CHAPTER 11

In a Heart Beat

Like being born Chris' body started to take form. He was no longer the creature, but the human Jill had grown to love.

Chris' body fell limp to the floor, Jill ran to him wrapping his bare sweaty body in her arms. Burying her face in his shoulder Jill kept repeating his name over and over again in disbelief.

"Chris you're here, you're here, my god Chris."

Chris was now staring up at Jill, a small smile had crept to his face and he whispered to her.

"I never thought I see your beautiful face again."

Wiping the tears from her eyes Jill gave him a soft punch in the shoulder.

"How could you have ever doubted." She whispered back not able to keep the joy from her voice.

Jill felt Chris grab hold of her hand holding it tightly as he tangled his fingers with hers.

"Jill please promise me something."

"What?" Jill asked placing her forehead on Chris' sweaty brow.

"Promise me you'll get out here while you can. Leave me and just get the hell out of here."

"I won't do that." Jill whimpered fiercely.

"Jill listen to me. The virus inside of me.I can't control it any longer. I can feel it taking over my body as we speak. I won't be able to last much longer; you have to get out of here."

"Chris, no I'm not leaving you!"

"Jill, please."

The two were looking at each other fiercely, love and annoyance shining through each of their faces.

At the sound of a cocking pistol Jill and Chris broke their eye contact and looked up. Wesker was standing over them a pistol in hand, and pointing at them.

"Well aren't you two quite the couple."

"Fuck you Wesker." Chris spat.

"Redfield nothing would enjoy me more then killing your right here and now, except for one thing." Wesker moves his gun so it was pointed at her "Watching your pain as I kill your lovely Jill."

"No!" Chris yelled, but that was all he could do as Wesker started to pull the trigger.

Suddenly she watched as Wesker's gun flew out of his hand landing several yards away from where he stood.

They all turned to see Barry standing ten feet away with his smoking python in hand. Barry wasted no time with his next shot, firing off the rest of his round. Jill watched as Wesker dodged all the bullets except for one that hit him in the shoulder. Wesker bent over in pain as blood started to seep from his shoulder. In a mere second, however, the blood stopped flowing and a white foam started fizzling over Wesker's wound. Jill watched mesmerized as the wound began to heal and become no more.

With such a fierce anger that Jill had never seen before Wesker turned to Barry.

"Now you're going to get it Burton!"

As she watched the scene helplessly Jill felt Chris tug lightly on her arm.

"Please go." He whispered.

"Not without you."

Chris gave her a small grin, and then ever so softly kisses her hand. Jill watched in horror as Chris' body began to shake violently. His flesh started to turn blue, and within a blink of the eye Chris was no longer Chris, but once again the produced creature.

In one fierce movement Chris collided his body into Wesker'. The two fell hard to the ground entangled in fierce battle.

Jill lied on the ground helplessly. There was nothing she could do as the two battled it out.

Suddenly everything got a whole lot worse. Alarms started to go off and the entire ground around her started to vibrate. Then like the voice of inedible doom, Jill heard a women's voice echo throughout the room.

"Twenty- minutes until self destruction."

Jill felt her body freeze in place. This couldn't be happening. She looked back over at the fighting Chris and Wesker desperately hoping to see some sign that the struggle would soon be over. There was no sign.

From behind she heard a voice call out her name. Turning around she saw Barry standing there holding Claire's limp body over his shoulder.

"Jill," he shouted. "We gotta get movin!"

"But Chris!" She wailed throwing another glance in his direction.

"There's nothing that can be done. God I wish there was, but unless we get out of here right now it's all over. What do you think Chris would want more, for you to stay here and die in vain, or for you to live?"

Jill thought about it, she knew what Chris wanted, but what about what she wanted? What if she didn't want to go on, always living in the shame of leaving the man she loved behind? What if she didn't always want to be looking back? What if all she wanted was Chris?

Getting up from the ground Jill looked at Barry hoping her expression told him her decision.

Barry nodded in understanding. He placed his hand on her shoulder and said.

"You guys come out as soon as you can. The rest of us will be waiting outside."

Jill gave him an earnest smile. "Then we'll see you then." She told him, hoping against hope that what she was saying was true.

Barry simply nodded, and then without another word he ran out of the room with Claire still riding on his shoulders.

Jill watched until they were out of the room before she turned her attention back to Chris and Wesker.

The two were still duking it out, although the battle wasn't quiet as fierce. Jill could see that fatigue was starting to hit them both, and she could hardly keep herself still when Wesker hit Chris so hard that his entire body flew across the room.

Not knowing what else to do Jill ran after Chris' fallen body. Jill scared out of her mind that Chris wasn't breathing started to bend over to check for his pulse. At that moment, however, Jill felt her body being violently pushed to the side.

"Move aside you ridiculous woman!" She heard Wesker shout at her as he bent down to Chris' body and picked him up by the throat.

