through thinking I was dead." I snorted a bit at that and sighed, inwardly cringing at myself.

"I was a mess, Claire had to come babysit me." I sheepishly admitted and Jill laughed.

"Well at least it's good to know how much you really care about me." she teased and I smiled at her. We sat in silence for a moment as she stared at me, her expression beginning to sour.

"What?" I asked defensively.

"You look exhausted, when was the last time you slept?" I groaned and rubbed at my eyes as if it would get rid of the tiredness she could clearly see.

"I don't know. With everything that's been going on it's been kinda hard." I explained and her lips pulled into a line as she continued to examine me. I sighed and waited for her to finish her scrutiny, feeling like a kid under her stern gaze. She was again acting like I had been the one in danger and was double checking to make sure I was alright. I couldn't believe that she was worried about me when she was the one that should be dead. She really needed to be more concerned with herself sometimes. She almost died.

"Yeah, okay." she finally said and let her gaze fall from me. "You don't have to stay here. Go home and get some sleep before they need you to deal with Wesker." I was just about to object to that when my phone rang. "Too late." she smirked playfully though there was pity in her eyes. I answered the call that was indeed from HQ. A deal had been presented and both sides were in agreement but it was up to me to officially seal the deal. I didn't understand why and they wouldn't say anything else about it until I got there so we could discuss the full terms. Jill told me to keep her informed and I left after we agreed she would be safe without a guard.

Originally this was supposed to take place during the 5th game, when Chris and Sheva find Wesker with the jet. I had it all written out to... but after thinking more on it, I felt Chris would be much more willing to negotiate with Wesker if he hadn't kidnapped, experimented on, and put Jill against him. For what I have planned, it just made things go smoother. Plus now Jill's going to be a bit softer on him too which helps my plans along even more because now Chris won't be alone.

It's been forever since I've been here and I'm sorry to the people that follow me and/or my other stories. I feel like I'm finally in a much better place so I'm hoping to do much more writing. My schedule is pretty full between school, work, and kids but writing will always be my true passion and I'll always make time for it.

I won't take much time here so I hope you enjoyed and I'll be posting again soon!

~Arren