New Horizons, VIII

By: Hotaru

Warnings: I can't edit this fic cause we reformated the computer and it won't let me open the html file normally, so please try to ignore the speech not being in new paragraphs! Steve bashing, abuse, strong language, RE: Code Veronica spoilers

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When they finally got into the airport, it was a quarter after twelve. "Ok..she said she'd meet us at the luggage pick up from Europe. So...where the hell is that?" Chris asked, looking around the semi-packed airport. "Why don't you ask someone?" Claire suggested. Chris glared at her blatant attack on his intelligence and looked around for an employee.

After getting the run-around, they were finally at the right place. It was 12:30. "Shit.." Chris spat, looking around for his comrade. And suddenly, there she was. A glowing brilliance on her beautiful, yet annoyed face. She glanced at her watch, her hair cascading down her face briefly only to be tossed back as she raised her head. "Jill!" Chris called, trotting over to the young woman. Jill's eyebrows jumped upwards as Chris made his way towards her.

When he did reach her, she slapped him hard. "Ouch. What was that for?" Chris asked, rubbing his face slightly.

"You jerk! Do you have any idea what my life has been like?!" Jill exclaimed. Chris wrinkled his brow slightly.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused. Giving up on the angry-act, Jill fell into Chris' arms and hugged him tightly.

"I was so worried that something had happened to you. The apartment was a mess, all your guns and ammo were gone. And there wasn't even a note or anything to tell me where you were." She explained, tearing slightly.

"Jill..I'm so sorry. I was going to write you a letter but...my first flight was cancelled and I had to be in the airport within a half hour. I barely had time to pack. I'm sorry..." Chris explained, wondering why Jill was so worried about him.

"I've just been a little on edge lately, I guess. There's just too much going on right now...and when you disappeared...I snapped."

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine how it must have been for you."

"To come home, and just find you missing. No one was around, the place was a wreck. I pulled out my gun half expecting-"

Chris put his hand under Jill's chin and met her eyes. "Shh, it's ok. We shouldn't be talking about this in public, anyway. Let's just get back to Leon's place, and we can talk there." He said comfortingly. Jill nodded and wiped her eyes. "Okay. What the hell took you so long, anyway? You had me worried sick, again." She questioned. Chris shook his head. "Long story. Jill, I don't know if you've met my sister, Claire..Claire, this is Jill." He said, making introductions.

"I'm so sorry." Jill said, reaching out to hug Claire tightly. Claire said nothing, however.

"And, this is Leon, Claire's friend from way back in Raccoon City." Chris continued. Jill shook his hand, and said, "Nice to meet you."

Jill looked down at the sleeping Katie and grinned. "She looks just like you and Chris." She remarked, smiling up at Claire. "I'm glad about that." Claire replied. The quintet then proceeded to leave the airport and head home. "Thanks in advance for housing me, Leon." Jill piped in halfway home.

"Oh, it's no problem. My apartment is probably going to be a little cramped but I've got a pull out sofa-bed and just re-stocked the fridge so we're good." Leon replied.

"A pull out sofa? Don't tell me I'm going to have to sleep next to this guy." Jill said, motioning to Chris with her thumb.

Leon chuckled slightly. "Oh no, I was going to sleep next to Chris, and you were going to sleep on my bed." He replied, grinning. Jill burst into laughter, and Chris could only bury his face in one of his hands. "I seriously hope you're joking, Leon." He said, not looking up. "But Chris...I thought you loved me." Leon replied, barely able to contain his laughter.

When Chris made a break for the door handle, Leon gave the act up. "Okay, okay, no more. I'm kidding, ok? Don't make yourself into road kill, alright?" He said quickly, locking the doors from the side of his door. Chris snorted in Leon's direction and stared out the window. "God, Chris, lighten up." Claire said, cocking her head to side. "Okay, this coming from the Queen of Depression herself?" Chris asked ironically.