"Good by Mr. Redfield," Wesker spat. "I'll see you in hell."

Jill at lost for anything else to do screamed out desperately. "Nooooooo!"

Wesker turned to Jill to give her one last wicked smile, and then quickly turned back to Chris. However, the brief moment was Chris needed. Taking his claw he quickly sliced off Wesker's head.

Jill watched horrified as Wesker's head fell to the ground rolling only a few feet from where she laid. Jill reluctantly looked into Wesker's yellow, devilish eyes. She wanted to find some kind of sympathy for her one time captain, but there was none. Hastily she got up from the ground and ran over to Chris.

Chris was lying on the ground breathing heavily and clutching to his right arm tightly. She knelt down next to him setting his monstrous head on her arm. Jill hadn't realized how massive he really was until she was lying down next to him. Jill could hardly believe that this monster was her Chris.

When he groaned Jill took a hold of his large blue hand and looked into his eyes. They were 'his' eyes, the eyes of Chris Redfield. And for Jill that's all she would ever need.

In barely a whisper she called out his name.

"Chris.Chris it's me Jill. I'm here Chris, I'm right here."

"J.Jill." She heard Chris groan.

Wiping away the tears that had started to roll down her cheeks Jill laid her body gently on top of Chris' chest, yearning to feel the rhythm of his breathing. In a reassuring voice she said to him.

"It's all over Chris. We get to go home now. We get to go home together."

"Jill," Chris said again, but he wasn't allowed to go any further.

Out from what seemed like no where Jill heard that heinous woman's voice continuing her count down.

"Five minutes until self destruction."

Jill turned back to Chris. "We got to go!"

"Jill, you got to go." Chris told her calmly.

"Not without you, now come on!" She cried out desperately.

"Jill," he begged. "I.I can't."

His voice was soft and distant, just like his eyes were as he stared into them.

Jill couldn't believe it. She wasn't going to loose him, not here, not like this. Rolling over so she could wrap her arms around him she felt a bulge in her left pocket. The antidote!

Pissed at herself for completely forgetting about it Jill hastily took the vile out from her pocket, also getting out the syringe. Jill filled the medical tool with Rebecca's cure. After one quick pray Jill injected Chris with the needle.

"Don't think I'm going to let you get away from me that easily Mr. Redfield."

When she was finished with the needle she threw it to the side and anxiously watched Chris praying to god that it worked.

When nothing was happening Jill sat there defeated. She cursed herself for not knowing better. Seconds later Chris' blue body started to become paler and paler until there was no trace of blue left on him. The claws started to shrivel and human hands began to emerge. As if god had simply snapped his fingers Chris' body was no longer in it's monstrous form, but was back to its regular shape.

Only concentrated on Chris' eyes Jill helped him sit up. They stared at each other yearningly. There was so much to say, but as always was the case there was no time to say any of it for the woman's voice once again brought them back to reality.

"One minute until self destruction."

The two of them looked at each other urgently.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Jill said as they both ran to the door.

* * *

Claire woke up and found herself surrounded by the lovely forest that surrounded Umbrella's North Carolina facility. She quickly spotted Leon, Barry, Rebecca and Carlos all piled around her. Their eyes all focused anxiously at the facility.

Claire herself was full of confusion. How she got here was beyond her. The last thing she remembered was attacking Wesker then being kicked harder then she thought was physically possible.

As she was trying to organize her thoughts she heard Leon say her name moving everyone's attention away from the facility.

"Hey there." Leon said calmly as he bent down next to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused," Claire told him honestly. "What are we doing out here? Where's Jill.Where's Chris?"

Nobody said anything. They all just sadly turned to the facility. Nothing else needed to be said.

"No." Claire moaned softly.

That's all she could do. The news was devastating beyond belief. Hoping that Jill and her brother would come crawling into view any minute. Claire gave her eyes to the facility like the others.

It hadn't been more then ten seconds when all Claire's hopes where capped off by a gigantic explosion.

She stared at the facility as the flames engulfed it. Words simply couldn't be processed, feelings couldn't be sorted. All Claire could do was stare at the wreck dumbly, it was like all her life had been sucked out of her, leaving behind a useless shall.

Chris was.Chris was.the words couldn't even form in her head. The travesty was overbearing.

At some point Claire fell to her knees. Everything was gone. It no longer mattered that a company was on the verge of earth's destruction, or that they were the only one's that could stop them. Chris was gone, everything else now seemed ridiculous.

Claire felt Leon kneel down next to her.

"Claire, "I'm so sor"- Leon didn't get any farther when he was interrupted by Carlos' outburst.

"Holy Shit!" the Hispanic shouted, and then made a mad sprint back towards the facility.

Claire looked up to see what got Carlos so worked up. She wasn't going to allow herself the luxury of hope.

Claire strained her eyes out to the distance. There she spotted two figures slowly making their way across the Umbrella facility's long fields.

Not thinking twice about what to do next Claire hastily got up from the ground and followed Carlos' suite in running towards the figures in the distance.

* * *

Jill held up most of his weight as they struggled across the open field that lay in front of them.

They hadn't said a word since the explosion. Both were too scared and exhausted for words. Chris was fairly sure they were both just running on pure adrenaline at the moment, and even that was running out.

As they stumbled across the field Chris started to here screaming out in the distance. Chris looked over at Jill, who must have heard the voice too, because she had suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes focused off into the distance.

Chris looked out further down the field. There he saw the most beautiful sight, running towards them were five figures. It didn't take Chris three guesses to tell who those figures were.

Carlos was the first to reach them. The first thing he did was take Chris' weight off Jill and placed him gently on the ground. Seconds later an exhausted Jill collapsed right next to him.

The others weren't far behind Carlos. The next person he saw was his sister who, despite his condition, threw herself on top of him.

"Chris, Jesus I thought I never see you again. How did you two.hell it doesn't even matter!"

His sister grabbed hold of him again, her arms wrapped around him as tightly as possible, as painful as it was Chris didn't say anything. The feeling of being with his sister was a hundred times stronger then the pain.

The others were just as thrilled to see him, although thankfully less aggressive. Chris couldn't believe it when he saw Rebecca. He never wanted to get her involved in this mess again, but now that she was here Chris had never been so grateful.

Eventually the excitement died down, and the others went to take care of a few things so they could get the hell out of here.

As they were waiting for Rebecca to bring back some medical supplies for them Chris turned over to look at Jill, who was looking back at him. The two smiled at each other.

A wave of emotions swirled inside of Chris at that moment. There was so much to say, it had been over six months since he had seen her last. Six months where so much had happened that Chris didn't even know where to begin.

Deciding not to begin with words Chris reached out his hand and grabbed hold of Jill's. As their hands intertwined Chris took the moment to enjoy the feeling of his skin against hers, even if it was a simple gesture as holding hands.

It was Jill who finally broke the silence. Still holding his hand she asked him.

"So where do we go from here?"

"Well," he began "Umbrella's still out there even if Wesker is not. I know I can't stop until I know that companies put to rest. Too many innocent lives are at stake."

Jill simply nodded. Chris wasn't quite sure he answered what she was actually asking. He didn't go any further, however, the other answer was too complicated. No one knows what the future holds, but as long as Jill along with his sister and friends were in it Chris knew he be okay.

After their first attempt at conversation they went quiet for awhile. This time it was Chris' turn to break the silence.

"Jill, I want to thank you. You went beyond the means that I deserve. I'm mad as hell at you for not leaving me when you should have, but at the same time I'm eternally grateful."

"Chris you make it sound like I was just doing you a favor. I did nothing more then what you would have done in a heart beat for me."

Although what she was saying was true Chris wasn't able to respond. How could he tell her what he had been bottling up inside for years?

"Jill," he began feeling his insides churning around and around. "You know whenever I was going through the worst times I thought about you. I know this probably sounds ridiculous, but you helped me. Just thinking about you brought light to even the darkest of times. I guess what I'm trying to say is.Jill Valentine I lo"-

Chris didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. He felt himself suddenly embraced in a passionate kiss, one filled with so much emotion, one filled with so much desire that Chris never wanted it to end.

When it did end Chris finally told Jill what he should have told her a long time ago.

"I love you Jill."

Jill cuddled up next to him so their faces where only a breath away, there she whispered to him.

"I love you too Chris."

The two let out an innocent laugh. Chris shakes his finger playfully at Jill.

"But if you ever go searching for me again."

"Oh shut up Chris you know I'll always go to the end of the world and back again for you."

Chris just smiles and the two once again indulged themselves with a kiss.

God only knew what lay ahead of them. It sure as hell wasn't going to be easy, but then again anything actually worth it never is.

The only thing Chris knew was this was the beginning. The beginning of what he wasn't sure, but as he looked at Jill he knew it was the beginning of something amazing.

THE END

AUTHORS NOTE:
Well that's the end, or at least the beginning of the end. When I started writing this story I had a trilogy in mind, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with that. I know the whole Chris/Jill scenario in this story was rather corny, but I think in the next two stories it will defiantly get better.
The next story which I just started writing I think is a hundred times better then this one. I have some plot twist in there that even surprise me, and it's given me the chance to go more in depth with the characters.
I would like to thank all those who actually stayed with this story the whole way through. Sometimes the idea that other people are reading this is mind blowing to me, and I would just like to take the opportunity to thank all those who had given me there support.
Bloodlover, tek, ktdid, Junnie, Chris Redfield Fan, Rob, and a special thanks to Pinquicha.
So I guess this is it. Thanks again, I hope you all enjoy my next story which I should start posting in the next month or two.

Always,
Leah