Claire turned around with a smug look on her face. "Even I laughed, Chris. You got ants in your pants, or something? Ohhh, now I get it..." She said, shifting her eyes to the innocent Jill. Chris' eyes widened and he gently shook his head 'no'. "What, what is it?" Jill asked, leaning forward.

Leon pulled into his parking space and turned off the car. "Ok! We're here!" He announced cheerfully, saving Chris from any embarrassment. They all climbed out of the car, and Chris got Jill's bags like the gentleman he is. "Would you mind if I take a shower real quick, Leon? There was a problem with the AC on the plane, and it was horribly uncomfortable." Jill asked politely as they began their ascent.

"Yeah, that's fine." Leon replied, tapping his foot anxiously.

"I think we exceed the maximum occupancy..." Claire remarked at the dreadfully slow-moving elevator.

"Not unless we weigh five-hundred pounds each." Jill answered.

"I dunno Jill, you could be wearing a corset under that blouse." Chris said teasingly.

"Yes, a magical corset that makes my five-hundred pounds of fat disappear into a different dimension until I take it off?" Jill said sarcastically.

"It could happen." Leon murmured as the elevator doors finally opened.

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Soon thereafter, everyone had settled in. Katie was once again sleeping soundly in her crib, Leon had retired to his room, and Claire was preparing for bed. Chris, on the other hand, was trying to get his mind off of Jill. And he was having a wee bit of trouble. /I can't believe how much I'm thinking about her. It's like...when Leon mentioned her looks, something inside me clicked. I guess I'd never imagined Jill like that before. And that shirt she's wearing is white and see through. No, no, no! It's thoughts like that that are going to fuck everything up!/

Chris' head shot up as Claire left her room and knocked on the bathroom door. "Yeah?" Jill asked from inside. "It's me, Claire. Can I come in and brush my teeth?" Claire asked through the door. "Sure, the doors open." Jill replied.

Despite restraining himself, Chris couldn't help but peek upwards as the bathroom door opened. Thankfully, Jill wasn't facing his directing. She was shampooing her hair, and a line of suds was going all the way down her back. When Claire closed the door behind her, Chris realized her was holding his breath. Nervously running his hand through his hair, he closed his eyes. /I can't be having these thoughts. I'm gonna be on edge the whole freaking time she's here. Shit...I gotta talk to Leon about this before I explode./

Standing quickly, Chris went to Leon's door and knocked on it quietly. "Yeah?" Leon called from inside, obviously jolting awake.

"It's me, can I talk to you for a sec?" Chris asked softly, not wanting Claire to hear him.

"Sure, come on in." Leon replied.

A small lamp had been turned on, and Chris nervously sat down on the edge of Leon's bed. "So what's up?" He asked.

"Well...I've been having these thoughts lately, and I can't get them out of my head.." Chris began.

"I'm not gay." Leon said quickly.

Chris froze momentarily, before laughing lightly. "No, no. That's not it at all." He said reassuringly. Leon sighed in relief. "Thank God. Ok, so go ahead."

"Now, these thoughts have the potential of making me act stupid, or do stupid things that will make me fuck up something really good." Chris continued.

"Is it Jill?" Leon said bluntly.

"Yeah. Ever since you mentioned what I thought of her the other day, I just keep thinking about it, and imagining things and I just have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I'm going to ruin everything by coming on to her or something."

"Well, that's natural. I think everyone feels that way 'cause the sad truth is, it happens a lot when it doesn't have to. Maybe you should have someone see how she feels about it, so that you'll know whether or not to move forward, or to stay where you're at now."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that. I guess Claire could do it when they go shopping tomorrow, but I can't help feeling like...what if she doesn't like me at all? And what then? I'll just keep burying myself in these feelings and thoughts I've got for her, and they'll just swallow me alive."

Leon stroked his chin. "If you think that would happen, and if she doesn't have feelings for you, then you should just tell her. Don't pressure her or anything, like acting like you wanna be in a relationship. Just tell her that you've been thinking about her for a long time, and that you think that nothing good will come out of you keeping your feelings in the dark." He said finally. Chris nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I guess that's the best I can do. Thanks for your help." He said, standing up.

"No prob." Leon said, reaching to turn off the lamp as Chris opened the door. "Ok, night man." Chris said, closing the door behind him. The door to Claire's room was closed, and the bathroom door was as well. So, Chris cleared a space in front of the couch and pulled the bed out. There was a sheet already on the mattress, so he just took some pillows from the couches and tossed them down.

The door to the bathroom opened, and Jill stepped out, fully dressed mind you. Chris looked up from his duffel bag and smiled. "I would have helped you take care of it you know." Jill said, nodding towards the bed. Chris shrugged it off and pulled his nightclothes from his bag. "Don't worry about it. I'm gonna go get changed, then I'm going to sleep." He replied, heading to the bathroom.

While toweling her hair, Jill sat on the left side of the bed and looked out the window. There was a gentle breeze, making the summer heat a little more bearable. Chris emerged from the bathroom shyly, and hurried over to the other side of the bed. "I-if this is a problem for you at all, I can sleep on the small couch. I don't want you to be uncomfortable." He said, thanking himself for bringing a pair of boxers that was completely closed in the front.

"Ah, it's no big deal. We technically sleep next to each other at home, just in different beds. The only difference is that there's no floor between us." Jill replied, shaking her bangs out of her eyes. Chris nodded and turned off the lamp on his side of the bed. A short while later, Jill did too and she climbed under the sheets and adjusted her pillows.

There was an uncomfortable awkwardness between the two, so Jill decided to say something. "So how do you think Claire's doing?" she asked quietly.

"Eh...I don't know. It's been up and down really." Chris replied.

"Well, I hope I can help out at least." Jill murmured.

"I'm sure you will. It just takes time, you know?"

"Yeah, that's true. Is there anything in specific you wanted me to do with her?"

"Huh? Oh, uh..not especially. She did want to go shopping, though. She hasn't been able to because of Steve and all. I'm sure she'd like to get some summer clothes, not just jeans and tee-shirts."

"It will probably take awhile for her to want to show her body though. But at least she'll have them when she's ready, anyway."

"Yeah. Thanks for coming Jill...I know it means a lot to Claire. And it means a lot to me too."

Their eyes met briefly, before Jill smiled and nodded. "I know...and you don't have to give me anything. I was just testing you." She said, relieving Chris slightly. "Really? I don't want you to feel like you're just missing out of work being here..." Chris replied, turning on his side to face Jill. "Chris, if she knew that you bribed me into coming here, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I can get a new gun some other time. Besides, we get to hang out for once not worrying about Umbrella or anything." She answered, remaining on her back.

"Well, I can't say that I'm not relieved. My paycheck is gone, what with the plane ticket and all. I just can't buy anything for awhile." Chris said, with a sigh.

"If you need some financial aid, don't hesitate to ask." Jill said with a wink.

"Jill..."

"What? I don't want you to be broke, Chris. You never know what can happen, or when you'll need some money."

"Yeah, but I won't take it from a woman. Damn, that sounded bad. What I mean is-"

"You don't want hand-outs, got it. But if you're down to your last Hot Pocket and are dying of hunger with only fifty cents or francs or what ever currency we use at the time, I want you to be able to come to me."

Chris smiled and closed his eyes. "I'll think about it. It's not easy for guys to bum people for cash, especially me. It makes me feel worthless, and like a low-life." He nearly had a heart attack when he felt Jill's hand on his cheek. "I already know that you're a wonderful person, Chris. You've proven that to me without showing me how big your wallet is." She whispered. Nodding slightly, Chris felt Jill's hand leave his cheek, and her body turn to face the windows.

Gaining a remarkable amount of courage, Chris shifted his pillows next to Jill's and wrapped his arm around her body. He felt her stiffen slightly as his arm adjusted to being right beneath her breasts. "Please...just let me hold you." He whispered into her hair. Nodding slightly, Jill moved her hand so she could hold Chris'. In a state of nervous happiness, Chris and Jill fell asleep.

TBC